Chapter Seventy Three: Witness for the Defence
The sky above him was peaceful and strangely blue.
Kohaku lifted his eyes to the heavens, taking in the azure shades with a sense of detachment. All around him swirled a mix of distinct reiatsu, some ominous and some desperate, but as he gazed across the sky, all he could see was the faintest wisps of clouds - puffy imperfections in the blue. At the sight of them, his lips twitched into a smile. Even the sky was not perfect. Perhaps, one day, he would make it so. Through the yellow glare of energy that shrouded his white-robed body, he could feel the warmth of the sun, yet he knew this to be an illusion. There was no sun in Seireitei. Not even the Soul King gazed down from these lofty heights. But there would, one day, be him. Not this day, perhaps, but one day - and soon. They could not see it, but he could.
Right above him, the fetid stench of the Dangai tunnel rippled and roared as though hungry for fresh meat. The conflict of the previous few hours seemed to have passed in a matter of minutes, and now, this uneasy calm, as, from the heavens, Kohaku surveyed his domain.
For it was his domain. It was always so, and it would be again. They just didn't know it yet, because they hadn't seen it. They were blind - blinder than...than...
Kohaku's brows twitched together for a moment, briefly shaken from his focus by the inability to draw to the forefront of his mind the name. Surely he had known it just a moment before, but through the haze of the negacion light, it was hard to believe that anything was real. It was a dream and not a dream - he was rising, glowing, up through the heavens in a divine light -he was chosen above all others, gazing down at the puny insects who had failed to corral him. But even as he did so, somehow he also knew he was far away - far, far from this place, in an unreachable, untouchable realm.
Were they all demons? Kohaku wasn't sure. As the dark energy swirled behind him, a single, glittering eyeball rolled and rotated in its socket, trying to see all the things that Kohaku could see in front of him.
Kyouka Suigetsu's hypnosis is perfect.
The words flitted across Kohaku's thoughts, jarring slightly as though something about them was wrong, but he could not place quite what.
I wasn't trying to fool you. You just never saw the person that I truly was.
A smile twitched across humourless, pale lips, hazy through the glitter of golden light that continued to suck him up towards the belching darkness that loomed overhead. Giant hollows jostled for space, their pointed noses piercing the blue sky, as they fought for prominence. His gaze dropped to the ground once more, taking in the diminuitive forms of his pathetic pursuers. There was blood on the ground, he could see it and smell it, but, far from revulsion at this evidence of pain - maybe even death - he felt amused. A man lay crumpled on the dirt, protectively held close in the arms of a young woman dressed in white. She was trembling, the blood from his wounds soaking through her robes as well, yet still she did not give up her hold. Kohaku's lip twisted in derision at this proof of family hypocrisy.
He wanted to kill you, and now he will die for you. Such is the pointlessness of the lives of insects who believe themselves to be great.
Across the sandy landscape, the black-clad ants of the Onmitsukidou still clustered under the command of the Shadow Cat and her underling, helpless to interfere but unwilling to leave their positions. At the centre stood an old man, hands curled over a wizened stick, his long beard bristling with annoyance - but he too made no attempt to intervene as Kohaku soared towards the sky.
Because he knows he can't. All that power, and yet there's nothing even he can do. Not without killing everyone around him...and probably, with little success. The Phoenix is exactly as you told me, Kyouka. It's power is itself a weakness - because the man inside has grown weary of the kill. He is shackled by his power - while you and I have been set free. I have never felt so alive as I do right now.
They had not proven even slightly a match for him, he realised, and yet, beneath the pride - beneath the smug acceptance of victory, a hunger yawned. An emptiness that had only grown as he had - a loneliness that had never been placated, no matter how much he had tried.
His eyes became colder, narrowing slightly as he focused in on the individuals one by one.
You never tried to understand. You were never like me. You all lied, all pretended, but never saw that I was pretending, nor wanted to know the real me. You all deserve to die for it, and you will. You, this place, and everything. Everything, until nothing is left. Until even Heaven itself bows to my will. Heaven, whose blood runs through me...Heaven, which also abandoned me to live among these insects. Did you think I would never rise above them? Foolish. I am an Aizen. I know what that means.
The light that had engulfed him, drawing him up to the heavens, still illuminated him in its eerie glow. Two others had gone with him - the Kitsune, and the other - the one whose name he couldn't call to mind. Well, perhaps it wasn't important enough to remember the names of those he would doubtless discard along the way. Those who had stood against him were minor irritations, but those who came with him had summoned only his derision. He would not trust in anyone again. Not now. Not now he knew the truth of betrayal - not just in his blood, but in the blood of his family. The blood of the Mirror and the blood of Heaven. The blood of Aizen Keitarou - the blood of chaos, science and death.
As he soared up higher towards the black hole in the sky, Kohaku's gaze met that of one of the individuals on the ground below. He was a thin man in a white haori, of middling years, with a narrow face that hinted of a chronic battle with illness. Long white hair flapped loose around his face, but despite the apparent mediocrity of this man's physical demeanour, the hazel eyes that raised up to Kohaku were strong and purposeful, glaring at him in reproach and condemnation. At the sight of this disapproval, somewhere, deep within the very deepest recesses of Kohaku's heart, something stirred. Briefly, something clenched with what might have been regret, but it soon died, stifled by the bitter darkness called loneliness that had long since enshrouded his soul. He had tried trusting people before, and he had regretted it. Now he would trust Kyouka - only Kyouka. Nobody else was necessary.
People were an inconvenience - bonds were a weakness. Had he not seen it, time and time again, how the foolish died for those they loved without ever knowing their hearts? Hadn't the Vice Captain of the Fifth fallen before him, the last emotion in her eyes the glitter of joy and devotion at seeing him? Hadn't his own family told him they loved him, but still rejected him and thus brought about their own demise? Had not the broken, bloody Captain of the Sixth not charged onto the blade of an enemy to protect the sister who he had already tried to discard, unable to tear himself away from the bonds of duty and family even to protect his own life?
No, bonds were foolish and he didn't need them. How could he be lonely, so long as he had his sword by his side? His gaze hardened as he glared defiantly down at the white haired man.
I don't need you either, old man. Maybe you think I do, but I don't. I'm not answerable to you. You, or anyone in this choking, stifling, stage show of lies.
Despite the potency of the glare, the white haired man did not avert his gaze for a moment. He met Kohaku's brown eyes without hesitation, not even the faintest flicker of fear in his expression. Instead there was a deep sadness, beneath the steely resolve. His name was Ukitake Juushirou, Kohaku reflected. Juushirou, the name itself tinged with death. Though he had decided he didn't need anyone, he found himself unable to look away, and it annoyed him. Why? What was it about the Captain of the Thirteenth that demanded his attention? Did he hate this man? Did this man hate him? Was there a reason that he, of all people, now stood there, staring up at him as if passing judgement? His gaze was full of censure, as though he were a parent scolding a child...but the child Ukitake sought was long since gone, and Kohaku felt a strange sense of derisive pity for this sallow faced individual.
"You've joined forces with the Menos? Why? For what purpose?" Ukitake demanded.
"I'm seeking greater heights," came the response, spoken before Kohaku had realised he intended to reply, and the older man's eyes narrowed slightly as he took this in.
"Have you fallen to such depths, Aizen?"
Ukitake's words shook with disapproval, but they brought a smile to Kohaku's lips. There was a slight hoarseness in the older man's voice, and his reiatsu was uneven, proof that he had been fighting, and that, had he wanted to, it would have been nothing at all to strike this man down. A sickly, aging, idealist - a person not worth his time or recollection. He should ignore him, yet still, he felt compelled to answer, drawn to justify himself to this man over all the others, for a reason that he could not understand.
"You're too arrogant, Ukitake," he said at length. "From the very start, there was nobody standing up in Heaven. Not you, not me, not even the gods. But now, the endless vacancy in the throne of Heaven will be filled." An unfamiliar hand reached up to remove spectacles from his nose, fingers crushing the lenses and frames effortlessly together before discarding it like litter onto the earth below. Was that really his hand? Had it always been so slender, so pale, so clinical in its movements? Had the haziness of his vision really been the yellow light, or had it really been the lenses of glasses - another barrier between him and the world? And when did he start wearing glasses? It was all becoming muddled in his mind, now that the charade was nearly over.
The yawning hole in the atmosphere writhed and rippled with Hollow energy, the masks of the Menos a stark contrast to the endless darkness that lay beyond, and yet, as he turned to enter it, for the first time in his life, Kohaku felt the call of something new - something better, calling him home. Something inside this bleak place appealed to the darkness that had swallowed him up inside. It was something that could protect him from the demons, and allow him to finally, reach his goal. He was better than all of them. He didn't need them, any of them. He would find something better, and then he would show them all.
He turned back, a triumphant smile on his face, but the emotion did not reach his eyes. It no longer knew how.
"From now on, I will stand in the heavens," he boasted, but his words were calm and cold. As the last fibres of compassion suffocated slowly beneath the dark resentment of loneliness and the fierce anticipation of ambition, he knew that he had already transcended this place. His was a Royal Sword. He was a chosen son. And he would put everything right.
I will slay the demons. All of them. Even the Soul King. Everyone who stands in my way, and everyone who does not.
"Goodbye, shinigami."
His gaze drifted to a black clad figure struggling to get to his feet, a shock of orange hair marking him out from the rest. His smile widened slightly.
Well, that one at least had been mildly entertaining.
"Goodbye, ryoka boy," he added softly. "For a human, you were quite interesting."
With that, he allowed himself to be swallowed up into the darkness, and, as the doorway between his old home and his new sealed shut behind him, he let out his breath in a sigh.
Finally.
After all this time, I can be myself.
And I will be with you, no matter what.
The voice of the sword rippled slightly against his senses.
Put your trust in me, and we will succeed. You will never need anyone else - I promise you this. I will never betray you like they did. I will make you everything you wish for. Sousuke.
Kohaku opened his eyes, breathing hard as he struggled to get his bearings. Sweat drenched his body, soaking through his robes and making him kick back against the blankets that covered him before he knew what he was doing. At the sudden movement, pain jolted through every muscle and bone, and he winced, taking a deep breath as he tried to gather his composure.
Where was he?
He had been standing atop the heavens, sucked into the Dangai...into the black...but no, he was in a small bedchamber, its nondescript appearance suddenly reassuring after the vivid nature of his dream. As he allowed slithers of himself to slide back into place, he lay back against his soaked pillows, closing his eyes as he tried to order his thoughts.
He had faced the Soldier.
He had taken injury, and he had trusted himself to Kyouka.
He had given his all...but the world had turned black, and then...
Katsura had been there.
He reached out a tentative finger to touch the edge of the bed, able to pick up for the first time in a long time the distinct flicker of his brother's reiatsu. What had happened to make Katsura's spirit power linger there, he didn't know, but something about its presence reassured him. Why Katsura had been with him, and what had occurred since his battle with the Soldier, he couldn't tell. But, as his pulse began to slow, he realised one thing and one thing only.
He was safe.
Somehow, he had made it back.
He wasn't standing atop the Heavens, ready to throw the world away. He was safe, in bed, in a room somewhere in Seireitei.
The door slid back to reveal a visitor, and Kohaku's eyes snapped open at the sound, his gaze immediately drawn to the newcomer. At this obvious sight of his return to consciousness, the visitor smiled, coming to bring a vessel of something down beside the bed, before taking a seat at his right side.
"Hello, Koku-kun," she spoke softly, as if she could tell how much his head still ached. "Welcome back. You've been asleep a while, but I'm glad to see you've woken up."
"Edogawa...san." Kohaku forced words through dry vocal chords, and Mitsuki nodded her head, moving to help him sit up a little. She pushed some spare pillows carefully behind his back to support him, and as she did so, Kohaku realised that his left shoulder and arm were swathed in snow white bandages. Fleeting fragments of memory began to build themselves into a stronger image, and he moved his right hand towards the wounds, but Mitsuki stopped him, taking his right wrist gently in her free hand and pushing it down by his side.
"They're still healing, so it's better you don't meddle," she said firmly. "Shikiki managed to remove the bulk of the decay, but she couldn't close the wounds as well, so we're treating them as best we can. You're well drugged right now for pain, so you probably can't feel it - but I don't want you to open up wounds that are starting to heal properly."
"They went black. My arm...I couldn't move it..."
Tentatively Kohaku twitched the fingers of his left hand, relieved as he saw them move, and Mitsuki nodded.
"Only Shikiki could have reversed that damage, but it took a lot of effort," she replied. "When you see her next, remember to thank her. You still have a left arm mostly thanks to her."
"I will." Kohaku relaxed his hand with a sigh. "I'm sorry. Everything is still...blurry."
"I'm sure it is, but that's partly the drugs as well, I imagine," Once sure her patient was not going to try and tamper with his bandaged wounds, Mitsuki reached for the vessel she had set down on the unit and putting it encouragingly to his lips.
"Drink this," she said gently. "It's water and herbs, and it will help. You're still quite bruised, I'm afraid - but with your spirit power so unstable, we've only done what was absolutely necessary. You were lucky, though. You took a battering, but the Soldier's poison didn't reach your heart. The enemy you fought was a superior swordsman, so it would've been easy for you to have been killed."
"Kyouka protected me," Kohaku obediently drank the cool liquid, tasting the faint flavour of bitter herbs at the back of his tongue as he swallowed the concoction down. "It promised me it would, and it did. It wouldn't let the Soldier take my life. But I don't...really remember...everything very well after that."
"It doesn't matter, for now," Mitsuki assured him. "You were brought to my hospital, here in Fourth District, as it was close to the place you collapsed. Retsu-sama came to help you, so you were in good hands then. The recruits with you were dazed, but one of them - Yatsubashi-kun? - was able to give an adequate description of what happened, and it seemed better to keep you away from the Thirteenth while you rested. For now, you should rest. You used a lot of energy, and it will take a little while to recoup your strength."
"Mm," Kohaku frowned, then, "the recruits are all right?"
"They both are," Mitsuki agreed. "They took a healthy dose of your reiryoku, not to mention the Soldier's, so they were both a bit green around the gills - but they wont take any permanent harm. They broke bounds too, from what I understand - they were lucky not to be more badly hurt. They were both worried about you."
"Both...of them?" Kohaku was surprised by this, and Mitsuki nodded.
"You apparently saved their lives," she agreed. "Though you really need to stop with the reckless heroics. You're not a child now, and there are better ways to save the world than throwing yourself into danger."
Her eyes twinkled slightly at this.
"I'd almost worry you'd been too long in Juushirou's company, if I didn't know you've been doing it since before he met you," she added. "Maybe it's just that old adage that birds of a feather flock together."
Have you really fallen so far, Aizen?
Juushirou's words from the dream pierced through Kohaku suddenly at this moment, and he frowned, pulling the blankets more tightly around his body as a sudden shiver wracked through him.
"Koku? Are you cold?" Mitsuki was immediately alert. "Your robes are soaked and your blankets too - I'll send for fresh ones, and you can change."
"I'm all right," Kohaku shook his head. "I just...I think I had a strange dream. Before I woke up. Like I was standing in the sky, and Taichou...Taichou was cross with me...and...I don't know. It was all muddled and strange and I don't really understand it, but I just know...I don't want him to look at me like that. How he looked at me in the dream. I never want to have him look at me like that, no matter what."
"Well, you can talk that out with him when you see him," Mitsuki said in matter-of-fact tones, getting to her feet. "I'll go see to fresh robes, so you just stay put. If you're good and quiet I'll see if I can find a book or two to keep you amused - but I have other duties aside from babysitting you, and I don't need to know about any wild dreams right now."
"Edogawa-san..." As Mitsuki made to leave, Kohaku called her back, and the healer turned, sending him a quizzical look.
"Yes?"
"My brother was here, wasn't he?" Kohaku asked the question hesitantly, but at the sound of it, Mitsuki's expression softened. She nodded.
"Juushirou brought him here," she agreed. "Katsura came because he wanted to help you. He didn't do anything wrong."
"But if he came here...if Taichou...then...if he's caught..." Kohaku faltered, and Mitsuki shrugged her shoulders.
"Katsura's already made his own decisions in that regard," she said evenly. "You won't know, because you went to the Real World, and I suppose nobody thought to tell you - but Katsura surrendered himself to Kinnya-sama's custody some days ago. He came here only with Kinnya-sama's blessing, and what happens from this point on is a matter for the Gotei. I can't tell you what will happen next," as Kohaku's brows furrowed in dismay, "but it was your brother's own choice to do that."
"He gave himself up...and then he came here, knowing it would make his situation more risky...to help me?"
"Of course he did," Mitsuki nodded her head, and Kohaku could see the serious expression in her eyes. "I won't sugarcoat it, because you should know exactly what happened. Juushirou went to get Katsura because there was a chance he could help you. Katsura agreed it knowing it would mean he'd come into the Gotei's custody and he will now face trial. He did that because he believed your life had a value beyond that of his...and he wanted to make sure it continued."
Kohaku was silent for a moment, digesting this, and Mitsuki sighed.
"It's not your fault that Katsura is in the trouble he is," she said softly. "If it ends badly for him, it won't be because of you. But his decision to come here was because you were reckless. I need you to understand that. It's not just Katsura, but other people, too. Juushirou has been very worried about you as well. You have to stop thinking of yourself as a lone warrior against the world's ills. I know you feel you still have things to prove and you want to do the right thing - but it has consequences as well. Katsura's life may be one of those consequences. You need to be aware of that, because even Juushirou doesn't have the power to save your brother from these charges."
"Katsu-nii." Kohaku's heart lurched in his chest. "But that's not what I wanted. I didn't..."
He swallowed hard, then,
"I said to Kayashima that I might have to betray someone else, or let someone else die, to bring this to a close," he murmured. "but I didn't think...not like this. And...I know he was here. I felt him, close to me. But he also felt far away, when I woke up. I know my spirit power has consequences for people's lives, and that I need to think more about long term effects of the choices I make...but...it's so hard to do that, and now..."
He closed his eyes against the tears that threatened to fall, and Mitsuki patted him gently on the shoulder.
"Katsura didn't have any hesitations or regrets, coming here," she told him. "He also said that, even if you recover, you're not to be at the trial. Whatever happens there, as a big brother, he intends on protecting you till the last. You have to accept those feelings as part of him as well - besides, having seen that resolve, I think he's tired of running, Koku."
She sighed, looking sad.
"Maybe I shouldn't have helped him, five years ago," she admitted. "But I did, and here we are. I know that it makes no sense, for me to be so concerned about a young man who killed two of my close friends - but I forgave him for that a long time ago. I never totally blamed him for it anyway. Now...I just...want closure for him. Whatever that ends up being."
She trailed off, and Kohaku bit down hard on his lip, understanding her meaning without needing to hear it in words. Tears glittered on his lashes, but he nodded his head.
"I know," he whispered. "But I don't want to just give up on him either. And I really don't want him to die, Edogawa-san. No matter what, I don't."
"You want to do what?"
Shirogane cast his son an incredulous look, his gaze flitting briefly to the silent Kinnya, who stood in the doorway, watching the exchange with interest. "Jun'ei, do you even understand what you're saying? This is a dangerous individual. Why would you want to become involved in his trial?"
The two Kuchiki had arrived in Inner Seireitei only a few hours ago, for once Katsura had left the estate, Jun'ei had begged Kinnya that he be able to speak to his father directly. Although Kinnya had assured him that Juushirou would treat the fugitive with kindness, Jun'ei had fully understood the implications of the eldest Aizen son falling into Gotei custody, and so he had pressed his case emphatically, pointing out that, from District Six, he could do nothing to uphold the honour of his debt and present his case.
Ultimately, Kinnya had not presented much opposition to his requests, and, as they had reached the checkpoint that divided District Six from Inner Seireitei, Jun'ei had felt the first flickers of nerves dancing around inside his gut. He had realised that the old man had questioned him so particularly on his intent and his conviction because it would be hard to argue with the father he loved and respected above all others, but Jun'ei knew that he owed it to his strange new friend not to abandon him in his time of need. Murderer he might be, criminal and vigilante, born in the lowest social level of Soul Society's class system - but even though in normal circumstances they would have had nothing to do with one another, the young Kuchiki knew that, if he could do anything to change it, he did not want Katsura to die.
However, persuading Shirogane of that fact and his reasons was easier said than done, and right now, it was clear that his father was not going to be easily swayed.
"I want to tell the court the truth, sir," Jun'ei's frustration glittered in his own grey gaze, but he kept a hand on his temper. "Katsura may be a criminal, and I accept that he has crimes that need to be judged. But I only seek to tell the court what happened during my encounter with him. I don't understand why that should be such a problem...since honesty is a matter of honour and Kuchiki pride, is it not?"
"Of course it is, but in this instance, the crimes being tried have no relation to recent events," Shirogane rested a hand on Jun'ei's shoulders. "They happened five years ago, and..."
"Five years is a long time," Jun'ei interjected, and Shirogane's eyes widened at the interruption. "I am sorry, sir, if I am being impertinent, but surely an individual can change? Katsura helped me to bring assistance to the main house. At the very least I owe him a debt, and I seek to give recompense in the only way I know how!"
"You don't owe him anything," Shirogane said frankly, shooting Kinnya another, more accusing look this time, and absently he reached up to touch his shorn locks. "I don't know what you've been led to believe, but the biggest casualty of this encounter has ultimately been my hair, which will grow back. As it happens, I managed to hold out at the main house until help arrived, and I would have done so even if it had taken you longer to reach Kinnya-sama's manor. Perhaps Katsura did help you - but did you think that, perhaps, he did so, in order to create a sense of duty to repay that obligation in a manner such as this one?"
"Katsura isn't like that," Jun'ei shook his head indignantly. "And I'm not being foolish, Father! I know..."
"You don't know. You think, and you guess, but you are too young yet to know," Shirogane cut across his son in low tones. "I don't know what things Kinnya-sama may have said to you, but you have a responsibility to this Clan going forward, just as I do. Guren-sama is still incapacitated. If he doesn't recover, you will be heir to the Kuchiki. I need you to think about the burden of that before you let your impulses run away with you."
"I am thinking of that!" Now there was no holding back Jun'ei's anger, and he pushed his father's arm away, putting his hands on his hips in defiance. "You left me at the main house and didn't send me away with Mother and my siblings, so you thought me old enough to decide then! Why am I not old enough to decide now? I know more now than then. I understand things I did not understand before. Why is it wrong for me to feel so now, when it wasn't wrong before?"
"Jun'ei, this fugitive is the son of the woman who killed Ribari-sama," Shirogane snapped, frustration in his own expression. "If you knew the damage that did...what it put all of us through..."
"But I don't know, because you haven't told me," Jun'ei shot back, causing Shirogane to reel back in surprise despite his own indignation. "You have never told me anything except that Ribari-sama died! Kinnya-sama said you'd experienced things in the past that had taught you a lot about the world, but you haven't taught me about them. So how can I understand? And besides, Katsura's mother may have done such a thing. But Katsura himself did not. And I am not so foolish as to not understand that the crimes he committed were terrible. But I also know I owe him a debt. And I will repay that debt, Father. If you won't give me permission, I will find someone else who will."
"Jun'ei, you forget yourself in front of your father," Kinnya interceded gently at this point, for Jun'ei's voice was rising as he gave in to his annoyance. "Shirogane is concerned for your safety, that's all."
"And I was concerned for his, and for Seiren-dono's, and everyone else's!" Jun'ei's eyes glittered with tears, as Shirogane continued to stare at his son in speechless shock. "Father, I am sorry for being insubordinate, but you must hear what I have to say. Katsura may have done bad things, but he isn't a bad person. People are not all good or all bad, but bits of both - and I know that first hand from meeting him. He did not have to help me in the forest, but he did. Because he did, Kinnya-sama came to your aid. You may say you could have continued, but I know you are trying to shield me again, and you must not. Besides, Katsura did not ask me to testify for him. He asked me to pretend I had never met him. I made the decision that I could not stay silent when a man's life was in peril - not when it was a man to whom I owe a debt. And I am not trying to save his life. I am sure my words alone cannot do that. But justice can only happen when all of the truth is known, surely? And this is what really happened. To be a true Kuchiki and protect my honour as a future Clan heir, I cannot stay silent. Surely you must understand that too? Kinnya-sama says I am very like you - so if I am, surely you understand why I wish to do this?"
Shirogane gathered his wits, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Kinnya-sama, what have you been teaching my son?" he asked, but there was more resignation than accusation in his tones now, and Kinnya smiled.
"Nothing. Jun'ei has mostly learned it himself," he said wisely. "Knowing that, in a split-second, he might have become Clan leader has made your son think about the world, not just the Kuchiki, Shirogane. And he is like you - right now, he is exactly like you, and you know it yourself, I think. Perhaps you hoped he wouldn't inherit that self-righteous, wilful streak of yours - but he has. Moreover, I think he'll make good use of it. He's not a child, now. He's on the cusp of growing up. This is his decision and he understands it. Let him do as he wishes. It will do him more harm if you prevent him, and Katsura loses his life without Jun'ei ever being able to speak."
"Please, Father," Jun'ei added, his tones calmer now. "I am sorry for being rude, but..."
"No, Kinnya-sama is right. You are too much like me, and I didn't realise it until now," Shirogane groaned. "I have tried very hard not to set you that example - but apparently its in the blood. Jun'ei, I want you to tell me honestly. Your reasons for wanting to testify like this are your own will, and not anyone else's? Not Kinnya-sama's, or Katsura's, but your own?"
"They are my own," Jun'ei nodded.
"And you understand the person on whose behalf you wish to testify?"
"I do," Jun'ei hesitated, then, "please don't be angry," he begged. "The truth is that I wished to know - once I realised that the person who helped me in the forest was a wanted man. And I know...because Katsura told me so himself - that he is guilty of what the Gotei accuse him. But...although my words alone cannot save him, I...don't want the shinigami to kill him. I feel...it would be wrong."
"Even understanding what he has done?" Shirogane was grave. Jun'ei nodded.
"I am in his debt," he said simply. "Not just for the forest, but again, at Kinnya-sama's estate. When Kinnya-sama's estate was attacked by corpses, Katsura protected me. He got me out of the way and took care of the corpse dolls with his spirit power."
"Exactly how much contact has he had with this man, Kinnya-sama?" Shirogane arched an eyebrow, and Kinnya shrugged.
"As much as he has chosen to," he said blithely. "Jun'ei outranks me in the Clan hierarchy, Shirogane, for all I might supersede him on age. And, for all I knew, he might be the Clan heir. I am bound to respect the wishes of a higher ranking kinsman, am I not? Or would you have me considered insubordinate to the honour of the Clan?"
Shirogane eyed the old man long and hard, then he sighed.
"I'm sure if I comment on that, my language may shock my son, so I will not," he said at length. "Clearly you've made decisions about what he is and isn't ready for, without my involvement. I only hope that isn't a decision you regret. If Katsura is spared..."
"I already have contingency plans for that, but I am not worried about him posing a threat to anyone anymore," Kinnya said comfortably, and Shirogane sent him a suspicious look. "No, don't look at me that way. I can keep my own counsel, sometimes, and this is one such time. But Shirogane, you underestimate your son. Jun'ei has made his decision based on knowledge of the situation. And Jun'ei has chosen to trust Katsura...a fact that I think, has had positive consequences for both of them."
"I don't quite see how," Shirogane was doubtful, and Kinnya smiled.
"Katsura is not a killer, for all he has blood on his hands," he said softly. "He was compelled to kill by a man whose approval and love he sought, and, perhaps, never received. Jun'ei understands this because he seeks the same from you - love, approval, validation. Unlike Katsura, though, Jun'ei's father is a good role model who will be a great Clan leader one day. We are none of us islands...we are all formed by the people that surround us and raise us. The person who most regrets and condemns the actions of five years ago is Katsura himself. But I have seen with my own eyes that he is an honest soul who has kept to the terms of his surrender faithfully and who has, at no point, asked either Jun'ei or myself to save his life. He protected Jun'ei from the corpses, then helped me in the Coastal Province in protecting other villagers as well, so that there were no fatalities whatsoever. He could have used that opportunity to escape my custody, but he did not. I think he is still looking for that acceptance - that approval - perhaps even that love that he never fully had. The person who influenced him is long gone now. Katsura understands now what kind of person Keitarou was, and still struggles to rationalise his father's teachings alongside his own experiences over the last few years. Perhaps it is wrong to term it such, but we can all make costly mistakes. You know that too, I think."
"My mistakes didn't cost any lives," Shirogane replied acidly, and Kinnya nodded.
"True, but your own life was almost forfeit and so was your position in the Clan," he pointed out. "And you did raise your sword to Shibata and his men, which could have been far more serious."
"This from the man who killed two such men in the grove in District Six before leaving me to bleed to death in the mountains," Shirogane muttered, and Jun'ei's eyes became wide, glancing from one Clansman to the other as if trying to piece together the missing parts of the narrative. At his expression, Kinnya chuckled.
"When this is over, Shirogane, you must tell your son about your own reckless adventures," he remarked, and despite himself, Shirogane reddened, looking sheepish. "You, better than anyone, know that justice should not be formed of half-truths. If Seireitei find Katsura guilty enough to take his life, then that is what the court finds. But they must have the whole of the evidence, not just the bad things from five years ago. Individuals are allowed to change. If we always live in the past...what price the future? That is why old fossils like me are not needed at the main house. So young folk like you and Jun'ei can move beyond the difficulties we faced."
"For someone not needed, you seem very active all of a sudden in educating my son," Shirogane observed wryly. "Oh, I know when I am beaten, don't worry - but I would much rather tell the boy my side of what happened thirty years ago, if you don't mind. I'm sure I can provide a far more reliable account than you can, given that you weren't at the main house for much of it."
"I think Jun'ei would benefit more from that," Kinnya smiled benignly. "And as for Katsura's trial?"
"I will not let my son stand in a court room and be interrogated by the Shadow Cat of the Shihouin," Shirogane shook his head, and Jun'ei's eyes opened wide with dismay.
"But Father, I..."
"Shh," Shirogane held up his hand to indicate that he was not finished. "I will not have you interrogated in that way, in a public place. You are still far too young to deal with such a situation, however much you think you are now grown. But, I will make a compromise with you. You will stay away from the court proceedings, Jun'ei. You will also stay away from Thirteenth and make no attempt to communicate with the prisoner. In return, I shall send a message to my colleague at the Second Division, Kai-dono - and have him come and take a full statement from you about your encounters with Katsura. He is a reasonable man, despite his Shihouin connections, and will deal with you fairly. It will also give me the chance to hear your words as well. I will then authorise it with my seal as your guardian, and it can be submitted to the court as evidence in your name."
"Otousama." Jun'ei's jaw dropped open into an 'O' of surprise, and Kinnya laughed.
"You win, Jun'ei," he said warmly, clapping his hand across the young man's back. "Shirogane, you should be prepared. You will probably have future battles of will with this one - he knows his own mind as well as you know yours, and he can give as good as he gets if it means sticking up for his convictions."
"I suppose it could be worse," Shirogane sighed, looking resigned. "Well? Shall I send word to Second, Jun'ei? I don't pretend I am happy about this, but I do take your point that there are things I have not taught you. I don't like that maybe you learned some of them in the company of a wanted vagrant, but I will accept that you are old enough to have an opinion on the man, and therefore give your views."
"Thank you, sir," Jun'ei's eyes glittered with gratitude and relief, and he bowed his head. "I will keep to your rules, and I will not try to attend the trial, or speak to Katsura again. Please, I would like to speak to Kai-dono about what happened. I must tell them the truth, because that is honourable...and I intend to be an honourable Kuchiki going forward in every way I can."
"Well said," Kinnya said approvingly, and Shirogane shook his head slowly, shooting the old man a wry glance.
"I am fairly sure that telling the truth hasn't always been top of your priorities," he observed acidly, and Kinnya chuckled.
"I tell it when it matters, and I have never betrayed my family for want of it," he said comfortably. "In any case, I am glad you are willing to listen to your son. He has much to learn from you yet, it's true - but I believe he has the makings of a great Clan leader in the future. One who will take the Kuchiki forward - and in whom you can certainly be proud."
So, the battle for Seireitei was over.
Retsu stood at the side of Guren's bed, gazing down pensively at the sleeping form of the Sixth Division Captain. She had travelled to Sixth early that morning, choosing to ignore the newly activated Gates and instead slipping through the vales and pathways via shunpo as she made her way towards the Nagoya estate. Guren's condition was still a problem awaiting solution, but, nagging away in the back of her mind was the bigger concern - that of the battle in her own land, of which she still only had a piecemeal memory.
But right now I have no reason to dwell on it.
Retsu knelt carefully at her comrade's side, extending a long, pale finger to touch his throat. His pulse was still a little quicker than she would have liked considering his resting state, but the heartbeat was still strong and defiant, proof that, despite his incapacitation, Guren had not given up yet on life. Something about the strength of this rhythm bolstered her own conviction, and she sighed, withdrawing her hand and sitting back on her heels as she considered the options.
Right now, as a healer, this man needs my help. There is only one possible solution I can see for this condition - if, indeed, he has locked himself in. But even if I did have full confidence in Minazuki acting as I wish her to, it's not a technique that I can perform. It's a very different, unusual kind of skill that I need in this situation. The question is...whether there's too much risk involved in trying it.
"Retsu-sama?"
Seiren's voice from the doorway made her turn, and she cast the older Kuchiki twin a smile as the nobleman made his way carefully into the chamber. His movements were stiff, and he was using his cane more than he had on their previous encounter, but although the healer inside of Retsu wanted to ask if he was holding up all right from the strain, she bit back the question, knowing that it would only hurt Seiren's pride to draw attention to his physical weakness when his brother lay stricken before them.
"How is he?"
Seiren came to stand at her side, and Retsu got to her feet, brushing down the dust from her shihakushou.
"Stable," she replied. "I am quite happy with the strength of his life signs, and do not believe he is in any mortal danger. But he will not wake on his own. He will need help if we are to rouse him."
"Is there such a method?" Seiren looked anxious. "I am not a shinigami, and don't understand techniques - but I would have thought that, if such a treatment existed, we would have tried to use it by now. Guren not being involved in the final battle could have been costly, and surely, with the death of the man who attacked him, it would have made sense to try sooner?"
"I know you're worried about him," Retsu offered Seiren a tired smile, resting a gentle hand on the other's arm. "But it is not so very simple as that. Guren has lain unconscious for some days. Even if we wake him, he will be stiff from lack of movement, and it would be unwise for him to use his considerable spirit power until it settled down into a more normal rhythm. Even if we had tried to rouse him sooner, keeping him from forcing himself into the battle might have been a greater risk."
"I see," Seiren's expression became rueful, and he nodded. "Yes, I can see that possibility. Guren is very proud, and would have wanted to seek revenge for the insult to our family and this estate. Most especially, I suppose, to Father. I am not able to restrain him physically, whatever I might attempt verbally - and I imagine he would have been difficult to persuade."
"There is another reason why I have waited, though," Retsu admitted, running her fingers through her long dark hair with a grimace. "The truth is that, although I think I know how to wake him, it's not something that I can do. It's not something that many people can do, in fact. Guren-sama is a strong shinigami. I am worried...that there is a risk to anyone who attempts to wake him using such a method."
"A healing skill you cannot use?" Seiren's eyes widened. "Then...who? The Ukitake girl? The one with the power to reverse injury, of whom Shirogane is so fond?"
"No, Shikiki's power is useless here," Retsu shook her head, gesturing to Seiren that they should leave the Sixth Captain to sleep and Seiren acquiesced, leading the way out of the chamber and along the long hallway to the study from which he had been running the family's business and territorial concerns in Guren's name. The desk was piled high with papers, but he pushed these aside, taking a seat and gesturing for Retsu to follow suit. She did so, her lips pressed together as she debated what to say next.
"I know even less about healing, despite all the help you have given me and my family over the years," it was Seiren who broke the silence. "I am afraid I thought you were capable of healing anything...perhaps I put too much pressure on you from my ignorant expectations."
"Nobody is capable of everything, least of all me," Retsu sent him a weary smile, shaking her head. "I have my limits too, and I have experienced them a little, lately, I think. But that is neither here nor there. The fact is that the skill required is not really a normal healing technique. Let me see if I can explain it to you in a clearer way...because Guren-sama's injury is rather more self-inflicted than caused by the enemy. I learned this particularly because Shirogane-dono had a violent reaction when Kunimori was defeated, but Guren-sama had no such reaction. Whatever effect Knowledge had on him in the immediate aftermath of the release, its effects were negligible because Guren-sama himself blocked it from the core of his reiryoku. Because he did, he shut down his own defences. He has locked himself down, quite simply. He just didn't leave himself a way out, probably because the attack happened too quickly for him to do anything but react instinctively. It's something only a very powerful shinigami with excellent control would be able to do - but it means that standard healing techniques or reversal magic won't work. He's not actually injured. He's just...how to put it...in a form of spiritual stasis."
"But there is a way to undo this?" Seiren asked softly. Retsu nodded.
"One way, I think," she agreed cautiously. "What's required is a skill that penetrates through the core of someone else's reiryoku. I suppose...perhaps...the word I'm looking for is a parasite of some kind. Something that can burrow in there and forcibly release the lockdown by consuming and scattering Guren-sama's reiryoku."
"Like Eiminyaku?" Seiren asked sharply, but Retsu shook her head.
"No, a drug like that would be unwise," she reflected. "I see where your thoughts are going, but even if we had a way to make him drink it, the ability to control the effects of that on someone of Guren-sama's capability would be reckless. It would likely do permanent and irreversable damage. You were different - you learned to live without reiryoku from a young age, so it healed you. Guren-sama is not like that. He couldn't withstand it any more than your poor father could."
"Then...?"
"This is something that requires a level of precision, and that means conscious interference in Guren-sama's spirit power," Retsu explained. "Something that can absorb enough of Guren-sama's internal spirit shield to shatter it and allow him to wake up. Removing even some of his spirit power isn't a problem for him in the long-term - even if he lost a good amount of it, it would be a superficial state of affairs. Unlike Eiminyaku, a spirit technique would have temporary effects that his own immune system and natural healing would overcome with rest and good diet - much like recouping strength after a spiritual battle. The problem is that Guren-sama is so very strong. It may require disrupting a large amount of spirit energy...and the only person I know of with a technique that could possibly do that is not a match for pure Kuchiki Clan spirit power."
"You wouldn't be telling me this if you didn't intend to try it, though, I think," Seiren's eyes were slits. Retsu shrugged.
"I intend to talk to the individual and get their thoughts," she owned. "I can't make promises to you about someone else's life or safety. This individual is not under my command, so I cannot compel them to come on my orders alone. But I hope, when I explain, they will do so anyway, as I feel this is the best chance against this particular ill. They would have to choose to do it, as any doubt would be fatal. I think...personally, I believe they can do it, but sometimes...well, life teaches you to doubt yourself and hold back. It might be a matter of self-confidence that settles it in the end."
She sighed.
"I still believe that this is the best possibility of success," she concluded. "But if it isn't possible - and I won't risk another life if I can avoid it - then I will continue to pursue other leads to wake your brother from his sleep. I feel he is not suffering, nor in danger, but his presence is missed and we should make healing him a priority if we seek to heal Seireitei overall."
Seiren looked grave.
"I will leave the judgement to you," he said quietly. "Guren wouldn't want someone else badly hurt on his behalf, and nor would I. But I would appreciate it if you would...at the very least...pursue this lead. I want to know we've tried all possibilities before we give up."
"You have my word." Retsu said firmly. "With the danger abated, I would think about relocating back to the main house. It will be easier for Guren-sama to rest there, in closer reach of his physicians, and it will send a signal to District Six that things are returning to normal."
"I was going to ask about that, but if you think him stable enough to move, then we'll go," Seiren decided. Retsu nodded.
"I see no reason to worry about moving him the short distance back home," she assured him. "In the meantime, I will return to Inner Seireitei. There is a trial to attend, statements to make and judgement to pass. And then, when things have finally calmed down, there is a discussion I must have with a particular shinigami. The sooner I know their feelings, the easier it will be for me to know how I should act from this point on."
Author's Note:
Credit to the obvious for the obvious.