- 46 -
Inception or the Dreamcatcher
Matsumoto Rangiku
Vice-captain of the tenth division under Hitsugaya Tōshirō
Gotei 13 Goddess
Friend of Shuhei Hisagi and Kira Izuru
Lover of Ichimaru Gin
Like Alice, who was on the hunt for a mad hare, one day she lost herself in the woods, searching for that man...
Still Doll - Kanon Wakeshima
She did not know where she was.
Find your way out of the maze!
Surrounded by darkness and nothingness.
If you go astray, it's the end. Mistress, please, make the right choice.
Truer words have never been spoken
On this day
At this precise moment in her life
She heard
Make the right choice.
Someone had told her before she fell asleep
Someone told her she was probably dead
She did not remember anymore.
She did not know herself anymore.
Was she a wandering soul?
She was just a wandering soul, her yukata woven in darkness, only fit for a soulless doll fading into nothingness.
She rose slowly and walked towards the light. She felt surrounding by wandering souls like her.
Her gaze had lost its warmth and humanity.
The light was all she could see.
She walked towards it ... toward this end.
She walked until she could not remember her name anymore.
The end.
It was one.
Neither painful nor brutal, she could feel death with all that was remaining.
She was surrounded by bland faces, moving just like her toward the light.
The light was getting closer. It warmed her whole being as she approached. It filled it with purpose. On the other side of the mirror, all she had to do was cross over toward the light.
Dispossessed of her carnal envelope, she left pieces of hers behind like a puzzle, with the vague notion that he may catch up to her and follow in her trail.
Who?
She didn't know.
An imaginary breeze blew her blond curls on her bland face. She froze. She was neither flesh nor blood. But she remained frozen in nothingness, so close to seeing the end of the tunnel. He crossed in front of her. The Ghost of Gin Ichimaru.
"If you lose all your memory again, you have to remember this…"
"Ran-chan is the only thing Gin loves on this earth..."
He brushed against her without looking.
She did not remember her own name.
But she knew this vibrant burning soul.
It talked to her once.
She felt like she could walk with it toward the light.
Her lips moved spontaneously to form a perfect syllable.
"Gin"
She had no need to call on her memories to remember that name. His fingers were on her face and they pushed into nothingness. But it was him, for sure. She followed him with her eyes and watched his figure melt in darkness.
She needed to go to the light. With the other wandering souls. She needed to join the cycle.
Yet, she stared at the darkness surrounding her. He didn't go into the light. She only could focus on the spot where the ghost faded. Where he melted with darkness. She turned toward the light once more. Feeling its call. Feeling the warmth.
He was the north on her compass. A smile spread her pallid lips. She knew this soul. She knew its name. She made a promise. In the wake of the funeral march she was currently attending, she heard a different call, a pull she could not ignore.
She turned her back to the light and plunged back into darkness. She let herself be engulfed by the black immensity.
Whatever happened to her now?
Who cares?
Her heart was gone, wasn't it?
Her soul was waning.
She was dead.
Gin.
She remembered the torment he had caused her.
Like flicking a match on a wall, it reignited something inside her...
She wanted Darkness to swallow her whole again.
It was so close to the surface.
Her exposed heart beating to the drum of her anger, her loneliness, her desire.
She needed to find it again.
Gin.
Her heart.
Her soul.
Behind her the light ...
Before her nothingness ...
And just one choice.
The choice was quickly made. When had he ever left her with a choice? All his disappearances?
Every time.
He had never left her with a choice.
She clenched her fists in a ball. Her almost skeletal face distorted into an ugly grimace.
He always came back into her life one way or another. He prevented her from going into the light for the first time by offering her a dried persimmon and it became her favorite thing on earth.
"Ichimaru Gin, nice to meet you. "
"Gin, it's a funny name. "
His smile.
She hastened her pace without fear in the dark. Her hands clutched into nothingness.
Gin.
On instinct, she knew she was holding him ... Capturing him once more…
They played that game before.
All her life, she wanted to capture him. Without even understanding why it was essential to her like breathing. She walked in his footsteps, persisting, never losing sight of him.
He was...
Her father...
Her brother...
Her friend...
Her soulmate...
Her all...
He was all that at once.
"Farewell Rangiku, if only you had held on a little longer... Sorry. "
She froze.
This bastard faded again.
Gin, you bastard, you ignore me again?
She wanted to swear ...
She made a promise to always remember him.
Even if it hurt her…
Even if it killed her...
She will never give up on him. She will not stop searching for him.
Past, Present, Future...
She will never stop.
She looked down.
"Gin."
"Yes, Ran."
"I'm tired. Let's stop this…"
"You don't mean that. We just made love. You surpassed yourself I might add. I'm spent."
"No. It's not real. This is not real. This is not love."
"Don't you dare..."
"You don't care that it hurts me... It's killing me not being with you. I love you so much. It hurts all the time. Deep inside, I'm running on empty."
"Don't you dare cry?"
"Gin."
"You made a promise. I believe your promise. You made a promise, Ran. You said you will never forget…"
"But…"
"I believe in you. I don't trust anybody in this life or the next but you. I don't have anyone but you. Hold onto me. You promise. If you don't, I will never find my way home. I will never find us again. We will never have this again."
"What did you do, Gin?" She sobbed.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter. I'm doing it for us. Just hold onto me, love."
She stared at the gaping wound in her center. It was like an Espada's Hueco Centro. So empty.
Her soul...
So incomplete...
It was damaged, sweating with a viscous liquid as scarlet as blood.
Another breeze blew on her emaciated face a reminder from her past life.
"Rangiku ..."
A whisper.
It was just like the feel of his lips on hers.
"Your name is… Rangiku and I'm Gin."
"Gin? Do I know you? What happened?"
"You fell from that hill but I caught you just in time. I'm sorry your dress is torn."
"What happened to me? I feel so empty and numb. Gin. Help."
"I will make it better, Ran. I promise. I will make this world better for you. I will make them pay. I will take back what they took from us."
Her name.
"Ran-chan? "
"Rangiku."
"Come on Rangiku, you're too slow."
She knew Gin. Gin knew Rangiku. She made progress in the night. She was Rangiku.
It started with a promise.
But at night, all cats are gray.
Black ideas and gruesome ballets of skeletons.
Haineko.
It was the next chapter. She closed her eyes, readily.
"Gin? You can't go and become a shinigami. What would I do without you? "
"I'm sorry, Ran. But I made my decision. You can stay here but I don't know how long it will take me. I may not be coming back this time. "
He was gone.
The morning had come.
He was not there anymore.
He had picked up all his possessions leaving behind only a broken-hearted girl.
In this little theater of horrors where she collected small pieces of herself, Rangiku experienced the feeling of abandonment again.
Tears piled up in her eyes.
He made a promise.
A promise, she could remember as if he made it yesterday.
"Ran is the only thing Gin likes on this earth. "
The choice was quickly made. She scratched nothingness and clung to this emptiness. Gin. She blinked. She needed to hunt him down. Either that or he was never going to find his way home.
That's how she met with Haineko.
"If you say my name, I'll help you find Gin. "
" Who are you? "
" You know who I am. Close your eyes and say my name, Rangiku? "
" I don't know... I don't remember."
"The first time we met, you smile for me. It was the best day of my short life and the last day of yours."
"Hai... Haineko? My little pussycat."
"It all started with your first smile."
Haineko had always been there. When Gin was gone, Rangiku needed Haineko to fill in that space. It helps her hunt that man down, such a good kitty!
Her vocabulary was enriched then. She remembered Gin, Gin knew Rangiku, Rangiku remembered Haineko... because she remembered the very first time she smiled.
Her feet stomped the dry earth in a sterile desert of ideas. She was born numb. Feeling so numb. In a place where she didn't feel the warmth of the sun. She was not a smiling baby. She just stared forward waiting for this to end. She remembered staring at the window in that empty house. Stared at the forest with eyes devoid of emotion. One day, she was standing outside. She saw that small creature squirming like a worm, his eyes barely open to the world. His mother was gone. She took care of it.
She smiled when it finally opens its eyes. Haineko, she called it.
It was the best day of her life.
It was the last day of her life.
Rangiku turned her head towards the burning house. The glow of the fire held darkness at bay. She approached slowly. The cabin was slowly emerging in the middle of a black and white landscape. Even the squirrels were charming little opaque monsters. The image was vaguely familiar to her. She looked up at one of the windows and swallowed hard.
Her memories came back.
The man swaying on the rocking chair suddenly stood up. He entered the house. He pushed the doors with force. He grabbed the kitten in the child's small hands.
Black ink diluted a little more in white. With one hand on her heart, Rangiku watched the ballet of shadows and silhouette. A woman was screaming.
The blows were raining. The man in the rocking chair brandished a wooden stick high before breaking it on the back of the woman. The kitten was stomped over, the empty Saké bottles falling to the floor in a loud noise.
A breeze blew Rangiku's golden mane. Tears flowed uninterrupted on her cheeks. The knot in her belly was so painful. She wanted to scream.
Was she dying?
She could not be dying without remembering her birth.
The little girl came out of her hiding place in the closet and cracked a match against a box.
"Stop! Stop! Make it stop!"
His nose twisted, his features dissociated, like an abstract painting, the man turned to her, the bloody staff in his hand.
"Stop! Please! Stop! "
The little girl backed away fearfully. The match slipped from her shaking hands. Rangiku screamed. A tiny spark in the night, the matchstick swirled in the air before falling back on the floor stained with shards of ceramic. Immediately, it flared up, the drunken flames licking the debris from the bottles on the floor.
Attempting to keep Rangiku's puzzle together, she dropped to her knees. She squeezed her arms around her and prayed for it to stop. The shadows moved before her in an obscene way.
The girl's yukata caught fire. His club still lifted, the man remained frozen in front of her. He watched the little girl flare up in front of him. The girl twitched and jerked before pushing the table. The lamp flickered before falling back to the foot of the girl, the oil spreading at her feet. The flames redoubled their intensity. Rangiku screamed but no sound could cover the screams of the little girl.
The suffering ... The suffering she endured during this whole minute ... During the few seconds when the flames ate away at her face ... Where she could smell her burning flesh… Where Her skin sizzled...
Her body burned. It was reduced to ashes. But her soul ... This was not fair. She knew. It wasn't fair for the little kitty and her. It wasn't fair. This wasn't what it was supposed to be. Life wasn't supposed to be this cruel.
Her soul wasn't going to know any rest until she made the world fair again.
She will never know rest.
The birds were squealing in the nearby trees. The ivy ran again over the old woodwork, through the soot-covered windows spared by the fire, the girl watched with a smile on her lips, the villagers flee screaming in terror.
At the foot of the shaky staircase, a man was moaning. He begged ... He begged in the void. He prays for poor Rangiku-chan to find peace. She was just smiling like on that day. Like it was the last day of her life. Like it was the best day of her life. She decided to stay here. It was her house. Her heart was attached to it. Her chains creaked on the ground with each movement. Why would she leave her house? To go where? To a place just as unfair?
She was no longer Rangiku.
It had become so easy for her to forget herself.
Having become an evil entity, one of those legends told to children before they went to sleep, she spent several decades watching over the villagers from the soot-covered windows, chained to the walls of the decaying house.
She dropped the Priest's staff into the broken stairway. Like a game of palm, it ran down the stairs. Seeing the burned piece of wood moving alone in the calcined floor, the monk ran away, stumbling several times in his haste, screaming in the night. Well, why no one wanted to play?
She had stayed behind these windows for years. Maybe centuries? Forgotten? She could not rest in peace. She was tired of everything. She was hurting everywhere. She was just struggling to remember her name. Some days, she managed to have fun with little Haineko. On other days, she found strength only to cry from morning till night behind the smeared windows.
And then the trees had lost their leaves…
It had started to snow again.
Humans had come ceaselessly to set the ruins on fire again.
In the ashes and flames, she walked. She wanted to show them. Only show them ... She was still here. She was going to survive in the ashes. Enchained to the walls, she would survive even if they forgot her name. Her suffering would endure everything. Her regret was enough to keep the ruins from collapsing and igniting. She was not about to let them burn her memory.
A strong gust of wind shook the gathering of humans.
The trees bent. The wind lifted her blond hair. The air became toxic. She watched them kneel before her will. She winced in despair. She existed. She would survive this.
In the fire.
In the ashes.
She had to show them she was here to stay. Did nobody remember her name at all? Was there no one to mourn her? It was unfair.
Rangiku burst into tears. She remembered everything. The images passed before her eyes. In the beginning, there had been ... The suffering ... The suffering that had begun to gnaw the last rings of her chain of destiny. She just wanted people to know her.
Rangiku screamed in a chilling voice. Oh, she remembered!
In the background as a brilliant jewel, her soul shone in the darkness. They shall remember her!
She set the forest in fire.
"Lieutenant Kuchiki? What are we going to do? This reiatsu is phenomenally powerful. It's too late to exorcise it. It is changing... This reiatsu has such a magnitude. Can you feel this… We arrived too late! She will be attracting the other hollows soon. We're sitting on a giant powder keg. "
"Take the humans and bring them to safety. Form a safety perimeter."
"Captain Kuchiki's orders are to wait for his arrival."
"Do as I say."
"It is probably too late to execute konsou, lieutenant. "
"It's not a hollow! It's a little girl! A simple little girl! Do what I tell you ... It's an order. "
"He's right, Sōjun. I have never witnessed the birth of a hollow of this caliber. How did she go unnoticed with such a reiatsu? "
" Isshin… She has been forgotten. It's that simple..."
"No way, I'm going there. That's a level 5 hollow in the making. She already has the strength of a Gillian. I've never seen anything like this in my entire life. That kid is too far gone. We have to kill it. A captain should take care of it… In fact, your father should take care of it. Wait, he said he was coming."
"You're a captain too."
"No, I'm a third seat who just passed the proficiency exam two days ago. You're a lieutenant."
"Technically, you passed even if you're not introduced yet."
"You want me to break a rule on my first day. Are you crazy ?"
"How many rules have I broken for you since I was born?"
"How you always going to play that card with me, Kuchiki? The fuck is this! You love breaking rules. It's your hobby."
"I don't know how many times will you pussy up on me?"
"You're swearing now. You're a noble. Behave like one."
"Who taught me to swear? Who's the guy who always taught me to cut corners?"
"I don't know. I certainly don't want to be him right now."
"Hey! Shush! She stopped. She's looking at you, Shin. Say something again."
"Oh! That's right! Little…girl..."
"Not something so dumb."
"I don't know...beautiful…pretty… Ghost. I know you can see me."
The girl roared in their direction a tornado of spiritual pressure surrounding her. Yet, she did not move.
"That's right. You're a pretty kid. A lovely kid."
"I don't see it, what's with her burned face and all…"
"You have no taste Sō. You don't know quality girls like me. You're a whorehouse kind of dude. She is the prettiest. Hey darling? You look like a princess. Did you know someone predicted when I was young that I shall marry a princess?"
The girl turned her head toward him curiously.
"I truly hope it's not her. For her own sake. He is just awful and smelly after a while."
" Very funny. You're not helping. That was your idea. What are you doing? No! Soujun! Don't do that!"
Treacherous! The man disappeared swiftly and in a blink, he was behind her. She felt his arms encircled her from behind. The air was sizzling with electricity. She was tired of waiting. She was hungry. She existed. She made a point telling the world she existed.
Rangiku recoiled before this memory.
Yes, Shinigamis came looking for her after ... He reached for her. She did not know how long. She did not know anymore. She had been about to die a second time when he came out of nowhere. Her raw reiatsu had torn his Shinigami clothes to shred. Blood had watered the ground at their feet. His Kenseikan shattered. He had hugged her very hard. And amid the chaos, she had heard his voice.
"Hey… Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry no one was there for you. You deserved better. You deserved to be loved and cherished for the joy that you are. I promised you will get better. Rangiku ... Rangiku ... I remember you."
Bits of her anger frosted at his touch. Her screams of agony had turned into hoarse sobs. The sky opened above them. She did not remember his face. She just remembered watching the snowflakes fall and turn into ice. She loved ice ever since. It melted the rest of her anger away.
"I'm going to send you to a better world. You'll see. You will have a family there. People you can depend on... Trust me, you'll be better there than here. "
Before the last ring of her chain was completely gnawed by her resentment, he put the guard of his zanpakutō on her forehead. She did not precisely remember his features, just the soft caress of his gentle smile. She remembered falling from the sky. She remembered flying. She remembered ascending. She had never seen him again. She was now realizing it was Kuchiki Byakuya's father. He saved her. But…
He lied to her.
The shinigami had lied.
The place where she landed was not better. The only difference was that people did not know what better looked like... and she was hungry there. She was hungry all the time. That was how the "Rangiku that belonged only to Gin" was "born" ...
She had met him one day when hunger was stronger than anything. He handed her persimmons, which ended being her favorite.
"Ichimaru Gin delighted. "
They never went without another, telling each other about their lives, their memories, their sufferings. She learned he fell from the sky like her. He was alone like her. They had wandered together. Seasons turned to years. Years turned to centuries. They grew like weeds together in a sterile garden.
When Gin was sick, she sang a lullaby. She dreamed of having a cat. She dreamed of a lot of things again. She looked forward to the future. She felt alive.
Her dreams and memories were spread over the big canvas. Thousands of pictures of Gin and her enjoying swimming in the stream in the summer… Or the time she hid a little frog in their futon because she knew that Gin did not like them. The offering the villagers would make to them just before harvest. All the times, she fell asleep against his shoulder, mouth ajar, her hand squeezing his. His gift. She found herself showing an astonished Gin how to light a fire by thought. That day, she had laughed like crazy when he begged her on his knees to accept him as her one and only disciple.
Haineko ... Called her in her nightmares.
Haineko refused to let her forget.
Gin put wet kisses on her forehead and chased her nightmares away at night.
She was strong.
She felt alive.
She had never loved life so much as when they were both together.
After a few years, unable to count the seasons, they finally settled in the house that Gin had built with his hands. She was not very tall. It was more a hut than a house. But it was home.
Their home...
Spring...
Summer...
Fall...
Winter...
Together...
The four seasons of Death.
She did not suffer anymore. Of course, people always looked at them with a little mistrust and a bit of suspicion. Sometimes, vile men would grab pitchforks to chase them. But Gin never let go of her hand. She felt invincible.
Those two shinigami had put her on the road to Gin. She was eternally grateful to them. It would not be different from below, the world of the living. Those Shinigami saved her life.
So why?
Rangiku felt her throat tighten. Why?
She wanted to wake up. It was enough! She had seen enough!
She felt suddenly cornered and breathless, knowing what was to come.
"Miss, we would like to talk to you. "
The girl stopped picking up flowers.
The four seasons of Death.
Spring...
Summer...
Fall...
Winter...
The three men approached slowly, gently encircling her in the deserted clearing. She recognized their uniforms ... Shinigami ... Gin had told her about them. He had warned her to stay out of their way. Shinigami like the man who came looking for her in the forest ... The man who had allowed her to come into this world ... They could not be as bad as Gin said. They could not be so scary. If they were like her Shinigami ...
She stared at them in turn, and that did not appease the anguish growing in her tummy. The basket of flowers rolled at her feet. Gin. She could not let any sound out.
" Don't be afraid! We don't want to hurt you! We just want to talk! "
She stepped back and stumbled against a chest. She wanted to scream.
"She is so cute. You are so cute. I don't care what he said. This one is too cute. Enzoraki, my brother, grab her legs! So she cannot run! "
With shaking lips, Rangiku closed her eyes.
She remembered.
She remembered being Her.
She remembered Rangiku and all the seasons of death.
She remembered now.
In Barragan's chimney, marble logs ignited spontaneously.
Spring...
Summer...
Fall...
Winter...
The four seasons of Death.
Suki Ichinose
Captain of the fifth division
Daughter of Tadashi Ichinose
Her innocent dreams as a little girl had once put an entire nation on their knees. But nobody will let her forget.
"What is she doing, Byakuya?" Jūshirō asked.
Soldiers hurried around the three captains freshly out of the Senkaimon. Emergency fortifications needed to be strengthened, orders from above. Komamura gave a hand moving the pillars here and there with the help of the giant hands of his bankai. It was necessary to complete the evacuation of the neighboring cities. Soifon was on duty with the men of the second division. Yamamoto oversaw the maneuvers with Lieutenant Sasakibe from the roof of the Eleventh Division. Kurotsuchi was overseeing with Dengeki, the preservation of the city.
For their part, Ukitake and Byakuya watched the preparation of their new chief of operations with a certain curiosity. Keikosuki Ichinose was lying on a small square of lawn in the garden of the eleventh.
Even though he heard Jūshirō's question, Byakuya had no intention of answering it. He silently signed the repatriation form and gave it to his lieutenant.
They'd just made it back. Yama-jii's strategy seemed confusing to them. After advancing the front at Karakura, he asked all the troops except the wounded to return to the Seireitei within the hour. Accustomed to the old man's mood swings, Shunsui and Jūshirō barely protested the commander's new orders.
"AD0145 complete transfer. Simultaneous backup of Seireitei and Karakura-Cho is underway. All members of the Twelfth Division are requested to join their posts immediately. Evacuation of the inhabitants of Rukongai EAST and SOUTHEAST continues. The neighborhoods concerned are Mudogishi, Kusajishi, Zaraki, Edogi, Shitoke, Asuri, Amedoka, Akane, Erise ... The members of division seven are asked to ... »
While the vice-captain Kurotsuchi's monotonous voice echoed through the speakers, Shunsui was tried to calm a very pissed off Nanao-San.
"You cannot order me to stand down, captain."
"I'm not ordering you. I'm strongly advising you, Nanao-san?" He said, his eyes on Keikosuki Ichinose.
"What if I don't take your advice?"
"I'm going to strongly punish you."
"I take the punishment then."
"No. I need you to stay behind. Listen to me…"
" For what purpose?"
Peace of mind. Tranquility. This was going to be a mess. He didn't have to be a medium to foresee a bloodshed. There was no way this was going to magically end well.
"You need to help… Isane Kotetsu."
"What?"
"Yes, I want you to dress like a sexy nurse and help the 4th division lieutenant with the wounded in Karakura." He said.
"This is not an erotic novel."
"This is very serious. I need you to do this. For me. This is my order."
" What are you so afraid of, Captain?"
Shunsui shrugged. Afraid. That was not it. Being afraid would have been a blessing right now. No, he already knew this was going to He went to join Byakuya. Nanao sighed.
"Ten million Kan she is thinking about her next recipe." Shunsui offered.
Jūshirō turned toward him.
"She's taking a nap. You think she knows about, you know?"
Byakuya remained quiet. It was obvious to the captain of the sixth division that the madwoman had again chosen flight in a fight or flight approach. He bet instead that she counted the clouds in the sky, hoping that this stupid War would be done without her. Idiot! Not sparing Jūshirō a glare in his departure, he crossed the courtyard to join his men.
Moi qui suis dans mon rêve ...
T'entends ma chérie
Lying in the grass, Keikosuki Ichinose was not far from having these kinds of thoughts. Except that she did not count the clouds, she was not that stupid. In addition, the sky was terribly cloudy in the Seireitei. A compact ribbon of cumulus Congestus accumulated in the blue sky. Who would have fun counting Cumulus Congestus? No, she watched fascinated the compact and stringy assembly of cumulus Congestus, the birth of a magnificent and majestic cumulonimbus.
The emergence of the Cloud King usually announced the storm. The weather of the day seemed to reflect her mood of the day. It was bad. Everything had started so well! She almost succeeded Tadashi's recipe! She made plenty of friends! People liked her!
Sensei had taken revenge. It was as simple as that. It had taken years for the old man but in the end, he had managed to corner her. To leave now would be a disgrace so great that she would have no chance to see her father forgive her for the mistakes of the past. What if Sensei already told her dad... She could have tried and explain to Tadashi but not if Sensei already told her father a story. Fighting was too hard. Fighting was too scary.
Leading the assault with Persephone was impossible.
"What did you do to this family ... How could you Keikosuki? "
She had never been able to master Persephone at this level. The control of her bankai was by her own admission very precarious. To imagine that she could defeat the enemy and lead them to victory was a fantasy. Maybe she would do one but not the other ... A light breeze waved the curls of hair on her forehead. She stared at the sky.
" Ichinose-Taicho was formed by the best masters. I have every confidence in her. She will lead the assault with Persephone."
Yamamoto-Sensei said. The words she dreaded so much. And before she found the courage to protest, several voices had risen in the room.
"Is that a joke?" Kuchiki-Sama exclaimed.
"Suki-chan? Really?"
Ukitake and Kyouraku were surprised in unison.
"Ichinose who? Who ?" Kurotsuchi asked disdainfully.
"Looking for a man to lead for you! You have it in front of you!" Zaraki Said. Captain-chan is cute and all but ... I'll take care of the trash! Let's stop joking! This is a man's job!"
Zaraki turned suddenly toward Unohana suddenly nervous. She simply frowned.
"I mean… It could be a man's job."
"I think this decision is premature," Byakuya added. "Reconsider!"
It wasn't a negotiation. Kuchiki-sama was pretty clear that this wasn't acceptable as a solution. But he seemed to have forgotten Yamamoto didn't exactly ask for his opinion.
" Ichinose-Taicho was trained by me before entering the academy. She is more than capable. The moment to test one's achievement has come."
"If the Sotaicho says it ..." Komamura commented.
"Why her ?" Dengeki frowned, her cheeks pink with jealousy. She was a hard worker; deep down, she had the temperament of an overachiever.
" I only want to take care of Koshinko myself. I don't care for the rest." Soifon had said, folding her arms over his chest.
" Ichinose-taicho? Does she feel ready to return to the front line after all these years?" Unohana asked with a concerned look.
Suki was silent at first. She did not defend herself. There was nothing to say. Her colleagues had already said everything there was to the subject it seems. Seriously, she rehearsed the conversation a thousand times in her head, thinking that she might not have caught the joke. She thought she was going to wake up from this nightmare soon. She thought Persephone may have played a trick on her.
"Have you all lost your damn minds? She cannot go to the front line. Not now. Not ever."
" Kuchiki-Taicho! That's enough!"
A blast of burning air had swept the room. The curtain behind them had caught fire, and Sasakibe had rushed in like a firefighter. The sudden barking of the captain-general had caught Byakuya's off guard. Keikosuki curled up behind Kyouraku, who behind his sakkat had been more than happy to shelter her. Keikosuki had been so lost in thought that she had not followed the discussion ... well, the argument ... because Kuchiki-Taicho was more than opposed to the idea. He was very much standing his guard. It wasn't that blast of reiatsu that was going to make him back off.
"Are not you tired of counting the dead, Sotaicho? Believing that we will find our salvation by placing our trust in this woman is heresy! This woman will only lead us to our ruin!"
Keikosuki spun toward him at his harsh words, her doe-like gaze in place. Kuchiki Byakuya did not look down. He did not wavered. At the moment, he had the same hardened look as her father Tadashi. It was filled with disappointment and mistrust.
"You must resign as soon as possible…"
" Keikosuki, you brought this family to ruin!"
Keikosuki Ichinose again widened her olive eyes and repressed a sob. Her lips shivered in the wind. In the same way that the clouds continued to clump together in the gray sky, bright tears piled up in his eyes. She bit her lip hard so as not to succumb.
Jūshirō Ukitake had tried to intercede on her behalf. He had been the only one nonetheless.
" Byakuya? You are very harsh with Suki-chan."
" Can we be serious again and think of a strategy that will not force us to lose face?"
"Kuchiki Byakuya!"
" What has she done till now? She did not exactly shine with strategy skills. She didn't exactly shine at all. I don't think you are senile to the point of thinking that Ichinose-Taicho has the qualities of a leader. That she can win you a war!"
Each of his protests had cut deep. The Sotaicho cane scraped the ground. For a moment Kuchiki-sama glared at the old man. Yamamoto had not blinked. The old man had not expressed his surprise to find before him a Kuchiki-Taicho so loquacious and passionate.
"You are trespassing your limits, Byakuya. I will only tell you once more."
"Stop… please… I get it."
Keikosuki finally released all the air in his lungs. She spoke with a quivering voice.
" It is true that I have little practice. It is also true that the control of my bankai is basic ... I still have a lot to learn before being operational. I think that's what Kuchiki-sama means, Sotaicho. He doesn't mean to disrespect you or anything. He is probably right, Yamamoto-sensei. Other captains, more experienced than me in the field, seemed more deserving of your confidence ... I don't want to be a hindrance to your selection process."
Yamamoto glared at Byakuya.
"Although I respect Kuchiki-sama's opinion, he is not your superior officer. I am."
He said putting every emphasis on the last sentence. He finally turned to Keikosuki.
"Keikosuki Ichinose, I knew you in every moment of your life. Good and bad ... I know exactly what you are capable of. I know exactly what I need to win this war. Because we are gonna win this war…"
Keikosuki nodded with a wince, tears drying on her cheeks. Byakuya made a crisp fist trying to rein in his temper.
Kanon Wakeshima - Lolitawork Libretto
The light breeze played tricks in his hair and dislodged the cherry blossoms in the trees.
"Keikosuki? Suki-chan?"
Natsuki, her pretty blonde sister, could well be at the entrance to the alley. Out of the question, she came out of hiding.
"Keikosuki? Master Kensei is looking for you everywhere! Imagine what father will say! Suki-chan, I know you're here?"
The Suki in question glanced furtively at the entrance of the street below, well hidden behind the chimney of the department of occult sciences of the academy.
Natsuki closed her eyes. A hand on her temple, Keikosuki stopped breathing. She did everything possible to remove any trace of reiatsu from the air. Her crimson chubby cheeks, she held her breath for a second before exhaling loudly. She did this four times until her left pupil started to dilate and black ink covered her entire retina.
"I know you're here, Suki-chan! Suki!"
She knew that would not be enough to deceive Natsuki's vigilance. She skillfully twirled her tessen over her head.
"Taberu, Persephone. " She whispered.
In front of her, Persephone's image floated a few seconds in the air. Quickly turning sour and caustic, the air sizzled with electricity. She had learned early on that not only could Persephone act on the senses of his victims, but he could also ... under certain circumstances and in specific settings act on reality itself. Suki clasped her hands and prayed that her little trick work.
" Keikosuki, are you up there?"
" Natsuki-chan, I was looking for you."
Natsuki froze in shock. At the end of the street was the most popular guy in her promotion: Udo Sen, Eleventh seat of the seventh division. That same Udo Sen had just spoken to her ... It had an air of déjà-vu. Actually, it was all like a dream ... She just did not want to wake up. The blonde could not help but walk towards the young man. He smiled back. It was...
" I have a few things to tell you."
" Yes, me too," Natsuki replied.
"I do not know… how to start, but would you like to go for a drink in the Green District?"
" Oh, but I ... I ..."
" You ..."
Her answer was on the tip of her tongue. Only, she had to find her sister, Keikosuki. This was the third time Keikosuki missed her "Advanced" class of military strategies and she was risking expulsion. If Natsuki did not find her ... They'd probably call their father.
Sen gave a broad smile that highlighted his dimples. Oh ! His dimples! Natsuki bit her bottom lip. In her dreams, he would confess over a cup of tea, and after that, they will have a slew of small blond dimpled babies. It was just so perfect.
"No, nothing. The Green district?"
"There is this place where I like to go with the guys ..."
"Count me in. I mean…"
He just smiled, extending his hand in front of him to politely open the way. He was just as charming as in her dreams. Natsuki followed suit eagerly.
Keikosuki watched her sister's retreat. The illusion would not last. Natsuki would finally realize halfway she was talking in a vacuum. It would be for her like waking from a dream. She will be confused. It was even possible that it caused her a slight discomfort. Nausea. Vomiting. Fainting. Skin Rash. It was not that bad side effects. No? She'd get better anyway, forgetting any unpleasant memories, everything of her initial quest. Keikosuki bit her tiny lip. It was a nasty trick and it was possible that she would be sent to one of the nine infernal circles one day for this. But she did not want to be scolded today. It was sunny. There was no Congestus in the sky but nimbus with funny shapes. She was not going to stay locked up in a room with a grumpy old man and pretentious boys.
"Wow? What is the name of this trick?"
She jumped, realizing for the first time that she was not alone on the roof. In her memories, he had a face she chose to not remember... His black hair reaching his back was occasionally agitated by the breeze.
"You saw ... Impossible ... You ... No ... No ... That's not what you think."
He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. His smile revealed tapered canines. It was not enough to unbalance the features of his face. He was by all standards a very handsome boy placed high on the Suki-chan universal scale. Her first idea was that he had nothing to envy to Natsuki's dimpled fantasy. He had everything of a prince really. Perhaps he was a prince and he would invite her to a banquet to celebrate the new ... the new harvest. Harvest season was the best.
Persephone, still free, gave life to the girl's fantasies in the form of dancing ghosts. Suki immediately covered her crimson cheeks. Admiration in the eyes of the newcomer only grew.
"Yamada Mitsuomi. I belong to the first division."
Keikosuki was definitely not going anywhere.
"You are one of the four guardians of the academy."
He nodded.
"Exact. Under the orders of Yamamoto-Sensei. Are you a first year?"
Keikosuki stared at the floor for a moment in search of a plausible lie. She had just thrown herself into a mess.
"I am..."
"If I believe the color of your uniform with yellow stripes, you are in one of the advanced classes. No wonder with such mastery of your zanpakutō ... You look rather young."
She rubbed her nose nervously.
"I ... I ... I'm not so young. I'm only thirty years younger than Natsuki. And then, it's not really an advanced class. At least, my comrades may be advanced. There is the little prodigy with silver hair. They say that he will be an officer as soon as he leaves the academy. And then there's the little prince ... He smells like old books. He has plenty of preceptors. He trains constantly. He is very rude. He and "Silver Hair" are arguing all the time ... Me; I'm really nobody in comparison. I am a little Suki-chan. I was placed there by chance. There was a mistake during my entrance exam. It's because I studied with Sensei ... Genryusai-sama ... Sensei ... But in fact, Natsuki ... She's my sister. She is much more talented. She's the one he trained well ... not me. I was just there by chance ... I kept her a little company. When my father returns, he will clear up this misunderstanding for sure!"
"By chance? And your father is gone?"
"Yes, truly by chance. My father ... He's in the Zero division. But he will come back. He will come back for me. He promised."
Yamada seemed divided between curiosity and amusement.
"Are you the daughter of Ichinose Tadashi?"
Suki nodded quickly.
"Oh, yes ... That's it."
" And you skip classes?"
He asked nonchalantly, leaning on the stone guardrail.
"I did not ... skip classes. It's just a bunch of misunderstandings. They made a mistake when I registered by putting me there to begin with.
"You do not have to explain yourself. I hate the Academy too."
She opened her eyes.
"In fact, I hate all the shinigamis ...
He wore the black uniform of the officers of the thirteen divisions. Needless to say, his words clashed completely with his appearance. The girl's eyebrows made another leap to signal her surprise. She never heard a shinigami say that he hated shinigami. A certain anxiety darkened the features of the girl. Mitsuomi's lips cracked with a reassuring smile.
" I hate them for the simple reason that most of them don't know how to have fun, don't you think?
The features of the young woman relaxed again.
"It is totally true."
"I am fully of your opinion. The only thing that intrigued me a little bit was the power of Persephone, your zanpakutō."
Suki shrugged.
"Do you want me to show you something fun, Suki-chan?"
Her face flushed as she nodded quickly. Her new friend had just called her by her nickname. This promised to be a long and fruitful friendship.
He approached her and unsheathed her zanpakutō, a katana whose glass guard played with the rays of the sun.
Scared, Suki stepped back against the boiler.
"It's only my Zanpakutō, Senhau. He frees himself by these words: Fukashi, Senhau. [1]"
At the call of his master, the blade of the Zanpakutō became transparent and invisible to the hilt.
"Since you showed me one of Persephone's abilities. I'll show you a few things."
"Keiyaku."
On his words, Senhau and his owner disappeared completely from her field of vision. She scanned her surroundings.
"Huh?"
"I'm still in the same place."
She stared at the empty spot he had deserted just seconds earlier.
"That's pretty cool, isn't it?"
She nodded quickly.
" You can see me ?" She asked, all playful.
" Yes, but you can't."
As proof, Suki felt his warm breath in the hollow of her neck.
" Suki Ichinose, what would you say if Senhau and I helped you disappear?"
"I would say, "I am willing to marry you, my prince. " I'm joking."
" Ichinose-Taicho?"
Suki opened her eyes again, letting the Cumulus Congestus be reflected in her olive-purple pupils. The small round face of Momo Hinamori entered her field of vision.
"Preparations are almost complete. The Captain-General is waiting for you."
[1] Fukashi, Senhau. Fade, Senhau. Become invisible, Senhau. Both Senhau and Persephone are "illusionist" zanpakutō and act directly on the perception of the other.
Titles: Still Doll & Lolitawork Libretto
Artist: Kanon Wakeshima