"Gin?" Rangiku stares at him before dragging him off to the side and then through an open doorway into an empty room, out of the crush of the other nobles and servants. "What are you doing here?"
Gin stares at her out of wide, pale eyes for a moment. "Trying to be the Emperor's bride, Ran?" he asks, and looks her over. "Looks like you're a finalist, too, with everyone else going home. Didn't think you were that much of a social climber."
Rangiku lets out an unladylike snort, hands on her hips. "Please. You'd have to be a fool to think I have a chance with the Emperor. Lady Kuchiki is going to be his bride. I knew that the second she was introduced to the Emperor. He didn't even pretend to pay attention the rest of the women here."
He shoves his hands in the pockets of his robes. "I see. So why are ya here, Ran?"
She laughs quietly and glances toward the still-open doorway. "Free food," she says with a shrug. "And the little dance the Emperor and Lady Kuchiki have been doing is fun to watch. But why are you here? You've been gone three years now."
Gin looks away from her, silver hair shading his face. "Got my own reasons. You should leave the palace too, Ran. Probably better off back south."
Rangiku raises an eyebrow nearly into her hairline. "Why would I be better off back south? Once all the other nobles clear out in a few days it'll be calm enough." She stares at him. "Gin, are you planning something? What's going on?" Her hand reaches out for his.
"Sorry, Ran," Gin says quietly, and his eyes open wide again once more. "Can't tell you that. But you should take my advice." He slips out the door before she can say anything else, leaving her empty-handed and staring at the doorway.
She waits a few minutes before lifting her skirts and hurrying back out of the door. "There has to be an advisor around here somewhere," she mumbles to herself. She is caught in the sea of black fabric and nobles again, and Rangiku lets it sweep her closer to the entrance of the palace. Some of the other women are crying, and she barely resists rolling her eyes as she follows them.
"Being sent home too, Lady Matsumoto?" one of the women asks, and Rangiku does roll her eyes.
"Actually I've been invited to stay," she says with a bright smile. "The Emperor is so kind."
When the other woman stares at her, Rangiku wiggles her fingers in a rather impolite wave and slips away as the crowd of people thins out. The white-haired advisor, the one who still looks too young to grow a beard, is passing her, and Rangiku grabs for him.
"Lady – Lady Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya exclaims. Then his expression smooths out. "Do you need assistance?"
Rangiku steps in close to him, hiding his body with her taller – and curvier – one. "I need to see the Emperor, Advisor Hitsugaya. It's a matter of grave importance," she hisses, trying to pitch her voice so as not to be heard over the din of footsteps and baggage.
Hitsugaya arches his eyebrows and his cerulean eyes stare at her. "The Emperor is busy at the moment. If this is truly important, I can bring you to his office to wait," he offers.
"Thank you, Advisor Hitsugaya," she says a little breathlessly. "It really is important."
He nods solemnly and pulls her back toward the crowd. They thread their way through and turn down a hallway toward the Emperor's office. There are fewer people in this set of hallways, and most of them are servants, but Rangiku spots a few of the other former bride candidates as she matches her pace to Hitsugaya's.
"What is this about, Lady Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya asks after a moment.
"I'd rather not discuss it in the hallway," she responds. "But it is important." She glances around, blonde hair bouncing as she does.
He frowns up at her but waves a hand and they continue onwards.
Twenty feet from the office and further down the hallway from them, Emperor Ichigo rounds the corner. Rangiku can see his brow furrow slightly, but he gives a brief nod.
A pulse of something blasts through the air. Rangiku grasps her head and screams, doubled over with pain. Beside her Hitsugaya is doing the same thing, and shrieks of pain are echoing from servants and nobles throughout the length of the hallway. She crumples to the ground, wetness dripping from her nose. When she raises her hand to it, her fingertips come away bloodied.
"Hitsugaya! Lady Matsumoto!" Rushed footsteps echo through the wooden floor beneath them as Ichigo, seemingly unaffected, hurries towards them. He bends down and his hand finds Rangiku's head. Immediately relief from the pain spreads through her body.
Two guards come around the corner at a run and Ichigo looks up at them, a little wild-eyed. "Go get help from the healing halls! Tell them we've been attacked!" he shouts, and then his other hand finds Hitsugaya's head as well. "This is temporary," he tells them quietly, "But you should be stable until the healers get here." He stands and moves on toward another crumpled form on the ground, his hand touching that person's head as well.
From her position on the ground Matsumoto sees a pair of pale eyes looking at her, wide open and then narrowed in a more serious expression than she's ever seen them. But the pain returns to her head, and she falls into the blackness of unconsciousness.
When she opens her eyes the ceiling above her is different and she is still lying down. "Where…?"
"How is your head feeling, Lady Matsumoto?"
Rangiku turns her head carefully. Junior Advisor Yamada is standing next to her, a healer's smock thrown over his robes. "Like I finished three tokkari of sake by myself," she says. When she tries to sit up Yamada hurries to help her.
"That's to be expected. You were the victim of a mind mage's attack," Yamada explains. "I've fixed most of the damage. I'll get you something for your headache." He hurries off and leaves her to stare at the white fabric of the privacy screen around her.
Emperor Ichigo's voice reaches her, clear as a bell, and despite her headache Rangiku strains to listen.
"I want a sweep of the entire place immediately. Have Lord Ishida marshal anyone with mind magic who can be spared. I want this bastard found before anyone else dies," his low growl comes from around the screen. "I want someone at the palace gates scanning the departing nobles and their entourages as well."
Yamada returns with a small cup of something foul-smelling and a cup of water. "Drink this quickly, and then drink the water after. It tastes awful but it works," he says. While Rangiku does as he says and swallows heavily several times to keep the potion down, he wrings his hands. "The Emperor gives his sincere apologies for what happened, Lady Matsumoto. We are all doing everything in our power to catch who did this."
She sips the water and breathes a sigh of relief as the pain begins to recede. "I was trying to find the Emperor when it happened," she says after a moment. "I have information for him on who might have done this."
Yamada gapes at her and then rushes away, returning seconds later with Emperor Ichigo, whose hair is tangled as if he has been running his hands through it, and Lady Shihouin.
"Yamada says you know something," Shihouin says without preamble.
"Lord Gin Ichimaru is in the palace," Rangiku says. "We're old friends, but I hadn't seen him in three years. We ran into one another this morning and he warned me – he didn't give me specifics, but he told me to go home with the other nobles and go back south." Tears form in the corners of her eyes and she dabs them away impatiently. "He's not a mind mage – he's a talented poisoner and a battle mage – but he knows something."
Shihouin grimaces. "How did he get in the palace without anyone noticing?" she asks rhetorically, and focuses on Rangiku again. "What does he look like?"
"Ah – Silver hair, pale eyes that he usually keeps narrowed. He looks as vulpine as he did three years ago," Rangiku stutters out. She brings a hand to her temple. "I don't know why he warned me. Didn't he know I would immediately try to tell someone?"
Shihouin shrugs at her. "Maybe he wanted you to," she says, and with a nod to Ichigo she slips away on silent feet.
"I am sorry this happened, Lady Matsumoto," Ichigo apologizes with a brief bow. "The guards will do everything in their power to catch whoever did this to you." He nods to Yamada. "I'm going to check on Lady Kuchiki."
Rangiku grins despite the seriousness of the situation and the continued pain in her head. "Have you made your decision then, your Imperial Highness?" she asks, and when Ichigo blushes she laughs. Then she winces and holds her hand to her head.
"You should rest a little longer," Yamada suggests. When he helps her to lie back down, Matsumoto turns her head to the wall and asks in a mumble, "What have you gotten yourself into, Gin?"
Rukia is sitting up and dressing in clothes brought to her by the servants when Ichigo steps around the privacy screen without knocking. She is bare except for her undergarments and bandages around her waist, and when she turns to see him standing there, cheeks bright red and eyes locked on her, Rukia holds the dress in her arms up to her chest and her blush quickly works its way from her cheeks down to her chest. "Ah – Ichigo," she gasps, and hitches the dress up further so that the voluminous fabric covers her.
The name snaps him out of his staring, and Ichigo averts his eyes. "I didn't realize you were – I'll give you some privacy," he stumbles over his own words and ducks back around the screen before Rukia can say anything. She carefully pulls the dark blue dress on – it's just a day dress, with sleeves cut close to her arms and a modestly-cut skirt. But Orihime has made modifications and when Rukia glances down at herself the neckline is curved just low enough to be a little flirtatious. There is embroidery on the hem of the skirt in black thread, and Rukia nods approvingly.
"It's alright," she calls softly, and Ichigo reappears from behind the screen. His cheeks are still bright, but he smiles softly as he looks at her.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "There's been another attack and I – I should have announced myself."
Rukia frowns up at him and her hand rests lightly on his forearm. "Was anyone badly injured? I thought I heard Rangiku just now. Is Orihime alright?" she asks.
"Lady Matsumoto and Advisor Hitsugaya were both injured, as well as a dozen others. We ah – we lost Yuna and Michi, two of the advisors' aides," Ichigo says quietly. "Lady Shihouin and I think it was the same mind mage who attacked you. He – or she – is getting more daring." Ichigo's arm comes up around her and he tucks her against him. "I'm supposed to be able to protect everyone, and three women are dead because someone is after me," he laments, chin resting atop her head.
But Rukia pulls away and glares at him. "You aren't to blame for this. If you need to get stronger to defeat this coward who hides behind mind magic, get stronger. I'll train with you so you can beat him. I'll find him so that we can crush him. You have the guards behind you. You have me behind you," she says fiercely. "You are the Emperor of the Seireitei, and you aren't going to let a fool get the better of you."
Ichigo grins down at her. "That sounds suspiciously like the speech you gave me when you beat my ass years ago," he says. Rukia's cheeks heat but he just leans down and brushes his lips against hers, soft and warm, arm tucking her closer to him again. "Thank you, Rukia," he says when they part. "You're right. I'm going to find this mind mage and…" He breaks off with a growl, free hand falling to the hilt of his sword.
Rukia's arm slides around his waist. "We are going to find this mind mage," she reminds him. "I couldn't figure out where they were while I was defending your sisters, but they must have expended a lot of magic when they attacked Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. If I can get a feel for the magic I can find them." Then she pulls away from him slightly, brow furrowed. "Why them?"
"Ah – I was in the hallway as well," Ichigo admits. "I think I was the target, but…all I have is a mild headache."
Rukia purses her lips. "But you were within the range of the attack," she says slowly.
"Hn. I suppose I was. I wasn't far from the others who were hurt."
"Ichigo…are you immune to mind magic?" she asks quietly.
He shrugs briefly. "I don't know. Mind mages are pretty rare, aren't they?"
"Not as rare as you would think. There are at least three in the women's guard," Rukia corrects him. "You need to test that. If you're immune to this person's magic that's a critical advantage."
Ichigo hums under his breath. "You're right," he admits, and lets her go, only to hold his arm out to her. "Allow me to escort you from the healing halls," he offers, "if you're feeling well enough."
"We should go back to the site of the attack," Rukia says, and slips her shoes on. "Before the magic fades too much for me to feel it."
Ichigo nods briefly and as he leads her from the halls a dozen guards fall into line around them, forming both an escort and a rear guard. "We may want to test the other guards for immunity to mind magic," Rukia whispers as they walk. "It's no use having guards if a single attack from a distance can incapacitate them."
He hums his agreement under his breath. "I'm glad you're here," he says quietly when they are close to his office. Rukia looks up at him and squeezes his arm gently.
"I'm glad I'm here too," she says.
Ishida is already examining the area, and he straightens up as he sees the guards. "Your Imperial Highness. Lady Kuchiki." He bows and raises an eyebrow. "I was just examining the scene."
"Lady Kuchiki tells me that she may be able to pick up the magical residue that the mind mage left behind," Ichigo says by way of explanation as Rukia slips from his grasp.
"Yes, that is what I am working on," Ishida points out.
"I can trace the mage who did this," Rukia reminds him, and Ishida nods sharply. He backs out of the way as Rukia walks through the hallway where just a short time ago bodies lay injured and dying. She holds one hand out, fingers wide as though she is combing through the air.
It takes a long time: the magical residue is already fading and disintegrating. But eventually, she learns the 'feel' of the mage. "I have him," she announces out loud. She glances at Ishida. "Have you collected enough to determine whether this is the same mage who killed Lady Murata?" she asks.
"Hn. I have to compare the samples, but the magic feels similar," Ishida admits. "Do you recognize it?"
Rukia purses her lips. "It feels familiar and masculine. Whoever he is, he's still in the palace."
"You can find him right now?" Ichigo asks incredulously. "Let's go, then. We can capture him and put an end to this!"
Rukia holds her hand up. "He is a very powerful mind mage," she reminds him. "He injured a dozen people. We can't just rush in." As Ishida and the guards stare at her, she turns to Ichigo, skirt swishing softly around her legs. "We should test your guards for immunity to mind magic, and make a plan, Ichigo."
At the use of his first name, Ishida's jaw drops open and so do a few of the guards', but Rukia just stands silent before him.
"You're right," Ichigo admits.
Tingling fills Rukia's fingertips all of a sudden, and her vision darkens. Before her stands a man, eyes shrouded. A smirk spreads over sensual lips as he beckons her closer. "My very own seer," he says, and the words are practically a purr. "With you I can conquer all of Athal. With you, the Empire will be mine."
She recoils from him, but there is nowhere to go. Ichigo is on the floor, unconscious or dead, with blood spreading around his body.
"No!" Rukia's voice echoes in the sudden silence of the hallway.