Chapter Seven: The Shadow Clan
Spring was in full flourish as the boys made their way up the forest path towards the nearby town settlement, and Juushirou drew a deep breath into his lungs, enjoying the feel of the cool, clean air against his cheeks. Though there was no sea breeze here, the scent of the different blossoms mingled on the wind, giving the atmosphere a gentle, light sense to it, and Juushirou found that, although it was quite different from the forestland near his home, he was becoming fond of First District's scenery.
"It's a beautiful day." To his right, Enishi appeared to have read his thoughts, holding out his hand to catch the glinting fragments of sun through the trees' heavy foliage. "I always love this time of year the best. It's the kind of weather where you can get out and about and enjoy the outdoors without worrying about things like ice and snow and winter frost."
"Summer is on its way." Juushirou agreed. "Little by little. I don't know what summer is like in First District, Houjou-kun - but I think I'm looking forward to finding out."
"I can't imagine it would be so very different to Sixth, Ukitake." Ryuu put in at that moment, turning from where he had been walking two or three paces ahead of them. "After all, there is a good deal of climate equilibrium between the central areas of Seireitei. If we were, perhaps, in a mountainous region, then it would be a different case - but although the flora is different, I believe the seasons will remain more or less the same."
"I suppose so." Juushirou pursed his lips. "Only, where I live, we're by the sea. And there's none of that here. So I thought maybe that would make a difference."
"No coastal storms." Enishi reflected, then he grinned. "Ah, but you like storms, don't you, Ukitake?"
"I do." Juushirou laughed. "So I suppose I'll miss them, here, won't I?"
"Somehow that seems appropriate." Ryuu reflected, and Juushirou looked startled.
"Appropriate? How so?"
"There is an electricity in your aura which would be conducive to a natural affinity with stormy weather." Ryuu said evenly. "Surely you are aware of it, too?"
"Somewhat." Juushirou agreed. "But I hadn't realised it was obvious to other people."
"I'm Kuchiki. We can tell such things." Ryuu said frankly, and despite himself, a smile touched Juushirou's lips.
"My mother's name was Raiko, don't forget." He reminded his companion. "Perhaps it's just in my blood."
"That is also a possibility." Ryuu turned his attention back to the pathway ahead. "I believe there was once a Head of the Clan who had a certain affinity with the elements. Perhaps your mother was a distant blood descendant of that leader...through whatever diluted channels her line may have passed to reach your part of District Six."
"Kuchiki, can I ask a favour?" Enishi put in at that moment, and Ryuu cast the tall boy a glance out of the corner of his eye.
"Of course. What is it?"
"Could you try using words that I don't need a dictionary to look up the meaning of?" Enishi asked plaintively. "I know you're smart and top of the class and you've probably been reading since before you were born - but take pity on those of us who aren't good with vocabulary, huh? You use them too quickly for me to really know what you're trying to say - and its giving me a headache."
"I don't believe I said anything so very complicated." Ryuu looked offended, and Juushirou held up his hands.
"Let's talk about something else." He said hurriedly, as they reached the town gates. "This place looks very different in the day than it does to the night, you know - I don't think I'd have ever walked up this way if not for Shunsui and his bright midnight ideas."
"Kyouraku is indiscreet, considering his position." Ryuu pursed his lips. "He really brought you to a place such as this after the curfew bell had rung?"
"It was all very innocent, really." Enishi agreed. "But you're right, Ukitake. It does look different by day. There are a lot more people about - and it looks like there's a market."
"With the school in such close proximity, I imagine they seek to profit from the students hereabouts." Ryuu reflected. "Given that we are almost all from the upper echelons of society, they might seek to make a good income from our coin."
Enishi stared at him, and despite himself, Juushirou smothered a smile at his friend's confusion.
"Kuchiki-kun means that students like us are their lifeblood." He said simply. "Except that doesn't really apply to me. I don't have a lot of money with me, at school - and I don't mean to spend anything I don't have to."
He cast the silent Hirata a glance.
"What about you, Hirata-kun? Did you want to buy anything particularly?"
"No. Not especially." Hirata shook his head, glancing around at the town streets as he did so. "It's a very peaceful town, isn't it?"
"It seems that way." Juushirou agreed. "But then the Yamamoto-ke are a stable family, aren't they, Houjou-kun? There's no fighting here?"
"Not these days. With Genryuusai-sensei involved, no one would dare." Enishi said ruefully, scratching his head.
"He has a lot of influence, doesn't he?" Juushirou pursed his lips. "He must be pretty high ranking in your Clan."
"I suppose you could say Sensei is outside of the Clan in that respect." Enishi pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. "He should have been Head of the Clan, but refused to take it on until he had finished his goal of training up a solution to Seireitei's many problems. And for the same reason he's refused to take the Yamamoto haori until such a time when he's satisfied with the Gotei standard. Yet even though he's outside of both of those things, he's viewed as higher than both. No one in the Yamamoto-ke ever moves against Genryuusai-sensei. He has contacts and connections across most of the Clans, and what he has to say holds weight. And though he doesn't wear First District's haori, he's almost unofficially the one behind the Gotei these days - because of his revolutionary ideas about squads and other things. It's hard to explain it - but that's the kind of person Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama is."
"He is certainly very highly esteemed, even by the Kuchiki." Ryuu agreed. "It is said he was the first to ever take his zanpakutou to the level known as 'Bankai'. Even now, few other Shinigami have attained that level of power. I suspect that, even those who dislike his actions seek to avoid upsetting him too greatly. It's safe to say that there are few individuals in Soul Society who could match him in a battle of blades."
"Ban..kai?" Juushirou looked blank. "I don't even know what that is."
"Currently, there are only three Shinigami in Soul Society with the capability to use that particular technique, so you should probably not concern yourself about it too much." Ryuu responded dismissively. "Genryuusai-sensei, of course, is one. The Head of the Kuchiki-ke - my Uncle - is a second, and the head of the Unohana-ke - Retsu-dono - is the third. It is the ultimate, most sought after yet most difficult level to attain in zanpakutou skill."
"Far beyond me, then." Enishi said cheerfully, and Ryuu shot him a dark look.
"If you can't even understand basic language, Houjou, I wonder at how you'll manage to summon a zanpakutou at all." He said crushingly.
"They haven't even let us touch swords yet. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Juushirou pointed out, and Ryuu shrugged.
"I have trained with one at home." He responded. "And I imagine others among our class are also familiar with real blades of one sort or another. You are different, of course, in that respect - but given your skill with the bokutou, I imagine you will pick up the requisite techniques fairly swiftly."
"Hey!" Before Juushirou could respond, Enishi grabbed his sleeve, gesturing across the street to a nearby tea shop with a glass-fronted window. "Isn't that Shihouin?"
Juushirou turned, his initial comment dying on his tongue as he squinted through the frosty pane to the table beyond. Sure enough, he could make out a familiar, hunched figure at one of the inside tables, and as he did so, he realised the boy wasn't alone.
"Aitori-sensei's with him." He murmured. "On our free day - is he studying out?"
"As I believe I already mentioned, Shihouin and Aitori are kinsmen." Ryuu said categorically. "There's nothing odd about them convening on a day off. And staring across the street isn't polite - stop it, the both of you, else you'll embarrass all of us."
"Fine." Juushirou gave up, shrugging his shoulders. "Just I don't think it was like that, Kuchiki-kun. Shihouin-kun looked uncomfortable, and Aitori-sensei was holding forth on something or other. And there was someone else with them - I didn't see him clearly, but it didn't look like he was a Shihouin to me."
"You saw all of that just by looking from here?" Enishi demanded, and Juushirou nodded.
"Aitori-sensei was waving his hands around when I looked." He replied. "And he grabbed Shihouin-kun's wrist, and Shihouin-kun looked bothered by it."
"A family spat, perhaps." Ryuu's lips twitched into a derisive smile. "It's no business of ours, however, how the Shihouin-ke spread their bad vibes. Shall we walk on? It seems there's a book seller of sorts at the end of this street."
"I suppose so." Juushirou agreed, though as they headed towards the big building Ryuu had indicated, he paused for a moment, glancing back towards the tea house with a frown.
Aitori-sensei was agitated. Shihouin-kun was on edge. And when Aitori-sensei grabbed his arm...did Shihouin-kun look...scared?
"Ukitake-kun?" Hirata's voice at his elbow made him turn, and he frowned, seeing the consternation in the other boy's gaze.
"Are you coming?" He asked softly. "Houjou-kun and Kuchiki-kun are already ahead of us."
"Yes. Sorry." Juushirou looked sheepish. "I just...even though Kuchiki-kun said they were kinsmen, Hirata - there was something about it that wasn't right. I don't know what it was, exactly - but it bothered me."
Hirata bit his lip, then,
"I don't want to stay near them, in case they see us." He murmured apprehensively.
"Are you scared by Shihouin-kun?" Juushirou was surprised, even as they quickened their pace to rejoin their companions on the front steps of the rambling old building. "Or is Aitori-sensei? Because we're allowed to be here today, Hirata-kun. I have the pass Sensei gave us to come out and we're not doing anything we shouldn't. And besides, Aitori-sensei seems to like you."
"No. It's not that." Hirata sent a wary glance back towards the tea house. "I just think it's better they don't see us. Any of us. Or know that we saw them. That's all."
Juushirou frowned, feeling the tension rippling through his young companion's aura, and he pursed his lips, making up his mind.
"If that's how you feel, we'll go inside and look at the books." He said evenly. "But you know, if something's bothering you - you can talk to me about it. Don't you?"
"Mm." Hirata nodded, but there was reticence in his pale eyes. "This isn't one of those times, Ukitake-kun. Let's just go in. All right?"
With that he ducked under the broken beam that led into the dim store beyond, and as he did so, Juushirou met Enishi's gaze, seeing the question in their dark depths. He shrugged, feeling as non-plussed as his companion, though Kai's expression still nagged at him, and Hirata's sudden tension only made the sensation worse.
Still, what can I do about it if he won't say why he's afraid? Shihouin-kun does pick on him, and I've seen it, a couple of times, when it's been almost as though Shihouin-kun's had him cornered in the classroom before anyone else has got there. Maybe it's just that...but I don't know. There was something else, too. And I don't know what it was.
"It seems that the baby bird has once more flown the nest, doesn't it?" As he ran his fingers over a shelf of bound volumes, Ryuu's voice made him start and he turned, eying the other boy in surprise.
"Kuchiki-kun? Bird? What bird? What are you talking about?"
"Hirata." Ryuu pursed his lips. "Or haven't you sensed the sudden scattering in his reiatsu? He seemed in a hurry to get inside -I wonder what could've caused that."
"He did seem upset." Juushirou leant up against the wall, looking concerned. "You noticed it too?"
"Yes. And something else." Ryuu's eyes darkened. "It is not wise to stare at the meetings of Clansfolk, regardless of the circumstances. But that Clan in particular - Ukitake, you are foolish and careless if you think they would pass it off as curious interest. Whether they saw you or not, I don't know - I think perhaps they were too involved in their discussions to notice you or Houjou paying them attention. But when the Shihouin gather, it is almost certainly not good news. And you are not popular with that Clan. You should be careful."
"You're sounding sinister again." Juushirou protested. "A schoolteacher and a student out in town and you're acting like they're writing a warrant for my life!"
"Let's hope at least that that's not the case." Ryuu said ominously, and Juushirou sighed, shaking his head as though to clear it.
"I've never done anything to cross the Shihouin-ke and I've no interest in their business now, so I think you're blowing it out of all proportion." He said firmly. "I'm just one insignificant person, when it comes down to it. Whether Shihouin-kun or Aitori-sensei disapprove of me is a completely different thing from a blood feud. I know that much."
"Perhaps." Ryuu's eyes became flinty. "But you did not know the other with them, did you?"
"No." Juushirou looked surprised. "You mean you did? I thought you weren't staring at them."
"I don't need to stare. I'm a Kuchiki and I have a keen sense for individual reiatsu." Ryuu said archly. "The final individual with them was Endou Seimaru."
"Endou...?" Juushirou's eyes widened, and Ryuu nodded.
"Yes. Endou. Just like Hirata." He murmured. "Since the death of his father in an honour duel a year ago, Seimaru-dono has been the apparent heir to the Endou-ke. He has recently become betrothed to Shihouin Kai's older sister Midori. There is no clearer statement of alliance among Clans than marriage -and this appears to be coincidentally timed so soon after the Council of Elders and their ballot."
Juushirou's brows knitted together.
"But this is just a school." He murmured. "Can it matter that much, if three or four students from lower levels start being taught things? Soul Society is huge. The Clans have so many other concerns. Why would they be so bothered as to act like that? Surely it's not unusual for Clansfolk to marry one another? Shunsui's brother is half Shiba, after all. He grew up with Sora. Isn't this just another case of something like that?"
"It might be." Ryuu acknowledged. "But it's dangerous to assume so until you have clear evidence to prove it. I do not know whether Endou Hirata is the shy creature he claims to be or if it is all an elaborate part of some scheme - but what I do know is this. Endou Seimaru is not someone you wish to cross. No, nor even encounter face to face, if you can so avoid it. He is a nasty, vengeful creature - trained in all the ugly ways of his family, and worse. And though he is little older than you or I - it's commonly held that he was responsible for the mysterious disappearances of several of his Grandfather's key opponents in District Seven."
Juushirou stared at him for a moment, struggling to digest this, and Ryuu offered him a humourless smile.
"I do not believe the Endou-ke can be overcome by kindness." He murmured. "They are, after all, neighbours of our Kuchiki-ke and I am well versed in their ways and their behaviour. You should heed well my warnings, Ukitake. I do not give them lightly."
"So it was Seimaru-dono that Hirata was so afraid of?" Juushirou murmured, and Ryuu shrugged.
"Maybe. Either because he fears him or because he fears his own position being uncovered. I do not know which." He responded evenly. "I hope your faith in him is justified, Ukitake. Sometimes, after all, the ties of Clan are just too strong to break."
"What are you two whispering about back here?"
Before Juushirou could respond, Enishi poked his head around the end of the bay, casting them a grin. "Found anything to buy?"
"Nothing that isn't already in the library at school." Juushirou shook his head, hurriedly gathering his wits as Hirata emerged from behind his tall classmate. "We were just coming to look for you both. I'm hungry - do you think we should think about getting something to eat?"
"For a skinny guy, you have one hell of an appetite, Ukitake." Enishi looked rueful. "But I don't have any complaints. Kuchiki? Hirata? You guys game?"
"I have no objections." Ryuu agreed, sending Juushirou a fleeting glance before nodding his head. "Though I don't know what level of services this town provides - for once, I suppose, it won't matter to eat in a place such as this."
Hirata looked hesitant, but he made no demur as they stepped back out into the spring air. The way in which he glanced around him did not escape Juushirou's notice, however, and he bit his lip, wondering for the most fleeting of instants whether there was any reason for Ryuu's suspicions.
Then, the next moment, he quelled them, berating himself inwardly for being so easily swayed from his convictions.
Whatever else happens in the Endou-ke, Hirata is my friend. I know that. I believe that. Kuchiki-kun's warning may mean something, but even if it does, Hirata's not a part of it. And I'm not going to doubt him.
"Shiro-kun!"
As they turned onto the main street, another voice accosted them, and Juushirou froze in his steps at the all too familiar nickname, swinging around to see Megumi hurrying towards him, a warm, eager grin on her pretty face. Even from that distance, Juushirou could tell that she was not entirely in her wits, and as he interpreted the spasmodic flickers in the girl's aura, he remembered Shunsui's words about the girls and the consequences of the Urahara-ke's scientific research.
"Shiro...kun?" Ryuu's eyebrows disappeared into his fringe, and he stared at Juushirou accusingly. "What kind of things has Kyouraku been leading you into, Ukitake, to have a girl like that call you by such a familiar nickname?"
"None at all. We've met once before, and only briefly." Juushirou frowned. "But 'Shiro' seems to be a pretty universal nickname for me these days. Stopping was instinctive. It's because of my hair, Kuchiki-kun - not because my name's Juushirou. I doubt she even knows that."
"It is you! Shunsui-kun's friend!" Megumi was on them at that moment, grasping Juushirou's sleeves eagerly as she glanced around them. "Is he with you? I haven't seen him lately - is he in some kind of trouble?"
"Not exactly, but he's not been able to leave the school." Juushirou stared at her for a moment, the strong stench of her sweet perfume almost enough to suffocate him where he stood. He coughed slightly, gently detaching her fingers before the alluring odour could bring on one of his attacks, and as he held her at arm's length, he frowned.
"You don't look like you should be out and about, either." He murmured. "You should go home, Megumi-san, and get some rest. You'll be working tonight, no doubt, and you need to sleep too...there are shadows under your eyes."
Megumi shook her head impatiently, shrugging her shoulders.
"I'm fine. I'm not tired." She said dismissively. "But I knew it was you. You...and you...and you." She grinned, pointing unashamedly at first Enishi and then Hirata, who shrank back behind his tall friend at being singled out. "You were all with Shunsui-kun the last time. So you're good friends of his. Right?"
"I suppose, something like that." Enishi responded. "Why? Did you have a message for him?"
"I just wanted to be sure he hadn't forgotten about the two coins he promised me. That's all." Megumi pouted. "A lot of people are short on their debts these days, but Shunsui-kun always keeps his word, so..."
"It's a bit tricky for him to get out of campus at the moment, Megumi-san." Juushirou looked rueful. "He's under interdict - he's not allowed to step outside the grounds on pain of horrible punishment. It's not that he doesn't intend to keep his promise...he's just not been anywhere in a while. He's not avoiding you."
"I see." Megumi sighed. "Oh well. I guess it can't be helped. Rich types get into trouble a lot, after all."
She shrugged, eying Juushirou for a moment, then smiling.
"You wouldn't know that, though, would you?" She said frankly. "You're not one of them - I can tell."
"No, I'm really not." Juushirou agreed evenly. "So I'm afraid I don't have any coins to give you, either. Not even on his behalf - I don't have that kind of money."
"I dread to think what Kyouraku was giving her coins for." Ryuu said at that moment, a look of censure in his grey eyes, and Juushirou pursed his lips, noticing the stiffness of his companion's demeanour. "Girls like this are not the kind of people Noble sons should be consorting with - under any circumstances. Such meetings could only be misunderstood, after all."
"Shunsui promised her two gold coins if she helped us escape from the Curfew Patrol. That's all." Juushirou said simply. "It's not what you think, Kuchiki-kun."
"Kuchiki?" Megumi's hazy eyes lit up greedily at the sound of the Clan name, and she abandoned Juushirou, pouncing on Ryuu instead and grasping him by the arm. "You're a Kuchiki? Really?"
"Let go of me!" Ryuu looked stricken, shaking his arm frantically, but Megumi's grip was firm, and and at his expression, Juushirou hid a smile, a flare of mischief sparking up inside of him.
Well, he brought it on himself, in a way. Maybe it's mean, but he's entirely too focused on Clan affairs and high society. He needs to lighten up a little...and see the world outside of Noble politics for a change.
"Yes, he's Kuchiki Ryuu." He said innocently. "Maybe, if you ask him nicely, he'll be able to give you the coins on Shunsui's behalf."
"Ukitake?!" Incredulation flooded Ryuu's normally austere grey eyes, and Enishi chuckled, shaking his head.
"Go on, Kuchiki. It won't hurt your finances any, and the kid's been waiting weeks as it is." He put in. "Keep Shunsui's word for him and you'll find she stops hanging on to you like a lost dog, too - it's the easiest way out of it."
"G...g...give money to a creature like this? You must be kidding!" Ryuu stammered out, revulsion and disbelief in his expression. "Let go of me, you silly girl! I'm not the kind of person you can simply..."
"Kuchiki-kun, your family are Gotei, aren't they?" Juushirou said softly, and Ryuu started, staring at him in confusion.
"What has that to do with...?"
"The principle duty of the Gotei, so my sensei taught me when I was growing up, is to protect. To defend people from the dangers the Hollows pose. Yes?"
"Yes, but..."
"And those strong, noble Gotei are selected from the Eight Clans, who rule Seireitei and serve the people who live under their protection." Juushirou continued calmly. "Isn't that also correct?"
"Without a doubt, however..."
"Megumi-san is a citizen of Seireitei." Juushirou said innocently. "And she's asking a Noble son for help. Are you going to refuse her, when she's already been disappointed?"
Ryuu just gaped, unable to find a retort, and Enishi smirked.
"That's truly evil, Ukitake." He said, slipping his fingers into his obi and pulling out a coin. "But I'll put up half of it, just for seeing Kuchiki struck speechless."
He tossed it up in the air, catching it deftly in his other hand, then holding it out. "Here you are, Megumi-san. Half of what Kyouraku promised."
"You know what she'll go and spend it on, don't you?" Ryuu demanded, but he seemed to realise he was beaten, for he reluctantly produced a coin of his own, dropping it down on the ground as he pulled himself firmly away from Megumi's touch. "We do her no good by giving her money."
"I wonder about that." As Megumi eagerly gathered up the coins, Juushirou pursed his lips, his mind on what Shunsui had said that night in the drinking house. He watched the girl scurry away once more into the back streets with her prize, and a sad expression touched his gaze.
"Maybe she'll use it for illicit chemicals, and not for food or shelter." He murmured. "But if it's given to her, she doesn't have to risk her life to steal it, nor demean herself to earn it. Megumi-san is a person too, Kuchiki-kun. Even if you think she's a miserable specimen of one. She has feelings too. And I'm sure, somewhere inside, she still has pride."
Kuchiki's eyes shadowed.
"My Clan would not approve." He murmured, and Juushirou nodded.
"I know." he said frankly. "But Shunsui told me that the chemicals girls like her use are the result of a Noble experiment now discarded. So in that respect, I don't think it's wrong for the Clans to take responsibility. Shunsui certainly feels that way, and I agree with him."
He shrugged.
"If I had had the coins, I would've given them." he said honestly. "But two gold coins is more than I have even for the whole of this school year. So I'm sorry it fell to you - but I thought that Shunsui would probably want us to honour his promise. And he'll no doubt pay you back, when he understands what happened."
Kuchiki sighed heavily, shaking his head.
"Forget about it." He said abruptly. "It doesn't matter. It isn't as though money is a problem for me - and at the very least, getting what she wanted made her leave us alone."
"If you hadn't been so aloof with her, she'd never have jumped on you like she did." Enishi said, with surprising perception. "Even if she's drugged, she's not stupid. She knew that meant you were Clan. And she latched onto it right away."
"Whereas she knew that Ukitake wasn't for the same reason." Ryuu's expression became startled. "Because he shows no discrimination in who he consorts with."
"Right now, I'm consorting with all of you - and I'm still hungry." Juushirou laughed. "I'm sorry if I put you in an awkward position, Kuchiki-kun, but just as you've told me about the Clans and their way of working, I want to repay the debt a little and tell you about the people below that line. There are a lot too many people like Megumi-san, after all. And I think the Clans could do something about it, if they wanted to."
"First District is not the Kuchiki-ke's business." Ryuu said categorically, but from the look in his eyes, Juushirou knew he had hit a nerve, and he smiled.
"Then lets find food." He said decidedly. "Providing you and Houjou-kun still have coin to afford it!"
Four of them.
Kai cursed, peering out from his vantage point behind the curtain of an old chamber, biting down hard on his lip as he watched his classmates laughing and talking as they left the settlement's ancient book store.
Was it coincidence, then, that they had decided to come into town on this free day? After their conversation that morning, Kai was far from sure.
His gaze rested on Hirata, and his frown deepened.
Maybe it was that one, after all. Maybe he had been right to be suspicious of the boy all along.
"You seem very much on edge today, Kai-kun."
His companion's smooth, soft voice distracted him, and he glanced up, his eyes clouding as Seimaru came to join him by the window. "In fact, you've been on edge since I came to First District. Are you that unhappy about meeting your future brother in law face to face? I would've thought you'd be glad to see I'm taking the matter seriously enough to come like this...it is, after all, far enough from my own family's lands."
Kai faltered, then bowed his head, raising his gaze to meet the all too familiar glint in his companion's pale eyes.
"I'm sorry, Seimaru-dono." He murmured. "You find me distracted by other matters, that is all."
"Other matters?" Seimaru frowned, placing his hands against the window casually as he gazed down at the street below. "What things would they be? At the present time, your family and mine are drawing up the paperwork for the alliance, and Midori and I will be married before the end of the summer, providing all proves to go well. Your family are only second degree Shihouin, but your sister will birth the next head of the Endou-ke. That should be all you need concern yourself with...don't you think that the Endou-ke can provide you with adequate protection?"
"With respect, the Shihouin do not require protection." Kai said shortly, and Seimaru laughed, amusement in his gaze.
"So I understand." He murmured. "Which is why this alliance has so much strength. Your people are very like mine, after all. Grandfather has oft said so, and having begun to meet with Clan representatives, I've seen as much too. Your sister will make an adequate addition to my family...even for a girl, she has quite good skills."
"Father has always insisted on all of us learning." Kai turned his gaze back to the window. "Midori as well. Uncle trained her personally, in fact, after Mother died."
"It's a good thing." Seimaru reflected. "For a woman to be able to hold her own. I dislike helpless, weak women, after all. They make me disdain them, and then I hold their lives as worth little. So long as they do not intervene in the acts of their superiors, of course..."
His eyes narrowed, and even though he wasn't directly looking at his companion, Kai stiffened, aware of the tension that rippled through the young boy's body.
"Women should mind their own business and stay out of Clan affairs of this nature." He muttered. "Their duty is to obey and to uphold the family pride. Not to play judge and jury over a family's conscience."
He rested his hand on Kai's shoulder, the cold touch seeming to burn through the younger boy's senses to the very core of his soul. He shivered involuntarily, and Seimaru chuckled, amused.
"I think you're afraid of me." He whispered. "Why would that be?"
Kai did not answer, and Seimaru shrugged his shoulders.
"It's not unwise." he reflected. "Fear is a smart man's weapon, if that man is also weak."
"I'm not weak, Seimaru-dono." This sparked Kai's pride, and he shook his head. "And I'm not afraid of you. I just don't think you realise how complicated this alliance is for me. That's all."
"Why?" Seimaru seemed genuinely surprised. "Because of your placement at that joke of a school of Yamamoto's?"
Kai's gaze drifted back to Hirata.
"A cousin of yours is my classmate." He murmured. "And I would like to know, Seimaru-dono, whether you keep me under observation in that way. Because if you don't trust me..."
Seimaru's eyes narrowed, as he followed his companion's glance.
"Hirata." He murmured. "I see. And a boy such as that frightens you?"
"I don't understand his being here, if the Endou are so against the school."
"The same could be said of you, Kai, and also your kinsman Aitori." Seimaru said silkily, and Kai's lips thinned.
"I was sent because it was my Uncle's order." He said softly. "And Aitori for the same reason. Besides, the Shihouin do not disdain the Academy. They disapprove of the intake of lower born children, that is all. Your kin, however..."
"Clan should be trained by Clan. There is no reason for an Endou to learn skills anywhere but Seventh District." Seimaru agreed. "But Hirata..."
He paused, then chuckled, shaking his head.
"No Endou ever acts without having an ulterior motive." He said lightly. "You will simply have to discover that boy's for yourself. If it satisfies you to think he is my spy, then you may think that. If you wish to think otherwise, be my guest. So long as you do your part of the agreement, then it matters little to me what your personal opinions are. Just make sure that you don't cause us trouble."
"You might be the one in trouble, Seimaru-dono." Kai's eyes narrowed as he watched Megumi's encounter with the group. "That girl is with them. The one Aitori's been using up till now - the one you spoke to yourself only last evening. It seems she's acquainted with them - with Ukitake in particular."
"Ukitake?" Seimaru looked confused, and Kai nodded.
"The boy of low birth who gained rank in our class." He said softly. "He is not Clan, but he is also not foolish. He is irritatingly intelligent...and he managed to best Kuchiki Ryuu in a battle of sticks."
"So have you, I understand, on many occasions?"
"Yes, but Kuchiki's skills are not mediocre." Kai said impatiently. "I am simply superior to him. Ukitake, however..."
"So that is the boy, then, is it?" Seimaru's expression suddenly became one of interest as he focused his attention on the group once more. "I see. Yes. I do see. And this is the one your family are so afraid of they choose to ally with a Clan they hate in order to prevent his like from rising up through the system? When will the assassination order come, Kai-kun? I know how your people work. Surely he's on someone's list, somewhere...?"
"No. No such order has been given." Kai said coldly. "My duty is to keep an eye on him - and the others who have come here. But him in particular. And if he knows that girl too, Seimaru-dono, surely..."
"You are foolish." Seimaru tut-tutted under his breath. "I'm not concerned about him knowing Megumi. In fact, it works well in our favour that he should have such an acquaintance. Don't you think?"
"But...?"
"He is low-born, yet he has high reiatsu." Seimaru let out a low-throated chuckle, clearly highly amused with his own way of thinking. "There were many in my Clan who talked about it before you came here and began reporting in such a stellar way on our behalf - and this simply strengthens their paranoid beliefs. A low-born boy with power he shouldn't have, speaking to a girl who depends on things she shouldn't dabble in. Do you see, Kai, how convenient such a link could be?"
Kai frowned.
"Ukitake isn't using sense-enhancing drugs." He said flatly. "If he was, I'd have realised it by now. I'm sure he isn't. There's no sign of it in his reiatsu."
"Yes. Quite clearly you're right." Seimaru nodded. "But you have a keen sense, and I am the heir of my Clan. Lesser members of Clan families – even our own, dare I say it? - may not be so perceptive. After all, you and I are both intimately acquainted with the taint of such drugs, aren't we?"
He touched Kai's cheek pensively, a thoughtful look in his gaze.
"Let's not forget how many disgruntled Urahara scientists were exiled into Second and Fourth Districts after the chemical experiments were officially cancelled." He murmured. "Nor the fact that Grandfather's own mother was an Urahara by blood, who supported the experiments wholesale at the time. It's hardly surprising, is it, that those individuals have found such safe new homes in both Second and Seventh Districts, where they can continue their work without fear of intervention."
His smile widened.
"You're aware enough to know that it was your Clan who originally forged papers to allow those scientists to move freely and set up new bases without being noticed." He murmured. "And thanks to the Shihouin's underground activities, there are now people within both of our Districts who have continued to develop and produce such chemicals even to this day - people who have acted with the interests, funding and support of the Clans concerned."
His eyes narrowed, a predatory glint in their depths.
"Clansfolk like your Father, perhaps."
Kai stiffened, glancing around him fearfully, and Seimaru laughed.
"There is no one listening. This building is Aitori's property, and even he isn't here." He said soothingly. "This is a secret between you and I, Kai-kun. However..."
He turned his gaze back to the group below.
"That boy's reiatsu is strong, but his reiryoku is raw and untrained. I suspect he has very little control over it." He mused. "Using chemicals would be wholly counter-productive, given that that's the case. With a reiatsu of that level and no control, it would doubtless do him much more harm than good - and you said, did you not, that he was intelligent? Besides, he seems a miserable specimen - no doubt his spirit power controls him and not the other way about."
He smiled.
"I think it will be easier to remove that problem than Grandfather anticipated." He decided. "Even if your Ukitake doesn't use illicit chemicals, there are only a very few who would be able to discern that from his aura alone. And there are many among the Noble classes who would prefer to accept an anomaly as being down to illegal means rather than being forced to accept that anyone from low birth may have such natural talent. He looks like a sickly boy to me - if he becomes troublesome, then all you need to do is begin the rumour that he's cheated his way to the level he is. Don't you think?"
"Genryuusai-sensei would never believe it." Kai said softly, and Seimaru shrugged.
"Who cares what that old man believes?" He said carelessly.
"Noone's talked about those chemicals in public for years." Kai shook his head. "If we were to start, even to blacken the name of one boy…Sensei would start drawing connections and things would become difficult. Father would not want me to do anything so blatant to draw attention to him, Uncle or our Clan's activities – you won't find me starting any such rumour, even if it is to your benefit. With respect, Seimaru-dono, the Shihouin are not going to be scapegoats for every Endou scheme."
"Well, at present that boy is unimportant to my Grandfather, so I doubt it matters too much that you feel that way." Seimaru shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "It can wait for a better opportunity – as you say, one that links less closely to our alliance and your involvement. But try and see the big picture, Kai-kun. If things go according to our plans, the great Genryuusai-sama and his so called reputation will become an irrelevance anyway, and then it won't matter. And if enough Clan believe it, then that's enough to have the boy disgraced and removed, surely? Just because you won't spread such stories doesn't mean they won't spread. There are still many living who remember what we do not, after all. If that happens, the ballot will be rendered a joke and in the end the result will be greater, for all low-born children will be thrown into suspicion, won't they?"
"I...suppose so." Kai bit his lip, seeing the logic in his companion's clinical argument, yet deep down inside he was still somehow uneasy at Seimaru's choice of words. "If it was well known that such a thing had happened - no one would ever sanction low-born District children from being trained again, would they?"
"And that objective would be achieved with little bloodshed - though that might disappoint a Shihouin." Seimaru's eyes glittered. "Still, that's for the future, and outside of our immediate objectives. We are not concerned with minnows for the time being, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. And in the meantime..."
He paused, running his finger down the glass, and Kai felt a flicker of something sinister in his companion's dark aura.
"That girl is becoming a liability. I will have to think about whether she's still worth utilising." He murmured. "Her position so close to the Academy has been helpful, and she is not naturally foolish, but even providing her with chemicals and using her as a source of information on the school has become risky. We have you now, after all. She's no longer so necessary."
A humourless smile touched his lips.
"I imagine there are things she's discovered that you will be less able to pry free, considering her arsenal." He said derisively. "But even so, a man on the inside is worth two women on the outskirts. And it would be troublesome if she was traced back to my family...if people realised that her activities had any connection to the Endou-ke, it might be difficult to explain - especially why we still had such an active interest in banned substances. I will give this some thought, Kai-kun. Leave it with me."
"And what am I supposed to do?"
"Continue to do what you were sent to the school to do." Seimaru said simply. "That is all you need concern yourself with. Let Clan leaders and their heirs handle the bigger matters. It's our job, after all."
"And if Genryuusai-sensei discovers that Aitori's been using his base and contacts here to export ingredients only found in First District into Second and Seventh for these ongoing chemical experiments, what then?" Kai demanded. "If he has wind of what our Clans are involved in, he might cause all kinds of problems. He's not someone who can be underestimated, Seimaru-dono! He's strong, after all - and smart!"
"An old man whose years have made him reckless and complacent." Seimaru shook his head. "He believes that the Council's word acts as a final declaration - and that is naive. He is a Yamamoto, after all. He does not live in the shadows. That is why our alliance with your Clan becomes so useful - it's very difficult, after all, to entrap a shadow."
"Even if they're operating right under his nose?" Kai frowned. "You say that, but if he sees Aitori and I together too often..."
"Aitori's been operating as a smuggler for your Clan for some time and there has been no risk of him being caught." Seimaru's eyes became like flint. "He is a smart man with a good sense of self-preservation and he has gained the old man's trust enough to move freely around First District without arousing any suspicion. You are the weak link in this chain, not him, so make sure you stay strong and nothing bad will come of it. Do your job and continue to spy. Let Aitori feed back the information through his channels, and let me deal with the girl. Do not try to become involved in more than your brief, Kai. I mean it. Your Clan may be assassins, but I am not afraid to remove individuals myself if they get in the way of Endou interests. Whether it be you or your very pretty sister. You understand?"
Despite himself, Kai was chilled to the bone by the ice in his companion's cold eyes, and he slowly nodded his head, a memory of Midori's uncharacteristic tears flitting through his thoughts.
"I'm not a weak link. I'm Shihouin till I die and if I die, then it'll be in that Clan's name." He said quietly. "You needn't worry about me, Seimaru-dono. I won't be the one to let the side down. You have my word."