Chapter Sixteen: Shadow Cat
"Well, welcome back to the world of the living, Juu-kun!"
As Juushirou stepped out of the Healing Bay, a voice hailed him and he turned, a rueful grin touching his lips as he registered Hirata and Shunsui waiting in the hallway beyond. Shunsui cast him a casual grin, even as Hirata bounced forward, an eager look in his pale blue eyes as he grasped Juushirou's sleeves.
"Ukitake-kun! Are you really all better now? Shikibu-san said she'd heard from Kazoe-sensei that you were re-joining classes from tomorrow - so Kyouraku-kun and I came to see if it was true. We thought we could wait for you, since Unohana-sama wouldn't let us come into the Healing Bay itself."
"Hirata's cheered up considerably since he heard the news." Shunsui said dryly. "Naoko-chan's a useful person to have, sometimes, with her links to Unohana-san."
"Well, the rumours are true." Juushirou carefully detached himself from the younger boy's grip, casting a smile down at the excited student. "Is it that good a thing, then, to have me back in classes?"
"I've missed you." Hirata said simply. "It isn't the same when you're sick, and I don't like it when you are."
"Well, I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to make you worry quite so much." Juushirou said apologetically. "I didn't mean things to happen quite how they did - but it's all right, now. I'm almost back to as fighting fit as this body ever gets - and I'm restless here. Genryuusai-sensei came to see me this morning and he agreed that I should be cut loose, before I annoy Unohana-sensei's assistants any more...his words, pretty much."
"You make a bad patient, in short." Shunsui tut-tutted. "Unforgivable considering you're such a frequent offender."
"That's why I'm a bad patient. The novelty wears off quick." Juushirou said darkly.
"Kuchiki-kun was going to the bath-house when we left, but that was only ten minutes ago and he said that if you were or weren't kicked out of here, we should come meet him there afterwards." Shunsui said casually, as they made their way along the corridor. "He didn't want to come along himself, because he's a bit embarrassed about how worried he is about you and he's not wanted you to think he's gone soft or anything. But I know he'll be glad to see you back with us, so I reckon we should do as he says. A warm bath sounds like a nice way to welcome you back, after all - tomorrow will be back to the grindstone."
"Kuchiki-kun said that?" Juushirou looked surprised, then he smiled,nodding his head. "All right. I smell of Healing Bay and herbal remedies and whatever else at the moment, so it might be nice to wash all of that stuff off."
"Did Unohana-san comment on Mitsuki-chan's love potion?" Shunsui asked innocently, and Juushirou stopped dead, glaring at him as Hirata's eyes almost fell out of his head.
"Love potion?" He repeated, and Juushirou hurriedly shook his head.
"It was a cough remedy, not a love potion and she brought it because she was concerned, not because of some secret love tryst." He said firmly. "Stories like that exist only in your very strange head, Shunsui - and you'd probably do better if you didn't spout them out loud too often. I know when you're joking, but Hirata obviously doesn't."
"Maybe." Shunsui pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. "Probably my comments are wasted on you, then, in that case. I'll save them for when Houjou comes back. He should be easier to play with in that regard - he's far more innocent and trusting that way."
"Where is Houjou-kun, anyway?" Juushirou frowned, glancing around him as he did so. "It's not like him to be out of the action - if you two are here and Kuchiki-kun is in the bath-house, what've you done with him? Is he sick, too? Or is it a family visit or something like that?"
Shunsui pursed his lips, meeting Hirata's gaze for a moment, then shaking his head.
"He's in isolation." He said simply. "In the confinement cells. For three days. Till tomorrow."
"Isolation?" Juushirou's eyes widened, and Hirata nodded.
"For fighting." He added softly. "With Onoe-kun from Class Two. They're both locked in until tomorrow as punishment from Genryuusai-sensei."
"I don't believe it." Juushirou stared at his companions incredulously. "And why did no one tell me about this? I saw you both yesterday - how come I wasn't told?"
"Because you'd probably have leapt out of your sick bed to go to plead his case, so I decided it was better to keep it till now." Shunsui said pragmatically. "And when I discussed it with Hirata, he agreed."
"We didn't want you worrying about anything." Hirata agreed. "I'm sorry, Ukitake-kun. But...there wasn't anything we or you could do about it."
"I see." Juushirou frowned, digesting this. "But Houjou-kun? For fighting? Why on earth? I know he's big and strong and good at combat skills but even so...he's not the kind to just charge into a fight without a good reason! What got into him?"
"Onoe-kun said something unforgivable." Hirata said simply. "And Houjou-kun didn't like it."
"Unforgivable?" Juushirou's brows knotted together. "In what way, unforgivable?"
"Let's just say they had a difference of opinion." Shunsui said casually. "He was defending your honour, as it happens - you should be happy he thinks so much of you."
"My honour?" Juushirou looked stricken. "You mean...it was because of me he got involved in something? But he shouldn't! I mean, I'm fine! I'm not bothered by things people say about me not being Clan or whatever else and I certainly don't let it ruin my time here. I've friends I can rely on and it's okay - if they don't want me here then it's their problem and not mine. Houjou-kun should know that - he should know that that's how I feel about it, and stay out of it. I don't understand why he'd be so reckless - it isn't like him at all."
Shunsui and Hirata exchanged looks once more, and Hirata sighed, shaking his head.
"He's in isolation until tomorrow, anyway." He said at length, pushing open the door of their dormitory and leading the way inside. "And we were going to the bath house. Are we still? Kuchiki-kun will be wondering what's taking us so long, since he said he was going to go straight there from the library."
"You're really getting all assertive now, aren't you?" Shunsui eyed him fondly, and Hirata glared at him, his cheeks reddening furiously.
"Don't tease him." Juushirou warned. "It's not fair, Shunsui-kun. Not everyone takes it as lightly as I do, after all."
"I know. I just can't help myself sometimes." Shunsui relented. "Sorry, Hirata-chan. I didn't mean any offence by it. On the contrary, I'm glad that you're speaking up more than you were before."
He crouched down by his bunk, rummaging around in the pile of belongings as he did so.
"Now where did I put my clean towel...?"
"Did you lose something else?" Juushirou looked amused, and Shunsui shrugged, sitting back on his heels.
"Probably." He agreed. "Give me a hand, will you?"
"But Kuchiki-kun will be waiting." Juushirou pointed out, and Shunsui smiled.
"Hirata, do you mind running on and telling Kuchiki we'll be there as soon as I've got through my mandatory incompetence for the day and located my towel? Between Juu-kun and I, we should be able to manage - is that okay?"
Hirata sighed heavily, but nodded his head.
"I suppose so." he agreed reluctantly, casting Juushirou a glance as he did so. "Please don't be long, though, Ukitake-kun. I don't always know what to say to Kuchiki-kun - and I don't think he likes me very much, even now."
With that he was gone, and Juushirou frowned.
"Kuchiki-kun isn't still giving Hirata a hard time, is he?" He asked hesitantly. "With my not being here, and all."
"I didn't think you thought Kuchiki was that kind of person. Lonely and awkward with people - isn't that how you put it?" Shunsui reminded him, pulling his towel out from the pile and setting it down on his bed. "You should have more faith in him. He doesn't pick on the kid, in any case. It's just that neither he nor Hirata are good at starting conversations with each other - and Hirata takes that as a slight against him, that's all."
"Hey! You had your towel all along!" Juushirou exclaimed, and Shunsui nodded.
"I know. Guilty." He agreed casually, taking his bathrobe from its hook. "But I wanted to talk to you and I wanted it to be alone. This way was easiest - Hirata wouldn't like it if he thought you and I had secrets from him, after all - he's very protective of you, in one way or another."
"I don't know about that." Juushirou frowned. "But okay, I'll bite. What about, then? Surely not Megumi-san, not right this moment?"
"No. About Enishi-kun and his faux pas, actually." Shunsui leant up against the wall. "When he's let out, Juu, don't give him a hard time over it. What Onoe said got him what he deserved. The only shame of it is that Houjou was silly enough to get caught, that's all. And that's the reason he got locked up like he did."
"What he said was really that awful?" Juushirou looked surprised, and Shunsui sighed.
"It was unforgivable, as Hirata said." He said simply. "That's all."
"No...it's not all." Juushirou shook his head. "If it was that way, I want to know. What was it Onoe-kun said? If it was bad enough to put even Houjou-kun into a rage, then...I ought to know."
"Are you sure about that?" Shunsui looked doubtful. "It's all very well thinking you do, but...once I tell you, I can't un-tell you."
"It's fine. I don't need protecting." Juushirou made up his mind. "What did Onoe-kun say, Shunsui? Tell me. I want to know."
Shunsui sighed heavily, rubbing his temples, then nodding.
"Remember when we went into town that night - the last night I saw Megumi alive?" He asked slowly, and Juushirou nodded.
"I remember. What about it?"
"And what we talked about...? What we've all been talking about? About the drugs that the girls were using, and how they came to be invented, and so on?"
"Yes." Juushirou's brow furrowed. "What of it?"
"I think we mentioned then, among us, that the chemicals got banned a long time ago, but still slipped through the cracks somehow so that Megumi and the others got hold of them." Shunsui said carefully. "The people who used those in the past, well, they became addicted to them, of course, just like Megumi-chan and the rest. Only it had other more dramatic effects on their health. They'd suffer weight loss. Hoarseness. Coughing. Choking up blood. Fever. Tiredness. Things like that."
Juushirou's eyes widened, as a slow chill began to spread through his body, and Shunsui nodded.
"You're smart enough to have already seen where I'm going with this." he said regretfully. "The thing is, Juu, people like you are rare in this Society. People with your ability and with your weakness - the two together are almost unthinkable in many quarters. You're not Clan, yet you have undeniable power. This threatens people - kids like Onoe, I guess, but others among the Clans too. That idea wasn't Onoe's idea first of all, I'd lay odds on it. It's a Clan prejudice. An idea that comes from much higher up."
Juushirou paled, chewing down on his lip hard enough that he could taste blood.
"We know you're not using chemicals to enhance or create your power." Shunsui added. "It's obvious to anyone with any spiritual awareness that your reiatsu is all your own. But I've certainly never met anyone with your health condition, and nor, I guess, has anyone else in our year - maybe not even in the school, Yama-jii aside. So that being the case, people's minds have gone to the worst case scenario. They can't explain something, so they force an explanation to fit the facts. And that's what they've come up with. That was why Houjou took off at Onoe. Because he took exception to Onoe's distortion of how things are."
He frowned, eying his friend anxiously.
"Juu? Are you all right?"
"How dare they." At length, Juushirou found his vocal chords, his words shaking as he clenched and unclenched his fists, struggling to get control of his surging emotions. "How dare they imply that I'm some kind of cheat! That I'd somehow try and fool Genryuusai-sensei and make a mockery of this place...of everything my parents ever taught me..how dare they!"
"Woah, boy, calm down." Shunsui grabbed him by the shoulders, giving him a little shake as if trying to bring him back to himself. "If I'd thought you were going to take it that hard, I wouldn't have told you. But you said you didn't care what they thought of you - didn't you? So why care about this one? It's a lie, so that's what matters. It's not as though him saying it made it true."
"You don't understand." Juushirou shook himself free, his eyes glittering with tears of anger and frustration. "You don't get it, Shunsui. You really..."
"Then explain it to me." Shunsui tossed his robe over his shoulder, scooping up his towel and taking his friend's arm in his free one. "We'll take the long walk to the bath-house so you can cool down before Hirata sees you and thinks I've done something else awful to you -all right?"
"No...I'm not going there. Not for a minute." Juushirou shook his head, pulling a deep breath into his lungs. "If I do, I'll just shout at someone, and I don't want...to make Hirata cry."
"Right now you're the one who looks ready to start crying." Shunsui said gently. "I'm sorry, Juu-kun. If I'd thought you'd get like this, I wouldn't have said anything at all. But..."
"No. It isn't your fault. I needed to know and you were only the messenger." Juushirou shook his head, letting out his breath in a deep sigh. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted so...but even so..."
He faltered, burying his head in his hands as he fought to get himself under control.
"I've lived with this disease every day since I was born." He murmured. "Every hour. Every minute. Every second of my life it's there - it never goes away. Whatever I do, whatever I become, I won't ever shake it. I hate it, sometimes, being sick. I hate that it holds me back, or makes me such a burden for other people. I want to push on and do everything like everyone else. Why would they think for one minute I'd want to subject my body to these things, just for the sake of something stupid like power? If I could trade my reiatsu for my health, sometimes I'd do it. Seriously. I really would. But to suggest that the power I have - the strength that my parents left me...I can't bear that. It's not fair. It's just not fair."
"I know it's not, which is why I'm glad Houjou gave Onoe a good bruising." Shunsui said categorically. "Almost broke his nose, in fact - so I doubt he'll be spouting stories like that again any time soon. He may be a Shihouin, that kid, but he's not a patch on Kai-kun when it comes to combat arts and Houjou was pretty damn livid from start to finish."
"He shouldn't have got involved." Juushirou sighed, suddenly feeling tired as the rage flooded out of him. "I've caused him bother, now, because he was defending me."
"I'd take it as a compliment, rather than anything." Shunsui reflected. "Enishi's strong and he's not stupid, but he's not as perceptive to reiatsu as some of the rest of us. For Kuchiki and I, for example, it's obvious that your reiatsu is as pure - if sometimes more savage - as anyone else's. But Enishi can't detect those things. Yet even though he can't know one hundred percent for himself that Onoe's talking rubbish, he still reacted in your defence. He's a pretty loyal soldier, that one, and he's on your side for keeps - if there's nothing else you can take from it, you can take that."
He grinned.
"Houjou thinks a lot of you, just like Hirata idolises you." he added. "And if Onoe's spreading rumours, it means he's jealous and feels threatened by your being here. You have a lot of support, after all. A lot of friends who worried about you while you were sick. Yama-jii won't let the poison spread, don't worry. He knows better than anyone what you are or are not. So don't destroy yourself over one kid's idiocy. Okay? People say foolish things - and Onoe will be feeling the bruises of his for some time to come yet."
"I suppose so." Juushirou managed a faint smile. "Maybe, then, I should thank Houjou-kun, when he comes back with the rest of us."
"Yes. Perhaps you should." Shunsui grinned. "Besides, one other very interesting thing came out of this, too - which is what I actually stopped you back to talk about."
"Such as?" Juushirou frowned, and Shunsui spread his hands.
"The one who broke up the fight was Shihouin." He said lightly. "Well, I was there too, of course, but it was Shihouin who actively pulled them apart."
"You mean you let Houjou-kun fight...?" Juushirou faltered, hesitating as he absorbed the rest of his friend's words. "Wait a minute. Shihouin-kun did?"
"Yes." Shunsui's eyes glittered with anticipation. "And it was Onoe he hauled up, not Houjou. Onoe's his kinsman, yet he pulled him back right away...and you know what he said about it?"
"Go on." Juushirou's brows knitted. "You'd better not be suggesting Shihouin-kun wants to be friends too, now, because I don't think he'd agree with you."
"No...not that." Shunsui shook his head. "But he did say to Onoe - 'shut your mouth, you idiot' and, erm, 'don't start rumours that you can't control'. That was it."
"The point being...?"
"Well, I thought it was interesting." Shunsui shrugged. "Shihouin, who couldn't care less if you were here or weren't, who's never said a civil word to you that I can remember and who wouldn't bother about folk spreading rumours that you were an Elephant's child...telling his own cousin to back off and shut his mouth. Doesn't that strike you as a touch odd? Even...significant in some way?"
"Now you mention it, it does sound a bit funny." Juushirou realised, scooping up his own robe as they made for the door. "As though he wasn't telling Onoe-kun to stop being stupid but rather...to not bring up a subject like that in that way."
"Yes." Shunsui beamed. "And that got me to thinking. Because the only logical reason I can think of as to why any of the Shihouin-ke wouldn't want people talking about illicit chemicals long since banned - even in connection with someone District born - is that they have some connection to those chemicals that they don't want uncovered. And from the way in which Shihouin reacted, I'd say that was a definite possibility. He looked stressed, Juu-kun. Seriously annoyed. And Onoe sent him a very odd look, too, half-resentful but almost...as though he'd got a message that hadn't been said out loud. The more I think about it, the more I think Shihouin telling Onoe not to say anything tells us more than Onoe starting rumours."
"Which means the Shihouin-ke might be connected to Megumi-san's death, after all?" Juushirou asked, and Shunsui shrugged.
"Where there's smoke." He said, a look of satisfaction entering his brown eyes. "So don't let the story upset you - all right? So far as I'm concerned, that possible little tidbit of information is worth a few days in isolation or a ruffling of feathers. Don't you think?"
"It's not your isolation or your feathers." Juushirou pointed out dryly, and Shunsui chuckled, nodding his head.
"I know." He agreed blithely. "But even so. It suggests that Shihouin - or Onoe - or both - are links in a potentially loose chain, though. Which means there's every likelihood Aitori's also involved, too - just as I thought in the first place. The only problem is that they're all accounted for the night that Megumi died - which means that they must've been in league with someone else. And...we don't have far to look for that."
"Meaning?"
"Shihouin Midori's bethrothal to Endou Seimaru." Shunsui said succinctly. "An alliance which is little different from a declaration of war in Clan terms."
"Endou..." Juushirou frowned. "That's why you didn't want Hirata to hear? Because you think I can't trust him either?"
"I didn't say anything of the sort." Shunsui shook his head. "But I do think that for his sake it's better he knows as little as possible. That way, if his Clan are involved - and they want to get him involved - he won't know anything to tell them and they'll have no benefit in forcing information from him. Will they?"
"I see." Juushirou's expression cleared. "I'm sorry...you're protecting Hirata, aren't you? Not accusing him at all."
"Hirata-chan's the kind of kid who needs protecting rather a lot, I imagine." Shunsui said with a grin. "But I'm becoming strangely fond of him, despite how often he glares at me for stealing away your company. I don't think he's got evil intentions, no. Not towards you, in any case. But on the off-chance the Endou are involved, it's better he doesn't know what we're discussing. For his sake and ours."
He shrugged.
"You mentioned Hirata's pale eyes before - and now I think on it, I've met Seimaru once or twice at a distance." he added. "I'm not certain, but I think he'd fit the description Kyouko gave us, you know. Though the Endou-ke are the Endou-ke - I believe one of their ancestors was Urahara. Which would explain it."
"Yes. I see that." Juushirou nodded. "And I agree. We should keep Hirata out of it all the more, if there's some reason to think this Seimaru person is involved. Kuchiki-kun already told me he was dangerous once - perhaps he was right."
"Ryuu-kun is pretty sharp-witted, you know, all in all - if a tad paranoid." Shunsui reflected. "But in this case he's probably right on the money. They're Endou-ke neighbours as much as I am - and he's a lot more observant than me to Clan things."
"Yes. Maybe." Juushirou frowned. "In which case, we should head to the bath house before either Hirata or Kuchiki-kun think we've been abducted or something en route."
"Good idea." Shunsui agreed. "I'm right behind you."
The moon was all but invisible in the sky that evening.
Midori rested her hands on the sill of her bedroom window, gazing absently up at the thick smudge of cloud that cloaked the sky above the Endou-ke estate. Somehow it seemed to fit, that she, a prisoner as she was, should be prevented from even seeing the beauties in Nature's night sky.
She sighed, shaking herself from her reverie.
It would not do, to dwell so much on her predicament. She would lose her wits sooner than she would find her freedom, and in this place her wits were the only thing standing between her and defeat. She was a Shihouin, after all. They did not concede to anyone that easily. And even if the Clan had decided she was to marry Seimaru, Midori had far from made up her mind as to his worthiness yet.
He is foolish, and so long as I lure him deeper into that foolishness, my chance will come. Whatever I must endure till then, I will endure it for the sake of the Clan. But I will not endure it forever. I will not be the puppet he seeks me to be - I will not raise my children as anything other than Shihouin-ke.
"Midori-sama?"
A knock at the door alerted her to Saku's presence, and she got to her feet, calling her servant to enter. The maid did so, slipping almost silently into the room and closing the door behind her before dropping down before her mistress, head lowered. Midori eyed her for a moment, a flicker of pensiveness in her heart.
But for your low blood, Saku, you might have made an assassin. Such a pity you were born in the world you were...such stealth and intelligence should be utilised, not wasted and tossed aside.
"Well?" She said aloud. "Do you have something for me?"
"Yes, Mistress." Saku opened her hands, revealing the freshly picked blossoms of the passion vine that grew not far from the bedchamber inhabited by the old and fearsome wife of the Clan leader. At the sight of them, Midori smiled, picking them up and glancing at them each carefully in turn.
"So these are the blooms of the passion flower, then?" She murmured. "I see. I have often seen dried petals and powder from those petals, but never the blossom in its fresh entirety. Yet these grow in your home District too, Saku? You are quite sure these are the same?"
"Yes, Mistress." Saku agreed. "When my Father was ill, I used to make him sleeping remedies from them...and I know that he did the same for my mother before him. She was ill for a good long time, Mistress, before she died - and in much pain. Father would do whatever he could for her - and even though I was a small child, he taught me the methods too."
"You have a quick mind and a long memory, both of which I find invaluable to me." Midori acknowledged. "Of all the things I have acquired since I came to District Seven, Saku, you are the only one in which I take any pride or gratitude. Yet the Endou-ke assigned you to be my servant because they disdain you as being beneath their own, native born District common class. You are a migrant and a nothing here, except for your usefulness to me. It never fails to amaze me how foolish the family I am supposedly marrying into are."
Saku did not reply, and Midori laughed.
"But I suppose, as a servant, you have no way to defend yourself from such prejudice." She said lightly. "You are, after all, low-born. And you have noone to speak for you. Do you?"
"I have not asked for anyone to speak for me, Mistress." Saku said softly, raising purposeful dark eyes to her companion's golden ones. "To serve you is an honour and a pleasure, and I am content in my position here. I have no reason to look for outside help. So long as I can be of service to you, Midori-sama, I am well."
"Prettily chosen words, and well learnt." Midori set the flowers down on the unit, touching Saku on the head. "But not from the heart, I think. You are a stranger in this land and you long to leave it - just as I do. But as I am, you are trapped here. Is that not so, Saku?"
"As you have already observed, Midori-sama, I have noone to speak for me, and noone to care for." Saku said simply. "This life is as good as any other."
"Perhaps." Midori fingered the petals of the passion flower thoughtfully. "But I wonder...how loyal are you? How deep do your ties here run?"
"Mistress?" Saku's eyes opened wide, and Midori smiled.
"Why do you suppose an assassin's child seeks soporific flowers?" She asked softly. "It is not to scent her pillows nor pretty her chamber, after all."
Saku stared at her, speechless, and Midori shrugged.
"I mean to find out, by fair means or foul, what my Clan have sent me into." She said simply. "If I am to be Endou Midori, I wish to know what troubles that will bring. My Clan would expect it of me, also. They are not such fools as to send their eldest eligible young woman into a lion's den without hoping she might learn something of use from her time there. Endou Seimaru has a reputation for cruelty and I find him boorish and irritating as a potential spouse...yes, I admit, he frightens me enough for me to want to find some kind of insurance. To discover the things he won't let me be told. I am here, in this building, and not with his family. I am not permitted to present myself formally before the Head of his Clan nor his immediate family. Why is this? It is an insult for one like me to be so treated...yet there must be a reason why. And I will discover those things."
She gestured to the petals.
"I may have need of those, if it proves more difficult." She added. "I will keep to my family's way and only kill those who must be killed, after all. You needn't look so shocked, Saku. I am an assassin's daughter. I am not afraid of death - giving it or receiving it. You should have realised that by now."
She eyed the maid keenly.
"Well? And now, what will you do, my attendant from District Eight? Will you run to the Endou-ke to betray my plans to them? Or will you risk your position to protect my secrets, as a like stray trapped in a foreign world?"
Saku hesitated for a moment, then she bowed once more before her companion.
"I do not break my word, Mistress." She said softly. "When you arrived here, I swore to be your loyal servant in all your needs, and to not leave your side nor give you reason to find me wanting. I mean to keep that promise. I am, after all, quite alone here. There is nobody of higher standing than Midori-sama for me to report anything to, and I have no loyalties other than my duty as your servant and companion."
"Then it is well." Midori's eyes narrowed. "But I had faith in that fact, too. I'm a good judge of character, even among the low-born servant class. At home, I always knew precisely which I could and which I could not trust to have around me. I like you, Saku. You have values even despite your birth and you do not beg for anything. You listen, you obey, and you understand. I am glad of it."
She reached across to pull her companion to her feet, slipping a tiny, elegant blade from the folds of her robe and at the sight of it, Saku blanched, staring at her companion in dismay.
"Midori-sama?"
"Are you afraid?" Midori asked curiously. "If I was to bring this to your throat, would you scream for mercy, then?"
Saku stiffened for a moment, then she shook her head.
"I am not afraid, Mistress." She said softly, standing up straight and holding her head firm. "Do with me what you will."
Midori let out a low, approving chuckle, nodding her head.
"Then so I shall." She whispered, taking the maid's hand gently in her grip and bringing the point of the blade across the palm of her hand in a swift cross. Though the weapon's edge was blunted for show, Midori's skill drew blood and Saku let out a gasp of pain and surprise at the sudden contact. She did not draw back, however, and at her strength of will, Midori found her own apprehensions lightening.
"Whatever happens from now on, I intend to keep you." She murmured. "Even when I am that man's wife. You are bound to me now - do you understand? For better or worse...you are my servant until you draw your last breath."
Saku glanced at her wounded hand, putting it gingerly to her lips as she sucked it clean of blood. She did not speak, but Midori knew from her expression that the girl had understood. And more, she had accepted it. She was now Midori's - body, heart and soul.
"Then it is well." She reflected, wiping the blade clean and sliding it back into the folds of her robe. "You are intelligent for one born so low."
She sighed, turning to face her reflection in the long, smoky mirror at the chamber's furthest end.
"I wish to know everything, Saku, and you can only be my eyes and ears in so many places." She murmured. "So there is nothing else for it. I must go myself and see what this family has hidden in the shadows of that ancient Clan building."
"But...Mistress...to leave here..." Saku was anxious, forgetting her injured hand as she started forwards. "Please, Midori-sama, let me go! I can find out whatever you need, but you know what Seimaru-sama's orders were! You weren't to leave here - please, Midori-sama, he might hurt you if he thought you'd broken your bounds!"
"Should I be content as his prisoner?" Midori eyed her companion quizzically, and Saku shook her head.
"Of course not, but..."
"But you are worried about me?" Midori was taken aback, registering for the first time the genuine anxiety in the young girl's eyes. "You are, aren't you? You fear for my safety when that man is nearby?"
Saku bit her lip, then dropped her head in an apologetic bow.
"I am beyond myself, Mistress." She murmured. "But I cannot...I do not wish...to see you come to any harm."
"Then I will reassure you." Midori's expression softened, and she reached across to tilt the girl's head back upwards, meeting her clouded gaze evenly. "Look me in the eye, Saku. I want to see it again - that apprehensive loyalty that fired up inside of you just now. Even in the few months I've been here, you've meant what you said, haven't you? You've taken your vow at your word and you intend to serve me, no matter what that means. Even to worry for my safety - I have that much of an influence over you, even now?"
"Midori-sama was separated from her home and family, and everything familiar." Saku said softly. "But you are strong, Mistress. And when I'm with you - I feel strong, too. That no matter what I face, it's not beyond me."
"I see." Midori was amused. "Well, I must say, Eighth District must be a more interesting place than I ever thought."
She shrugged her shoulders.
"You needn't concern yourself with my safety, however." She said softly. "I won't go like this. You won't know the legend, I know, of the Shihouin Shadow-cat - will you?"
"No...No, Mistress." Saku looked startled, and Midori stretched out her hands, eying them as her body became hazed in a faint bluish glow.
"The strongest female in the Clan has the power to change her form to mimic the creature of ultimate stealth and shadow-stalking." She said softly, as her body began to change and morph, her voice dropping and becoming more throaty as she allowed her power to fully engulf her form. "Watch me closely, Saku, for what you are witnessing is something never seen by those outside of the Clan's trust. You are truly my servant, now, for you've seen me in this form. In the form of the black cat - the Shadow-cat of the Shihouin-ke."
"Midori-sama." Saku's eyes could not get any wider, and Midori flicked her tail, leaping deftly up onto the window-sill and turning to face her flabbergasted companion.
"Put away my clothing, and continue as normal." She instructed. "If anyone asks to see me, tell them I have taken a sleeping potion from the flowers I sent you to bring me and cannot be roused till the morning. Keep this door shut and locked and make sure that it is not opened by anyone till I return. Understood? I will be back before the sun rises, that I guarantee."
"But...Mistress...where are you going? How will you...?"
"From this window, down to the grounds below." Midori responded simply. "A cat can make the leap with no danger, and Seimaru and his foolish kin don't know that their precious prisoner has such a perfectly kept secret. They are truly very ignorant as to the Shihouin-ke, and I seek to utilise that. I will return safely, when I have had a chance to discover a few more of this dark family's secrets. Do you understand my instructions, Saku?"
Saku hesitated for a moment, then she bowed her head.
"Yes, Midori-sama. I'll do exactly as you say." She said softly, her composure back in her voice. "And pray for your safe return."
Midori flicked her tail once more in acknowledgement, then she turned, slipping through the gap in the barred windows and leaping down to the bushes below.
Saku is strong-willed, to recover her wits so quickly. She really is wasted - I wonder, if I've time to kill, whether I might have her train as an assassin on my behalf after all. If I must stay here, after all, I must have something to keep me occupied in the long and boring days and weeks to come.
She paused, raising her head to sniff the air as a flow of different scents and auras criss-crossed her enhanced feline senses.
Seimaru. What do you do, then, when I do not see you? What do you hide from me, even though you speak of making me your wife? What makes you so confident and so dismissive of my family's influence? I want to know.
She padded softly across the grass, following the taint of her fiance's distinctive aura to the crumbling far wall of what could only be described as a castle outchamber, built in ancient times by some of the earliest Endou-ke as they had laid claim to this land as their own. In the years since, it had been altered and developed into one of the most impressive estates for miles around, yet these chipped, chalky foundations amused Midori as she neatly clambered her way up the outside to the nearest window.
Shaky foundations make a shaky Clan. I rather like that idea.
She flexed her claws, digging them deeply into the wood of the window shutters as she edged her tiny form carefully onto the sill, concealing herself in the shadow cast by the cloud-coated moon. The taint was stronger within, along with other strong traces of high-ranking members of the clan, and Midori slipped soundlessly inside, dropping down unseen into the darkened corner of the room. She pressed her slender body closer to the cold wall of the chamber, settling herself down in the shade of one of the large, ornate columns that flanked the central desk. It was an overly demonstrative display of Clan power for a chamber so deep within the Endou estate, yet somehow it fit the family that lived around it, and Midori found her derision growing three-fold as she contemplated this fact.
The Head of the Endou-ke, the white-haired, ruthless figure of Endou Shouichi was nowhere to be seen, but in his place Seimaru sat behind the desk, going through a pile of documents with a careful, scrutinous eye. As he engrossed himself in his work, however, the door slid back, and at the interruption, Midori felt the flicker of tension sear through her fiance's body.
"Do you not knock before you enter this room?" He demanded, and the other man smiled, shaking his head as he closed the divide softly behind him.
"I have no need to knock, nor announce my presence to you yet, Seimaru-kun." He said softly, his tones even and unwavering. "You spent much time with Mother this morning, after all - I trust she hasn't yet changed her position regarding your official role in this house?"
"Grandmother is an interfering old fool who thinks she has more power than she does." Seimaru bristled. "You know that as well as I, Ojisama. You seek to benefit from it, in fact, at my expense. It's clear that I am the next blood heir to the family, after Father's death last year. Yet she refuses to ratify what is simply logic. And Grandfather insists on humouring her...I cannot understand why."
"Because Mother knows you are still young and foolish, perhaps, and she wants to be sure you have the right qualities to lead this family into the future." His companion said lightly. "She is no fool, after all. Even Father sees that - she has much affection and support from so many areas of District Seven that defying her will in these matters could lead to civil war."
He shrugged his shoulders.
"But you are betrothed, now, are you not?" He said softly. "So you will soon have your way. Mother will ratify your position when you take a wife...then she will acknowledge you as adult enough to rule the Clan. She believes, after all, that the Endou-ke should never be without a woman's touch behind the man's guiding hand. So humour her, and you might find things get easier. Bring Midori-dono into the central house and present her properly. There is surely no reason to delay."
"I don't need advice from you." Seimaru snapped, his tones dripping with derision. "You and your whole family would not even be within an inch of this District, let alone this Clan if it was simply down to the good sense of Grandfather and I. Just because the old woman has always doted on you...you think you can supercede your position and talk to me as my superior. You will never be that, Misashi-jisama. Grandmother may be beloved by many, but she is old, ill and infirm. She will not live forever. And when she dies, you can mark my words. There will be no more time to waste spoiling you or your pathetic family."
Midori watched as the uncle's eyes became shadowed, and he slowly shook his head.
"Mother understands that a Clan founded entirely on killing weakens itself with every strike." He said softly. "That is why she favours me over you. It is the only reason. It has nothing to do with sentimentality or a mother's feeling for her son. She believes that, of all her children, I see things closest to her way, and therefore she has put her backing behind me. If you would come to understand her meaning, I think it would benefit you. I've no desire to rule the Endou-ke over your head. I never have done. But I dislike the rifts that exist between members of our Clan. You would kill me soon as look at me - and my wife and children by association. And now you plot the assassination of another - of a stranger, whose actions have no direct bearing on you whatsoever."
"Liar." Seimaru hissed, his reiatsu prickling and dancing with indignation. "Genryuusai-sama isn't a stranger, and his actions have an impact on all of us. He is allowing low-born, district children to learn Noble skills. He is spreading the word that those creatures, who crawl out of whatever homes to do whatever work are in some way our equals and I will not allow that! This Clan was founded on more than that, after all! And Grandfather believes the same as I do. Why else do you suppose so many people in District Seven have been exiled or slain in the past twelve months?"
"Because a mad-man gave an order and the people were too afraid to disobey." Misashi said simply, and Seimaru let out a cry of anger, launching himself at his Uncle. The older man was too quick for him, however, deflecting his attempt and knocking the boy to the floor.
"Stop this." He said softly. "You are my nephew, not my enemy. We are kin. Clan. We are on the same side, deep down beneath all the rivalry and animosity."
"And that's why you disobeyed Grandfather and sent your snivelling brat of a son to that Academy instead of training him here?" Seimaru demanded. "I'm not stupid, even though you think I am. I know Hirata was sent there because you intend him to rival me in some way. You want him to get stronger on these base, cheap methods Genryuusai is teaching, and then challenge and kill me. That's your intention, and it always has been! Your sweet words have never fooled me for a moment. I know you are Endou, just as I am. And I understand better than anyone how the Endou-ke work."
"Yes. I'm sure you do." Misashi looked pained, and despite herself Midori felt sorry for him. "But Hirata's education has nothing to do with you. I felt it best. That's all. I would not want my son to inherit the bloodstained fields of District Seven in those circumstances - now or ever. Leave the boy to himself, Seimaru. He is not a part of your scheme and he is not your puppet. I will not allow him to become so."
"Like I need a mouse like that." Seimaru snorted. "I might slit his throat one day, but other than that he has no interest for me at all. No. I have more important things on my mind. Things involving the Clan. Things involving the Shihouin. And things involving the future."
At the sound of her Clan's name, Midori tensed, and for a brief moment Misashi's gaze flitted towards her hiding place, making her afraid that she had been discovered. The moment passed, however, and Misashi turned his attention back to his nephew.
"The Shihouin are still keen to please you, then, even now they know what you intend to do?"
"The Head of the Clan takes too seriously the offer of combining our chemical research in order to strengthen the weakling that leads his Clan." Seimaru said scornfully. "I will marry the girl, and cement the alliance - Kai will do as he's told so long as Midori is here, and he's not without skills of his own."
"Perhaps the girl has some of her own, too."
"It matters little to me either way." Seimaru shrugged dismissively, and Midori felt a hot rush of indignant pride engulf her feline body. "She is pretty and she will provide enough entertainment to keep me from killing her - that is all she is to me. A puppet to satisfy Grandfather - with enough obnoxious pride to satisfy me as well."
"I doubt that the Shihouin would like their famed beauty to be so regarded." Misashi said lightly, and Seimaru snorted.
"She belongs to me now. It's not for them to care." He said simply. "And all the action is currently in District One, anyhow. I have Kai willing to do anything if he thinks it can benefit his family and protect his beloved sister, so her being here is a good thing, not a bad one. As for the smuggler Aitori, I find it interesting how the lower born degrees of some Clans will betray their families and their principles when its a matter of money. He's not foolish, not like you are, and he doesn't cling to idealism in the same way you do. He sees the reality - his Clan are weak and ours have plenty to make us strong. In the end, that will prevail. Whatever we do, Ojisama, it will be done as though the Shihouin were responsible. Aitori will see to it, after all, in every regard."
He laughed.
"I already disposed of one loose end in a local town with the help of a Shihouin blade." He added. "Courtesy of that man's obliging will to please. It won't be difficult to build on that, I'm sure. There is plenty to incriminate them, and I am already sowing those seeds. They're helping me without realising it in so many ways its almost painful to watch. When they fall, we will have everything they leave behind. Their research. Their land...through my marriage to Midori, District Two will also become the domain of our Clan, sure enough."
"Midori-dono?" Misashi murmured. "But unless I'm mistaken, Midori-dono's claim is only fourth in line..."
"Yes, but when the Council have the proof of chemical dabbling that Aitori can provide, those obstacles will be removed." Seimaru said calmly, even as Midori's heart clenched in her chest. "Midori's Uncle, cousin, Father and older brother are all, after all, intertwined in that beyond hope of rescue. Midori will be the one to inherit, and what is hers will belong to me. You see? I have out-thought you, after all. "With that power we can challenge the Kuchiki or Shiba and bring reason back to Soul Society. Even if we fail to kill Genryuusai, we will gain enough through the Shihouin's disgrace to change our influence and improve our position. You can kiss your ideals goodbye. When I am Head of this Clan, there will be no foolish whims granted to old women who get in the way, after all."
With that he swept out of the room, door banging behind him, and Midori found she could not move, still reeling from the shock of his words.
"You should come out now, Shadow-cat of the Shihouin." Misashi's voice startled her from her daze, and she raised her feline head to his pale eyes, eying him in consternation as he reached down to coax her from her hiding place.
"Yes, I know who you are." He murmured. "And I knew you were listening, so I wanted to make sure you heard everything for yourself."
Midori hesitated for a moment and Misashi smiled.
"Seimaru is dangerous, and as deluded as my Father." He said simply. "He can't see how the world is changing. Your Clan are also guilty of that, though, and it will be the ruin of one or both of them if this goes on. Like you, I don't want to see that happen. There are people here I care about, just as there are people in District Two who I'm sure you care for too."
He set her down on the ground.
"Excuse my familiarity of touch, Midori-sama." He added. "But I wanted you to see that I'm your ally. Seimaru doesn't know about your cat transformation, perhaps. But I spent some time in the past in District Two, and I heard the legend of the Shadow-cat - the technique passed from the most skilled woman of your Clan to her successor. This is the first time I've seen it for myself, perhaps. But it confirms for me what I suspected all along. You shouldn't be here - your family need you more."
Midori's eyes narrowed.
"What's in it for you?" She asked softly, her voice deep and throaty as she leapt up onto the desk, pawing at the discarded documents. "If eveything Seimaru said is true, why would it not be to your benefit to annexe our Clan and keep me here?"
Misashi paused for a moment, then he sighed.
"I have a wife and two children who are in grave danger if things continue this way." He said evenly. "I'm not weak, Midori-sama, and I've been dealing with my family's situation for a long time. But I worry for them. Mother has always shielded us but she is getting weaker, and she may not live the year out. When she dies, that protection will be gone and Father has never shown me any favour. My life may be forfeit and my family's likewise."
He shook his head as if to clear it.
"Hirata is shy and timid, and has had good reason to be fearful his whole life." He murmured. "Living in the shadow of all of this, knowing that at any moment the balance could shift. But he has gifts and so I sent him to Genryuusai-sama in the hope that maybe, somehow, he could learn to use them. Time is running out, though, for all of us. I can't protect my kin forever, either. And Hirata is just a boy, even now."
Midori gazed at him for a moment, seeing sincerity in his pale eyes, and slowly she nodded.
"I believe you, Misashi-sama." She said gravely. "And I thank you for your concern. You can guarantee I will not let this rest - on the pride of my Clan, I will not let them be so easily destroyed."
With that she jumped up onto the window-ledge, launching herself down into the outside undergrowth as she made her way back towards the annexe. As she ran, her resolve hardened inside of her.
I need to leave here. I need to go to District One myself and stop whatever's happening there. Whatever the risk to me, I have to do it. Even if it puts Kai in danger. Because if I don't stop Aitori and expose his betrayal, the whole Clan might fall. And there's no way I'll ever allow that...even if it costs me my life!