Chapter Nineteen: Blood Shadow
"The beauty of Summer in this part of the world seems to be that, no matter what the day happens to be, you can always count on beautiful sunshine."
Shunsui gazed up at the sky, a grin crossing his features as he held his palms out to the sun. "Maybe it's being a Summer baby myself, I don't know - but the sun always makes me feel like something good is about to happen."
"And that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact last night Genryuusai-sensei lifted your interdict and ended your extra Kitchen duties, would it?" Juushirou cast him an amused glance. "This is the first free day in a long time that you've been given proper permission to leave school grounds - no wonder you're in a good mood. You even managed to get out of bed voluntarily for breakfast when you didn't have to. I'm impressed. First yesterday's results, now this - can you have possibly turned over a new leaf?"
"I was feeling a little claustrophobic, being confined to quarters." Shunsui admitted sheepishly. "I suppose at home I'm used to slipping out and doing what I please when I please - even if I should be in the middle of some lesson or other. I'm not very good with schedules and timetables and things like that - rules too."
Juushirou laughed.
"Yes, I think we've all got a good idea of that fact." He teased. "But it's fine. We're all used to you, now. It's nice, isn't it? Even Shihouin-kun is separating himself less from the group, and I feel like Class One are all on fairly good terms now as we approach the end of our first full semester. It makes me think that by the time we graduate, we'll all be much more a team than we started out."
"If it was anyone other than you saying it, I'd laugh." Shunsui offered him a wry smile. "But normal rules don't seem to apply where you're concerned, so I'll hazard that anything's possible."
"Shunsui!" Juushirou grimaced, colour flushing into his cheeks as he read the implication in his companion's words. "I'm not an interfering busybody!"
"I said nothing of the sort." Shunsui said innocently. "You're the one who came up with that tag - not me."
"Fine. Whatever." Juushirou's expression became one of resignation. "Where are we walking today, anyhow? To celebrate your first day of freedom? I'm surprised it's just the two of us - does that mean you've an ulterior motive behind today's visit?"
"Mm. Maybe." Shunsui acknowledged. "I still have a lot of questions to ask about Megumi, I suppose, providing I have better luck than Minabe-sensei and her fearsome interrogation techniques. Megumi and Kyouko were the only girls I really knew well enough to gain trust with - so who knows. I have to try, though. Even though I more or less know most of the particulars now - there are still a few things I'm trying to work out."
Juushirou frowned, considering this for a moment, and Shunsui cast him a questioning look.
"Something on your mind?"
"Not exactly." Juushirou shook his head, offering his companion a rueful smile. "Just, since results yesterday, Shihouin-kun seems to have thawed towards you completely. I wouldn't say that it was a case of him making you his instant best friend - it's not that way at all, because he's not that kind of person. But it's as though...you've gained his trust. I almost thought he was going to come into the town with us today, in fact. Was it something to do with your letter from Tokutarou-sama? We haven't discussed that yet, and I'm guessing that's because there's something in it that I don't need to know...?"
"Not especially." Shunsui grinned. "You're sharp, though. Shihouin did tell me something which has more or less settled Megumi's death in my mind. The only trouble - and it's a big one - would be to prove it, so right at the moment, unless I can find some evidence in town that will do that, I don't think we can. And I hate admitting that, but it's like we're about to hit a brick wall."
He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm not giving up." He said frankly. "But I think I might have to sit on it and be patient for a while longer. Kyouko at least is safe and alive, and she's a witness. In the end, I think, I may have to let things work themselves out."
"Then why are we coming into town?"
Shunsui hesitated for a moment, eying his friend keenly. Then he shrugged.
"Well, there is something I can say about Nii-sama's letter." He responded evenly. "About the missing Midori."
"Shihouin-kun's elder sister?" Juushirou's brows knitted together. "She's safe, isn't she? You said..."
"Yes. Seems to be she left Seventh District of her own accord." Shunsui agreed. "Which I'd half expected anyway. But Nii-sama seemed to think that her destination was this way. He pretty much confirmed that she'd crossed into Eighth - though he wasn't explicit about how, when or why - and he said he thought her destination was District One. How he came by that information is beyond me - but it would make sense if she was. If she found something out in District Seven, after all..."
"Mm." Juushirou frowned. "And she's worried about her brother, so she's come here to make sure he's not tied up in something bad?"
"If only it was something so simple." Shunsui sighed. "I've never met Midori-dono, Juu. I've only heard about her in various reports and messages. But Kai-kun told me that her reiatsu exceeded his - and that she was easily the strongest and most respected person in her generation of the Shihouin-ke. For a family which prides itself on swift and merciless action, I can't help but wonder what kind of an individual we're dealing with. Someone who can escape from the clutches of Endou Seimaru...that's no mean feat in itself."
"Seimaru-sama is really that bad a person, then, is he?"
"He's greedy, violent and cold to the core, I suppose." Shunsui said casually. "He's not a nice person. Let's leave it at that. He's the one behind the cleansing of District Seven's spiritually gifted individuals, after all. Our Clan have a military history, and the Shiba have good sword and combat skills. The Yamamoto excel at various Ouyoudou skills, and the Shihouin are the silent assassins. But if you were to categorise the Endou, the word that springs to mind is 'barbarian'. What Hirata's said about his own family, I can quite believe. Any decent strain of that Clan would immediately be seen as a threat to the family - and so would be targets for elimination. A family like that...yet Midori-dono escaped. Without the knowledge and support of her mother house, she's slipped under the radar and made her own progress here. I can't help but think she's come to do more than help Kai-kun or put his mind at rest. I don't think she's a delicate flower by any stretch of the imagination."
"Then what?" Juushirou asked. "Like Minabe-sensei?"
"Heaven forbid." Shunsui said fervently, and Juushirou laughed, amused by his friend's expression.
"Minabe-sensei isn't that terrible, so long as you work hard." He chided, and Shunsui snorted.
"Which is why she and I don't really get along." He reasoned. "But in any case, the other thing about Midori-dono is that she's supposedly a great beauty. Well, the Shihouin have fine features anyway - striking, you know? If Kai-kun's anything to go by, I'd say it's probably no exaggeration. Beautiful women have power in this world, and that's no lie."
"Not everything relies on beauty, Shunsui." Juushirou scolded, and Shunsui shrugged.
"Yes, but if you know how to use it, it becomes a weapon in its own right." He said wryly. "Trust me."
"I hate to think where you obtained that knowledge." Juushirou murmured, eying his friend pensively. "All right, then. So you think Shihouin-kun's sister is coming here? Then what - do you intend looking for her?"
"Probably impossible, if she's a Shihouin." Shunsui frowned. "Apparently she has a special talent - she can change her appearance and when she does so, her reiatsu can be completely concealed from even the sharpest senses. Kai-kun probably wouldn't be able to find her - and neither of us have ever met her. Still..."
"Still?"
"Even knowing that, I felt we should come." Shunsui sighed, rubbing his temples. "It might not accomplish anything at all. But I suppose I thought we'd head to some of the local inns and find out whether a girl and a black cat have recently arrived in this area."
He paused again, then,
"I thought it might be important, for us to know if Midori-dono was planning on making a stop here on her trip back towards District Two. After all, there are people still worrying about her safety."
"A girl and a...cat?"
"Yes."
"Midori-sama brought her pet with her?" Juushirou was flummoxed, and at his expression, Shunsui laughed.
"No." He said, shaking his head. "Midori-sama is the cat. That's her other form."
"Oh." Juushirou frowned. "And the other?"
"A servant, probably - most likely a Shihouin contact who helped her slip District Seven's security." Shunsui replied. "I can't imagine that she went into the Endou-ke's domain without her own people nearby to report back to her Uncle, after all. Probably one of them helped to cover her escape and has come this far with her to make sure nothing gets in her way."
He laughed.
"That one might well be like Minabe." He added, humour touching his gaze. "I think you'd need to be pretty tough to travel alone with the Princess of the Shihouin-ke."
"But Shihouin-kun loves Midori-sama a whole lot." Juushirou mused. "So she can't be that bad a person. Not if she has a close bond like that with her siblings. After all, Shihouin-kun isn't a bad person, either. Proud, perhaps, and we haven't come from the same backgrounds. But even so..."
"There you go again, insisting on seeing the best in people." Shunsui rolled his eyes. "It's becoming a habit with you, you know. You need to keep..."
He faltered, his words dying on his lips, and Juushirou's brows knitted together as he interpreted the sudden change in his companion's demeanour. The older boy had stopped dead, colour draining from his face as he stared across the busy market-place, and despite himself Juushirou was aware of a sudden, flickering tension running through his friend's lithe body.
"Shunsui-kun? Are you all right? You've gone white - like you've seen a ghost!"
"I...I maybe did." Shunsui shook his head as if trying to clear it, biting his lip as he grabbed Juushirou by the arm. His grip was frantic and uncharacteristically tight, and he flung a hand out in the direction of the book shop. "Look. Look over there. Tell me. Do you see a girl? A girl dressed in black and purple...do you see her?"
"Yes." Now Juushirou was completely lost, but he nodded his head all the same. "I see her. With her hair pulled back in two tails...why?"
Shunsui muttered a curse, closing his eyes for a moment as if trying to regain his composure.
"I hoped it was a hallucination." He murmured. "But I guess not. I guess...I guess not."
"Shunsui, what has gotten into you?" Juushirou demanded, anxiety beginning to swirl inside of him at his friend's uncharacteristic behaviour. "Who is that girl? You're acting totally unlike yourself - what's wrong?"
Shunsui swallowed, wetting his lips as he glanced once more across the square.
"Etsuo Saku." He murmured. "An acquaintance...from a long time ago."
"An acquaintance?" Juushirou's brain began to whir into action. "A girl...from the past? Your past? From your 'aimless life' in Eighth District?"
"No. Not exactly." Shunsui sighed, grabbing Juushirou once more and pulling him into a concealed side alley out of sight. He dropped back against the wall, rubbing his temples as he did so, and Juushirou eyed him quizzically.
"Shunsui?"
"I knew Saku when I was a boy. When I was at my Uncle's house, not far from the border with Seventh District." Shunsui murmured hoarsely, his voice uneven and shaking as he struggled to form his thoughts into coherent words. "She and I...played together. Until I was fourteen. And my brother came...to take me home."
"So why are you hiding?" Juushirou demanded. "Why are you shaking, Shunsui? If she's an old childhood friend, what's to be afraid of? What happened between you, that just seeing her makes you like this?"
"I told you, didn't I?" Shunsui raised hopeless eyes to his companion. "That the serious ones wound you more deeply than you ever care to find out?"
"Wound you...?" Juushirou echoed slowly, and Shunsui nodded.
"She was District. I was Clan." He said simply. "And that's how it was."
Juushirou's eyes widened.
"You mean...you were...in love with her?"
"Try present tense." Shunsui grimaced, running his fingers agitatedly through his short messy hair. "I didn't anticipate we'd meet again, though. I suppose I hoped in some ways we wouldn't. Not after how we parted...I didn't want to cross paths with her again."
Juushirou stared at his friend for a moment, taking in his complete breakdown in composure, then he sighed.
"You flirt and tease and play around." He murmured. "But this girl...this Etsuo Saku...you've been in love with her all of this time? Even since before I knew you - since you were what, fourteen years old?"
"No. Undoubtedly before. Maybe since the start, who knows?" Shunsui groaned. "Listen. I was a prisoner at my Uncle's estate. Father was dead, and Mother a long way away. Saku was my neechan - she and I played together and she was...she was freer than I was. I liked that. She was interesting. Fun. Exciting."
"Girls with freedom in their eyes." Juushirou peered thoughtfully around the corner of the building, then, "I start to understand, then, what that means."
"Yes." Shunsui said heavily. "Now you do."
"But you hurt her? It must've been bad, if you're like this. Or was it she who hurt you? Because even so..."
"We were innocent and we neither of us understood what the implications were of our friendship." Shunsui murmured. "Especially not me. I liked her and she was pretty. So I kissed her, and she kissed me. But we were found out by Uncle's retainers, and that was that. She was sent away, and her father too. I was locked away...then Nii-sama came and took me back home. Being Clan was the only reason our friendship was unsuitable. No other reason, just that. But because I was Clan, she suffered. Her father lost his position and they had to go back to struggling for their income."
"Shunsui..." Juushirou's eyes softened at the bitterness in his companion's voice, and Shunsui shrugged.
"That was bad enough, being responsible for that without meaning it." He said painfully. "But we met again, two years later on. I was the bocchan then, I suppose - robed as a Kyouraku so much that she didn't even recognise me. And she...her eyes weren't free, then. Her father had died, and she'd talked of leaving. She said to me, that time, that she wished I hadn't come. That it hurt to even see me...and so I left. I never tried to follow her from Eighth District...or anything else. She said she was going to leave and the border of the Endou-ke's land was nearest, so I imagine that was where she went. And I let her. I let her go, Juushirou. Because I didn't want to be more pain for her. In the end, I realised, that so long as she and I were acquainted, I could only bring her pain."
Juushirou was silent for a moment, digesting this. Then,
"But you still love her, even now?"
"It's stupid, isn't it?" Shunsui managed a weak laugh. "That someone like me would be so easily pulled up on such a simple, childlike attachment. But that was why, probably. The innocence of it. You can't ever go back to not knowing something once you know it, Juu. That's why I envy you so much as I do. You don't know so many things about being Clan, or fighting Clan, or the hideous sides to being privileged that exist. I can't escape from those things - they're shackles I was born wearing and I'll never shake them off."
He sighed, raising his gaze to the skies, and Juushirou saw the genuine emotion in his friend's eyes.
"It's why I let her go." He murmured. "In case somehow she could find that freedom again, once my family and I were no longer casting her in shadow."
Juushirou looked thoughtful for a moment.
"If she went to the Endou-ke's land, though, why is she here now?" He wondered. "I might not know much about the Clans inner workings, but I do know my geography. This is District One. It borders District Eight and District Two. Not District Seven. To get here, she must've returned to her home territory – mustn't she?"
Shunsui stiffened, staring at his companion in consternation.
"I hadn't thought of it that way." He admitted, and Juushirou sighed, taking him by the shoulders and giving him a friendly shake.
"Now I know you're really out of it, because you're usually the one who sees things like that a mile off." He said frankly. "Maybe she went back to District Eight to see you – and you weren't there. Did you think of that?"
Shunsui frowned, slowly shaking his head.
"She didn't do that." He said softly. "Of all the things she might've done, Juu, I'm certain of that one. She had no intention of ever coming back – more, no intention of ever being beholden to the Kyouraku-ke in any way whatsoever again. If she went back to District Eight for any reason, it had nothing to do with me or my family. I might not have seen her in some time, but I'm one hundred percent sure of that."
He sighed heavily.
"Let's go back to school." He added. "Before she sees me."
"She's gone in any case." Juushirou peered back around the wall. "But if you feel that way, we'll go. You need to pull yourself together, anyhow. If Sora saw you now she wouldn't even know you."
"I guess not." Shunsui acknowledged ruefully, glancing down at his shaking hands as he did so. "Even I didn't realise Saku could affect me this badly, Juu – not now, so long after we last met. But I suppose I underestimated it inside of me. A year and a half ago, the last time we spoke, what she said cut right through me to the bone. Although we'd become like strangers, it was like being turned on by the one I'd trusted in the most. That last time we met was the first time I realised how much I loved her. And I didn't handle it very well. Not well at all, in fact."
He spread his hands, a flicker of his usual self surfacing briefly in his dark eyes.
"I'm Father's son, as I keep telling you." He concluded at length. "The good parts and the bad. Father died with a reputation of drinking and womanising hanging over his head – and I fell into the same traps. He couldn't face his duty and I couldn't face losing Saku - not because I loved her, but because somehow I'd lost my hope of finding freedom the moment she disappeared from my life."
He sighed, pulling a graphic face.
"His reasons were a bit more noble, perhaps, than my self-pitying excesses." He acknowledged. "But it ran deep and I didn't know what to do about it. Tokutarou-nii sent me to the Academy because I was out of his control – he hoped Yama-jii would straighten me out somehow. I guess in that sense he has, but…it hasn't changed everything."
"You know, you're really quite soft-hearted deep down, underneath all that flirting and banter and teasing you do." Juushirou reflected as they made their way slowly back towards the centre of the town and the path that led back to the Academy. "I'd never have picked you to be a weeping heart romantic, though…it seems a little at odds with the rest of you, if you don't mind me saying."
He grinned as Shunsui reddened.
"I'm really not sure what to do with you when you're like this." He added.
"I'll snap out of it." Shunsui assured him ruefully. "I will – I have before. It was just a shock to see her – that's all. Something I wasn't expecting. I'm sorry to break down on you, Juushirou – I'm all right now, I think."
He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"Tokutarou-nii also sent me here because he was worried about me and so was Mother – so much she cried." He said sadly. "I always swore that I wouldn't make her cry like Father had, but in the end I did. Maybe that was a turning point, somewhere. I don't know. But I couldn't talk to them about Saku. Still can't. Never will, most likely. It's not something they'd understand – either of them."
"They could try." Juushirou looked surprised. "If it was me, I know someone in my family would listen, after all."
"Your family are different from mine. For a start, mine are Clan, and even family love has agendas in Clan life." Shunsui said matter-of-factly. "More, though, neither of them knew Saku or knew me when I knew Saku. Uncle took me from home aged six. Tokutarou-nii rescued me when I was fourteen. The time in between I never talk about to them – because it's a reminder of what Uncle did to Father and what Uncle tried to do with me. I don't need them to remember that Uncle wanted to make me a weapon and a traitor, and even though he failed, I don't want to put rifts between me and my existing family. Even if we aren't as close as you are to your family, they are still my kin after all. And I do still care about them. Both of them. A lot."
"So you've kept it hidden." Juushirou murmured. "And let it run riot around your head for however long until it's got to this point."
"Mm. I told you I didn't do confiding all that easily." Shunsui reminded him. "I meant it."
"But you told me." Juushirou said simply. "About your Father and now about Saku-san. So it's not that you can't talk about things. You just don't."
Shunsui looked rueful, shaking his head.
"No. It's only because it's you doing the asking." He said with a shrug. "That's all. It's hard not to answer when you ask me a question, Juu-kun."
"You're making me seem interfering again." Juushirou objected, but Shunsui grinned, and his companion was glad to see the warmth returning to his gaze.
"I don't mean it that way." He responded. "It's just that…somehow…I know that whatever I say to you it's fine. You might understand or you might not. But you'll listen. You won't laugh. And if you can give me advice, you will – whether I take it or not. Besides, none of these things concern you directly, either. You're not blood-connected to any of the people involved. So that means there's no danger in telling you."
Juushirou eyed him thoughtfully for a moment.
"When you say things like that, I find it strange." He admitted. "Of course I'd listen, and give advice if I could. It's not that big a deal, you know…it's just what friends do, after all."
"Not always." Shunsui shook his head.
"Then I guess I have a different concept of friendship." Juushirou replied. "But you'd listen to me too, wouldn't you?"
"Yes. You know I would."
"Then what's unusual about it? It seems normal enough to me."
"And that's why I trust you." Shunsui grinned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Because you see things just like that."
"That's because it's the most obvious way to see them." Juushirou responded matter-of-factly. "You just look for angles and ulterior motives and annoy yourself when you can't find them. That's all."
He smiled.
"But I'm glad you told me about Saku-san." He added. "I feel like another piece in the Shunsui puzzle fell into place a little bit today."
"The Shunsui puzzle, huh?" Shunsui snorted. "Thanks. Now I feel like I'm one of Yama-jii's brain-breaking Sakusen theory questions!"
Juushirou opened his lips to respond, but as he did so, something sharp assailed his senses, and he stopped dead in his tracks, turning to gaze at his companion with alarmed hazel eyes.
"Did you just feel that?" He demanded, and Shunsui nodded, his expression darkening.
"Reiatsu." He agreed. "And not just any reiatsu. That's a zanpakutou release, Juu-kun. Someone's fighting. And they mean business about it."
"A zanpakutou..." Juushirou faltered, then, "Anideshi? Or...one of the staff...? Or wait, not all of them have zanpakutou, do they? So who, then?"
"We're going to find out." Shunsui said grimly, grabbing his friend by the arm. "And we're going to do so right now. It's breaking all kinds of laws to release a blade in a civilian area without due cause, so either the local Gotei squad representatives or District One's Clan retainers will be on the scene before we know it. And then there'll be a big fuss."
"You think it's not to do with them already?" Juushirou asked anxiously, and Shunsui shook his head.
"I don't think its a Yamamoto blade." He said frankly, consternation glittering in his dark eyes. "You won't know this, Juu-kun, because you've not had much to do with zanpakutou as yet. But each Clan has a particular feeling to their weaponry - a tiny fragment of something that's common between their blades. No matter how different the releases prove to be, there's still that underlying proof of where it came from."
"Meaning?"
"I've never felt this zanpakutou's aura before." Shunsui said grimly. "But I do know one thing. It has a distinctive assassin's edge to its reiatsu."
"Assassin's..." Juushirou faltered, then, "Shihouin-ke?"
"Yes." Shunsui nodded. "I may be way off the mark. But I have a sudden strong feeling that the elusive Shihouin Midori-sama has finally arrived in District One."
Some time just after dawn that morning, while Shunsui and his classmates were preparing for the day ahead, Midori and her companion had finally arrived in the heart of District One.
The black cat stretched out in the shade beneath the tree's heavy branches, stifling a yawn as she curled her tail around her paws. It had been a long and tiring journey across the borderlands, through hilly country which in her feline form had been more difficult to traverse than it would have been on foot. Saku too had struggled with the heavy terrain, though she had not complained once about the heat nor the length of the journey, and Midori had been glad of it. Her companion was still, in some ways, a mystery to her. But she was not a quitter - and for now that was enough.
And now we're within reach of the Academy. If only it was safe to use shunpo - but even if I did, and took Saku with me, someone would be down on me within the instant. I don't know the landscape well enough to risk it, either. Tired as I am and with this heat, I wouldn't be able to conceal myself as well as I can now whilst using that skill - and I have already taken risk enough. I must not be discovered until I have completed my objectives.
She sighed, resting her head on her paws as she considered. Despite her weariness, Saku had headed directly into the town, bent on a particular errand, and at the back of her senses Midori could feel the girl's presence as she hurried from shop to shop, gathering the information that they would need.
This journey would have been twice as hard without her at my side. Why the Endou discarded her so easily is beyond me. A girl with skills and obedience and a willingness to learn and understand. What better could you ask for in a subordinate? Saku is not a servant to be gainsaid lightly. Their loss is my gain, in the end. If not for her knowledge, I might still be lost in District Eight's confounded flower gardens.
"Mistress?"
A soft voice alerted her at that moment and she raised her head, gazing up at the object of her thoughts with quizzical golden eyes.
"I have returned." Saku said unnecessarily, dropping down onto the grass and setting the basket down beside her. "As you instructed, I have purchased the cheapest of peasant robes with the coin you gave me."
"Good girl." Midori arched her back, stretching and pulling her slender black body upright as she rested her paws on the edge of the basket, nudging the cloth back with her nose. "And the other thing? Have you discovered what it is I need to know?"
"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku offered her a faint smile. "It seems that your lord brother's Hohou instructor owns a house just beyond the central concourse of the town. It's not a big one, but two storeys in height and many of the locals know him by name and face because of his association with the school."
"Aitori Hideaki." Midori's claws flexed and retracted, and she nodded, closing her eyes as her body shimmered and changed back into her original form. "Then it is well. We aren't far away, after all. I will change, Saku, and you take a moment to rest. Then we will move. Understand?"
"Yes, Mistress. Whenever you're ready."
"Good girl." Midori flashed her a smile, scooping up the peasant robe in her hands and pulling it over her slender form. "There. Scratchy and uncomfortable it might be, but it will do for the time being. Fine clothes would only be ruined, after all - and I don't need to draw unwanted attention to myself. You know how to find this house, Saku?"
"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku agreed. "From here it's a mere minute's walk, and if we follow the forest path, we won't meet any townspeople on the way."
"That's fortunate." Midori commented. "But I don't suppose it's a coincidence, considering the kind of man we go to see."
Saku hesitated for a moment, then,
"Midori-sama, do you intend to kill Aitori-san as well?" She asked softly, and Midori eyed her for a moment.
"Does it trouble you, then, that I took a man's life on our way into this town?" She asked softly, and Saku bit her lip.
"I'm not used to it." She admitted. "I've faced death and I'm not naive. I understand it, and I'm not questioning your actions. I just..."
"Fujima was one of Aitori's agents, but also, it seems, a trafficker of illegal chemical stimulants." Midori tied the sash of the robe tightly around her waist. "Chemicals known locally as 'reidoku' - chemicals which have been poisoning the local population. Do you believe such a man deserves to live?"
"I...I suppose not."
"You are innocent, sometimes." Midori rested her hand on her companion's shoulders. "There is a time and a place for most things, but in this place and in his possession were not appropriate. There is danger to my family if a man like him is allowed to carry out such a dirty task. So I have silenced him. Now he can't speak about from where he received his reidoku, can he?"
Saku's eyes widened in alarm.
"You mean...Midori-sama...this reidoku..."
"Is from District Two. Yes." Midori nodded her head. "But it was never intended for anything like this. And you would do well not to mention it to anyone. This is a test of my faith in you, Saku. The knowledge you now have is a matter of life and death - for you, for me, perhaps for my whole family. Knowing it, do you still think that I have no reason to kill?"
She smiled slightly.
"I do not want to kill you." She added lightly. "That is the truth, because I have become fond of you. But if you did betray that trust, I would have no choice. Do you understand, now? The stakes for my Clan are higher than they've ever been. You have helped me at great risk to yourself. If you bear out my faith in you, I will ensure your life from now on is free of abuse and pain and full of purpose and need. There is much in District Two that you would like - and someone in the favour of my family stands to gain much from their obedience. The Shihouin are a generous Clan. But we do not forgive betrayal."
"I don't mind." Saku got to her feet, scooping up her basket and slipping it into a crevasse between the tree branches. "I don't have any reason to betray someone when they've been kind to me and given me the chance to do something worthwhile with my life. Since Father died, Midori-sama, I've just been by myself. My needs are the only thing that I've given thought to. If I can settle those by serving you, you have my loyalty. It's not my business, after all, what the Clans do. I'm not Clan."
"Yes, I thought you were wise enough to understand." Midori smiled. "Then we'll go. And settle things with Aitori."
She cast her companion a glance.
"But I won't make you watch." She added. "When I speak to Aitori. I'd like you to take him off guard for me, and tell him about Fujima's death. Then I will send you back to the town. You can discover for me the truth of the other matter floating around here - the so-called Shihouin killing of that local wench."
Relief and gratitude flashed into Saku's dark eyes, and she bowed her head.
"Yes, Midori-sama. I understand." She said softly. "And I will do as you say."
Aitori's property was indeed not far from their chosen hiding place, and as they approached the building, Midori held back, flicking her fingers in the direction of the doorway.
"Go." She said softly. "Do my bidding. I will make my entrance in good time - but I wish to observe his reactions a little first."
"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku nodded. "You can count on me."
With that she disappeared into the building, and as she did so, Midori pressed her slender form up against the wall of the building, peering through the cracks in the aging, splintered wood as she took in the thin form of her would-be opponent. He seemed harried, she thought, as though things were not quite running as smoothly as they should, and somehow this gave her a sense of malicious pleasure.
Not just a traitor to your Clan, Aitori, but a greedy man bent on more than Father's errands. You truly don't care, do you, if fools like that Fujima give away Father's work and create trouble for the family? This has to stop, here and now. And I will be the one to stop it. I will not be a tool for you and the Endou-ke to barter over and bargain with. I am Shihouin, and I will remind you what that means.
Her fingers brushed the edge of her robe, and she smiled.
Foolish Seimaru, not realising that things aren't always what they seem.
"If you're looking for Fujima, he's not here." Aitori was speaking, and Midori turned her focus fully to the conversation between Saku and her kinsman.
"He's not been here since early yesterday morning, and I don't know when he'll be back."
Saku hesitated for a moment, then she raised her gaze, meeting his with a cool, empty one of his own.
"Fujima-san isn't going to be coming back." She said softly. "He found some other work to do and decided it would be best if he left completely."
Saku's expression showed neither fear nor anxiety, and she stood before him calmly, the picture of an innocent passer-by who had just happened into Aitori's premises by accident. Inwardly, Midori marvelled at the way the young girl kept her countenance, congratulating her yet again on having released Saku from the Endou-ke's snare.
She is smart and she has learnt how to survive. She is not ruthless, yet, but she could be, with time. Ruthless in her motives and unbending in her loyalties. That is the kind of servant I can cultivate. True, she is as yet uncomfortable when faced directly with death - but that is only inexperience. A matter of time and training, that's all.
She smiled.
She may come from the fringes of Seireitei, but her reiatsu suggests that once her family may have been more than that. And even if she is nowhere near Clan level, I can make use of her. She is mine, now, after all. And I will teach her, step by step, exactly what that means. I cannot afford to forsake even the most base-born of allies - and she may have fallen to this level, but I can tell she wasn't always serving class. I can make use of that pride.
"Left?" Aitori paused in his leafing through of documents to stare at her in confusion. "What do you mean, leave? Why would he do that? He has a business arrangement to conclude, and..."
"I mean that he's left Soul Society, Aitori-san." Saku offered him a faint smile. "Completely."
Aitori's brows knitted together, pushing the documents aside as he reached for his weapon.
"Who are you?" He murmured, and Saku shook her head.
"Just a messenger." She said simply. "I am not armed, Aitori-san. Nor did I help Fujima-san on his way to the other side. I just happen to know it's true. That's all."
"And you came here, why? To tell me this, why?" Aitori's voice carried an edge to it, and his fingers closed around the dagger hilt. "Who are you? State your name, girl...before I slit your throat and leave you for the wolves to finish off!"
His eyes narrowed.
"You look nothing more than a town wench, but there is something in those eyes I don't like." He muttered. "They are far too clear. Far too cold. Far too open. I don't like it."
"You don't like people whose eyes are open or clear, Aitori?"
At that moment Midori decided to make her own entrance, allowing the faintest flicker of her own reiatsu to penetrate the small chamber as she slipped deftly between the slats and perched on the broad, flat sill of the window.
At the sight of her, Aitori's entire demeanour changed, and he gaped, taking a step back as his face blanched completely of colour.
"What's this?" Midori opened her golden eyes wide, affecting surprise. "Are you not happy to see me? Or have you just forgotten my name, in the long time it's been since we last spoke face to face?"
"M...M...Midori-sama." At length Aitori found his tongue, bowing his head slightly before her. "I'm sorry, I didn't...it wasn't..."
"You seem somehow afraid of me." Midori tut-tutted, clambering nimbly down into the room proper until she stood a mere few feet away from her trembling kinsman. "Or is it simply that this place isn't the kind of place you'd like to be seen by a member of your Clan?"
Aitori didn't answer, and Midori's gaze flitted to Saku.
"Saku-chan, thank you for conveying my message to my kinsman." She said softly. "You do not have to remain here any longer. I already have another errand for you, and I would like you to begin it at once."
"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku bowed her head before her companion, then hurried from the room, not even stopping to look back.
Left alone with his companion, Aitori's brows knitted together.
"That girl is yours?" He murmured, and Midori nodded.
"A present from my fiancé." She said simply, her voice rich with sarcasm. "He's very kind and giving that way. But then I think you already know, don't you? How kind and giving Seimaru is."
"M...Midori-sama?" Aitori stared at her, and Midori's lips twitched into a predatory smile.
"We need to have a talk." She said evenly. "About your work for my Father and why it is that Seimaru seems to think you're in his back pocket. You know how Uncle and Father would feel, if they thought you were betraying the Clan in any way. Don't you?"
"Why would I betray my Clan?" Aitori demanded. "I'm here on your Father's business, as I have been for nigh on six years! Ever since he took over the wretched project - ever since that became his domain, I have worked tirelessly from here, acting as an agent even in plain sight. I put myself in danger on this Clan's account every day I act in his name. Deceiving Genryuusai-sensei isn't easy, after all!"
"The Endou-ke want to assassinate Genryuusai-sama." Midori murmured, and Aitori pursed his lips.
"Why should that concern you?" He asked.
"Because they seek to use a Shihouin to carry out the deed. Perhaps you. Perhaps Tomoyuki. Perhaps Kai."
"The Shihouin are assassins by blood." Aitori shrugged. "You shouldn't be squeamish, Midori-sama - not when it comes to the pride of families. Your cousin is a strong fighter but weak spiritually. He cannot release his zanpakutou, let alone be a contender to wear a haori in the future. If Genryuusai-sensei succeeds, how is it to the benefit of our people? You are not stupid. You know what I mean."
"Yes. I know." Midori nodded her head. "I realise that my cousin's predicament is precarious and a threat to the stability of this Clan. And I also know how hard Father and others are working to try and prevent such an eventuality."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Are you really so foolish as to think that any Clan who attempted an assassination on Soul Society's most respected Shinigami would escape with their lives?" She asked coldly. "More, do you really think that you - or Kai, or Tomoyuki - or even all three of you together - would stand a chance of killing him? A man who has Bankai when none of you have even summoned a sword let alone released it to Shikai?"
"Are you here from concern for your brother, Midori-sama, or for another reason entirely?" Aitori asked, and Midori sighed.
"I came to find out your side of the story." She said simply. "I've already heard Seimaru's. He believes you're his - bought and paid for. That you and the Shihouin will do his dirty work and pay the price for it. And then he and his family will absorb our land and gain influence on the Council through his marriage to me. Of course, he imagines me to be an innocent, helpless maiden without any particular influence of my own, which is his ignorance and his mistake. But much as his reckless, arrogant sadism frightens and disgusts me, I'm not his wife yet. And no matter if I was, I would still be a Shihouin. I wouldn't let him take my Clan to pieces for his own gain."
Aitori frowned.
"People have always said you were intelligent, Midori-sama. And I believe it too." He said softly. "Too intelligent to be blinded by Clan patriotism over pragmatic ends. Our family will end with your Uncle. As soon as your cousin inherits, the family will rise up and divide into factions once more. It will turn on itself and collapse back into the infighting of generations past. Yet you, by marrying into the Endou, have a chance to separate yourself from that and save yourself. By doing so, you'll save your Clan's bloodline. And keep the Shihouin alive."
"Perhaps." Midori admitted. "But there's a problem with that, Aitori."
She slid her fingers into the sash of her dusty kimono, her grip closing around the small, ornamental knife that bore the colours and seal of the Shihouin-ke across its decorated hilt. "I'm a Shihouin. And we live and die by our honour and our pride. This Clan doesn't live second to another. They do not become subservient. They slit their own throats rather than bow to another Clan's Lord instead of their own. You know those things as well as I do. That pride should run through your veins as sure as it does through mine. I'm surprised that it does not."
"I'm a realist." Aitori admitted. "At the end of the day, I don't see any profit in unnecessary death."
"But you do see profit in smuggling chemical by-products out of District Two - and in dealing with District Seven in the same regard." Midori toyed with the knife idly, running her fingers pensively over the blunted silver blade. "You see a way to make yourself wealthy, by dealing illicit chemicals to the unsuspecting locals, and creaming the gold they pay you into your own pocket. Even if it puts Father and Uncle at risk, you still act that way. For your own benefit, and not for the benefit of the Clan."
"In this world, Midori-sama, it will soon be each for themselves." Aitori said frankly. "The Clan system is outdated, out-moded and will soon be overwhelmed by the new order of things. Genryuusai-sensei's Academy is just the first step in a long line to breaking down that hierarchy. Already there are those studying at that school who have more prepossessing reiatsu than ones like your unfortunate cousin. They are going to be the power of the future. And though I have kept my Clan's values and I have not encouraged these District children in any way or form - they are talented. Far too talented. Dangerous, even."
Midori was silent for a moment, digesting this. Then her lips thinned.
"Whatever world the future brings, we will endure." She murmured. "I have no doubt in that. So long as we don't submit to the greed of men like you, we will endure."
She spread her hands.
"I have sent my servant into the town, to discover the true facts behind a rumour we've both heard while travelling this way." She added. "About the murder of a girl in the forest near here. A Clan murder, they're saying. A Shihouin blade. I would like to hear it from you, too. Did you slay some town wench because she got in your way?"
"The girl was a spy and she outlived her usefulness, so she was dispatched." Aitori replied simply. "But not by me."
"No." Midori's eyes became near slits, as she gazed at him with glittering, feline eyes. "By Seimaru, but with your help. With your Shihouin blade, Aitori. Not the one you hold in your hands now, true enough - but that one is not yours. That blade belongs to my brother, does it not?"
Aitori glanced at it, then smiled, nodding.
"When he arrived, Genryuusai-sensei confiscated both his and Tomoyuki's assassin daggers." He agreed. "And gave them over to me as the Shihouin representative to safeguard until the end of the semester. This one is indeed Kai's blade - I suppose you can tell even without seeing the hilt clearly by the fact it's clean and devoid of either blood or scratches. Tomoyuki's currently hangs in my office back at school, conveniently gathering dust. My own was used, as you say, to despatch the girl. It has since been destroyed and the incriminating parts buried in places where it will not be found and identified by Clansfolk like you. But you shouldn't be so concerned by one insignificant woman's murder. Even if it was a Shihouin blade that slit her throat, it was not a Shihouin killing. All of the local Shihouin were accounted for at the time - and your fiancé is a talented fighter but he lacks the stealth of one of our people."
"What have you involved my brother in?" Midori asked softly, turning the knife over in her hands as she fixed Aitori with a dark glare. "Have you made him party to your smuggling and your scheming, too? Have you pushed him so far into a corner he'll do nothing but act for you, even if it's against his own family? Because if you have..."
"Kai's orders have not yet come." Aitori said simply. "Except for keeping an eye on his classmates - particularly the District born one - he has not had to do anything at all for Seimaru or for myself. Of course, that is subject to change...Kai is strong, after all, and has much potential as a shadow assassin."
"You mean, as Genryuusai-sama's potential assailant." Midori murmured, and Aitori shrugged.
"If your Uncle agrees to give the order, there's nothing you or I can do but obey it." He said facetiously, but Midori shook her head.
"I'm not going to let that order be given." She said flatly. "Whether from Uncle or from you. I won't. Because attacking Genryuusai-sama is little more than Clan suicide. And even if it means Kai is in danger, I won't let the Clan be pulled into the Endou-ke snare. You may have sold your soul to them, Aitori, but I haven't. Kai and I both bear the Clan's name, after all. We are true blooded Shihouin and we both believe in that fact."
She ran her finger over the blunt knife once more, gripping it in her left hand as she flicked it over so that the blade was now pointing in Aitori's direction.
"Do you know what this is?" She asked lightly, and Aitori snorted.
"A lady's ornamental knife." He said scornfully. "A blade that wouldn't cut through butter, let alone someone's throat."
"Very true." Midori smiled. "But mine is a very special one. Particularly special, in fact."
Her grip on the carved hilt tightened, and as she felt her reiatsu begin to flare around her body, the tip of the blade began to glitter with an unearthly red light.
"Nagare." She murmured softly, as the weapon began to shimmer and change shape. "Akekage."
"A...Ake...Akekage?" Aitori's expression changed, and he stared at her in horror. "You mean...that tiny thing..."
"Is my zanpakutou's sealed form? Yes." Midori nodded, holding the weapon upright as it narrowed and lengthened into a needle tipped rapier, the colour of blood from hilt to tip except for the coal black ellipse that formed the guard between her hand and the deathly sharp blade. "Even Seimaru didn't think to look at a knife like this as a potential weapon when he held me prisoner - I've had it with me all the time."
She smiled.
"You've heard of it, then? My Akekage? My 'Blood Red Shadow'? I'm honoured."
She bowed her head towards him mockingly, and Aitori took a couple of steps back, his grip on his dagger tightening.
"I only release him when the time is right, because he has a tendency to be ruthless and violent and I find it hard to hold him back when he wants to hunt." Midori laughed, amusement in her golden eyes as she read Aitori's sudden flare of terror. "Tell me, Aitori Hideaki-san - I'm right, aren't I? You never did yet manage to summon or release a sword, did you?"
She tut-tutted, shaking her head.
"Ah, but of course you didn't." She murmured. "You weren't the child of the last Shadow, after all. And you weren't personally trained by Uncle from dawn till dusk until you were about ready to drop from exhaustion and pain. You don't have any special skills at all to speak of, do you, Aitori? You don't even have the Shihouin name. You are simply on the outermost degree of an exclusive social circle - you couldn't possibly understand the feelings of those pitched closer to the core."
"What are you going to do with that thing?" Aitori demanded. "Kill me? Don't you think that you'll cause even more trouble, if you do that? I'm a respected teacher at the Academy, with the support of many people. I'm a member of the Shihouin-ke, and I act on your Father and Uncle's orders. Allying with the Endou-ke is also within their scope, too - the agreement sealed with your engagement is a part of that. You are the one who's turned your back on the family and abandoned your obligation to them by coming here. Do you think it's all right, if you use that death-weapon of yours to kill me?"
Midori glanced at the released Akekage for a moment, tilting it so that the specks of sunlight glinted off its smooth red surface.
"If I was to pierce this through your heart, you would die before you hit the ground." She said softly. "If I was to do that, no one would ever determine your cause of death. Akekage is so fine a point that only one who knew to look for it would find the tiny pin-prick against your skin."
She lowered the weapon, running her finger along its edge.
"The tip is coated with Akekage's own native poison, and that poison would stop your heart." She said lightly. "And once your heart stops, your blood doesn't flow. Where there's no blood flow, how can there be a wound? This is a true assassin's weapon, Aitori - if I killed you that way, no one would ever know."
Her gaze hardened, and she shook her head.
"But for one who's betrayed the Shihouin name for money and greed, I won't be so merciful or so delicate." She said flatly. "I am different from my brother in one way, Aitori. I have clan pride and I have ideals. But I am also not afraid to kill if killing is the best option open to me. Kai doesn't like the idea of shedding blood - he never has, and I suppose he never will. But I know that I'm a Shihouin. And that as such, death is part of my duty and my tradition. I'm not ashamed of it. Instead, I'll make it something of an art. That's why Mother left me the Shadow skill. And that's why you stand no chance of escaping me. Ake no Odori!"
She closed her eyes, spinning the blade around 360 degrees so that its glimmering tip seemed to draw a scarlet circle in the air between them. As her reiatsu flared around her body, she thrust her free right hand forward through the centre of the circle, feeling the warmth of the blade's own Kidou merging with her native strength as red light glittered towards the tips of her fingers.
"Akekage, mae e!" She exclaimed, as the full force of the combined flare burst forward, surging across the room and engulfing Aitori's undefended form in the harsh redness of its glare. He let out a shriek, but even as the bloodcurdling sound left his lips, the scorching magic drilled through his torso, blasting his chest wide open and piercing through to the organs beneath. As it seared his ribs and engulfed his heart, Aitori stumbled, his lifeless form slipping to the floor as the blaze cut through his spine, and as he dropped like a stringless puppet to the ground, his entire body glowed with vermillion light, sending blood and ash scattering in a perfect circle around his fallen corpse.
Slowly Midori lowered her sword, the light fading as she eyed the scene with a critical, detached gaze.
"Well, its done, Akekage." She murmured, as the weapon shimmered and slipped back into its sealed form. "I could have been cleaner about it, but this man is one who deserved no mercy. I want a message to be sent to everyone - that Aitori Hideaki betrayed the Shihouin and met your wrath because of it. It's clear enough, from this, who did the deed. And if Uncle calls me before him and demands to know why, I'll speak to him and him alone. But in the meantime...the Shihouin's loose thread is severed."
She sighed, suddenly feeling tired.
First Fujima, now Aitori. It's been a busy day. And it's far from over. If Saku discovers anything of use in the town...there may be more who need to be silenced before this is truly over. And while I'm here, I need to find out exactly what Aitori kept here. Whether there's anything here which proves his affiliation to Seimaru. Or that proves his role in smuggling things to my Father.
She slid the weapon back into her sash.
Someone nearby would have no doubt felt the flare of her magic, and it would not be long before they were on the scene. She had little time to stand around and muse about things to come. Treading neatly over the body of her victim, she paused briefly to gaze down at his glassy, staring eyes, tut-tutting under her breath as she realised that the hole in his chest had not burnt a perfect circle.
"Too eager to hunt this time, Akekage." She murmured, patting her sash absently. "It's not very pretty - but it got the job done. Still, next time I expect better. I'm a lady, after all. I should be able to make my work aesthetic at the very least."
Somewhere at the back of her senses she felt the dull hum of her weapon's consciousness, and she smiled.
"No, it wasn't an easy one, this time." She agreed. "Because he was kin. It's never nice, to slay one's family...but this one was a traitor to the Clan, Akekage. Don't grumble about it so, all right? You understand, so don't pretend you don't. Hopefully with the leak removed, it will mean better things for the rest of us - and you don't truly want us to go back to being in that awful Seimaru's brick cage?"
She pushed back the door, stepping through into the hallway and up the stairs to the top chamber, feeling her way carefully as she negotiated the narrow, steep staircase. A quick glance had satisfied her that the documents Aitori had been reading when she had arrived had been those relating to the school which had acted as a respectable front for his smuggling for the past six years, and so she knew that if there were any tell-tale links to the Shihouin's illicit chemical experiments, it would be doubtless concealed in a more inaccessible location.
Maybe paperwork connecting him to the Endou, too - though I'm not so worried about that. Let Seimaru get his wrists slapped - I'm only concerned with what affects my family.
The sudden sense of another reiatsu approaching the property made her pause, muttering a curse as she pushed back the door of the tiny upstairs chamber and slipping inside. For a moment she hesitated, trying to discern where she had felt the aura before, but try as she might she could not put her finger on who was approaching the house.
She muttered another curse, morphing into her cat form and nudging her discarded peasant clothing into a dark corner of the chamber. In the form of the Shadow Cat, she was not able to use the same level of Kidou as when she was in her proper body, yet as she put her paws to the aging fabric, it smouldered and burnt to ash and cinders beneath her touch. Leaping up onto the ledge, she hesitated for a moment as she tried to place the encroaching flickers of that familiar yet unfamiliar reiatsu, drawing closer as it was all the time. In a moment or two they would discover Aitori's body, and all hell would be let loose.
All hell indeed. And I still haven't completed my work here.
She frowned, her sharp feline gaze taking in a casket pushed somewhat behind the leg of an old, worn desk, and she hopped neatly across onto the desk's surface, gazing down at the sealed box with a mixture of interest and frustration.
It might be. It might not be. Either way, I can't take the chance that it is, and leave it behind.
She skipped down onto the box, spreading her claws and digging them deep into the box as she channelled flickers of her Kidou magic into the wood, smoke rising from inside as the contents began to smoulder in the same way as the dress. It was not enough to set the property alight, but Midori felt fairly certain that by the time it was discovered, the box's contents would be entirely destroyed.
And that's the best I can hope for. With any luck, they'll be more concerned with the rather large and obvious corpse than they will be in ferreting out documents hidden in unknown crevasses. I can't stay here or I'll be caught before I've had a chance to finish what I'm doing - and for the time being, that's not an option. I need to speak to Genryuusai-sama before I can face the justice of either my Clan or the Endou-ke's cage once again.
She jumped down onto the floor, nuzzling in the ashy remains of her clothing for the glittering hilt of her zanpakutou then, grasping it up between her jaws, she leapt up onto the window ledge, gauging the distance to the ground as she left the property for the safety and cover of a clump of nearby bushes.
They were sharp and scratchy, but at least she was no longer in the house. As she shook herself free from the clinging briars, she set her wits to tracking down Saku's low but distinctive reiatsu.
I have no clothing, but that doesn't matter for now. The Shadow Cat is a better disguise for the time being - but a cat with a knife is distinctive and its better if Saku carries this until such times as I can regain my full form again. After all, this is District One. Who knows who I can truly trust here, aside from her?
Author's Note: OC Name Kanji (Part Three)
I couldn't reference these two properly earlier in the story without giving away their connection or their role, but better late than never...
Midori's name (緑) means "green" or "greenery." I guess it's a family theme with Kai's japonica tree ;)
And Shunsui's friend from the prequel:
~Etsuo Saku 悦朗朔.
Etsuo uses the kanji for 'joy' or 'rapture' (etsu) and 'serene' or 'bright' (o). On the theme of having freedom in her eyes, you see :)
Saku means quite simply 'new month' so you can interpret it as 'new beginning', I think, too.
It's not a short form of Sakuya or Sakura or any other Japanese girl's name. It's just 'Saku' on it's own.