Chapter Twenty Three: The Endou Dungeon

So the wench had resurfaced.

Seimaru rested his hands on the sill, clenching his fingers tightly into his palms as he fought to control his rising anger and frustration. Precious time had been lost over the course of the past couple of weeks searching for his missing fiancée, and the obtuse resistance of his neighbours in District Eight had only made his annoyance greater. The news of Aitori's murder had spread like wildfire through the various Districts, and for Seimaru it had been the icing on the top of an extremely poisonous cake.

Things were in a precarious position indeed.

He turned, closing his eyes for a moment as he composed himself, resuming his normal calm, half-sneering demeanour as he crossed the chamber, sliding the door back and slipping down the hall towards the main stairwell. As he did so, several servants passed him, bent on this errand or that, and as he reached the lower landing he recognised the face of his Grandmother's preferred physician exchanging his greetings with his Grandfather's head of staff.

His lip curled in derision.

No matter how many times that man came, or how close to death people believed his Grandmother was, she still lived on. And though she was frail in body these days, she still had a razor sharp, ruthless mind. More problematic, however, was the fact that she was his Grandfather's sole weakness. The one thing in the old man's make-up that could be called his Achilles heel.

He truly loved his wife.

And that love had caused Seimaru no end of trauma over the course of the previous few years.

Yet Grandmother keeps living by will alone, and I'm sure she's doing it just to spite me. She never liked Father, even though she birthed him herself, and has always disdained Mother - after all, it's thanks to her that Mother's been exiled from the court this long, and I'm sure if she'd been able to, Grandmother would have gladly sent me to join her. She'd happily have favoured Misashi-jisama in my place, if Grandfather hadn't reminded her of the tradition of Clan inheritance. Yet even now she will not acknowledge me. And there are enough among this Clan who remember who she was when she was younger...enough to create reasonable doubt. Father would have inherited without hesitation, but now it's more complicated.

His eyes narrowed.

If I'd grasped the Shihouin land like I expected, that might have turned the scale. As it is, I'm going to have to focus on the other objective of my plan. Aitori's death is messy and unwelcome, but at least it further implicates the Shadow Clan and leaves us out of it. Aitori was always fastidious about destroying every communication I sent him, after all. There should be no danger, just logistical inconvenience by his death.

He bowed his head solemnly towards his Grandmother's doctor, keeping his eyes lowered as he passed so that the man would not see the hate that flared in their depths. Then he hurried on, passing the door that led to his Uncle's section of the huge Endou manor. As he did so, he paused momentarily, gazing at it with a frown.

What are you planning anyway, Ojisama? You send your son to the school I plan to destroy - is that a coincidence or a message to me that you think you can stop me? If it's the latter, your hope is foolish. Hirata will never be any kind of warrior for this Clan. A coward and a mouse will never gain position in the Endou, not when there are plenty of predators waiting to make him our prey.

He turned on his heel, making his way in the opposite direction until he reached another old staircase that led down into the realms of the manor that were usually inhabited by the serving staff. This part, however, had been blocked off by his Grandfather's people some many years earlier, and given over to the exiled descendants of the Urahara-ke who had sold their secrets and research to the Endou-ke in return for anonymity and protection in Seventh District. Many had changed their names, disappearing into thin air as far as official records were concerned, and Seimaru knew that many of the inhabitants of the big Endou household did not know that so many Council scapegoats and their descendants now resided in the rambling brick and dust world beneath their feet.

The Urahara-ke scientists were such that they would rather lose their comfort than their chance to practice science, and so had not asked for much in the way of accommodation. For that reason, Shouichi had ordered half of the cellars and former dungeons to be turned over for their research premises, and so work had begun. In this underworld of an existence, they had worked night and day, raising the children they had brought with them on their mad flight for safety following the Council's verdict, and these young ones had been raised with the same resolute goals in mind, twisting their young minds towards the same irrefutable path. It was not quite big enough to be considered an underground village, and they were not prisoners, for there were secret entrances and exits to this rabbit warren secreted all over the more remote parts of the Endou-ke estate grounds. Yet their dedication was unyielding. In return for their lives, they had given their souls to the Endou-ke, regardless of the ethics or discomfort involved.

The only people from outside who had ever been granted access to this dark, gloomy world were the old man himself and his immediate heir. Now that was Seimaru, and as he slipped the heavy key into the lock of the big wooden door that flanked the end of the underground hallway, he felt a flicker of self-satisfaction despite himself.

Even if you know about it, Misashi-jisama, you don't have any way of accessing it, or proving it. And even if I can't move while Grandmother is still alive, that's not a permanent state of affairs. Watch your back. When she dies, you will be the first to follow her to her grave, after all.

"Seimaru-sama!"

As the young Lord stepped through the archway into the chamber beyond, he was greeted by a man apparently in his middle thirties. He was tallish, and although he had the same pale skin that was normally associated with the Urahara, his appearance made him stand out among his fellows, for unlike their fair blondness, his hair was shaded a sandy brown and pulled back in a casual tail which spoke more of functionality than it had anything to do with attention to his appearance. There was distant Kyouraku blood in his family tree, Seimaru knew, though it was as faint as the Urahara blood in his own, and once his father had been a man of some significance, for he had been well within the four degrees of kinship that marked the elite's inner circle. For that reason, substantial reiatsu bubbled within his aura, kept neatly in check by someone who knew a good deal about spiritual potential. His eyes, though as pale as Seimaru's own were brownish in hue rather than blue, and he had once joked that they had been muddied, as though his Urahara blood had been somehow tainted by his dedication to the Endou-ke's cause.

He wore a long grey coat which billowed behind him when he walked in the cool air of the dungeon, and on more than one occasion Seimaru had had the fleeting impression of a Shinigami wearing a haori, so resolute was his stance. He was one of the many who had grown up in this dank, claustrophobic environment, for he had been a boy of four years old when his father - the leader in the original study - had been executed before the Council as an example to Soul Society. His mother had hidden him, bringing him through the more sympathetic Second District and they had lived since then under her maiden name, surviving until they had arrived in Seventh District and had appealed to the Clan there for help. Shouichi had listened, for they shared a common blood kinship through shared Urahara ancestry, and so the young boy had grown up here, learning nothing but the art which had caused his father's death.

Though he was still a junior in terms of his age, his unquestionable bloodline and his desire for scientific progress had made him something of a leader among his companions, and in many ways it was he who Seimaru had begun to work with all the more in recent months. He was undoubtedly clever - perhaps too clever, because sometimes something other than fervour for his work glinted in those strange pale brownish eyes. Though he was rarely anything but calm and even in his manner, deep within him burned a resentment towards the Council who had stripped him of his father and his home, and it had been to this end that he had combined his power with the Endou as they had searched for new potential in old, tainted work.

Though he did not know if there was any such thing as trust in this relationship, Seimaru knew that of all the Urahara who used this place, this man was the one he needed most of all. Of all of them, this one was the only one who truly understood the chemical formulae who had got the Clan into such trouble so many years before - and the only one who could possibly manipulate it into the kind of serum their goal required.

At this thought Seimaru frowned, shutting the door behind him and fastening it carefully before turning to face his companion.

"Well?" He said softly. "What news do you have for me?"

"Plenty, sir." The man raised his head from its requisite bow, triumph glittering in his pale eyes. "As you said, everything begins to come together. The research that the Shihouin-ke graciously provided us with has gone a long way towards reaching our end goal. It has not been fully tested yet, of course. But..."

"I wish I could test it on that insufferable Uncle of mine." Seimaru muttered. "But for the time being, I think it's better not. The girl has made her reappearance in District One..and Aitori has been killed. In those circumstances, we need to tread carefully."

The young man's eyes narrowed, and he nodded his head.

"Yes, sir." He murmured. "I understand."

"Show me, in any case, the fruits of your labours."

"Yes, sir." The man smiled, leading his companion across to a cluttered work surface covered in papers and diagrams which were scattered every which way over the wood. Yet, as they reached it, his companion laid his fingers on the document he wanted right away, smoothing it out and indicating for his master to look.

"The final formula seems to be more stable than anything our people created in the past." He said simply. "If they'd had more time, they would have been able to stabilise the chemical too, I think. At least to the point where it wouldn't so easily have split and destroyed the soul it was there to enhance. However..."

"However?" Seimaru's brows knitted together as he struggled to make sense of the incomprehensible squiggles and curls that decorated the document. "You weren't ordered to stabilise it. You were ordered to create something that would work effectively on a man who can't be killed."

"That's just the thing, though, sir." The young man's lips twitched into a cold, almost smug smile. "Stabilising it has meant that at last I can see all the possible outcomes of using a chemical of this nature. The strengths and the weaknesses. And from the preliminary trials...the implication is that if you remove or adjust certain of the components, you can create something which is not only dangerous but extremely toxic. More so, in fact, the stronger the individual's reiatsu. Will you follow me? I'll show you something a little more conclusive if it will help."

He set the paper down, bowing his head then leading his companion through another heavily grilled door to a narrow, stone walkway beyond. This had once been the confinement area of the Endou-ke's dungeon, till a new one had been constructed in order to hold more prisoners, and a chill wind whipped through the bleak coldness of the hallway. Although prisoners were no longer kept here, the cells were far from empty and the air was punctuated by the groans and cries of the unfortunate inhabitants who had had the misfortune to become snared in the Endou-ke's illicit experiments.

Despite himself, Seimaru was slightly chilled.

The young man paid no attention to either the screams or the pleas of his captives, however, merely leading the young Lord along the corridor quite calmly until they reached the fifth cell on the left hand side. Here he paused, reaching up to slide across the small wooden grill that separated test subject from scientist and casting his companion an expectant smile.

"This was the last experiment we carried out before finalising the formula to the level it currently is." He explained, as Seimaru hesitated. "Take a look, sir, and see for yourself what kind of effect this can have."

Seimaru pursed his lips, but he knew that, as an Endou, he could not pull back now. He nodded his head, moving to peer through the grill and as he did so, he let out a gasp of surprise and dismay.

The cell's inhabitant had once had human form, that much he could tell. Though the clothing was ragged and torn, it was still recognisable as soiled peasant work clothes, and tangled, matted hair still maintained the ribbon that held it haphazardly back in a thick tail. But even so, the creature that huddled in the corner before him could no longer be called a resident of Seireitei - in fact, Seimaru could not make out whether the victim had originally been a man or a woman, or their age. They were stooped and curled both by pain and the crippling deformity that had ripped through their body, twisting the spine almost ninety degrees as the feeble bone had splintered and mutated into a new and unsightly spine above the surface of the skin. The limbs were gangly and stretched, out of proportion with the rest of the body, and the hands were clawed and sinewy, showing every tendon and bone as they flexed helplessly against the cold cell air. Yet it was the creature's face that struck Seimaru the most strongly, for it had become half-way coated in a slick, white substance, hopeless red eyes staring emotionlessly out from behind its knobbled covering.

"Almost as though...a Hollow..." He murmured, and his companion shook his head.

"A long way from a full scale transformation." He responded. "But I'm glad you can see the potential. This individual had an unusually high reiryoku for one in the lower orders, and it took four doses to bring him to this level. He protested and fought against it to begin with, but by the time the final dose was administered it seemed all rational and meaningful brain function had eroded to the state you see him now. If you startle him, he can still attack- but for the most part he sits as you see him now - drooling in the corner of his cage."

He smiled, as though the news he had just conveyed had been a happy holiday memory and not the destruction of an innocent life.

"This man's reiryoku is probably a tenth of your own, Seimaru-sama." He added, sliding the grill back across to hide the grotesque view from sight. "To begin with, the drug administered a heightening effect, but as had happened in the past, it dissipated almost right away. This particular formula also had devastating mental side effects when applied more than once - the third dose seemed to both heighten his senses and destroy them at the same time. In the past, there was no such significant deformity - which makes me believe we've got to a point where the toxic levels of the drug have been identified and altered. Thanks to the contributions of the Shihouin-ke study, we could probably manufacture an effective potion without those negative effects now we know what we know - but that isn't the current objective, so I've taken it the other way instead."

He shrugged.

"If Yamamoto-sama's own power is of the level people say, I imagine one dose of this would be enough to afflict him in a pretty dramatic manner." He continued. "I wouldn't like to say that it would break down his particles to the level where he'd become a full blown Hollow - though that's something I'd like to pursue further, for the time being it would be dangerous to you and everyone else to turn a man like that into a creature without restraint. But I will modify the formula a little more, and then you should have your serum. Enough at least to destroy the mind of such a man and, most probably, take his life."

"And the risk of this being traced back to us?" Seimaru glanced at his companion, who shrugged.

"The only ones who know what we do here are you and your noble family, Seimaru-sama." He said evenly. "And only you and your Grandfather know the depths of this experiment in particular. I believe there is no danger. Even if the Shihouin girl has appeared in District One, there is nothing for her to know. Not unless you told her of the plan yourself."

"I did not." Seimaru acknowledged, feeling faintly relieved. "I would not discuss such things with a woman sent merely to be my wife."

"Then all is well and we will proceed." The man grinned. "Perhaps the Shihouin will entertain authorities in District One a while longer so I have time to perfect it exactly."

"Yes. There is that." Seimaru admitted. "The girl has made a scene, it seems, and there's no doubt that she's the one who killed Aitori - so I hear. That will occupy the Yamamoto-ke for some time."

"Then I'll continue working." His companion decided. "And I'll report to you as soon as I have a formula I think you can use."

"Do so." Seimaru nodded his head, his resolve hardening inside of him. "And I'll travel to District One myself when that time comes, to make sure for myself that the deed is carried out properly."

He returned the scientist's cold grin with one of his own.

"Keep up the good work, Aizen." He added. "Grandfather and I have high expectations of you."

The atmosphere in the dormitory was unusually strained that morning.

As the clang of the bell resounded through the old manor house, Juushirou opened his eyes, gazing up at the ceiling as he remembered the events of the previous day with sudden, startling clarity.

There had been a murder. The school had been locked down. Summer break had been all but cancelled, and students had been told that they would be remaining on campus until further notice. Despite that fact, he had met with Shihouin Midori. And now...

He groaned, pulling himself into a sitting position and running his fingers through his lank white hair as he reflected on the situation. Though several of his companions had asked him questions the night before, he had chosen to say as little as possible, and by the time Hirata had rejoined them, his own expression troubled, the group of first years had sunk into an uneasy silence that had hung heavily over the whole chamber.

Even despite the various spats that had happened since the beginning of term, Juushirou had not known the air to be quite so cloying and full of unspoken accusations, and he didn't like it. For one who had always taken the straight forward path, deceiving his companions made him feel paranoid and vulnerable, and he glanced around the room, inwardly wondering what each of his roommates was currently thinking.

Ryuu had risen, as usual, with the light of the morning sun, and had already left the chamber for the bath house. Kai too was absent, having been instructed to attend the Headmaster's office first thing in the morning, so he had dressed and departed without a word to any of his companions. In his corner, Hirata was sorting his robes for the day, studiously avoiding anyone else's gazes as he focused his attention on the matter at hand. Enishi was sitting on the end of his bed, tying the shirt of his hakama around his broad torso and as he did so, he caught Juushirou's eye. He offered a faint smile, but there was a troubled look in his dark eyes too, and Juushirou sighed, burying his head in his hands as he realised he could not even meet his friend's straight-forward gaze.

"Are we going to carry on in deathly silence for the rest of this morning, too?" Shunsui hauled himself into a sitting position, his words casual and flippant but lacking the lightness of tone that usually accompanied them, and Juushirou could feel the uncertainty flickering in his aura. "Because I don't know about anyone else but it's destroying my appetite."

Hirata raised his head at this, shooting Juushirou an anxious glance, then,

"I don't want anyone to fight with anyone else." He murmured.

"Nor me." Enishi agreed frankly. "I don't know what exactly's gone on, and I don't know if I want to. But it's not like either you or Ukitake to look so out of sorts, Kyouraku. You might've exchanged words yesterday, but I didn't think you'd hang onto it like this. Neither one of you seem the type for long, drawn out grudges."

"It's not a grudge." Juushirou's head shot up at this. "I don't have a grudge against anyone, Houjou-kun. It's nothing at all like that."

"Well, you're the only one who seems to know what it is like." Shunsui said heavily. "I'm more than happy to apologise to you, Juu, but I'd like to know exactly what I'm apologising for first off the bat. And I still want to know exactly what yesterday was all in aid of. Did you know Saku before I spoke to you about her? The way you came back to the town..."

"Ukitake-kun has no connection to Etsuo-san at all." Hirata piped in before Juushirou could answer. "I'm sorry, Kyouraku-kun. This is my fault. She used to be a maidservant at my family's estate, so it's me she has the connection to."

He swallowed hard, then,

"It's because of me that we helped her to come to the school."

"That's not entirely true." Juushirou shot him a startled look. "I was the one who suggested that we look for her, since she'd arrived in the District suddenly. After all, we were..."

He faltered, remembering at the last minute that he wasn't supposed to mention the meeting with Midori, and at his sudden hesitation, Shunsui's gaze clouded.

"You told me off about deceiving you." He said softly. "Are you repaying the favour or teaching me a lesson, Juu-kun?"

Juushirou got to his feet, a pained look in his hazel eyes.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you about that." He admitted. "That's the truth, Shunsui. I was shaken up by Aitori having been killed and I...I suppose I thought that maybe if I'd known something, I could've stopped it. But I guess I know, honestly, that I couldn't. And I...I'm sure you had a good reason not to tell me Shihouin-kun had asked you. I don't have the right to demand to know everything other people say to you...so I guess I overreacted."

"Yes, probably, but I'm not too worried about that right now." Shunsui swung his legs over the side of the bunk, toying with the ties of his night robe as he met his friend's gaze head on. "It's bothering me more that since last night you seem afraid to meet my gaze. That's not like you. Not like the Ukitake Juushirou I thought I knew, anyway. And all of that yesterday - about District children and pride - where did that come from? When did I ever say anything about you having pride or otherwise?"

Juushirou rubbed his temples, feeling a dull ache beginning at the base of his skull.

"I don't feel like dealing with this." He murmured. "I'm sorry, Shunsui. Right now...I can't say anything at all. Even if I wanted to. It's complicated."

"Complicated." Shunsui's eyes narrowed. "Because of Aitori? Because of Saku? Or because you know that my childhood playmate came to the school with Shihouin Midori's blood-soaked memo and you want to protect me, now? Because I'm not as innocent as all that, Juu. If Saku's running errands for Midori, that means she's wrapped up with that girl in all respects, most probably. And that means she was likely party to the murder of our teacher, too. Even if she is an old friend of mine - I'm not deceiving myself in that regard. We parted a long time ago, after all. And she said it to me herself the last time we spoke - that she wasn't the girl I'd grown up with any more."

"Are you all right, Ukitake?" Enishi looked concerned. "Your face isn't a good colour, and you've shadows under your eyes. Didn't you sleep last night, after all?"

"Some. Not a lot." Juushirou offered Enishi a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, Houjou-kun. You've got caught up in this, too. And I really...I don't know what to say to you, Shunsui. All I know is that...I've made up my mind. And...right now...that's all I can do. About anything."

He got to his feet, reaching for his towel.

"I'm going to go take a bath and try and wash this out of me." He added. "For now, Shunsui, please - don't ask me any more questions. I don't know how to answer them, after all."

"Wait a minute."

He made to leave, but Shunsui was too quick, grasping him loosely around the wrist and pulling him round to face him.

"Hey!" Juushirou tried to pull free, but as Shunsui's grip tightened, he felt the fight draining out of him.

"I'm not good at saying things like this, so you'll probably get even more angry with me when I do." He said quietly. "But if you don't want to feel like I - or anyone else - is protecting you, you need to think much harder about the decisions you make. I don't know exactly what you went out there to do, yesterday. You or Hirata - or why. I don't know why Saku suddenly trusted you to protect her but I know there's more to it than a chance meeting or her being a former employee of the Endou-ke. And this decision of yours - whatever it is - is it something you're willing to live or die by? Because even if I don't believe in killing to protect my Clan, it doesn't mean others aren't of a different mind."

"I'm not a small child, you know." Finally Juushirou wrenched his hand free, rubbing his wrist absently as he met Shunsui's gaze fully for the first time that morning. "But you've said it to me yourself. That what I'm doing is something no one else has ever done. Well, the last time you threw that at me and told me to stay behind, you almost got killed, Megumi got murdered and we both ended up in a sticky situation. If you'd taken me with you then, maybe it would've been different. And I won't pretend that I understand everything about this world yet - but the only way I will is by making decisions and mistakes for myself. In this case, my mind is made up. And it's not just about me. I'm sticking by Hirata, too. Because he's in a messy enough position with his family the way they are and I don't want him to feel like he's been abandoned."

Shunsui sighed, closing his eyes briefly, then,

"Go have your bath." He said frankly. "If you won't listen, I won't try and talk to you about it any more. But I want you to know one thing, Juu. You said yesterday that Saku wasn't mine to protect, and that's why I failed to protect her. But you're wrong. She was mine to protect the moment she became involved with my family. That's what Clans do - or should do - as per Council law. The Clans protect those who live in their lands. Saku was a Kyouraku dependant and it was my duty to look out for her just as much as it was my Uncle's or my Father's to do the same. That's the bit you don't get - that the Clans are here to protect District people. If they do their job properly, that is."

He opened his eyes, and Juushirou could see the raw emotion in their depths.

"You've grown up knowing that but without ever realising it." He murmured. "But who came to your land to destroy the Hollow when it killed your Father, Juu? Who was it your family sent for - I bet it was Ryuu-kun's Kuchiki-ke, wasn't it? That's how the system works. Like it or otherwise."

"Yes. The Kuchiki came and dispatched the Hollow." Juushirou's voice shook slightly at the memory. "So I believe, anyway. My own memory's a little hazy. But that's also why I came here, Shunsui. To be able to protect my family myself. Not to have to call on Nobles who are too busy and too late to save those I love. Whether it's a Noble duty or not, that doesn't mean it extends to you and I. If that's why you've been friends with me, you need to walk away from it now. Because aside from the fact I'm not from District Eight, I'm not going to stand for it. I don't want to be protected by anyone. I've been that my whole life - it's my turn now to protect others in return."

Shunsui frowned.

"Do you really think that? That I'm friends with you because of Noble duty?" He demanded, an edge to his tones, and Juushirou shook his head impatiently.

"That's not what I meant." He said, frustration clear in his tones. "Just that if you really see me as your equal and you think I belong here or deserve to be here, you need to think about it more clearly. That's all."

Shunsui's brows knitted together at this.

"But what I'm trying to protect you from is your own stupidity." He said wearily. "You have every bit as much reiryoku as I do, and as much wit and skill to have pipped me in those tests. We both know it. What you don't have is a strong enough survival instinct. And even if you hate that fact, it doesn't make it any less true. This isn't a world you can easily negotiate in without footholds or roots of your own. And if I do protect you - if you want to use that word - it's not because I think you're weak. It's because you're going to be strong, one day, when you finally graduate here. You're going to be one of the best Shinigami that Soul Society's ever seen, without a doubt, because you care about what people do and you have the power to stand up for those people. If, that is, you damn well live to get to that point."

With that he turned his back, leaving the dorm and sliding the door shut behind him, and Juushirou faltered, his father's voice suddenly echoing unbidden across his senses.

"It's not because you're weak that I've protected you. It's in the hope that you'll be strong, instead."

"Otousama." He murmured, biting his lip, and Enishi shot him a puzzled look.

"Ukitake? Are you all right?"

"Huh?" Juushirou swung around, meeting his friend's gaze then sighing, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "Just...something Shunsui said...it reminded me of something. That's all. Something Father said...a long time ago."

"This is my fault, after all." Hirata looked distressed. "Because I had a secret and then you had to keep another secret and now..."

"And we can't talk about this. Not even to Houjou-kun." Juushirou said heavily. "Or to Shunsui, not right now. At least, not until tonight is past and over. Whether we like it or not, that's how it is. In the meantime, we have to get up and carry on with things as best we can. There's nothing else either of us can do for now."

Dammit.

As Shunsui walked through the halls of the school building, he clenched and unclenched his fists, not understanding the mixture of anger and frustration that swirled uncharacteristically within him. It wasn't like him, he knew, to care so strongly about one little thing. He had never really fought with anyone through his whole life - and even the arguments he had had with his Uncle had barely scratched the surface of his inner feelings.

Yet he did not like being at odds with Juushirou one bit.

It wasn't just that he was hurt by his companion's apparent overreaction. It was more than that, he knew. It was much deeper inside of him, sparked by the emotions seeing Saku had begun to awaken in the core of his heart. Yet at that moment it was Juushirou more than Saku that worried and annoyed him most of all.

Saku had been his friend, yes, and he had loved her more than any woman he had ever met since. That emotion was still rife within him, and he had seen enough in her eyes to realise that it was the same for her. But that friendship had been forbidden and they both knew that there was no going back. They both understood, in the end, the limitations of childhood innocence - that once lost it was lost forever and could not be retrieved.

Yet Juushirou was different. Juushirou was his own age, smart and by no means ignorant of pain or suffering in his short life. On the contrary, between the loss of his father and the burden of his health, Shunsui greatly suspected his friend was adult beyond his years in many respects, and had long since discarded any childish mentality in the hope of mentoring his now fatherless brothers and sisters to the best of his ability.

But despite this, he still looked straight ahead. He still looked for the good in people, even when he knew there was bad.

And while it's totally in keeping with him to do it, dammit, I don't want to see him get killed.

He dropped back against the wall, aware for the first time that he was still wearing his night robes and had left the dorm without his towel or his slippers. A rueful expression touched his features.

I'm all over the place, too. But it worries me. That he won't tell me what happened yesterday. Why he and Hirata suddenly took off like they did. Why he's on edge and snappy about something. Why they were escorting Saku. It makes me suspect that they've spoken to Shihouin's enigmatic sister...which worries me even more. Even if she's in no mood to kill again just yet, to fall into an alliance with a Clan you know little or nothing about based on...what? Loyalty to Hirata? I don't know how to counter that. It's bringing out a side of me I don't like very much, and I don't know how to deal with it.

He rubbed his temples.

I said a lot of silly things this morning, in the end. A lot of pointless things that didn't mean much at all. What Clans do and don't do is nothing to do with Juu and I. He's right on that count. And I don't want to be his minder. I just...more than anything...it's just...

He paused, then,

I just really don't want to see him die.

A flicker of memory washed over his senses at that moment, as he remembered the helplessness of being a six year old boy, trapped and yet unable to help his Father as he had watched the two men draw their swords, despair and anguish flooding Matsuhara's aura as he raised his dusty blade to fight that one last time.

I couldn't do anything then. And so often I've not done anything, too. But, dammit, I don't want to see Juu die. And whatever is or isn't going on here, that's all that matters to me right now. Because he's my friend. He really is my friend. He's not tied to agendas or motives or anything else. And I want to keep that the same.

He buried his head in his hands.

Does that make me selfish or controlling, that I want to keep him looking forward, yet won't let him take any of the risks he wants to take when he does so? I make less and less sense the more I think this over. All I know is that I really hate being at odds with him. Since Saku he's the first person I've really come to trust...perhaps, on balance, I trust him more than I did her in a lot of ways. Whatever's going on, it sucks. And it's making me crabby and not nice to know.

He glanced at his hands.

"But moping around in the halls half dressed isn't going to achieve anything except a scolding." He said out loud. "I need to go back and get dressed - if Juu's going to the bath-house, there shouldn't be any more awkward silences at least until someone tells us what we're doing about class now Aitori's been killed."

He turned on his heel, making his way slowly back towards the stairway that led to the boy's dorm. As he rounded the corner, however, he almost ran into someone and he stopped dead, surprise flooding his features as he stared at the newcomer in disbelief.

His companion was equally as startled, his eyes widening even further as he took in the student's haphazard appearance, and at his gaze, colour flushed Shunsui's features.

At length, the man found his voice.

"Shunsui!" He exclaimed, and Shunsui bit his lip, nodding his head.

"Nii-sama." He murmured, then, "I wasn't expecting to see you," he added unnecessarily.

"Dressed like that I should hope not!" Tokutarou's expression became one of amusement, despite himself, and as he felt his brother's hands clap warmly down on his shoulders, Shunsui felt a strange sense of relief flood through his troubled body. "Why is it, Shunsui-kun, that I keep encountering you wandering around in public in your underclothes? Surely if the rumours about you topping the class are true, you've at least learnt something from your time spent here?"

"Mm, but they don't do lessons on how to dress oneself, sadly." Shunsui's own lips twitched into a grin at this, and he raised his dark eyes to his brother's, seeing identical flickers of mirth reflected in the older man's gaze. "Sorry about that. I guess I'll have to wait till second year before I'm properly domesticated."

"Well, you're sober and up before breakfast, so I'll take that as a good sign at least." Tokutarou held him at arm's length, eying him carefully, then nodding. "And though you've been driving me to distraction with your cryptic messages, you seem to be in good health."

"Mm. More or less." Shunsui bit his lip, then,

"Why are you here, Nii-sama?"

"I came to speak to Genryuusai-sensei." Tokutarou responded, and Shunsui affected a hurt look.

"And not to see me? That's cold, considering you and I haven't spoken face to face in several months!"

"True enough, but this isn't a social visit and you were sent here more or less as punishment, not as a merry jaunt." Tokutarou reminded him, and Shunsui frowned, lowering his voice.

"You came about Midori-dono, then, didn't you?"

"And a few other things, besides." Tokutarou nodded. "Though that's neither here nor there. You're walking round aimlessly wearing your night clothes and I can't imagine there are many of your teachers who'd approve of that."

"Right now everything like that is a bit superfluous." Shunsui admitted. "Or didn't you hear about what happened yesterday in the local town?"

"I heard some rumours. I guess they're true ones." Tokutarou's eyes darkened, and Shunsui nodded.

"I'm glad to see you, Nii-sama." He said honestly. "And when you've spoken to Yama-jii, if you've time...I'd like to speak to you too about something."

Tokutarou eyed him for a moment, then he nodded his head.

"I think that might be a good idea." He agreed. "Go get dressed, have breakfast and then meet me at Genryuusai-sensei's office. By then, maybe, I'll know better how to answer all the questions I know you're going to ask."

Author's Note: Aizen ;)

So is it reaching, then, to bring in the name 'Aizen' at this point?

But it seemed so obvious to do so, since we don't know who Aizen's family were. From his high levels of reiatsu, the chances are he was probably noble born in Seireitei in some way or other. And since he knows so much about Urahara and his experiments, as well as having carried out his own, it seemed logical to make his people one of the exiled Urahara descendants that are currently living in District Seven and working for the Endou. Of course, over the generations, appearances change as people's genes mix, so the current Aizen Sousuke probably wouldn't retain many physical features of his ancestor. Yet you can't tell me that an Aizen working in this situation is an impossibility, surely...?

By the way, this little fight of Shun and Juu's is not my fault. I swear, it's not. They just did it. On their own. One minute they were walking back to school to report the murder and the next thing I knew Juu was getting all hot under the collar and it spiralled from there :S Any idea how to control rogue shinigami students, anyone...?