Chapter Thirty One: Mist

Dawn.

Hirata leant up against the trunk of a hollow tree, biting his lip as he gazed across the horizon. It had been a cool, mild night, yet he was still chilled to the core by the intent in Seimaru's words and as a result he had not slept at all, forcing himself to push forward every time he felt exhaustion begin to seep through his tired body. He was not used to acting like this, and every limb ached and throbbed with the unfamiliar exertion, yet he had not let himself slow, knowing that time was of the essence.

Though he had felt the mix of reiatsu spilling out across District One, he had managed to avoid all pursuers and even now he knew that they wouldn't find him. He had taken precautions, after all, to make sure that nobody would. Not until he had reached his goal.

"I'll teach you a special trick, Hirata-kun."

The words echoed through his thoughts as he sat there, gazing at the vial that sat in front of him on the ground. As he did so, a wave of homesickness and regret washed through his senses and he bit his lip, fighting against the tears that threatened to fall.

"It's a special trick that you don't need to tell to anyone else. A special trick that you can use, if ever Seimaru is teasing you and you want to get away."

He sighed, closing his eyes as he pictured his father's face, the gentle smile and the look in the man's troubled pale eyes as he had lifted the then seven year old Hirata carefully to his feet, wiping away his tears and touching his fingers to the boy's bruised and beaten limbs.

Seimaru's cruelty had been ignored by most of the rest of the Clan, but never by his father. And because of it, Hirata had grown up clinging to Misashi's kindness, looking for the strength he lacked in the man who had always shielded him.

But this time he was alone, and he didn't have time to wonder about whether his thoughts were right or not.

"It's a trick that makes you invisible. If you use it, nobody will be able to find you. Then Seimaru can't hurt you, can he?"

"Invisible?" The tiny Hirata had sniffled, gazing up at his Father in bewilderment. "But people can't go invisible, Papa - can they?"

"No, they can't." Misashi had patted him gently on the shoulder. "But this is a trick that will make him not see you. And if it's you, I'm sure you can learn it. You have a lot of talents, after all - and as you get older, one by one I'm sure you'll realise what they are. But for the time being...I'll teach you just this one. And you can use it whenever Seimaru is scaring you."

At that moment Misashi had smiled, reassuring Hirata somehow in that one fleeting gesture.

But now, at almost sixteen, Hirata was no longer so easily reassured. He was no longer a small child, cloaked and shielded by the love of his parents against the cruelty of the Clan into which he had been born.

This is my family too, after all. My problem, as well as Shihouin-kun's. Only in my case, the enemy is Seimaru. It's always been Seimaru. I've given in, before. But this time, I won't. If I give in, it won't stop him from hurting people. I'm not foolish - I've lived my whole life with him lurking in the shadows, waiting to take advantage and cause me pain. I know better than anyone that Seimaru won't simply stop with using me. So I can't just sit and hide, this time.

He got to his feet, glancing at his hands.

"But for the time being, Otousama, your trick still works." He murmured, light glittering faintly from his fingers as he brushed them together. "Combine basic Kidou with reiatsu suppression, and I might as well be completely invisible from sight or from sense. I know they're looking for me, but so long as I have this, they won't find me."

He glanced across the horizon, making out the faint dotting of military buildings in the distance, and despite himself a faint smile touched his lips.

If I can get that far, then I'll manage it. If I can keep this up long enough, I'll be all right. I'm sure about that. But before I get there...

He reached down to pick up the vial, loathing deep in his heart as he gazed at it.

The longer this exists, the more danger my Clan are in. Even if it means I protect Seimaru again, I can't let this continue to exist. So long as it's in my hands, if I'm caught, it won't just be on me that the hammer falls. Not this time. For the sake of my own family, I have to destroy the evidence that might convict Seimaru - but I can't help that. For now, it's the only thing I can do.

He placed the vial on the branch of a nearby tree, narrowing his eyes as he tried to focus on his target. Without his spectacles, it was difficult to be exact, yet he let his senses guide him, picking out the noxious aura that the glass vessel exuded into the surrounding ether as he brought his hands together before his body.

"Hadou no Sanjuu Ichi - Shakka-hou." He murmured, as a stream of hot red energy burst from his fingers, engulfing the tree and the vessel in it's blaze. Flame licked up the branches and through the leaves of the unsuspecting tree, and as it charred and blackened, he felt a pang of guilt touch his heart.

Ukitake-kun is always talking about trees and their strength, yet here I am destroying one to shield an evil person from justice. I suppose I am an Endou deep down, after all. I will twist things to protect people I love - and like Shihouin-kun, sometimes I will put my Clan first. But this is more important than just the life of one tree. So I can't falter now.

He twitched his fingers together again, repeating the spell as a fresh blaze of energy swamped the ash-coated tree, the force of his strike hot enough to melt and warp the glass of the vial. At length there was a loud bang, and Hirata dropped instinctively to the ground as the contents of Seimaru's precious experiment shot out into the mass of charcoal and dead wood. Where they touched the flames, the substance sizzled and burnt with an eerie blue light, and Hirata almost thought he could hear the screams of the individuals experimented on as the fire consumed the latent, dissected remains of their spiritual energy.

Like a funeral pyre.

From his shelter, he put his hands together, closing his eyes as he said a silent prayer.

To all the people Seimaru no doubt killed to get to this stage...and all the people he still has power over, I'm sorry. I don't know if what I'm doing will bring any of you any peace at all. But it's still my only course of action. And this time I have to act, because I'm the only one that can.

As the fire began to smoulder out, he stepped cautiously towards it, nudging a fragment of mangled glass with his toe, then nodding his head.

It's a good thing I've got so good at shakka-hou. Before I came here, I'd never have been able to fire something hot enough to destroy Seimaru's guilt so completely. I suppose that the Academy's taught me a lot of things - even if I never go back there, I'll try my best not to forget them as I go along.

Juushirou flashed through his thoughts at this moment, and he bit his lip.

I'm sorry, Ukitake-kun. But I made myself a promise and I won't break it. Not even if you're worrying about me - I won't get you involved. This time, even if it kills me, I won't.

With that he turned on his heel, flexing his fingers as he murmured the soft words of the incantation his father had taught him when he had just been a small boy.

"Bakudou no Nijuu Roku. Kyakkou." He muttered, feeling the swirl of his reiatsu as it answered his call. For a moment he let it strengthen the Kidou spell, then he reeled the flickers of spiritual energy back in, suppressing it entirely once more as he prepared to move on. His father had taught him that, too, after all. That someone who couldn't be seen or sensed could not easily be hurt.

With this, at least, I won't be found. Thank you, Otousama. I've remembered it well, the trick you taught me. I'll keep remembering it - it might just save someone's life.

With that he turned on his heel, hurrying across the terrain towards the tall fortified buildings that lined the horizon.

I'm running out of time. But I have to make it. Otherwise...otherwise someone will definitely get hurt. And scared as I am, I don't want to let that happen.

The horizon was shrouded in mist.

In the haze of greys and whites, Mitsuki shivered, drawing her cloak more tightly around her body as she struggled to make out familiar landmarks. It was a surreal, gloomy world, drowned in confusion and fragmented by pain and fear. Yet with every step she took, she knew she was approaching its real core – the shadowy figure whose silhouette she had seen fleetingly dart across her line of sight.

She was asleep now.

Even she knew that, that her real self was safe in her bunk in the dormitory of Genryuusai's prestigious Academy. Even now Sora slept peacefully to her left, and Naoko to her right, and the moonlight streamed and glittered in at the window, its light blotted out to blackness by the shutters her roommates insisted on closing before going to bed each evening. It was a clear, bright night, a summer night where the moon and stars shone stridently against the velvet black sky.

Yet all Mitsuki could see was grey. Grey and indistinct, and the moon swallowed up by the aura that surrounded her.

Even in her dream, Mitsuki knew that the haze and shadow were the omens of death.

She shivered again, unable to shake the chill that curled up around her heart. In that moment she thought she heard a voice, calling to her, but the words were faint and indistinct, and though she caught another fleeting glimpse of the shadow, she could not make out his real form.

"Is there somebody there?"

Mitsuki gathered her courage, reaching forth into the mist until her fingertips too became cloaked in the soft white film. "Endou-kun? Endou-kun…is that you?"

There was no reply, and Mitsuki steeled herself against her panic, forcing herself to keep moving forward.

If I want to wake up, I know that I can. I know that this isn't my real self, and that I don't belong in this place. I know this, but if I wake now, I'll never find the one who drew me here. And they did draw me here. Someone in pain – someone suffering. Someone needing my help.

She frowned, feeling the vaguest sensation of someone's fear brushing against her skin.

"I want to help you." She murmured. "Please don't be afraid of me. I want to know who you are. Please don't run away."

There was no reply, yet in the mist she suddenly felt the taint of herbs wash against her senses, the sensation sharp and distinctive in the cold ether. As she registered the feeling, a sense of dread swelled up inside of her and she shook her head, throwing her caution to the winds as she ran forward into the greyness.

"No!" She exclaimed, hurrying helter-skelter down the hill as she caught a brief sight of the hazy shadow, reaching out in vain to grasp hold of it before it disappeared once more. Memories flooded her senses, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks as she ran, stumbling and tripping over her feet and falling headlong over the stones and bumps she could not see. She was on her feet again in an instant, however, barrelling forwards once more. Her heart beat fit to explode in her chest, and as she saw the shadow once more, she felt the faintest wisp of reiatsu brush against her senses.

"Onoe-kun!" She screamed.

"Mitsuki!"

A voice from somewhere outside her dreamscape jolted like electricity through her body at that moment, and her eyes shot open, bringing her back to the dim world of the dormitory with a sharp jolt. Concerned green eyes stared down at her, and she drew a ragged gasp of air into her lungs, grasping hold of her friend's arm tightly as fear rushed through her body and pulling herself into a sitting position.

"Sora." She whispered, and Sora nodded, sinking down onto her friend's bed and slipping a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" She asked softly, and Mitsuki nodded, not loosing her grip on her companion's arm.

"Onoe-kun." She murmured, and Sora stared at her, a confused look crossing her features.

"Onoe?" She demanded, only just remembering to keep her voice down. "Mitsuki-chan, why were you dreaming about Onoe? I thought it was Juushirou who kept haunting your dreams – are you sleep-cheating on him now?"

Something in Sora's blunt question brought a sense of reality back to the shaken girl and she shook her head, smiling faintly at her friend's remark.

"Not like that." She responded. "I just…in the mist…"

"Okay. I get it. This was one of those kinds of dreams." Sora sighed, shaking her head in resignation. "I know by now, Mitsuki. I can tell the signs. You're crying, for a start. You only cry in your sleep if it's something major – so take a breath and tell me what happened. Okay?"

"I didn't wake anyone else?" Mitsuki reached up to touch her damp cheek gingerly. "I'm sure I screamed."

"No, you didn't – not this time." Sora shook her head. "But it wouldn't have mattered if you had. It's about sunrise outside and I was going to open the shutters when I saw your tears…you know how Hanako insists on closing them when it's a bright night because she swears she can't sleep with the moon glaring on her pillow. But the bell will go and wake them soon enough – so don't look so worried."

"Dawn?" Mitsuki murmured, then as memory of her dream returned to her she frowned, pushing back her blanket.

"I need to go to Onoe-kun." She said decidedly, and Sora snorted, shaking her head.

"You won't. Juushirou tried it yesterday and got marshalled back to his dorm by a Senior for his trouble."She said categorically. "Shunsui said as much. Onoe's in isolation. He's going home. He's not going to come back to class."

"He's not going to come back…" Mitsuki swallowed hard, feeling the tendrils of mist close in around her heart again. "No, Sora, you don't understand. You don't…he's not…"

"You're getting incoherent again. Are you going to get hysterical on me now?" Sora looked anxious, and Mitsuki bit her lip.

"Maybe." She admitted unsteadily. "You being here helps, Sora-chan – because I know you don't think I'm crazy, even if other people do. But…there's something wrong. And I think…I feel…he's disappearing. Little by little, he's slipping into the mist."

"Into the mist?" Sora looked confused. "Well, I don't think you're mad, and Naoko doesn't think so either – but sometimes you say things that I can't make head nor tail of. What do you mean, mist?"

"In my dream, everything was like that. I couldn't see anything much at all." Mitsuki whispered. "There was a shadow of a person, darting away from me, and he was getting fainter with every moment. I couldn't tell who it was at first, then I felt the faintest hint of him. But there was something else there, too. Something that reminded me…"

She closed her eyes, burying her head in Sora's shoulder, and Sora sighed heavily, gently stroking her hair.

"You're no use to anyone like this." She said quietly. "So we'll get up and we'll go see Sensei, shall we? Retsu-sama isn't here now, she's gone back to District Four. But if we go to Genryuusai-sensei direct…"

"What are you two talking about this early in the morning?" Naoko's sleepy voice from the next bed made both turn, and Sora frowned, patting Mitsuki on the head.

"This one's having bad dreams again." She said resignedly. "I'm going to take her to Sensei before breakfast, since Retsu-sama's not here at the moment."

"Another dream? About Ukitake-kun?" Naoko frowned, pushing back her covers and getting to her feet as she padded across the chamber to open the shutters. Sunlight streamed in through the window, suddenly brightening the chamber, and she sighed, glancing out across the school grounds.

"It looks like a nice day. Mitsuki, you need to take a breath and calm down. If the boy bothers you so much, do something about it…but stop meandering in your sleep over whether or not he's healthy."

"It's not Ukitake-kun." Mitsuki raised her head at this moment, colour flushing her pale cheeks as she met Naoko's gaze. "It's not that, Naoko-chan. It's something else. It's Onoe-kun. It's…"

"Onoe?" Naoko snorted. "I wouldn't waste an inch of concern on that idiot. He tried to kill Shihouin-kun, after all."

"And Juushirou, for that matter." Sora added. "I wouldn't have thought you'd be at all sympathetic to anything he was going through, given that."

"It's different." Mitsuki protested, pushing Sora back and getting clumsily to her feet. "I told you, he was disappearing! He was being lost…Eimin…"

"Eimin?" Naoko froze, staring at her in alarm, and Sora frowned, glancing from one girl to the other.

"Eimin? What the hell's Eimin?"

"That really depends who's asking and what context the question's being asked." Naoko's lips thinned.

"Then try me asking and the context being Mitsuki babbling about it in relation to a dream about Onoe." Sora retorted. "Naoko-chan, stop pulling faces and explain. You know what it is? What she means?"

"A powerful soporific composite." Naoko's lips thinned. "And one with a particularly distinctive array of characteristics and side effects. Eimin-yaku isn't generally used by healers - although some of the herbs used in it are given to people with terminal illnesses to allow sleep and relieve pain. It can be pretty dangerous - it could kill you if you're even a fragment of a grain off with your calculations. My Clan deal in its component parts from time to time – but we're all warned against using Eimin-yaku because of how easily it can be misjudged. Outside of District Four, I don't know how it would be...Mitsuki-chan, how do you…"

"My mother was treated with it, before she died." Mitsuki responded, grabbing her hakama off the hook and pulling it hurriedly over her body.

"Treated with it?" Naoko's bows knitted together. "But...Eimin-yaku's not particularly useful for just treating someone's illness. If a patient is sick and you want to help them, you want something that's going to work fast. Eimin-yaku includes two or three herbs that delay the full effects...so it doesn't kick in straight away. It's also known to have a permanently degenerative effect on a person's reiatsu. I wouldn't have thought that any healer would use that kind of thing on your mother, Mitsuki-chan. No matter how sick she was."

"No healer did." Mitsuki said softly. "But I know about it, all the same. And I know something else about it, too, Naoko-chan. Eimin-yaku is used as a poison by assassins - that's how the last head of the Kuchiki-ke is meant to have died. From Eimin-yaku poisoning - which is how my mother came to hear about it at all."

"Your mother was poisoned?" Sora's eyes almost fell out of her head. "But I thought...when you told us she'd passed on...she was murdered by some assassin?"

"No. Mother wasn't murdered." Tears glittered on Mitsuki's lashes and she shook her head. "And right now that's not important. I can't reach her any more. She's already lost in the mist. But...Onoe-kun..."

"You think Onoe-kun's been...?" Naoko paled, and Mitsuki shrugged.

"I don't know." She murmured. "I just know what I felt, and...I have to go to him – I have to go now. Even if I can't change it, I have to…he called to me, even if he didn't know he did. And I felt it…and now…"

She looped the obi around her waist, tying it tightly.

"You're not going out looking like that?" Naoko was horrified. "Your hair un-brushed, your face a mess of tears and totally unwashed…Mitsuki-chan!"

"There isn't time!" Mitsuki exclaimed. "If I'm punished, then I am! But I'm going – I'm going to Onoe-kun. I have to go before it's too late!"

"Midori-hime, Kamuki-sama will see you now."

Midori swallowed hard, nodding her head slightly to the uniformed attendant as if to acknowledge his words. Inside her chest her heart was already beating fit to explode, yet she knew she must not show her apprehension to anyone. This was what she had come for, after all. She did not have time to waste on petty things like fear. After all, if she was truly going to guide this Clan through the chaos to come, she had to find that strength of character that her mother had bequeathed her.

The strength that allowed her to be the Shadow Cat and the Shihouin-ke's only hope in the dark days ahead.

She and Saku had arrived at the Shihouin-ke estate early that morning, and immediately she had returned to the safe familiarity of her own quarters, ordering maids this way and that as she had prepared herself for the meeting with her Uncle. By the time one of Kamuki's retainers had come to tell her an audience had been granted, she was robed once more in the formal attire of a Shihouin princess, the rough clothes of travel discarded for burning. The pendant bearing the crest of the Shihouin hung heavy around her neck, however, and she touched it idly, wondering how much more weighty it would become from now on.

Nobody had tried to prevent her access to District Two or to her quarters since her arrival, but she could tell by the buzzing atmosphere that her return had startled and unsettled them. She was the revered Shadow Cat, yet she had also broken a solemn betrothal agreement in plain sight - and fled across land to her family's territory without a word to anyone. The tension in the atmosphere had done nothing for her own nerves, and she drew a deep breath into her lungs, hoping that she would still be able to salvage something from the wreckage of her Clan's honour.

After all, I don't want to leave it all on Kai's head. He's young enough still and Genryuusai-sama seemed quite serious in continuing his training. If that can happen...he will be of most use to the Shihouin to continue on there. But there will be those who are angry at me, when they learn what I've done to come here. And I must be ready to face that. No matter what it brings.

"Saku, remain here." She said softly, casting her companion a glance, and Saku bowed her head, stepping obediently away from her mistress without a word. There was uncertainty in her aura too, Midori knew, a genuine anxiety for the safety of one she'd sworn her entire life to, and somehow she felt comforted by the strength of Saku's loyalty.

You have no idea how many times on this journey you've been my strength, Saku-chan. I will make sure that faith is repaid. I promise, I will.

Midori turned, gathering her composure then striding forward towards the partition that divided her Uncle's study from the rest of the administrative centre of Shihouin power. Though nobility, her family had always put great stock in well-structured organisation, and even now Kamuki was not alone. Three or four retainers bustled around the room, their arms stacked high with dusty scrolls, and Midori's heart almost stilled in her chest. She stepped over the threshold, meeting the troubled gaze of her own father as he stood beside his brother's desk.

"Midori." He murmured softly, and at the sound of her name, Midori's expression became grave.

She paused, bowing low before the head of the Clan and his companion, then,

"My sincere apologies, Father. It seems I have caused you much inconvenience with my selfish actions." She said quietly. "But I hope that you and Kamuki-sama will both see to forgive me for them - more, that you will hear more of them. For we don't have much time in which to talk."

"What is the meaning of this, Midori?" Kamuki himself spoke up at that moment, and Midori's golden gaze shifted to her Uncle, taking in the censure in his amber eyes. No, she reminded herself, he was more than her Uncle. He was her sensei, and at this recollection she frowned, hardening her heart.

"I have come to invoke the claim of the Shadow Cat to rule the Shihouin Clan." She said quietly, and a collective gasp went up from the retainers present at the calm, matter-of-fact announcement. "For this reason I have left District Seven and travelled East."

"Invoke the..." Kamuki's eyes widened and he was on his feet, his fingers instinctively moving to his waist for the hilt of his zanpakutou. "What do you mean, you insolent child? What claim do you think you have, standing there before me like this? You have abandoned your responsibilities to your family and insulted our allies in District Seven, and now..."

"Dismiss your retainers please, Kamuki-sama." Midori quailed inwardly at the sudden flare in her companion's reiatsu, but stood her ground. "I will explain all to you, but not in front of them. I have left my own servant outside, for this is a matter that should be discussed between Shihouin alone."

"Midori, you..."

"Nii-sama." Before Kamuki could close his fingers around his weapon, Midori's father spoke up, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "Please, do not react so quickly. Let us at least hear what she has to say."

"Chiaki." Kamuki eyed his companion in surprise, then he frowned.

"She is yours, and you are soft on her." He murmured. "But such insolence against the Head of a Clan cannot be tolerated with a simple slap on the wrists."

"Even so, I know my daughter." Chiaki said evenly. "And I trust her. There are none among my children who better understand the protocol of Clan life than she does. She would not have left District Seven without good cause. It will not hurt to hear her speak. Then you will have all the information and can act accordingly."

"And if I still seek to confine or punish her after that point?" Kamuki raised an eyebrow, and Chiaki sighed.

"I will not stand between you and your justice." He said frankly. "Midori also knows that as well as I do."

Midori's eyes became serious.

"Yes. I know." She murmured. "I have come here knowing that I would anger you, Uncle. And also, that I may not leave here with my life. But still, I have come. Because there was nothing else for me to do. Please, dismiss your retainers. I have no will to draw Akekage and I will not fight against my blood kin if I do not have to. But this is something we must discuss as family. It is not to be said before them."

Kamuki hesitated for a moment, then raised his arm, indicating for his servants to leave. They did so, exchanging glances as they went, but none of them questioned the order, and soon the three Shihouin were alone in the spacious old study.

"Well, Midori?" It was Kamuki who broke the silence, and Midori nodded her head, stepping forward so that she stood within a few feet of where the two men sat.

"There is a plot afoot in District Seven to assassinate Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama and destroy the Academy which he has worked to build." She said softly. "The mastermind behind this plan is the man you sent me to marry, Uncle. And because of that marriage contract, he seeks to use me and that connection to take hold of Shihouin land."

"Take hold of...?" Chiaki's eyes widened, then, "Seimaru-dono?"

"Yes. Seimaru-dono." Midori's eyes narrowed in displeasure. "And that's not all. I cannot prove to you or anyone the level of Seimaru's manipulation or deceit, but I do know this. You will have no doubt received word by now of the death of Aitori Hideaki in District One. I claim responsibility and I have no shame or guilt for it. This man was working with the Endou-ke in this scheme - but more, he was schooling and training Kai and Tomoyuki to act as the scapegoat assassins. Seimaru's intention is to bring down the Clan - and to take hold of District Two with me as his connection."

"Kai as well?" Chiaki looked troubled, and Kamuki frowned.

"And you have no evidence for any of this, yet come in and make an announcement of that nature?" He asked softly, and Midori could tell her Uncle's temper was bubbling beneath the surface, only just being held in check as he listened to her words. "You are fool young indeed, Midori, if you think to make such a wild action out of so little proof."

"No, sir, it's not me who is foolish." Midori's own temper flared at this. "You who sent me into a foreign land with no aid or retainers...you who thought to sell the Shadow Cat of the Shihouin to an enemy Clan with little thought to my pride or my safety. You are the one who has been foolish. I was angry - I am still angry. That is not the way a Princess of this Clan should be treated."

"You are mine to deploy as I see fit." Kamuki snapped back. "You are a member of this Clan and you obey the orders given you! That is you sworn duty to the Shihouin, or have you forgotten that fact?"

"Fortunately for you and for the Clan, some in District Seven have sense and reason, and saw to helping me." Midori kept her composure, fixing her Uncle with a steely glare. "Unlike people in District Two who have managed to put this family in the severest jeopardy it's been in since the last civil rift! Uncle, I will put it plainly. Aitori Hideaki's disloyalty and greed has meant that illicit substances are currently flooding regions of District One and at least one local girl was murdered because of it, with his involvement undenied. As a result, Genryuusai-sama has evidence - written, hard proof! - of the work that Father and Nii-sama do for you here behind the scenes! Proof that will destroy this Clan and, maybe, send you all to your deaths!"

She banged her hands down on the desk to emphasise her point.

"I killed Aitori, but it was already too late. All I managed to do was extricate Kai from the mess." She said in low tones, her voice trembling as the emotion she had suppressed for so long began to seep through the cracks in her exhaustion. "And so I grovelled before Genryuusai-sama and begged him for time to come here and at least do this. For he isn't a man to be bribed, Uncle. He isn't one who will hide information of this nature from the Council - you know as well as I do what this breach in regulations will mean."

"Midori..." Chiaki looked stricken, then, "So you came..."

"I came to invoke my right to the Clan, as Shadow Cat of the Shihouin." Midori said frankly, raising tear-flecked eyes to her Father's. "I came because I don't want to see this family destroyed. People I love are here. People involved in these things and I thought...at least if I could do this...then they won't take over District Two. That I can keep hold of the Clan, somehow. And try - however I might try - to invoke clemency from the Council members. Because if I didn't do this, everything would be destroyed. And the last thing I wanted...was that."

Kamuki stared at her, horror in his golden eyes as he digested her words.

"All of this...is the truth?" He whispered at length, and Midori nodded.

"On my honour as a Shihouin I swear to it." She said sombrely. "And I wish it was not."

She slid her fingers into the sash of her gown, pulling out a folded sheet of parchment and holding it out.

"This is from Genryuusai-sama." She murmured, as Kamuki took it with hesitant, trembling fingers, slowly unfolding it and smoothing it out on the desk before him. "To warn you that the activities in District Two must stop and that there will be repercussions. He marked it with his own seal so that if you doubted my word I could show you this as my proof. It was the only assurance he could give me towards my cause, given the chaos that District One have suffered at our hands already."

She sighed.

"I brought it, but I hoped you would not doubt my word, Uncle. I have done everything to put this family first, and if that means putting my own life on the line, so be it."

"From Genryuusai-sama." Kamuki's gaze drifted down the letter, then he sighed, holding the note out to Chiaki to read. "Cryptic, short yet somehow to the point. But even without it, I believe your words, my child. I see the honour in your gaze and I'm reminded of the young girl I trained so many years ago. You were always honest then, and I should not doubt you. I am sorry, Midori. It seems Chiaki was right - I needed to hear you out before I reacted to your words."

"I reached District One far too late to stop the worst of it." Midori said softly. "Or to stop Aitori from doing the things he had been doing. I have no way of knowing how long he had been plotting to betray you this way, only that it was beyond doubt that he had. In the end, all I managed to do was create a distraction and prevent a Shihouin being used in an assassination plot on Genryuusai-sama's life - I can't even speak now for Tomoyuki and whether or not he can even be saved from this. And that is only one crime and it is not the one of which we are most guilty."

"You mean, of which I am most guilty." His anger draining out of him, Kamuki rubbed his temples, closing his eyes briefly. In that instant, Midori realised, her Uncle suddenly seemed old - the cares of the world having been dropped squarely on his shoulders. For a moment there was silence, then he raised his gaze to hers.

"For the sake of preventing further war, I have crossed many lines and have forced many people into doing things that could cost them their lives." He said softly. "In the end, maybe I've created the situation I sought most to prevent."

"I don't want to take the Clan away from you, but if I don't, Uncle, the Council will." Midori reached up to wipe away the tears that had begun to trickle down her cheeks. "Genryuusai-sama said he could only give me two days leeway in which to get here and convince you to hand over control of the family to me. I knew you would not like it, but I hoped you'd understand when I told you everything that I knew. If I had to challenge you formally through any other means, it would take far too much time. By the time the Council convenes and moves to arrest you, I have to be in a position whereby they can't take control of District Two as well. I'm not involved in Father's work and I believe I can convince the Council to accept me as Head of the Shihouin-ke. But if you don't agree..."

"There is nothing to agree."

Kamuki got to his feet, pulling his zanpakutou from his belt and setting it down on his desk.

"A man who jeopardises the safety of his whole family based on fear should not be leader of anything, let alone a Clan of this standing." He said simply. "I should have realised, perhaps, long ago - that you inheriting the skill of the Shadow meant that my own line would not be the ones to carry on the family after all. I have always shunned your younger brother for his talents, and I have always overlooked you as anything more than the symbolic power of this Clan. Had I looked more clearly, I would have realised that making you my heirs would have been a far more logical decision. And I would not have brought others into this mire simply out of the desire to protect my surviving son."

He cast his brother a troubled look.

"I'm sorry, Chiaki. This will reflect on you too, no doubt."

"I will not run away from it, if it does. I chose to help you, after all, whatever the reasons." Chiaki said evenly.

He moved across the room, resting his hands on his daughter's shoulders.

"I have great pride in you at this moment." He said softly, and Midori could see the tears deep in his own eyes. "For the sake of the Clan, do what you think is best. I will not contest your claim, whatever fate it brings me in the future."

"Father." Midori hesitated for a moment, then flung her arms around him, hugging his broad frame tightly as she buried her head in his shoulders.

"I'll fight it as hard as I can." She said softly, her words muffled as she clung to him. "I don't want anyone else killed. I don't want to see my family's blood spilled."

"It may be too late to prevent it." Chiaki held her at arm's length. "You know it too, because I can see it in your eyes. But at least you protected Kai. And if there's you and there's him, this family will be fine."

Kamuki let out a heavy sigh.

"Chiaki, I want you to convene an urgent meeting of the Shihouin representatives in the Great Hall, with immediate effect." He said softly. "Any who do not attend will be unable to contest the decision made afterwards, so ensure as many are present as possible. I wish to speak to them, and ask them to acknowledge Midori as the head of the Shihouin-ke."

"Uncle..." Midori raised her head, glancing at him and Kamuki nodded.

"As you say, child, it is the only way." He said heavily. "For the sins I've been hiding, retribution has come. I will not lie to the representatives. They will acknowledge you, when they know why you are here. And then..."

"And then I will do what I can to minimise the damage on all levels." Midori said softly. "I know, Uncle, that you and Father have never experimented with the intention of chemicals being in widespread circulation. What Aitori did, smuggling them to District One and using the vulnerable townsfolk there was Seimaru's doing and outside of the orders of the Clan. But with no proof against Seimaru that will stick, it will be hard to convince the Council of that fact."

"The Endou are sneaky enough to outsmart even an assassin's Clan, so it seems." Kamuki murmured. "Go now, Chiaki. We don't have time to lose. District One is not far from here, and Genryuusai-sama is a man of his word."

"Yes, Nii-sama." Chiaki nodded his head, withdrawing from the room and leaving the two, niece and uncle alone.

"I will take responsibility onto my shoulders for this." Kamuki said quietly. "So do what you can to shield your brother and father from the Council's wrath. My son too, Midori - please. He is still a child and..."

"I have no intention of letting anyone be put to death, not if I can help it." Midori said firmly. "I will shut down the whole operation, and allow the Council investigators to take it to pieces if that's what they want to do. But I will stand out against any execution orders, regardless of the severity of the crime. I will appeal to the other Clans for clemency."

"Shihouin must be willing to die for their Clan, Midori. You know that as well as anyone else."

"Yes, I do." Midori nodded. "But..."

She frowned, then,

"My family is also important to me, and I think it's all right for that to be the case." She said quietly. "My travels have taught me, I think, not to take things like that for granted. That having those around you that you trust is important. I have been fortunate, Uncle. Endou Misashi-sama helped me to escape District Seven, and I have had the constant companionship of a young maidservant called Saku who has run errands, helped find my way and proven to be a godsend in all respects. I was able to speak to Kyouraku Tokutarou-sama last night, also, and he has made it unequivocably clear that he will support my claim - he also promised to carry my case to Kyouki-sama in District Five, too. If I can gain support from the other Clans..."

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"There is much to be done. Even when this is over, there is much." She said sadly. "But if I can begin without bloodshed, then I'll hope to carry on without it. We've a reputation for being assassins, but I want to develop us into something more than that. I want to discover what District Two can give...and make it that the Shihouin can never be vulnerable like this again. Somehow, Uncle, that's what I want to do. So that there's never a situation where our family are facing death for breaching the Council's decisions."

"Then do it as you see fit." Kamuki rested his hand on her shoulder. "I taught you, after all. I trained you till you summoned Akekage and learned to harness his strength to uphold your justice. I will have faith in that. Even if I die, Midori - even if we all do. Your Father's words are true. With you and Kai, the Clan will survive. And must survive, for the sake of our ancestors and our future descendants."

"More than anything I want to bring Seimaru down, but I have no way to do it." Midori admitted. "Overheard coversations are hearsay and I'm hardly an objective witness. Besides..."

"Besides?"

"To do so would also bring retribution on Misashi-sama's head, I think." Midori sighed. "And he helped me because he knew nobody else could. For the sake of both our Clans, he let me see what Seimaru was planning and allowed me to escape. We owe him a good deal and I won't repay that help by turning on him now."

"In the end, then, some good has come from the Endou alliance." Kamuki murmured, and Midori nodded.

"But the Clans are superficial and the stranglehold they have over our way of life is slowly stifling Seireitei to a point where we will eventually all destroy ourselves and one another." She said gravely. "On my travels East, Uncle, it was District people who helped me the most. Not Clan. District. Etsuo Saku, without whom I would never have made it so safely across District Eight. And Ukitake Juushirou..."

"Ukitake?" Kamuki looked startled, and Midori nodded.

"He and Misashi's son." She agreed. "In District One, helping me to keep my whereabouts secret and to convey a message to Genryuusai-sama. I will not look at the Districts the same way again, Uncle. They are not fools and they are certainly not beneath us in anything except wealth. I won't forget that in a hurry. I think...perhaps Genryuusai-sama's vision of the future is less crazy after all. We need these people...we've just never realised it."

"Ukitake is the name of the low-born child who pushed Tomoyuki out of Genryuusai-sama's top class, isn't it?" Kamuki murmured, and Midori nodded.

"So he is." She agreed softly. "And having met him I feel…no, I believe…that Genryuusai-sama's decision was right. I cannot explain the boy's existence, or how he came to possess the reiatsu he has. But I am in no doubt that he possesses power equal to anyone born at Clan level – and more, it is entirely his own. It is different, perhaps, and untrained in many ways. But he is the genuine article. And we will encounter his name again as time goes on."

"Soul Society really is changing, then." Kamuki murmured, and Midori smiled sadly.

"We can either change with it or fade and crumble under the pressure." She responded matter of factly. "This is no longer the world it was even a hundred years ago, Uncle. Clans who don't move with those changes will be obliterated by them – that seems crystal clear to me now. And I won't let the Shihouin be one of those Clans."

"Then I'll trust everything to your care." Kamuki said quietly, resignation in his expression. "And trust that a young leader of strength and principle can begin to heal the mistakes made by foolish old men."

Author's note:

Yes, its mist, dammit! The watery mist kind of mist! (Er, ignore me. That will only make sense to about two people reading this, anyway...)

O.o 190 reviews. That's just a touch mind-blowing. All this Juu Shun love XD. Can we make it to 200 before the story ends?

Eimin-yaku

Eimin means eternal sleep, i.e death. Yaku is drug or medicine. Eimin-yaku is therefore a sleep medicine in the manner that Naoko explained it. I'm not going to explain it any further here, since it will become clearer in the next chapter or so.

Hirata's Kidou

Hadou no 26: Kyakkou is a spell which bends light to conceal a Shinigami from being seen. It does not conceal the Shinigami's reiatsu, and Hirata is suppressing his reiatsu alongside the spell in order to make himself completely hidden. These are both techniques he learnt as a boy to survive and grow up in the Endou household, with Seimaru constantly there to cause him suffering. Therefore when Hirata uses Kyakkou, he always uses it automatically in conjunction with reiatsu suppression. This is something I can't stress enough - though Kyakkou itself only makes people invisible to the naked eye, when Hirata uses it, it always involves reiatsu suppression at the same time. This is the combined skill Misashi taught him when he was a boy - and one he's used ever since that point. I've spent a little time mentioning the Shihouin skill at keeping themselves hidden - it can be assumed that Hirata's ability to do the same is at least on a par with Kai and Onoe's...possibly even greater.

As I've said to a few people, because Hirata is failing in Ouyoudou and scrapes awful grades in kenjutsu, his average is brought down and so he ranks 5th or 6th usually on class lists. But taking that into account, in order to keep his ranking at that level, he has to be skilled in the other areas...right? :) That's why I keep telling folk not to underestimate him - just because he has little confidence or physical presence doesn't mean he's necessarily weak...

Cookies for anyone who realises where Hirata used his technique in the story first...? (Answer will be in the next couple of chapters XD)