Chapter Thirty Four: Shrike's Snare
"You know, after this, this town is going to have a notorious reputation."
As Juushirou and Shunsui made their way down the stone pathway, Shunsui cast his companion a grin, a rueful look in his dark brown eyes. "I'm not even sure what the locals call it – but I think it'll stay with me all my life regardless."
"I know what you mean." Juushirou admitted, pursing his lips as he gazed up at the cloud speckled blue sky overhead. "Shunsui…I'm uneasy about this. I have been since yesterday…and I'm even more so now."
"Are you still feeling ill?" Shunsui cast him an anxious glance. "Because I wasn't sure you should be coming anyhow, but…"
"Where it's Hirata, I have to." Juushirou shook his head. "I'm tired and stiff, but my fever's gone down. That's probably thanks to Edogawa-san's remedy as much as anything – it's not that, Shunsui. Don't look worried. I'm fine that way. It's just…a funny feeling. It's probably nothing. Ignore me."
He paused, his lips thinning as he contemplated the events so far that day.
The first thing had been a surprise assembly called by the Headmaster a little after breakfast, which, in the end, had lasted almost until lunchtime. All the classes of the school had been present, from the first years through to the Seniors, and the Great Hall had been packed from one end to the other as they had crowded in to listen to Genryuusai's announcements. Only the three first years – Kai, Hirata and Onoe – had been absent, and somehow Juushirou had felt their absences more keenly in light of such a busy meeting.
Even though I had known that Shihouin-kun was sleeping and under orders to stay where he was – it's not the same with Onoe-kun or Hirata and I guess I didn't like that, regardless of anything that's happened so far.
The Headmaster had seemed similarly preoccupied, and from his expression Juushirou had known that he had had no further leads on finding the missing Hirata. He had spent no time at all discussing that or the attempt Onoe had made on his own life, and instead had announced the lifting of the heavy curfew – at least, to some extent.
"Confining you all here is bad for you." He had admitted. "Especially considering that there are no classes for another few days. This being the case, I'm relaxing the restriction on students leaving the Academy campus, so long as certain rules are exactly and faithfully respected."
He had paused, a dull hum passing around the chamber at this surprising announcement, and then had addressed them all gravely once more.
"No student below Senior Class is to leave here alone under any circumstances." He had continued softly. "For first years, this is not a new imposition, but I will enforce it for years above first year for the time being. All students wishing to leave the premises must still report to me or to a Senior for a token and must show the token when passing in or out of the gate. No student will be permitted to leave the grounds more than once in a specific day, regardless of his or her errand, or be away from the school for longer than three hours on any trip. Finally, for the time being, no students – including those belonging to the Senior Class – are permitted to go beyond the local area. This means that the township is within bounds, and the forest leading up to it. But any forestland beyond the town is forbidden, and the mountains are certainly well out of range."
He had paused at this juncture, and Juushirou had been sure that it was no accident his gaze had brushed over the row where he and Shunsui were seated.
"Students who are under restriction for other matters or offences or who have not been cleared from the Healing Bay as fit to do so may not be issued with tokens." He said frankly. "And one other thing. This afternoon, men will be leaving District One to carry out important business on behalf of the Council of Elders. You will not attempt to interfere, bother or cross their paths in any way. Regardless of the status some of you carry in your home territories, this is the Academy and you are nothing more here than mere students. Please remember this at all times – I will not tolerate Clan battles seeping into school life."
With that ominous threat still hanging over them, the classes had been dismissed to their midday meal, and as soon as it was over the first years had gathered out by the trees, Ryuu with book in hand as they had settled themselves on the grass. Mitsuki and Sora had arrived moments later, and after much discussion, the spell had been prepared.
It had taken four or five attempts to get it to work even in its most base form, by which point beads of sweat had begun to soak Ryuu's brow and his eyes had begun to take on the sheen of tiredness. Yet he had persisted, and at length he had managed it, summoning enough reiryoku to cast the spell and gain a rough clue to Seimaru's location.
Juushirou didn't know whether or not their actions had been under suspicion or whether their teachers had simply been too busy with other things to notice first years playing with Bakudou they did not fully understand. The coordinates Ryuu had provided in the end had been fuzzy and imprecise, yet even so they had considered it a success.
And now, as the day had begun to draw into the afternoon, Shunsui and Juushirou were heading into town in the hope of finding and intercepting Hirata before he could meet with his enigmatic cousin.
"Kuchiki really wiped himself out casting that spell." Shunsui observed now, pursing his lips. "Maybe I should've tried it after all."
"I'm sorry I stopped you." Juushirou looked penitent. "But I thought we might have the authorities coming down on us in some way or another, and I didn't want you getting another mark on your record."
"I know." Shunsui grinned, reaching over to pat his friend's shoulder reassuringly. "I wasn't sure about that either. But at least by coming into town with you I can make sure you don't stretch yourself and I can do something to help bring Hirata back."
"It had to be us, really, in the end." Juushirou said with a sigh. "Shihouin-kun was right when he said he'd have been a better choice, but even if he's back with us it's obvious he's not strong enough to be up and out of bed for very long. This walk would probably have finished him. Kuchiki-kun's exhausted himself casting the spell, and Houjou-kun really isn't good at sensing reiatsu. He wouldn't be able to lock onto Hirata or Seimaru, even if we were in the right vicinity."
"And much as I don't like to be sexist, I wouldn't send Sora or Mitsuki-chan into an environment where Endou Seimaru might be." Shunsui added darkly. "He's not particularly respectful towards women, and he has an ugly reputation when it comes to dealing with them. I've heard stories that may or may not be true about how he likes to taunt and torture them if he has a chance – something to do with a hang-up about women taking power over men, I think. No doubt Eighth District propaganda's made the stories worse – but even so, it's not something I'd like to risk with either one of them."
"We're not going to try and find Seimaru, though. We're trying to avoid him and find Hirata." Juushirou reminded his friend, and Shunsui nodded.
"Yes. Which is why being able to sense reiatsu is important – you're right, Houjou would've been out of his depth."
He frowned.
"Don't you think it's strange, though, that we spent a lot of today trying to cast that spell right – and yet nobody came down on us for it?"
"Yes." Juushirou agreed. "But maybe Sensei's been involved in other things. Or maybe…"
"He's letting us play with fire so we get our fingers burned and don't do it again?" Shunsui's brows knitted together. "He's a rum old fool, isn't he? Teaching his students by putting them in danger."
"Experimenting with Bakudou within the school grounds isn't as dangerous as experimenting with Hadou." Juushirou reflected, and Shunsui snorted.
"You obviously need to look more closely at Ryuu-kun's library book." He said emphatically. "There are some plenty dangerous Bakudou too, believe me."
"But we only cast a tracing spell. We didn't start looking into ways to fight anyone." Juushirou pointed out, and Shunsui nodded.
"Maybe that's it. Since it was only a tracing spell. But they must have known we'd cast it. Or tried to at least. And they must know why. I don't know about you, Juu-kun, but I think that Sensei's let us fly under the radar on this one."
"So that we can find Hirata?"
"Or expose Seimaru – which would be my guess." Shunsui shrugged. "Right now there's no evidence against him, after all."
"And we're his bait?" Juushirou looked horrified. Shunsui grinned.
"If he knows where we are and what we're doing, maybe he's keeping an eye on us." He reflected. "But yes. Perhaps. I wouldn't be surprised – Seimaru's a dangerous individual, after all. And to be honest, Juu, they're having no luck tracking Hirata down either. I wonder if he thinks we might help him out here. That we might succeed where his men have failed."
"I don't see why."
"Because we know the tyke." Shunsui said matter of factly. "And therefore we know better than Yama-jii does how he thinks."
"It hasn't helped us so far." Juushirou sighed. "I hope you're wrong, Shunsui. I hope it's just that Sensei has been occupied with other things – like dealing with the Shihouin plot with the Council. He had a lot of people meeting with him today. Maybe because of that he didn't pay attention to first years breaking Kidou rules."
"We'll see, no doubt. I suspect the end result may be the same." Shunsui shrugged. "Either way, we're almost at our limit. The town's up ahead – and whatever else we do, for now we'll keep within Yama-jii's boundaries."
"I can't sense Hirata." As they walked through the town gates, Juushirou creased his brow, reaching out his senses for any faint sign of his classmate's reiatsu. "But I suppose that doesn't mean anything, if his Bakudou is good enough for him to hide completely."
"I'm not sure myself from reading that book of Kuchiki's whether Kyakkou is meant to conceal reiatsu or just hide someone from sight." Shunsui reflected. "I didn't get that impression, to be honest. But from what Kai-kun said - it's more than likely that Hirata's learnt a hybrid of the spell to protect himself - or has just automatically come to flat-line his reiatsu when he needs to use the Bakudou spell. It's interesting, really. I knew we had underestimated the kid, but I hadn't realised it was by so much."
"Hirata ranked fifth in the last tests, above students who are two years or more older than he is in some cases." Juushirou said quietly. "Only you, me, Kuchiki-kun and Sora ranked above him. Admittedly Shihouin-kun didn't do very well last time, and probably should have done better. But for a boy of fifteen to rank so highly - we should have probably realised it sooner. If not for his Ouyoudou, Shunsui, Hirata might well be higher. It was only the fact he was bottom in that that dragged his marks back."
"Yes, I'd thought of that too." Shunsui agreed. "His Kidou and Hohou are on a par with ours in most respects, and he's a brainbox type so Sakusen comes naturally to him. Perhaps we shouldn't be worried about him after all, you know. Maybe he doesn't need any help."
"Either way I'd like to find him and find out." Juushirou said grimly. "So I vote we split up and take the town half each."
"Split up?" Shunsui looked doubtful. "Sensei said we weren't to go out alone, Juu."
"He said we weren't to go out alone. Not that we couldn't separate once out." Juushirou pointed out, and Shunsui snorted.
"That sounds like my kind of logic, not yours." He said, amused. "I don't think Yama-jii'd leave more than scraps of you if you used that argument to him."
"But we'll cover ground more quickly if we do." Juushirou pointed out. "And it's not dangerous. We're not looking for Seimaru. We're looking for Hirata. And even if we passed Seimaru, there's no reason he'd speak to us. Neither of us are Endou-ke. Neither of us have political links with them. I'm well beneath his notice, and you're the brother of a neighbour he hates. He wouldn't make a scene based on one of us accidentally crossing his path."
"I suppose so." Shunsui still looked hesitant, and Juushirou frowned.
"Well? What's bothering you?"
"Nothing, probably." Shunsui shrugged his shoulders, letting out a heavy sigh. "It's as you say. It would make no sense for him to draw attention to himself in foreign territory, especially if he's up to something. We have people who know where we are, and if he wants to cross Yama-jii, he probably doesn't want to give him any advance warning of it. I just...can't help thinking Seimaru doesn't think as logically as that. That's all. And that if his Clan are so against the Academy, he already knows something about you and the other District students."
Juushirou faltered, remembering Kai's words.
"It was Seimaru who told Onoe-kun that I was using illicit drugs to keep up with you all." He murmured softly. "Shihouin-kun told me - I'd forgotten till now."
"There you go then." Shunsui nodded. "He does know about you. And you don't have a Clan connection to protect you if he wanted to get angry with you."
"No, but I have Sensei and he knows where I am. We didn't lie, after all, and we haven't broken bounds." Juushirou quashed his misgivings, shrugging his shoulders. "We only have three hours, Shunsui. Two and a half, probably, now. Otherwise we'll be breaking the curfew rules. We can't waste time arguing over it. We'll split up and meet in an hour by the fountain - all right? You take the east side, and I'll take the west. It's not a huge town - we should be able to cover it all in that time. Then we'll have a while to check the forest if we've had no luck, and head back before we get into trouble."
Shunsui sighed.
"Fine. You make sense." He acknowledged reluctantly. "So we'll do it your way. Just be careful, all right? We don't know what's lurking in the shadows, or whether Seimaru might have brought friends with him on his little field trip to District One."
"Don't worry. I've no intention of crossing him at all." Juushirou shook his head. "In an hour, then. At the fountain. Good luck, Shunsui."
"You too." Shunsui nodded, turning on his heel and disappearing down one of the side alleys that led to the east side of town. For a moment, Juushirou hesitated, then he sighed, shaking his head as if to clear it.
I hope an hour is long enough." He murmured, turning and walking slowly down the main street, taking the first turning and heading towards the textile quarter where a fabric market was still in full flow.
I wonder if Shihouin-kun is right. Has Hirata been hiding, waiting for Seimaru to appear so that he can meet with him? Maybe bargain or plead with him? Is that possible? Kuchiki-kun's spell seemed to indicate that Seimaru was in the town - which would suggest he was waiting for something. But is it Hirata? Or something else? Is Hirata even still alive? No matter what anyone says, that still worries me more than anything. Otherwise how do you just disappear?
As he slipped through the crowds of local people filling the marketplace, he tried to block out their cheerful shouts and greetings, isolating himself from their merry banter as he struggled to pick out something distinctive in the busy town. They had chosen a bad day to come, he realised, with it being a market day and with people from all the villages around having made the trip in to buy their wares in the relevant quarters. Yet even so he persisted, separating all the faint buzzes of ordinary reiatsu as he searched for one belonging to a member of a specific Clan.
As he reached the edge of the square, he thought he saw the flicker of a cloak out of the corner of his eye, and he paused, turning as he tried to register what he had seen. There was nobody there, however, and he pursed his lips, wondering if his anxieties were starting to play havoc with his judgement. Even in the brief moment he had seen it, he had realised that the cloak had clearly not been the dull grey or black that typified the local people's worn clothing, but a more distinctive deep red in hue.
On a day like this, a cloak shouldn't be necessary. Only someone in a position of authority would want to strut around in summer heat wearing fine clothing, and in such colours...
He frowned.
"Find Seimaru and you find Hirata." He muttered, as a faint sensation trickled across his wits. "Endou-ke reiatsu."
All right then. I'll follow and see where it leads me. So long as I keep my distance, it should be all right...I'm not going to try and speak to him, I'm just going to try and find my friend. If he's in trouble in some way, I'm definitely going to go for help. But if I don't at least try and find him, nobody will know where he is to help him.
To think was to act, and he darted across to the side alley, pausing as he checked for any sign of trouble before slipping down it. He was heading towards a familiar part of town by taking this path, he realised suddenly, for the house that Aitori had died in was in this vicinity, and with a jolt he understood.
Aitori's house. That's what Kuchiki-kun's coordinates were trying to highlight. Aitori was Seimaru's ally. Of course he'd be here. Of course Hirata would meet him here. It makes perfect sense! The place has been completely taken to pieces by law enforcement. They'd never think that the troublemakers would come back and use it again. So of course that's where they'd go. The one place that local retainers would have already searched and ticked off their list.
He crept up to the property, hesitating for a moment as he stretched out his senses once more. The faint flicker of noble reiatsu caught his attention once more, plus something else, and his eyes widened as he recognised what it was.
"Hirata!" He murmured, hurrying forward and wrenching back the battered fencing as he made for the back door. His caution and resolve tossed aside by this faint flutter of his friend's life force, he darted forward, inwardly thinking of nothing more than finding and extricating the young boy before any harm could befall him.
The back door was somewhat ajar, and at the sight of it, Juushirou felt relief flood through him.
Using Kidou to break it down would reveal I was here, after all, and I'm not good at breaking through locks...though I bet Shunsui would be, if he were here. But with any luck, I'll find Hirata and the both of us will meet him at the fountain. Then we can go back to school and everything will be settled one way or another by the authorities after that.
He ducked under the low-set door arch, inching his way cautiously along the dark hallway towards the flicker of Hirata's faint reiatsu. It was coming from the furthest room, he realised with some revulsion - the room in which Aitori had died, and which, according to popular rumour, was still stained with the teacher's blood. Still he did not falter, running his fingers cautiously around the frame of the door before sliding it cautiously back. It squeaked slightly on its runners, and he froze, frightened that he had been discovered. But there was no movement, and carefully he continued to open it until there was a wide enough gap for him to slip his slender body through.
He did so, standing upright and then stopping dead as he gazed around him in confusion.
The room was empty.
But I can feel Hirata. I know he's here. I can sense his reiatsu more clearly now...which means there must be somewhere I'm not seeing.
He stepped gingerly over the fading red-brown stains on the floor panels, forcing the thought of his Hohou teacher's demise from his thoughts as he glanced all around him.
A secret panel? A chamber I can't see? Something like that? Is that what's going on?
"Well, you seem to have a bloodhound's wits after all, don't you."
A voice behind him made him freeze, a chill prickling down his spine as he felt the sudden woosh of reiatsu entering the room. Slowly and apprehensively he turned around, and at his reaction, the newcomer laughed, folding his arms in amusement across his chest.
"I thought that I might lure you out. One of you. All of you. But you in particular. Ukitake Juushirou."
Juushirou's eyes widened, staring at the speaker in dismay, and his companion nodded.
"Hirata is not here. Yet." He added softly. "Though he will be, and we will have words. Serious words, I think, on how he thinks he can call my bluff and not carry out the orders given. I thought that, if I brought you here, I might convince him more clearly about what I want done. Then he'd know, after all, that I'm not lying, and that I will keep my word if he doesn't do as he's been told."
Juushirou's heart clenched in fear, and the red-cloaked man bowed his head.
"We haven't met formally, yet." He murmured. "And even though I know you by name, perhaps you're not so sure about mine? District children are so poorly educated, after all."
"Endou Seimaru." Juushirou murmured, and Seimaru's eyes glittered.
"Seimaru-sama to you." He said sharply, crossing the room in a few quick strides and slapping Juushirou hard enough across the cheek to send the boy tumbling to the floor. "I am your superior in every respect and yet you do not even bow your head to me? Do they not teach manners of any kind, then, in the Kuchiki District?"
Juushirou struggled into a sitting position, reaching up his hand to touch his cheek tentatively, then,
"I'm sorry if I've offended you, Seimaru-sama." He said quietly, fighting against the fear that flooded through his system. "But I came here to see Hirata. I didn't come to speak to you. And even though you say he's not here...I'm finding that hard to believe."
"You followed his reiatsu, after all." Seimaru nodded. "Yes. Kai did warn me that your senses were particularly sharp, so I thought I'd take advantage of that fact."
He pulled his sword from its resting place at his side, bringing it down quickly in a cross shape against the wall, and as the panels split and fell away, he smiled, reaching in and pulling out a small, glittering object.
"This is what brought you here." He said softly. "I know my cousin far better than you, after all. This device was created by an employee of mine and its really surprisingly useful. All it takes is the slightest drop of the individual's blood, and it resonates their presence across the local area like a beacon. Hirata's not here, but his blood is something I find remarkably easy to acquire, considering the amount of times I've made him spill it over the years. And I thought that you wouldn't cross my path, but you'd come looking for him. It seems I was right."
"Hirata's...blood?" Juushirou swallowed, then, "Is Hirata hurt?"
"I don't know. Yet." Seimaru shrugged. "I haven't seen him in two days, near enough. I can't speak for what might happen when he gets here, though. I made it very clear to him what the consequences were of crossing me...obviously he needs a little more persuasion."
Anger flooded through Juushirou at this point, and he pulled himself to his feet, glaring at Seimaru indignantly.
"You want to kill Sensei, don't you?" He said softly, his voice shaking as he met the noble's gaze with his own. "You want to destroy him and the dream he worked so hard to create. You don't care what happens to Seireitei in the future, or even now - so long as you can grasp power and hold it for yourself. I know about you, Seimaru-sama. I know that your family are frightened of people like me. That's the real reason you brought me here. Not because of Hirata. But because I worry you."
"I'm afraid of you?" Seimaru snorted. "Why would I be afraid of a runt like you? Your sickness is apparent just at first sight, and your birthline muddied and oblique. Why would I, heir to my Clan and a true Shinigami care at all about someone untrained and raw like you?"
"If that's the case, why did you tell Onoe-kun that I was using illicit chemicals to enhance my reiryoku?" Juushirou shot back. "Why would you do that, if I didn't threaten you? Why would you know my name, Seimaru-sama, if you weren't worried about what I was learning or where my training might take me?"
Seimaru's eyes narrowed for a moment, then he smiled, absently tapping his sword against his leg.
"Well. So you are cleverer than you appear to be." He murmured. "You reason things out, just as Kai seemed to think you did."
"Because of you Shihouin-kun is hurt, and Onoe-kun might not ever recover his wits." Juushirou said coldly. "And now you want to hurt Hirata as well, all because you're afraid of what people like me might do to your standing in the future? Do you know what that really means, Seimaru-sama? It means that you think I'll surpass you. It means that you don't have much standing at all - because if you did, you wouldn't worry about those you consider beneath you!"
His eyes glinted with angry steel, even as he felt the unyielding flare of Kuchiki pride rear its head once more. Somewhere in the distance, he thought he could feel the prickle of electricity stinging at his senses, and his fear momentarily displaced by indignation, he stood his ground boldly.
"If you thought us nothing, you wouldn't worry that one day we'd come and put you in your place." He snapped. "And not just me. The people in Seventh District that you persecute and torment and force to flee for sanctuary over the border. The people that live in this world - over whom you're meant to cast your protection. You're afraid of all of them - aren't you? And that tells me the only thing that anyone needs to know about you."
"Which is?" Seimaru's eyes were near slits, and Juushirou raised his head proudly.
"That you're weak." He said quietly. "And you know it."
"You really do have an unpleasant way of presenting yourself." Seimaru's gaze darkened. "Especially when speaking about things you don't understand. The Clans have held Seireitei for generations. They are the ones who have power and influence. Nobody else. It is not your place to start trying to drag yourselves up from the peasantry or meet us face to face on any level. It is unnatural. And as for you, you in particular are unnatural."
He jabbed his sword in Juushirou's direction.
"You have far too much reiatsu for one of your birth." He said coldly. "You are an anomaly - abnormal and unsightly. Whether you use chemicals or not, the result is the same. You are still something that has appeared from the Districts without reason or warning - a flaw in evolution and an abberation that should be eliminated as soon as possible."
He frowned.
"I was going to wait for Hirata's arrival, because I was going to kill you in front of him." He said softly. "But I can't listen to your ignorance any longer. I'll dispatch you now, and Hirata can weep over your spilt blood when he gets here."
He tilted his sword for a moment, then,
"I could simply slit your throat, but I think you deserve a more punishing death than that." He murmured. "For Hirata's benefit as well as for my own enjoyment. At least then I'll be rid of you - and that boy will finally learn that he can't protect anything, and shouldn't cross his Clan."
He raised his sword, amber light glinting briefly across the blade.
"Subete o moyase." He murmured, as flame-like flickers reiatsu began to flare around the edges of his body. "Yojinmozu."
"Yojinmozu!"
As they reached the outskirts of the town, Hirata froze, reining in his horse as horror flooded his senses. "Midori-sama, did you feel it? Did you sense that? It was Yojinmozu...Seimaru's zanpakutou! He's released it!"
"I see. So that's what Seimaru calls a zanpakutou spirit." Midori frowned, halting her own beast and holding a hand up to Saku to follow suit. "He's released it all right - but he's keeping it as low key as he can, like the coward that he is. Does he think that officials hereabouts are fool enough to overlook it, even if he tries to reel in his power?"
"Why would he release Yojinmozu here?" Hirata whispered, alarm in his pale blue eyes. "Midori-sama, something must have happened. Why would he..?"
"Perhaps Seimaru-sama has been apprehended by District One's people after all." Saku suggested softly, and Midori shook her head.
"If that was the case, he'd have no reason to hide what he'd done." She said frankly. "Which means that whatever it is is a bit more sinister than I'd like."
She swung herself down from her horse, holding the reins out to Saku.
"The rules have changed." She said briskly. "Saku, take my horse and tether it in the forest. Hirata, go with her, and do the same with yours. I want you to leave them there. Wait until the coast seems safe, and then, Hirata, I want you to take Saku to the school. You may have questions to face, but tell them that I will come and I will explain everything to Genryuusai-sama myself. Just that there is danger, and that you're bringing Saku back for her protection, under my instruction."
"Back to...the school?" Hirata bit his lip. "I might not even be welcome there, now."
"Whatever happens from hereon in, Genryuusai-sama will not refuse refuge when a conflict is in place." Midori said quietly. "Trust me and do as I say."
She glanced at Saku.
"Are you clear, Saku, on what I want from you?"
"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku nodded her head, although there was a faint flicker of apprehension in her dark eyes. "I'll go with Hirata-sama and go to the school when the coast is clear enough to do so."
"Whatever you sense from the town, I want you to go. I don't want either of you to try and interfere." Midori said firmly. "A zanpakutou should only be met with a zanpakutou, and I don't want others caught in the crossfire if it can be helped."
Hirata opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, something else assailed his senses and he swallowed hard.
"Ukitake-kun!" He exclaimed, horror flooding his body a second time as he recognised a distinctive reiatsu suddenly flare through his thoughts. "Midori-sama, it's Ukitake-kun! I didn't do as Seimaru said, and now...he's got..."
"Do as I say and trust me." Midori cut across him, her expression grave. "I won't let anyone get killed. Trust me, Hirata. I'll make sure Seimaru doesn't succeed in whatever he wants to do - no matter what!"
Meanwhile, across the east side of town, Shunsui had also frozen in his tracks, terror creeping up inside his soul as he had registered the twisted swirl of reiatsu piercing through the summer haze.
"Seimaru." He muttered, swinging around and taking off at full speed back towards the other part of town. "It must be. It can't be anyone else. The Endou-ke have distinctive reiatsu, after all - and I'd know it anywhere. This is his - distorted and poisonous, seeping into the air."
He narrowed his gaze, stepping up a speed level as he contemplated the reasons why the nobleman might have released his weapon.
Either Hirata. or Juu. Or both.
His lips thinned, even as he unconsciously slipped his body into shunpo, willing every element of his strength to propel him faster towards the abandoned house which the Hohou teacher had used as a base for his smuggling activities.
And if he's keeping it under the radar, not everyone might pick it up. I have to find out who he's attacking and get them out of there!
As the world blurred past his senses, he felt something else rocket through him, almost causing him to stop dead with horror and fright.
Kidou. An attack. A repulsion. And a reiatsu that stood out more than any other.
Hadou no Ichi. Shou. Dammit, Juu, what are you doing? What are you trying to achieve, attacking someone with a released zanpakutou and God knows what kind of attacks to back it up? Did he say something to make you reckless? Is it about Hirata? Or are you cornered and trying to create a path to escape?
Something about this realisation drove his speed up even further, and he dropped down outside the empty house just in time to see the back wall blast open, the edges of the jagged hole crackling with dancing white energy. Muttering curses under his breath, Shunsui hastened forward into the property, stopping dead in the doorway of the chamber as he registered the scene.
Seimaru stood tall, his amber-tinted blade glittering eerily with demonic light as he swung it idly front of his body, sweeping away the lingering traces of the flare of Byakurai that he had obviously just diverted towards the far wall of the chamber. He seemed relaxed, almost amused by his choice of opponent, yet there was the faint smudge of contact on his fine clothing, and Shunsui realised with a jolt that Juushirou's Shou had been to push the nobleman bodily away - just as he had repelled Onoe in the school grounds.
But Onoe and Seimaru were not the same kind of opponents, and already Shunsui could tell that Juushirou was breathing heavily, tell-tale white flickers of electricity dancing across his finger tips. He had not even turned at Shunsui's arrival, and Seimaru's gaze darted lazily across towards him, a faint smile touching his lips.
"And now I've snared another, have I?" He murmured. "Well, Tokutarou's brother, isn't it? Kyouraku Shunsui-dono. It's my pleasure, Shunsui-dono. I don't believe I've seen you in some time."
"Believe me, it might be your pleasure but it isn't mine." Shunsui stepped properly into the room. "Juu, what the hell are you playing at? We had an agreement, didn't we? No touching this guy. He's crazy and armed with a sword neither one of us have any way of taking out. What are you doing firing Kidou at him?"
At his words, Juushirou started, turning as if seeing him for the first time.
"Shunsui?"
"Yes, Shunsui." Shunsui strode across the room, thwapping his classmate across the back of the head. "Wake up and get a grip, will you? Do you realise where you are and what you're doing? If you get killed, Hirata will cry. Do you want that to happen?"
"Ukitake and I had something we needed to discuss." Seimaru swung his sword once more, the tip glittering ominously with a flicker of flame-like energy. "Apparently he wanted to tell me that I was weak, and I decided to prove how wrong he was. You might have more sense, being born of a decent class of society. You'll know, after all, that a slight against a noble from a District ingrate is intolerable disrespect."
"If Juu said that, it's probably because it's true." Shunsui said simply. "He's smart like that - he sees and says things as they are. Though he could have a better sense of timing."
He turned, glaring at his companion pointedly.
"In any case, I think District One would rather nobody blew up bits of their towns, so he and I will leave you alone. We didn't come here to see you, after all. We came to find someone else."
"Hirata will come here, you know." Seimaru stepped towards them, his gaze flitting from Juushirou to Shunsui. "He'll be twice as anxious, now he's felt me release Yojinmozu, and if he's got any wits about him, Ukitake's feeble Kidou attacks will have alerted him in just the way I expected. He seems to be very protective of his District friend, after all - I think he'd do anything I asked him in return for that boy's life."
He raised Yojinmozu, jabbing it in Juushirou's direction, and stopping it a mere inch from the boy's throat. Juushirou did not flinch, however, merely meeting Seimaru's challenging gaze with an angry one of his own.
"It would be easy to kill you now." Seimaru reflected. "Your insolence is making my sword impatient for blood, and I am already sorely tried by my cousin's attempts at independent thinking. I'm sorry, Shunsui-dono."
He glanced at Shunsui.
"I have no real wish to fight with someone who is my political equal - but I have no intention of letting you take the District boy anywhere."
"Then I'm the one who's also sorry." Shunsui said evenly. "Because I don't intend on leaving here without him. And you'll have to explain to my brother, won't you, if anything should happen to me in the meantime?"
"I'm not afraid of Tokutarou." Seimaru dismissed this with a scornful shrug. "My father never acknowledged him as head of District Eight, and I don't care to enter into such things either. Besides, it seems like even justice to me. Your brother has caused me considerable inconvenience in the past few weeks - allowing my absentee fiancee to travel unmolested through his lands, and providing food and shelter for rebels and dissidents from District Seven."
"Runaway fiancee?" Shunsui feigned ignorance, eying him in pretend surprise. "There's a scandal you surely don't want aired outside of your home territories? Besides, surely you know that the Kyouraku have no alliance with the Shihouin either. There's no reason for my brother to get involved in a domestic that's none of his business."
"You might be ignorant of it, having been exiled here like you have." Seimaru lowered his blade, eying Shunsui pensively. "Or perhaps because your interests pertain to women and drink more than the social hierarchy in which we live. I've heard, after all, considerable stories of your exploits - and I realise you are Tokutarou's heir in name alone...your will and interest in the position are entirely lacking and it shows in your actions. So in that respect, I'm unsurprised at your ignorance. Even so, though, the fact remains. Whether the Kyouraku and Shihouin are allied or not seems to be immaterial. Either way, I have significant reason to believe that Midori came through District Eight - and that she came here, to this house, to commit a heinous act against an upstanding Hohou instructor in Genryuusai-sama's trust."
Shunsui chuckled.
"I'd heard the Endou had a knack for twisting the facts to fit their story, but I didn't realise you'd taken it up too, Seimaru-dono." He reflected, his tones far more casual than he felt as his gaze darted from the other noble to the blade in that man's hand. "But even if I am more interested in life's pleasures, as you say...I know enough to know that the Kyouraku's allied Clan is the Shiba-ke. Not the Shihouin-ke. And that Tokutarou-nii is quite particular about anyone trespassing through his land unannounced."
His eyes narrowed.
"Which makes me wonder by what path you arrived here, since it's a long distance to come to District One from Seven without setting foot in Eight."
"Perhaps it is, but that's no concern of yours since neither one of us are in District Eight now." Seimaru said frankly. "As for Tokutarou-dono, there's no reason for me to pander to him. District Eight has made it perfectly clear that it has no interest in allying with us in any regard. The borders are locked up as tightly as possible against anyone affiliated with my Clan - common sense should tell you that it would be impossible for me to trespass there, unless District Eight's security was lax. I can't imagine that to be the case - can you?"
He flicked the sword back, a fireball of energy flaring out towards the two boys, and Shunsui instinctively raised his hand to block it.
"Hadou no sanjuu ichi - Shakkahou." He muttered, as his blaze of red fire met and melted into Seimaru's eerie amber flame, the two of them flaring and then fading into nothing more than spectral ash. "This is stupid. You've released your sword, yet you're not even trying to attack us. You're just trying to stall till Hirata gets here, aren't you? And we're not going to be any part of your plan. We know, after all, what you've done."
"You think you know something about me?" Seimaru snorted, shaking his head. "You, the irreverent drunk who shamed his Clan so much he was sent away?"
Shunsui offered him a slight smile.
"There you go again, making assumptions." He said softly. "But even if you see me that way, I'm not quite the fool you think I am. I may have had some...more colourful moments in my social history, and I'm not afraid to admit to it. But despite that, my braincells do work. And they're not inebriated at present. So they're working rather well. From Megumi to Sensei, we know it all. So you ought to think again before behaving so recklessly inside District One."
"Megumi too?" Seimaru raised an eyebrow, then he laughed. "Yes, I can see that someone like you would have an interest in a girl like her. I suppose I deprived you of a plaything, then, when she was removed? But her death was of little consequence to anyone else. A common town whore who couldn't keep her mouth shut and who became too demanding for money and for drugs. Silencing her was the only option left. Nobody mourns her - except, maybe, the clients she left behind."
"Megumi was alive, and you killed her." Shunsui said coldly. "One death is the same as another to me, even if it isn't to you. You caused her pain, Seimaru. You frightened her. And you took her out of this world without a second thought. More than Midori-sama killing Aitori, I find that unforgivable."
"Were you in love with her, then, after all? Your personal courtesan, perhaps?" Seimaru looked interested. "In that case, my apologies. But I'm sure there are plenty of others. She was tainted anyway. You can do better, considering the kind of gold your Clan have to play with."
"She wasn't any such thing." Shunsui shook his head. "She was a friend. She had a life. She was real. You changed that. It has nothing to do with what her life was like or what your aims were. You took her life because you wanted to. That's what I object to."
"Because I could." Seimaru shrugged. "And even if you ran out into the streets now and proclaimed it, nobody would do anything about it. Nobody would challenge me for killing a mere town wench that had no family or connections. You know it as well as I do."
Shunsui's eyes darkened.
"Yes. I know." He muttered. "And it's what I hate about the Clans most of all."
"Even so, the truth is that you know nothing at all, Shunsui-dono." Seimaru continued. "Not even the surface of it. You wouldn't face me like that if you did. Neither one of you would."
"I know more than you think." Juushirou, who had remained silent through the noble's spar of words spoke up at that moment, anger still glittering in his hazel eyes. "About your work with Aitori-sensei and your involvement in smuggling and trying to kill Sensei. Even if you hurt Shunsui or you hurt me - or even if you hurt Hirata. There is still proof against you. I know, because I've seen it. A letter you sent to Aitori-sensei before he died. A letter he didn't have time to destroy. A letter that could bring your Clan down around you, and see you facing the Council in a far worse way than any of the Shihouin-ke will. You're not as clever as all that, Seimaru."
"Juu?" Shunsui stared at his friend, startled and somewhat unnerved by the resolute hardness in the boy's voice. Juushirou's tones were somewhat hoarse and broken from the effort of his Kidou attacks, yet it was the note of suppressed anger and hatred that really struck through him, making the other boy seem for an instant a total stranger from the normal, genial schoolboy who reached out to everyone as his friend.
So Juu has this side, too. The side he used against Onoe, no doubt. The side that keeps him strong and fighting, even when he's in pain.
Shunsui's eyes narrowed, taking in the faint prickles of electricity piercing through his companion's aura.
And that's a new development. Come to think of it, it was Byakurai he fired when I got here, wasn't it? I saw the energy still brushing his fingers, and there's no doubt in my mind. We've not been taught Byakurai. Why would he fire that, instead of an attack he knew fully? Unless it came instinctively. Like my shunpo, unless it was lurking there under the surface waiting for a time when he was in trouble enough to need to use it.
"Proof?"
For the first time, Seimaru looked taken aback, then he frowned, a dangerous glint entering his pale eyes.
"You shouldn't have told me that, if you wanted your friends to live." He said darkly. "Because it only means I'll kill you both and then hunt down that evidence, person by person and piece by piece until I find it. I don't leave loose ends uncovered, so I will find it."
"No. You won't." Juushirou said matter-of-factly. "Because it.s somewhere you can't find it. And won't find it. And no matter how many people you kill, you'll never find it. Not before the people who can use it will. Because you're weak, Seimaru-sama. I told you already. Because you're scared of people taking your position, you've made mistakes. You started by killing Megumi-san. And no matter what you do to us, you'll still have to pay for that. Karma comes around, after all. Even if you kill everyone in District One, you will not find that letter!"
Shunsui's eyes widened at this, and he bit his lip, clamping his hands over Juushirou's mouth and pulling him back against the wall.
"What the hell are you doing, you idiot? Get a grip on yourself, will you?" He hissed. "I know you're angry, but even so...you're antagonising someone who doesn't need any excuse to hurt people. Stop and think before you speak for a while, huh? Let me handle him."
"Get off me." Juushirou wrestled himself free. "I'm only saying things that are true, Shunsui. You know it as well as I do!"
"And I know that I've not seen that look in your eye before, but I don't think I like it." Shunsui snapped back. "It's reckless and hot-headed and full of Kuchiki pride bubbling to the surface from some deep deep reserve inside of you that even I didn't know was there. Your whole aura is prickling with lightning and you're sounding totally unlike yourself. Cool down and think for a moment, okay? You're helping nothing like this!"
"At least one of you has sense. But it's still too late." Seimaru said softly, raising his blade once more. "That last blast was a tiny whisper of what this sword can do. You were right, Shunsui-dono. I had no intent behind that attack. But the next one won't be so easy to dodge."
He cast Juushirou a derisive look.
"Hirata's faith seems wasted, if all you're good for is feeble spells and useless rhetoric." He reflected. "So you can be the first. I'll treat you to Yojinmozu's special magic - and you'll realise just how much fire you're playing with. Literally in fact."
He swung back his weapon, light glimmering around the whole blade as the reiatsu began to swell and gather against the hard metal surface. Then, with a flick of his wrist he cast the weapon towards Juushirou's body, the fire blazing across the chamber like a speeding bullet from a gun.
"Chi ni, juso o." He murmured. "Kouen Kougeki."
At his words, the blast of light glimmered with an odd reddish sheen, and as Juushirou stared at it, momentarily frozen, Shunsui acted, pushing his friend behind him as he raised his hands to counter the blast.
"Shakka hou!" He exclaimed, red light flaring once more from his fingers, but Yojinmozu's blast cannoned straight into it, consuming it into its own blazing trail. Warmth seared Shunsui's fingers, and he closed his eyes, instinctively flaring his own reiatsu to protect his and Juushirou's bodies as best he could from the taint of Seimaru's strange cursed fire.
For a moment the blow seemed to burn right through his fingers, casting heat through his entire body. Then, as his reiatsu flared again, it faded and disintegrated, the attack falling away as nothing more than dust.
"Shunsui!" This seemed to bring Juushirou back to himself, and he grasped hold of his friend's arm, eying him in alarm. "Are you all right?"
"It only grazed me." Shunsui nodded. "I'm fine. But you're an idiot. You know that, right? Getting into a fight like this that you can't win."
"I'm sorry." Juushirou was suddenly penitent, the spectre of the Kuchiki-ke gone from his countenance, and Shunsui sighed.
"It's all right. Let's worry about that if and when we get back to school." He said frankly.
"I already told you you weren't going back to school." Seimaru said blackly, lifting his sword once more. "You may have blocked the last one, Shunsui-dono, but you'll regret having done so. Only a fool comes so close to my flame. Fools who usually end up dead."
His eyes narrowed.
"You'll realise soon enough." He murmured. "Why it is that you're going to burn to death under my watchful gaze."
Author's note: Seimaru's Zanpakutou.
Yojinmozu 余燼鵙 means 'Smouldering Ember Shrike', hence the title of the chapter. I decided that the Endou-ke would all have zanpakutou spirits that resemble birds in some way or other. Although Seimaru's is the first to be actually revealed like this, his Grandfather and Grandmother's zanpakutou spirits are also hunting birds (as would Hirata's be, if Hirata had a zanpakutou to wield!)
A shrike is also known as a butcher bird - a predator who catches small rodents and impales them on bushes as a sort of larder. This seemed to me to be in keeping with the kind of tormenting, torturing spirit Seimaru is, so I chose that as his bird of choice.
Each Endou sword also has a different element. Yojinmozu's is fire. Although it is a very specific kind of fire - as will be made clearer, probably, in the next chapter or so :)
Seimaru's Commands:
Subete o moyase 全てを燃やせ means "Burn everything"
Chi ni juso o 血に呪詛を means "A curse on blood"
Kouen Kougeki 紅炎攻撃 means "Red Flame Attack"
The significance will also become clear in the next chapters. Juso is quite an old Japanese word, apparently, because even my Japanese teacher (who is Japanese) didn't know it, but it's used lavishly throughout HaruToki so I know it's a real term...period wise it seemed appropriate to use it for Seimaru's sword!