Chapter Fifteen: Nagasata Kaoru
Well, only time would tell whether Genryuusai's gambit would backfire.
Shunsui pushed open the gate to the furthest of the zanpakutou fields, pausing to gaze up at the sky with a rueful expression in his dark eyes. A promise was a promise and he knew that he had not been able to refuse it, yet still he felt somehow unsure about what he was about to undertake.
Someone's shishou ought to be steady and responsible. I'm neither one, and Yama-jii saying all of those things about me being effectively Juu's second in command is enough to give me chills. I always thought that I got away with being the hopeless layabout who flukes high grades at school - but that I was in contention for Anideshi is a bit of a wake-up call. Yama-jii's no idiot - I should have known he wouldn't be fooled even if Minabe still considers me the prize idiot of her class.
You should listen to him. He knows better than you.
Amaki's acerbic words cut across his thoughts, and he sighed, inclining his head slightly in acknowledgement of the zanpakutou spirit's words.
There is that, too. You should be glad, though, Amaki. You and Seibara. You keep telling me to do some work - now I am.
Well, if you were going to use us, I'd be happier.
Amaki was cutting.
Since your skills are more likely to plateau the more complacent you get. When we told you our name you were worthy of knowing it. Don't slip back again. You don't want to face either Seibara or I if you do.
Fine, but this is a training session of a different kind. Not for me but for a junior. So you pipe down and keep out of it. Your games don't have a place here.
Whatever.
With a flicker of energy, Amaki was gone, and Shunsui turned his mind back to the job at hand.
Amaki's as bad as Minabe when it comes to giving me the rough edge of his tongue. In class or outside of it, I suppose I can't escape that.
A faint smile touched his lips.
I wonder what Minabe's reaction was when Yama-jii told her I was going to undertake training one of her students. If this Nagasata is any good, I bet she won't be happy about it. She probably expects me to ruin the kid - I guess I'll have to disappoint her expectations.
"Good morning, Kyouraku-senpai. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"
A voice startled him out of his reverie and he swung around, a light-hearted response dying on his lips as he saw the speaker clearly for the first time. As they met gazes, the newcomer smiled, cheeks dimpling as she bowed her head respectfully towards him.
"I'm Nagasata Kaoru." She said simply. "I'm pleased to be working with you – thank you for agreeing to train with me."
"Nagasata…Kaoru." Despite himself, Shunsui was totally thrown as the girl raised her head once more, glitters of excitement in her dark brown eyes.
Whatever he had expected, he mused ruefully to himself, he had not expected this.
She was petite in height, probably a few inches shorter than both Sora and Kai, and possessed of a slender, elfin build that nonetheless had her perfectly in proportion. Her uniform was likely second-hand, for it had clearly seen some wear, the red piping and emblem of the hakamashita becoming pinkish in places whilst Shunsui could see the faint stitching where the girl's hakama had been adjusted to better fit her size. Despite himself, a faint smile touched his lips as he imagined them trailing on the floor, too long for her tiny legs.
Her hair was long, ebony in colour and perfectly straight, pulled back in a ponytail behind her head with parchment ribbon as warriors often did. It was not an unusual way for anyone to fasten their hair before taking part in physical training, yet somehow on this enigma it seemed more an artistic affectation than necessary preparation. Her eyes were bright with intelligence and eagerness – and if it had not been for those eyes, Shunsui might have thought a doll stood before him.
The sheathed form of an asauchi hung against her right hip, a clear sign of a left-handed fighter, and as Shunsui's gaze drifted to it, he realised that she was so small the weapon seemed unnaturally long at her side. A faint recollection of Seibara as she had first appeared to him crossed his mind, and he shook his head slightly as if to clear it.
He had made an elementary mistake in assuming that his new deshi would be a boy, for he had once known a guardsman called Kaoru and had therefore not even stopped to think about the alternative. But now he realised that at no point had Genryuusai said that his student was male - and there was no mistaking it. Nagasata Kaoru was definitely a girl and - much to his intense chagrin – a very pretty girl at that.
So that was the catch, was it? I knew there was one. Sneaky old devil.
"Senpai?" Kaoru eyed him quizzically, concern crossing her features. "Is something wrong? Are you cross because I'm a little late? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be. Only I had to see Kazoe-sensei this morning, then I got lost finding my way here, and then…"
"You needn't worry about that." Shunsui shook his head, forcing his attention back to the present. "You're not late. I'm here early, actually – I had nothing pressing so I thought I'd wander down here in plenty of time."
He grinned at her sheepishly.
"You seem to already know my name – I suppose Ya…Genryuusai-sensei already told you who would be training you."
"Yes sir." Kaoru nodded her head eagerly. "Because you can fight left-handed, and he thought that would be better…since I don't fight well with my right hand, and…"
"Wooah. Wait a minute." Shunsui held up his hands. "How old are you, Kaoru-chan?"
"Seventeen, sir." Kaoru pinkened at the affectionate honorific, reaching up to tuck a wisp of dark hair behind her ear self-consciously. "I was seventeen just before the spring blossoms came. Why?"
"Seventeen." Shunsui's eyes narrowed as he did the maths in his head. "Have you skipped a year?"
"Yes, sir." Kaoru was surprised. "I went from Second year to Fourth year, because Sensei said I needed to work properly on my zanpakutou and my other skills were all coming on nicely. I'm having extra coaching in Sakusen, and so I was allowed to move up straight away instead of being held back. It was a bit strange at first, but the people I'm in a class with now have all been really nice to me, so…."
"I see." Shunsui spoke before the girl could go into a long and detailed description of her first days with her new classmates. "Then you were fifteen when you first came here?"
"Yes sir."
"Then do I seem that much older than you that you have to keep calling me sir as though I'm a teacher?" Shunsui looked plaintive. "I'm really not that old, you know. I'm twenty one right now, which means there's a bare four years or so between us. I'm quite all right being 'senpai', but I don't expect you to call me 'sir'."
"I'm sorry, senpai." Kaoru's cheeks reddened once more and she bowed her head apologetically. "It's just…I heard from my dorm-mates that you're from the Kyouraku Clan and that you'll be a Captain when you graduate and your brother is a Clan leader and that you're the top student in the Senior Class and all kinds of things and I didn't want to be disrespectful because I come from the Districts and…"
She trailed off, and Shunsui sighed, coming towards her and resting his hands gently on her shoulders. She raised her gaze to him in confusion, and Shunsui bit his lip, inwardly cursing the old man for having given him such an assignment.
Because you know, don't you, that I'm going to find training her a big distraction. You're a canny old fox, Yama-jii. This isn't just about her being left-handed. It's about her being a highly attractive young woman and you testing my powers of resistance. That's a low blow, though. Even for you.
Out loud he said,
"You know our Anideshi is District born, don't you?"
"Yes, senpai." Kaoru looked surprised. "But…"
"Juushirou and I have been classmates since first year and he's my closest friend bar none." Shunsui told her gently. "I don't know what you've been told about Clan and District, but I'm of the strong opinion bloodline doesn't make you important. You speak with who you are and what you do – and if you got skipped up a year, that means Yama…I mean, Genryuusai-sensei sees something special in you, too. If that's the case, you should hold your head up and be proud. Whilst we're students here, we're all judged only by the work we do and the grades we get. Not by who our families are. All right? And I certainly don't want you to think of me as some elite Lord or anyone at all important."
He sent her a wry smile.
"It might warp your opinion of the Clans quite horribly, if you were to base your judgement entirely on me."
He released his gentle grasp on her shoulders with a sigh, taking a step away.
"Genryuusai-sensei is right, though." He added. "I can fight left-handed, and I will help you try to subdue and raise your zanpakutou spirit. But I don't think it matters overly which hand you're used to fighting with. Left hand, right hand – it's all in the tactics you employ. Your strength should always begin with protecting your weakness. Once you can do that, you don't need to worry about the nature of your opponent."
"I see." Kaoru looked thoughtful, and Shunsui realised with a jolt that she had not only taken note of his words but was considering them carefully, absorbing them as though he had given her true pearls of wisdom. He groaned inwardly, realising yet again what Genryuusai had done.
Someone who will listen and act on my every instruction, and hang onto my every word. Which means I can't coast this or screw it up. You really do intend to make me earn my haori, don't you, Yama-jii? Even if it does mean gambling the abilities of a poor young kid like this one in the meantime.
His fingers closed reluctantly around the hilt of the asauchi that he had selected to begin their battle. Despite Amaki's disparaging comments about laziness, he had thought long and hard about this, for although he knew it was customary for Seniors to train their juniors with their sealed zanpakutou, his own swords were a little different from the norm. In fact, he had reasoned, in the whole of Soul Society there had never before been a sword like his – one that had sealed itself so definitely into two separate weapons as opposed to simply one. Even Juushirou's slept in single blade form, for Sougyo no Kotowari's spirits were two halves of one balance – but for Shunsui, Amaki and Seibara's consciousnesses were distinct and independent – a fact that was best represented by the different sizes of the weapons that he normally wore at his waist. His left blade was Seibara, the wakizashi – and while he could fight just as well with Amaki's katana in his left hand, it would be more of an effort to regulate his style so that he wasn't compensating for the difference in weight. On reflection, he had decided that to use an asauchi of middling weight would be the safest bet.
At his movement, Kaoru sent him a curious look.
"Are you not going to use your zanpakutou?" She asked doubtfully, and Shunsui shook his head.
"For now, no." he responded. "I wouldn't be releasing it anyway – certainly not today, maybe not at all. The focus here is on you. Not on me. So your sword is more important than what I choose to fight with."
"I see." Again, that thoughtful look, then, "What kind of zanpakutou is yours, senpai? Someone in Dorm said it was supposed to be a special one, but they didn't know why or what kind of sword it was. Just that they'd heard people talking about it being unusual. Is it unusual? Is it dangerous? Is that why you won't use it?"
"All zanpakutou are dangerous." Shunsui said frankly. "That's what they're designed for, unless you happen to be a healer."
"I…suppose so." Kaoru looked a little crestfallen at this, and Shunsui inwardly berated himself at having been so quick to respond.
Just because he had his own bitternesses about conflict and combat, it wasn't fair to superimpose those onto one like this.
He shook his head.
"Understanding that doesn't make you vicious or violent." He said gently. "By understanding it, you can make the opposite true. We raise swords for a reason – to protect Seireitei. We don't raise them on our own selfish behalves."
"Sensei said that too." Kaoru brightened up at this. "Genryuusai-sensei, in Sakusen class, once. That the true power in a sword was knowing when not to release it – when it's better to act peacefully instead of violently."
"I've never known Y…Genryuusai-sensei to release his zanpakutou." Shunsui admitted. "I suspect if he did we'd all be in trouble, so it's a good thing he feels that way, overall."
"I think so too." Kaoru laughed, and Shunsui realised that he'd won the girl's trust – at least, for now. "I think Sensei's sword is probably the most dangerous of all…don't you?"
"Doubtless." Shunsui nodded, pulling the asauchi from his waist and transferring it into the palm of his left hand. "No matter how many years I train for, fighting him is really not high on my list of priorities. Not even for fun or in practice."
He frowned.
"Kaoru-chan, I don't know yet what kind of zanpakutou spirit you have, or what kind of sword you will manifest." He added. "Sensei assigned you to me, so he must think that I can help you to bring that sword out. Just be aware that manifesting it is only the first step. You'll probably never learn absolutely everything your sword can do before you die. Sensei told me that when I first released Katen Kyoukotsu. If you knew everything, your skills would blunt and you'd become complacent. So if you begin with this now – it's something that won't ever end. Even if we reach a conclusion and you're no longer my deshi – I want you to know that that will only be the start of your becoming a shinigami."
Kaoru nodded.
"It's all right." She said, drawing her own weapon and holding it at her side as she met his gaze earnestly. "Because I want to be a shinigami more than anything. So if I spend always learning as much as I can, that's fine with me. I want to do that."
"You really are determined, aren't you?" Shunsui observed, and Kaoru smiled, nodding her head.
"I suppose so." She said self-consciously. "Even in the Districts, there are people who want to help stop Hollows hurting people."
"Hollows hurt your family?" Shunsui asked softly, and for a moment the sparkle was gone from the dark eyes.
"My mother was killed by one when I was six." She agreed. "I never had a father, so then my brother and I were on our own. My brother raised me, but he died of sickness when I was thirteen and I didn't really know what to do."
She shrugged her shoulders, as if resigned to what was clearly a painful part of her past.
"People thought bad things about my brother, so I had nobody to turn to then." She added matter-of-factly. "And because I had spirit power, the townsfolk didn't want me near them – because they said I attracted Hollows."
"Yet you ended up here?" Shunsui asked softly, and Kaoru nodded.
"A shinigami helped me." She agreed. "It was after a whole area of our town was demolished by a Hollow and members of the squad came and destroyed it. It was the first time I saw a shinigami fight a Hollow and kill it, and I though it was…amazing."
She pinkened.
"Afterwards, one of them came to speak to me." She added shyly. "Because he could tell I had spirit power, and said that I should learn to use it so I could help destroy monsters like that one. He took me with him to his home and his wife fed me and made me new clothes and was really kind to me even though I was a perfect stranger. So then I decided to become a shinigami. Because they were so kind to me and they did such brave things…I wanted to be like that too."
Shunsui pursed his lips thoughtfully.
"What District do you come from, Kaoru-chan?" He asked quietly, and Kaoru dimpled.
"Five." She said promptly. "But near the border with Four. Haruyo-dono said that he was Shiba by birth, but his people were stationed at the border through an agreement of the Unohana and Shiba Clans to mutually protect that area. To be honest, I didn't really understand what he meant. I just know that I was lucky…and I intend on repaying Haruyo-dono's kindness by working as hard as I can."
"That's a good aim to have." Shunsui agreed. "The Shiba and Unohana Clans are honourable and kind Clans and you can trust in them. I'm glad they were able to help you…and I'll do my best to help you too. My older brother is also half Shiba – so it's very almost a family obligation, now you've told me your story."
He grinned.
"Are you always so open with everyone you meet?"
"Yes." Kaoru agreed cheerfully. "Why…is that strange?"
"No. Refreshing in this world full of secrets." Shunsui shook his head. "It seems a shame I have to raise a blade to you now. But I will, because you're obviously serious about this. I'll try and be serious too – though it's not one of my strongest attributes."
Kaoru giggled.
"You're really not as intimidating as I thought." She said unnecessarily. "I thought you'd be all important and Clannish, but you're really quite nice."
"I think that was a compliment." Shunsui teased, and Kaoru reddened yet again, her free hand flying to her mouth.
"I'm sorry, senpai! I always speak without thinking, but I didn't mean…"
"I don't think praise should be apologised for." Shunsui cut across her apologies, shaking his head. "Nor honesty, so don't worry about it. Besides, we should begin. Sensei won't love either of us if we spend the whole time gossiping. I don't know what level of sword skill you have, but from the fact Yama-jii has sent you up a year suggests that you're not bad."
"Yama…jii?" Kaoru's eyes became big and round with surprise at Shunsui's slip, and the Senior grimaced, shaking his head.
"Genryuusai-sensei." He corrected. "Sorry. Better forget you heard that. It's not very correct of me, even if I do see it as an affectionate short."
He tightened his grip around the hilt of the asauchi.
"All right. No more talking, else I may say something else stupid." He reflected. "I want to see what you can do, Kaoru-chan – come at me with your blade and I'll parry a few shots, just to get the feel of your level."
"Okay." Kaoru nodded eagerly, raising her weapon and darting forward without a moment of hesitation. Shunsui shifted his weight slightly, bringing his own blade up easily to clatter against the shining metal of hers, yet her grip was firm and as he swung his weapon to counter her second shot, she twisted her wrist slightly, altering the angle of her strike so that it almost brushed against her senior's sleeve. A faint smile touched Shunsui's lips at her daring, and he leapt back a pace, darting forward the next instant to knock back the probing sword thrusts that were attempting to carve a hole in his right side's defence. She was tiny and slight, yet she was not weak nor frightened of her weapon, and Shunsui nodded appreciatively as he watched the smooth, fluid way she moved, transferring her nimbleness from her body to her weapon as though it was an extension of her own body.
Yama-jii's not wrong about her. Not that I thought he would be…but she looks so unlikely as a swordswoman. Still, there's no mistaking it. She's got a natural talent for wielding a weapon, and she's in tune with it even at this basic stage.
He parried her strike again, moving to her right and bringing his weapon down testingly towards her free arm. Kaoru countered, but there was a slight faltering in her movement this time, and Shunsui frowned, driving his asauchi up sharply to meet hers once more. This time he added more force to his swing and as the two weapons met, Kaoru let out an exclamation, the sword ripped from her hand and sent flying up into the air, turning twice before embedding itself in the dry earth of the training ground. For a moment she stared at it in silence, then she grinned ruefully.
"I guess there's no way I can disarm a Senior, huh." She said pensively, moving to retrieve her weapon as she did so.
"Possibly not, right at the moment." Shunsui shook his head. "But that doesn't mean you should keep from trying to. You weren't afraid to come at me – and I'm glad, because that makes my job easier. You like fighting with a sword, don't you, Kaoru-chan?"
"I do." Kaoru admitted sheepishly. "Because I'm small and people think I'm easy to push about, I wanted to get stronger. I can't do anything about my size…but I can do stuff about my strength and my skill, so I worked really really hard."
"I think it's more than that." Shunsui tapped his weapon against his leg thoughtfully. "Maybe you have worked hard – and you probably should carry on doing so, else Sensei will be on your back. But you have a natural skill for combat, too. Maybe because you're small…rather than otherwise."
He grinned.
"Do you know who Shihouin Kai is?" He asked, and Kaoru nodded.
"Yes, senpai. He's one of the Seniors, isn't he?"
"Mm, and a classmate of mine from the first year." Shunsui agreed. "Believe it or not, he's topped Ouyoudou in our class since we began. He's not built on a large scale, not like Houjou…but he can floor us all if he puts his mind to it. You remind me a little of him – although a lot prettier, of course, don't get me wrong. You use speed and smoothness as a strength to back up natural sword skills. And being left-handed can be an advantage – often opponents get confused by facing someone whose weapon seems to be in the wrong hand."
"Have you fought like that before, Senpai?" Kaoru was curious, and Shunsui nodded.
"I can fight with either hand to about the same level, though I won't pretend I fight with them the same way." He agreed. "So when we get to know each other a little better, I'll switch to right and see how you deal with that. Right now that won't work, though…will it?"
His gaze rested on her right arm, then,
"You have a significant weakness on that side. It's not just that you don't fight with your right hand…there's more to it, isn't there?"
Kaoru looked crestfallen.
"Is it that obvious?"
"I wouldn't say obvious, but significant enough for anyone of any skill to exploit." Shunsui reflected. "Most people are weaker with one hand than the other, and many can't fight with either like I do. But that's not the same as when I attacked your weak side just now. You faltered, as if you didn't see me coming as quickly. So I wondered…"
He raised his sword, tapping her gently on the head before lowering his blade once more to his side.
"You haven't got very good vision in that right eye, have you?"
Kaoru reddened, shaking her head.
"Almost none." She admitted. "Just shadows and light – and you're right, my reactions aren't so quick on that side because of it."
"I thought so." Shunsui nodded. "I thought at first it was something wrong with your right arm – but then I realised it was to do with your awareness, not your movement. Your right arm is probably fine, just not trained like your left. But your vision…"
"It was hurt when I was small." Kaoru lowered her gaze to the ground, touching her cheek absently with the index finger of her right hand. "By kids throwing rocks to demolish an old house in our village. Those rocks didn't hit my eye, but they splintered a beam and one of the splinters went right through…"
She shivered, closing her eyes, and Shunsui found himself hard-pressed not to shiver with her.
"I was only tiny." She added. "They said it was lucky it hadn't killed me. Mother got the splinter out – I don't know how, or really remember what happened except the pain and then not being able to see. My eye healed up after, and now you can't tell to look at it that it was ever hurt…but I couldn't see again properly. I got used to that…I don't really bother about it. Unohana-sensei looked at it when I first arrived, but she said that my eye had healed and she couldn't use kidou to heal what wasn't broken. It had just healed without proper sight…and so it was permanently that way."
She shrugged, raising her gaze to meet Shunsui's again.
"It's all right, though. My left eye is strong. But when I'm fighting…"
"If that's the case, then we'll have to think around it." Shunsui cut across her, not wanting her to dwell on this unpleasant memory any more. "People I know with poor or compromised eyesight use their spiritual awareness to compensate for their lack of vision. If you're fighting a Hollow or – hopefully not, but you might - another Shinigami, you'll have to train yourself to follow their movements with your spiritual senses as well as your actual ones. I'm sure to some degree you already do that – but you'll have to make a focus of it, until you can fight without hesitation."
"My spiritual senses?" Kaoru's eyes widened, then, "I see. So instead of looking where the sword is coming from, I'm feeling it out?"
"Yes." Shunsui nodded. "That's what I mean."
He grinned.
"I'm sorely tempted to blindfold you." He added playfully. "Except that might be hard to explain to anyone else who came walking by the training arena."
"Senpai!" Kaoru giggled, the darkness lifting from her gaze, and Shunsui reached over to ruffle her hair lightly.
"It's almost time for your class. The sun's moved and I'm sure you don't want to be late." He said gently. "So that's it for now. But I'll see you again tomorrow – after your afternoon classes, we'll meet here. We'll spend less time talking and more sparring, next time…be prepared."
"Yes, senpai!" Kaoru nodded, then bowed her head to him. "Thank you very much!"
She was gone before he could respond, haring off across the grass towards the main school building, and Shunsui allowed himself a wry smile as he made his own slow way back towards the gymnasium.
"You look like someone got the better of you." As he reached the building, a voice accosted him and he turned, offering Kai a grin.
"Kind of." He agreed with a shrug. "My deshi…was a little different than I expected."
"I saw a young girl hare back this way a couple of minutes ago." Kai looked thoughtful. "And I wondered…"
"Yes. That's her." Shunsui nodded. "Yama-jii definitely out-thought me this time. She's pretty and friendly and probably extremely obliging, yet as her shishou if I dared even think of flirting with her, I'd probably wind up in the doghouse. So I have to play the attentive sword sensei instead…typical, isn't it? I was resigned to a hot, sweaty male and instead I get…"
"We all have things to try our patience." Kai intoned sagely. Then he laughed, clapping Shunsui on the back.
"But it is amusing." He acknowledged. "Well? What is she like? She seemed happy enough when she returned her sword and skipped off to the main building, so I'm guessing your restraint held out for at least this session."
"Hey! I'm stronger willed than you think." Shunsui affected a wounded expression. "But as for the girl…she's interesting. She has a lot of potential, and I understand why Yama-jii wants me to train her. She's District, Kai, but her skills don't give her away as such. It's as though she's been holding a sword since she was a tiny. Even though she told me she'd been fostered by Shiba retainers…or was it Unohana ones? I don't recall now – she has a very natural talent."
"So Sensei wanted her to be trained by the best left-handed shishou he could find. Ergo, you." Kai considered this for a moment. "Like it or not, Kyouraku, it makes sense. We all have to earn our keep and our places more this year considering the decisions Sensei made about our class and promotion. If this is one of the ways you can do that, then all to the good."
"It seems a lighter sentence than the one Juu got, when all's said and done." Shunsui agreed. "At least I won't find training her boring - there's that, right?"
"I suppose." Kai laughed. "But it is rough on Ukitake - even though I'm sure he can take it. I still think it's harsh that even now people are pointing fingers at him and squealing because he was born in District Six instead of in some Clan holding. It's annoying to say the least…especially when that damn Akira gets going on the subject."
"Akira is a prince among princes, and he doesn't like being given orders by the pauper." Shunsui intoned frankly. "Yet he'll have to learn his place, just like everyone else. Juu is Anideshi. He deserves to be. And he won't take any insubordination…he's nice, but there are limits to nice, even where Juu is concerned."
"No kidding." Kai agreed. "Akira's pushing his buttons pretty badly already, though he's trying not to show it. If it carries on, he'll have to wield the Anideshi rank at the idiot's head. And I wouldn't like to be Akira...when that happens."
"Me either, but I hope I have a front row seat." Shunsui said thoughtfully. "I think it might be worth the viewing."
There was an uneasy silence pervading Guren's study as Mitsuki stood before the desk, her heart in her throat as she raised her gaze soberly to her Clan leader's clouded grey eyes. She was calmer now, having bathed and re-robed in a fresh kimono, and though the images and sensations were still clear in her mind, expunging the blood from her skin had helped take some of the edge off her emotions.
Behind the desk, flanking Guren on either side were his brothers - Ryuu's father Seiren, who seemed to be twice as tense as Guren himself, and the tall, broadly built Futsuki, whose dark grey eyes inherited from his mother strengthened the impression that he was only half-kin to the ruling Kuchiki family line. Still, of everyone at Guren's inner court, it was these two who operated most closely to the centre of power, and to be faced with all of them at once was, for a hime of Third degree, quite an intimidating prospect.
But she was not alone, at least.
She turned to glance at Shirogane, who stood at the rear of the chamber. Seiren had objected violently to his presence at first, for reasons best known only to him, but Guren's will had overruled his objections, and so he had been allowed to stay. It was clear to Mitsuki without even thinking about it that Seiren's tension was in some good part due to this fact.
At length, Guren spoke.
"Now you are clean and calmer, Mitsuki, will you tell me what happened this morning at the stable?" He asked quietly, his voice soft and even, though there was no disguising the strain in his words. "I have heard from my military officers about the scene they entered into, but you were there quicker than they and you found one man alive. I hope...perhaps you can shed more light on what happened."
"I don't know if I can, sir." Mitsuki chewed down on her lip hard enough to taste blood, slowly shaking her head. "I didn't see the person who attacked them and I arrived there only a short while before the officers did. I imagine...the scene they saw was much the same as the one I saw, in truth."
"And you can tell me nothing from the man you treated? Nothing he said to you before he died? Was he conscious?" Guren pressed. "I know it is a distressing question to ask," As Mitsuki frowned, "And I'm sorry for it. But if he left even the faintest clue...we might have some lead as to who did this."
Mitsuki faltered for a moment, then she sighed, closing her eyes briefly as she drew on the scene of carnage once more in her mind.
"The man I treated was suffering from a cardiac injury." She said at length, opening her eyes as she hardened her resolve. "He barely had the strength to gasp my name, and though his lips moved after that, I...cannot be sure of anything he tried to say. He was too weak - he slipped back into unconsciousness and I...I could not save him."
She bowed her head.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I wish I had been able to do so."
"You're not at fault for that." Guren held up his hand. "And it isn't my intention to bring you here to chastise you. You happened on a scene of horror and acted with immediate presence of mind to try and help save a life. Just as you acted the night my son died - I am coming more and more to understand the value of having a healer in the Kuchiki Clan as time goes on."
"But I wasn't able to save anyone." Mitsuki said helplessly. "And as a healer, that's a failure. I want to save people...trying to isn't good enough. I want to succeed, Guren-sama - not stand before you like this to report on how a man lost his life."
"That sounds like Kuchiki pride to me." Futsuki said at this juncture, his eyes sympathetic. "It's all right, Mitsuki-dono. Guren-sama is right. You are not at fault."
"I want to know what Shirogane knows about this event." Seiren put in at that moment, his cold grey eyes darting accusingly across the room to where his nephew stood. "And more, what this has to do with my son. Where is Ryuu - why is he not summoned here too?"
"We don't know, currently, where Ryuu is, Seiren-dono." Shirogane said quietly, and Mitsuki could tell that he was only just keeping his own disdain out of his voice. "While Mitsuki changed her clothes, I went to seek him in the archive, but he wasn't there - nor anywhere else that I could find. One maid said she saw him head to the stables early this morning. But with the head groom and his stablehands dead, there is nobody to confirm or deny that report."
"Ryuu is missing?" Fear flared in Seiren's eyes, and Guren held up his hand to stop his brother from leaping to his feet and charging from the room to initiate a search himself. "Guren-niisama! Why did you not tell me this when you called me here? What reason could you have for omitting to tell me something like this - if my son is missing...in this atmosphere..."
"We don't know where Ryuu is." Guren admitted. "Mitsuki seems to think that if he had sensed her release of Kidou power he would have come to the stable to see she was all right. Shirogane has observed to me that Ryuu would not run from the fight if he had been on the scene when the assault took place. There is no sign of his having been taken by surprise or hurt at the stable - and my retainers report one horse is missing, but it was not taken by force. Most likely Ryuu went for a ride in the local area and will return of his own accord later."
"Without a word to anyone? Even to me?" Seiren was beside himself, and Guren sighed.
"I don't know." He murmured. "I have sent soldiers from the manor to scour the local area - if they meet with him, they are carrying a summons that he is to return at once. More I cannot do, Seiren. Whilst Ryuu's safety concerns me too, I have no firm evidence at present to suggest he is in any danger at all."
"But if he was at the stable, and then an assassin attacked stablehands...surely that's a suggestion of such a thing?" Seiren demanded. "Guren-nii..."
"Ryuu's zanpakutou isn't in his room." Shirogane said evenly. "And it looks as though he got dressed and left his chamber normally. I think Guren-sama is probably right, Seiren-dono. Ryuu is probably just away from the manor by coincidence."
"You were in my son's chamber?" Seiren's eyes became slits, but before he could continue, Guren raised his hands once more.
"Back to the matter of the stables." He said pointedly. "Neither one of you can give me any more information on what occurred?"
"I would like to know where Shirogane was before this occurred, Niisama." Seiren said bluntly, an unpleasant edge to his words as he fixed Shirogane with another suspicious glare. "That he was so soon on the scene to help Mitsuki is strange to me."
"Seiren! You surely don't suspect Shirogane of being involved in this, do you?" Futsuki was stunned, and Seiren shrugged his shoulders.
"I didn't say that." he replied waspishly. "I just wanted to know where he was. A reasonable question - nobody is above being asked for an alibi when a disturbing incident occurs. Surely?"
"He was with me." Before Shirogane could reply, Mitsuki found herself speaking, surprise welling up inside of her as she realised what she had said. "When I felt things...happening. Senpai was with me. I ran down to help out, and he came after me. He caught up with me a little after...when the groom had...passed away."
"There, you see?" Futsuki tut-tutted softly. "You are too quick to jump to conclusions, Seiren. Shirogane would naturally follow a kinswoman if he thought she was in distress. Mitsuki saved his life some days ago, and I'm sure he wouldn't want her to come to harm."
Mitsuki cast Shirogane another glance, reading the astonishment in his gaze. At her look, he offered a faint smile, then nodded his head.
"I trust you will take the word of my cousin, Seiren-dono." He said mildly. "In the place of mine, since whatever I say, I fear it won't pass muster with you."
"We still have nothing to go on, and Ryuu's absence is troubling, even if it is innocent." Guren tapped his fingers agitatedly on the desk. "So soon after Ribari's death, I can't believe this to be a coincidence. Word has spread and everyone is in uproar, staff and Clan alike. Yet we have no witnesses to a brutal crime in broad daylight. We have...just as with Ribari...we have nothing."
Shirogane opened his mouth at this juncture, then caught Seiren's gaze, and Mitsuki saw a dark look enter her cousin's grey eyes. He closed his mouth again without speaking, and despite herself Mitsuki was curious.
Senpai knows something he hasn't told Seiren-dono and Guren-sama? Something about Ribari-sama's death? Or is it something he's told them and they don't believe it, because of that drug? I wonder...that was a very odd look he had on his face then.
She bit her lip.
Come to that, why did I give him an alibi without even stopping to think about it? Was it because of how Seiren-dono was trying to back him into a corner - or something else? It's not as though I know where Shirogane-senpai was either...but I know...he wasn't there. And so I don't suppose it matters, that I lied. Just...I never did that before. In front of the head of my Clan - I lied.
Out loud she said,
"Guren-sama, it's not much, but there is one thing I can tell you."
"One thing?" Guren cast her a surprised look, and Mitsuki nodded.
"I didn't see the crime or sense any reiatsu from the killer." She responded levelly. "But I did...when the attack began, I felt it. Like other people feel reiatsu normally, I...my healer instincts mean I feel things much more precisely. Things like fear and pain...even of people with very low spiritual presence. At times when they're afraid or suffering, I can often sense it quite strongly. It's not enough to put it into clear words as to what exactly happened but...my impression from what I sensed was that the killer appeared all of a sudden, took them off guard and killed one man before the others knew what was happening. I think...the fatal blow for at least two of them was the slash across the throat. But I can't be certain about the third, because the levels of fear were too high for me to distinguish clearly."
She sighed heavily.
"And the groom...was killed by knives which were probably thrown." She concluded. "One struck his heart and caused the fatal wound. The other was probably a wound I could have healed."
"We retrieved the knives." Futsuki said grimly. "The two that were in the man's corpse are still bloody and need cleaning, but there was one other that seemed to have missed its target."
He reached down into his obi, pulling it out and setting it down on the desk.
"I am assuming the other two resemble this one, though it's too soon to know for sure."
"Three were thrown?" Despite herself Mitsuki stepped forward, hovering her hand towards the weapon and then stopping, drawing her fingers back. "I thought that it was a killer with some accuracy, but if one missed..."
"Probably more luck than anything that one of them hit a vital point." Futsuki agreed. "It's all right. We've already examined it for reiatsu traces and found none at all. You can touch it without contaminating it - it's completely clean."
"Maybe Mitsuki's superior senses might pick something up that we can't feel." Seiren suggested softly, and Mitsuki found it impossible to tell if he was being serious or taking a dig at her for backing up Shirogane's cause.
"By all means." Guren nodded, and Mitsuki sighed, obediently picking the weapon up and turning it over in her hands.
"This blade means nothing to me." She said at length, setting it back down. "It didn't hurt anyone, and no blood was spilled across it. The spirit of the man I couldn't save is probably tainting the other swords - but there's nothing on this one of any note at all. And even if the others are touched with his reiatsu, it won't tell us more than what we know. That they killed him."
"There is one other thing. Look closely at the hilt of the knife, Mitsuki." Futsuki instructed, and Mitsuki frowned, doing as she was bidden.
"Shirogane, you too." Guren instructed, and Shirogane started, then stepped forward, peering over his companion's shoulder. Mitsuki handed him the weapon, aware of Seiren's sudden tensing as the sharp knife passed from her fingers into Shirogane's nimble ones.
"I carry a sword at my waist, Seiren-dono." Shirogane had also clearly seen the movement, for he paused in his examination, raising a cold stare to his Uncle's. "You should not fear the foreign one I hold in my hand."
He tossed the knife down onto the desk, bowing his head towards Guren as the Clan leader shot him a look of surprise.
"I beg pardon, sir, but my Uncle seems to have an unhealthy suspicion of my motives of late, and I would like to set the record straight. I am not afraid of taking my sword and using it to defend myself if need be. But I am not in the habit of launching unprovoked attacks with unfamiliar weapons in the full view of elevated witnesses."
"Shirogane, curb your tongue." Before Guren could speak, Futsuki shot him a dark look, shaking his head. "You have no right to speak to either Guren-sama or Seiren-dono in that way, and I won't tolerate it if you do. If you have any pride for your mother's name or for your own, pipe down and stop glaring about the room with that wronged expression in your eyes. Nobody has accused you of anything - and you do not help the situation by adding unecessary dramatics."
Shirogane's lips thinned, but he nodded, bowing low to acknowledge the words.
"I am out of line." He said softly. "Guren-jisama, please forgive me."
"Here is currently a tense place and you have not had the easiest of times of late." Guren shook his head. "We will forget it and move forward. Tell me, why did you call the knife foreign?"
"Because it is, is it not?" Shirogane was startled. "It is not a Kuchiki blade - it was forged outside of this District."
"Indeed." Futsuki picked it up once more, running his fingers over the black ebony hilt. "Though I wouldn't say to Clan standard. It carries a brand mark of a District Eight smith - one I've encountered before, once or twice."
"District...Eight?" Mitsuki's head jerked up in surprise. "But...that..."
"It means nothing." Guren said flatly. "Futsuki is right, it was forged there. But there are men in our retinue with swords forged across all the Districts. Eight has a particular reputation for good swords, therefore I am fairly confident there are men in the lower ranks whose weapons may bear this exact brand mark, too. That the knives used were originally from Eighth District is probable. But that the one who wielded them is...that would be a leap of faith."
"I see." Mitsuki looked thoughtful. "I really don't know very much about weapons, I'm afraid. I didn't realise."
"I may speak to Tokutarou-dono about it all the same, when I return to the Council." Guren sighed, rubbing his temples. "Since it's the only lead we have. But in the meantime...I intend to increase the guard on duty around the estate and to keep it that way. Mitsuki, Shirogane, you are dismissed. When Ryuu returns, I wish him to report to Seiren or I about what he has been doing and whether he knows anything of this morning's events. If he is not back by nightfall, one of you should report directly to me - understood?"
"I will be waiting for him." Seiren said quietly. "You can trust that if he does not return, Oniisama, I will be the first one to go searching for him."
"Yes, I'm sure." Guren nodded his head. "But for now, there's nothing we can do about it. And it's been a disturbing enough day. Especially for you, Mitsuki. It can't have been pleasant."
"It was less pleasant for the ones who died. Believe me." Mitsuki said solemnly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save them, Guren-sama. I suppose I still do have things I need to learn yet."
"My life is proof you shouldn't be so harsh on yourself." Shirogane said evenly. "Come on. We're not needed here now, and we shouldn't stay beyond our welcome."
He bowed his head sharply back towards the Clan elders, then moved to open the door, ushering Mitsuki out into the hall and then shutting the divide behind them. For a while they walked in silence, then, as they reached the landing that led to the Kuchiki archive, Shirogane paused, reaching out to touch Mitsuki's arm.
"Senpai?" Mitsuki turned, confused, and Shirogane's brows drew together.
"I didn't ask you to lie for me." He said quietly, disapproval in his tones, and Mitsuki reddened, nodding her head.
"I don't know why I did." She admitted. "It just came out. Seiren-dono was looking at you so harshly - I thought he might launch into accusations there and then, and...I thought it was simpler...if I said something like that."
"There's no reason to incur his wrath towards you too." Shirogane chided. "Though I am a little grateful that at least I was right to call you my ally. Even if I have never acknowledged you much before this crisis began - I am sorry for it."
He offered her a dry smile.
"For the record, I was in my room, playing my flute this morning." He added. "An alibi nobody can support, and so you'll just have to take my word it's true. But I have found it less trying to leave my chamber. Until I sensed your Kidou, that's where I was. And after that I searched for Ryuu, just as I told them."
"I wasn't asking you." Mitsuki dimpled. "I know you weren't at the stable, even if Seiren-dono doesn't. I sensed it happen, didn't I? I can sense your spirit, especially when it's disturbed. I don't know who was there, but I know that you weren't."
"Surely you know the same about Ryuu?" Shirogane questioned, and Mitsuki nodded.
"When it happened, Ryuu wasn't there either." She agreed. "I don't know what happened or where he is. But I'm sure that neither of you were at the stable when the murders happened. Nobody was. Just the people who were killed."
"And the one who killed them."
"Yes." Mitsuki rubbed her temples. "But that's the problem, Senpai. I've felt things like this before. When someone's killed, I normally feel the swell of the assailant's spirit before it happens. Even briefly, that's normally what I feel. But this time...I didn't."
"Meaning?" Shirogane questioned, and Mitsuki sighed, lowering her hands.
"That the person who did this had no spirit." She said helplessly. "Or...they were killed by someone who didn't exist at all."
"So what's he like then, Kaoru-chan?"
Sakura stretched out on her bed, resting her chin in her hands as she cast the younger girl a mischievous look. It was later in the afternoon, and taking advantage of the short spell of time between the midday meal and the start of afternoon classes, the girls had gathered in their dormitory, Sakura eager to find out all the gossip about her friend's training session.
"Kyouraku-senpai, I mean, of course. What kind of guy is he?."
"Don't start teasing her already, Sakura." From the corner, Akaya glanced up from her book, glancing between the two of them with a frown. "I know you when you get started – give the kid a break! You don't need to know every bit of info the moment it comes home to roost."
"But I don't mind, Akaya-san." Kaoru shook her head, sinking down onto her own bed and reaching up to release her hair from its white ribbon. "If Sakura-san wants to know, I'm happy to tell her."
Akaya sighed, but turned her attention back to her book, and Sakura kicked her feet idly, turning her quizzical gaze on her junior.
"Well? Then tell." She ordered. "I'm insanely jealous of you galivanting off to play with the Senior Class like this, when you're still just a kid of seventeen! I want to know all about it…what kind of person he was, what he said to you, when you're going to train with him again…"
"They aren't dating, Sakura." An irritated look in her eyes, Akaya lowered her book once more. "You make it sound like it's some kind of illicit love match between the two of them. It's nothing like that. Kyouraku-senpai is a Senior and it's normal for Seniors to teach Fourth years to raise their zanpakutou. You're making it out to be far more exciting than it is – and frankly, it's annoying."
"You're probably just as jealous as I am." Sakura poked out her tongue. "Only you're not as honest about it as me. You're still waiting for your zanpakutou shishou to be assigned, so you don't have any excuse to hang out with members of the Senior class. That's no reason to rain on Kaoru's parade, though…"
"I'm not a bit jealous." Akaya said acerbically. "I'd just like to finish our assigned Sakusen reading today, if it's all the same to you."
"That's what the library's for." Sakura snorted. "So go there – or pipe down if you're going to be miss dull."
She shuffled around, eying Kaoru expectantly.
"Forget about her. Tell me. What was it like?"
Kaoru shot Akaya an uncertain look, and Sakura shook her head impatiently.
"I said forget her. She can read with a thunderstorm going on outside, so she can read with us talking. Tell me, Kaoru-chan. I'm dying to know everything."
"I'm sure it wasn't as exciting as you think it was." Kaoru dimpled, shrugging her shoulders. "But he was very nice to me, and I didn't feel at all afraid of him after we'd talked for a little while. Even though he's some rich, important Clan person and I'm just who I am, he told me that stuff didn't matter and I should just do my best regardless of where I came from."
She pinkened slightly.
"He didn't like it when I called him sir." She remembered. "I don't think he's a very formal person at all."
"You've gone pink." Sakura grinned, and Kaoru shook her head hurriedly, holding up her hands with a self-conscious laugh.
"Only because it seemed silly, afterwards, that I'd called him that." She responded. "He explained a ton of stuff to me – so we didn't do a lot of actual fighting. But we sparred a little bit and he fights well with his left hand. I could tell he was going easy on me, but it was still hard to keep up."
"To be expected." With a little sigh, Akaya set her book aside, clearly realising she was not going to get any study done so long as the conversation continued. "I told you, didn't I? Kyouraku Shunsui is the top student in Senior Year. You would expect him to be skilled in swordsmanship, else it would speak poorly for the rest of them – particularly our Anideshi."
"You really don't see the fun in things at all, sometimes, do you?" Sakura grimaced. "And I thought you weren't interested."
"I'm not." Akaya retorted. "Although I admit I'm a little curious about the nature of his zanpakutou. I've only heard that it's unusual – did you see it, Kaoru-chan?"
"No." Kaoru said sadly. "I got the impression he thought it would be dangerous or difficult if I sparred with him using that on our first try."
"Then I wonder which sword it is." Akaya pursed her lips. "You've seen him, haven't you? About campus. He always carries two. One's a wakizashi, the other looks like a regular katana, but since the Seniors never draw their swords unless training one of us, it's difficult to know. None of the other Seniors carry two swords – it just seemed odd to me."
"He didn't have either of them when we met." Kaoru shook her head with a little sigh. "Only an asauchi. He said that was enough to be starting with and he's probably right. He didn't tell me about his zanpakutou – but I think I might ask him, next time we train."
"Perhaps he fights with one in each hand." Sakura giggled at the thought. "If he can fight left handed for Kaoru-chan, he might. Most people learn to fight right handed, don't they?"
"I'd like to see it." Kaoru looked wistful. "Senpai is really friendly, but it seems like if he was in a real fight...he'd be pretty scary. I'd sort of like to see it."
"That sounds dangerously like the start of a crush to me." Sakura warned, and Akaya sighed.
"You just have a one-tracked mind." She scolded. "Stop trying to put ideas into Kaoru's head. She's not like you."
"It's not that, anyhow." Kaoru rested her chin in her hands pensively. "I'd just like...I think I'd like to have him consider me an opponent that was worth using his strength against. Then I'd feel...I had reached some level of training or something. It might seem stupid, but that's how I feel. That if Senpai was the top ranked student, and I could fight against him properly...I'd be able to be a proper shinigami."
"You want to beat a Senior?" Akaya stared, and Kaoru shrugged.
"Maybe. Though not yet." She owned. "But I do want to see his zanpakutou. Perhaps...if I work very hard...I'll get to see it. Who knows? It might happen."
Author's Note
Two chapters because...Kaoru wanted to meet Shunsui .