Chapter Fifty Two: On Patrol
The waves lapped gently against the beach, the sand cast in a silvery hue by the glow of the midnight moon. The wind whispered softly against the white-frothed tips of each pulsing flow of tide, the water running rhythmically forwards and then back to begin the cycle all over again.
Juushirou carefully picked his way down the shore to the water's edge, stepping neatly over the shells of sea creatures that had been washed up there the night before. The gentle breeze teased at his growing white hair, pulling wisps of it free from its tail, and he paused for a moment, simply gazing out over the seascape with a sense of nostalgia in his hazel eyes.
Nobody was there.
In the dark of the night, Juushirou was all alone – just him and the sea which he had loved so dearly since his early childhood. The skies were calm and clear, with no sign of storms on the horizon, and as he reached the lap of the water, he paused, crouching down to touch the surface.
But as his fingers made contact with the cool sea, he felt something lash out from the depths, wrapping itself tightly around his wrist. Startled, Juushirou struggled to pull it back, but the fine thread held fast, tightening its stranglehold around his limb. The water around him suddenly fell deathly still, as though something had managed to halt the flow and ebb of the tide, and as Juushirou fought to free himself from whatever had him captive, he thought for the most fleeting of moments he saw the silhouette of a spider cast over the surface.
Juushirou opened his eyes, taking a deep breath into his lungs as he realised it had been a dream. The sea and the ghostly presence of the spider on the waves already seemed to be fading into the recesses of his mind, and he allowed himself a rueful smile, reaching to pull his blanket more tightly around his shoulders as a chill wind whipped through the abandoned shack.
It was a week into their trip to the Real World, and Juushirou and his companions had found themselves settling into their new surroundings as best they could. The old homes they had been assigned for their campsite were drafty and bereft of anything of particular use, but the previous day had brought heavy rainstorms and at the very least they had been glad of the roofs that still stood firm over their heads. They had been kept busy, for the area that Ryuu and Enishi had performed their first soul rescue had proven to be a haven for both Hollow souls and lost ones – and so each night all of them had crawled beneath the blankets, ready to surrender to the lure of sleep.
Despite the unpredictable nature of their mission and the undeniable danger of facing Real World Hollows, Juushirou had found himself enjoying the experience. It was too much to expect him to have discarded his childhood fear for the creatures entirely in such a short space of time, but rather the knowledge that his comrades were not far behind him had added to his confidence, and the previous morning, when one of the beasts had broken into the area surrounding their campsite he had acted immediately, giving instructions and making decisions without even a moment of fear or hesitation. In just those few days, without the guiding hand of Genryuusai or their other teachers to show them the way, he felt he had grown – and that now, if he had had to rescue Tsunemori again, he would probably be able to do so without falling into panic or illegally releasing his sword.
That was the purpose of the assignment though – Juushirou realised that only too clearly. The very fact that nobody was there to tell them what to do made them think more naturally for themselves – and only students capable of following their own and each other's directives would truly ever make it into the Gotei.
This was what he had worked so hard for since the first time he had entered the Academy, and little by little he was seeing it coming together.
This is what I want to do. I know now…more than anything else. This is what I exist to do. Sensei's given me the opportunity…but now we've reached this stage, it's only me who can mess it up.
They had taken it in turns to keep guard during the night hours – with one pair taking the duty each evening and dividing the shift into two halves so that everyone managed to get some amount of sleep. Tonight was Juushirou and Shunsui's turn – and it had been less than two hours since Juushirou had woken his companion in order for them to make the change. Stifling a yawn and muttering to himself about the inconvenience of being woken by strange dreams, the District boy was about to curl up and attempt to return to his rest when he caught sight of something and his eyes narrowed.
Though the houses were intact, moonlight could still stream through the curtainless windows, and Juushirou shuffled across to where the patch of silver illuminated the dusty floor, spreading his arm tentatively into the light.
Though it was faint and already beginning to fade, there was the unmistakeable sign of something having been wound around his left wrist.
But it was a dream. Wasn't it?
Juushirou pulled his hand back towards his body, running his index finger over the indentations in his skin. There was no break in the flesh, and perhaps the line had just been caused by the way he had been lying – yet somehow Juushirou knew that was not the case.
In my dream, it was a spider. A spider's web…perhaps? Whatever it was came out of the sea as if to snare me. And then I woke up.
His eyes narrowed.
Or I was woken up.
His gaze flitted to where his sword lay sheathed at his bedside, and to his surprise he could see the faintest of glittering from the hidden blade, tiny fragments of light just penetrating through the mouth of the ebony scabbard and into plain sight. His weapon had not split itself into two, but as Juushirou carefully pulled it from its resting place, he could sense the pulsing energy that wrapped itself tightly around the blade, and he frowned, touching the silver surface gently.
You woke me up, didn't you? What's going on, In'you?
You should be asleep. It's late.
You's voice was unequivocal, and Juushirou frowned, shaking his head.
I want to know what that dream meant. Why did I see a spider, and what wrapped itself around my wrist?
We're not obliged to answer questions that have no logical answer.
You said frankly.
Go back to sleep, Juushirou.
That was In, and Juushirou was startled at the firmness in her usually gentle tones.
Dreams are dreams. This is the reality. Don't start to confuse the two.
Juushirou's brows knitted together, and he slid the zanpakutou back into its scabbard, setting it aside.
What aren't you telling me?
Things you don't need to know.
As your master, surely I have a right to be told, even if you think I don't need to know?
As your zanpakutou, we have a duty to protect you. Let us do that, and go to sleep.
You's words were blunt.
Did you wake me up just to tell me to go to sleep?
Juushirou's brows knitted together at this.
You need rest just as much as the others – you've worried about far too much already this term.
The white fish did not answer his question.
Let's not add something else to the list, shall we?
With that the gentle hum of energy that had surrounded the weapon subsided, and Juushirou knew that the zanpakutou spirits had finished their side of the conversation, whatever he had to say about it.
A spider.
Ignoring the advice of the fish, Juushirou got slowly to his feet, moving to the doorway of the small shack with careful, soundless steps. Not far away Ryuu and Enishi were sleeping, whilst in the chamber beyond Mitsuki and Sora were probably also lost in dreams, and he had no idea of waking any of them.
"Juu?"
As he stepped outside, Shunsui raised his head, casting him a quizzical glance. "What's up? You should be asleep – I can do lookout on my own, you know."
"I know. I just had a funny dream," Juushirou admitted, sinking down onto the grass. "In'you are acting odd, as well. There's something they won't tell me, and it put me on guard."
"Something…like?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be so bothered." Juushirou looked frustrated, and Shunsui offered him a sheepish smile.
"Sorry. I guess that's true. What I should be asking then is, what was the dream?"
"I was at the beach. I often have seaside dreams," Juushirou said thoughtfully. "It was calm and peaceful and I went to the water's edge to run my fingers in the waves. But when I did, something came out of those waves. It was like…a thread or something like that. A thin strand of wire, but practically invisible to my eyes. It wove itself around my wrist and started pulling."
"A thread?" Shunsui was startled. Juushirou nodded.
"I tried to get free, but I couldn't," he agreed, "and for a moment I saw the shadow of a spider on the water. Then I woke up…and saw Sougyo glittering inside its sheath. It didn't release…but it was as though it was reacting to something. I think it woke me up. And look."
He held out his arm.
"It's not broken the skin, but it's as though something really was wrapped around there…even though that isn't possible."
"A spider," Shunsui bit his lip, taking his friend's arm and examining the fading reddish mark with a look of consternation. "Was it a thread or a strand of web? Juu, I don't like how that sounds. Especially not if it's made a mark on your body outside of your sleep. You can't have forgotten…surely…who it is that might be hereabouts?"
"Keitarou-san?" Juushirou murmured, and Shunsui nodded.
"Yes. Him."
His eyes darkened.
"His sword was a spider – wasn't it?"
"Yes," Juushirou agreed.
"We know he's a master of manipulation. Perhaps enough to send a message to someone in their sleep."
"Maybe," Juushirou chewed down on his lip as he considered this, "but why me? Why not Ryuu?"
"I don't know. His mind isn't something I'm particularly interested in deciphering," Shunsui sighed, "but it might be because he's met you before. And more than that…he's used you in his ploys before. Perhaps he wants to try and do it again. He manipulated you both psychologically and physically last time – maybe he sees another opportunity."
"To get me to kill Ryuu?" Juushirou snorted. "If that's what he thinks, he'll be disappointed."
"Well, of course. But if you want my opinion, it's unlikely to be anything that direct," Shunsui grimaced. "He doesn't really like direct, based on evidence so far."
"Do you think that's why In'you won't talk to me about it?" Juushirou wondered. "Maybe my fish don't want me to make the connection to Keitarou-san in case I get it into my head to go looking for him?"
"Probably," Shunsui nodded. "Though you said this thread came from beneath the waves, didn't you? And that you saw the spider's shadow – a shadow from above the sea? Or below it?"
"There was nothing above me but sky," Juushirou said with certainty. "But…what are you suggesting?"
"Nothing. I have no idea what I'm suggesting, only that I don't like it," Shunsui ran his fingers through his hair. "It might be nothing – just a dream, or coincidence. Or it might be proof that Aizen's in this area and your sword – having met with him before in not pleasant circumstances – is on the alert more quickly than anyone else's."
"Even more than yours?"
"Juu, that man's zanpakutou spirit wound its way inside your heart. Even if Seibara and I fought it, it's not the same thing," Shunsui said grimly. "You might not remember what happened, but I bet Sougyo no Kotowari does."
"And it's protecting me?" Juushirou looked thoughtful. "Well, it's quite all right. I'm not going haring off after Keitarou-san – not this time. It's dangerous, and I might put Ryuu's life at risk if I do something reckless and silly like chasing silhouettes I saw in dreams."
He cast Shunsui a smile.
"I'm trying to grow up at last," he said sheepishly. "Since you were awake, I thought I'd talk it out with you instead."
"I'm glad," Shunsui returned the smile with a faint one of his own. "I just wish that that would be the end of it. If Keitarou's in this area, though – probably it's the beginning."
"Should we tell Ryuu, or not?" Juushirou wondered. Shunsui shook his head.
"No proof. Plus, I don't think Ryuu knows as much as we do about that man and his recent machinations," he said frankly, "but something we can do…or try to do…when the sun's up is make sure this area is safe. I don't want to go finding Keitarou – in fact, I think we should keep a long way from Keitarou. But he might not be alone. If we can learn stuff and use it to keep Ryuu out of trouble – that we should do."
"You mean Eiraki-hime?"
"Yes. I do," Shunsui chewed on his lip. "It strikes me that if he's here, she will be as well. I don't know if there's any chance of extricating her from this whole mess, since we don't have hard and fast evidence of her involvement at the moment. But if there's even the remotest possibility that girl is another of Aizen Keitarou's puppets, we owe it to Hirata to try and get her back before nemesis descends on that Urahara in the form of the Council of Elders."
"Hrm." Juushirou was silent for a moment, hugging his knees to his chest as a cold wind swirled through the abandoned settlement. "You think so, too?"
"I don't like it," Shunsui admitted, "but I also don't think that, knowing what we know, we can do anything else. I'm fairly certain the girl who tried to fool Guren-sama into thinking she was a Kyouraku was Hirata's missing sister. All the evidence seems to point that way. That being the case, if she's here and we can grab her…"
"It might be risky." Juushirou looked doubtful. "If she was under Keitarou-san's spell, she might be violent."
"She might, but she's not a physically strong person and she can probably be overpowered," Shunsui said gravely. "We both know some good restraining Bakudou spells. From what I saw of Keitarou's manipulative technique, it utilises the innate skills of the individual he's possessing, but it doesn't mean he can transfer his own powers into his puppets. I think it's unlikely that Eiraki can do anything to hurt us – providing when we find her she's on her own."
"It's unusual to hear you talk like that," Juushirou reflected. "Normally it's me who has the idea of doing something radical and you spend a good amount of time trying to talk me out of it. This time you seem all for going on the hunt for Hirata's sister. What's changed?"
Shunsui's eyes clouded and for a moment he didn't reply. Then he sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"People we're connected to are in danger," he said at length. "We already know someone wants to kill Ryuu – and we're fairly certain that we know who, although I'm not so sure that Ryuu does. I'm still worried that Riri might be at risk, and whatever else I can't do for her as her blood brother, I can at least try and keep my promise that she and those children will be safe. Father's name got dragged into this mess and so did Oniisama's – I don't like that that's the case. Hirata's sister might be involved and he's already suffered enough from things in the past. We have to consider the possibility Onoe might be in the area as well – since it's almost for sure he's Keitarou's 'secret' assassin. Also, when you went missing the last time Keitarou raised his head, Eiraki knew plenty of things that she didn't originally intend on telling us. Under pressure, she cracked. It struck me that if Yama-jii's all right with Ryuu putting his neck out to catch the killers, he probably wouldn't object to us bringing back a witness for the Council to question. If she cracked before, there's a good chance she would do so again."
"Keitarou might come for her," Juushirou pointed out. "If the girl in Kuchiki custody was Eiraki-hime, he sent someone to retrieve her and people died because of it. It may just bring his attention towards Seireitei again."
"That would likely suit the Council, since they wouldn't have to waste time looking for him," Shunsui said pragmatically. "Aizen Keitarou is still an extremely wanted man, Juu. If he's hiding in the Real World, catching him will be hard. If he returns to Soul Society – that's a whole different matter. Every District's leader is on alert for him – wherever he surfaced there'd be a right and a drive to arrest him and lock him in chains."
"I don't think they'd manage to do that very easily."
"No. Probably killing him would be the safest solution," Shunsui admitted, and Juushirou stared at his friend as if seeing a stranger.
"You…think so?"
"I don't say I like it as a solution to any problem," Shunsui responded evenly. "I'm just saying that to the Council's mind – that would probably be the ideal outcome. A dead person can't escape from imprisonment – and no Clan would want to try and hold him captive, given the antics in District Six of late."
"I suppose that's true," Juushirou conceded. "You sound a lot more like a Clansman when you talk like that, though."
"Ugh." Shunsui pulled a graphic face. "I need to watch that, before it becomes a habit with me. If it happens again, Juu, slap me?"
Despite himself, Juushirou laughed.
"I'll remember," He promised. "All right. If that's decided, I'm going to go and try to go back to sleep. Whether that dream was coincidental or not, I can't sense anything in the surrounding area and since Sougyo no Kotowari has stopped poking at me, I'm assuming that means In'you can't either. Wherever Keitarou-san and his companions are, they're not right here at the moment. If we're going to go and look for Eiraki instead of hunting Hollows on tomorrow's patrol, then I want to be as alert as I possibly can."
"All right," Shunsui nodded. "After breakfast, then, when we divide into pairs and start scouting. Since it's just the two of us, nobody else need know what we're about unless we succeed. If we can pre-empt a strike on Ryuu by taking Eiraki and distracting Keitarou's attention, so much the better. But not a word to the others – all right? There's no sense in frightening people when we have no proof."
"Understood." Juushirou got to his feet, pausing to glance down at his friend. "You know, somehow I think I can imagine you as a Gotei Captain, when you talk like that."
"Ack," Shunsui winced. "First a Clansman, then a Captain. It's the atmosphere in this strange world, I swear it must be. If we spend too much longer here, I might actually become responsible – let's hope we get recalled before that happens."
Juushirou chuckled, reaching across to thwap his friend playfully on the head.
"Eighth District will do okay next year," he said softly, "with you as their Shinigami Captain."
Before his friend could respond, he slipped back into the rickety shack, being careful not to wake his sleeping companions and retrieving his blanket from the huddle he had left it in beneath the window.
The moon's glow was still flickering against the dusty floor, and Juushirou glanced at his wrist, noticing that the red mark had completely gone.
Keitarou-san, huh.
His brows knitted together and he sighed, sinking down against the wood-slatted wall.
Don't worry, In'you. I won't go chasing after him. If we can find Eiraki-hime, then we do. If we can't, then we don't. I'm not looking to cross paths with that man again, not if I can help it. After the last time, when I caused so many people so much worry…I'm not going to make the same mistakes or fall into the same traps now I'm a Senior.
He curled up on the ground, resting his head on his arm as he used his other hand to pull the blanket more firmly around his body.
The Council are the only people powerful enough to deal with the kind of threat he possesses. Therefore our job is to finish our assignment and leave him to the people who have a chance of stopping him. Even though I don't remember how things ended the last time, I'm going to learn from it and move on. I won't do anything to put anyone's life in danger. Not this time.
Dawn.
Hirata knelt at the side of the underground stream, slipping his fingers beneath the warm water and splashing it onto his face. Ever since he had spent a year with the Shihouin he had been an early riser, the habit having been formed by the demanding regimes District Two had instilled into him, but during the past week he had found himself glad of the discipline and energy. After the accession of his Father as interim Head of the Clan, his training had been taken over by Misashi's most trusted retainer Kibana, a former mercenary, and with one thing and another Hirata knew that he was a lot stronger inside than he had been when he had first come to the District One Academy.
Though I can't say that it was all to do with training.
The young shinigami ran his fingers through the water again, cupping them and lifting the smooth liquid to his lips to drink. There was something different about the taste of Real World water – a slight bitterness that Suzuno had said was a sign of it's unusual purity levels, and Hirata had found it a refreshing way to begin each day.
Since his conversation with Kai that first evening, neither one of them had mentioned Eiraki or Onoe again. Their work had kept them busy, for the barren mountainscape had also brought forth its fair share of Hollows and Kai had been determined to atone for his earlier carelessness, driving forward with little time for either of them to catch their breath. However, although it had not been spoken aloud, Hirata was not the kind to easily forget.
I thought it at the time. No, it would be better to say, I knew.
Slowly he got to his feet, drying his fingers on his dusty hakamashita and turning back towards the chamber where his companions would be getting ready for the day ahead.
When Eiraki disappeared, I knew it wasn't that she'd been kidnapped.
His brow furrowed together and he paused, leaning up against the stone face of the cave as he processed the memory of that fateful morning.
He had been the first one to Eiraki's chamber that day, a sudden unexplicable sense of unease tearing against his young hawk's senses. He did not know whether it was Seizumi who had drawn him to pay an early morning call on his sister or whether it had been his own hesitations, but as soon as he had reached the annexe, he had known that something was terribly wrong.
The chamber had been deserted, curtains blowing in the wind and a book left discarded on a table as if waiting for its owner to return and resume her reading. The girl's bed had not been slept in, and as he had heard the first sounds of Eiraki's maidservants beginning their daily duties, Hirata had found something which had sent his heart sinking through his body.
A note, short but to the point, written unmistakeably in his sister's careful hand.
Eiraki chose to go with Keitarou. She was in love with him, and so chose to become an uncaged bird. Events changed her, and she wanted to fly free from the Endou. It was something he could give her that her family obviously could not.
Hirata removed his glasses, rubbing the top of his nose as a sudden sense of weariness overcame him.
With all that she had been through, I suppose I understood how she felt. I wanted to fly free too, but in my case, there was no way out. Even though it was that man – that Keitarou – who had come for her, I thought I understood her reasons. Perhaps I hoped she would change him, or that she'd find what she was looking for and come back. Was I that naïve? I wonder. Did I know, deep down, that it would lead to this…?
He replaced his glasses on his nose with a sigh of resignation.
Perhaps it was wrong of me to conceal her note from Mother and Father. Maybe it was wrong of me to let them believe she was abducted against her will, lured into danger and then probably killed. If I'm honest with myself, I knew she would not be coming back, didn't I? Something in her words…I knew. My sister still lived, but she was no longer my sister. Perhaps the real reason I did nothing was because she'd already become a stranger. Someone who had tried to take my life once was someone deep down I couldn't forgive, despite the fact it wasn't her choice or her fault. As Endou do, I severed the bond and discarded her as something alien to our Clan. And when I did, maybe I hoped we would never meet again. I suppose I knew that if we did…we would have become enemies instead of kin.
His brows knitted together.
Just as I kept Seimaru's letter to Aitori a secret, so I kept Eiraki's letter to the family a secret, too. Concealing the first one allowed bad things to happen – has concealing this one done the same? After all Father had suffered and everything he and Mother had to face in rebuilding the Clan, I couldn't let them see what their only daughter had chosen to do. It would have broken both their hearts to know it – even more so than the thought of her dead and buried in some unknown location. Instead I decided that I'd do all I could to become a sound and stable heir for the Endou-ke to fall back on…if they couldn't have both their children, I'd at least do my best to make sure the one they kept didn't stray from the family line. Did I do it to protect them, or to free Eiraki? Maybe it was a mistake…but if I'd told anyone, would it have made any difference at all?
"What are you doing, loitering around here?"
Akira's voice startled him and he jumped, almost losing his footing and slipping precariously near the edge of the underground stream. Akira snorted, reaching out his good left arm to grasp his companion roughly around the wrist, hauling him unceremoniously back against the wall.
"You know, if I hadn't seen your sword disintegrate that Hollow, I wouldn't believe it," he said acerbically. "It's hard to imagine someone who can't walk in a straight line and who starts when his leader talks to him as being in possession of…how did Shihouin put it? A 'ferocious wind blade.'"
"I find it surprising too, sometimes," Hirata admitted pensively. "I'm sorry, Yamamoto-kun. I was lost in thought and I didn't hear you coming. Am I holding everyone up?"
"No…but if you want a share of breakfast, I'd move before Kanshi eats it all." Akira's words were gruff, but Hirata sensed none of the earlier hostility in them and he inclined his head, acknowledging his classmate's words. "The sky's heavy today, but no rain, not so far. We'll split and patrol as usual – I've divided the map and Shihouin's got your coordinates, so speak to him about that, all right?"
"I will," Hirata agreed. "Yamamoto-kun, how is your arm?"
"Mm." Akira's eyes darkened slightly as his gaze flitted to the offending limb. Suzuno had worked late into the night on healing it, using her zanpakutou's special ability to knit the torn pieces of flesh back together and stop the flow of blood. She had insisted on binding it tightly and each day had checked it both morning and night to make sure it had not developed any kind of infection. That Akira resented this fussing was all too clear to his companions, but Suzuno had proven surprisingly determined, and Hirata had been impressed with the way the normally retiring healer had imposed her rules.
"It's all right," Akira said now, flexing it a couple of times. "I can use my sword, and it just aches, that's about all. My hakamashita's a torn mess, thanks to Shihouin's ministerings, and it'll probably leave a mark on my skin – but all good soldiers have battle scars. No reason I should be any different."
"I would have thought it would be better to escape from a battle without scars," Hirata murmured, "though in some ways, having scars on your body is better than having other kinds of scars."
"Other kinds of scars?" Akira eyed him for a moment, then, "Don't tell me that some of Ukitake's strange and nonsensical rhetoric's penetrated your brain as well? How can you have scars that you can't see, idiot? Scars are by definition things you can see. There isn't any other kind, and you shouldn't let that airheaded District boy convince you otherwise."
"No…there are other kinds," Hirata said pensively. "Scars on your soul, for example. That's what Hollows are, aren't they? Scarred souls."
"You're talking an awful lot considering you barely squeaked in my presence up till we came here," Akira eyed Hirata suspiciously. "You've gone from meekly nodding your head to spouting philosophical theories at me – what's happened? If you're feeling sorry for me because of my arm, or you think I'm any way weakened because of it…"
"No. Not at all," Hirata reddened slightly, shaking his head. "I hadn't realised – I'm sorry."
"Now you're going all meek and rabbit-like again," Akira sighed. "Who the hell are you, Endou? I can't make you out. Not since I saw that sword flare out like it did – I'm still trying to figure you out."
"That probably makes two of us," Hirata's eyes became thoughtful, "but in answer to your question…I don't feel sorry for you. On the contrary…I'm grateful to you for intervening and helping Kai-kun against the Hollow. I hope that I'll be a shinigami like that, in the future."
"Are you making fun of me?" Akira's eyes became slits, and Hirata held up his hands, shaking his head hastily.
"Not at all, I promise. I mean it," he said quickly. "I want to be the kind of shinigami who'll interfere and help someone whenever I can. I'm not sure that's an instinct that's natural to me…so I'm hoping that I might learn it thoroughly before I leave here."
His eyes became sad.
"Being born Endou brings its own challenges," he acknowledged with a little shrug of his shoulders, "but I can offset some of those things by absorbing from the people around me. Being raised as an Endou means I'm not afraid of administering death if at some time in the future I need to do it. We're raised from the cradle with betrayal, blood and warfare all around and that's how it's been for a long long time. But I'd like to preserve life too, if the chance is there for me to do it. For that reason I'm always trying to learn how other Clans and other people do things so that I can take them back to District Seven. When I inherit the Endou Clan…I don't intend on it being the same family my cousin or Grandfather ruled."
Akira snorted.
"In short, you're planning on being the world's most intimidating mouse," he suggested sardonically, and despite himself, Hirata laughed.
"Endou are birds of prey. My sword is a hawk…I'm sure they hunt mice," he said pragmatically, "but maybe. Yes. Maybe that's what I want to be."
"I still think you're odd," Akira grimaced, "but you have proven to me why you're a Senior since we've been here. I guess you can't base everything on appearances – even the skinniest shrimps have something to offer the Gotei."
"Juushirou-kun has plenty to offer the Gotei too, you know," Hirata said honestly.
"I don't like him," Akira growled, and Hirata nodded.
"I know. You don't have to. It's all right that way," he said calmly. "I'm just telling you that he does. I know, because I've seen it. Shunsui-kun knows, because he's fought against it. Sougyo no Kotowari is one of the most powerful zanpakutou out of any of us in Senior Class. Whether you like someone or hate them isn't important if you're both fighting for the same end goal. That's how the Council of Elders holds together – the Senior Class should be the same way, since so many of us are Clan born."
"I think it's time you gave the talking thing a rest, and shut up a bit more," Akira said bluntly. "I take your point, and leave it at that. I don't like the guy – he's full of himself, and far too jumped up for someone born at the level he was. I don't think he's anything so special, but if Sensei does, I know even if I complain I'll be overruled. I should've been Anideshi this year…I'm going to prove that to Genryuusai-sama before we graduate. Just so as you know – I still feel I have something to prove."
Hirata didn't answer, for at that moment they rejoined the rest of the group, and Kai was on his feet.
"I thought you might've drowned yourself. Or worse, found a Real World snake," he said teasingly, causing Hirata to flush red. "I was about to come rescue you, but I guess Yamamoto already did."
"You can have him with pleasure," Akira shrugged dismissively. "Feed the kid, Shihouin, and then get out on patrol. We're wasting time, and I want a clean report to submit to Sensei when we get back to school. We've done well this week, that one incident aside – since we don't know when we might be recalled, slacking isn't an option."
"There's definitely something moving in the valley just below this ledge," Aoi glanced up from his own hand-scribed copy of the map. "I don't know if anyone else can feel it yet, but there's a dark wave of energy and it's gathering just south of the place Akira, Kanshi and I were yesterday."
"I feel it," Kai nodded, "and that's the area we've got, Hirata. Come on, huh? I've got food, so you can eat en route. We've got Hollows to take down – before someone else comes and poaches them."
At that juncture he paused, looking at Naoko meaningfully, and the Unohana girl snorted, tossing her head in indignation.
"I think you'll find, Shihouin Kai-kun, if you read your map properly, you and Endou-kun were encroaching on the area assigned to Suzuno and I, not the other way around."
"I think you'll find that's not the case, Shikibu Naoko-san," Kai shot back sharply. "I think a Shihouin with years of map-reading training is probably better positioned to judge coordinates than a healer who can't even heal."
"Carry on like that and I'll suck the soul right out of you." Naoko's fingers brushed against the hilt of her weapon. "Your arrogant attitude could use a trim – stand still for a moment and I'll oblige."
"Some might say stealing someone else's superior spiritual ability under the pretence of charity is an evil technique, Shikibu," Kai said scathingly. "Besides, I'm not interested in fighting with you. We both know how that battle would end up, so it's not worth discussing."
"Like yours, I suppose, went smoothly against the Hollow first night?" Naoko's tones were dangerously smooth. "Oh wait, my bad – Yamamoto-kun had to come rescue you, didn't he?"
"Shut up."
"Why? Don't you like hearing truth?"
"Can it, the both of you." Before Kai could respond, Kanshi put in an irritated objection. "None of us can concentrate on anything when you two argue. If you're going to duke it out, go out of the cave and do it – but leave the rest of us be."
"There'll be no duking out within this team," Akira said firmly. "Shikibu, you and Suzuno are dispatched towards the north face. Shihouin, you and Endou cover the area already discussed. We three have the middle patch. There should be no risk of anyone encroaching on anyone's patrol area this time, so if it does happen, I'll be the one dealing with it."
He patted his sword.
"Group dismissed."
"Well, that told us." As the students trailed out of the cave, Kai sent Hirata a rueful grimace. "I hate to admit it, you know, but that guy isn't bad at giving out orders."
"More, he's good at making people listen to them," Hirata said thoughtfully. "I don't think he's a bad person or a bad shinigami. It's like Houjou-kun's said – he's not really that terrible. He just doesn't like that Juushirou-kun was Anideshi this year."
"Well, it's a grudge he should drop, since he's doing himself no favours with it," Kai sighed. "All right. We'd better get a move on before any rain starts…oh, and here,"
He rummaged in his obi, pulling out a couple of plums and holding them out. "Breakfast. There wasn't much. Souryou's surprisingly fast to the food, even if he isn't quick to get out of bed."
"That's all right. I'm not big enough for it to matter much," Hirata grinned, taking the plums. "Thank you."
"You did take a long time, though, down by the stream. Everything okay?"
"Yes," Hirata pursed his lips, then, "Kai-kun, when we've dealt with the Hollows Michihashi-kun says we're heading towards…do you think we should linger around a little bit longer?"
"And not return for more instructions?" Kai's brows knitted together. "All right, but why?"
"I was thinking," Hirata owned, "that if you did see Onoe-kun that first night, we ought to try and find him."
"If I did," Kai reminded him. "There's been no hide nor hair of anything since, so it might've been my imagination playing tricks."
"But what if it wasn't?" Hirata questioned. "I think we should go, Kai-kun. After we've dispatched the Hollows, lets go looking for Onoe-kun. All right?"
"Well, if you think so," Kai shrugged. "I can't pretend it didn't bother me, so I don't really mind. Okay. We'll dispatch the Hollows and then we'll see if we can pick up on any clues. It may make a difference if we find something."
"It might also mean I find out what happened to my sister and whether or not she is involved in something bad," Hirata said gravely, and Kai nodded.
"True," he agreed solemnly. "I get it. We'll look, Hirata, don't worry. If they are here – either Onoe or Eiraki-hime – then we'll see if we can track them down."
"Kuchiki, coming your way!"
As the great black and grey creature lumbered in Ryuu's direction, the young Kuchiki sprang into a defensive stance, swiping away the long pincer with the flat of his sword before swinging his weapon back to slice through the Hollow's bony claw. The beast let out a yell of pain, pulling back suddenly, and in the brief lull of its attack, Enishi forged forward, slashing his own sword across the beast's white-mottled face without the slightest moment of hesitation. The skull-like mask cracked, revealing chinks of daylight through the bone, and Ryuu gritted his teeth, leaping forward to pare the beast's head neatly into two.
As the Hollow dissipated into a haze of indigo mist, Enishi let out a whoop of triumph.
"That makes number three!" he exclaimed. "We make a good team, you know, Kuchiki - three Hollows taken out and neither of us have even had to release our swords once."
"Team interplay allows for a good level of reiatsu conservation," Ryuu agreed, dusting stray bits of chalk-like mask from his uniform and watching as they too fragmented into nothing more than dust. "There is always an advantage with two against one, but you're right. With all angles covered, we've managed to successfully dispatch three creatures in the space of one afternoon's work. I'm sure even for a squad shinigami, that would be a good effort - but for us as students..."
"Like I said, we're a good team," Enishi sheathed his sword, clapping a hand down warmly on Ryuu's shoulder, "though you know, I never realised how clinical you were with your blade. I've seen you in class for the past few years and I've never seen you swing as decisively as you have today. That last one, you cut his head apart as though you were slicing a plum."
"Mm." Ryuu's lips pressed together thoughtfully and he nodded, replacing his own weapon in it's expensively carved sheath with a sigh. "Well, this is for real. These are not dummy hollows, nor sparring partners in class. If we do not take them out, there are grave consequences not just for us but for the future of this world and our own. Therefore there is a need, is there not, to be clinical? There is no space for sympathy where these Hollows are concerned. They are monsters and we must purify them. That is all."
"Yes, but even so..."
Enishi folded his arms across his chest, leaning up against a tree which shook slightly under the sudden addition of his weight. "The first day we were here, you sent that boy to Rukongai and you were touched by it. Now you're slashing up Hollows. It just struck me, s'all."
"You're being remarkably perceptive again," Ryuu looked surprised, and Enishi grinned.
"I'm not a complete block of wood, you know," he said good-naturedly. "When it comes to people's fighting technique, I understand a hell of a lot more. Textbooks aren't my strong point, perhaps - but I know how you normally fight. I'm not objecting to it - I think you've raised your game. It just seemed like you weren't really fighting the Hollow."
"What else was I fighting?" Ryuu looked blank. "The air?"
"No...that's not what I meant," Enishi held up his hands, looking sheepish. "I'm not good at explaining, but you're smart, so you should be able to figure it out, I think. Your fighting at the moment is on a higher level than you fight in class, that's for sure. With that level, in a spar, you might give Shihouin or I a challenge, and I don't say things like that lightly. But it's like the Hollow isn't who you're aiming at. More and more I've seen it. We've been here a week now, and I've spent each day patrolling with you, so you'd think I'd notice. Even if the changes are gradual, they're there."
"Maybe you're right," Ryuu acknowledged, gazing pensively at Shizurugi's hilt. "We're sent here to take out Hollows, but with each passing day I am a little more unsettled. When Sensei agreed to release me here, he did so knowing that I might provoke danger in my direction. Nothing has yet happened, and time is flowing by. Therefore...if such a situation is soon to present itself...I should like to be ready."
"Maybe the enemy isn't here," Enishi suggested, and Ryuu shook his head.
"I don't think so," he said darkly. "If I wanted to stalk someone as prey, I would not make my presence clearly felt right from the first moment. I would wait, and I would watch. I would look for the one I sought to let down their guard, even by a very small amount. We have been here a week, and no danger has encroached on our daily patrolling. With each day, therefore, I feel more certain it is coming soon."
"It's rough for you, isn't it?" Enishi said sympathetically. "But if nobody attacks you, you get to go back safe and unharmed."
"And what of my family in the meantime?" Ryuu asked hollowly. "I do not wish to fight an assassin, Houjou. I do not wish to be in danger from them. But if I am not...my family...may never heal. We must find who is behind this and we must do so quickly. There are too many rifts developing between kinsfolk and I do not like it. Those rifts may become unsurmountable if the suspicions are not properly allayed. There are also my own feelings on this matter and my own suspicions to settle. Therefore I want to bring this to a conclusion...somehow."
"Hrm." Enishi rubbed his chin. "The Kuchiki are a complicated bunch, I'll grant you."
"Indeed," Ryuu sighed, dropping down onto the flattened patch of grass where moments earlier the Hollow had stood. "May I speak plainly, Houjou?"
"Of course," Enishi blinked. "Why wouldn't you be able to? There's only me here, and I guess you wouldn't be asking me that if you didn't trust me with whatever you were going to say. Though if you want me to give you smart advice, remember I'm not Ukitake or Kyouraku, okay? I'll do my best to listen, but that may be about my limit."
Ryuu's lips twitched into a faint smile.
"But when you speak so frankly, it's reassuring," he said heavily, running his fingers through the bent strands of grass. "Sensei paired me with you because of that, I feel. Of all of our class, he probably knew you would continue most as if everything was as it should be - and therefore I would be able to complete my own tasks, because you were completing yours. I did not want to be a burden on this trip, Houjou. Thanks to our teamwork, I believe I have not been."
Enishi snorted.
"Smart folk think about things too much, that's all," he said frankly. "If you're not into all the academic mumbo jumbo, you're not always analysing and looking for an answer. I say it as I see it, s'all. You're here, and it's not like you're missing an arm or a leg or can't swing your sword or whatever else. So someone's out to kill you - well, dammit, we're shinigami, aren't we? I guess we're going to have to get used to things - if not people - trying to kill us. If that's all you're worried about, let it go, huh? If danger comes, we'll handle it. If it doesn't, we'll go back to school as normal. You can't control things that you can't control. You shouldn't try. It'll just wear you down."
"Exactly," Ryuu eyed Enishi keenly. "It is that very attitude for which I am most grateful of late."
He hauled himself to his feet.
"We shouldn't be sitting around here. We still have work to do - and if roles were reversed, I would be the first to scold you about shirking your duties."
"That's probably true," Enishi laughed, nodding his head, "but if you did, it'd probably be fair. You don't criticise things that don't need criticising. I've learned that. At the start, I didn't understand...but really, you're as straight down the line as I am. You jus' have a different way of saying and doing it, that's all."
"Possibly," Ryuu acknowledged. "I am poor with people, and do not know how best to ingratiate myself with them at first acquaintance. You have that skill - therein lies the difference."
"Ah, I'm no social butterfly," Enishi said ruefully. "You should hear my family on the subject of my etiquette faux pas. The Academy's the only place I feel I fit in fine - in fact, at the Academy, I feel useful. Whatever my grades are, I know when we do something like this, I can be of help. I'm looking forward to being a real shinigami - it's like I finally found a boot that fit."
"A boot that fit," Ryuu murmured softly. "Perhaps I too am the same way. Perhaps this is also the boot that fits me."
He stretched his hands over his head.
"I am afraid of being killed," he confessed. "I am afraid of facing the people who killed my cousin and learning everything yet losing it the next moment by their blade. But I am a Kuchiki, and I will face it nonetheless. My duty is to my family above my own life. Sensei wants me back alive, and I wish to return that way too. The ties of blood are strong, however. I want to know why my cousin was killed, and also, by whom. I need the answer to that question, in order to straighten my thoughts about people I ought to trust."
"People are difficult things to read, aren't they?" Enishi said with feeling, and Ryuu nodded.
"Very much so," he said with a sigh, "particularly when there are several reasons why they should conceal their true thoughts."
He cast his gaze across the clearing.
"Ukitake and Kyouraku are still abroad. Mitsuki and Sora also," he reflected, picking up the familiar strains of reiatsu as they flared and broke through the empty air. "Since this sector seems pacified, we might find time to stop to take an evening repas before we move on."
"The river flows just beyond the next cluster of trees," Enishi nodded. "If you don't object to having to gut them, I don't mind spearing a few fish with my sword."
"You catch them, and I'll cook them," Ryuu suggested, a flicker of red Kidou glittering around the tips of his fingers, and Enishi laughed.
"Deal," he said warmly, "then let's go."
"The Real World really is a strange place."
As they finished up their meal on the smooth grass of the river bank, Ryuu leaned over to drop the fish bones into the flowing water, running his fingers in the fast moving liquid to wash the residual oil and scales from his hands. "In so many ways it is base and primitive – the people cannot see us, and most of them have no awareness of anything beyond what they see. That said, though, there is something satisfying in taking a meal here. I thought that it would be harder to generate energy from Real World food – but it seems I was wrong."
"I wouldn't know anything like that. Far as I'm concerned, if it tastes good, that's enough for me." Enishi leaned back on his hands, gazing up at the sky. "There is a freedom here, isn't there? It's not like at home. There's nobody waiting to scold you for accidentally kicking over a table, for example."
"For speaking too stiffly to a kinsman," Ryuu added, and Enishi grinned.
"For stepping on someone's toes when dancing," he supplemented, and Ryuu laughed.
"For hiding away in the archives instead of entertaining guests," he put in.
"For blowing up two of the trees in the plum orchard and almost braining one of the house staff." Enishi looked reflective, and Ryuu arched an eyebrow.
"Are you serious?"
"The one time I tried practicing Kidou at home," Enishi nodded, "it went a little awry. I was banned from doing it after that. Nobody was killed – but they probably could've been."
"I see." Ryuu stifled a smile. "Your Kidou is the stuff of legend, Houjou. I'm sure at some point you'll find its true purpose, but till then…"
"Its true purpose is probably that it shouldn't be used at all," Enishi said matter-of-factly. "I'm pretty sure Kazoe'd say the same."
"Well, if it's any comfort…" Ryuu shrugged, then, "When I was about two years old, I almost set fire to my nursery."
"You did?" Enishi was dumbstruck, and Ryuu nodded, drying his hands on the sleeves of his hakamashita.
"I don't remember, but I've been told it by so many people I know it to be true," he agreed. "I was sleeping, and I suppose I was having a bad dream, because when I woke up, I was distressed. But in my sleep, my reiryoku flared and singed my blankets. If my nurse had not smelt burning…"
"You might've been a little Kuchiki crisp," Enishi chuckled, "but I s'pose as a two year old you had an excuse. My blowing up the plum trees was only a couple of years ago – so I'm still worse."
Ryuu opened his lips to respond, then paused, his eyes narrowing as out of the corner of his gaze he thought he saw the briefest glimpse of a shadow flit between the trees. Immediately on his guard, he got slowly to his feet, his hand over Shizurugi's blade as he tried to work out whether what he had seen had been one of the many Real World creatures that inhabited this strange landscape, or something more sinister.
"Kuchiki?" Enishi had clearly felt nothing, but he had noticed the change in his friend's demeanour, and consternation crossed his brow. "What's up? You picked up another Hollow?"
"No. Not a Hollow. I'm pretty sure it wasn't that," Ryuu shook his head. "Perhaps it was nothing. For a moment, I thought I saw a shadow in the trees – but perhaps I did not."
"A shadow?" Enishi hauled his substantial frame upright, gazing around him for any sign of anything suspicious. "I didn't pick up anything. Are you sure?"
"Mm. I…don't know," Ryuu admitted, frustration in his gaze. "I can't see it now. For a moment I was aware of it, and then it was gone."
"A shadow, but not a Hollow," Enishi frowned. "Maybe one of the settlers from hereabouts?"
"No…no." Ryuu considered this for a moment, then discarded it. "Something else. Something about it being there made me uneasy – but I'm not quite sure why. I just had the sensation that we were being watched…and people here aren't able to see us."
"Some can. You said so yourself," Enishi reminded him, and Ryuu sighed.
"I know, but this isn't…that," he said at length. "Maybe I'm becoming paranoid and my eyes are playing tricks, or maybe…"
He faltered as something shot across his line of vision once more, this time unmistakeably real and not a product of his imagination.
It was a person. A person robed all in black, darting from hiding place to hiding place as though trying not to be seen.
Or were they trying to be seen?
Ryuu wasn't sure, but a prickle ran down his spine as he realised what this most likely meant.
"It's here for me," he murmured, and Enishi's eyes narrowed, his thick fist grasping the hilt of his sword.
"If that's the case, it chose a bad time to come," he said frankly. "I'm ready whenever you are."
"No." Ryuu shook his head, inwardly making up his mind. "No, Houjou. This isn't your fight, it's mine. You shouldn't draw your sword – I won't have you get hurt."
"And I'm not going to stand around and watch you get attacked!" Enishi protested, indignation in his expression. "Do you think I'd do that? Don't be idiotic, Kuchiki! I'm not that kind of shinigami."
"I know you're not. That's why I'm telling you straight that this is my problem. It's my family's problem – it isn't yours," Ryuu said grimly. "If you want to be useful, go back to camp and find Ukitake and Kyouraku. Tell them what's happened, get them to report back to the school and Sensei. Perhaps he'll deploy someone to capture whoever's afoot. I will not see you in danger because of my family's weaknesses. As a Kuchiki, I will not allow it."
As the last words slipped from his lips, Ryuu felt an unmistakeable flicker of spiritual energy coming from the direction of the forest. It was unstable and unclear, not the clear reiatsu of a living individual, nor the severed energy of a dead one, but as it seared through his thoughts he understood what it was.
It was a beacon, intended for him and only him to follow to a place of assignation.
A place of…assassination?
Ryuu pushed this thought from his head, glancing fleetingly at Enishi to see whether his companion had picked up the flare, but he had not.
Houjou's senses are not so well tuned as mine. Like as not if I left him now, he would find it hard to follow me. Very well, then, that's what I must do. It is not the Kuchiki way to draw others into their battles. Trap or otherwise, this is something I must go to face alone.
Out loud he said,
"Find Ukitake. Tell him to contact Sensei. That's the best thing you can do – the quicker you go, the better."
"But Kuchiki…where are you…"
Ryuu did not wait for his friend to finish his objection, slipping cleanly into shunpo as he followed the thin trail of spiritual vapour deeper and deeper into the Real World's dense forestland. He was moving away from the camp now, he knew – away from the human settlement, from the paddyfields, and even from the river where he had so peacefully eaten lunch.
He was entirely alone now, and yet he kept going, that frail beacon the only thing pulling him forward into the unknown danger ahead.
Sensei said that if I could expose the killers of my cousin, it might prove Senpai innocent. Perhaps I will also then know that my fears over Father are unfounded ones. I am the only person who can take such a gamble, and so I must do it. With luck I will be able to hold my own until help comes…for the sake of my Clan, I must!
Author's Note: Japan
I'm sure that everyone reading this chapter has heard about the tsunami and earthquake that devastated the North East of Japan on Friday afternoon. With so much physical damage, it seems impossible that the disaster hasn't brought with it an equally horrific death toll.
The futility of being on the other side of the world and not able to do anything much to help except pray is very apparent to me right now.
For anyone in Japan, or anyone with connections to Japan, stay safe and my thoughts are with you.
Equally, to anyone in coastal areas who has been affected by the threat of or the actuality of tsunami (for example, California), I hope and pray that the damage is minor and that no further lives will be lost as a result of this terrible quake.