Meifu's Gate ::Fourth Maki::

by VraieEsprit

Juu & Shun are seniors, but already there are those who resent Juushirou's position as Anideshi. Meanwhile, a bloody murder in District Six threatens to unravel 3 generations of Kuchiki secrets - as a figure in the shadows works to bring down the Clans.

64. Poison's Puppet

Chapter Sixty Two: Poison's Puppet

The dining hall was buzzing with a low level of curious chatter that evening, the remaining members of the Senior Class taking their usual places to supervise the younger students as they filed noisily into the high-ceilinged chamber. Although no formal announcement had been made about the visit of the Kuchiki manor lord nor Genryuusai's sudden departure, the lack of all staff from the dining hall at the start of any evening meal was unusual and several of the youngest students whispered about it among themselves as they collected their trays.

"Nothing's been said but already everyone knows," Shunsui finished helping a particularly petite Second year girl get down an empty tray from the top of a new stack, casting her a grin and getting a beaming smile as reward for his efforts. "Nobody knows what they know, but they know it all the same."

"What are you talking about?" Juushirou stared at his friend blankly, and Shunsui grimaced, gesturing to the staff dais.

"We're on our own at present," he reflected. "That doesn't happen that often. Everyone's noticed it and is talking about it. Nobody's made any announcements or passed around any memos – but the rumours are circulating nonetheless."

"A lot of things have been strange since we came back from the Real World," Juushirou pointed out, reaching out an automatic hand to stop a First year from skidding across the shiny floor in his desperation to reach the tables first. "Hey, be careful! If you go flying you'll wind up in the Healing Bay, and it'll be even longer before you get any food."

"Plus you'll get a scolding from Unohana-sensei," Shunsui added dryly. "I don't suppose that'd do much for your appetite, either."

"Unohana-sensei isn't in the Healing Bay," the youngster, who didn't seem at all perturbed at being hauled up by two senior students put in brightly. "She's gone away."

"Gone away?" Juushirou frowned, and the boy nodded.

"One of my class saw her getting into a carriage," he said smartly. "I guess she's gone back home. Anyhow, she won't be able to lecture me, so even if I had fallen over it would've been okay."

"Cheeky whelp," Shunsui tapped him lightly on the head. "Get your food and go sit down already. You're holding up the queue and you're making hungry Seniors even hungrier. We might not be as scary as Unohana-sensei, but we can be pretty scary if we want to be, so run along."

He gave the boy a little shove in the direction of the trays, and Juushirou frowned.

"Unohana-sensei's not here," he murmured. "I wonder if that's because of…things that happened before."

"Maybe," Shunsui nodded. "Right now we can't talk about it, though. Let's get the kids through first and grab our own food."

"Agreed," Juushirou inclined his head, turning his attention back to the stream of younger pupils who Kai and Hirata had been guiding – or in Kai's case, pushing – into a single file line in order to collect their meal. The Seniors were only directly responsible at such times for overseeing First, Second and Third year students, so it was with some relief that both boys recognised Kira Hideharu's pale blond head alongside Kamitani Jun's similarly sandy one in the midst of a group of upper school pupils. The Fourth and Fifth years could be left to themselves so, grabbing their own trays and making their quick escape, the boys hurried to join the rest of their friends at the Senior table.

"Everyone's buzzing with something or other this evening." As they took their seats, Sora cast the two boys a quizzical glance, tapping her chopsticks idly on the rim of her tea mug as she spoke. "Do any of you people know anything?"

"It isn't like you not to have your finger on the pulse, Sora-chan," Shunsui remarked. "Are you losing your touch?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Sora frowned. "Well? I've heard bits and pieces of what the brats have been whispering, but none of it makes a lot of sense to me. We also have no staff for evening meal yet, which is something else we don't see often. They can't have all absconded and left us, surely?"

"Kazoe's definitely here," Enishi swallowed his mouthful, scooping up his tea mug and taking a healthy gulp of the warm green liquid. "I had an extra Kidou session with him, worse luck – it ended about a half hour ago. I have no clue why he isn't here yet, though – he was in one piece when I left his room."

"He's probably making an offering of thanks to the God of Kidou that your session ended without loss of life or limb," Shunsui said blithely, and Enishi laughed good-naturedly.

"That should be me, not him," he said with feeling. "He's a hard task-master."

"One of the youngsters said Unohana-sensei had left the school grounds," Juushirou observed. "Apparently they saw her. I wonder if that means she's gone home."

"Maybe she's taken Suzuno-chan," Shunsui lowered his voice, casting a sidelong glance down the table to the far end where Akira, Aoi and Kanshi were huddled, seemingly paying no attention to the rest of the conversation.

"Maybe," Juushirou looked doubtful. "Mitsuki, do you know anything about that?"

"I don't know anything," Mitsuki looked frustrated. "Retsu-sama didn't send any messages to me and I haven't been allowed near the Healing Bay even to see Naoko."

"I thought you, Kuchiki and Kyouraku went there earlier today," Kai objected, dumping his tray down beside Enishi and dropping into the vacant seat. "What happened with that? Was she sleeping?"

"Yama-jii didn't seem to think it was a good idea to go to the Healing Bay. He stopped us and sent us back," Shunsui said simply. "Perhaps she was resting. Since we didn't see her, I don't know."

"I guess maybe Sensei didn't want you to see…something," Enishi suddenly reddened, as though he had remembered something he was not supposed to say. "I mean, you know, Amai…might still be there. They wouldn't want…students…and…"

He trailed off awkwardly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Speaking of Kuchiki-kun, where is he?" Hirata looked concerned. "He was with you and Edogawa-san after class, Shunsui-kun, but he didn't come back to the Senior study with you, did he?"

"He didn't," Juushirou's eyes became grave. "Shunsui, what happened there? If Sensei sent you back, why didn't Ryuu come with you?"

"Genryuusai-sensei wanted him specifically," Mitsuki said softly, before Shunsui could voice a response. "There was something about news from home, but it was only Ryuu he wanted, not me. I don't know what or why."

"That's all we know," Shunsui added, taking a sip of his tea. "Neither of us has seen him since then either."

"Weird," Enishi had recovered his normal colour by this point, his brow creasing in concern. "He seems to have got over his poisoning, and if Unohana-sensei isn't on the school grounds now, then I guess he wasn't going to have a medical appraisal."

"News from home," Juushirou repeated pensively. "That could be anything, good or bad."

"It could," Kai agreed. "The only thing it tells us is that if Sensei wanted Ryuu and not Edogawa, it's something that's either top secret or only relating to the very highest level of Kuchiki administration. Of course, Guren-sama might just want to tan Ryuu's hide for taking off to the Real World and putting his life at risk…maybe it's a message to that end. If not, though…"

"If it was just a message, he'd be here now," Hirata said sensibly. "He isn't."

"You mean that the message was for him to go home?" Mitsuki whitened, and Hirata nodded.

"If he's not here, and nobody's seen him, that would make sense," he agreed.

"Not a lot is making sense here of late," Shunsui said heavily. "If you want something to unravel the logic of, Hirata-kun, try that."

He pointed his chopsticks in the direction of the doorway, and despite himself Juushirou also turned, his eyes widening in surprise and consternation as he registered the subject of Shunsui's concern. Belatedly the school's staff had made their entrance, Minabe looking rebellious, Uebashi looking concerned and Kazoe looking decidedly put out. In their slipstream was another figure, but instead of the hunched, aging form of their head Sensei, Juushirou made out the familiar features of a far younger man, thick dark curly hair tied back in a neat tail at the nape of his neck. He was robed in simple black, but the obi at his waist was cream instead of the more usual white, and at his waist glittered the distinctive hilt of a zanpakutou, sheathed in a carefully carved and polished scabbard that almost certainly had cost more than Juushirou's entire wardrobe for a year. His expression was preoccupied and his grey eyes clouded over, but there was no mistaking the slim figure as the shishou he had last seen living rough in the caves of District One.

"Nagoya…senpai," he whispered, and Shunsui nodded.

"Bingo," he murmured. "The wanderer has come out of the wood, or so it would seem."

"Senpai." Mitsuki chewed down on her lip. "Why is he here, in front of the whole school? I thought…"

"I guess Genryuusai-sensei did offer him sanctuary," Kai's eyes became thoughtful. "Edogawa, you didn't know about this?"

"I knew he was in District One," Mitsuki reddened, nodding her head. "Sora and I helped him when he first crossed borders. I knew he was at the school too, since we came back from the Real World…but I didn't realise that it was okay for him to show himself here now."

"You're going to get us into trouble, saying things like that," Sora hissed anxiously, but Mitsuki shook her head.

"Sensei knew he was here all the time," she said matter-of-factly. "He thanked me – well, us – for helping Senpai when nobody else could. It's all right, Sora. If Senpai's now able to show himself at meals it means his name is cleared and Guren-sama has acknowledged his innocence. Genryuusai-sensei wouldn't take the risk of angering the Kuchiki unnecessarily, so it must all be all right now."

"In that case, where is Sensei?" Hirata wondered. "He's not here."

"No, he isn't," Shunsui pursed his lips. "First Unohana-sensei, now Yama-jii. Hey, Akira!" This last to the sullen Yamamoto at the far end of the table. "You're a first degree Yamamoto, and this is your family's land, isn't it? Did something happen in your Clan to drag Sensei away?"

"If it had, it wouldn't be your business," Akira said scathingly.

"True, but it's all of our business if Sensei's not here," Shunsui pointed out. "You're not stupid – you know that right now is the most dangerous time for everyone following what happened…you know where. If you know anything about this, it might be a good time to share it."

Akira was silent for a moment, then he sighed.

"I don't know anything. Not officially," he said honestly. "Nobody's told me anything, least of all Sensei. However, when I left the training ground this evening to come here for dinner, I saw two or three of my father's shinigami bustling around the outside of the school grounds. I didn't see Sensei and I've no idea what might have happened…but I got the feeling that we were being watched over by First squad."

"Watched over?" Sora's brows knitted together. "In…Sensei's place?"

"Ryuu's missing. Sensei's missing. Unohana-sensei's missing," Juushirou counted the names off on his fingers. "Something has happened in District Six. I wonder if…the person causing all the trouble…has made an appearance there and that's why Sensei's not here."

"You think he'd leave the school unprotected?" Shunsui looked alarmed. "Aizen Keitarou isn't a foolish person - do you think he'd hang around in District Six if someone as powerful as Yama-jii came charging at him? He's the guy whose Senkaimon technology we're all working from now. If anyone's good at escaping and creating diversions it's him!"

"If you want me to talk to you, don't mention that man's name in front of me again," Akira growled, his eyes glittering with bitter rage. "I've only told you what I know. Ukitake's speculating – but he might be right. If that man has shown up somewhere else, it'd make sense to try and catch him in a place far away from here. The Academy's important to Genryuusai-sama. He'd not bring anyone here into harm's way if he could help it."

"But if it is that way, and this is a diversion…"

"Maybe it's a case of who can provide the biggest diversion," Hirata murmured, and Shunsui's brows knitted together in consternation.

"If you mean what I think you mean…"

"Ryuu!" Mitsuki's eyes became frightened. "Oh, is that it? Sensei's taken Ryuu so that…so that he can be bait again in another trap?"

"He barely escaped the last one with his life," Kai said grimly. "He'd be an idiot to agree to do it again."

"He's that kind of idiot, though," Shunsui said heavily. "I wish we'd asked Sensei more clearly what exactly had happened in District Six. All he told Mitsuki was that it didn't concern her. I guess he wanted to keep her out of it, but…"

"Perhaps Hashihiko-sama is moving First squad in here to protect the school," Hirata suggested, and Akira nodded his head.

"I don't know if Father will come directly himself, but if Sensei was leaving the District, he'd make that kind of arrangement first," he agreed. "There'll be a higher military presence and it'll tell anyone from outside that even if Genryuusai-sensei isn't here, this place has the direct eye and concern of the Head of the Yamamoto. If that's happened, probably Kazoe's been left in direct charge of us and that's why he currently looks so ticked off. That's how I'd do it if I was Sensei, anyway. You cover your base first before you venture further afield."

"If Hashihiko-sama isn't here himself, is there anyone in First squad who could face down someone like this enemy?" Kanshi asked. "Akira, your brother's a strong shinigami but he isn't in your Father's league yet and nobody is quite like Sensei. Isn't it still leaving things exposed?"

"He hasn't anyone else to call on," Hirata murmured. "Besides, Ai…this enemy is strong but he's also very clever. Defending against him isn't about physical strength but guile and skill of another kind. This man killed my Grandfather, a Clan leader who was probably renowned for being one of the most paranoid men in Council history. Ojiisama didn't even trust in his own descendants – yet that scientist got close enough to take him off guard without a physical confrontation. He stole Ojiisama's life without leaving clues or witnesses to what he'd done. If not for the fact he admitted the crime to Juushirou-kun and others, probably we'd never know for sure that it was him."

"And to think Shikiki and I spent time alone with this man," Juushirou shivered despite himself. "Now, thinking back on it, I was in a lot more danger than I ever really knew, wasn't I?"

"We're not thinking back on anything. We're looking forwards," Shunsui said flatly. "Right now the problem is the school. If Genryuusai-sensei's really taken the risk of leaving District One with the hope of nailing this guy, I hope he's done as Akira says and got every base covered. It's a big gamble."

"He took Ryuu with him, but not Senpai," Mitsuki murmured. "Senpai looks bothered but he doesn't look angry. I wonder what exactly happened…I hate being left out this time around. I'm a Kuchiki too – it's my right to know, isn't it? Ryuu's like a brother to me…why should I not know about this?"

"Probably because you'd try to convince him not to go," Kai said astutely. "Ryuu listens to you, and you might talk him out of it."

"Well, of course I would," Mitsuki said stubbornly. "He's my cousin. What else would you expect me to do?"

"Perhaps as a shinigami with squad honours, Nagoya's been deployed here to help protect the school too," Aoi suggested thoughtfully. "I remember him as Anideshi, and before. He's supposed to be a great talent with potential equal to Guren-sama…maybe that's the trade."

"It's not a very even trade," Shunsui snorted. "No offence to your Clan, Mitsuki-chan, but potential is no guarantee of anything, and I don't think there's anyone in Soul Society who's a fair match for Yama-jii."

"There isn't," Akira agreed matter-of-factly. "Only a fool wouldn't know that. However, one person can only be in one place at any one time. Aoi could be right. What if Guren-sama ordered Nagoya to stay here to help First Squad in return for favours received from the Yamamoto?"

"You're suggesting the Kuchiki have forged a political alliance with another Clan. That's unheard of," Shunsui chided. "District Six are infamous for standing alone whatever the adversity. Do you think they'd buckle now?"

"Senpai probably hasn't spoken to Guren-sama since he left District Six. More likely if he's staying to protect the school, he's doing so because he owes Sensei a debt," Mitsuki observed. "He's very proud, and he doesn't like being beholden to anyone or anything if he can help it."

Shunsui's eyes suddenly became thoughtful, and Juushirou frowned as his friend's brown gaze suddenly shifted to meet his hazel one.

"Shunsui? What's up?"

"Nothing." Shunsui shook his head. "I just remembered something else from this morning's conversation with Yama-jii, that's all."

"Something else?" Sora looked curious. "Something about taking Kuchiki back to District Six?"

"No. Nothing like that." Shunsui's brown gaze became contemplative. "It's all right. It's probably nothing. Till it becomes something, you might as well let it alone."

He turned to glance out across the busy dining hall.

"Our first concern is the school's current vulnerable state if the old man really has taken a trip," he added. "We're none of us fully trained, but if something was to happen here…"

"Then we'd fight," Akira finished the sentence, a firm expression in his dark eyes.

"Yamamoto-kun…" Mitsuki looked anxious, and Juushirou sighed, nodding his head.

"Yamamoto-kun is right," he said quietly, bringing several startled looks his way. "If Sensei isn't here, it's our duty to help out where we can. We should be careful, of course, and most likely it won't mean us doing more than helping out extra with students or things like that. However, just on the off-chance…"

He spread his hands.

"Ryuu is not here, and Shikibu-san is not well," he added simply. "That leaves ten of us. We may not be fully trained, but we do have swords and we do know how to defend ourselves more than the juniors do. Hopefully we won't be needed in a combat situation, but ultimately that's what we're being trained to face. In the Real World we were all on our own and taking decisions for ourselves…in a worst case scenario, this might be the same thing."

"Juu, you're sounding reckless and idealistic again," Shunsui said frankly. "Worse, you're agreeing with Yamamoto, and that's a disturbing symptom I haven't seen before."

"What's wrong with agreeing with me? I'm right," Akira said bluntly. "Ukitake's only speaking sense. It mightn't be up to us, but if it is, I'm not running away and if you consider yourself a Senior, Kyouraku, you won't either. I heard that you wounded that man in the Real World. Given that fact, are you going to play coward now and hide?"

"Kyouraku? You did what?" Kanshi started, staring at his classmate in shock.

"Maybe I did. So? That was then. This is now."

"If you already faced him once, facing him again should come naturally," Aoi pointed out. "You're at an advantage in that you've already seen him fight."

"It's not something that I'm proud of, much less something to boast about," Shunsui shrugged. "I don't like drawing blood, but right then it was something I needed to do. Besides, that man doesn't really...fight. Not in the way you guys mean. There's nothing to be gained by trying to cross blades with him."

"If you were willing to raise your blade then, though, what makes it different if we were to be attacked now?" Akira was getting quite heated now. "Are you really as damn lazy as you play up to be? Was that shot in the Real World a fluke? I'd heard the Kyouraku were a military family – or are you the one who fell short of that command?"

Shunsui's expression changed in a moment, and even Juushirou was taken aback by the dark look that entered the deep brown eyes.

"I don't believe in fighting unnecessary fights for glory or for prestige," he said levelly, all usual warmth and fun lacking from his tones. "Battles are messy, violent and unpleasant affairs, no matter how you dress them up. Suzuno-chan probably died because I spilled Aizen's blood and although I don't consider it my fault, one action does always lead to another. If you don't think out your first move, Akira, it spirals rapidly out of hand."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that there are a lot of vulnerable people here who weren't in the Real World, and I'm not inclined to throw my sword around recklessly if it means they get involved in a bloodbath they're not ready to face."

"What if it's to protect them, though?" Kanshi asked. "If something attacked here, Kyouraku, are you saying you wouldn't fight?"

Shunsui rubbed his temples, sending his classmate a resigned look.

"Of course I would fight, if that was the situation," he said at length. "I didn't ever mean to imply otherwise. I just don't believe in going gung-ho into battle before everything is clear. More people get hurt that way, and Sensei would be cross if he lost any more students because we decided to play at being vigilantes."

"There might not be a need, anyway," Hirata said realistically. "If Sensei's deployed First squad here, and Nagoya-senpai, and Kazoe-sensei also uses his sword, it might be all right. They're all far more experienced than us. Let's not forget that this enemy doesn't fight blade to blade with his sword, and he'd be outnumbered."

"He also can't use his Bankai right at the moment," Juushirou remembered. "He told me so quite clearly – that's his interest in me, Yamamoto-kun. I was the last person he used it on, and I lived. Since then, he's not been able to release it. If what he told me when I was with him is true…"

"You lived with this guy?" Kanshi's eyes widened. "Ukitake…"

"No! No no no!" Juushirou held up his hands hurriedly. "It wasn't a voluntary arrangement – nothing like that!"

"He was abducted from my brother's wedding because that man knew to appeal to his sense of idiocy," Shunsui said blackly. "I could have sworn I already said we weren't going back to past events, though, so let's not, all right?"

"Shunsui, I don't remember anything about the fight in the snow and it doesn't look as though speaking to him in the Real World has done anything to change that," Juushirou reassured his friend. "The other stuff, though, I do remember. The fact I know Keitarou might help if he did come here."

"Ojiisama also knew him, Juushirou-kun," Hirata warned, but Juushirou shook his head.

"No. Shouichi-sama used him," he said quietly. "Where Shikiki and I were concerned, it was different. Shouichi-sama was always Keitarou's enemy, because he killed members of Keitarou's family. On the other hand, Shikiki and I were recruited because he wanted to use us. He can be very nice and very open to people he considers useful to him - even allies. Therefore..."

"You let him sweet-talk you into believing he had a good side?" Akira asked scornfully. Juushirou hesitated, then shrugged.

"I don't believe he's a good person. I know he's not," he said quietly, "but I know he's not entirely the cold-blooded killer he was when he encountered poor Amai-san. He took in and raised Shikiki and she adored him...I never saw him say or do anything unkind to her in the time I was there, and I don't think he ever did hurt her."

"Who or what is Shikiki?" Kanshi demanded. "You keep saying the name, but that doesn't mean anything to some of us."

"A young District girl with healing abilities that Aizen thought made a good addition to his arsenal," Shunsui said briskly. "She and Juu got all pally during his confinement and now she lives with his family. She's a special talent, Souryou - even though she's only eleven or so, she already has exceptionally powerful skills."

"I owe her my life," Juushirou put his hand absently to his chest, feeling the reassuring pulse of his heart beneath his ribcage. "I don't remember anything about it, but I know that it's because of her I'm here today."

"No kidding," Shunsui murmured. "As I've said before, every family should have one."

"Possibly," Juushirou acknowledged with a wry smile. "The fact is, though, that he treated Shikiki like family right up until she decided to leave his base with me and flee into the snow. He never came after her, it's true – but I do think he was fond of her and I certainly believe he protected her with whatever means he had available to him."

"Probably that's how he got Eiraki-chan to choose his side," Hirata observed heavily, finishing off the last of his rice and setting his chopsticks down. "He has the ability to be nice if he wants to be...and she was lonely and silly and allowed him to fool her."

"I'm sorry, Hirata," Enishi looked guilty. "When she came out after Kuchiki, I should'a grabbed hold of her, shouldn't I?"

"It wasn't really the time for that," Mitsuki shook her head. "Ryuu was our first concern, Houjou."

"Eiraki made her choice," Hirata added simply. "I wasn't surprised by it, and I accepted it. She's his now - that's all."

He sighed.

"Mother and Father will be upset - devastated, probably, if anyone's told them what became of their youngest child," he concluded. "If the Council catch her, she will probably be imprisoned at best - put to death at worst. There's no kind of mercy for something like that and...nor should there be. My sister or not..."

"It's ironic," Shunsui said quietly. "All of this began because this Aizen idiot's father was put to death by the Council for the reidoku. That's why Aizen is so fanatical about the Clans, because none of them saved his Pa - right? It could easily end with a repeat of the same occurrence, only this time..."

"Even if they caught her, they wouldn't put Eiraki-hime to death if she really is with child, like I think," Mitsuki said gravely. "They would at least judge the infant innocent and allow it to be born before they carried out that kind of justice. Kyouraku-kun is right. There is an irony to it...that if she and Aizen are stopped, another child like Aizen could be left orphaned and alone in the same way Aizen was...starting the cycle all over again."

"That won't happen," Hirata said evenly. "There are things to be learned from what happened with Aizen. In those circumstances, the child would be raised as an Endou. He or she would never need to know anything about this...nor have their life dictated by it. Father would see to it and so would I."

He sighed, slipping his glasses down his nose and rubbing his brow.

"There's still part of me which would rather she escaped, though," he said uneasily. "Despite what she's done and the penalty she should face, she is still my sister. I can't let go of that completely yet."

"You shouldn't have to," Juushirou assured him. "It's not you who's done anything wrong, Hirata. You needn't feel guilty because you still love her."

"In the meantime, we have to deal with the problem right in front of our noses," Kai reflected. "If Sensei went to Sixth and Aizen is there, fine. If not, and he shows up here...even if we don't charge headlong into battle for the sake of it, we ought to be ready. He's a tricky customer who's done serious damage to three Clans in the last few years. We shouldn't underestimate his ability to mess stuff up here for the Yamamoto as well."

"For Father?" Despite himself, Akira looked stricken, and Kai nodded.

"Aizen's target is the Clans. All Clans," he said grimly. "Mine was simply the first, and it's not over for any of us. He might be aiming at the Kuchiki right now, but nowhere and nobody is really safe. If the Clans fall, there will also be an impact on the Districts. Aizen's wrong if he thinks no Clans govern their people well – it's the exception rather than the rule that devastates the lives of ordinary folk. What happened in District Seven under Shouichi-sama and Seimaru was horrific, but it's not to say all the Clans treat their subjects in the same way. Even District Seven's current administration is diametrically opposite to the ones which went before, thanks to Misashi-sama's hard work in reviving the Sekkiseki trade and re-establishing links with other Clans. Aizen might or might not have political rhetoric to back up his fanaticism, but it remains that he'll do more harm, not less if he takes away the governing stability."

"I agree," Juushirou looked serious. "I saw what happened in Seventh first-hand and Shikiki had to live through it, so I certainly don't condone that. As a District individual, I don't want to see people trampled into the ground or scared out of their wits, living hand to mouth and being slaughtered because of how they're born. However, all of this disturbance to the Kuchiki Clan could have impacted on my family in all kinds of ways. I've never had a problem with the way Mitsuki and Ryuu's Clan have governed District Six – but if they were to collapse, I'd have a lot of concerns about what that would mean for my family."

"Likewise in District Eight," Shunsui said gravely. "Oniisama works very hard to support the people who live there since the civil war between him and Uncle ended. He's supported refugees from Seventh and even though about half of them have gone back, he's continued to make sure those who've tried to stay have been integrated into Eighth society as much as is possible. However, since this Aizen has clearly been using his family's ancient Kyouraku connection as an excuse to lurk in towns in Eighth District, the working folk there have been inconvenienced too. At least three people were probably murdered, and another was attacked and left for dead. If he really believes in promoting District over Clan, those lives would not have been so callously shed."

"He doesn't care about District over Clan. He cares about strength and potential regardless of its origins," Juushirou said quietly. "His interest in those who have spirit power without Clan support is strong, but it doesn't define his beliefs. He's Clan but not Clan. District but not District. He inhabits the limbo in-between and therefore seeks to draw others he considers in the same limbo to join his cause."

"Like you?" Akira arched an eyebrow, and Juushirou nodded his head.

"Like me," he said grimly. "He was born Clan yet exiled to the Districts…I was born District, but at least one of my ancestors is pure-blooded Clan. I'm also in the same kind of limbo hence he likes drawing correlations between his life and mine. The difference is, though, that I'm not ashamed to be District and I don't have grudges against the Clans. I'm content with my life – even if members of the Kuchiki Clan denied my existence or shunned me completely, I have nothing to resent them for. In fact, having seen elements of Clan life, I'm grateful for having grown up the way I have, even if that sounds strange. Keitarou lost everything when his father was executed and he's still bitter more than a century on. His situation and mine are not the same."

"Hatred like that festers and doesn't die easily," Kanshi reflected. "I'm half Kuchiki and half Shiba, but the Kuchiki side of my blood don't really recognise me as a valid member of the Clan either, since it falls outside of their degrees. Like you, Ukitake, it doesn't bother me. Life's too short to go growling after dropped connections, but I don't suppose anyone's going to convince this Aizen guy to let it go and move on."

"It doesn't seem that way," Mitsuki sighed, resting her chin in her hands. "What makes it so difficult is that he doesn't actively hate the Kuchiki for anything. It's all political – it must be. Endou Shouichi did things to hurt him directly, but none of the current Kuchiki were responsible for Keitsune-sama's execution and my Clan doesn't forge or break political alliances with other families very often."

"The Kuchiki stand tallest, therefore they're the most significant to chop down," Shunsui said grimly. "That's probably all there is to it, Mitsuki-chan. Your cousin's life, and any other lives in District Six are political pawns and pawns are dispensable."

"And Suzuno?" Akira interjected bitterly. "What about her?"

"In the wrong place at the wrong time, almost certainly." Kai pulled a graphic face. "Amai's death is just another unforgivable thing this man has done since he declared war on Soul Society with whatever passes for rationale in his broken brain."

"Maybe we should start trying to think on his level." Aoi's eyes became thoughtful, and Juushirou shot him a startled look.

"Michihashi-kun?"

"He's an Urahara by blood, even exiled. His actions shame my family more than any other," Aoi said darkly, and Juushirou was taken aback by the sudden and uncharacteristically calculating look that entered the other's pale eyes. Belatedly he remembered that Aoi's two top subjects were strategy and swords and in that moment he had the feeling that his older classmate knew only too well how to tie those two things together with ruthless precision. "If he dares to come here next, that'll be the last straw. Nobody in Soul Society would stand for that – there's no reason why we should do, either."

"What are you suggesting?" Shunsui looked curious, and Aoi smiled faintly.

"I'm suggesting we make sure we're ready for whatever comes our way," he said simply. "We need to think about things on his level, not on the level of right or common sense. If the worst comes to the worst, we have to have a plan of action to make sure nobody here gets hurt. That's our duty as Seniors, is it not?"

"Well said, Michihashi," Enishi reached over a broad paw to pound the slim Urahara warmly between the shoulderblades. "We shouldn't go running into a fight, but if the fight comes here, we'll damn well be ready."

"Anideshi?" There was a challenge in Akira's gaze as he turned to Juushirou, and the District boy sighed.

"I agree," he said at length. "Let's hope it won't be necessary…but this is our school. If we're not willing to protect it from adversity, why should anyone else?"

"For once, all of Senior Class are on the same page," Kai said wryly. "That is, unless you intend to hold back on this, Kyouraku…?"

"I go where Juu goes. I'm unreliable and lazy, so I won't bother thinking for myself," Shunsui said casually. "Providing we're not going into a fight, my job is to try and keep Juu out of one. That's really the most I ever do – so long as that's not a problem, I'm in."

"Shunsui…" Juushirou cast him an exasperated look and received an unrepentant grin in return.

"Then when dinner is over, we ought to go to the Senior study and talk," Hirata suggested soberly. "This is obviously not a conversation that anyone else – staff or junior students – ought to overhear."

---

District Six.

Ryuu clasped his hands tightly together in his lap, his knuckles whitening as the carriage rattled across the border from Inner Seireitei into the Kuchiki's domain beyond. They had travelled at speed through the toll paths that were reserved for those with the means to afford the high tariffs, and the sun had long since set over the hills which in springtime bloomed with delicate pink sakura. It would have been quicker if they had taken a Senkaimon, for aside from the Urahara's own land, the Kuchiki District was the area most covered by the convenient form of zanpakutou powered gateways, but when he had asked about it, Genryuusai had explained that at present all such openings had been placed under Guren's strict interdict, preventing anyone getting either in or out of Kuchiki land via that method.

Ryuu knew that it was an attempt to keep the elusive Aizen Keitarou confined within District Six's borders, but the rattling journey had done little for his nerves or his anxiety about his father, and it was with a mixture of frustration and impatience that he watched the scenery passing by, waiting for the moment when the carriage would draw into the wide driveway of their destination.

He stole a glance at his companions, trying to observe them without catching the eye of either one. Retsu was sitting quietly and properly on the opposing seat, her body giving away no sign of particular tension and her eyes calm and pensive as she observed the scenery. She had made no objection to the sudden journey, nor had she protested about the inconvenience of being at the Kuchiki's beck and call or the danger she might be going into, and Ryuu wondered if her thoughts were on Suzuno and on avenging the young Unohana's death. The next moment he dismissed the idea as silly – Retsu did not seem like the kind of person who would waste time on petty revenge.

Genryuusai's expression was even harder to penetrate, and he too had fallen silent long since leaving District One. Ryuu knew that he was not happy about leaving the school in other hands and although the blame was not in his court, he still felt guilty for the inconvenience his family had brought upon one who he had come to respect and admire from the bottom of his heart since beginning at the school. What Soul Society had been like before Genryuusai had been there to piece its loose fragments together into some kind of order he did not know, but as he gazed at the old man now, he found himself hoping and praying that his teacher would be around to guide them all for many more generations to come.

Age when put in context with spiritual power was an unknown quantity, but privately Ryuu felt that Seireitei would suffer far more from Genryuusai's death than if all eight of the Clan leaders were to expire on the same day.

"You seem troubled, my boy." At length the old man spoke, his keen gaze meeting Ryuu's clouded grey ones with a question. "This is not an easy journey for you, is it? Not knowing what might await you must be preying on your mind - particularly Seiren-dono's health."

"I have not heard of a situation like it before," Retsu observed pensively, folding her hands more neatly in her lap and offering Ryuu a gentle smile. "It would be strange if Kuchiki-kun was not concerned, Genryuusai-sama. That's why Guren-sama has asked me to attend as well, isn't it? He seeks my advice in healing his brother, and if I can give that help then I promise that I will."

"Thank you," Ryuu found words at last, bowing his head low before the healer. "Especially at a time like this, when so many...when Shikibu is still...and with Amai..."

"Mm," Retsu's eyes flickered for the faintest of instants, but any sign of her being unsettled was gone almost as soon as it had come, making Ryuu wonder if he had imagined it being there in the first place. "There is nothing I can do for Suzuno-san now except assure that she has a peaceful and undisturbed place to sleep among those who loved her. Naoko-san is also much improved thanks to Mitsuki-san's constant presence at her side. There is probably little I can do for her either now that a friend cannot. Unlike Genryuusai-sama, I leave the school often and have attended the health of the Kuchiki Clan before. It is not unusual for me to travel on occasions like this - if your father can be helped by my hands, then I shall do what I can. That is my duty as a healer, is it not?"

"I suppose it is." Ryuu flushed red at the gentle reproach in the older woman's tones. "I suppose one day it will be Mitsuki who...is doing things like that too, won't it?"

"I have very high hopes of her," Retsu agreed evenly. "I trust that Guren-sama will be persuaded that the correct course for that child is to be allowed to pursue her goals with District Four's squad - but I rather feel this visit won't be the best time to raise such a subject."

"Indeed not," Genryuusai rumbled. "Don't worry, Retsu. When the time comes, I'll speak to people and see what I can do. Ryuu, you might also be able to help - if you are named heir to the Kuchiki Clan, then..."

"Must I be?" Ryuu's words were soft, but Genryuusai heard them and paused, fixing him with a pensive look.

"You still feel that you are unsuitable for the role?" he asked lightly, and slowly Ryuu inclined his head.

"Yes, sir, although I realise that to say so makes me appear both cowardly and lacking to outside eyes."

"Are you cowardly?" Genryuusai looked surprised. "You realise the danger I am taking you into, don't you? If Aizen Keitarou is in District Six as your uncle believes, there's a very good chance of another attempt on your life."

"I know," Ryuu admitted. "But...it seems to me that...it would be less courageous to sacrifice my life in such a situation rather than to live and face the pressures that the Clan wishes to put on my shoulders."

"I see." Genryuusai rubbed his beard absently. "You believe it takes more courage to live than it does to die?"

"I have come to believe so, sir. Yes." Ryuu nodded. "I do not know what it feels like to lose someone I care for deeply, but I imagine it must be harder to live on without them than to die and know oblivion in their place."

He smoothed out his hakama against his legs, then,

"Guren-sama has had much to deal with in the face of losing one who I know gave him a good amount of joy," he murmured. "He is now alone in District Six, and yet his thoughts are on the Clan first and foremost, doing what he can to provide for its future and trying to protect its people. I am not sure if the courage to do such a thing resides within my heart as strongly as it does within his, Sensei. I...I had never perceived myself to care about my father to any great degree, but I am cast all over the place thinking of what would happen if he died."

"Sometimes it takes a crisis or a tragedy for us to understand the things that matter to us the most," Genryuusai said gravely. "This is a lesson you haven't yet learned, but it may be one you will have to come to face as time goes on. Your cousin is starting to understand it - by overcoming his grief over Ribari-dono's murder and trying to move forward for Guren-sama's sake, he's beginning to show signs of being a strong and resolute shinigami. Now it is your turn. Whether Seiren-dono lives or dies, your duty is to become stronger, both in mind and in body."

"Senpai would make a much better Clan leader than I," Ryuu muttered, his gaze flitting back to the window at the passing landscape. "I love this land and I am proud of my heritage, but the pressure it places on me is wearying and sometimes overwhelming. I wish nothing ill to come to pass here, and for that reason I do not want to be the head of the Kuchiki Clan simply by a matter of default. Besides, if Father's spirit power is as unstable as Kinnya-sama suggests, it might even be dangerous for me to become heir. What if a child of mine was to be born with that kind of reiryoku?"

"Your father and Guren-sama are twin brothers. The same blood runs through each," Retsu reminded him gently. "I have not examined Seiren-sama, nor am I fully aware of his spiritual capacity, but I do know that on very rare occasions such imbalances happen. They particularly occur within high level noble families and in a child born with a physical body that does not match the spiritual demands put on it before it is even born. Seiren-sama is a twin, and one twin is often weaker than the other. If that were to be combined with an unnatural development of reiryoku in the womb, the result would be a dangerous level of spirit power. It is not heritable, nor is it impossible that Ribari-sama, had he lived to sire children, would not have had sons himself with the same condition."

"I see," Ryuu sighed heavily.

"We will arrive soon," Genryuusai rested a wizened hand on his student's arm. "Your father is your current first priority, understand? It sounds as though he has been very worried about you and with good cause."

"I understand," Ryuu nodded. "I wish to go there as soon as I can. If he has become unwell because I took matters into my own hands and went to the Real World without permission, the least I can do is show myself to him unharmed. I hope he will be able to perceive me there - even if he should be angry, I would like to know he knows I'm not dead."

"It may be considerably dangerous to get too close," Genryuusai warned. "We do not know quite what kind of a situation we will face until we arrive. We are travelling directly to your manor, not to the main house, by the way – Guren-dono has instructed us there and it seems he intends to meet with us away from the Kuchiki court."

"To our manor?" Ryuu was startled, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Kinnya was very clear about that when giving me exact details of your uncle's request," he agreed. "I believe we are drawing closer – but you will know this land better than I."

"We're very close, if that's where we're heading." Ryuu rested his hands against the slatted wood of the carriage, gazing out at the land beyond with new eyes. "This is already Father's land, I'm fairly sure. The manor should be just over the next rise, and then…"

He faltered, as the carriage mounted a hill and for the first time he saw clearly their destination. His eyes widened, first with shock and then with dismay as he took in the half ruined remains of what had been his childhood home, the entire west wing demolished while the east wing stood stubbornly firm and the central block hung forlornly in the middle, as though not knowing whether it should be upright or cast down to rubble. Ryuu's heart clenched in his chest, his disbelieving gaze absorbing the scene with a growing sense of alarm.

"What on earth…" he murmured, more to himself than to either of his companions. "That much damage is the result of Father's spirit power exploding?"

"Kinnya described it as bad, but seeing it is quite sobering." Genryuusai frowned. "Retsu, I'm sure you can sense it too – fragments of something dark and intangible on the breeze as we head towards the manor grounds. Whatever happened here was extremely violent and is still lingering in the atmosphere. I would say that if this is Seiren-dono's true spirit power, he is a good deal sicker than even Kinnya was able to express."

"Mm." Retsu's expression became grave and she slid delicate pale fingers out of the window, touching the air with a thoughtful look. "I agree. More, I have not encountered anything quite like this before. I was still in training when much of the fallout from the reidoku experiments occurred…even though I attended a few cases, there was never one of this intensity."

"Reidoku didn't cause this," Genryuusai reminded her, and the healer inclined her head.

"In many respects, though, that changes little," she said with a heavy sigh, drawing her hand back into the carriage and fixing the stricken Ryuu with a pensive gaze. "Whatever caused the initial surge, the end result is mutated spirit power. I am quite surprised that one with this level of dark energy still lives, let alone that Guren-sama and his fellows managed somehow to suppress and contain him. I am aware of Guren-sama's particularly high skill as a shinigami, but surely…"

"Kinnya was with him," Genryuusai said quietly. "I'm not sure Guren-dono could have done it alone, but he had help."

"Is Kinnya-sama stronger than Guren-sama?" Ryuu's eyes became huge, and Genryuusai sighed.

"Once I would have answered that question far more decisively than I can now," he admitted. "When I trained him, Ryuu, he and his brother Senaya were among the highest calibre of shinigami living in that age. I was called on to train them because their potential surpassed the capabilities of those surrounding them – they were both formidable men, though very different. Senaya's Kuchiki did not need to form alliances with other neighbours because, myself aside, there were no shinigami in Seireitei at that time who could match the power of the Kuchiki Clan. Matsuhara of the Kyouraku might have drawn close to them had he not been so driven to despair by his duty, but in his case there was untapped potential that was never fully realised. There were no others. Even now there are very few who can match what they were then, let alone surpass them – perhaps Retsu and I alone, in fact."

Retsu smiled slightly in acknowledgement of the praise, but made no comment.

"That's why you've left Kinnya-sama in charge at the school?" Ryuu's brows knitted together as he tried to focus on this, forcing his mind away from the reality of his father's predicament as he sought to analyse this new information. "I thought him to be frail and ailing when I met him last winter, but…"

"He is not quite as frail as he seems," Retsu offered a wry smile. "I had only a brief time to talk with him, but his physical health is not as poor as he would like people to believe. I understand he has suffered badly from melancholy in recent years…but I saw little sign of that either in the man I met."

"His illness has been mostly psychological, and is largely self-inflicted. Punishment, maybe, for things he believes himself responsible for," Genryuusai reflected. "The long years without action have probably dulled his sword's potential and I doubt he's now what he was when Senaya was alive, but how much weaker he's become is a source for debate. From his words it sounds as though he was able to handle your father's spiritual overload better than Guren, so I'd say he probably retains at least seventy percent of his original skill. His reluctance to use his abilities have made him a forgotten soul in many quarters and most young folk – even young Kuchiki like yourself – have no idea about his past achievements. Though he remains on the register of shinigami held in the Council archives, twenty years or more ago he asked to have his name removed. He had decided to hang up his sword and retire entirely from active service – so he remains to this day."

"He asked to have his name…does that mean legally he can't use his zanpakutou?" Ryuu looked alarmed. "What if there is danger at school, what then?"

"He has permission from myself and from Hashihiko, but as I already said, he remains on the register of shinigami," Genryuusai said calmly. "Whether he will or won't ever use his sword again is a matter for his judgement, but Guren-dono prevented the removal and as Kinnya's Clan leader, that order had to be obeyed. A Kuchiki never hangs up his sword, at least in the public gaze – so for form's sake, Kinnya's blade remained on the list."

"Then what did he withdraw from?" Ryuu wondered. "If his sword is still legal, why…"

Retsu and Genryuusai exchanged looks, and Retsu smiled.

"There is a level of shinigami power that requires a good degree of training and an even greater level of control," she said softly. "Most shinigami never reach that level, though many aspire to doing so. Within the council records is a list of named users of a particular zanpakutou technique, and it is updated whenever a person dies. It is such a rare technique that at no time does this list bear more than about four or five names – at present it holds only three. Genryuusai-sama's name and my own are currently given there, along with the name of your Clan leader. Do you understand what this record might relate to?"

Ryuu drew breath sharply, staring at Retsu in consternation.

"Ban…kai?" he murmured, and Retsu nodded.

"Exactly that," she agreed gently. "Bankai is rare because in general it can only be taught by another holder of the skill. In practice Guren-sama is the only Bankai user in current and past Soul Society not to have been trained by Genryuusai-sama himself. Kinnya-sama and Senaya-sama were also pupils of Genryuusai-sama's many years ago, and both of them it seems were trained to use Bankai. It was Senaya-sama, of course, who trained Guren-sama to hone that skill. When Senaya-sama passed away, his name was erased from the Bankai record. Kinnya-sama's remained, but was removed a little over twenty years ago on his own request. He wished the Council to view him as 'spiritually dead', and although his name was kept on the official register, Guren-sama allowed him to have it removed from the Bankai list."

"But he has it all the same," Ryuu clasped his hands together tightly. "He might be rusty and he might not have used it, but Kinnya-sama has Bankai. Only someone with Bankai could be left in charge of the school, because the person hunting my family also has Bankai, albeit illegally. That's why…"

"Kinnya has something else to protect at the school, too," Genryuusai said reflectively.

"Ukitake?" Ryuu asked, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Whether he meets the boy or not, he's interested in him," he said lightly. "You should be proud of yourself, Ryuu. Inadvertent it might have been, but your visit to Kinnya's manor before you returned to school has wrought a change in my old student. Now he's begun to move again, he's a valuable ally for your Clan and also for your classmates. Your judgement was sound, and proactively so. You say you struggle to reach out to people, but it's undoubtedly your intervention that's led to this point."

"It wasn't on purpose, though," Ryuu reddened. "I didn't even think about the impact for my Clan, nor did I really believe Kinnya-sama would leave his manor. Perhaps I didn't feel him strong enough to – I was certainly fooled by his appearance of frailty. I spoke to him of Ukitake because he seemed to be interested. It was coincidence that it proved to be beneficial."

"Many such vital decisions are," Retsu said softly. "But this conversation can wait. We have reached our destination – and Kuchiki-kun's priority must be his father first and foremost."

"Futsuki-dono's come to meet us." As they dismounted from the carriage, Ryuu saw the familiar figure of his oldest uncle striding across the dusty ground towards them, a mixture of relief and apprehension competing for dominance across his clever features.

"Ryuu-dono! Genryuusai-sama, Retsu-sama!" As he reached them, Futsuki dropped into a respectful bow towards the two senior Clan figures, raising his head to offer them a grateful smile. "Guren-sama will be anxious to see you – and glad at your quick arrival. With the Senkaimon closed, it must have been a hurried journey – I apologise on behalf of my Clan for the inconvenience."

"Your brother has need of us," Genryuusai said simply. "Perhaps both your brothers, and we will do what we can. Is Guren-dono here, or…?"

"He is." Futsuki agreed. "However, the manor is otherwise devoid of life. Seiren…is here, of course." He paused, meeting Ryuu's gaze briefly, then, "Seiren's chief retainer Shibata has also been treated for his wounds nearby, since we felt it would distress him to separate him too far from his master. There have been physicians here to tend him, but he is improving and Guren-sama is currently speaking to him in more detail about the events that left this estate in such a sorry state."

"I have come to see Father," Ryuu said quietly. "I would like to see him as soon as possible, Futsuki-dono."

"Of course," Futsuki's eyes softened. "I am relieved most of all to see you in good health, Ryuu-dono. Though Guren-sama received your letter, much can happen between the sending of such a missive and its arrival. Yet here you are, and none the worse for your adventures in the Real World."

"I must take my share of responsibility in that," Genryuusai said, before Ryuu could say anything in his own defence. "I wanted Ryuu to go, and he wanted to go – we are both guilty in whatever happened next."

"Is Guren-sama very angry?" Ryuu looked hesitant. "I know that I should have reported…but I…"

"On the contrary, Ryuu, I am not displeased with you at all," Guren's own voice cut through the crisp air, and Ryuu swung around to see his Clan leader striding across the uneven ground towards them. He inclined his head to acknowledge the visitors, then turned to his nephew, resting his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"It was recklessly done," he said quietly. "But it was bravely done, too. You wanted to prove the innocence of your kinsfolk, as any good Kuchiki should. Thanks to you Shirogane's name has been cleared of any wrongdoing."

"I was very impertinent in my letter," Ryuu flushed, lowering his gaze. "Especially regarding my cousin's standing. I apologise unreservedly for daring to use such words, Uncle – but I did not realise that you too believed strongly in his innocence. I was ready to try and persuade you, and that may have meant I crossed lines I should not have crossed. I am not gifted with such interactions, and if I was rude then I…I am sorry."

"You were a little cheeky," Guren admitted. "However, we share an opinion where Shirogane is concerned. He remains in District One, I trust?" This to Genryuusai, who nodded his head.

"He and Kinnya also," he said matter-of-factly. "Given the pressing nature of our visit, Guren-dono, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to dispense with any formalities and cut right to the point. Aizen Keitarou is currently within District Six, correct?"

"I believe so," Guren nodded. "Since he made himself known to me here when Seiren…was taken ill, I have had roads and borders sealed and the Senkaimon closed off so that he has no easy avenue of escape. Futsuki's men have been patrolling extensively and Sixth Squad have been deployed as much as possible to scour the landscape for any suspicious spiritual signatures. We have not managed to catch him, but we believe he is still here."

"You wish to lure him out?" Retsu asked quietly, and Guren sighed.

"I am still a target for him. He would have liked Seiren to kill me and was quite amused when my poor brother lost his wits," he said heavily. "Ryuu has also been a target, and if we are both here, I see no reason why he would trouble other Districts. Shirogane is not considered by anyone here to be a Clan heir, and his right to inherit would only come into play should anything befall Ryuu and I both. Kinnya-sama has been entrusted with important documents written in my hand and sealed by myself with Futsuki as witness detailing my instructions should the worst occur – but I trust the rebel doesn't know of this. He allowed Shirogane to live once and has shown no interest in him since. I believe him under the radar and for that reason I can take this risk."

He gazed at Ryuu.

"I am sorry," he admitted. "It means putting you once more in danger for the sake of your Clan."

"I have already accepted that obligation, Guren-sama," Ryuu said firmly. "Please, use me as you see fit. But I would…like to see Father. I understand his condition is serious, but if there is anything I can do…"

"Seiren may not survive." Guren looked pained. "There is no easy way to say it, and I'm sure Kinnya-sama hasn't concealed it from you either. His spirit power has made him more than half Hollow – he is heavily confined in the cells of this manor with a mixture of spirit draining cuffs and kidou barriers, but even those may not last very much longer. When he fought me he manifested a mask, and I do not believe he knew who I was. He would have killed me without hesitation…Kinnya-sama said he had not yet become a Hollow, but whether there is a path back for him I don't know."

"Father." Despite himself Ryuu's voice caught in his throat and he swallowed hard.

The last time we spoke, I defied you and you were angry. I thought you a stifling presence in my life, yet if you were not to be there, what would I think then?

He drew a shuddery breath into his lungs, composing himself.

"I should like to see him," he repeated, as calmly as he could manage.

"Futsuki, will you take Ryuu to Seiren's side?" Guren turned to his older brother, who nodded his head. "Retsu-sama, if you would accompany them, I would be grateful. Whether my brother's life can or cannot be saved, I should like him to rest as easily as possible."

"I will do my best," Retsu agreed solemnly. "Come, Kuchiki-kun. We shall go and see Seiren-dono for ourselves."

"It's hard to believe that this is in any way my home."

As they picked their way across the stray pieces of wood and plaster from the explosion, Ryuu let out a heavy sigh. "Futsuki-dono, did Father's spirit power really do all this damage?"

"It did." Futsuki nodded. "Several people were hurt and others killed in the explosion. Most have been evacuated to the Nagoya estate, or buried at cost to the Clan and I've had people writing up compensatory pensions for those whose families were killed, given the nature of the event. Seiren didn't do it on purpose, Ryuu – from what we've been able to glean, he may well have been suppressing this malevolent power of his for some time leading up to the actual blast."

Until somebody told him that I'd been killed.

Ryuu's fists clenched and unclenched unconsciously beneath the heavy folds of his travel cloak.

Father's will gave out at that moment. Was it because he wanted me to inherit the Clan, or was it something else? Nothing seems as clear as it did before.

Out loud he said,

"Father was worried about me, wasn't he?"

"Your Father always worries about you," Futsuki said with a sigh. "He's prone to worry about all of you, but his daughters he feels he's done his duty by and married off to eligible homes where he no longer has to watch over them. You are a different matter – he's always wanted the best for you, right from the start."

"I have disappointed him, then," Ryuu said bitterly. "He wants me to be Head of the Clan, but if my reckless behaviour can lead to devastation of this nature…"

"The one to blame for this is Aizen Keitarou," Retsu interjected quietly but firmly. "All guilt in this equation begins and ends with him, Kuchiki-kun. It does not lie with you."

"Seiren pulled away from the heart of the court some weeks ago. I think he visited Kinnya-sama and after that, he withdrew." Futsuki pursed his lips, pushing back the door that led into the surviving east wing and leading the way along a narrow corridor that ended in steep steps down towards the manor's oft-disused dungeons. As they went deeper, Ryuu was aware of the distinct aura of strong kidou magic, and beyond that something dark and twisted, fighting and beating against the barrier as it tried to break free.

Despite himself he shuddered, fear gripping itself around his heart.

"I don't know what passed between them," Futsuki continued, "but Seiren gave Guren-sama some letters he'd received which implied threats to both you and to him. He had been led to believe that they were written by your cousin, but we've since unravelled that as another one of Aizen's deceptions."

"I see." Ryuu's brows knitted together.

That explains why he went so boldly for Senpai. I wonder if that was Eiraki-hime's work. Senpai said she was lurking around the manor under a different name – perhaps that was her true motive for being there.

"Seiren-sama has been here for some time, yet sick?" Retsu asked mildly. "No physician was called?"

"He forbade it." As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Futsuki put his hand on the thick cell door, a frown on his face. "He apparently told Shibata that he'd have the head removed of any physician who dared attend him. I don't know what was going through his mind, Retsu-sama. Judging by the way he is now, it's perfectly possible that he wasn't entirely in his wits then either."

"But the explosion came when he thought I was dead?" Ryuu's voice was little more than a whisper, and Futsuki sighed.

"Shibata was very worried for your safety," he agreed. "It appears Aizen visited Seiren to tell him you'd been killed and Seiren believed it. Shibata's memory is hazy, but he believes the explosion came moments later."

He reached out a hand to touch Ryuu's arm.

"Seiren is fundamentally bad at saying what he means," he said quietly. "I've known him his whole life, and he's always been that way. Particularly now, if he is aggressive towards you, please try not to draw back. Deep down beneath all the chaos, he wants to know you're safe. I believe that very much."

"Mm." Ryuu lowered his head in a little jerk, and Futsuki unfastened the door, pulling it back slowly but surely with a heavy creak. Immediately an intense wave of kidou mingled with something else flooded out into the hallway and despite himself Ryuu gasped, stumbling back slightly at the sudden pressure.

"Take a deep breath, Kuchiki-kun." A gentle hand prevented him from falling headlong, and Retsu's soothing voice somehow calmed his scattered wits. "It is not a pleasant sensation to be assailed with, but your father is waiting for you and it would be rude not to go in."

Ryuu nodded, his fingers moving almost automatically to the hilt of his sword, and as he felt Shizurugi's calm, even presence sweep across his thoughts he knew his sword was with him, ready to walk into whatever the chamber held.

Slowly but surely he stepped forward, first one step, then another, and three, focusing more on his feet than on what the room contained. The clash of dark magic and swirling kidou was almost suffocating, but Ryuu forced himself to soldier onwards, determined not to turn tail and flee.

At that juncture he saw his father for the first time, and the sight almost robbed him of his breath. Seiren lay on a pallet robed in a rough white gown, his wrists and ankles clamped in heavy metal restraints that Ryuu knew in times past had been used to confine rebel Kuchiki awaiting trial at the Clan leader's pleasure. His body glittered faintly with a soft white light, but it was a piercing white that seemed to want to sear through and bleach the atmosphere clear of the pure kidou barrier that struggled to contain it. Seiren's usually neat black hair was loose and straggly over his shoulders, tousled from where he had clearly been tossing and turning against his restraints. As he inched closer, Ryuu could see the man's eyes were half open. They were not his father's eyes but a venomous yellow, beady and roaming as though belonging to a viper seeking its next prey. Seiren's skin was ash pale, and Ryuu could see the faint fragments of something white and chalky dusted across the thick dark hair – the proof that his proud father had indeed borne a Hollow's mask when he had challenged Guren.

"Otousama." The word slipped out without him realising it, a faint whisper that seemed disconnected both to Ryuu and to the atmosphere in which he now found himself. Seiren had been strict and uncompromising, and at times Ryuu had resented his father's actions, but in that instant he found himself desperately wishing for that man to be returned to him, even if it meant being soundly reprimanded for his reckless behaviour.

"Ryuu…" Futsuki was at his side now, and Ryuu glanced at him in stricken silence. Futsuki's expression was grave, and he nodded his head.

"We don't know how to reverse what's been done," he said helplessly. "Aizen undid the seal Kinnya-sama and Senaya-sama put on this spirit power when Seiren was a boy. How, we don't know. Even why isn't clear, except to cause us further distress."

"Aizen unsealed Father's spirit power." Ryuu's dismay became swallowed up by anger as realisation flared through his senses. "He wanted to use Father, didn't he? He wanted to make Father a puppet, but he couldn't do it because Father's spirit power is like this! He wanted to make Father fight Guren-sama and become head of the Clan instead, so he could destroy the family from within! He couldn't make us go to war with the Shihouin, so he decided to make us fall into civil war instead!"

"Kuchiki-kun, calm yourself." Again, Retsu's gentle words brought some measure of rationality back to the young shinigami. "This atmosphere easily influences mood, but you must not let it overwhelm you."

"If Aizen thought that, he didn't judge Seiren very well," Futsuki spoke flatly. "Seiren's loyalty has always been to Guren, even when he's doing things that make no sense to anyone. He's not easy to read, it's true, but there's never been doubt in my mind about his trustworthiness. Seiren was the first person to swear fealty to Ribari-sama when he was born, and he was probably the first to swear it to Guren-sama, too. He'd sooner lose his life than betray his Clan."

Ryuu's eyes widened at his uncle's matter of fact words, and his lips pressed together, his expression hardening as he gathered his resolve.

I doubted in you, Otousama, but Futsuki-dono has no such doubts.

Slowly he made himself take another step forward, then another, and another, until he stood less than a foot from his father's pallet.

I didn't know you swore loyalty to Ribari-sama first of all of the noble peers. I don't know whether you know the secrets Senaya-sama tried to hide or if you don't – but regardless of that, when Ribari-sama was born, you knelt before him and gave your oath. Doing that, how did you feel? You must have known then that my chances of ever inheriting the Clan would become non-existent. Despite that, from the shadows and for almost twenty years, you worked at Guren-sama's side and supported my cousin in his growth. You attended Council with him and taught him things he needed to know to follow in his father's steps. You…cared for him, just as Mitsuki said you did. I in my idiocy could not see it clearly, but just because his death benefited me does not mean you wished for it.

Slowly and carefully he knelt at the man's side, being careful not to make any sudden movements that might startle the patient's unstable temperament.

Aizen tried to return your spirit power so you could confront Guren-sama and fight for the Clan, but you still didn't. Instead you withdrew from the heart of power and tried to disassociate yourself from everything. In the end, you couldn't keep that up. Aizen added the final straw and told you I was dead. I didn't realise, Father, but even if you do want me to be heir, it's not because you didn't recognise or want Ribari-sama to live. You wanted me to inherit legitimately from Guren-sama only in the absence of other heirs…was that too for the sake of the Clan? Have I simply misunderstood from the start?

Hesitantly he reached out a hand, pausing for a moment, then slipping it through the thick Kidou shield, forcing his fingers to brush against his fathers pale digits. The creature – for Seiren was more a creature than a man at this moment twitched and let out a screech, but Ryuu did not pull back, gritting his teeth against the muted flare of malevolent energy and winding his hand resolutely around Seiren's.

His father's skin was cold and dry, the noxious energy that pervaded his body prickling across it at intervals, but Ryuu held fast, moving closer so that his upper body was in the restrained Seiren's line of vision. It was dangerous being so close to such a feral creature, but Ryuu held his nerve all the same, reminding himself that whatever Seiren had become, he was still the man he had grown up calling Father.

Whether he knew or did not know what was going on, Seiren did not scream again, and though they were still an empty yellow, the Hollowish eyes swivelled across to meet Ryuu's as though acknowledging his son's presence.

"Otousama?" Ryuu forced his voice to remain calm. "It's Ryuu. I've come to see you."

There was silence, the thrashing and twitching of Seiren's manacled legs and arms ceasing completely and he stared at Ryuu with a blank, calculating gaze. It was the look of a predator sizing up prey, and Ryuu swallowed hard, gathering his resolve as it threatened to scatter yet again.

"I'm sorry to have caused you such worry," he continued evenly. "As you see, I'm quite alive. I'm unharmed from my trip to the Real World. Evil people have lied to you – but I am not dead. I am here to offer you my sincerest apologies for my ill conduct, and to…to submit myself to your punishment for having caused you such grief."

He bowed his head, feeling the flickering pressure of his father's unruly spirit pressure pricking away at his hand as though trying to push him back.

I'm not going to give up, though. I'm not going to run away. I came here to see if I could help Father, and so I will, even if it is dangerous.

The silence continued, but just as Ryuu thought it was about to become unbearable, Seiren's lips parted, and from them dropped a single word, barely coherent yet unmistakeable all the same.

"R..Ry..u...u?"

"Seiren?" Futsuki darted forward, disbelief in his grey eyes, but Ryuu held up his free hand, silently begging his uncle not to come any closer. His heart was jumping in his chest, pounding fit to burst now and slowly he raised his face to his father's gaze. As he did so, he let out a little gasp, for where moments before the eyes had been glittering and reptilian, now they were weary and pained but unmistakeably grey.

Kuchiki eyes.

His father's eyes.

"Otousama." Tears pricked at Ryuu's lashes. "I'm sorry that I frightened you, really I am. I'm quite all right. Please, don't be worried about me. You need to rest and recover your strength…please, let Unohana-sensei help you."

Seiren did not attempt to speak again, but Ryuu felt some of the tension in the pale hand dissipate and he nodded, clasping his father's fingers more tightly in his own.

"Aizen Keitarou is not going to kill either one of us, nor will he kill Guren-sama," he said resolutely, raising his gaze to meet Futsuki's. "I promise you, Father, he will not succeed. Whatever he did to you, we will find a way to heal it. However, for the time being, you must rest. You have borne enough – please close your eyes and sleep."

Seiren stared at his son for a moment, then, very slowly, his eyes closed.

"It hasn't gone away," Retsu murmured softly. "His spiritual pressure has stabilised somewhat, but that is all. I do not know if I can help him, Kuchiki-kun – but I believe he knew you and is now at peace."

"I think so too." Futsuki's own voice was slightly uneven. "I'm glad. Ryuu is the person Seiren values most – I'm relieved he knows now that his son is safe."

"Mm." Reluctantly Ryuu released his hold on his father's fingers, getting unsteadily to his feet. "Whatever you can do for him now, Unohana-sensei, please do your utmost to do. Even if all it does is bring him peace until the end, please give him that respite. I'm no healer, but I could feel how much he was suffering when I touched his hand. Father would not have wanted to be like this – please, do what you can."

"I will. Even if you had not asked me, my vocation binds me to do so," Retsu said gently. "Stay close to his side, Kuchiki-kun. Without a doubt he recognised you, and your being here brought him comfort. It will be easier for me to help him if you are here too."

She offered him a faint smile.

"As a member of the Unohana Clan, I give you my word," she added soberly. "I will do whatever I can to bring your Father relief."

---

Patrols in Sixth were becoming heavier.

Keitarou wrapped his cloak more firmly around his slim body, watching the neat formation of Kuchiki retainers march briskly through the centre of the town. Occasionally they stopped to speak to passers by, but each time they did, they met with shaken heads and looks of confusion, and Keitarou knew they had not fought what they sought.

What they sought was probably him.

Staying here is dangerous, and right now it's my biggest gambit.

His eyes narrowed to slits and he shuffled more deeply into the foliage of the evergreen tree, knowing that with his reiatsu suppressed to such a negligible level it would take a shinigami of significant skill to root him out.

I was right about Guren's next actions.

Earlier that day he had seen the carriage roll across the landscape and down towards the devastated Kuchiki manor, and his heart had leapt with both apprehension and delight when he had realised who had been riding inside. As he had hoped, Guren had indeed sent for Genryuusai and the head of the Unohana, and among the party was also the young heir Ryuu – Guren's last hope in creating a future for his Clan.

The old teacher can't risk leaving his student behind. I might still be able to do some damage here, although I must be careful how I do.

Keitarou slid his knife from its place beneath his cape, gazing at it pensively.

Seiren is a ticking time bomb and their restraints won't hold him for a lot longer. Probably he will consume himself completely and turn full Hollow the next time he breaks free – in that guise, he's already proven a match for Guren and he's not afraid to fight his brother to the death if need be. I doubt the young boy will want to face his father, and there's no doubt he's not in Guren's class either. Seiren might well answer my questions about finishing off the Kuchiki…but the most important thing is buying time here so that I can act elsewhere.

He brushed his finger along the blade of the knife, watching the faintly green glimmer of the metal beneath his touch.

I wonder if I can do this. It's an experiment but it might just work. If I can create confusion at the Academy, I will be able to retrieve Juushirou and Chudokuga's Bankai. Whilst I'd rather not kill him if I can avoid it, if there's no other choice, I'll not hesitate from doing so this time. To protect Eiraki and our cause's future, I need my sword intact. This may be our last meeting, Juushirou – that will depend entirely on how you choose to act.

A wicked twinkle entered his muddy brown eyes.

In the meantime, though, I'll play the dutiful scapegoat and lay some tracks to keep people here on my tail. Genryuusai is strong but he can only be in one place at any one time. Coming here means he believes First District to be out of danger, or that his Clansfolk can protect it. We'll soon see about that...

He rubbed the blade again, then cupped his hand around it, allowing its native silver light to engulf the weapon and swallow up the haze of green in a flare of argent energy.

It's a little bit unconventional, Chudokuga, but work with me. This is for your sake as well as for mine.

I'll do what I need to do, don't worry.

The voice was crisp and clear, and Keitarou was aware of something scuttling across his senses.

Have faith in me, Keitarou. It isn't my heart that falters when it comes to important decisions.

I'm not running away. Just because I'm not going to pursue the Kuchiki so strongly as I was before…

You love that girl, and love is a foolish weakness.

Chudokuga sounded resigned.

You find one person who accepts you as you are and you're willing to throw away everything you've worked for since you were a child.

You're wrong.

Keitarou's eyes became cold, and he shook his head, clamping his hand hard around the sharp edges of his blade and watching absently as blood dripped down the weapon's smooth silver surface.

Eiraki may or may not care for me and I may have realised how much I need her but regardless, my objectives remain the same. Eiraki can give me something far more valuable than the immediate destruction of the Kuchiki Clan. With this child she will give our cause a future…and it is that future for which I must act now. Do not doubt my conviction, Chudokuga. You and I will still subjugate this world together, just as I always said. Eiraki will play her part in that too – but right now, the one I need to rely on most is you.

I will act. Have faith. I know what I must do.

Chudokuga glimmered once more with silverish light.

You are my master and I will obey.

---

In the midnight silence of the Academy, something softly began to stir, pushing back the heavy covers and sitting upright in her bed.

The moon that night was cast in shadow by heavy cloud and it was in pitch blackness that the slim figure got slowly and silently to her feet, padding softly across the chamber and sliding back the door that divided her from the hallway beyond.

Delicate fingers reached out for something that had lain forgotten against the wall, lifting it and glancing at it briefly before sliding it through the sash of her gown.

There was nobody there to see her as she made her way soundlessly along the long, winding corridor, stepping neatly down the flight of steps and into the central foyer.

Unobserved, the lone silhouette crossed the tatami floor, reaching up to manipulate open the heavy locks that at night kept the school's door's securely fastened. A little tug and a twist and they were released, the doors swinging back to let icy wind whip around the inside of the building.

The figure did not flinch at the sudden drop in temperature, merely descending the stone steps and walking barefooted across the cobbles towards the gate where one of the Yamamoto retainers stood on duty, his weapon at his side and his eyes alert for any sign of trouble.

The girl's fingers closed slowly and methodically around the object at her waist, and she approached the retainer slowly, bowing her head towards him.

"You shouldn't be out here, missy. It's cold and you'll catch your death." The man was startled, reaching out to grab her by the shoulders. "Look at you, wandering around the school in your night clothes. Granted, everything's which way at the moment, but…"

The girl raised her head to his and the man faltered, something in her glazed, empty expression setting him on his guard.

"Hey, what are you…what do you…"

The girl smiled, a hollow, puppet's smile, but did not speak.

"What's the noise?"

A second shinigami appeared from the other side of the gate, and the first one frowned, giving the girl a little shake.

"I think she's sleepwalking," he said. "She's freezing cold and I can't get a response out of her."

"Bring her to our base and let her warm up," the other suggested. "It's less far to walk and we'll disturb less people. She can go back inside in the morning – but neither Genryuusai-sama nor Taichou will think much of us if we let one of the students freeze to death."

"Guess so." The guard shrugged, loosening his own cape and winding it firmly around the girl's shoulders. "Well, come on with you then. You want to walk, then walk this way. We're all honour bound not to lay a finger on you, so you'll be quite safe for tonight tucked up in a corner of our temporary lodgings."

The girl's fingers loosened from around the object at her waist, her hands falling to her sides like dead weights as she allowed the shinigami to lead her towards the First Squad's temporary barracks.