Chapter Sixty Six: Gravity's Pull
That had been close.
Keitarou huddled in the grove, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he struggled to steady his racing heartbeat. His trembling fingers stretched up towards his throat, touching gingerly the bruised skin that soon would bear weal marks as ugly and purple as those Guren bore about his own neck. When Seiren had grabbed him, the lunge had taken him completely off guard. He had not anticipated such a direct attack and had been helpless to react against it. In those few moments his whole life had flashed before his eyes, and for the first time in more than a hundred years he had feared his luck had run out.
He was not sure why the creature – for Seiren was doubtlessly a creature, not a man of any kind – had loosed his hold, nor had he lingered to find out. He had bought time by playing with fire, but he had promised Eiraki not to get killed and he had almost broken that promise.
A rueful, hollow smile touched his lips.
Almost, but not quite.
He pulled Chudokuga out from where he had hurriedly thrust it beneath his cloak, examining its surface briefly for any sign of damage. It still glittered with a faintly green light, but otherwise it remained unchanged from before, and relief flickered in his muddy eyes.
There was still everything to play for.
Running his fingers through the air in front of him, he carefully picked out the stray, broken threads of spirit matter that formed his hidden door. Guren had succeeded in shutting off all of the legitimate Senkaimon in District Six, as well as a good number of illicit ones, for Keitarou had left spirit clues to entice the Sixth Squad to find many of his gates. It had been a gamble he had employed in order to keep this one hidden – it was the most unreliable and unstable of all of the illegal Senkaimon he had built around Seireitei, but that also made it the easiest one to hide. There would be no Hell Butterfly to guide him, and he would have to rely entirely on his own wits to make it safely from one place to the next.
With painstaking precision, he drew his tantou knife through the thick, cold air, igniting his spirit power against those stray fibres and bringing them together in an unsteady chain. Chudokuga glittered slightly, then the atmosphere warped and began to divide, revealing a gaping black darkness beyond.
A step inside might mean escape, or it might mean death – but staying in Sixth District was no longer an option.
I have unfinished business with people in District One.
Without hesitation, Keitarou stepped purposefully into the opening, not even pausing to watch the fragments of air knit themselves closed behind him. His way was forward, not back…forward to where his wife was waiting.
And not just his wife.
Keitarou's lips twitched into a smile.
I'm sure you're expecting me too, Juushirou. I won't disappoint you.
"I'd like an explanation."
Kazoe pushed open the door of the Headmaster's study, sliding his slim body around the wooden divide and into the room proper. From his position at the window, the room's other occupant turned, a rueful smile touching his lips as he took in the expression on the Kidou instructor's features.
"I was waiting for you," he said lightly. "Well? What report do you bring, Kazoe-sensei?"
"Report?" Kazoe's lips thinned. "I suppose you might call it that. I'm somewhat concerned that Genryuusai-sensei's request for school protection might have been misunderstood, and so I came to ensure that matter was put right."
"Misunderstood…" Kinnya rubbed his chin, leaning up against the wall as he considered the younger man's words. "No, I don't believe so. Why?"
"Are you aware of what is happening currently within the school grounds?" Kazoe was almost beside himself with anger. "Innocent students are being attacked by members of a full blown shinigami squad who are undoubtedly under the influence of another more sinister foe! One of my kinsfolk is currently missing and I suspect her to be in great danger! Students are being forced into confronting these shinigami with their own half-formed blades – some taking injury in the process! In that circumstance, Kinnya-sama, what do you see as 'protecting the school?'"
"Mm." Kinnya's expression became troubled, and he nodded his head. "I see your point."
"Then with all respect, what are you going to do about it!"
"You must be quite a formidable teacher where your students are concerned." Kinnya observed frankly. "I imagine that not a single one of them dares to disobey you when you look at them with quite that expression."
"Do you mean to patronise me?" Kazoe's eyes glinted dangerously. "I am well below your rank and status, and I know that all too well. But this school is Genryuusai-sensei's project and within its walls I am a senior instructor with a good amount of influence. The lives of these children are not things that can be discarded without a second thought – I would have thought you'd know that, being that Guren-sama sent you to us!"
"Indeed." Kinnya's expression became grave and he inclined his head slowly. "You have my apologies, Kazoe. I did not mean to offend you, but I can see that I have."
"What I want from you is some indication that their safety matters," Kazoe said darkly. "Perhaps they're not all Kuchiki, and a good number may well be District born, but they are all talented young ones who will give much to Soul Society in the future. They are not expendable, any one of them!"
"I agree," Kinnya moved across the room, and Kazoe's eyes became slits as he registered the fact the old man was no longer leaning so heavily on his cane but instead stood relatively upright, the shuffling gait all but gone from his walk. "For that reason, I remain here."
"I don't follow," Kazoe folded his arms across his chest. "I don't understand your rationale, and having already treated a few students for minor injuries this morning, I'm going to risk overstepping my standing in questioning it openly. How can you protect them by staying here? As far as I see it, there's no reason for you to be in District One if this is all you can do."
"On the contrary," Kinnya raised his cane, running his fingers over the knots and grooves and Kazoe watched as the wooden seal dissipated into nothing, revealing a slim, glittering katana beneath. "It's not as simple as you think it is for me to charge into this fight, Kazoe-sensei. I understand your concern for the students – indeed, I share it. However, you need to understand that what is currently a manageable problem under reasonable control would soon become a very different matter if I were to release my zanpakutou in the midst of so many young and impressionable souls."
"Meaning…"
"Raiu is not a weak zanpakutou," Kinnya said mildly. "I also haven't used it in a very long time. As a young man, perhaps, my control was perfect enough to guarantee nobody nearby would be permanently scarred by its effects, and once upon a time I could boast a powerful Bankai that answered my every command. That was then, however, and this is now. Now I am old and out of practice, and I don't know what will happen when I bring it even to shikai."
"I see," Kazoe chewed on his lip. "Your involvement would be detrimental, in fact?"
"I could not guarantee the lives, even, of the very youngest," Kinnya said gravely, lifting the sword to glance at it before sliding it into the empty sheath at his waist. "Therefore I'll only resort to that eventuality if there is truly no other option. The students are under attack, but by your report and by my own senses I know they are managing admirably. They have you, and Shirogane also, to support their cause, and this is also a valuable experience for them considering the futures they've all chosen. I entrusted Shirogane with special responsibility in this matter, because unlike me his reiryoku is unlikely to damage young reiatsu."
He sighed, rubbing his temples as if by doing so he could remove the lines of age.
"My grandson is among those young ones," he said softly. "He and I have never met, but preserving his life matters as much or more to me than any other reason I have come here. Guren-sama sent me with a mission and I will fulfil it – if the worst occurs in District Six, I must be willing to pick up the pieces and support Shirogane as best I can. My other duty is regarding Aizen. He is the only one I want to release my sword before, Kazoe. I'm waiting for him before I act."
"And in the meantime?" Kazoe perched on the edge of Genryuusai's desk, sending the old man a quizzical look. "One of my Seniors took a blow to the chest which cut part way through a rib and which caused a good deal of bleeding. Another of that class is currently missing, her safety unknown. One of the Senior Class has already lost her life in the past few weeks – I will not sit back and see it happen to another, no matter what measures I have to take to ensure that it is so."
"That is what makes you a good teacher. No, perhaps it makes you one of the best," Kinnya's eyes softened. "I am aware, too, that the girl who lost her life was blood to you and I am sorry for it. Though my Clan didn't order it, we have culpability in this too."
He sighed heavily.
"The Kuchiki have also taken losses," he added. "My Clan leader has gambled everything for the sake of protecting his people, both those of Kuchiki blood and those living under our family's auspices. Genryuusai-sensei has also taken the same gamble, and I'm not looking to return the school to him with any less than the number of pupils he entrusted to me. It concerns me that this has occurred – it frustrates me that I dare not take part. However, I cannot. If I do…"
He spread his hands, and Kazoe sighed.
"What if Aizen doesn't come?" he asked quietly. "I've had a report that he's already acting here, using one of the Seniors as his puppet and through her zanpakutou, manipulating the shinigami from First Squad who are meant to protect the students from harm. What if that's true, Kinnya-sama? What will you do then? Will you kill my kinswoman, to make sure Aizen is gone?"
"Your kinswoman? Another Unohana is involved in this?" Kinnya was surprised. Kazoe nodded.
"Shikibu Naoko," he said curtly. "Aizen killed her friend and attacked her when they were in the Real World. It seems likely Naoko brought something back with her that none of us were aware of – even Retsu-sama didn't pick it up. I can't find the girl, and until I do, the attacks won't stop. If she is being manipulated by Aizen, though…"
"I had been warned that Juushirou was at risk, but not that an Unohana might be," Kinnya looked grave. "Shirogane is keeping close tabs on my grandson – I confess, he's more likely to deal objectively with that should it become a problem than I am. I had realised something was manipulating the First Squad, but it felt nothing like any Unohana sword I've ever come across."
"Naoko is…different," Kazoe said vaguely. "She's not a healer."
"Not a healer?"
"No. Her sword is…well, it's hard to explain, but you might call it parasitic," Kazoe grimaced. "It has all the elements of a spore or some other kind of toxic plant, in that it can induce sleep, administer poison or absorb other spirit power. It's occurred to me that she might have used that last technique defending herself from Aizen's attack – and got more than she anticipated."
"A healer who doesn't heal. I see," Kinnya nodded slowly. "Then it is undoubtedly her sword that is pulling the puppet strings."
"If that's Aizen, what will you do?"
"I won't," Kinnya shook his head. "Aizen himself is not here. I'm not going to sacrifice a single student's life, Kazoe. Not your kinswoman, not any of them."
He cast the sceptical Kidou instructor a smile.
"Believe it or not, I'm keeping an eye on every one of them," he added. "Even with what I said about my sword, if the need arises or the situation worsens, I will act and with speed. Once my sword is released, I don't hesitate. Raiurei isn't that kind of zanpakutou…which is another reason that if I can hold off using it within the school grounds, I will."
He shrugged.
"If Aizen is controlling your kinswoman, he will come here. When he does, I'll be waiting for him. You may be assured that in his case, I will use no forbearance or mercy."
The words were calm and matter-of-fact, but Kazoe could see a storm swirling in the Kuchiki's grey eyes, and he let out his breath in a rush.
"And Naoko? What about her?"
"If the source of these problems is your kinswoman's zanpakutou, then you should go to the First Division barracks," Kinnya turned his gaze back to the window. "Some little while ago, there was an ominous flicker of energy and then nothing but darkness spreading out across the school grounds. A few short minutes ago I felt another burst of reiryoku…I don't know the name of the wielder, but I believe one of your students may have found Naoko-dono first."
"Shiba!" Kazoe's eyes widened behind his glasses as he interpreted the flare of spirit power. "Damn it, why did I not pick that up sooner?"
"The sword that's controlling First squad is also controlling the spiritual aura around the school," Kinnya said quietly. "It's using a technique to scatter and merge bits of spirit power into a morass of undistinguishable energy in the hopes that it will conceal the wielder's true location. It's a skill that I wouldn't expect a student – even a Senior – to be able to use, regardless of the nature of the sword. However, if Aizen is operating through her…I believe a shinigami with Bankai and with experience of high level manipulation of spiritual behaviour would be able to."
"Then how can you find her, if nobody else can?" Kazoe demanded. "If you knew where the danger was all along, why didn't you let me know?"
"I didn't realise that it was coming from a student," Kinnya admitted. "Until a short time ago, nobody was in her near vicinity. Those she's made puppets of are largely harmless, even despite their squad rank."
"Largely harmless," Kazoe muttered. "Bringing down a classroom is far from what I would call harmless."
"Nevertheless, with this level of control, none of them will be able to use their zanpakutou and they've one by one been successfully overpowered," Kinnya continued patiently. "The core of the poison is another problem. Extricating your kinswoman from Aizen's spell is going to be difficult…perhaps impossible without the girl herself fighting against it."
"You could still have sent me a memo."
"I could, but nobody is meant to know I'm here," Kinnya said lightly. "That's the other thing. I'm the element of surprise."
He patted his sword's hilt contemplatively.
"Aizen knows about shinigami in active service. Genryuusai-sama, Guren-sama…most likely he's lured them out to Sixth believing he understands how they think and how they attack. There's no way he'd risk facing two of the most powerful shinigami in Soul Society – three, if you include your own noble Clan leader."
"Only a fool would not," Kazoe said acidly, and Kinnya laughed.
"So I understand," he said lightly. "Aizen probably knows all there is to know about those enemies, and so feels safe manipulating them. Guren-sama knows there is a risk of this being a double bluff – them trapping Aizen, him trapping them. Whether he knows about me or not is another matter. I'm not actively at court and though he's had a spy infiltrating the main house for some little while, many of my own Clan wouldn't recognise me if they saw me. Those who know my name believe me to be old, frail and decrepit – certainly not someone who a genius scientist should fear. My presence and my sword are Genryuusai-sensei's secret weapon as well as Guren-sama's insurance for his nephew. If this man is as clever as reports say he is, it doesn't do for me to give him – or indeed, those working for him – any indication of my presence."
"You think he will come here?"
"I am certain of it," Kinnya inclined his head, a dark expression surfacing briefly in the grey eyes. "He has unfinished business with my grandson that I intend to make sure remains unfinished. In the meantime, since you've told me that it's your kinswoman whose sword he's controlling, I intend to focus my attentions on that. If I can identify his spiritual signature in her attacks, when he does come I'll know it right away."
"Tell me truthfully why it is you can sense Naoko's sword and her presence and I, a healer, cannot?" Kazoe demanded, and Kinnya pressed his lips together thoughtfully.
"Without being patronising, I believe the shield is only intended to fox those with shikai," he said quietly. "To attain Bankai requires another level of spiritual awareness that is far more difficult to disrupt. It's another sign that Aizen doesn't know I'm in the vicinity. If he did, he would act differently – as it is, I can see through his smokescreen and hopefully, find him before he causes anyone real harm."
"I should go and find Shiba and Naoko," Kazoe said resignedly. "I understand your position and I accept it – I just hope it turns out to be the correct one. I've corralled most all of the students in the Great Hall behind a barrier and I intend on rounding up the rest of the Seniors to send them there too, if I can. With luck Aizen will give us time to do that – then if you go after him, whatever fallout your sword might have won't cause such disruption."
"Let us hope," Kinnya intoned gravely, and Kazoe sighed, bowing his head abruptly before turning on his heel and leaving the study.
Though he had accepted his superior's words, a knot of unease still churned inside his stomach.
But my duty now is to find my Seniors and protect them as a teacher should.
He frowned, removing his glasses to examine the cracked glass, then folding them, slipping them into the folds of his clothing.
I can probably see and sense better without them, and if I'm going to find a way to rescue Naoko from this, I'm going to need to do so without impediment.
His gaze flitted back briefly in the direction of the study door.
That's all I can do for Genryuusai-sama's students, now. If it takes the last bit of strength in this body, I'll make sure they are all alive when he returns from District One. If nothing else, I owe him that much for not forsaking me when many others did.
Tension outside the First Division barracks had already reached breaking point, sweat beading across Sora's brow despite the chill weather as she readied herself to face her friend. In the five years she had known the older girl, she had seen many emotions flit through those greenish eyes - indignation, annoyance, haughty pride, even arrogance. However, she had never seen them so devoid of anything, and the sight of those empty orbs sent a deep sense of unease through her body.
Mitsuki was right. This was Naoko, and it wasn't.
She was working only to bring her friend down, but there was every chance that Naoko had been primed to kill.
The faint speckling of red against the eerily glittering blade only added to her fears. Perhaps that sinister weapon had already tried to take lives? Something in that realisation hardened Sora's heart.
What would Okaasama do?
Her eyes narrowed to slits, even as she forced Hotarue's excitedly buzzing spirit to steady and settle against her thoughts.
Okaasama would make sure she protected everyone who needed protecting. She'd do the utmost she could, but she'd not let anyone else get hurt. I have to bring Naoko down like I mean it...and hope that it's not going to prove too much for Mitsuki to patch her up again afterwards.
Resolve gathered, she stepped purposefully towards the entrance of the First Division temporary barracks, her gaze never leaving her classmate's face for one moment. As she had surmised, once she came within a few steps of the door, Naoko's still body began to stir, Dokusou Houshi's glimmering blade lashing out in Sora's direction. Sora muttered a curse, sidestepping the lunge with less than an inch to spare.
It had been a surprisingly determined thrust, and completely out of keeping with Naoko's usual, cautious approach to any spar.
I've got to stop thinking of this as fighting Naoko, though. Someone else is controlling her, and even if they use Naoko's skills, it doesn't mean they'll use them how Naoko does.
As Naoko made a second and third swing, stepping resolutely towards Sora with no flicker of recognition in her eyes, Sora's quick eyes picked up the rhythm of her friend's movement, adjusting her own characteristic swing to compensate for the unfamiliar pattern. Though Naoko was skilled with a sword, she had not grown up with two demanding older brothers and Sora found herself inwardly thanking her siblings for her rough and tumble childhood.
If this was a serious fight, then she would fight it. It was not just her whose fate rested on her focus, but also Mitsuki's, for Sora knew that no matter how gifted her friend was with healing skills, Mitsuki was no combat fighter and would be easily overpowered by a direct sword attack.
"Nao-chan, you really need to choose who you associate with more carefully," she muttered.
"Dokusou Houshi. Doku o."
Naoko brought her weapon across in an arc from left to right, searing through the frozen air and sending a bevy of tiny green spores out in Sora's direction. Sora did not hesitate even for a moment.
"Juushin o tore, Hotarue!"
She exclaimed, swinging her shimmering weapon down towards the earth. There was the briefest warping in the air around them, then as though they had been tugged there by the force of a giant magnet, the cloud of spores dropped to the ground. As each one brushed against the blades of frost-touched grass, Sora saw that the plant's bright green colour faded and wilted to brown, and she gritted her teeth, realising grimly that Naoko's poison attack had carried some bite.
But so long as you use that kind of attack, you really can't touch a released Hotarue, Nao-chan.
Taking advantage of the brief lull in Naoko's offensive, she darted forward onto her left leg, lifting her sword from right to left to meet Dokusou Houshi's blade directly once more. There was not enough force behind her swing to drive the weapon from the other girl's hand, but the speed of the attack took Naoko off guard and she stumbled back, her centre of balance sent off-kilter for a brief moment.
In this situation, Mother wouldn't hold back. Not even if it was Father she was fighting - she'd go in for the kill.
No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than she found her body coursing forward again, slashing Hotarue's released form relentlessly against the surface of Dokusou Houshi's blade as if by doing so she could penetrate through the strange silverish layer to the spirit below.
I'm not Mother, though. Naoko is my friend, and I won't kill her. I can't kill her. So instead I have to wake her up.
Naoko fell back under the onslaught of Sora's superior sword skill, but if the young Shiba thought she had her friend on the back foot, the spirit influencing her had other ideas. A sudden gleam of something that sent chills through Sora's body rushed through Naoko's greenish gaze, followed by a reverse swing that avoided Hotarue's blade completely, narrowly missing slicing Sora's ear from her body.
"Sora!" Mitsuki's shriek prevented Sora from reeling back from the blow, and she dropped to the ground, taking a breath into her lungs.
"Get inside that building!" she yelled. "Do it now! Don't worry about me! Naoko can't hurt me!"
Though whoever's controlling her might be able to.
"But..."
"Go!" Sora did not have time to argue with her friend. "What if someone in there needs you? What does a healer do, Mitsuki? Go to help them, if you can! Nao-chan and I will still be here when you come out!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Sora was sure she saw a deep frown furrow across the young Kuchiki's brow, but she did not protest a second time, darting instead across the grass towards the doorway of the barracks. Naoko too sensed her movement, and seemed about to turn to intervene, but Sora had already pre-empted such a move, darting into shunpo and re-materialising in her red-haired friend's direct line of sight.
"You're playing with me right now, Nao-chan," she said lightly, though her spirit felt heavy. "I'm not going to give up until you realise who it is you're swinging your blade at, understand? I don't want to hurt you, but I'm also not going to let you cause any more trouble. I don't know what happened, exactly, or why you're messed up like this. But I have a pretty good idea that leaving you this way is not an option."
For a moment, Sora thought she saw rage in her friend's expression, then the next minute it was gone, replaced by the empty veneer of soullessness once more.
"Dokusou Houshi," she murmured, readying her sword as if to launch a new attack in Sora's direction. "Suimin o."
"Uh-huh. I'm not going to sleep just yet," Sora shook her head, swinging her weapon at the ground once more. "Juushin o tore, Hotarue!"
Once again, the gathering spores dropped to the ground as though they had suddenly become made from stone, and Sora sighed.
"Dokusou Houshi's attacks don't work on a sword that the spores can't touch," she said quietly. "Please, Nao-chan. Let's stop with this and talk things out, huh? You're just going to exhaust yourself, and you know that whatever you send in my direction, it's not going to make contact. You're not as strong as me when it comes to bare blades, and when our swords are released, your shikai doesn't pose me any threat. This is stupid. Calm down and sober up."
"Dokusou Houshi," Naoko's eyes became slits, and an eerie green fire seemed to dart from beneath the hooded lids. "Kyuushuu o!"
"Oh no you don't!" Sora slipped into shunpo, re-materialising a short distance away as a third cloud of greenish spores glittered out into the atmosphere. "You can't take Hotarue's spirit power that easily, and you should know better. Naoko would know better. Whoever's driving your brain this morning really doesn't have a lot of imagination!"
She twitched her blade towards the grass a third time.
"Juushin o tore."
As before, the particles sank to the ground, sucked there by an unknown force, and Sora pressed forward, locking her weapon against Naoko's once again. They were close enough to touch now, she realised - yet even so, she could not feel any distinctive reiatsu resonating from her friend's body or her sword.
A sudden flare of frustration welled up inside her and she reached out her left hand, grabbing a clump of Naoko's auburn hair between her fingers and giving it a firm, determined yank.
"Wake up already!" she snapped. "I'm fed up with this, now. It's not fun, fighting against a friend who wants to kill you, Nao-chan, so for God's sake, wake up!"
"S...Sora?"
The word was so soft that Sora thought she had imagined it, but as her hold loosened on the sleek red locks, she caught sight of Naoko's expression and let out a gasp. Tears glittered on the girl's lashes, pain mirrored deep in those green eyes, and despite herself, Sora took a step away from her friend, lowering her own sword.
"Nao...chan?" she murmured, as the tears trickled soundlessly down her classmate's cheeks. The green aura that had surrounded her body had become suddenly erratic, as though something deep within Naoko's soul was fighting tooth and nail against the invading force. Sora drew breath sharply into her lungs.
"Naoko!" she exclaimed, dropping Hotarue and flinging herself on her companion. "Naoko, you're okay! You know who I am? It'll be okay now - I'm sorry, I didn't want to..."
"Get away from me!" Naoko's voice was bordering on hysteria, and she gave Sora a rough shove away, collapsing to her knees and fixing her friend with a desperate, terrified look. "Don't...I can't...something inside of me..."
"Naoko?" Sora stared at her friend in dismay. "Nao, it's all right. It's fine! Just calm down. Take a breath. We'll help you. We'll find a way to. Mitsuki's here too - I'm sure she can..."
"I've killed people!" Naoko's hysteria was real now, and her hands trembled as they brought her sword up between the two girls. "It wants me to kill more. It wants me to kill...you. And Mitsuki, too. I can't...I won't...stop it! Stop making me do this!"
The last was a heart-wrenching shriek that tore through Sora's own soul. "Stop it! Sora is my friend! Stop it!"
"Put Dokusou Houshi down," Sora begged. "If you do that, we'll find a way to help you. You've done nothing wrong, Naoko-chan. You hear me? Nothing at all. Someone else did bad things to you, that's all. Put Dokusou Houshi down, and let us help you."
"I...can't," Naoko whispered, shaking her head in evident terror. "My fingers...don't belong to me. My brain...isn't my own. I can't...do what you want me to do, Sora. I can't...go back. I want to...but I...I can't..."
She swallowed hard, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, and Sora bit her lip, her own eyes becoming damp with frustration and dismay.
"Isn't it enough, knowing we'll help you?" she whispered. "Isn't that enough for you to fight this off and come back to us? Nao-chan, Mi-chan and I are both frightened for you. We came here because we wanted to help you - neither one of us intend to leave here without you. I know you're upset and a lot has been going on for you lately, and I'm sorry we didn't realise it sooner. But we're here now. We care about you. Isn't that enough for you to fight back?"
Naoko gulped, for the first time seeming fragile and vulnerable, but still her grasp on the sword did not loosen, and though Sora was longing to put her arms around her classmate and comfort her, she had enough battle sense to know that so long as the other girl was armed, it would be dangerous to do. Naoko had said herself that she could not control all of her movements, and Sora had no mind to make things worse.
"Where is Mitsuki?" At length Naoko spoke, her words broken and wavery, and Sora frowned.
"Helping the people who need helping," she said vaguely. "But she'll help you too, Naoko. I believe in her. Don't you?"
"Mm." Naoko nodded her head, a little jerk that could have been the nod of a small child.
"Then you'll let her?"
"I can't...let her get hurt," Naoko shook her head this time, her expression becoming both resigned and resolved. "I saw...Suzuno...because I couldn't...Suzuno died. I can't...with Mitsuki...I can't see it again. Healers...have a reason to be here. I'm the one...who's wrong. This...proves it."
She gazed at her sword, and Sora was struck by the look of hatred in those greenish eyes.
"My sword destroys. So do I," she murmured. "I'm not an Unohana, and I have no reason to be here. I let Suzuno die, and now I've done all of this. If I wasn't...because I'm like this, people have suffered. Even you...because you had to f...fight against me."
She reached up a trembling left hand to dash her tears away.
"I should have died instead of Suzuno," she whispered. "If I had...then...none of this could have happened. Suzuno...would never have let anyone get hurt."
Before Sora knew what her friend was doing, there was a sweep of green light and the sword that moments earlier had been pointing in her direction had been reversed by one hundred and eighty degrees, its sharp, unforgiving point now directed against Naoko's own chest. Without even pausing for one moment, the girl thrust the still-glittering blade firmly through the folds of her robe and deep into her own body. Horror gripped the Shiba girl's heart, time seeming to go in slow motion as she saw something red begin to spread out across her friend's snow white clothing. As Naoko fell back onto the grass, Sora's lips parted in a scream, her arms lunging forward more by instinct than design to grab Naoko's arm and pull it back.
She did so, but the weapon was already firmly embedded between Naoko's ribs, and a stifled sob rose in Sora's throat.
"Mitsuki! Mitsuki!"
Sora heard someone screaming for her healer friend, belatedly realising that it was her own voice and that her own vocal chords were being screeched raw in her desperation. Naoko's clothing was now more red than white, and Sora remembered with startling and heart-wrenching clarity the state of Suzuno's hakamashita after her encounter with Aizen.
I'm not going to watch you die the way you had to watch her, Nao. I'm not. I'm not!
Sora was no medic and she had no idea what kind of damage her classmate might already have done, but from the quantity of blood and the sudden pallor of her friend's skin, she knew it was not good. Without thinking what she was doing she dragged Dokusou Houshi from Naoko's chest, flinging the blood-stained weapon aside as she desperately tried to find a way to stop the bleeding. Her own clothing was already becoming soaked with Naoko's blood, and though she tried desperately to cover the wound with her fingers, more of the thick warm liquid pulsed across her skin, as if determined to remove all of the life from her classmate's body. Naoko had already gone very pale, and she had lost consciousness almost as soon as Sora had reached her. The Shiba girl glanced briefly at the discarded weapon. Had Naoko used her own poison on her body to make the blood flow freely from her wound, or had her Unohana roots just given her enough rough anatomical knowledge to know where best to strike?
Her lips opened again to shriek Mitsuki's name. Where was the healer, anyway? Though it had been mere seconds since Naoko had plunged the weapon through her body, for the frantic Sora it felt like aeons of time had already slipped past.
Sora, let me help. Let me help. I can try.
Hotarue's flickering voice danced across her senses, and Sora did not have time to argue. Without realising what she was doing, she extended a bloodstained right hand to retrieve her weapon, swallowing hard against the bile that rose up in her throat. The weapon shook - or maybe it was her who was shaking, Sora was no longer sure - but something about the feel of the hilt between her fingers steadied the racing of her own heart, and, swallowing a second time, she parted dry lips to whisper the sword command.
"Juushin o tore, Hotarue."
The air warped and twisted briefly between the blade and Naoko's body, then the next moment the flow of blood began to steady.
Was it her imagination?
Sora felt giddy, opening her lips to shriek Mitsuki's name again.
Was it stopping because Naoko's heart had given way, or was it...something else...
"Naoko!"
Mitsuki was there now, and from the breathless note in her voice Sora realised dully that her classmate had run to the scene, despite the apparent delay. She cast Sora a glance, then Dokusou Houshi, but she did not ask any questions, merely shoving her friend aside. She quickly drew her own zanpakutou, using her free hand to rip apart Naoko's bloody clothing and expose the true nature of the self-inflicted wound.
"Sasayake, Yuuyugo," she said softly, and Sora sank back onto the grass, watching Mitsuki's sword haze into a flood of tiny particles, all of which she guided towards Naoko's wound. Closing her eyes, Mitsuki murmured something, and each particle glittered in response, knitting together the broken skin and sinking deeper into Naoko's damaged body to bring together the sheared vessels into some semblence of their normal structure. For a few moments she worked in silence, concentration clear on her brow, and Sora did not dare speak. There was only one thing she wanted to know the answer to, and she was terrified to ask it in case the response was the one she dreaded to hear.
Had she and Hotarue done enough, or...?
"Shiba! Edogawa...Naoko!"
Kazoe's voice jerked through Sora's dizzy consciousness and she shuffled around, aware suddenly that she was covered in blood and that her sword, still released, lay discarded and red-spattered at her side.
"What happened?" Kazoe was not wearing his glasses, but it was clear from the expression on his face that he had taken in the gravity of the situation at once. "Shiba, dammit, answer me. What happened?"
"Naoko...tried to..." Sora swallowed hard, half sure she was going to be sick, and Kazoe sighed, sinking down on his knees beside her and bringing his own weapon from its sheath.
"I never usually have to use this once, let alone multiple times in one day." He murmured, and Sora was aware of a faint cloud of bluish mist surrounding her. "Take deep breaths, then tell me, all right? What happened here?"
Sora dragged the blue-specked air into her lungs, feeling her lurching senses settle and calm under the soothing influence of Seidoiki's shikai. Slowly she nodded.
"Someone was controlling Naoko, sensei," she said weakly. "They've been using her to cause harm, though I don't know quite how or why. We couldn't find her, so Mitsuki and I came to look for her. We were going to ask First Squad for help, but we found her...here."
She closed her eyes briefly, then sent him a troubled look.
"I released Hotarue," she admitted. "We sparred a little, because I was worried someone was hurt inside that building and I needed to create a distraction to let Mitsuki get inside. Then...Naoko seemed to come to herself. I tried to talk to her, but...but then she..."
The words would not come out, and she faltered awkwardly, her gaze drifting to the bloodstained Dokusou Houshi. It had returned to its sealed form now, but the ugly reddish brown substance smeared across its surface would not disappear so easily, and she rubbed her temples, feeling distinctly nauseous.
"She tried to take her own life," Mitsuki raised her head now, her voice soft and full of consternation. "She didn't want to hurt Sora, so she turned the blade on herself."
"Mi-chan..." Sora stared at her classmate in disbelief, and Mitsuki offered her a faint, tragic smile.
"I felt it. Her spirit, yours, everything," she murmured. "When Naoko's will started to resurface, I felt her reiatsu again. I was as quick as I could be, Sora-chan. But...I wouldn't have been quick enough, I don't think."
"Edogawa, Naoko's condition?" Kazoe's words were abrupt, and Mitsuki nodded.
"I've stabilised her for now, sir," she agreed, "but there are obviously bigger issues at work. I don't think whatever was controlling her is still there, though. I think, when she put her sword into her own body, she drove whatever it was out of her. Maybe that was what she intended to do - I'm not sure."
"No..." Sora shook her head, her throat suddenly dry and tears once more pricking at her eyes. "No, Mitsuki. She intended to...she meant to...she said she was useless and that if Amai-san hadn't died, she...it would've been better."
"Then until Retsu-sama is here to consult, I believe it would be better to keep Naoko heavily sedated," Kazoe said grimly. "Edogawa, are you sure you've steadied her? Can she be moved?"
"I think so," Mitsuki nodded. "She seared a vessel to her heart and almost penetrated the organ itself, but something stopped the bleeding, and so it was easier for me to mend the damage. It's superficial, but enough to stimulate her own body to repair and I've sealed it in place with Kidou. I think she'll heal all right, Sensei."
Her gaze met Sora's, and a sad smile touched her lips.
"It was Hotarue, wasn't it?" she asked lightly. "The thing that stopped her bleeding."
"Mm," Sora nodded, unable to prevent the tears from spilling down her cheeks now the immediate tension was over. "I didn't know what to do, Mi-chan. I couldn't do anything to heal her, but I thought...maybe...Hotarue's gravity could..."
"Well, it did," Mitsuki said gently, retrieving the hilt of her zanpakutouand carefully re-sealing it into one blade. "I've healed the damage as best I can, but if you and Hotarue hadn't begun it, Sora, Naoko would probably have died."
"I'll send someone to help bring the girl inside," Kazoe decided. "Edogawa, you remain with her till then. Shiba, you are to go and clean yourself up, then report to the Great Hall. You're currently a disgrace to the remains of your uniform, and whilst you might have done something very important here, I'd rather you didn't show yourself before the juniors in that state."
"...Yes sir," Sora was beyond any form of defiance, so she meekly bowed her head in agreement. "I'll go at once."
"Sensei, what exactly was Naoko's sword controlling?" Mitsuki asked quietly. "Was it the First Squad?"
"Why do you ask that?" Kazoe's eyes became slits, and Mitsuki sighed.
"Inside the building are two or three members of that squad," she said quietly. "Two of them were beyond my help. A third is knocked unconscious, and quite out of it, though he will live. I thought perhaps...the force controlling Naoko had used her to...do that too."
"Naoko said she'd killed people," Sora remembered. "Poor Nao-chan. It must have been awful for her."
"But fortunately, she apparently has friends who will be understanding enough to stand by her whilst all of this is resolved," Kazoe said matter-of-factly, and Sora was sure she saw relief glitter in his clever eyes. "In the meantime, getting her to a more appropriate environment is a priority. Shiba, you have already been dismissed. Why are you still here?"
"Yes, sir," Sora was fast recovering her wits, pulling herself to her feet and retrieving Hotarue, sealing the zanpakutouand returning it to her sheath. Before the Kidou instructor could chide her any further, she hurried off across the fields, her mind whirling with the morning's events.
"Sora? What the hell..."
As she reached the main building, she almost ran headlong into Shunsui, who caught her by the wrists, staring at her in undisguised horror.
"She's covered in blood!" That was Juushirou. "Sora, are you hurt? What happened - did First Squad attack you too?"
"No...no. It's not my blood," Sora shook her head hurriedly. "Don't grab me like that, Shunsui - you'll just mess your own uniform up and Kazoe will shout at you too. I've been sent back to clean up and change and then to go to the Great Hall."
"If it's not your blood, whose is it?" the third member of the party, Shirogane interjected, and Sora grimaced.
"Naoko's," she admitted. "She...thought that maybe it would be better if...she wasn't alive any more."
"Shikibu-san tried to kill herself?" Shock glittered in Juushirou's eyes, and Sora nodded.
"She's going through a lot at the moment," she agreed. "Letting her keep Dokusou Houshi close by was obviously a mistake."
"That's the Senior girl who was missing, wasn't it?" Shirogane demanded. Sora sighed.
"She's not missing any more," she said heavily. "Whatever was happening because of her sword, it's...stopped now. All right? It's done with, so leave her alone."
"She's alive, then?" Shunsui asked, and Sora nodded.
"Mitsuki is with her," she said briefly. "That's all. She'll heal, Mitsuki said. I believe that."
"I do too," Shirogane reflected. "In whatever other areas she has shown poor judgement, when it comes to healing matters, Mitsuki is usually correct."
He pursed his lips.
"You really are a sight, like that," he added cuttingly. "Go and obey Kazoe's commands, before he comes after you to find out why you have not done so."
"I was going to," Sora assured him. "I just wanted to say that...well...when Naoko's body's healed, she's going to need...us to be gentle to her. And...so..."
"Don't worry," Shunsui offered her a smile. "We're Seniors. We're a team. So we all decided, and that's what we'll stick to. Right, Juu?"
"Of course," Juushirou agreed. "Senpai, maybe we should go to the Great Hall, too. If that's where Kazoe sent Sora, it strikes me that maybe there's going to be an announcement of some kind."
"That seems probable," Shirogane inclined his head. "Very well. In that case, Sora-dono, we'll see you there."
Author's Note: Hotarue & Yuuyugo
Sora's sword's name Hotarue 蛍恵means "Firefly's Grace", and the spirit is a skittish, scatty, hyperactive firefly who likes to buzz around Sora's head, driving her crazy.
As I said before, Sora's power has traits of her mother's – the blade is formed of light – but she does not have proper light powers. Kyouki's zanpakutou ability is day moon, night moon, and Sora's zanpakutou operates on the principles of gravity. At this point, her sword is still quite basic, and not fully evolved into the full range of abilities it might one day possess. However, her technique, "Juushin o tore" basically means "take" or "steal the centre of gravity." Where Hotarue focuses her spirit power then becomes like a magnet, drawing whatever its target is towards a designated place. For this reason, Naoko's sword is largely useless against Sora's. Sora can simply negate the spores by drawing them to the ground using her shikai release. She also managed to use this technique to stem Naoko's blood, however – by using Hotarue to designate Naoko's heart a 'centre of gravity', she was able to prevent the wound from gushing so much blood until Mitsuki could come and heal.
Yuuyugo 優癒護means "Gentle Healing Guardian" and, as the name suggests, is one hundred percent a healing sword, not a combat one. When in shikai, the blade breaks down into tiny particles which sink into a wound and begin to immediately knit it back together, encouraging cells to re-grow and regenerate at a much quicker speed than they would with any other normal healing process (including Kidou). Whether in future Yuuyugo will teach Mitsuki other ways in which to deploy the fragments of her sword – maybe in the same vein as Kazoe's Seidoiki – is as yet unknown.
That concludes Team Stupid's zanpakutou :)