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.

72. Sinner's Sorrow

Chapter Seventy: Sinner's Sorrow

He was quite out for the count.

Kinnya dropped out of shunpo at the edge of the school grounds, pausing to lean his aching body up against the ancient stone walls and glancing down with a rueful smile at the black-clad burden clutched firmly in his arms.

Juushirou was not heavy, though pulling the additional weight through shunpo on top of having released his sword for the first time in more than twenty years had begun to take its toll on the old man's body, and he took a deep breath into his lungs, trying to steady his racing heart.

It's been a long time since we fought in quite those circumstances, Raiu. I hope it will be a long time before we have to do so again. Today taught me that I can still do what I trained to do all those years ago – but it told me just as much that I'd prefer to leave that life behind.

He set Juushirou down gently on the ground, making sure that the heavy folds of his own expensive cloak prevented any part of the student's young body from resting against the cold stone.

I should be grateful that Raiko's son is such a skinny specimen. Any heavier and I might not have made it this far.

His eyes softened as he took in the boy's pale features.

There's no doubt that what Ryuu told me last winter is the truth. If not for that white hair…you may have been District born, Juushirou, but you are my grandson without a doubt. You have your mother's features…perhaps this is the only glimpse I'll ever get of how Raiko must have looked when she reached adulthood.

He brushed a stray strand of damp hair from Juushirou's brow, checking with gentle fingers for any sign of fever or chill.

With all the things Genryuusai-sensei said about your spirit power, I didn't expect to find you sick with haibyou too. Your Sensei isn't a man given to exaggeration, Juushirou – therefore I must believe what he said is true. You managed to retain full consciousness throughout the whole of that battle, even though the levels of spirit pressure would have rendered most student level shinigami out cold from the first time Raiu released.

His expression became sad and he withdrew his touch from Juushirou's skin.

Maybe I'd have rather you hadn't seen me fight him, though. If there was ever any chance for me to tell you of our connection, after seeing me so ruthlessly use my sword how I did today, that chance has eroded away to nothing. I would rather you lived in ignorance of me, my boy, than have you know all and then reject me.

"Juushirou!"

"Kinnya-sama! Ukitake!"

Yells from the direction of the main school building caused Kinnya to raise his head, blinking as he tried to bring the speakers into clear focus. A young man robed in the same Academy uniform as his grandson was hurrying across the cobbles, another, more familiar black-clad individual in tow, and a faint smile touched his lips.

"It looks like I've found someone else to carry you the rest of the way inside," he told his unconscious companion wryly. "They've come just in the nick of time, too – I've about overspent my limit for the rest of the week with what I've done today."

"Kinnya-sama, is Ukitake…" Shirogane was the first to reach them, a look of consternation in his grey eyes as he glanced from Juushirou's still form to the older Clansman, and Kinnya shook his head.

"There's blood, but he's not badly hurt," he said simply. "Scratches, maybe, but nothing worse. The clash of spirit power overwhelmed him a little, but I don't think he's even starting a fever despite being out in the storm. He's quite all right, Shirogane. Probably he just needs some time for his body to calm down and realise it's no longer under threat."

"Juu..." The uniformed student joined them, crouching down at Juushirou's side. "Are you sure? He's not hurt…?"

"I don't think so. He's breathing a little roughly, but I imagine that's nothing abnormal given his general health," Kinnya met the anxious brown eyes with pensive ones of his own. "It's the Kyouraku boy, isn't it? Shunsui, is that what Genryuusai-sensei called you? You're the one who, alongside Juushirou himself, has the potential to be a great shinigami one of these days?"

"I don't know about that," Shunsui looked sheepish. "I think Kazoe-sensei and Minabe-sensei would have a different opinion if you asked them about my general class performance."

"What happened to Aizen?" Shirogane asked quietly, and Kinnya frowned.

"I don't really know," he admitted. "I would advise sending searches out into the canyon beneath the area where he and I encountered one another. In most circumstances I'd say that the man was dead – but given the history of escapology this individual has, I would want to be sure."

He got stiffly to his feet.

"I might go myself, in fact, once I've seen Juushirou safely inside," he decided. "What I've begun, I should see through to the end."

"We felt the flare of spirit power from the school. We all did," Shunsui murmured. "I don't mean to be rude, Kinnya-sama, especially since we've pretty much just met, but I can see now where Juu gets his stupidly strong reiryoku. The storm wasn't his storm, it was yours this time – but there were aspects of it that felt very similar to his when his spirit power rages out of control."

"Why would I consider that rude?" Kinnya looked surprised, clamping a thin hand down on Shunsui's shoulder. "Juushirou is my grandson. I have no shame in that."

"You went to protect him more than you did to follow Guren-sama's wishes, didn't you?" Shirogane murmured. "You went to retrieve Ukitake, rather than to fight Aizen."

"I intended to draw my blade and to use it if the exile appeared back in District One. I told you that before," Kinnya said evenly, shaking his head. " Those were Guren-sama's orders to me and I meant to obey them to the letter, if I could. Juushirou's safety was a complication. I would sooner not have had him involved in the battle, but at least I've managed to bring him back more or less unscathed."

He hovered a hand against the unconscious boy's pale skin, then nodded.

"He'll probably rouse soon," he added. "This old body of mine probably won't let me carry him any further, so I trust it's all right to leave him in your care."

"You don't want to see him wake up?" Shunsui was surprised, and Kinnya's expression became grave. Slowly he shook his head.

"He doesn't need to know anything about me," he said simply. "He has a strong family who support him and, clearly, friends and senpai who care about him. His future is a bright one and that's enough to satisfy me. I'm here on Guren-sama's errand, Shunsui…not on any other. I'll remain until Genryuusai-sensei returns, but there are still things to be done before then to return this place to a state of calm."

"Kinnya-sama, when you confronted Aizen, was he alone?" Shirogane looked troubled. "Other than Ukitake, were there any other students or unknown individuals in the near vicinity?"

"I was aware of nobody else," Kinnya was surprised. "Why?"

"One of our class is still missing," Shunsui intoned gravely. "Nagoya-senpai and I were heading out to look for him following the explosion of storm reiatsu in the direction of the lake."

"The boy is an Endou," Shirogane supplemented, and Kinnya could tell from the young man's expression that he considered the entirety of Seventh District's family a waste of his time. "His sister is the young girl who is generally known to be Aizen's accomplice. It seems likely he's slipped off in the chaos to find her."

"Hirata's very fond of Eiraki," Shunsui agreed.

"Do you think this classmate of yours might try to help the girl elude capture?" Kinnya looked thoughtful. "I have not met anyone from the Endou Clan in quite some time, but I was under the impression the new administration was trying not to follow in the murderous footprints of the old?"

"Misashi-sama is generally held to be a reasonably minded individual," Shirogane shook his head. "I know nothing of his son Hirata, but his daughter Eiraki absconded from the Endou manor three years or so ago. She was witnessed in the Real World by some of Ukitake and Kyouraku's class fellows – and admitted then to the murder of Ribari-sama as well as the attempted murder of Ryuu. She is also the young girl who attempted to frame me in Seiren-dono's eyes – she is physically weak but should still be considered dangerous, since it takes little strength indeed to administer poison."

"You think she might kill Hirata?" Shunsui's face drained of colour, and Kinnya eyed him keenly.

"Endou Hirata is not likely to have colluded with her?" he asked softly, and Shunsui shook his head firmly.

"Hirata is fond of her, but he's said on a couple of occasions that her current position makes them enemies," he said quietly. "He's not involved in the conspiracy, but he might have gone to try to appeal to her to turn herself in. It's just possible that if she did that and it could be proven she was being manipulated by Aizen, she might escape with house arrest as opposed to capital punishment."

"Guren-sama will not settle for such a low penalty," Shirogane said with certainty. "Eiraki is the murderer of Ribari-sama, his only and much beloved son and heir. There will be no mercy from the Kuchiki Clan, and I imagine he will do all in his power to push for the maximum sentence."

"Eiraki-hime is pregnant, too," Shunsui added evenly, and Shirogane stared.

"What?"

"It's true," Shunsui nodded. "With Aizen's child, most likely. Mitsuki was the one who said so, and you'd believe her judgement, wouldn't you? The Council might very well look more kindly on her if she was to fling herself on its mercy and beg for forgiveness. She's only seventeen years old, and who knows what wiles Aizen might have lured her away with?"

"Do you really believe that she was lured?" Shirogane's expression was one of incredulity, and Shunsui shook his head impatiently.

"Of course not," he said frankly. "I believe she knew quite well what she was doing and did it because she wanted to. I'm just saying that the Council might see it differently."

"Guren-sama has no intention of involving the Council if he can dispense with the matter himself," Kinnya said matter-of-factly. "That's why I came here, and why he has asked directly for Genryuusai-sensei instead of seeking assistance from Inner Seireitei. If the Endou hime is caught in District One, she will doubtless be given over to Guren-sama for judgement, unless District Seven protest and try to interfere."

"I think that's what Hirata may be doing now, only he's trying to do it before the shots are fired," Shunsui said grimly. "If Eiraki-hime handed herself in, it would have to be a Council matter. If she's caught on the offensive by a Kuchiki with the blessing of the Yamamoto…and if she is guilty of crimes on Yamamoto land too…"

"You are a very astute young man," Kinnya observed, patting Shunsui reflectively on the arm. "Genryuusai-sensei did tell me that you and my grandson were close friends and now I've met you, I'm quite glad he has someone with such pertinent and shrewd views to guide him. It must be very difficult for him to hold his own in a world surrounded by Clan – it comforts me that he has those in whom he can trust."

"Believe me, sir, your grandson doesn't need anyone to hold his hand," Shunsui laughed, a flicker of his normal humour dancing into his sombre brown eyes. "If anything's the case, it's him keeping me on the straight and narrow. He's a force to be reckoned with in most quarters. The Clans haven't really known what to make of him for the most part, but he doesn't generally bother about that, either. He's a strong-willed idiot with ideals and values that he believes in…that makes him pretty dangerous in modern day Seireitei."

"Well, well, perhaps it does," Kinnya let out an appreciative chuckle. "If that's so, maybe it's for the best. It seems his District family have taught him well – I can return to District Six safe in the knowledge that Raiko's son flourishes."

"Are you really just going to leave him to us?" Shirogane asked softly, and Kinnya inclined his head.

"You have the job of overseeing the students," he said quietly. "You and Kazoe and the other staff. My job here is twofold – track down Aizen and ensure you don't lose your life. Since I doubt the latter will be a problem now, I intend to follow up on the former. And, if I see this young Endou you're missing, I'll try and bring him back too. What does he look like?"

"He's on the short side, and scrawny, with long dark hair in a tail and glasses," Shunsui said categorically. "Though maybe someone should go with you?"

"Kinnya-sama doesn't need you to protect him like you did those fourth year girls, Kyouraku," Shirogane said sharply, and Shunsui grinned unrepentantly.

"I wasn't going to go. I'm not really in the mood to go chasing off through the wilds of this District in the cold and wet now Juu's come back," he said cheerfully. "Just, it's a lot of land to cover before nightfall. Hirata's not weak, despite his appearance, and he's over-nighted without shelter in the past – but I think it would be better for him and for District Seven if he was found before he located Eiraki, not after."

"I am old, and I am tired," Kinnya admitted. "I believe I can cover a good deal of ground with shunpo, though, so long as I don't try to release Raiu again in the process. Whilst I probably could do it, my bones are protesting from the overwork."

He smoothed down the crumpled fabric of his hakama, then,

"It has been a long time since I last moved so actively in the Kuchiki Clan's name," he murmured. "I almost fear my strength will fail me at each and every turn."

He turned to glance at Juushirou once more, reaching down to touch a thin finger to the boy's cheek.

"At the very least, when I return to District Six, I will do all in my power to ensure nothing threatens the peace of my province. If there are Hollows, I will perhaps try to tackle them with my own sword instead of leaving it to others…I have been in mourning long enough."

With that he was gone, slipping into shunpo and moving further and further from the Academy as he tried to pick up the trail of Keitarou's reiatsu.

Juushirou is safe, and so Raiko's legacy is intact.

As he moved, a faint smile touched his lips, a wistful expression in his grey eyes.

I've protected what you died to protect today, Raiko-chan. I may not ever be able to see you again, but I'm sorry for giving up so wholly on my life. I didn't know you'd left something in this world to be remembered by…whether he ever knows my name or not, I promise that I will do all in my power to ensure your son lives and is allowed to flourish in this dangerous Clan society.

---

"He's coming around."

The voice was Shunsui's, and as Juushirou blinked, he brought his friend's fuzzy face into focus, seeing two amused brown eyes staring down at him. "Well? Are you done haring off all over the place saving the world for one day, Juu-kun? It's cold out here, and neither Nagoya-senpai or I feel much like carrying you, so if you can get to your own feet we'd be grateful."

"Shunsui?"

Slowly Juushirou sat up, shivering involuntarily as a chill wind whipped through his skinny body. "What…where…am I back at school?"

"You are," Shirogane inclined his head. "If you think that sprawling unconscious over the cobbles will do anything for your position as Anideshi, I suggest you rethink your actions right now. Nobody has yet come out to gawk at you – but I believe it will only be a matter of time before they do."

"How did I get back here?" Juushirou frowned, accepting Shunsui's proffered hand and allowing himself to be hauled to his feet. "The last thing I remember…"

A bevy of fragmented memories flooded through his senses at that moment and he faltered, sending Shunsui a stricken look.

"The last thing you remember?" His friend prompted, eying him quizzically. "What is it, Juu? Did I give you an electric shock or something?"

"No…no," Juushirou got a grip on himself, though his expression was still grave. "I was in the mountains, near the lake by where we camped – Senpai, not far from the caves where Mitsuki and Sora were hiding you."

"That's a recollection you can discard," Shirogane said smartly, moving to tap his deshi on the arm. "Well? Are we going inside? Here is cold, as Kyouraku rightfully says, and there are probably people inside who are concerned about you."

"Mm," Juushirou's eyes clouded, but he nodded his head. "I'll come inside. You're right. It's brisk today and I don't want to get a chill."

He bent to pick up the expensive black cloak, fingering it for a moment before wrapping it once more about his shoulders.

"I shouldn't lose this," he added. "It belongs to someone, and I…I'd like to return it to him."

Shirogane and Shunsui exchanged looks, and Shirogane shook his head slightly.

"You should not have gone with Aizen," he said softly, and Juushirou started, gazing at his senior in consternation. Shirogane nodded.

"Yes, look all guilty about it," he said reproachfully. "I know what you did, and Kazoe will too, I've no doubt, before long. You put yourself in danger over some foolish, harebrained student scheme, didn't you?"

"…Possibly," Juushirou acknowledged. "I mean, it wasn't just…I…"

"It was Michihashi's idea, initially," Shunsui grimaced. "He was the one who wanted to play Aizen at his own game – and the only way we could think of to do that would be if he thought he had control of Juushirou's body a second time."

"And for whatever reason, you thought it would be a good idea to volunteer yourself as bait?" Shirogane glowered at the District boy, who sent him a sheepish smile.

"I suppose it was something like that," he agreed ruefully. "I wanted to find Eiraki-hime, and also find out where Keitarou was hiding out. I was never going to fight against him or anything – I was just going to pretend I was under his control then slip away when I could and alert Kazoe-sensei to where he was hiding so that he could summon the authorities. Shunsui's good at tracing my reiatsu and so is Mitsuki, so I figured they'd be able to find where I was if need be. It sounds a lot more risky now, talking it through with hindsight. I didn't really think it would become as dangerous as it did, though. Keitarou was always quite even-tempered when it came to me, and so I thought I'd be able to talk myself out of any trouble."

"Kai said that he thought you'd fooled him when he took you away," Shunsui linked his arm in his friend's, guiding him over the uneven steps and into the warmth of the school building. "He said it was all going as we expected, and that he was pretty certain you hadn't been acting on anyone's impulses but your own. Akira said you'd clashed blades with him, and Kai was pretty sure that was all your doing, too. Still, when we felt the storm…"

"At first people wondered if it was Sougyo no Kotowari," Shirogane supplemented. "It was clearly a far superior reiatsu, however – much more controlled and properly refined, unlike the way in which you wield your blade."

"I've improved in that regard a lot since you trained me, Senpai," Juushirou assured him. "I've worked hard. But you're right. It wasn't my storm. It was someone else."

His eyes became pensive.

"I don't know who he was," he admitted. "He just appeared there. Senpai, he said he came from Guren-sama, and he looked like a Kuchiki. Is he…do you know who it might have been?"

"Perhaps," Shirogane said acerbically. "Clan business is not your business, however, and you would do better not assuming you have a right to know."

"I suppose that's true," Juushirou twisted his fingers through the thick black fabric absently, then, "I was just curious. He saved my life, really, although when he was fighting, I felt as though my entire spirit might get mangled and trampled underfoot by the intensity of his reiatsu. I realised that I'm really…I don't know a lot about zanpakutou yet, even though I thought I did. I've never really seen a sword other than here, at the Academy. I saw Midori-sama and Seimaru fight each other, but neither one of them released power like this sword did. It makes me wonder…how much I still have to learn about how dangerous a zanpakutou can be. Maybe how much I need to learn about my zanpakutou, too…"

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"He frightened me," he admitted pensively. "He was so strong and so ruthless and it was as though the whole sky was working with him. But…"

"But?" Shunsui eyed him keenly. "He scared you, but…?"

"I don't know," Juushirou rubbed his brow. "Maybe I also envied him. And…I would like to thank him. He was there on Guren-sama's errand, and said so – but he gave me his cloak and he knew my name. I think Sensei spoke to him about me and asked him to make sure I didn't get hurt. He could easily have ignored that request – surely to an important Kuchiki I'm just another District kid – but he didn't. He was kind…to me. After the fight was over, too, he looked…sad. And tired. And…I don't know."

He grasped a clump of his snow white hair, glancing at it thoughtfully.

"He knew I had haibyou," he added. "I don't think that was something Sensei told him. I think he knew because I had white hair. Haibyou's been eradicated from the Kuchiki, hasn't it, Senpai? But he knew about it all the same."

"I know very little about the ailments suffered by common people," Shirogane said dismissively. "Perhaps older members of my Clan may remember things I do not – until I encountered you, I had no knowledge of this condition at all."

He frowned.

"None of your siblings had it," he added softly. "I imagine that means it does not transmit easily even between District people who live closely together. My impression of health provision among District people was somewhat varied, but admittedly, in many ways quite basic. If it had been the kind of illness to spread with ease, I would have thought I'd have seen more of it on my journey here."

"My siblings?" Juushirou blinked, then he smiled faintly, nodding his head. "It's true. Retsu-sama said that for a child to be born with haibyou, both parents have to at least carry the disease. Father carried it, of course, and Hahaue must have – but Okaasama probably doesn't. If she did, one of my siblings would likely have had it – but though some of them may carry it, I'm hopeful that it ends with me. I don't plan on having children, so with any luck the gene won't go any further in the Ukitake family."

He rubbed his chest, stifling a cough.

"Whatever that reiatsu was, my body reacted against it," he murmured. "Now that it's over, I feel a little raw."

"Probably the best thing is for us to take you to the Nest," Shunsui suggested, glancing at Shirogane for confirmation. "We can report to Kazoe that you've returned safely, and that you're resting…you were out in a full blown reiatsu storm, so it'd probably be better if you sleep it off."

"I suppose so," Juushirou looked troubled for a moment, then sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "I suppose that might be best, if I went there."

"Something's wrong," Shunsui's eyes narrowed and he cast his companion a quizzical look. "How bad are you feeling, Juu-kun? You don't usually give in without a fight."

"I'm all right," Juushirou shook his head. "I just…want to think about what happened this afternoon. I guess I can't do that surrounded by lots of people wanting me to tell them about it…that's all."

And I want to process everything else, as well. I need to get to grips with what Keitarou made me see. I remember the fight in the snows now, and I remember the things Sougyo no Kotowari locked away from me. I have to put that into perspective and deal with it – it might have happened three years ago but for me it's still fresh.

"Fine. Then I'll come with you," Shunsui suggested. "Senpai's responsible for a lot more than I am, and someone ought to make sure you get safely up the stairs. I'll leave you to yourself then, if you want me to – but I'd like to at least see you safely there."

"All right," Juushirou agreed. "Thank you."

"In that case, I'll return to the Great Hall and report," Shirogane decided. "Pending the return of that idiot Endou boy, everyone now seems to be accounted for."

"Endou boy?" Juushirou looked startled, but Shirogane was already gone and Shunsui sighed, leading his friend into the warmth of the main hallway and over towards the annexe stairs.

"Hirata disappeared from the library during the chaos earlier today," he said pensively. "According to Kai and the rest, some of the First Division also attacked there. They dealt with things, but realised when they had that Hirata was gone. Probably he used his favourite trick of Kyokkou and squashed his reiatsu down into non-existence…anyhow, we haven't managed to trace him in the school grounds. Best guess is he's gone looking for his sister."

"What if he finds Keitarou instead?" Juushirou was anxious.

"Is Keitarou in a position to hurt Hirata?" Shunsui asked, and Juushirou frowned.

"Possibly…not…" he admitted. "Keitarou might…might not even be alive any more. It's difficult to tell, but he's definitely hurt."

"Badly?"

"Probably," Juushirou rubbed his temples. "That shinigami's sword attack pushed him through a stone wall and over the edge of a mountain shelf into the valley below. It was…pretty ruthless, to be honest. I don't know if…he could have survived."

"Until they bring in a body, it's probably better to assume that he has," Shunsui said gravely, "but I'm not really worried about Hirata. He's more savvy than you are about sensing out danger. Besides, your guardian angel is also trying to track him down now – probably he'll be back at school by nightfall."

"You met him?" Juushirou looked shocked, and Shunsui nodded his head.

"He brought you back to school," he agreed. "He deposited you with Nagoya and I then took off again."

"I see," Juushirou ran his fingers over the expensive cloak. "I didn't realise. So that's how…"

"From my understanding, Yama-jii asked him to keep an eye on us. You in particular, in case Keitarou tried something," Shunsui said matter-of-factly.

"He told Keitarou he was a former student of Sensei's," Juushirou agreed thoughtfully. "Shunsui…did he…tell you his name?"

Shunsui hesitated for a moment, and Juushirou grabbed hold of his wrists, staring him straight in the eye.

"Shunsui, tell me. He saved my life. I want to know at least who I owe thanks to, and I still have to return to him his cloak…"

"I can't," Shunsui sighed. "I gave my word to Sensei that I wouldn't discuss it."

"To Sensei?" Juushirou stared. "How and when? If you only met him today, you can't have spoken to Sensei!"

"When the message came for Ryuu to go back home, Mitsuki and I saw him," Shunsui admitted, shaking his head. "We were sworn to secrecy then, because Sensei thought it would create a disturbance if anyone knew there was a senior Kuchiki here in the shadows as a last line of defence. Nagoya made it clear just now that that situation stays as it is."

"Not even between friends?" Juushirou arched an eyebrow. Shunsui shook his head.

"Not unless that embargo is withdrawn," he said categorically. "You live in District Six and your family have already got their pretty little heads way too involved in the Kuchiki-ke's mess. Given that, I'm going to keep quiet until someone tells me otherwise."

"I suppose I understand," Juushirou looked frustrated, but he nodded. "All right. I guess it doesn't matter. I just wanted to be able to say thank you to him. Perhaps it's important that his being here is kept a secret – maybe he's a covert operative of Guren-sama's and it would be awkward if people knew he was around on Yamamoto soil. But I hope I'll be able to at least return his cloak to him. I can live without knowing his name, but I do owe him that."

"If I see him before the end of the day, I'll pass that message on," Shunsui promised. "I think he intends on heading back to Sixth soon, though. As soon as Yama-jii reappears…so you might not get the chance."

"Clans are complicated," Juushirou sighed heavily. "They have so many rules and regulations and secrets, especially the Kuchiki. I'm glad I wasn't born into that family, Shunsui. I don't think I could've stuck it, with all the intrigue and stuff."

He stumbled slightly, putting out his hand to steady his tired body.

"I think I probably do need to sleep this off," he added ruefully. "I'm not sick as such – but shaken up. A lot happened out there."

"You're drunk on reiryoku this time," Shunsui observed wryly. "It was one hell of a storm, Juu. Even from the school, we could feel it…I don't envy you having been caught in the middle of it."

"It was intense."

At that moment they reached the Senior corridor, and Juushirou fumbled at his obi for the key to the Nest door. Sliding it into the lock, he released the fastenings, pushing the divide back and stepping inside. His chamber was exactly the same as it had been when he had left it that morning, but its normality seemed somehow anticlimactic in light of everything that had happened. With a sigh he sank down onto his bed, leaning up against the wall and offering his friend a rueful smile.

"I'm going to try to make that my last dramatic event between now and graduation," he said honestly, loosening the ties on his hakamashita and pulling apart the bloodstained white cloth to examine the damage beneath. His skin was mottled with drying blood, but to his surprise, the injuries themselves were minimal, and he ran his fingers over his ribs, feeling a faint tingling sensation but little more.

"You look like someone gored you," Shunsui reflected. "You're not acting like it, though. Is that blood all for show?"

"Seems it," Juushirou agreed, his expression one of astonishment. "Keitarou definitely pulled something through my body and that something split the skin because there's blood. However…"

He reached for the towel that lay beside his bed, folding it into quarters and rubbing it gently across his chest to remove the browning stains.

"It's as though it's already healed," Shunsui perched on the windowsill. "Maybe it was more of a spiritual injury than a physical one."

"I guess so," Juushirou lowered the towel pensively, slipping his arms free of the damaged hakamashita and stretching out across the bed in vain for his night-robe.
"Ah, I can't reach it from here! Someone will be cross with me, because this is wrecked and school uniform isn't cheap to replace. It's superficial damage to me, though. Considering what he did to me last time, I'm kind of surprised he didn't hurt me more."

"You've got stronger and he hasn't changed," Shunsui grabbed the offending nightgown, tossing it at his friend with a grin. "Here. Allow me. Your training over the last few years has paid off…you and Sougyo-kun are a match for his will now."

"Seems so," Juushirou nodded. "But even if that's true, I'm far from being ready to face everything Clan Seireitei has to throw at me. Today's events taught me that. I do my best and I work hard, but I'm still lagging behind."

"Not really," Shunsui was surprised. "Yama-jii told you it would take you longer to master your sword completely, right? Didn't he also say that when you did it would be really well under control and powerful?"

"He did," Juushirou agreed, pulling the night-robe over his head with a sigh. "Maybe I've been trying to hurry it, but I'm going to stop doing that now. Much as I want to be like the shinigami who saved me this afternoon, I'm nowhere near his level at the moment. I can't force myself ahead, either – I'm not like you. Midnight training on top of our normal schedule would be counter-productive in my case. My body wouldn't be able to keep up, and my brain would start to lag behind trying to compensate. Today taught me I have a long way to go – but it hasn't changed my mind about wanting to get there in the end."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Shunsui eyed him keenly. "I will, if you want, but you look like something's eating away at you. If you want to pour, I'll listen – but it's up to you."

"Mm." Juushirou flopped forward onto his blankets, burying his face in the soft fabric. He rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling with a pensive expression in his hazel eyes.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I don't know if you want to hear it…you might get cross, and you might shout at me."

"I might shout at you?" Shunsui blinked. "You came back in one piece – why would I be angry at you?"

"You might," Juushirou pursed his lips.

"What exactly happened out there?" Shunsui questioned. "You went with Keitarou and pretended to be under his control…then…?"

"He saw through me, and he wanted to kill me," Juushirou admitted. "I think he'd decided I'd outlived any usefulness I'd had and I was better off sacrificed. He forcibly pulled the remnants of Chudokuga's Bankai out of my body. I don't know how, exactly, or whether Sougyo let them go in order that it did me less harm. Either way, that's what he did. That's the reason why I was all bloody – it obviously didn't do any real damage to me inside. He couldn't manipulate me any more because the pieces of his spirit power that were left inside my body were nowhere near my heart. I think Shikiki's magic pushed them out and Sougyo kept them out – anyhow, that's how it wound up."

"And so…?" Shunsui pressed. "How does that lead into me being angry at you? I'm used to your general idealistic idiocy, so…"

"When he pulled those shards out of me, Shunsui…I remembered," Juushirou's voice was little more than a whisper. "I remembered. It was as though I was there all over again…seeing it through my eyes yet not being able to do anything about it."

Shunsui's expression changed, and Juushirou noticed the sudden pallor that touched his friend's cheeks.

"The fight in the snow?" he asked quietly, his tones level and calm but unmistakeably strained. Slowly Juushirou nodded.

"Yes. That."

"You remember…everything?"

"That's difficult for me to answer, since I only know I know more than I did before," Juushirou admitted sadly. "I'm sorry, Shunsui. I know you didn't want me to remember it, but…"

"It's not your fault," Shunsui shook his head. "In fact, it's probably worse for you right now than it is for me. I've had three years to come to terms with what happened. You've just had it flung at you out of the blue."

"I wanted you to stop me," Juushirou pulled himself into a sitting position, meeting his friend's eyes with solemn ones of his own. "I wanted you to make me stop acting that way, but I also wanted you to understand it wasn't me who was fighting you."

"I knew that," Shunsui offered him a crooked half-smile. "You're an idiot, but you're a loyal idiot. I was pretty certain you weren't going to go for me of your own accord."

He ran his fingers through his tousled wavy hair.

"I guess I knew you'd probably remember it, eventually. Maybe it's easier now you know what happened…if Keitarou's pulled away from you, it means he probably won't target you in the same way again, so I should be glad it's at an end."

"You really think he's still alive, don't you?"

"I will until I see his body," Shunsui said simply. "Either way, though, he no longer has any connection to you."

"No," Juushirou shook his head. "No, he definitely doesn't."

He rubbed his chest pensively, feeling once again his strong, resolute pulse.

"Shikiki's magic was the first step in that process," he added. "What she did when she healed me made me a lot stronger than I was before."

"I know," Shunsui agreed.

"Then you needn't feel guilty about the way that fight ended," Juushirou said decidedly. "At the moment the memories are swirling around inside my head and I admit it, I don't like them. They scare me, some of them. I saw how easily my sword can cause damage and pain – Kyouki-sama's warning brought to life in horrible technicolour. I saw how I broke your arm, and the look on your face when I first attacked you…I'm sorry, Shunsui. It wasn't something I did on purpose, but it was still something I did – so now I know how it came about, I really am sorry."

"My arm is fine, and so am I," Shunsui shrugged, flexing his limb as if to prove his point. "If that's what's bothering you, you might as well forget it."

He eyed his friend apprehensively.

"I don't know if I want to ask this," he admitted. "But I will nonetheless. Juu, do you remember…when Seibara's blade…"

"No," Juushirou shook his head. "I've tried, I admit it, but I don't remember that at all. I remember Shikiki's barrier deflecting my magic away from you, and I remember you coming towards me, but then there's nothing at all. It's not black or anything like that – it's like it was never there. I don't know if Shikiki's magic can reverse the memory of something as well – or if my body was just in no state to recall it. It's not there, though."

"Good," Shunsui looked relieved, "then it's all right, I guess, if you remember the rest."

"I remember one other thing, though," Juushirou murmured, lowering his hand to his lap once more. "A moment of warmth and then snow coming down around me. It was just the briefest of sensations, as though I was falling asleep…I didn't feel any pain or anything else like that. Everything around me was warm and pink and then there was just the silence and the snow. I couldn't move, but I wasn't scared. Everything felt as though it was all right…somehow."

"I don't know," Shunsui looked thoughtful. "I remember that you had your eyes open when…after that happened. When Shikiki had done healing you, your eyes were closed. Maybe that's what you remember – pink is Shikiki's colour, isn't it? Stands to reason it would be that."

"Perhaps it was," Juushirou nodded. "I didn't see her and I didn't see you. I didn't feel alone though. I felt as though people were with me and I was safe."

He smiled.

"Even at the end of a memory like that one, there was something good to cling onto," he reflected. "I'm not going to spend much time dwelling on what happened then, if I can help it. I will remember it, though. I think I should do. Sensei warned me in the first year that my actions had an impact on other people. This was a decision I made that went badly awry and because of it, you got hurt too. Now I have those memories, I'll make them productive ones and use them to try and make sure I'm more careful in future. I know sometimes I just see my target and shoot for it without thinking – but I'll try not to do that quite as much once I graduate."

"Idealist idiocy is one of your key traits. I'm used to it – there are worse," Shunsui said resignedly.

"You're not upset? I was worried you would be, considering how you view that fight in the snow."

"I feel like we've given it closure," Shunsui admitted. "I didn't know it needed it, and perhaps you don't – but I did. Probably part of why it's bothered me so much for so long is the fact I didn't know how you would react to those things if you'd seen them. It's over now. Done with. Gone. Like you, I won't forget it. Like you, there are things I've learned from it. I have my sword because of that fight - so it wasn't all negatives. And you're still alive, of course, which helps."

"If I'd remembered this stuff before, I don't think I would've gone after Keitarou today," Juushirou said seriously. "The way he manipulated me…the feeling was a horrible one. I don't think I would have wanted to be alone with him again, or risk the chance of him taking control a second time, not if I'd remembered the first."

He let out a sigh.

"Which way do you suppose Hirata headed? Do you really think he'll be all right?"

"Hirata will be all right," Shunsui nodded his head. "I have faith in that. It's whoever he clashes with I'm more concerned about."

"Meaning Eiraki-hime?"

"Not impossible, but I...hope not." Shunsui chewed on his lip, looking troubled. "I don't think Hirata's quite reached the point where he could kill his own blood sister and walk away from it, but...I really do think it's better if they don't get to meet. Hopefully someone will pick her up when they pick up what's left of Keitarou...providing he hasn't effected another unbelievably convenient escape, of course."

"I wonder if he could escape...that," Juushirou murmured, more than half to himself, and Shunsui eyed him keenly.

"It was some flare, huh?" He remarked, and Juushirou nodded.

"It was," he agreed soberly, "and I have a long way to go before I match someone like that. It showed me exactly what a storm-based sword could do...and it makes me hope that, one day, Sougyo no Kotowari and I will be, well, if not quite like that, at least...able to fight in just as strong a way."

"It wouldn't surprise me if that happened," Shunsui said wryly. "You work hard enough, and well, I guess you have some natural talent born into you. Just don't rush off to do it just yet, okay? With any luck Sensei will be back soon and we can hand this whole hairy mess over to him. One advantage of not having graduated yet is that we don't have to pick the sense out of any of this for the Council - let's enjoy that while we have it, all right?"

---

The world was dark and silent.

A cold wind whipped across his drenched, freezing body, causing it to shiver involuntarily then jerk with pain as his fractured skeleton protested at being moved.

Was this death?

With a great surge of effort, somehow he managed to open his eyes, gazing helplessly up at the shattered sky that hung precariously over his head. It was cracked and broken, just like he was, and for a moment he wondered hazily if some divine force had brought even the heavens to its knees in the face of his wrath.

He blinked, bringing the fuzzy lines into clearer focus.

They weren't cracks, he realised dully, but branches, some splintered and broken right across as though something heavy had hit them with swift, unforgiving speed. Had it been him? He couldn't quite recall.

He blinked again, flickers of disjointed memory stirring in his concussed brain.

There had been a shinigami. A storm. And then he had flown...

A throbbing pain pulsed against the inside of his skull, making it hard for him to draw together his thoughts into a coherent order, but he persevered, if only to distract his attention away from his sorry physical state.

It had been raining, and as he drew on the recollections, he remembered two angry eyes like storm clouds boring into his. The glint of a sword swept across his vision, and then a rush of water, smashing into his chest and shattering at least half of his ribs with its first impact. He had been flung against stone, then there had been nothing between him and the deep valley below but air and he had fallen, down, down, down...

He closed his eyes, wincing involuntarily as another shiver ripped agony through his broken bones.

A tree had broken his fall, shattering his left leg on impact, but tempering the force of his drop and preventing him from being killed outright. He had been both lucky and unlucky, he realised absently - he had survived an unsurvivable fall, but with injuries this severe he was unable to move.

The Council would come for him.

For the first time in Keitarou's long war against Seireitei, fear of the Council's authority pierced his soul. They would take him, imprison him and interrogate him until they knew all there was to know. They would show him no mercy, and then they would end his life. He would be plunged into the same eternal darkness that had claimed his father, and Eiraki...like his mother, Eiraki would be left...

He opened his eyes, aware of fresh dampness against his lashes. Was it a tear, or had a stray droplet of the storm's rain dripped from an overhanging branch onto his face, bringing him moment by moment back towards reality?

Eiraki.

He tried to move his left arm, but it would not obey him, and, turning his head stiffly to glance at it, he realised that it was shattered above the elbow, the fingers of his hand dislocated and smashed almost beyond repair. In the fingers of his right was still clutched the hilt of his precious sword, but Chudokuga's spirit was still and silent, and the blade was a dull, murky grey. Briefly Keitarou remembered the sensation of that reiatsu-driven water engulfing his body, and his brows twitched together in consternation.

So that was what he had meant.

The water had done more than soaked him. It had washed the spirit power right out of him, scattering and diluting his reiatsu so that Chudokuga could no longer hear his voice. How long would that last? He didn't know, but surely District or Council officials would come for him before it wore off. His thoughts and memories were still disjointed, and with at least two broken limbs and several shattered ribs, he would be unlikely to make it anywhere on foot.

Did he have any reiatsu left to him, or had that monstrous blade eliminated it all?

Keitarou's brows drew together once more.

Who had attacked him? He had no name to go with that face, and nor had his assailant given him an identity. He had claimed that this was his fight, not just Guren's and, with a sudden jolt of dismay, Keitarou's synapses sparked into life, drawing a tentative but obvious connection between the raging storm which had felled him and the raw tempest that lurked within the blade of his one-time District experiment.

Juushirou's...kin.

He swallowed hard, nausea flooding his senses at the thought.

I thought I understood how the Kuchiki worked. I thought I knew everything, but I didn't know that.

He gritted his teeth, berating his own oversight and stupidity.

The one I thought was a hermit I dismissed, because everyone else dismissed him, too. I taunted Juushirou with his name, yet knew nothing at all of what I spoke. That one...that hidden force whose spiritual potential was concealed even from the current generation of Kuchiki. Kinnya, brother of Senaya and Lord of the Coastal Provinces. This fight was your fight, old man, because of the boy. You came for Juushirou...and I was a fool not to have seen it sooner.

Carefully and tentatively he brought his right hand towards his body, his shaking fingers pushing Chudokuga's dead blade into the bloodsoaked folds of his obi.

I overlooked something important, and I almost paid for it with my life. Is that what you were, Juushirou? A decoy, to lure me into a false sense of security? Did you out-think me after all?

A sudden gust of frozen wind seared across his battered body, causing him to flinch back in pain. The storm had gone, but the season was still near winter, and there was no telling what damage the old Kuchiki's sword had done to the elements. Maybe a real storm was coming, Keitarou wondered pensively, for the wind was picking up now, and there was an icy bite to it that suggested the onset of another, terrifying tempest.

Perhaps the weather would kill him before the Council could. At this thought, the dull ache returned to his chest and he frowned, trying to process the emotion. He had never been afraid of dying, nor had he hesitated or held back from danger or risk because it might cost him his life. It had been one of his strengths, but now he was learning how much things had changed. When he had been alone, there had been nobody to grieve for him, and no one he would leave behind, unprotected and vulnerable to face punishment for his crimes. When he had been alone...but he had gone too far, now, and he was no longer alone. Eiraki was not just his ally, she had become part of him. Chudokuga had been right, he acknowledged painfully to himself. He had snared her because it had benefited him to do so, and he had intended to utilise the connection for political ends, but it was Eiraki's face now engraved on his thoughts as he contemplated death, and it was Eiraki's future he worried for, rather than his own.

Eiraki and the unborn child she carried. Would they survive without his help? If he was not there, what would become of them? Keitarou knew his mind was racing now, but he was helpless to stop it. Chudokuga had been right. In his own way, he had come to love her. Would he also abandon her, in the way Daisuke had chosen to abandon Irie three years before?

Having something to live for makes you afraid of death. Were you afraid too, Daisuke, when you took the decision to martyr yourself like you did? Or were you relaxed and resigned to your fate, knowing your wife and children were far from Shouichi's blooded hands and therefore safe to live, even without you? I can't say the same about Eiraki. There is no safe haven for her like there was for your family. You would never involve them in what we did...I understand now. It's too easy to generate affection and foster weaknesses if you have someone for whom you deeply care. By involving Eiraki, I've condemned her. Without me to protect her, she doesn't stand a chance. You were wiser than me, my cousin. I wish I'd learned from your example sooner, but it's too late now.

Something prickled against his spine, causing his heart to spasm inside his chest as the breeze wrapped itself around his body once more, probing and examining his broken form as though acting on the will and whim of another. The next moment he felt what he had not picked up on before - the faint, tightly suppressed hum of foreign reiatsu...and it was coming his way.

In the midst of this unexpected tornado was a figure, hazy at first but as he drew closer, Keitarou could make out the white and blue of his Academy uniform, long dark hair flying loose about his shoulders and the glimmer of something silver in his hand.

A zanpakutou. One of Genryuusai's students - and they were clearly in no mood to talk.

In this state, he was in no position to fight back. There was no Suzuno to heal him this time, and for a brief instant Keitarou wondered if this was his karma for killing the Unohana girl.

Inwardly he let out a curse, struggling to pull himself into a more upright position, but with his left leg and arm so badly mangled and his spine bruising rapidly against the cold ground, it was impossible for him to do more than drag himself a few inches back towards the trunk of the tree. It would not be enough to save him, he realised with a jolt. He was a bloody, broken mess, the ground around him a mulch of crimson mud, yet this individual did not flinch for one moment at the site of such an unsavoury scene. Instinctively Keitarou tried to draw together his scattered reiryoku, urging Chudokuga to respond, but the spider remained silent, and only the barest flicker of kidou light glimmered briefly against the tips of his fingers before fading into nothing.

As the intruder came closer, Keitarou could make out a gleam of cold anger in the young man's eyes, and with a jolt he realised that despite the school attire, the one who stood before him had none of the bearing of a student. There was no doubt, no insecurity, none of the traits that had made Keitarou so sure he could marshal and terrify the Academy's students into overlooking his presence. Unlike the two boys who had challenged him earlier, this one was different. Darkness was reflected in his gaze as much as light, and though he cut a diminutive figure, slim and barely into his adult years, there was nothing childish in his aura.

He had the gaze of someone who had seen death - more, had given it - and who would not shy away of doing so again if the circumstances arose. The swirling currents of air that surrounded the slender body only added to the sense of raw, savage anger that whipped around them, and with every step closer the student took, Keitarou could feel the chill breeze pushing against his own skin, pressing and relentless in its attempts to force him back down onto the ground.

A few feet away from the injured scientist, the boy stopped, and Keitarou had the impression that he was being looked on not as a wounded person but as prey, for there was nothing in those pale eyes to indicate even the slightest hint of mercy. This wasone of Genryuusai's students, without a doubt - but in that moment, Keitarou saw him as something else.

Nemesis.

At length, the boy spoke.

"I suppose you thought that there was nothing from which you couldn't escape."

The words were soft and gently spoken, but there was a hardness to them that echoed against Keitarou's jagged wits.

"Perhaps you believed that even after hurting and killing so many people, you could just disappear back into the darkness and into illusion once again?"

A faint smile touched his lips, and Keitarou felt a second barrage of icy wind twist through the charred battlefield.

"Or was it that you thought that anyone on the side of justice would stop and balk at the idea of a fight that wasn't fair?"

The young man took a step further forward, and Keitarou saw the long blade fully for the first time, the swirling air that surrounded it making the metal blurry and indistinct to his gaze.

"Did you imagine the honourable students of Genryuusai-sama's Academy wouldn't raise our swords to you if you were left broken and pitiful on the ground like a helpless little boy? Amai-san may have made that mistake. I won't be so naive."

Keitarou opened his mouth to speak, but he could not force words through his vocal chords, and his companion's expression became predatorial once more.

"I came looking, but I didn't think I'd find you in such a convenient state," he continued evenly. "I felt the swirl of the storm, and then I saw you fall. I thought maybe you were dead already, but it seems as though I've been fortunate. You still live...more importantly, you still have awareness enough to know and feel everything that's done to you."

Keitarou felt the sword tip press up against his throat.

"Do you know my name, Aizen Keitarou?" the student asked quietly, and Keitarou stared at him mutely, for once robbed of all composure as he took in the seriousness in his opponent's eyes. At his silence, the stranger smiled, tilting his head slightly to one side as he regarded his prey anew.

"Endou Hirata," he said quietly, and in that moment Keitarou understood. "Yes, I thought that might resonate with you - I can see in your eyes that you know me, even if we've not properly had chance to speak before. I know you, Aizen Keitarou. I know you very well."

The weapon pressed harder against Keitarou's throat, drawing a trickle of blood across his adam's apple.

"You're the man who killed my grandfather and who plotted to bring my family to ruin," Hirata murmured. "You stole away my sister and indoctrinated her to do your evil for you. You threatened the lives of my good friends, and not only that. You dared to invade Genryuusai-sensei's Academy in order to torment and terrify people you considered beneath you. The Council would very much like to speak to you, Aizen Keitarou. They've been looking for you for a very long time."

"So you're going to turn me over to them? Is that it?"

At length Keitarou found his words, his voice hoarse and unlike himself as he glared defiantly up at his attacker.

"Is that why you came here? If so, it was a foolish waste of your time. I had n...no intention of killing you. Your sister wouldn't allow it...and so I acquiesced. You could h...have stayed out of it completely, if only you'd...thought it through."

A flash of weary defiance flickered into the scientist's muddy brown eyes.

"You and I are brothers by marriage, now, Hirata-dono," he hissed provocatively. "Eiraki is my wife. That makes us kin. If you slay me, you kill the father of her child. You spoke of crimes against your family, yet will you really descend to commit such a crime yourself?"

Hirata gazed at his companion for a moment, then clicked his tongue against his teeth disparagingly, slowly shaking his head.

"You must think me simple," he said derisively, "to use such a weak argument as a form of persuasion. I would have thought you knew already that sending a kinsman to death was an Endou pastime, being that you spent so much time with my unfortunate cousin. Still, if you have forgotten, let me spell it out more clearly for you. Do you really think that making such a claim would entice me to help you, even to let you live? The opposite is true. If you die, your influence over my sister dies with you. If your child is born without you to corrupt it, it has a chance to live a life untainted by you and your will."

He tightened his grip on his sword, and Keitarou felt the swirl of air intensify for the briefest of moments, as though the young man before him was fighting to keep a savage temper in check.

"Your words only show me that there is one more insult to my family which must be avenged," Hirata murmured darkly. "You are an outlaw and a criminal, just like your father. There is no Clan in Seireitei who would sanction someone like you marrying their daughter, and no himein their right mind would choose such an alliance. I don't know by what machinations you poisoned her mind - or maybe you imposed yourself on her by force, then convinced her that she would be safer with you than surrounded by her family. Whichever it is, I don't much care. You have sullied Eiraki's honour as an Endou, and therefore my family's whole name, too. You are Clan, as I am. You know that such insults exist to be avenged, and as her only brother, my duty is to avenge it."

"Would Juushirouapprove of that?" Keitarou's gaze turned nasty, and Hirata's own pale eyes darkened at the mention of his friend's name.

"Juushirou-kun isn't here to see me do it," he said at length, "and the business of Endou honour is mine to resolve, not his. If I kill a man, then I do. If I spill your blood, then so be it. Juushirou-kun will never know anything of it. Seireitei will record that the Kuchiki with the storm blade killed you. My actions will only be known to me and to you - and you won't be in a position to do much talking about it."

"For the sake of Clan honour, huh?" Keitarou snorted. "Do y...you really believe the Endou have such a thing?"

"My Grandfather did not, nor did my cousin or my uncle," Hirata did not falter for a second. "Perhaps I have none, either. It's too early for me to tell. My father and mother, however, are different. You stole from them their daughter, and for their sake, I won't hold back. I doubt Father would stand over you in this blooded state, ready to slit your throat, because even if he hated you more than life itself, his sense of justice and fairness would prevail."

His eyes became slits, and Keitarou felt a cold wind whip around him once more.

"Fortunately for me, I don't have the same scruples when it comes to dealing with enemies," he said softly. "If I called on it to act, in your current state my sword's shikai could rip you molecule from molecule, spreading fragments of you across a ten mile radius. If I wished it, there would be nothing left of you to find, and standing here like this, the temptation to release my sword's wrath into your sorry body is overwhelming. But the Council must have closure. They must, at the very least, have a body. Therefore I'll hold back. I'll slit your throat. I'll free both my sister and your child from your influence in one clean sweep."

"And if that child were to be r...raised to t...take revenge?" Keitarou demanded. Hirata's eyes narrowed.

"Then by this blade, I'd slit its throat, too," he said, not a fragment of doubt in his words. "I am a proper Endou, Aizen. A predator, wielding a bird of prey as my blade. You knew my cousin, and you should understand what I mean. Seimaru loved Grandfather, yet he had you kill him all the same. Being an Endou allows you to do such things. Even if you claim to be my family now, unlike Seimaru, I have no regard for you. Killing you would be nothing more to me than if you were an insect."

His gaze flitted to Keitarou's obi.

"Perhaps a spider?" he added mockingly. "Not all of us are as forgiving or as merciful as Juushirou-kun, and not all of us have the honour to stand back when an enemy is injured or unarmed."

He brought his face closer, boring those pale, cold eyes deep into Keitarou's soul, and despite himself, the scientist felt the chill drive deep through his entire being at the hatred he read there.

"I was the one who killed Seimaru, you know," Hirata continued, his voice barely more than a mocking whisper, or, perhaps, a hiss on the wind. "I overloaded his spirit power with your reidokuand he died a painful, explosive death. I am not afraid to end your life with my weapon either. Death doesn't scare me - administering it or receiving it. It's how the Endou are - be it a strength or a weakness, its how we all are."

He tilted the sword slightly, and a fierce gust of wind filled the copse, sending leaves and broken bits of branch swirling through the air.

"My zanpakutou's name is Tsumi no Fuuhi," Hirata said evenly. "So you see, Aizen, I'm not afraid of being steeped in sin. If I can free this world from your evil, then that's not a chance I'll pass up."

He raised the weapon, and Keitarou flinched, helpless to defend himself as he waited for the sharp blade to come down through his throat.

"Oniisama! Stop! Stop, please stop!"

The shriek pierced the frozen air, resonating thtough Keitarou's battered body, and his heart stilled briefly in his chest as he recognised the speaker. Though he could not turn his head to look, he did not have to see her to know that Eiraki now stood at the edge of the clearing, an expression of clear horror on her face. Inwardly he muttered a rueful curse. He had hoped that at the very least she would not see him this way - but even that hope was now to be dashed. She would see her brother kill him, spilling his life and any hope of the future they had planned together out onto the frozen soil. That image would doubtless haunt her as much as Daisuke's last moments still haunted him...providing the Council never discovered who had slain Kuchiki Ribari, and allowed the young girl to live.

The alternative did not bear thinking about, and he forced apart his lips, two words slipping through his vocal chords into the wintry air.

"Eiraki, run!"

But Eiraki was not listening, and, as the wind fluctuated and dropped momentarily, Keitarou realised that his assailant had also become distracted, his pale gaze flickering with distress. The pressure of the blade against Keitarou's throat weakened momentarily, then renewed, tension coursing through the young man's body as though Hirata was struggling to muster the resolve that moments earlier had come so naturally.

With a jolt, Keitarou realised that it was not just he who was concerned about Eiraki seeing his demise. Hirata was worried about it too. Slowly and sluggishly his brain began to click into a semblance of its normal manipulative cunning.

Eiraki was his weakness, but she was Hirata's weakness too.

He talked about cutting down his kin, but I suppose that doesn't extend to taking the life of his only sister.

"Oniisama, please! Please, don't do this!" Eiraki was clearly on the verge of hysterical tears, and the next thing Keitarou knew she had descended upon them, grabbing Hirata's sword arm and pulling it forcibly away from her husband's neck. With an exclamation, Hirata drew back, Tsumi no Fuuhi's swirling gusts of reiatsu fluctuating wildly before dispersing to little more than a dull hum.

"Get off me!" he demanded, shaking his arm free of her grip. "Unless you want your entire body scattered into the ether, Eiraki, let me go!"

"I don't care. If you kill him, you'll kill me too!" Eiraki sobbed, pushing herself forcibly between Hirata and his target and spreading out her arms, meeting her brother's gaze defiantly. "I won't let you kill him, Oniisama. I won't let you kill him!"

"Stand aside!" Hirata's eyes hardened, but Keitarou was aware of the flickering uncertainty in the young Endou's aura. Far from the predatory killer, Hirata now appeared more as he was - the young lord of a family newly come of age, indecision lurking deep within his eyes. Eiraki, by contrast, was without hesitation, for though her body was trembling with a mixture of shock and emotion, she did not waver for one moment.

"I won't," she shot back. "I told you, I won't let you kill him. I won'tlet you kill my husband!"

"Eiraki, dammit, get out of my way!" A gust of sudden breeze, raw and savage whipped around Hirata's young body as his frustrated temper broke through the calm hold he had maintained over his reiryoku. "That man is an outlaw, a murderer and a villain. He's wanted by the Council and he's an enemy of everyone, even you, whether you want to see it or not. I'll deliver him to death, and then more people won't have to die. Get out of the way!"

"I killed someone too!" Eiraki was defiant, now, and though Keitarou could not see his wife's face, he could hear the choked up tone in her words and knew that her cheeks were drenched with tears. "Ikilled Kuchiki Ribari, not Kei-sama. I gave him the poison, not Onoe. I'm a murderer too, Oniisama. If you'll kill him for taking life, you have to kill me too. That's what your justice means, isn't it? If you think Kei-sama is evil, surely you think that I am too!"

Despite himself, Hirata faltered, taking a step back from his sister and lowering his blade. The rushing swirl of air began to calm once more, and Keitarou drew a raw gulp of oxygen into his battered lungs as he realised Eiraki was winning the battle.

"I can't." At length Hirata's words came, soft and unsettled, as though he did not like to say them at all.

"Youkilled Seimaru," Eiraki returned neatly. "If that's not murder, it must be justice, mustn't it? It must be one of the endless rules of Clan justice that Seireitei's so bound up in chains by?"

"Seimaru was a monster who tried to kill all of us!" Hirata flared up at this, and Eiraki snorted, shaking her head.

"He was an Endou," she said disparagingly. "All Endou are like that. He killed. You killed. I killed. We're all like that, Oniisama. You might not have accepted it, but I have. You killed Seimaru, even though he was kin - just as he had Grandfather killed and would have killed Father, too. Killing me should be easy for you - I'm a murderer and a criminal, too. I'm an assassin and Kei-sama's accomplice. What's so different? You killed Seimaru, and called that justice, so if you believe in it so much, kill me."

"You know I can't, Eiraki-chan," Hirata sounded distressed now. "Step aside. Please. It's the only way. Father wouldn't forgive me...I can't hurt you."

"And I won't let you hurt Kei-sama," Eiraki stood her ground. "That makes me an outlaw too, doesn't it? It means the Council want me too. Doesn't it?"

Over Eiraki's shoulder, Keitarou could just about make out the sudden, pained look that crossed Hirata's features.

"For Mother and Father's sake, it would have been better if you had died," he said heavily, genuine grief in his words, "but I can't kill you. Even if I should, I cannot. You...are my sister, and more, with child. Those things...I...cannot do."

"Then I will do it for you."

Eiraki fumbled at the rough sash at her waist, pulling out the vial of reidoku that Keitarou had given her for safe-keeping and raising it so that her brother could see it. "If you are resolved to kill Kei-sama, I will kill myself. The child and I both, through drinking reidoku, will perish here and now."

A cold tone touched her voice.

"The Council will take me and they will put me to death, anyway," she said frankly. "I'm not so much of a child that I don't understand what I've done. They'll wait, of course, for me to birth the infant, but then you or Father will take it from me, and I'll follow Kei-sama and Keitsune-sama and all the other people the Council deem too dangerous to exist. My child won't grow up in that cloistered, caged environment like I did! Kei-sama was the first person to value me and give me proper freedom. I haven't been brainwashed by him - I chose to fly free with him because it's where I belong."

She removed the stopper from the vial, tossing it carelessly across the ground, and despite himself, Keitarou's heart lurched in his chest, for he knew he did not have the physical strength to stop her.

"I won't return to a cage for anyone," she said softly, and this time there was a note of real regret in her tones. "Not even for you, Oniisama. Too much has happened. Too much has changed. I don't regret Ribari's murder, and I don't feel grief for what I did. A change is coming in Seireitei, and the Clans simply don't want to see it. Whether it's Kei-sama and I or someone else, the change will still come."

"Father would doubtless intercede for you with the Council," Hirata began, but Eiraki snorted, shaking her head.

"You're not listening," she said, frustrated. "This isn't about looking for forgiveness. I don't want them to forgive me, or mitigate my actions. More, I won't let my child be brought up in the prison you consigned yourself to when you agreed to become Father's heir. That isn't life, Oniisama. If you seek to drag me back there, I would sooner die here and now. My life is Kei-sama's life. He and I belong together. You can't separate us now - either spare us or kill us both. It's up to you."

"Eiraki-chan..." Hirata stared at his sister as though seeing a stranger, and in that lull, Keitarou understood what he needed to do.

"Eiraki!" He gasped, his voice hoarse yet somehow still forming words. "Eiraki, the reidoku. Give...me...now!"

"Kei-sama?" Eiraki hurried down at his side, one eye still on her brother as she cradled his head gently in her arms. "What on earth did they do to you, what did..."

"No time," Keitarou cut her off, desperate to act before Hirata recovered his resolve and launched a fresh assault with his wind-based weapon. Though he had faltered at the sight of Eiraki and the strength of her words, there was no reason to suppose he had come here alone, and the longer they lingered, the less chance they had to escape at all.

"Reidoku," he said firmly, and Eiraki eyed him in consternation.

"But..."

"Give...me...the reidoku...now."

The pain in his body was becoming almost unbearable now, and Keitarou did not know whether or not his gamble would work. If it failed, he reasoned, even as he felt his wife put the ceramic vial to his lips, it would hasten his death, but if it did not...

The burning liquid seared across his tongue, scalding his throat as it scorched its way into his battered guts. He coughed, pain wracking through him once more as every inch of him felt on fire with a sudden, burning flare of energy. With his unbroken arm, he clumsily managed to draw Chudokuga from his sheath, lifting it and throwing it with as much force as he could muster towards the seam in the atmosphere that gave away the location of the hidden Senkaimon.

It opened immediately, a gaping blackness with an unknown destination, but Keitarou had no time to be choosy about where they were going. Grasping Eiraki's hand loosely in his own, he focused all of the reidoku-driven strength inside of him into making one firm flash-step into the gateway, and as the blackness closed around them, he let out a sigh, his leaden body no longer able to support itself even a little bit against the pain and surging waves of spiritual energy.

"Kei-sama?" Eiraki's voice seemed far away, frightened and anxious for his safety, but to Keitarou's dazed mind, the sound was comforting.

They were both alive. Wherever they were headed, and however hard the road ahead, they had both escaped.

The Council must not find us now.

Keitarou felt the world growing hazier and hazier around him.

Not until we've completed our preparations and made ready for a proper, all out war.

This was the last thought he had before the blackness consumed him, sending both of them hurtling down into the Senkaimon's spiritual abyss.

---

They were gone.

As the Senkaimon blurred and closed into nothing, Hirata let out a cry of frustration, his fingers loosening from their grip around Tsumi no Fuuhi's hilt. The weapon fell forgotten to the ground as the boy himself dropped to his knees, tears of anger and of grief mingling on his cheeks.

"Eiraki-chan..."

The words were softly spoken, and he reached up to remove his glasses, wiping his damp lashes with the sleeve of his hakamashita.

I was too late.

He drew a shaky breath into his lungs, sitting back on his heels and gazing hopelessly around him. Though Keitarou's reiryoku had flared briefly in the moment before the gate had opened, now it was gone completely, and try as he might, Hirata could not locate it again.

I let him escape. I should have killed him. Too many words - I should have slit his throat and then lectured his corpse afterwards.

He gritted his teeth.

Was I really so stupid as to think there was a chance to save my sister? I knew already that she was beyond my reach...because I faltered, she escaped with him. I could have ended it, but I hesitated, and I did not.

He reached for his weapon, gazing at the gleaming silver-white blade with resignation. The very tip was touched with Keitarou's blood, but the zanpakutou was otherwise clean, and he sighed, running his fingers over it to seal it before returning it to its sheath.

I'm sorry, Seizumi. Maybe there are things I still need to learn if I'm going to wield a true Endou sword.

Maybe it's because you learned those things that you hesitated.

Seizumi's voice fluttered across his thoughts.

You were the one who insisted on retaining compassion, Hirata. I accepted that wish, and I have not contested it. Today, your compassion overruled your instinct to kill. Only you know if it was really the right choice.

A swirl of reiatsu prevented Hirata from answering, and he turned his head to see the Kuchiki, his green and cream robes damped from the storm.

"Your blade didn't finish him," he said quietly, turning his gaze back to the place Keitarou had landed, "and I lacked the conviction to do the job."

"You must be Endou Hirata," the old man spoke pensively, coming to stand at his side and Hirata was aware of a slight stiffness in the other's movements. "I came to find you...there are people at the Academy who are worried about you."

"I know," Hirata acknowledged, making no move to rise from his position on the ground, "though there really is no need. I can...I can take care of myself."

"So say most young shinigami," Kinnya said wisely, "but it only takes one error of judgement for a tragedy to occur. I promised Genryuusai-sensei that I would not let any more of his students' lives be shed, and I intend to keep my promise. That means I'm taking you back with me."

"I suppose I haven't anywhere else to go, now," Hirata murmured. "I don't have the strength of will I thought I had...I suppose school is the best place for me to be until I learn it."

He turned to gaze at Kinnya again, taking in the glitter of life in the grey eyes. Despite the silver streaks that gave away his age, Hirata felt he was not truly looking at an old man. Though his reiryoku was once more neatly tucked away, it was clear that the sword that hung at the man's waist was a weapon capable of slicing through the heavens to command both lightning and rain, and he sighed, reluctantly pulling himself to his feet.

"I don't know your name," he admitted softly, "but I already know you are a great shinigami. I saw...I felt...how you dealt with Aizen. There was no doubt, no hesitation in anything you did. You went to kill him, and you had no idea of granting him mercy."

"True," Kinnya agreed, "but by your testimony, I still failed. You said he survived the fall?"

"He did." Hirata rubbed his eyes, before replacing his glasses back on his nose. "I came to finish the job, but I was interrupted, and he slipped away. He was badly wounded...but I imagine he will survive. Those who have the devil's luck always manage to do that, no matter how hard they're ground down."

"I dare say you're right," Kinnya nodded gravely, "but if I can return you to the Academy alive and unscathed, my being here won't be entirely wasted."

He smiled.

"My name is Kinnya," he added. "Kuchiki Kinnya. I believe you're a friend of my grandson's - therefore I'm very glad to make your acquaintance."

"Kinnya-sama?" Hirata's eyes widened momentarily, then, "Juushirou-kun's..."

"That's right," Kinnya agreed, his grey eyes becoming somewhat hazy as though remembering something from long ago.

"You...came to protect us...to find me...because of Juushirou-kun?"

"I came to District One on my Clan Leader's command," Kinnya shook his head, "and I accepted the request of my old Sensei to protect his young protégées whilst he was away from here. The fact protecting Juushirou and his friends became part of my brief was an added bonus - perhaps it made my resolution all the stronger when firing Aizen Keitarou off that cliff."

He glanced upwards.

"At the very least, the injuries he has should slow him down," he concluded. "The Council may yet find him. He didn't say anything to you about where he was heading?"

"Nothing," Hirata kicked at the ground in frustration, "and I should have finished it. I should have! I am an Endou - we don't fear bringing death. I should have slit his throat, and yet..."

"Something stopped you?"

"My sister," Hirata said bitterly, "the girl who now calls herself his wife, and soon to be the mother of his child."

"And you could not raise your blade to her the way you could raise it to him?"

"Of course not," Hirata shook his head bleakly. "I grew up with Eiraki. We were close until things happened three years ago. She's still...she's still my sister. I...couldn't release Tsumi no Fuuhi at her, whatever I might have been able to do to him."

"I see," Kinnya was silent for a moment, then he rested a calloused hand on Hirata's thin shoulder.

"That's as well," he reflected. "To be able to kill a sibling without a second thought is not an enviable trait. Endou are not known for their humanity, but you have it. Maybe letting them escape was a bad thing, or maybe it will prove to be of little consequence. I don't see the future, so I don't know yet. For you, however...I think it was as well you didn't strike your blood kin with that blade."

He glanced at the sheathed weapon.

"I can tell it's both strong and ruthless, and the only limit on its destructive potential will ever be you," he added softly. "Those who are born with particularly powerful blades must learn more than those who are not how they should control those weapons - otherwise the weapon comes to control them. I have known Endou whose lives and souls were consumed by the hunting spirit lurking within them. I don't think, though, that you will be one such. If that's the case, District Seven's future is likely to be a more stable one than it has been for many centuries."

"Perhaps," Hirata agreed doubtfully. "I suppose that...with Keitarou injured, and Eiraki pregnant, they will lie low for a while. There...is time. Time to prepare, build up defences, even to work out a way to stop them once and for all."

"That man is not immortal, nor is he invincible," Kinnya reflected. "My blade could hurt him, and so, I'm sure, could yours. I've met my grandson and his friends and I have no worry for the future. If Aizen Keitarou chooses to return to Seireitei, he will find a far stronger arsenal awaiting him than currently exists now. Of that I am quite sure."

He sent Hirata a smile.

"We should return," he added. "You have testimony to give, and so do I. More, though, the fact that Keitarou came here suggests to me your Sensei won't be far behind. I must be able to tell him that all his students are present, correct and accounted for - even if a few of them are a little more battered than others."

He rubbed his chin ruefully with his free hand.

"The strength lurking in this Academy is something I never imagined could exist," he added honestly. "Friendships that cross class and Clan boundaries and an ethic and will to fight and defend each other...that is something Seireitei has never really had. Genryuusai-sensei's vision is a far-reaching one, but...having now seen it for myself...I am of the firm belief that it can work. Soul Society has an exciting future to look forward to...I only hope I will live long enough to see it come to fruition."

Before Hirata knew what was happening, the world twisted and swirled around them as Kinnya pulled him into a flash-step, emerging from it within the Academy grounds. Hirata took a dazed couple of steps, putting his hand to his head, and Kinnya chuckled.

"Ah, my shunpo is old and unpracticed. I suppose that was a rougher ride than you're used to," he said apologetically. "It did the trick, though, and I didn't think it a good idea to let you try to get here on your own. I understand you're good at concealing your spirit power, and I didn't want you to decide to go after your sister and that man any further."

"Even if I wanted to, I could not," Hirata confessed. "He used reidoku to give himself enough strength to open the gate and flee into it, and for that moment I felt his spirit strongly, but then it disappeared completely. I...can't follow it. Wherever he's gone, there's no trail to follow. I can't use my sword yet with enough control to open a Senkaimon...so when that closed, so did any chance for me to track him down."

"That's also as well," Kinnya said soberly. "You are too close to this now, you realise that? The Council are there to settle these things and you should let them do their duty. You will not be held responsible for your sister's escape, but you must not try to get any further involved. One day, you will doubtless see what there is that needs to be done, but for now, your duty is to let it go and focus on comforting your family when the truth becomes known."

"I...had hoped to protect them from it completely, but I suppose that's impossible," Hirata grimaced, bowing his head towards his companion. "I am the heir to the Endou-ke, though, so to support my Father is my duty and I won't forget it."

"So there you are!"

As they stepped in through the main entrance, it was Shunsui's voice that greeted him and he raised his head, seeing his classmate lounging nonchalantly up against the wall, his arms folded casually across his chest. "You sure took your time, Hirata-kun. Don't you know we're all on school lock-down at the moment? You should be glad Kazoe's distracted by other things, because otherwise I'm sure you'd be top of the list to feel his cane."

"I had things to see to," Hirata said quietly, and Shunsui's eyes became serious.

"Did you manage to?" he asked cryptically, and Hirata sighed, then shrugged his shoulders.

"Not really," he admitted, "but maybe it's better this way."

"Mm," Shunsui looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned his gaze on Kinnya.

"Kinnya-sama, I have a message I need to pass on to you," he said evenly. "Juushirou would like you to go see him, if you can spare the time. Sensei is on his way back here - Kazoe says that the Senkaimon to District Six has been activated, and he will doubtless want a full report of everything when he arrives, but I still...I promised Juu I'd tell you, just in case it mattered."

"Juushirou...?" Kinnya's expression changed, and Hirata saw the sudden anxiety in the old man's eyes. "Why on earth?"

"He would like to thank the man who saved his life," Shunsui said frankly. "Also, he wants to return your cloak. He's in his quarters at the moment, because your little encounter wore him out, and he was taking a nap. I came down here to wait for Hirata to come back...and I said I'd pass on the message to you, if I saw you."

"I see." Kinnya's face became unreadable for a moment, then he sighed. "There is little time indeed, but I will see what I can manage. In the meantime, I'll leave Hirata-dono in your hands. My duty here appears to be almost over - and, thankfully, it has passed with some success."

With that he was gone, and Hirata pursed his lips, his gaze following the old man until he disappeared out of earshot.

"Juushirou-kun's grandfather," he murmured absently. "It explains a lot, Shunsui-kun. His sword...explains a lot."

"Did you see it?"

"No...not exactly." Hirata shook his head. "I felt it, of course, and I saw Keitarou fall. I caught a glimpse of Kinnya-sama before that, and I thought Keitarou might have been killed by the blow and the fall, because he fell into the valley like a stone."

Shunsui eyed him sharply.

"He wasn't, though, was he?" he demanded, and Hirata shook his head.

"He should have been, but he wasn't," he agreed bitterly, "so I decided to finish the job. I would have...I was ready to slice him through, Shunsui-kun. I had no regrets about it - I knew that like with Seimaru, I could kill Keitarou and walk away. But..."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Eiraki-chan?" he asked, and Hirata nodded.

"She came between us, and I couldn't release Tsumi no Fuuhi on my sister," he admitted wearily. "In my hesitation, he found a way to escape. He took her with them - both of them are now in an unknown location, and both alive."

"I see." Shunsui's fingers strayed absently to the hilts of his daishou blades, and resignation glittered in his brown eyes. "Well, that just leaves the final fight for another occasion, I suppose. He was pretty beaten up, from what you said...I guess that means we have some time."

"I think so, but I should have..."

"No," Shunsui smiled, shaking his head. "No, you shouldn't. You did right, Hirata-kun. Even if it means we all have to fight again, you did the right thing in not taking your sister's life. You're the one who keeps saying you want to be an Endou within limits, aren't you? Well, today you proved that you still know right from wrong. That's important - more important than finishing off Aizen Keitarou."

"Do you think so?" Hirata looked doubtful. "Kinnya-sama said that, but I think he was just trying to be kind. Aizen's responsible for so much evil, and I could have stopped it."

"Perhaps," Shunsui agreed evenly, "but what would you have lost in doing so? You have to rule over District Seven one day, Hirata-kun. The lives of the people there will be in your hands. If you had crossed the line further today, how long before you crossed it again and again? You're not like Seimaru, because you care about people like Eiraki. That's something you should hold on to. You couldn't kill your sister - well, that's normal. You didn't fail because of it. You just proved you're like the rest of us deep down, no matter what your sword's nature is."

"I suppose so," a faint smile touched Hirata's lips, and he nodded. "All right. I'll try and think of it from that view. But I know one thing, Shunsui-kun. In the future...if I cross Keitarou again, I know what to do. Without hesitation, I'll release Tsumi no Fuuhi, and I'll take him down. I left the job unfinished this time...but the next, I won't."

Shunsui did not respond at first, and Hirata saw his friend's left hand clasp briefly around the hilt of his wakizashi. Then he grinned, loosening his hold, and the moment was gone.

"For now, let's go show Kazoe you're here," he suggested lightly, "and try and convince him that everything's going to be all right."

---

Author's Note: Kei and Eiraki

I am not sure if I'll write any more about these characters, now, but it was imperative that both Eiraki and Kei survived to fight another day. As everyone's already well aware, Keitarou is the direct blood ancestor of canon's Aizen Sousuke, and, obviously, Eiraki is too. :)

Several people have commented about Kei's manipulation of Eiraki and that her behaviour has been that of someone deceived by love, not by someone who is genuinely dark hearted. This chapter, probably, paints in a clearer light exactly who Eiraki is. Whatever the origins of their meeting, and however he manipulated her at first, Eiraki is with Kei by her own choice, and believes in his aims as strongly as he does, now.

Whether those aims can be considered entirely 'wrong' is open to debate. They are roughly the same aims that Juushirou and company also believe in - opening up Seireitei to allow more District born shinigami to have a voice and a role. What is wrong is the method by which Kei and Eiraki are trying to achieve those aims - and for that reason, the two sides will come to clash again.

This clash will form the foundations of the Seireitei we more familiarly know in the canon storyline, bringing Meifu's world into the more modern era with a rather violent jolt.

The chapter's title comes from Hirata's blade Tsumi no Fuuhi , the "Sparrowhawk's Wind of Sorrow". As mentioned before, Tsumi is a word that can mean "sparrowhawk", but with different kanji, can also mean, "sin", hence Sinner's Sorrow. :)