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.

73. Blood

Chapter Seventy One: Blood

It was snowing.

In the blizzard of swirling white flakes, two young shinigami faced off against one another, silver weapons glittering dangerously in their hands. As they parried and lunged at one another, the shadows they cast on the soft white terrain began to twitch and dance, becoming blacker and blacker as the battle continued. From the depths of the shadows, suddenly, a hand burst forth, its spectral fingers reaching out to grab one of the fighters. Closing its grip tightly around the individual's body, it squeezed and squeezed, stifling life and strength from the fighter until darkness seared deep into his very soul...

Juushirou opened his eyes, drawing a panicked breath into his body as he struggled to react to his surroundings. There was no snow now, simply the familiar, reassuring colours of his simple bed-chamber, and he exhaled slowly, closing his eyes momentarily as he sought to calm the racing beat of his heart.

A dream.

He opened his eyes once more, fixing them on the faded carving that decorated the chamber's ceiling.

Had it been this way for Shunsui, too?

The memories of the fight in the snow lingered mockingly against his thoughts, still fresh and raw despite the three year time lapse, and he clenched his fists, forcing the images away.

It was the past. Keitarou, too, was the past. Everything that had happened in District Seven was irrelevant now, and yet he couldn't quite shake the image of the shadowy hand, reaching out from the blackness to grab hold of his body. Had it been Aizen's manipulative hand pushing him to the brink or was it Shunsui's ghostly shadow power, trying to stop Juushirou from hurting anyone else? Juushirou couldn't be sure, but either way, the vivid nature of the dream had unsettled him.

So much for taking a peaceful nap.

He sighed, shaking his head slightly as if to clear it, before pulling himself reluctantly into a sitting position.

For the time being, maybe sleep isn't the best thing for me. I...

At that moment his gaze met the grey eyes of another, and his train of thought stopped dead as he registered the fact he was not alone in the Nest.

Standing by the window, gazing out across the school grounds was the enigmatic Kuchiki, his green and cream robes still mud-spattered from the ferocious battle on the mountain shelf. Almost without thinking about it, Juushirou reached across to touch the black cloak that still lay folded at the bedside, and at his movement, the man turned, offering him a faint smile.

"You seem to have recovered considerably from the last time we met," the words were quiet and well-formed, in complete contrast to the angry tones thrown at Keitarou in the heat of combat. "I'm glad to see it."

"I...you...what..." Juushirou swallowed hard, gripping the black cloth more tightly as a mixture of fear and anticipation rushed through his body. He faltered for a moment, then thrust the cloak clumsily out towards his unexpected visitor.

"I wanted to return this...this is yours," he said unevenly, bowing his head, "and...I wanted to say thank you. For...you helped me, and...I'm...thank you."

"You're thank you?" A flicker of amusement touched the soft grey eyes, and Juushirou blushed furiously, berating himself for being so tongue-tied. Was he really so frightened to be alone with this stranger, or was it something else? The memory of that bubbling, swirling reiatsu still lingered in his thoughts, and his gaze drifted to the hilt of the sheathed weapon that hung at the visitor's side, trying to recall once again how it had looked as the cannon of water had burst forth to hit Keitarou square in the chest.

It appeared silent and sleeping, now, and try as he might, Juushirou found it hard to picture the weapon as anything but an ordinary sword.

"I thought you were Juushirou," the teasing note remained in the stranger's words, and he bent to take the cloak, holding it up before him, and giving it a little shake. "This seems to have dried nicely, considering the weather. Good, hardy material for all climates, that's the kind of cloak you need if you're going to start playing with the elements."

"I..." Juushirou hesitated, then forcibly got a grip on his composure. "I'm sorry. That didn't come out quite...how I wanted. I meant...that I was very grateful for your coming to my rescue, sir. There was really no imperative to do so, given that I have no particular status or Clan rank to speak of."

"Your life is not worth anything, because you do not have Clan rank?" The stranger eyed him keenly, and Juushirou lowered his gaze. Slowly he shook his head.

"I...don't think that way," he admitted, "but...some Clansfolk do. The Academy...I've learned, the Academy is...a rare place where rank is less important, but I am also...a subject of District Six. As such, I...I am sensible of the honour of the Kuchiki and that one...should take the time to come to save me...I am...I am grateful."

"Genryuusai-sensei would not have forgiven me if I had not," The man's eyes became serious, and he set the cloak aside, coming to sit down beside the bed. He moved stiffly, Juushirou noticed, as though he had pushed his body too far for one day, and somehow this seemed at odds with the god-like shinigami he had seen commanding such power only a few hours earlier. "He values all his students, and I believe that's an ethic worth protecting. Besides, you have no reason to thank me. I polluted your body with my spirit power, and I imagine you feel quite hazy because of it. I should probably be apologising to you - Raiurei's reiryoku isn't a pleasant thing to be assailed by, and you're still young."

"It...was like nothing I ever encountered before," Juushirou admitted. "I was scared by it, but also...I thought...it was amazing."

He reddened, looking awkward.

"My sword has...storm and sea," he said slowly, "and when I saw yours, I thought...I hoped...I wished that one day it would be like that. It's a foolish wish, I realise, but...to wield a blade in the way you swung yours, sir...I...as a shinigami, that...that is my goal."

"I see," the stranger's eyes softened, "and it's a good goal to have, though I'm sure there are far finer to pitch on as role models than an old man like me."

"You...told Keitarou...that you were a student of Genryuusai-sensei's," Juushirou murmured. "Is...that true?"

"Yes," the man nodded. "It was a long time ago, mind you. Well before you were born, and your parents, too. My brother and I both studied with Genryuusai-sensei quite diligently. Of course, then, I was a far more disciplined shinigami than I am now. My spirit power is not quite what it was - age has spoken for me in more ways than one. Still, it was enough to deal with the threat at hand, and, thankfully, no Academy children were killed."

He curled his hand around the hilt of his sword, pulling it from its sheath and laying it carefully down on the bed beside Juushirou.

"My sword itself is unexceptional," he added. "It's no different from any other sword, not like this. Yours is the same. The power doesn't exist in the sword at all. It exists inside of you...if you want your sword to be great, Juushirou, you have to resolve to be great. Your zanpakutou's spirit is meant as a guide and a teacher, but the true strength comes from within. The sword is only a weapon. The real power is you."

Juushirou's fingers stretched out tentatively to touch the glittering blade, but at the last minute he stopped, drawing his hand back, and the stranger laughed.

"It's all right. Sleeping, like this, Raiurei won't bite you," he said warmly. "My sword is well used to long periods of dormancy, and between us we have it down to a fine art. Touch the blade, if you like. Raiu won't mind. You're not his enemy, and so he won't hurt you."

Juushirou eyed the other man doubtfully for a moment, but curiosity got the better of him, and, very gingerly, he brushed the tips of his pale fingers against the sword's silver blade. A faint prickle of acknowledgement greeted his touch, but nothing more, and he frowned.

"So much spirit power, yet you can't tell at all that it's there," he murmured.

"A powerful blade should only be used as a last resort," his visitor agreed.

"Did you say...it was called...Raiurei?"

"Yes. Spirit of the Rainstorm," the old man confirmed. "Having seen it in release, do you think it's a fitting name, Juushirou?"

"I suppose it is," Juushirou's mind flitted back to the released tachi glittering with light and energy, then, "but it looks so different like this. Before, it was...I don't know how to describe it, but you could really tell that it was alive, then."

"I imagine so," his companion reflected. "You're too young to understand everything about this world yet, so if I were to try and explain my sword, it might confuse you. It is said, however, that there are a few extremely powerful elemental spirits that are reborn from generation to generation. Sometimes ten or twenty generations can go by without them manifesting. Even when they do, they always form unique characteristics depending on their host and are therefore not easy to recognise right away. Genryuusai-sensei's Ryuujinjakka is one such blade - the most powerful fire spirit in Seireitei and at his command for more centuries than I can count."

"I know Ryuujinjakka is exceptionally strong," Juushirou's eyes became wide, "but sir, are you saying...there are others like it? That...other people...have Sensei's kind of power?"

"No, thank goodness, because there are few who would master it as well as he does, nor use it so responsibly," the old man sighed. "Genryuusai-sensei's sword spirit is one of the most powerful, potent elemental forces in Seireitei, and the long time they have fought and worked together give him his overwhelming level of strength. He has completely tamed the sword's spirit to his own will, seeing through its eyes and understanding its connection with the world as well as his own. There has never been one quite like him, and perhaps there never will be again."

He moved his hand to rest it against Raiurei's exposed blade.

"Raiurei possesses an elemental spirit of similar ilk to Ryuujinjakka's," he continued, "but my own shortcomings mean that I am far less powerful a wielder of this blade than Sensei is of his. My brother and I were both born with powerful spirits, and our swords worked in harmony with one another until his untimely death. Losing his sister sword Taiyourei had an impact on Raiurei just as losing my brother had an impact on me. Neither one of us are quite as strong or steady as we were, and so there's no likelihood at all of us ever reaching Genryuusai-sensei's great age or strength. However, because we were blessed with a considerable amount of power, my brother and I were able to do much of use. And yet, as with everything, power comes with a caveat, and it's something Genryuusai-sensei impressed on both of us when we were still young enough to absorb it. Though your sword's spirit is different from mine, it is still unique and it is still strong. For that reason, I'll pass to you the words he said to me, and trust that you will come to engrave them on your soul just as I engraved them upon mine."

He lifted the weapon, returning it carefully to its sheath.

"Real strength is knowing when you need to use force and when you don't. Understanding the type of enemy you're fighting and the kind of battle you're about to face will come with experience, but to form that experience, you need to stay alive. Protecting yourself and those around you is important, and the more power you have, the heavier the results of your decisions will weigh on your shoulders."

Juushirou lowered his gaze.

"You...know I went after Aizen, too?"

"Yes, I know," Kinnya agreed matter-of-factly. "You're impulsive and principled, just like your mother."

"My...mother?" Juushirou's head shot up to see a stricken expression cross the old man's features. "You...you knew my mother? My real mother? Raiko...Kuchiki Raiko?"

"We may have met, once, but she left the Clan a long time ago, and memories fade with age." The visitor got to his feet, brushing his hakama down with hands that seemed to tremble ever so slightly. "Such things are of little consequence now."

"Who are you?" Juushirou's brows furrowed in confusion. "You came, you saved my life, you give me all this advice, and yet I don't even know your name. Will you not even tell me that before you go? I like to know to whom I owe my gratitude, and if you knew Hahaue, then..."

"Raiko-hime died many years ago, and left my Clan even before that." Was it Juushirou's imagination, or was there a faint note of unsteadiness in the old man's words as he recounted this fact? "My time is short, and my errand here is on Guren-sama's orders. I'm sorry, Juushirou. I must go. Genryuusai-sensei has returned - and I must speak to him briefly before I leave for home. I will be wanted back in District Six, without doubt, and it is my responsibility to ensure Shirogane returns there safely, too."

"But..."

Juushirou opened his lips to protest, but his companion shook his head, reaching to pick up the black cloak and setting it down beside the bed.

"Keep this," he said softly, and Juushirou was startled to see genuine emotion flickering in the man's grey eyes. "If your blade wields a storm, you will find you need it. Your chest is not strong enough to take regular soakings, and if your spirit power is as Genryuusai-sensei says, it will only aggravate your haibyouif you allow yourself to be accosted by your own sword's ability. You still have a lot of training to do, no doubt - perhaps it will be of use to you,"

"Why won't you tell me your name?" Juushirou begged, his fingers closing absently around the thick fabric of the cloak. "How do you know I have haibyou? How do you know Mother? Why would you give me this...why would you care? I don't understand...why are you...?"

"Take care of yourself, Juushirou," the old man's expression became sad, and he slowly shook his head, reaching out a hand to pull back the door of the Nest. "You have a great ambition and I know you'll achieve your goals, so long as you work hard and listen to those around you. They care for you very much - keep them close to you, and always strive to move forwards."

"Wait!" Juushirou protested, but the visitor was gone, the door sliding back behind him with a soft click.

Slowly Juushirou fingered the cloak, running his hand over the thick fabric.

Why?

His brows knitted together in consternation.

Why did he come here? Why did he say so much, yet tell me so little? Why did Guren-sama send him - just to take care of Senpai? Who is he? Why wouldn't he tell me anything I wanted to know? Was it because Hahaue was born illegitimate, and that's shameful to the Clan? But if that was the case, why speak to me at all? I don't understand. I don't understand!

"I guess from the fact you had such an important visitor, it's safe to assume that you're awake."

Before he could dwell on it any further, the door of the room slid open again to reveal Shunsui, and relief flooded Juushirou's heart as he registered who was in his friend's slipstream.

"Hirata!" he exclaimed. "Oh, you made it back safely after all!"

"I did," Hirata inclined his head. "I'm sorry if I worried you, Juushirou-kun."

"I feel ignored," Shunsui objected, stepping aside nonetheless to allow the younger boy to enter the room before drawing the door shut behind them. "That's not very friendly of you, Juu-kun. We even detoured via the Healing Bay on my suggestion to get you something gentle and herbal from Mitsuki, and you can't even bring yourself to acknowledge my presence!"

"I'm sorry," despite himself, Juushirou grinned ruefully, gesturing for his friends to join him. "I didn't mean to be unwelcoming. I was just happy to see Hirata back - that means everyone is safe now, doesn't it?"

"More or less," Shunsui dropped down on the foot of the bed, pulling the small vial from his sleeve and handing it to his friend. "Here. It's nothing potent, just Mitsuki's favourite herbs. She was glad to mix it for you - it took her mind off other things."

"Other things? Such as?" Juushirou took the vial, unstoppering it and gazing at his companion in consternation. "What else has happened, Shunsui?"

"Nothing, thankfully," Shunsui assured him. "Don't look like that. Drink up. It's quite safe, I promise you."

"Kazoe-sensei is a little cross with a few people," Hirata observed pensively, sinking back against the wall with a sigh. "He scolded me for taking off on my own, and Shunsui-kun for rushing off after you when he'd been told not to, and Senpai for letting him...maybe he'll talk to you too, later, but I think he was just glad to know everyone was all right. Genryuusai-sensei has returned, too - just as we were heading up here, we sensed the Senkaimon opening in the front courtyard and his reiatsu is pretty hard to miss."

"It's a bit chaotic below stairs," Shunsui agreed, "so we decided to hide out with you for a while. The Vice Captain of First turned up demanding to know what happened with his squad, and Akira and Enishi have been doing their best to explain it. I'll give Akira his due, he's pretty strong when it comes to challenging his brother's assumptions, so I don't think it'll become a political incident. None of them seem to remember a thing, so I guess the spell got properly broken when Naoko-chan turned her sword on herself."

"Wait a minute, what?" Juushirou almost choked on the herbal remedy, staring at his friend in horror. "Shikibu-san did...what?"

"She tried to stop Aizen by stopping herself, but she'll be all right," Shunsui said briskly. "Mitsuki and Sora saved her, and Mitsuki's watching her like a hawk. She's sleeping now, though, else I wouldn't have been able to get your herbs for you."

"Poor Shikibu-san," Hirata looked troubled, and Shunsui nodded.

"We'll all help her come through it, though," he reflected. "It's funny, but it didn't seem possible for Senior Class to become a unit at the start of the year. Now, I think, we are. Even if there are private squabbles, we all have the same end goal in mind."

"I agree," Juushirou nodded his head, setting the vial aside. "Hirata, what about you? Are you really all right? You went off to find Eiraki, didn't you?"

"I did," Hirata agreed slowly, "and I didn't. To be honest, I didn't really think much about what I was going into. I just...when I realised that Aizen and my sister might both be here in First, I suppose I just acted on instinct."

"Well, Keitarou wasn't in any shape to hurt you, so I suppose it was all right," Juushirou sighed. "I'm not even sure if he's alive, after the fall he suffered."

"He is alive, Juu," Shunsui said gravely, glancing at Hirata, who nodded his head.

"I found him," he said unwillingly, "but Eiraki was with him, and they got away. I'm sorry, Juushirou-kun - I didn't have it in me to fight my sister and so they escaped."

"I see," Juushirou looked sombre. "That explains why you look so down when everything is starting to get settled up."

"I don't think it's a bad thing, if Hirata can't attack his blood sister," Shunsui observed, "and I really didn't believe Keitarou would be killed so easily, either."

"Easily?" Juushirou's eyes widened. "He was flung off a cliff edge by a cannon of water at high speed, straight through a stone wall! That's hardly 'easy' in my book! How he survived the fall I don't know, but..."

"He landed on a tree, and it broke his fall, I think," Hirata surmised. "He was fully in his wits when I spoke to him, but badly hurt. It will take a long time for those injuries to heal, especially since he has no access to Fourth District techniques."

"Serves him right, too," Shunsui muttered. "After what he did to Suzuno-chan, he deserves to suffer. Let him heal slowly. He doesn't deserve any kindness from healers after he slew one of them who probably only wanted to come to his aid."

"I guess that means, then, that by the time he recovers enough to launch a fresh attack, we'll not be students but members of the Gotei, won't we?" Juushirou reflected softly, and Shunsui nodded.

"In my case, Captain of Eighth, most likely," he said grimly. "I haven't forgotten, either, what Yama-jii said about my sword and how one day I'll be a match for someone like Aizen Keitarou. It's not a nice thought, but I'm further persuaded by all of this that so long as he's alive, people in Seireitei are in danger. If I've gone this far in training and accepting that my future is tied up in the Eighth District haori, then I guess I'll accept that I might have to be the one who kills him, too, when that attack comes."

"Let's worry about that when it happens," Juushirou begged. "There's been too much conspiracy, death and unpleasantness these last few months. Even if he will come back, for now, he's been defeated. We have time to get stronger, all of us - and the Council will hunt for him anyway. For...for both of them, I imagine."

"They will," Hirata agreed solemnly. "I have already told Kazoe-sensei that I will cooperate in whatever way needed. Eiraki made it clear to me that she's chosen her side and there is no bringing her back. I may not be able to kill her with my own blade, but I do believe...I believe that people who commit crimes should be brought to justice. She told me she killed Ribari-sama, and that she didn't regret it or want to be forgiven for it, so there's nothing else to be done. Mother and Father will have to know, of course, but even though it will hurt them, I know they'll say the same. Eiraki is as much a wanted fugitive as Keitarou, and she'll be treated with the same level of severity should she be brought into Council custody. I won't do anything about it, now. I tried to reach her, and I failed. We're enemies, now. Proper ones...whatever the future may bring."

"I'm sorry, Hirata," Juushirou spoke gently, but Hirata shook his head.

"Fortunately, I have people to fall back on," he said matter-of-factly. "I have friends and allies on whom I know I can count. I'll be all right, Juushirou-kun. Bad things happened in the Endou long before I came here, and one or two people can't change an eternity of violence. For now, I'll not think about my sister. I'll focus instead on why I'm here and what I've decided to be. If it means we clash again, she and I, then so we do. The future can write itself - I'm going to try and look only to what needs to be done now."

"You seem to have gained a cloak, by the way," Shunsui reached over to touch the heavy fabric. "Weren't you going to return this, Juu? How come you still have it now?"

"He told me to keep it," Juushirou looked non-plussed. "I don't know why, but he said it would be helpful, if my sword was going to play with elements in the future. I don't really understand, but at least I got to say thank you. He protected me against Keitarou, and I didn't really get a chance to thank him for it before."

"His spirit power was something else, wasn't it?" Hirata eyed Juushirou thoughtfully. "Seeing him made me understand a lot more, I think, about why Juushirou-kun has the skills he does."

"Hirata..." Shunsui sent his bespectacled friend a pointed look, but Juushirou frowned, eying the younger boy quizzically.

"About why I have the skills I do?" he repeated. "What do you mean? Why?"

"Well, I don't know if spirit power is really inherited, and I don't know anything about your mother's spirit power," Hirata continued pensively, oblivious to the dark glowers Shunsui was sending his way, "but I guess there's something in Sensei's conviction, if that's the calibre of Kinnya-sama...mmf!"

His words were terminated abruptly in mid-flow, as Shunsui launched himself bodily at his friend, clamping his hand across the other boy's jaw and sending them both tumbling onto the floor. Hirata's glasses slipped from his nose as he struggled to pull himself free, and Shunsui put his hands on his hips, glaring down at his classmate.

"What was that for?" Hirata protested, scrambling to retrieve his spectacles. "Shunsui-kun, we're not doing one of Houjou-kun's impromptu Hakuda drills!"

"You shooting your mouth off about things that don't concern any of us, that's what," Shunsui snapped back. "What did I tell you coming up the stairs? We don't get involved in things that aren't our business. Right? Did you forget that little fact between then and now?"

"I didn't forget anything!" Hirata objected indignantly. "You're behaving like an animal, and I don't understand why! What did I say that was so bad? I wasn't getting involved in anything, I was just observing..."

"...We'll change the subject," Shunsui said firmly, cutting across his companion and turning his attention back to the pale-faced student in the bed, "because this one isn't going anywhere important."

Juushirou swallowed hard, his eyes widening in disbelief as he digested Hirata's words.

"Kinnya...sama?" he whispered, his gaze flitting from Shunsui to Hirata as he struggled to understand what he had heard. "Is that what you said, Hirata? Kinnya-sama's...sword?"

"Ah, dammit all to Hell and back," Shunsui groaned, sinking back down onto the bed and burying his head in his hands. "You see what you did now, Hirata? We weren't supposed to say anything. Now you've blown it, and..."

"Nobody told me that," Hirata protested hotly. "This is the first I've heard of it, so don't blame me!"

"Shunsui...that person...was Kinnya-sama?" Juushirou's brain was still swirling, slowly locking onto each fragment of information as he brought them into clearer focus. "Kuchiki...Kinnya...sama? My...Hahaue's..."

He swallowed hard, clutching the cloak tightly to his chest.

"My grandfather?" he whispered. "He's my grandfather, and you didn't...you knew, and you didn't tellme?"

"He didn't want us to disclose it to you," Shunsui sent Hirata another bleak look, offering his friend an apologetic smile. "Before you hit me, listen to me, all right? He asked Nagoya and I to keep you in the dark about it, and it seems as though he's done what he could to keep out of your direct path. It was his wish, so don't get mad at us. He wanted it this way - he thought it best for you if you didn't know."

"But...why wouldn't he..." Juushirou's throat was fast closing up, his eyes pricking with tears that even he could not explain. "What did I do, to make him not want to...but if he didn't want me to know, why would he come all the way up here? Why would he tell me...I don't understand. I don't understand! Why did he come right to the Nest and speak to me, if he wants to put distance between us?"

"Juushirou-kun?" Hirata looked stricken at his friend's sudden agitation. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't know it was a secret - Kinnya-sama didn't say anything to me about not mentioning it, and I didn't realise...I didn't know."

"It's done now, in any case," Shunsui sighed heavily, "not that I suppose it matters. Yama-jii is back, and I'm fairly sure Kinnya-sama and Nagoya are leaving as soon as the Senkaimon can be properly readied to take them back to Sixth."

"Leaving?" Juushirou's body stiffened, and he shot his friend a look of dismay. "Wait, now? Immediately? Even though Sensei's only just returned?"

"With all the things happening in Sixth, it makes sense that they go back quickly," Shunsui pointed out. "I...hey, Juu, what are you doing?" For Juushirou had thrown back his blankets, grabbing the black cape and pulling it haphazardly over his night robes.

"He's not leaving," he said thickly. "He can't just leave...he can't just...say all of that and not...he can't. I won't let him, he can't!"

"Woah, boy!" Shunsui reached out to grab his friend by the arm. "Listen, you ape, it's the way he wanted it to be! He probably has reasons for making that decision, and you already agreed not to rush headlong into idiotic things. Don't you think you should hold off and think it over for a moment? He saved your life...at the very least you could respect his privacy in return!"

"Would you?" Juushirou ripped his arm free from his companion's grasp. "Would you just walk away, Shunsui? He's my blood grandfather, dammit! He knows things...about Hahaue, about other stuff...his sword and mine...I knew there was a connection! I felt it, out there on that mountain shelf, like Sougyo wanted to reach out to his sword spirit, and I didn't understand why. Would you really sit back if it were you, and let someone like that leave?"

"What about hisfeelings?" Shunsui countered. "He didn't come here to play with you, Juu. He came to follow Guren-sama's orders. The Kuchiki have a lot of things going on - are you really going to get in the way of that? The Kuchiki aren't a Clan to cross..."

"Then don't get in my way!" Juushirou's eyes became steely, and despite himself, Shunsui drew back, his expression becoming one of surprise. "Don't look at me like that, either! If that man...if he's my connection to the Kuchiki Clan, even if we never meet again, I have the right to know about it! If he's the only one who can tell me about Hahaue, then I have to ask. Even if he rejects me, or scorns me, or pushes me away, I have to. You of all people should understand that, or have you already forgotten what you promised Riri?"

Juushirou was too wound up now to think much about what he was saying, but Shunsui visibly flinched, lowering his hand.

"That was a low blow," he chided, "but all right. You've made your point. I won't try and stop you any more. Just, I wish you'd stop and think it over first, that's all. You live in District Six. So does he. Right now is not the best time for a family reunion, since everyone and everything is on edge. When things settle down..."

"Now is the only time," Juushirou shook his head, pulling his sandals onto his feet without any thought to tabi and reaching for the door. "I'm not Clan, Shunsui. Whatever my bloodline might have been, it stopped being it when Hahaue was removed from the Kuchiki Clan. I can't just trot up to someone's manor and demand to be let in. Here, though, this is different. It's neutral ground."

His eyes softened, tears glittering in their depths.

"This is the only chance I might ever have to ask things about my real mother," he murmured. "It might be the one opportunity I have to learn about my spirit power properly. Given all of that...how can I hold back?"

With that he was gone, wrenching the door open and hurrying down the hall towards the main stairs. His chest, still raw from his stormy encounter burned and protested at the sudden rushing around, and he drew breath heavily into his lungs, hoping against hope that he wasn't going to collapse into a fit of coughing before he reached his destination.

The corridors were still deserted, and Juushirou found himself glad that Kazoe had decided to keep the bulk of the students in the Great Hall for the time being, for it meant there was nobody to ask him where he was going. If he had stopped to examine his own behaviour, he would have been the first to admit that he was being irrational, but even so, he knew he could not stop. Terrifying as Kinnya's spirit power had been, it had also saved him. And, for the first time in his young life, he understood the missing piece of his spiritual puzzle.

That man was my grandfather. That man, Hahaue's father...the one from whom I got my zanpakutou. He's the reason I have reiryoku. He's the reason I'm not like my siblings...he's the reason for everything. It's his blood, running through me. That's what Sougyo resonated against. My sword recognised a kinsman, when all I could do was sit and stare.

At length he reached the front entrance hall, his senses flaring as he felt the distinctive reiatsu of a Senkaimon being opened. Desperation added a second wind to his battered lungs and he surged forward, flinging the door back and tumbling out into the courtyard, tripping over his own sandals and landing in a breathless heap on the cold cobbles below.

"Ukitake!"

It was Shirogane who let out the exclamation, and Juushirou raised his head, seeing the Vice Captain's sword had already been plunged into the atmosphere, tearing a gaping hole of darkness from which two hazy butterflies fluttered languidly into the wintry air.

"Please," he gasped out, as his lungs rebelled against his frantic dash, spasming and causing him to cough. "Please...not...yet."

"Juushirou?"

Genryuusai stepped forward, pausing at the boy's side, and holding out a wizened hand to help his student up. Juushirou coughed, his body shaking from the violence of the spasms, but he gripped hold of the old man's fist, allowing his mentor to assist him into a more upright position.

"What are you doing?" the old man asked gently. "I thought you were resting in the Nest. Everyone else is either in the Great Hall or the Healing Bay...why are you out here?"

"I...must..." Juushirou's chest spasmed again, blood colouring his lips, and Genryuusai frowned, patting him gently on the arm.

"You should be resting," he murmured. "If you have things to say about what happened today, we'll talk about them later. First Division have already left the school premises, and there will be no repercussions relating to those events now that I'm returned. I'm not going to punish any of my students for defending themselves against an unpredicted threat - you can rest easy and recover your strength."

"But..." Juushirou made a tremendous effort and somehow regained control of his vocal chords, lifting his gaze and scanning the school courtyard for any sign of his target. At first he didn't see him, and panic gripped him as he thought the old man had already disappeared into the Senkaimon. Then, some distance from Shirogane he caught sight of the enigmatic shinigami, a look of clear consternation on his features. At Juushirou's glance, his eyes clouded, and Juushirou's heart constricted in his chest.

My...grandfather...?

He swallowed hard, then,

"I...need to...speak to...Kinnya-sama," he said brokenly, a beseeching expression entering his hazel eyes. "Please...Sensei...before...he...leaves."

"To Kinnya?" Genryuusai's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I see...so you understand, do you, who this unexpected visitor is?"

"Mm." Juushirou nodded jerkily, tears glittering against his lashes. "Please...Sensei. Don't...let them...leave yet. I need...I want..."

"Shh," Genryuusai hushed him, shaking his head. "Your body might have escaped serious injury, but it's cold out here. I've heard about your little adventure, and you're obviously still suffering from the after effects of a serious overdose of foreign reiryoku. You ought to be resting in your chamber, recuperating your strength."

"I won't go back, sir," Juushirou shook his head emphatically. "I want...I want to speak to K...Kinnya-sama first. Please, Sensei. I must."

This time his voice was loud enough to carry across the frozen cobbles, and at the sound of his words, Kinnya flinched, sending the young shinigami a look of trepidation. Genryuusai's grasp loosened for the briefest of instants, and the District boy took his chance, pulling himself free of the old man's hold and stumbling forward towards where Kinnya was standing. As he reached the Kuchiki, his strength gave out, and he dropped to his knees, coughing violently as he struggled to draw in breath against the searing cold of the wind.

"Please," he choked out between spasms, "don't...go...yet. O...jii...sama."

Kinnya's eyes widened, a look of dismay entering his grey gaze, but anything he might have said was forgotten as Juushirou descended into another fit of coughing, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he fought to bring his breathing back under his control. For a moment Kinnya just stared at him, as if frozen to the spot by indecision. Then, slowly and gently, and not without stiffness he knelt at his grandson's side, bringing his left hand up and touching it lightly to Juushirou's chest. His fingers glittered briefly with golden light, then a faint flare of magic engulfed Juushirou's upper body.

Little by little, Juushirou felt the pain in his chest easing, and he drew grateful gulps of air into his lungs. Kinnya sighed, slipping his free hand into his obi and producing an expensive looking handkerchief, with which he carefully wiped Juushirou's lips clean of blood.

"You should not aggravate your condition," he said softly, "and especially not on my account."

Juushirou simply stared at him, and Kinnya closed his eyes briefly, as though composing himself. When he opened them, Juushirou could see emotion deep in the old man's grey eyes, and he swallowed hard, feeling the distinctive swirl of the other's stormy reiatsu. The golden light faded from Kinnya's left hand, and, very gingerly, he got to his feet, pulling Juushirou to his and supporting him with his right arm.

"Guren-sama is expecting my return, and I have to deliver Shirogane safely home," he added regretfully. "Those are my orders, and I must obey them."

"I..." Juushirou swallowed again, knowing that if he choked this time it would not be blood but his own churning emotions competing for dominance in his tired body. "I...I understand, sir, if...if I...being born as I was...am not...if I was...cheeky to...call you by that...that word. I...I will not...ever ask of you...anything other than this but...but please...if you can...I want...I want to know about...about my mother."

Kinnya bit his lip, something unreadable flickering into his grey eyes, and Juushirou bowed his head low before his companion.

"I am sorry to so accost you. It must be...disrespectful...and I didn't think," he murmured. "I only know who you are because Ryuu helped me to find my family's heritage, but I can understand if you do not wish to speak to me directly. If...if you cannot find it acceptable to speak to me of...of someone who was cast out of the Clan...then...please...at least...if you could..."

He got no further, for Kinnya's hand was beneath his chin, forcing him to raise his head.

"Enough," he said quietly, and Juushirou was struck by the tears that glittered on the old man's own lashes. "Stop saying such foolish things, else you'll make emotional wrecks of the both of us."

"Sir...?"

"Shirogane, I'm afraid it looks as though our return will be a little delayed," Kinnya turned to his companion, who sighed, but nodded, reaching up to retrieve his sword from the Senkaimon's release. As he did so, the gaping black tunnel disappeared into nothing, and Juushirou stared at Kinnya in confusion, trying to work out what the old man was thinking.

"If you want to know so much about Raiko, I can't refuse to tell you," he said softly. "Not when you look at me with so much of her in your appearance."

"However, not out here," Genryuusai said firmly. "My study is empty, Kinnya, take the boy there. Afterwards, I expect he'll return to his quarters and rest fully - but if you have no objection to answering his questions, I won't stand in your way."

"Thank you, Sensei." Kinnya bowed his head gratefully towards his former mentor, then turned his gaze back towards Juushirou.

"If you'll accompany me, then I'll try to tell you what you want to know," he added quietly. "Whether it will be what you want to hear or not, I cannot promise - but since there's no way to hide from you any more who I am, it seems meet that I answer whatever I can before I return home."

---

"The gateway closed again,"

Guren turned away from the window, his brow creased in a frown as he gazed out across the grounds of the main Kuchiki manor. "Did you feel it, Futsuki? Shirogane's blade opened it, but it shut again almost immediately and nobody came through. Do you suppose things in District One are worse than we thought? Did Aizen do damage there?"

"You have been ever more flustered since Genryuusai-sama left," the room's only other occupant sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair. "Guren, you can't go after them. We both know that, even if there is chaos in District One, now Genryuusai-sama has gone back there, it will be well. None of us are a match for that man and his firesword."

"Yes, but what if in his absence, something went wrong?" Guren asked bleakly. "Aizen Keitarou outsmarted us again...what if he had time to cause serious harm? What if someone was killed? The Kuchiki will have to stand before the Council and..."

"Stop it," Futsuki cut across him, moving swiftly across the chamber and grasping his brother by the shoulders, giving him a short, sharp shake. "This isn't like you at all. If Shirogane's sword opened the gateway, Shirogane is safe and will be returning home. More likely something else cropped up - and First District is not our business. Kinnya-sama has been there, and I'm sure that all is well. This fretting isn't like you - and it will put the whole of the Kuchiki-ke on edge if you let them see you this way."

"I know," Guren sighed, pulling free of his companion's grip and turning back towards the window. "I can't help it though, Futsuki. Everything is...not as I thought it was. Everything, from the very start. It makes me worry...what else I've done that might be a lie."

"Excuse me?" Futsuki blinked, staring at him in confusion, and Guren slid his hand into his obi, pulling out the tattered sheet of paper and holding it out to his companion.

"This," he said briefly. "It's written by Father, and it came from his nikki."

"From Senaya-sama's..." Futsuki's brows knitted together and he frowned, taking the sheet and skimming over its contents. "Senaya-sama's been dead a long time, Guren - why would you..."

He faltered, his eyes widening slightly as he absorbed the contents, and Guren nodded.

"What to do about it, though, is the question," he murmured. "I've spoken to Ryuu, Futsuki - he's seen this already and knew since Ribari died that things were that way. Ojiue was clearly involved in covering it up, and Seiren...Seiren has known about it as well, I think for a very long time. I alone have not...tell me, did you...?"

"It's the first time I've come across any of this," Futsuki spoke quietly, a strange note in his words, and Guren glanced at him in apprehension.

"Futsuki? Are you angry about something?"

"No. There's nothing to be angry about," Futsuki shook his head. "Senaya-sama did what he needed to do to protect you both and the Clan as a whole. He was never above illusion and deception if they were to the Kuchiki-ke's benefit. This is just another example - but it hardly matters anything at all now."

His lips thinned as he read over the words again, and then he sighed, raising the sheet of paper up so that his brother could see it clearly.

"Senaya-sama took this from the nikki because it should not have been there in the first place," he said quietly, and with one deft, quick movement he ripped the tattered parchment in two. "For that reason, there's no reason to keep it. At best it's an unsubstantiated rumour put about by people disloyal to your position...but from what you've just said, nobody who knows of it is likely to speak about it in wider circles. Even if they did, they would not be able to back it up...so long as this doesn't exist any more."

"Futsuki!" Guren's expression became one of surprise, and Futsuki nodded grimly, his fingers glittering briefly with red light. Faint tongues of kidou flame licked up against the aged paper, consuming it to ash within moments, and with a sweep of his hand, Futsuki discarded the remains of the document onto the floor of the chamber.

"It's better that way," he said quietly. "You agree, don't you?"

"I suppose I do," Guren admitted, letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure I would have had the will to destroy something Father wrote, though. I feel like there are things he did that make him a stranger to me now. Ryuu said that he probably acted only because he loved us, and I'm sure that's true. Despite that, though..."

"Senaya-sama thought the world of both you and Seiren," Futsuki said briskly. "You don't need a scrap of paper to prove or disprove that, Guren."

"Yes," Guren inclined his head cautiously. "Yes, I know. It was the only thing that we both agreed on, Seiren and I, as children. We both loved Father, and he us. He was so important in both of our lives, that when he died, we both..."

He trailed off, and Futsuki's eyes narrowed.

"What are you thinking?" he asked quietly, and Guren shrugged his shoulders.

"Ojiue would never admit to it, if it was true," he said heavily, "but a lot of things were taken from the nikki, and I wonder about them all the more, now. When we were trying to fathom out the secrets of that Kyouraku pendant, Shihouin Yanagi came here and offered his help and assistance as though our clans had not been mutually suspicious for a long time. It made me wonder...about the last time the Shihouin came here, that's all."

"The last time...?" Futsuki's expression became one of consternation. "You mean before Senaya-sama...was..."

"Yes," Guren agreed pensively. "Father was fond of illusions, and I just wonder...maybe...that was another one of his ploys. Maybe the Shihouin were innocent. Maybe it was all...Father's hand in the shadows."

"Senaya-sama and Kinnya-sama both?"

"Possibly, though like I said, Ojiue would never tell me, even if I asked him outright." Guren shook his head. "Maybe that's best. Perhaps I don't need that answer."

"I think there are a lot of questions that would do better not being answered," Futsuki's eyes strayed to the ash that now littered the floor. "Guren, whatever that paper said, you are Senaya-sama's heir and the head of this Clan. Nobody will contest that - least of all Ryuu, I imagine. You said the boy knows of it, but even so..."

"Ryuu doesn't want the Clan, and made it clear to me what he thought should happen," Guren admitted. "For so long I've seen him so much as Seiren's shadow, but I'm thinking now that I simply haven't seen him at all. He's been there, but I've not really stopped and considered him as a person in his own right. He's a very astute boy, Futsuki, and I'm relieved to know it."

"But he doesn't want to succeed you?"

"No. He wants Shirogane to, instead."

"I see," Futsuki rubbed his chin. "And you? What do you think?"

"My thoughts have lingered far too much with Ribari to be rational about the succession at all," Guren confessed. "Until Seiren is more able to receive company, I daren't discuss the future of the family too much. I wanted Shirogane to be what you have been to me, and I would've given him the Kuchiki name to support Ribari, even though he wasn't my son. Now that's changed. Ryuu thinks I ought to extend that honour to Shirogane anyway, and name him my heir, in defiance of Kuchiki tradition. Since the Clan has already deviated away from its true line..."

"The Clan's heir is who the head of the Clan names as heir," Futsuki cut across him firmly. "You are the leader of this Clan, and you decide what you think is best. You have advisers, but the final choice is yours. You are strong enough to make them accept whatever you choose, Guren. You always have been. Ribari's death shook you, and I know it's made you more hesitant, but that's over now. Like Senaya-sama, you have choices to make and you must make them. Ryuu has told you his feelings, and now you need to act."

"I would have been lost as Clan leader without you and Seiren," Guren said ruefully, offering his brother a haphazard smile. "I'm realising it all the more now that Seiren might not...that there's a chance he won't live. The younger brother I thought I hated has really been an older brother who's protected me from the shadows, even from my own doubts. He knew about this...how long for, I don't know, but long enough to still swear loyalty to my son over his and to pull away from me when he felt his existence was a threat. I never saw it before, and I feel bad that I did not. I am not my father, Futsuki. I don't have his clever way of manipulation and I cannot always see what is not obvious until it is too late."

"You never needed to be Senaya-sama," Futsuki pointed out. "Nobody ever asked you to be, least of all him."

"True," Guren nodded. "That's maybe the thing that frightens me most now. The decisions I make now are going to influence the Clan generations beyond mine. Father obviously felt that way when he chose to swap Seiren and I and make me his heir. I'm sure he understood that the consequences of his choices would never go away, even after he died. If he did use his life to make amends for his decisions, then he was a greater man than even I understood him to be, and I wish I had known then how great. It makes me understand how intimidating his shadow is to live under, but you're right. I must push forward and school this Clan into the next stage of its evolution. If Ryuu will not succeed me, then I must persuade Shirogane, and I must make him my son in the eyes of Kuchiki law."

He cast Futsuki a doubtful glance.

"Futsuki, one other thing. That piece of paper, it talked as though Father had another child before Seiren and I. I wondered if you remembered...if there was anything...before Father and Mother married, or even after...that might have explained that?"

Futsuki was silent for a moment, then he shook his head.

"I am not so much older than you that I recall everything from before you were born with such clarity," he reflected.

"I realise that, but as far as you know, there was...nothing?"

"My memories really begin when Mother married Senaya-sama, and I was brought into the Kuchiki manor. Before that point, I barely knew Senaya-sama, and I certainly had no reason to know if he had other connections, not as such a small child," Futsuki pointed out.

"Mother had no miscarriage or anything of that nature? There were no hurried purification festivals that you remember?"

"No. None," Futsuki confirmed. "I was very young, though, and I confess, my interests were more in playing swords than focusing on ritual and pageantry. I would probably not remember...I'm sorry."

"Never mind," Guren pursed his lips. "It probably matters not at all, since Father is long dead and gone, and no child has ever come to the Clan claiming to be a descendant. Whatever it was, I imagine it came to nothing. Maybe the child – if there was one - simply did not live, and perhaps there are some of Father's shadows I would do better not digging into too deeply."

He cast his brother a sheepish grin.

"I was blessed enough with the siblings I was given, and I should not wonder about any more," he added. "I have two older brothers who have guided and supported me well since I became leader of this Clan, and I had a younger sister who has given me a nephew for whom I have a genuine affection. I trust I will now build stronger bonds with Seiren's son, too, and the Clan will become closer as a whole. A close Clan is a strong one,and that is what I will look to do.

"I won't create illusions like Father did. I will use my chance as leader of this family to make it strong and stable for the future. Will you help me, Futsuki? Seiren may not be able to, but I trust, when Shirogane returns, I will be able to address with him the possibility of becoming my heir. And, if I do so, I will need force and determination to push it through the Kuchiki court without dissention. I will speak to Seiren, of course, but as you say – this must be my will, not the will of others."

"Supporting your will is part of my job, isn't it?" Despite himself, Futsuki grinned, and Guren nodded, somehow comforted by his brother's easy agreement.

"It has been, and will be," he agreed, his gaze flitting back towards the window. "Very well. All we can do now, then, is wait for Shirogane to return, and hope that things in District One do not upset my plans now I have decided how I should go forward."

---

That day lurked in his memories as nothing more than pooling, incessant shards of bitter rain. The cloud's tears had blurred and smothered his recollection of her, that final time, as wrapped in heavy robes and dressed in the plain colours of a District maiden, he had said his final farewells to his only child.

Her sombre grey eyes had told him all he needed to say was already understood by this child who stood before him. She appeared so much like her mother, he had reflected bitterly, only to be stolen away from him just as cruelly as she had been ten years before. His hands had trembled slightly as he had reached to straighten the creases of the cloak that hung heavy and black like mourning weaves around her shoulders, and as he had moved his arm towards her, small fingers had come up to meet it, his sword-calloused hand suddenly enclosed by her soft, pale one.

"It will be all right, Otousama,"

The words had been soft, but spoken with resolution and there had not been the slightest waver in her young voice. Her gaze had never left his, and though there were tears glittering against his lashes, she had not allowed herself a display of such demeaning emotion on such an important day.

"It's not all right," he had not known he was going to speak until the words had left his lips, and impulsively he had wrapped her in a tight embrace, pulling her towards him as though afraid she would disappear before his very eyes.

"This is not what I want," he had murmured, though he knew she already understood. "I'm not sending you away, Raiko – you know that, don't you? I've argued and fought and threatened your uncle more times than I can count over the last few days, and this is still something I'd fight over again, if I thought it could change things. I want you here…I've always wanted you here. It's not my wish to let you go."

"I know," Raiko's voice had shaken slightly then, reminding him that she was still only ten, despite her outward composure. "Guren cried a lot when I told him I was going away, though, Papa, so you mustn't. I stopped myself from crying when Guren was there, but I couldn't if you…if you cry. Please don't cry. It's all right, really. I understand why I have to go, and it's all right."

She had pulled away from him, meeting his eyes with damp ones of her own, though a smile had forced its way across her delicate features.

"Hahaue was sick, and I might get sick too," she had whispered, as though not trusting herself to speak aloud. "I might make Guren sick, or other people, and that would be bad for the Kuchiki. If I stay, people will suffer because I'm here. If I stay, people might hurt me. Senaya-ojisama explained it all to me and I understand. He doesn't want to send me away either, Otousama. He told me that if he didn't, people might hurt me and they might hurt you or Guren, too. I don't want that. I don't want anyone being hurt because of me."

She frowned, and for the briefest of instants he had seen pain in her young eyes.

"Hahaue died because I was born," she had murmured. "I won't let anyone else die because I'm alive."

"Raiko, you mustn't…"

"It's all right," Those tiny, delicate fingers had come up once more, this time pressing against his lips to prevent him from finishing his sentence. "I promised Uncle Senaya that I'd go and I wouldn't talk to anyone about this, not ever. It isn't as though I don't know where I'm going, or with who, and they're kind people, Papa. They'll look after me and I'll be all right."

She had let out a heavy sigh, eying her father pensively.

"Senaya-ojisama promised me he'd look after you, too," she added matter-of-factly, "and so did Guren, so you won't be all by yourself when I'm gone."

"Raiko," Closing his eyes, he had drawn her close to him once again, hugging her tightly as the tears threatened to spill down his cheeks. "Be safe. Live safe. Live your life and make everything you can of it, away from this place of rules, restrictions and prejudice. I'll watch over you as much as I can, so live well for me and for your mother, too. She would want it like that…and so do I."

"I will. I mean to," Raiko had raised determined eyes to her father's, nodding her head purposefully. "Hahaue gave her life for me, so I have to live her life too. I'll do everything I can, Papa, I promise, so don't be sad. If we don't meet again in this life, maybe we'll meet in the next one – and Hahaue will be there too, so we can all be together again."

Kinnya drew a deep breath into his lungs, composing his emotions as he pushed the memories back from the forefront of his mind. Across Genryuusai's study, his companion stood watching him with intent, yet apprehensive hazel eyes, and although their shade was different, the old man could not help but see Raiko's expression lurking in that hesitant gaze. His eyes ran over the boy's thin features, taking in each and every one of his daughter's precious characteristics etched across Juushirou's pale face.

Juushirou was a boy, an adult, a child who had battled sickness and whose gene pool had been muddied further by his District inheritance, yet despite all of those things, Kinnya still recognised his daughter's only son. Raiko's expressions were there, blurred by time, perhaps, but still vivid in the face of one who had never had the opportunity to know her. Instead of leaving her child living memories, Raiko had bequeathed him her genetic legacy instead. Both the vicious haibyou curse and Juushirou's delicately formed features told Kinnya beyond all doubt that the young shinigami who stood before him was the ultimate proof his daughter had really lived.

And, inside of him, you continue to live. Raiko-chan, I understand what you couldn't tell me for the first time since you died. You're gone, but this way, its as though you're still here. Was this what you meant, when you said the 'next life?' Did you mean your son's life, rather than the rebirth of your own?

There was a long silence, then Kinnya sighed, sinking down onto Genryuusai's cushions and indicating for his companion to take the one opposite. Juushirou did so, pulling his robe more tightly around his trembling body as he settled himself on the ground. Lank white hair fell loose around his face, tousled and unkempt, and the boy's hollow cheeks and sallow complexion reminded the old man of Raiko's mother Sashiko, yet the resolve and determination that glimmered in the shinigami's hazel gaze reassured him that unlike that fleeting memory of the past, this soul still had life firmly in its grip. Genryuusai had been right, he reflected absently. Juushirou was weak, but in weakness he had found strength, and he would be a shinigami.

He'll be a shinigami who, if Sensei's plans work out, could by his very existence change the elitism in Soul Society forever. I know that would have pleased you, wouldn't it, musume-chan?

He folded the soiled handkerchief, returning it to his obi.

"I didn't expect to speak to you like this, so forgive me if I seem a little haphazard," he said quietly. "You have to realise, Juushirou, that...I didn't really think we would come to meet."

"Shunsui said that you didn't want me to know who you were," Juushirou murmured, his voice hoarse but steadier than it had been outside, and Kinnya allowed himself an inward sigh of relief that the warmth of the study had begun to pervade the youth's shivering body. "I...I realise how impertinent it must be, to charge out like I did and demand...anything from a Kuchiki Lord. I would understand...if you were cross with me, or cursed me, or any of those things. I just...I realised it was the only chance I might ever have to know about...Hahaue."

"Raiko..." Kinnya let out a heavy sigh. "Perhaps it was naive of me to think that your friend would keep my secret."

"No, it wasn't Shunsui who told me," Juushirou shook his head. "I found out another way. Shunsui said I ought to respect your privacy, but I...I..."

He reddened, faltering, and despite himself, Kinnya's lips twitched into a faint smile.

"Like your mother, you charged right on in," he said gently, and Juushirou's colour deepened. He nodded his head.

"I suppose so. I mean, I don't really know what Hahaue was like, except bits and pieces people have told me, but I suppose...that is what I did."

"She used to do the exact same thing," Kinnya pursed his lips, picturing once again that solemn, cloaked figure as they had said their final farewells. "She used to...if something wasn't as she thought it should be, she'd go right for the heart of it and try to put it right. That was how she was...always trying to make sure everything was...right."

"I guess most people would say I do that, only they call it idiocy," Juushirou admitted, twisting his fingers together in his lap. "Father was a bit that way too, though, so perhaps I...I...got it from both sides."

"Your father, huh?" Kinnya chewed on his lip, a troubled look entering his gaze. "Your father is no longer alive, I believe?"

"No, sir," Juushirou shook his head. "When I was fourteen, he was killed by a Hollow."

"A crime that can surely never be forgiven, no matter how much time passes?"

"A crime?" Juushirou's head jerked up. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand. Do you mean the Hollow? It's partly why I'm a shinigami, but more because I want to protect my family, and other people like them. It isn't because...well, this was what Father wanted for me, too, and for his sake and theirs, I decided..."

"No...no." Kinnya held up his hands, shaking his head slowly. "I didn't mean it like that."

He frowned, then,

"How much do you know of me, Juushirou? You clearly know my connection to you by blood, and since you do, I won't try and deny any of it. I will be as honest with you as I can, but I need to know first...who you believe me to be?"

"I...know very little," Juushirou coloured red once more. "I mean, Ryuu said you...you kept yourself to yourself a lot. After Senaya-sama died, you...you retired, and he didn't know much to tell me. I didn't really think much about it until...when you released your sword, mine was reaching out for it. I didn't understand why, but now I do, I realise...it's where I got my spirit power from. It's from you. And...I...I suppose I realised I knew nothing at all about you."

"You know that I am the Lord of the Coastal Regions, wherein your family apparently make their home?"

"Yes, sir. I was aware of something like that."

"Then you know that it was my negligence that led to your Father's demise?"

"...Sir?" Juushirou blinked, clearly confused, and Kinnya rubbed his brows.

"My duty as a shinigami is to guard the people I rule over from danger," he said softly, "but in your Father's case, I did not. I confess, I had no idea that such an attack had happened till very recently - indeed, until I met with Ryuu last winter, I didn't even know you had lived, and I certainly had no knowledge of Raiko's...of the man Raiko married. But...even so...had I done my duty, your Father might not have died. Had I done that..."

He trailed off, and Juushirou's expression became thoughtful.

"Father's death was...something I blamed myself for for a long time," he said quietly. "I was there, and it was my life Father tried to save. He wouldn't have come into danger if not for me, so I believed I must be cursed."

He spread his hands.

"I don't know if I'm to blame for Father's death or not, now," he admitted. "Perhaps some part of me will always feel that way, but the most of me is determined to live life as much as possible and do all the things he would have hoped I would. This life was his gift to me, and so I moved past losing him and was able to go on. I don't think I ever considered the shinigami who hunted the Hollow to be to blame. You can't save everyone. That's why it's so important for me and for other District children to take up the sword and protect our own people. There are lots of reasons that Hollows exist, and I've known a long time that there aren't enough people hunting them. That's why it needs to change, but...it doesn't make it...any one person's fault that Father died."

Kinnya's eyes widened, and Juushirou smiled.

"You just told me that you didn't know Father or I existed until recently," he added. "If you had known Father was attacked and had done nothing, maybe then you could be blamed, but as it is..."

He looked sheepish.

"That was cheeky, wasn't it? I'm sorry. I just...I guess I was saying that...I wouldn't blame you for something like that. And...even if I did...you saved my life, now. If there was any reason for me to hate you, it wouldn't be there any more."

"I see," Kinnya murmured. "I'm afraid that greatness of mind must be something you inherited from your father's line. I confess...I find it harder to let go of loved ones once they're dead and gone."

Juushirou's expression became stricken.

"You mean...Hahaue?" he whispered, and Kinnya smiled sadly, nodding his head.

"I loved your mother more than anything else in the world," he said gravely. "You said outside that I might not want to talk about someone thrown out of my Clan, and that I might consider you impudent for speaking to me because of your manner of birth. The truth is that I didn't want to talk about Raiko, and I was fearful of meeting you. I didn't know how I would handle either thing, after so long pulled away from everything."

"Then...Hahaue..."

"Raiko left the Clan because there was no other choice," Kinnya said heavily, aware that tears had begun to form in his eyes as he related such a painful memory. "If she had not, she would probably have been assassinated. I wanted to acknowledge her as my daughter, and for ten years, I managed to do just that. But the Kuchiki are a traditional Clan, Juushirou. They have rules for everything, and even my brother couldn't do anything to prevent them."

He sank back against the wall, recalling the last time he had seen his daughter, eyes solemn beneath the heavy robes that cloaked her from head to foot.

"Raiko understood better than I did, I think," he added. "She was the one who made the decision to go into exile. I would have continued to fight her cause, but it was creating dissention in several court circles and Senaya-nii had also told me there was no choice but to act. Others would act first, otherwise, he said. If I didn't, then others would. There was nothing else to be done about it."

He reached across to touch Juushirou's white hair, then lowered his hand.

"Raiko was close friends with Guren-sama as a child," he murmured. "Some whispered that they might one day even marry, and this was not popular in the more traditional circles. I had acknowledged Raiko, so her bloodline couldn't be dismissed, but her rivals found another way to discredit her. She had common blood, they'd say. Diseased blood. Her mother died of the white plague...and so she was tainted, too. Her children might one day...have the sickness the Kuchiki had worked so hard to eradicate."

"Haibyou," Juushirou's eyes became huge. "So that's how you knew...how you understood..."

"Raiko's mother Sashiko was a very smart and very special individual who just happened to be born into a peasant family, rather than a noble house," Kinnya agreed, reaching up to wipe away the stray tears that now scattered across his cheeks. "I had no shame in loving her, and have none now. I could not marry her, for I was the Clan leader's brother, and such a thing was not meet. She died when Raiko was born of birth fever - but it was undoubtedly complicated by the haibyou that ravaged her system."

He flexed his fingers, watching them glitter with faint golden light.

"I don't know many healing Kidou," he added, "but I do know one. The spell that soothed your chest just now was one I learned to help your grandmother breathe when her attacks were particularly bad. I was with her when she died, and in her final fever, her hair turned white. The medics could not save her - either could not, or would not, I never really knew which. Raiko, on the other hand, was strong and determined to live. I chose her name, because I wanted the Clan to understand whose daughter she was, even though she was illegitimate. Rai, for the lightning that Raiurei conducts, and ko because she was my child."

"I see." Juushirou bit his lip. "The reason you didn't want to speak to me...to face me...to tell me who you were is because of that - because of Hahaue. That's the real truth, isn't it, sir? Father's death was one thing, but the real truth is that...that Hahaue lost her life when I was born, and you...you didn't want to look at the child who brought about her death."

"Juushirou..." Kinnya's heart faltered in his chest at the rawness of those words. "No, you're mistaken. Truly mistaken. I loved Raiko, yes. I loved her and for more than twenty years I have withdrawn from most things on account of my grief. I won't pretend that's not the case, foolish though it might appear to a young one like you. I was my brother's right hand man and as such, I did things of which I'm not entirely proud. I believed...maybe karma had come to punish me by rendering me alone for such a long time. Raiko's life...I knew it had ended, and I knew why. I didn't know, though, that her son had lived. I had thought you both had died, since I had been told you didn't breathe at birth. Had I known that Raiko had left a legacy in this world, had I understood that..."

He swallowed hard, unable to stop the tears now.

"Raiko blamed herself for Sashiko's death, and left the Clan so that other people's lives would not be in danger because of her," he said unevenly. "My life, her life, even Guren's life could have been in peril if she had been allowed to remain, and she knew that even at ten years old. She was determined nobody else would ever die because she was alive…that's why I know that your being alive now is a decision Raiko herself chose to make. She could have survived, most probably, but I imagine it would have been at your expense. By choosing to save you, she kept her promise to herself. You lived, and she moved on – but I believe it was a decision she made understanding the consequences and she was satisfied with what it would mean. She wanted her son to live…I do not blame you for her death."

"Hahaue blamed herself for my grandmother's death?" Juushirou murmured, and Kinnya nodded.

"She did, but I never did," he confirmed. "Sashiko was sickly and weak in body, if not in mind, and her life would probably not have been much prolonged even had Raiko not come into the world when she did. Still, my daughter never quite shook that thought from her mind…and to hear you say such similar things…it's as though even beyond death her touch still lingers about you."

"I wonder if it does," Juushirou looked thoughtful. "I know she put everything she could into saving me, and sealed away the worst of my spirit power till I was able to tackle it and use it properly like I can now. Maybe that is what she was thinking…perhaps that's why she was so determined to let me live, even if it was at her expense. If Grandmother's death was like that, too..."

He bit his lip.

"You've lost a lot of people dear to you, haven't you?" He asked softly. Kinnya nodded again.

"You are the reason I stirred from my mourning at all," he agreed brokenly. "I am an old man with a sentimental heart, and when Ryuu told me that I had a living grandson, it reached through the gloom and reminded me that I really was still alive. Since then I've learned of many things I could and should have done better, but when I came here, it was my absolute decision not to let you get hurt. Genryuusai-sensei told me that Aizen had once targeted you - though I came here on Guren's orders, when I realised Aizen had charge of you, I left the school at once in order to track him down."

"You...really came looking for me...?"

"I didn't want to let you see me fight," Kinnya admitted. "My blade is ruthless, and my reiatsu did you a good deal more harm than Aizen's spell, I imagine. The last thing I wanted was to acknowledge to you who I was...and have you...push me away."

Juushirou stared at his companion as if unable to believe his words, and Kinnya let out a rueful laugh.

"I am a foolish, dated creature, driven to distraction by two decades of isolation and despair," he said self-effacingly. "I did not want to taint you with any part of my existence. From all I know, you have a kind and supportive family, and have no need of financial aid. Nor do you have any aspirations of Clan grandeur, and I don't believe the kind of restrictions the Kuchiki impose on everything could make a son of Raiko's happy, in any case. I have nothing with which to broach a relationship - there is nothing I have that you need. I did not want to be dismissed or rejected, and so I resolved to hold back. Saving your life was enough. Knowing Raiko's son lives is enough."

Juushirou grinned, shaking his head.

"I have an adopted sister," he said frankly, and Kinnya stared at him in confusion at the sudden subject change. "She grew up in District Seven and she's very disparaging about the Clans. She reckons all Clan people are rich and stupid, and isn't afraid to tell them so whenever she meets them. She thinks they worry about all the wrong things, and sometimes I understand what she means. What you said just then...sounded a bit like that, too."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't need anything," he agreed, "and I wouldn't ask anything like that of you, even if I did. I'm District, and I'll do things my own way...I'll work out my own path to being a strong shinigami, because I believe in that goal. That doesn't mean, though, that I wouldn't care that you existed. I don't want money or influence or anything else like that - it'd be weird and wrong to even ask for it. The only thing I would ever want is to know more about my family. I want to know about my mother...and now I've met him, I want to know about...my grandfather, too."

He reddened again.

"If it's not impertinent for me to call you Grandfather?"

"I have absolutely no reason to think so," Kinnya grinned despite himself. "I should have known that a District boy would have a different way of looking at things from a Clan one."

"Our world is less complicated in some ways, and more in others," Juushirou considered, "but I believe it was a world in which Hahaue was happy. Everything I've heard about her suggests that, O...Ojiisama. Father said it, and my childhood nurse and other relatives - she really loved Father and was truly happy as part of the Ukitake family. Even though I'm sure it must have hurt her not to see you any more, and to keep it all a secret, I think she knew it was the best thing. I really do."

"I do too," Kinnya nodded. "The one who didn't cope with it was me, not Raiko. I had her watched over from afar for a long time, and I know she was happy in her new life. I'm sure she worried about me, though, since her last words to my brother were an instruction to make sure I was all right. So long as Senaya-nii was alive, I was kept far too busy to let my emotions tear me apart - but after he died..."

"You were close to Senaya-sama, weren't you?"

"As close as two fingers, as distant as the sun and moon," Kinnya replied evenly, "in a way only brothers can be. I have always had a good rapport with Guren, however, and now, I trust, I will be able to forge bonds with the current generation of the Kuchiki, too. I am disposed to think very well of your young friend Ryuu, and I rather think Shirogane has the makings of a great Clan leader."

"Senpai? Not...Ryuu?" Juushirou was startled, and Kinnya smiled.

"Time will tell," he reflected, "but Ryuu is the kind of young man who will put Clan loyalty before his own greatness. I believe he will choose a different path to the one his father hopes he'll follow, and I daresay it will be the right one, in the end. Young people are generally better at seeing their future than the old ones who flitter around them. They understand far more than we do about their own minds. That's why I left the heart of the Clan when Senaya-nii died. It was the turn of the next generation - fossils from previous administrations simply get in the way. I had lived my life...or so I believed."

"I hope that's not true," Juushirou said sincerely, getting carefully to his feet and bowing his head solemnly before his companion. "I would like to have time to know my grandfather, and I would like...I would like the opportunity to introduce that grandfather to my family, too. Since Grandmother was District, and Hahaue was half District, I suppose it would be all right to do that? In that way, I think, it would be hard for you to be lonely any more."

"Juushirou?" Kinnya stared at his companion in surprise, then he let out a low chuckle, a sudden flood of warmth engulfing his heart at the sincerity in the student's hazel eyes. "I see. Raiko's ghost watches over me through you, does she? Very well, my boy. I understand, and I accept. I have been in shadows far too long, and whilst I have no wish to return to the intrigues of court, I should take pleasure in a little more company. As you say, I have no prejudice about District people, and I would much like to meet this curious adoptive sister of yours, as well as the kinsfolk who have raised you with such a mature outlook on life. I would relish the opportunity to keep my mind active. More, my body, too."

He got stiffly to his feet, patting Raiurei's hilt.

"Genryuusai-sensei did say to me that he thought there were things I could teach you, and maybe he's right," he reflected. "Your sword and mine have a connection, and we should exploit it whilst we can. You'll be a real shinigami soon, and you'll learn things on the job that nobody can teach you. Sensei believes you will one day reach Bankai with that weapon, though, and Bankai is still a mystical technique about which much is not known. At present it can only be taught by one who already has it."

"By one who...has it?" Juushirou echoed slowly, staring up at his companion as if seeing him anew. "Ojiisama...are you...I mean, does Raiurei..?"

"Genryuusai-sensei was shishou to both my brother and I for this particular skill, so I'd hazard that my knowledge is sufficient to pass on," Kinnya agreed. "Senaya-nii spent time and energy training Guren in all the facets of his sword, but I never had the same opportunity. To be truthful, I had asked to have my blade retired from the Council's list completely, as I could not imagine having a use for it again. Guren prevented me from doing so, though, and perhaps now I'm glad he did. Raiurei's days of open combat may or not be behind him, but I'm sure he'd relish the chance to share his prowess with someone else."

"You have Bankai," Juushirou breathed, and Kinnya chuckled, nodding.

"I do, although I have not used it in a very long time," he acknowledged. "If I am driven to help you with yours, maybe I will reawaken it. That way, even when I am gone, Raiurei and I will have left something important behind us. I didn't realise how important it was to leave a legacy, but seeing the eagerness in your eyes, I confess, I'm beginning to understand why I still have my sword at this ripe age of mine."

"You would really help me to train?" Juushirou's eyes lit up, and Kinnya nodded.

"It will take a long time," he warned. "Many years. Decades, probably. Perhaps longer. Your health is a concern and I wouldn't want to put you in any danger, not to mention the fact that Raiu is rusty and it may take me time to regain the same level of control over my power as I used to have. Those things aside, though, I will help you. It's my duty to teach you the things that you should know about your sword, since your sword is clearly a descendant of mine. If nothing else, it gives me a purpose and a goal to remain in this world, even though Senaya-nii is long gone before me. So long as I have that, I imagine my life will be perpetuated - I truly have felt more alive these past months than I did the previous years together, and that is thanks in part to you. If you want my help, you can have it with pleasure. I should like to see what kind of grandchild Raiurei can boast."

"Definitely. I'd like to be able to train with you," Juushirou agreed, "providing, that is, that I'm allowed to continue being a shinigami beyond graduation. Everyone says I will be, but..."

"You will be," Kinnya smiled. "Genryuusai-sensei has great hopes for you. Besides, your papers are already signed and sealed, so don't change your mind about your vocation now! Just as your classmates will, you will be a member of the Gotei providing you pass your final assessments and graduate here in the spring."

"My papers are...?" Juushirou stared. "How? I don't..."

"A kinsman of high standing is usually required to sign and pay the agreed sum to give consent for a child to join the shinigami squads," Kinnya said calmly. "Genryuusai-sensei is working to remove this rule, but in the meantime, I offered myself as your sponsor. I may be much retired, but as Senaya-nii's brother, I am still considered first degree Kuchiki. If I should choose to wield it, I have a good amount of influence that only the Clan leader has enough authority to overrule. Why should I not therefore use that rank for some material good? With my name authorising your paperwork, and with a Kuchiki listed as your original sword shishou, nobody will question your right to enter the Gotei with the others."

"Ojiisama?" Juushirou was struck speechless, and Kinnya laughed.

"Your mother would want me to do that, at least," he reflected. "I can see from your eyes that you have mixed feelings about it, which is a good reason why it was all done and finalised before you knew it had been. I realise you don't want Clan favours from me, and I will not offer any other than this. Genryuusai-sensei hopes the law will change within the next twelve months, but it is a lengthy process and it won't come in time for your graduation. For you not to be numbered among Seireitei's new shinigami in the spring would be unforgivable given your academic record, and therefore he asked me if I would put ink to parchment and confirm your entitlement, just in case there were people who wanted to contest it. Truthfully, you weren't supposed to know of it - as you and I were not supposed to meet and talk like this, I thought it might be the one way in which I could do something for my grandson's future. All I did was confirm what makes good sense, though. All the hard work has been your own, and it has nothing to do with Clan influence."

"I suppose...so," Juushirou looked doubtful. "It's not that I'm not grateful, and I understand what you said. I just...hadn't realised those things had been going on."

"The law is the thing that's wrong in this case," Kinnya said comfortably. "The Clans didn't expect a District shinigami to be of Gotei standard so soon after allowing them admittance to the Academy, and there have been so many private wrangles that in the past five years little has been done to anticipate your coming. Genryuusai-sensei will change that, and the Clans will be forced to vote on it sooner or later. In the meantime, this allows you to move forward and show those same Clans exactly why the change in the law is needed."

"But you don't know anything about my ability, not really...how can you be sure that signing it was a good thing? You must have done it before you even laid eyes on me!"

"I did, but I had no doubts," Kinnya shrugged his shoulders. "Sensei's word is generally enough. More than that, though, it was my duty to do this for you, since I was the only one who possibly could. I'm sure that, more than anything, Raiko gave you life so that you could follow your dreams. She'd be proud of you - but since she isn't here to see you achieve these things, I have to do it on her behalf. That includes clearing up small technicalities of this nature. It takes pressure away from your District kin, as well - they won't need to worry about how to help you progress, if it's all already done and settled now."

"I'm the first person in the Ukitake-ke to become a shinigami, and my family support me, but don't always understand everything about it," Juushirou admitted. "This is the first time...well, I love my family dearly, and nothing will ever replace them, not ever. I just...I've always had this part of me that was different from them, even from Father. Now...for the first time, I've found someone who's blood family who is...like me. I'm not the first shinigami in my family, not on Mother's side. What's strange and new to me and to my District kin is normal and common-place for you, isn't it? Things like signing those forms or training with a sword...none of it is strange to you at all."

"For better or worse, the shinigami have always been the province of the Clans," Kinnya said thoughtfully. "I hope, though, that Genryuusai-sensei's ambitions are realised. You might be the first District shinigami, Juushirou, and it may be better for Seireitei to see you as such - but you aren't without protection. Even without my involvement, I understand from Sensei that you have a strong rapport with the Kyouraku who have come to your defence on occasion in the past, and you clearly have friendships among the other Clansfolk here at the Academy, Kuchiki among the rest. There is still much to be done before children with no such connections or backing are able to slip through training and into the Gotei without anyone batting an eye."

"I agree," Juushirou inclined his head. "I think, though, that I can help open the door. That's what I hope, anyway. I am District, whatever other things surround me. My father was District, and my mother half...that makes me District, and I prefer it that way. Having Clan kin is a new adventure, and I hope I'll learn a lot more about my power and my mother because of it, but making those blood connections won't change who I am or where I belong. We'll be family, Ojiisama, but other than help with my training, I won't ever ask you to be anything more than just my Grandfather. I want people to see me as a District shinigami and I want to succeed as one...so the door is wide open for others to follow my path."

"Agreed and understood," Kinnya said solemnly. "From this point on, I will be no more than that. You have my word."

He sighed, his gaze flitting to the window.

"I must go," he added regretfully. "I must take Shirogane back to District Six. From what Genryuusai-sensei has said, things there are still somewhat tense, and I believe my nephew will be glad of our return."

"Is...Ryuu all right?" Juushirou asked hesitantly, and Kinnya eyed him fondly. He nodded his head.

"Ryuu seems a resiliant sort," he agreed frankly. "Yes, he appears to have survived his adventures intact."

"I wondered. I mean, he didn't come back with..."

"Ryuu's father is currently quite ill, Juushirou," Kinnya said soberly. "Whether he will live or not isn't yet clear, though Retsu-dono has remained there too to help treat him. Right now, Ryuu is the greatest comfort Seiren could have, and I believe it likely he needs that comfort at present. Your friend will doubtless return - but for the time being..."

"No, if Seiren-sama is ill, Ryuu should be with him," Juushirou looked anxious. "Kinnya-sama, if you see Ryuu when you go back, will you tell him that we're all thinking of him and...and that we hope Seiren-sama is better soon?"

"I can do such a thing, easily," Kinnya inclined his head. "You, on the other hand, should return to your rest. You haven't been scolded for your antics yet, but I wouldn't try anyone's patience too greatly by loitering here when you obviously need to sleep."

Juushirou offered a rueful smile.

"My body knows that I rarely listen to it unless I have no choice," he owned. "You're right, though, and I will rest, now. Your reiryoku did take it out of me, and besides, I have…things I need to work out for myself. A lot has happened in the last twenty four hours…while I'm not sure I can sleep with my brain so busy, perhaps peace and quiet will help."

"Very well," Kinnya rested his hand briefly on Juushirou's shoulder, then withdrew it, bowing his head sombrely towards his grandson.

"The next time we meet will be in District Six," he murmured. "I shall wait for you to come to me, and hope that you will not be put off by visiting my manor, although it be Clan and far too elaborate in many respects for sheltering one old man."

"I give you my word, I will come," Juushirou said firmly, grasping his companion's hand and squeezing it impulsively. "I'll write, though, and give you warning before the whole of the Ukitake-ke descend upon you. I imagine that if I write a letter to the Lord of the Coastal Provinces and give it to a local messenger, it'll get to you…so I'll write, for sure, once term ends."

He smiled faintly.

"My birthday is in winter, and Shougatsu too," he added, "and those are things families ought to share with each other, aren't they?"

"It's been a very long time since I knew the answer to that, but I won't disagree with someone so much in earnest," Kinnya chuckled. "Goodbye, Juushirou. Take care and I trust we shall soon meet again."

With that he was gone, making his way through the halls and corridors of the old school manor house towards the front courtyard where the prickle of Shirogane's reiatsu told him that his kinsman was waiting, not entirely patiently, for his return.

Juushirou, huh?

A smile touched his pale lips as he pushed back the main doors, stepping out once more into the pale sunlight.

Well, Raiko, it took me more than twenty years, but finally I found it. The treasure you left behind is now known to me, and I will not lose it again.

He raised his gaze to the sky, taking in the gleam of wintry sunlight from behind the grey-white clouds. Though it was not visible, he knew that somewhere in the pale sky lurked the moon, silent and stern as it waited for its turn to rule supreme over the heavens, but this time it was the sun and not the moon that drew his thoughts towards his brother, as he remembered the years they had spent as youths training their swords under Genryuusai's watchful gaze.

Are you in the sun after all, Aniue? Was that another deception, claiming to lurk in the moon's shadow when it was your sunlight lighting our pathways all along?

He let out a pensive sigh.

Senaya-nii, maybe you disapprove or maybe you don't, but I don't care. My life is my own now, and meeting Juushirou has proven there is still a point in living it, even when you and everything else is gone. I'll continue to watch over your son's actions from afar, but he doesn't need me, not really. You have two clever, talented grandsons who will secure the family's future for a generation beyond, even though Ribari is no longer alive, and I believe Guren will see clearly now the way Seiren lives or not, the Clan will continue to move forward, just as you always hoped.

I'll move forward too, Aniue. I trust it will be some several years before we meet again…since I now have my own reason to stay in this world.

---

Author's Note: Characters

Since we're now right near the end of Meifu's Maki, I've been doing some thinking about characters and the members of Team Stupid in particular. My question for those readers brave or interested enough to answer is:

Do you identify with any members of Team Stupid?

Which member of Team Stupid has traits you'd most like to have?

Obviously this does include Juu and Shun as well, since they're the foundations of Team Stupid. I'll give my own answers in the next AN but since I know so many of you have got attached to one or two of the characters during the course of Meifu's two and a half year timespan, I was curious to know what people might think on this score.

Next chapter is effectively the end of Meifu's Fourth Maki. What happens next…watch this space.

Also, review replies have been late or spasmodic this week. I apologise – I have been in Helsinki since last Saturday and only got back yesterday evening so haven't had a chance to look at most of them yet. I will try and reply to as many as possible in the next few hours, but in the meantime, please enjoy Chapter 71 .