It's been weird being out of touch with the world for so long. The desert is beautiful, but I'm glad I'm back. Here's an extra-long chapter to thank everyone for their patience.
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Ukitake Jushiro understood that there were many people in the world who often struggled to mind their own business, and not only the eternally curious like Ichimaru Gin, but those who really felt a need to be involved in every moment of the lives of everyone around them because of how much they cared about them. He had never been one of these people. As much as he did care about everyone around him, he very seldom felt any need to look any more deeply into their lives. The few problems people did share with him were more than enough to occupy what little energy he had. He did not need to seek out more.
Let everyone keep their own business to themselves--especially Shunsui--any day Shun kept his business to himself was a good day.
But then, as Ukitake was sitting on a porch, drinking a--sadly medicinal--cup of tea, and watching over some of the most advanced members of his division practice their kido, one of the shinigami on gate duty came running up to the porch.
The girl bowed and said, "Excuse me, Captain, but we thought you should be alerted, Captain Kurotsuchi has come to visit Lieutenant--I mean Nemu--I mean Lady Ukitake-sama." The girl bowed again, lower this time, after stumbling over what to call his suddenly non-Gotei wife. "Please excuse me, Captain."
"Nemu-san will be fine, Shiri-chan. There's no need to call her by any title," Ukitake said, smiling, although all he could think about was intercepting Kurotsuchi before he came anywhere near Nemu.
"You shouldn't have let that monster in!" Kiyone protested.
"Don't you know the Captain's angry with him?" Sentaro practically shouted at the poor gate guard.
"We'll throw him out for you, Captain!"
"Yeah, we'll get rid of him! Coming here after what he's done! He'd better come on his hands and knees!"
"Enough," Ukitake said and the two fell silent, somehow realizing that for once he wasn't in the mood for their drama. "Shiori-chan, don't worry. You did exactly as you should have. You may return to your post."
The two Third Seats sighed, and Ukitake could feel their restlessness behind him. He felt exactly the same. But it was none of his business. Nemu could handle her relationship with Kurotsuchi however she wished. If she chose to speak to him that was her business not his.
She did not need an overbearing brute of a husband to come bursting in ready to protect her. She was strong and intelligent. It was insulting to her to even consider that she might need him. But Kurotsuchi, with his poisons and his lying manipulations, wasn't safe for anyone, and Nemu, she could be so naive.
One moment Ukitake Jushiro was sitting calmly on the porch, the next he had vanished so suddenly and completely that his two Third Seats had no chance of following him, and his reiatsu was so completely hidden that the pair who had spent their entire careers tracking him could find no sense of where he had gone.
Ukitake felt like a fool, which he knew he was. Anyone over four hundred years old had no excuse playing at being a shinobi over a woman, but there really wasn't anything else he could call this. He was standing, completely hidden, outside his own entertaining hall, with the twin blades of Sogyo no Kotowari in his hands, spying on a private conversation between his wife and her father.
He should leave, and he knew it. Either that or he should admit he was too weak to leave and go in and apologize to Nemu now. He should not stay here. This, listening, just to make sure nothing happens, was absolutely childish, and disrespectful to Nemu.
And they were having tea! He was spying on tea! What was wrong with him? He really had imagined a threat out of nothing. Kurotsuchi was a strange man, but he must have come to reconcile with his daughter. He had always seemed to have some sort of a fondness for her.
"Isn't the tea good?" He heard Nemu say, and he smiled, remembering a time when for her differentiating between flavors had been about chemical differences and not tastes. "Shiro-chan's sister sent it to us for New Years."
"You have become very skilled at imitating the thoughts and feelings of a real person, Nemu. I have not been able to determine why. It does not appear to be in line with the singular goal with which you were created. You were created only to serve as my lieutenant. Your only goal was to be useful. You were to focus only on gaining more knowledge and more strength with which to be more useful. The only emotion with which you were created was curiosity, an absolute necessity for all scientists. I cannot see how you grew from that to this. You were a brilliant tool, useful in almost every endeavor of the Department of Research and Development and now you are nothing but the plaything of a crippled captain. You do not 'love' him. You do not feel anything. Please explain to me why you insist on playing this role."
Ukitake drew in a deep breath. He had heard all this before. Kurotsuchi had never hidden his doubts about the depth of Nemu's feelings and Ukitake had never once listened. He didn't buy the idea of an artificial soul; a soul, however created, was the very core of a being. It thought, it felt, it existed. Nemu was as real as any other being of Soul Society. Ukitake had never doubted Nemu, not in her feelings for him or anything else, but Kurotsuchi's words had often made Nemu doubt herself. She was never quite sure she was real.
It hurt to stand silent while hearing Kurotsuchi speak words that would cause Nemu pain, but he shouldn't be here at all. It wasn't any of his business.
"I have told you before," Nemu said with her usual calm. "It is not a role. I have grown. If you did not want me to grow you should not have given me that ability."
"You have grown, Nemu," Kurotsuchi said. "You are very much like a child. The growth and development of the human mind is second to none, and it seemed sensible to me that I model your growth on that pattern. In many ways I would say it has been a success. You have followed most models accurately, and the depth of understanding and the extent of knowledge you hold on most subjects has progressed most satisfactorily."
"Then what is your objection?"
"Like most children on the cusp of adulthood you desire freedom. You wish to be free from the control of your parent and to become the master of your own life. I suspect that may be the entire reason for this charade. Who better than Ukitake to protect you from me? He would buy the even most obvious false story of hardship, and die to protect the poor, pitiful victim--and if he were to die half the Gotei would turn out to avenge him. I cannot comprehend the logic of fighting and possibly dying to avenge the death of a man we all know will be dying soon anyway. It is completely nonsensical."
"You wouldn't--" Nemu began.
"Am I one to pick a fight with half the Gotei? I am no fool. I will not harm your shield, Nemu, but I think you may have forgotten something." Ukitake heard the rustle of paper like the sound of a scroll being unrolled. Then he heard Kurotsuchi begin to read. " 'As the property of Division Twelve, the constructed being known as Kurotsuchi Nemu shall be excluded from the order to destroy all mod-souls. This exemption shall last for only as long as it is deemed valuable to the functioning of Division Twelve. If at some point Division Twelve no longer finds it to be of value it must be destroyed.' "
Kurotsuchi paused, and Ukitake felt, for a second, like he'd been struck through the heart. The order to destroy the mod-souls had been monstrous, and he hadn't been given the chance to fight it. It had been carried out before he'd even heard it had been issued, a secret order within RD, but this, he knew there was no way it would happen. He was a Captain of the Gotei with well over two hundred years worth of friendships and favors to call upon if necessary, and he'd fought against worse odds and come out on top. There was no way Nemu would ever be in any real danger.
Kurotsuchi was not done. "I will still allow you to come back, Nemu. You have been very defiant, but I am willing to forgive you. You will come back to me, and you will obey all of my orders without question. You will be the lieutenant you were designed to be, and you will forget of all the sentimental nonsense Ukitake has been filling your head with."
There was silence, and Ukitake fought the urge to run to Nemu's side, and, perhaps, murder her father on the way. How any person could treat another like this was beyond him, making such a monstrous threat, blackmailing her, and the man called himself her father! Did he not know what the word meant? Nemu was nothing to Kurotsuchi but a science experiment, even if she was created from his DNA, and if she was no longer useful to him, he saw no reason not to destroy her.
"I resigned at your request and not because I do not wish to serve as your lieutenant," Nemu answered. "However I will not serve under the conditions you suggest. There are some commands even a captain cannot give. I am not your slave."
"Do you not see that order?" Kurotsuchi demanded. "You're not even a slave. You're a thing. You're a tool and a weapon built for my division. You are not a person. Constructed beings cannot be allowed to become a part of society. They are too dangerous. While you were under the watch of the division you could be allowed to exist, but as an unsupervised citizen of Seireitei--it is completely irresponsible. Ukitake should have known better than to encourage you in this. The fool. He has imagined you to be something you are not, and it is time he faces reality. If you will not return to the division and get rid of that thing so you can be useful to our mission I will inform the Punishment Squad that you are to be collected for destruction. That'll be a nasty little wake up for your gentle husband. It's about time the Gotei remembered what you really are."
"No," Nemu said, softly. "You will not. That order applies to Kurotsuchi Nemu, a constructed being. I am Ukitake Nemu, a member of a noble house. Even if someone might wish to apply the order for the destruction of mod-souls to me, it could not be you. You are a Captain of the Gotei. You no longer have any jurisdiction over me."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Kurotsuchi demanded.
"I am no longer a member of the Gotei. You accepted my resignation. I am Lady Ukitake Nemu, wife of the head of the Ukitake House, a lesser noble house, under the rule of the Four Great Houses. The order for my destruction must go through one of the Four Great Houses themselves or Central 46. Until Central 46 is reconvened you cannot touch me. Jushiro told me he made that clear to you and General Yamamoto yesterday. Was that not the case?"
"Then when they are reconvened the order will be put through, Nemu," Kurotsuchi snapped. "I will not be defied like this! Not by my own creation!"
"By then there would be no reason for you to do so," Nemu answered, sounding truly puzzled. "Why would you waste your time on a likely futile fight?"
"I created you. If I desire it, you will die."
"I don't think so," Nemu's answer was absolutely confident, and Ukitake felt very proud of her. She had come so far. She had been created as little more than a puppet, serving the whims of a mad scientist, but she had become so much more. She was strong now, able to stand on her own without fear, facing down her creator. No one could claim she had not grown beyond her programming now, not when she could speak with such absolute defiance to the one she had been created to obey.
He should go now, let her have her moment, and return later to apologize about how foolish he had been to think she would need his help. She could stand on her own. She did not need any crutch.
He heard Kurotsuchi stand and start for the door, and Ukitake was about to vanish himself, when Kurotsuchi had to share one last remark. "I have been told it will be a year before Central 46 can reconvene. That is convenient. While I am seeing to your disposal will be the perfect time to make a recommendation on the handling of half-constructs. Likely, one as carelessly patched together as the one you are growing should be destroyed. The dangers of such a genetic mismatch--"
He pulled open the rice paper door to the porch, and his words cut off abruptly. The shining blades of Sogyo no Kotowari were crossed at his throat, and he was looking into the eyes of Ukitake Jushiro, burning with a fury the like of which had seldom been seen even in the Gotei 13.
"It is enough," Ukitake said through gritted teeth. It was taking all of his strength not to pull the blades apart and simply remove the man's head from his shoulders. Not in front of Nemu, was the only thought that stopped him. This had to end. The man had to die, but not in front of Nemu. "Nemu, go."
But in the instant his eyes shifted to Nemu a cloud of poisonous gas burst out from Kurotsuchi. Both Nemu and Ukitake leapt back. Nemu went up, smashing through the tiles before landing on the roof a good distance away, and Ukitake landed on a stone in the decorative pond that divided his quarters from one of the division practice fields--where at the moment a crowd of young shinigami were running through kenpo stances.
Ukitake did not show any reaction to the crowd behind him, only raising his hand and calling, "Sekisho," calling up a barrier wall running the entire length of the pond, directly behind himself, protecting them, but in no way shielding himself from the purple plumes of gas they could now see rising from the Captain's home.
Kurotsuchi stepped out onto the porch with Ashisogi Jizo in shikai. "I cannot kill you," Kurotsuchi said with a sigh. "As I was explaining to Nemu earlier. Yamamoto will not allow it, and it would not be rational to allow a personal issue to take precedence at a time like this. I cannot deny your skills will be useful in the coming fight against Aizen as you must see mine are as well. The Gotei needs me. You are a man respected for your wisdom and self-control, surely you will not allow some little quarrel over a girl to destroy your reputation?"
Ukitake's eyes went to Nemu, standing on the broken roof of their home. She had retreated further when she had seen Ashisogi Jizo in Kurotsuchi's hand. She looked angry, with him, most likely, but also worried, worried Kurotsuchi might hurt him, and worried the poisons Kurotsuchi waved about so carelessly might destroy the life that was only beginning within her. It was enough. She would not worry again, not because of this petty tyrant.
"Bankai," Ukitake said, with utter calm, "Waves of the Infinite Seas, wash away the attacks of my enemies."
"Bankai?" Kurotsuchi demanded, "Here? Are you out of your mind?" He did not even notice the fact that his daughter began to call up another kido shield more elaborate than the one Ukitake had first called, that encircled the pair and should protect the division from any fallout from a bankai. She clearly did not doubt Ukitake was serious.
But then the power of Sogyo no Kotowari was washing over the poisonous cloud, shredding it into its elemental reishi, and he had only two choices, match Ukitake's attack or surrender.
"Bankai: divine leg-cutting Jizo!" he shouted, and the giant, golden, baby-headed caterpillar monstrosity emerged from his zanpakuto.
But it was too late. The slow-moving creature could not act, much less react before it was enveloped in the overwhelming wave of reiatsu, disintegrating, like the shikai had, into its component reishi.
Ukitake leapt forward then. Attack first and think later was the only way to deal with a genius like Kurotsuchi. Give him a second to think, and he was sure to come up with a way to kill you, but he was awful with a sword. Kurotsuchi barely blocked the first blade of Sogyo no Kotowari, holding Ashisogi Jizo up awkwardly with both hands. It was quite obvious no opponent was ever supposed to get this close.
The moment Kurotsuchi remembered the second blade, Ukitake watched his eyes widen, and his gaze shifted to Ukitake's left hand. It was held out as if he was reaching for something and as Kurotsuchi watched the last of the massive wave of reiatsu drew into the extended zanpakuto.
Reiatsu flashed through the mirror charms, and Ukitake knew Kurotsuchi could feel the force of his own bankai added to Ukitake's in the blade he blocked, there, ready to explode in his face.
"Swear to me you will never threaten Nemu again," Ukitake said in a low voice, fighting that same urge he'd felt before. Enough was enough. He should end the monster's life now. Nemu deserved to be free of this worry forever. But she also deserved a family, and this was the only family she had ever had. "I don't want to kill you. I only kill when absolutely necessary, but I cannot think of any way I can trust you not to threaten Nemu again. I can and will protect her from any threat you can concoct, but she should not have to endure that. She deserves peace."
Kurotsuchi was having a little difficulty focusing on anything beyond the idea of being hit in the face with the force of two captains' bankai. His survival would probably depend on what form Ukitake's attack actually took, and that he had not managed to discover even after years of research.
"I will give her to you, officially," he said.
"What?" Ukitake hissed. He would give her to him? Would the man never get it through his head that Nemu wasn't a thing?
"Or, even better, I will admit she already belongs to you. She has belonged to you since your marriage, and, for as long as she is useful to you and the Ukitake House, she will be excluded from the ban on mod-souls, and only if you decide she is no longer useful will she be destroyed."
"What?" Ukitake repeated, stumbling slightly as he drew back, an expression of horror on his face.
"I am tired of all this fighting over a girl," Kurotsuchi declared, sheathing his zanpakuto and brushing at his clothing fussily, like he had not, just a moment ago been an inch from death. "You clearly care about a great deal more about it than I do, so I will tell Yamamoto I wash my hands of the whole thing," he was speaking loudly now and looking over the crowd.
Ukitake followed his gaze and sighed when he saw Kyoraku push past the crowd with Sentaro at his heels. Then, only a few feet closer, looking like they'd been there for some time was Shiba Miyako with Kiyone. It seemed his Third Seats thought he would need help. He would have to talk to them about that later.
"Did you all hear me?" Kurotsuchi asked. "I have decided Captain Ukitake is right. Nemu is no longer Gotei property, and I will inform the General immediately of the need to correct the paperwork. She is the property of the Ukitake house. I will no longer take any sort of responsibility for her."
The barriers vanished, and Kurotsuchi walked away, shaking his head and muttering, "All this fuss over a girl, ridiculous."
Ukitake fell to his knees, coughing up a spray of blood, and his bankai dissolved. He was surrounded before his knees hit the ground.
Nemu and Miyako were on either side supporting him, and Nemu was speaking a gentle admonishment as she wiped the blood from his lip with a handkerchief. "Did you not promise me you would not pick a fight with him? Did you not give me your word that his would be the first blow? Your health is too precious to me."
"I know I'm always telling you you've got to stop acting like you're an old man, Shiro-chan," Kyoraku said with a laugh. "But I really do think we've outgrown dueling."
Ukitake looked up at his friend. "What would you have done, Shun? This is no longer about any mission. He called her the property of his division and threatened to destroy her, even if he has to wait for Central 46 to reconvene."
Kyoraku's expression became very hard. "Me? I suppose if someone were to threaten my girls like that they'd be dead before they could finish speaking, but I'm not you. In all the centuries I've known you I've never once seen you lose your temper. Kinda surprising you would now, nearly killing your father-in-law for being the heartless bastard you've always known he is, when you know he's powerless to do what he's threatening."
Ukitake got to his feet with a sigh. "I am fine, thank you, really," he said, shrugging off all helping hands but Nemu's. "If Yamamoto did not agree with him, I think it would be easier to endure Kurotsuchi's talk of Nemu as Gotei property--"
"General Yamamoto considers Nemu-sama to be Gotei property?" An unfamiliar voice asked, and Ukitake turned.
For the first time he really took in the crowd surrounding him. Beyond Shunsui, who should be on his way to the World of the Living, Nemu, and his two hovering Third Seats was quite a crowd. Miyako was still at his elbow, and he realized she was not dressed in her usual comfortable cotton kimono, but in layered silk. Behind her was the man who had spoken, an important member of the Shiba House Ukitake recognized as Shiba Hidemitsu, also dressed in formal silks, along with an entire Shiba family entourage mixed into the gathering of division members.
Ukitake's eyes shifted back to Miyako, and he spoke slowly. He suddenly had the very bad feeling that Aizen was using Nemu's pregnancy for more than to simply destroy his relationship with Kurotsuchi. "Miyako-chan," he said, slowly. "Where is it you are headed with such a crowd?"
"An informal meeting," she answered quickly. "Don't worry. It's not important. We're not late, and even if we are I doubt the Fourth will even send a representative. If Kuchiki wants to take offense he will have to take offense at them."
"I would like," Shiba Hidemitsu said, "If you do not find it too much of an imposition, Miyako-sama, to invite Captain Ukitake to the meeting. He might give us an impartial view of these recent disturbing incidents, and I believe all who belong to the noble houses would wish to offer our support to his defense of Nemu-sama."
Ukitake's eyes widened, but this was suddenly a conversation between nobles, and he was painfully outranked. He wanted to warn Miyako. Hidemitsu had been anti-Gotei even before the rumors of a Yamamoto plot had begun to weave their way through the noble houses. He wanted to use Ukitake's own disagreement with the General, probably use the argument over Nemu's own standing to show Yamamoto did not respect the position of the nobility of Seireitei.
But Miyako loved her old captain and had always been of the opinion that the high-ranking members of Seireitei did not show him nearly the respect he deserved. "That would be perfect," she agreed. "If you are feeling up to it, Captain?"
Now he wondered, use the old excuse of illness and let them spread the story of what had happened as they perceived it or go and attempt some sort of damage control?
His eyes met Shunsui's, and the old drunk smiled. "Well, I'd best be going. Think if I hurry I can beat my old time? I'd like to see if I can let Shiba-kun off in time for lunch."
Ukitake smiled. He could always depend on Shun. "Good luck." Then he returned his gaze to Miyako. "I would be most honored to attend."