Hello! I hope you all are having a good summer/winter so far!
Here are the next two chapters! Enjoy!
Chapter 37 (Kumiko)
"Okay. Thank you. Goodbye," I snapped my phone shut as I watched the two of them laugh like fucking teenagers.
"You know, in all my years I've never actually seen someone kill another person by simply staring at them. But you, sweet Kumiko, may be the one to achieve it."
I looked at Kisuke before jerking my head at Renji and Shizuko, "Did you know about this?"
"I noticed that they seemed close. But I didn't think much of it," He looked down at me curiously, "I didn't think you would either."
"I wouldn't usually…I didn't," I sighed, "But I think there's a bit more plot to this though…"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean Rukia," He only stared at me blankly and I shook my head, "Never mind. I got a call from Squad Twelve. Mayuri wanted to get an update on the…whatever it is you two are working on."
He chuckled, "The replica device for Karakura. Come on—I'll explain it to you."
I stared Shizuko, "I think I'm going to—"
"Kumiko," He looked at me sternly. It relayed a clear message—leave her be.
I looked from him and back to my daughter. She was grinning up at Renji he was the moon, and he basked in it. He looked just as happy in her company as she did. But I couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't right. He looked at Rukia the same way.
"Show me," I turned away and let Kisuke lead me back to his lab.
We passed Tessai and Yoruichi in the kitchen where the door to his study was. Tessai pointed to the coffee pot to me and I nodded eagerly.
"Thank you," I took a sip from the mug he poured for me.
He smiled at me as he handed Kisuke a mug. Kisuke moaned loudly as he took a sip, winking at my wide-eyed expression.
"I'm addicted," He murmured as he ushered me through his study door.
Yoruichi smirked, "Be sure to behave!" She chuckled as I threw her the middle finger.
I pressed my back against a file cabinet as Kisuke shut the door behind me. The space was already small, but any breathing room was used up for filing or machines. Kisuke's chest brushed against mine as he stood up, and I quickly took a sip from my coffee to hide my gasp.
He only grinned as I muttered, "I see you haven't gotten any tidier."
"This way," He went over to his desk and set his mug down. After shuffling through some papers, he found what I assumed were the plans for the device he and Mayuri were working towards.
He passed it to me. I glanced over it half-heartedly but paused as his words began to filter through my brain. He took my mug from my hand as I sat down in his chair. I read through the papers quietly and when I finished, I looked up at him.
He chuckled at my expression, passing me my mug, "Coffee?"
"These are great," I took a sip, "If you two can pull it off, it'll be phenomenal—"
"If?" He smirked cockily.
I laughed, "Yes. If."
"You never were one to inflate my ego," He leant against his desk, watching me fondly as I crossed my legs.
"I don't think you'd be able to walk straight if that head of yours got any bigger."
We continued to talk about the plans. It was impressive and although I didn't quite understand all of it, the parts that I did astounded me. He had only gotten better in the years that followed him being the Captain of Squad Twelve.
I held out my communication device to him, "Time to explain all that to your old third-seat."
"You don't want to?"
"I couldn't explain any of that," I laughed, waving him on. He stared at the phone and I realized that he was hesitating—nervous of contacting the Soul Society. Reaching out, I grabbed his hand, "Just think about how pissed Mayuri is going to be when he hears your plan."
His lips tilted up, "You're something else."
I squeezed his hand before I left him to explore his lab. He was speaking but I didn't pay much attention, too busy looking around.
He really was messy though. I straightened up piles of scattered pages as my made my way through, careful not disturb the order of his research. The only area that was neat was where he was conducting experiments, which I assumed was so he didn't accidentally blow up the shop.
I smiled as I looked over what he was working on. It was a weird contraption that I had no idea about, but it was just that that made me grin. He was so clever—I still got such a kick out of looking at his little creations.
Still, one thing kept me from fully enjoying spending this rare moment alone with Kisuke.
"Yoruichi…have you forgiven her?" I traced a finger along his desk, taking the device from him as he offered it.
"I don't know what you mean."
I stared at him incredulously before speaking slowly, "You dumb bitch. Have you really let her get away scot-free?"
He still didn't seem to be following, but he didn't appreciate my swearing, "Kumiko, the name-calling isn't helping—"
"You know what isn't helping, Kisuke? The fact that you see nothing wrong with that woman! She shits goddammed rainbows in your eyes!" His lips were zipped tight, unwilling to participate until I reigned in my temper. I shut my eyes and pinched my nose, "I can't oversee it as easily as you can. She put Shizuko in unnecessary danger—willingly put your own flesh and blood in her scheme right from the moment she saw her with Byakuya—"
"What are you saying?" His eyebrows raised in surprise, "Yoruichi met Shizuko in the Soul Society, like we had discussed."
"No, Kisuke—they met here. In the World of the Living. Are you telling me that she knew about Shizuko and wasn't the one who told you?"
I still wasn't entirely clear on the details on how they had met, since Shizuko had chosen to not speak to me for several months after this entire ordeal. But she had told me about her encounter with Yoruichi on her deployment, which I had assumed had led to her and Kisuke's meeting.
Though the look on Kisuke's face told me an entirely different story. His eyes were blazing with an anger I had only saw once before—when I had broken into his office for his files and he had caught me. Complete and utter betrayal.
But instead of getting angry, or at the very least going to ask Yoruichi—who was right outside—he just took a deep breath. He looked at me and sighed.
"It worked out in the end," There was a great tiredness in his voice and his fists were clenching the desk he leant on. But despite all that, he remained calm.
I shook my head, crossing my arms, "No. I can't accept that. And I refuse to accept that you're okay with what she's pulled, Kisuke!"
"I'm not, Kumiko," He started towards me, "But Shizuko was already in the game because of you and I—Aizen made sure that she was a pawn. Yoruichi wasn't the first one to do it—"
"But she did it!" I shouted so loudly that we both winced, "Holy shit, do you even hear yourself justify this crap? Kisuke, I nearly fucking killed my own daughter because Yoruichi told her to stop me."
He clenched his teeth, "Kumiko, I can't say anything to you that—"
"Why the hell are you saying anything to me at all? Say it to her!"
He slammed his fist on the wall beside my head, "Stop interrupting me, Kumiko!"
I stared at him with wide eyes. Those blue eyes were bright and icy, and I couldn't tell if it was because he was angry with Yoruichi or me. He blinked and looked me over before stepping away altogether. I was shocked into a brief silence.
Kisuke didn't lose his temper like that. At least…he never used to.
"I'm furious with her," He said quietly with his back to me, "Beyond words. I…I would have thought she would have told me about Shizuko or you if she had seen you…but still…I can't let it get in the way. We have too much to deal with right now."
The words left my lips before I could bite them back, and I watched him flinch. Like I had punched him or gutted with a knife. "You've become weak."
He said nothing, but I had plenty to fill for his silence. I marched up to him and felt an acid grin stretch across my face. Now wasn't the time for him to cave in but that was exactly what he was doing!
"You would hold onto the woman who has tried to ruin us time and time again—the one who considers your wife and daughter expendable—all because she's your friend? Don't. Make. Me. Laugh." I didn't realize I was crying until he was reaching out to brush them away. I turned away from him, "Is it because you've been fucking her for the last century…or because you love her?"
"Of course I love her—"
"Love her like you love me?" I could claw my eyes out with how my pathetic, weak voice cracked. I was being weak just like him. But fuck, everything was breaking at the thought of someone like that worm crawling into his heart right next to me.
"Not like you…" He said it but with enough hesitancy to send me into a spiral. He came right up behind me as I cupped my hands over my mouth, "How can you doubt that?"
Again, the venom seeped from my mouth before I could think better, "Because I'm not the one who went and slept with someone else the moment they were free."
He took me by the shoulders and whipped me around so fast, "You think that's what it's been like, Kumiko? Freedom? You have no idea what it's been like being away from you—constantly wondering if you were still alive, or how you were doing—"
"So what? You decided the best way to handle it was to stick it in your childhood friend?" I grabbed his hands but they were firmly clasped onto my shoulders, "That sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me, Kisuke. From where I stand, your prison and misery sounds way fucking better than mine."
"That's not fair," He whispered. His heart was breaking in front of my eyes. I could see how badly he wanted to fix this—to rewind to the beginning of this fight and end it before it happened.
"I can't…" I cried, crumpling before him, "I thought I could get over the fact you slept with her. But…I just…you never would have done that before. You were the one who made us take things slowly because you needed commitment—so why did you sleep with her? Was it just to pass the time or was it because you two love each other?"
"I," He was so uncomfortable talking to me about it. He shook his head, "It wasn't because I love her…"
"Fuck it, Kisuke," I slammed my palms against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me to his chest even as I tried to pull away. Finally, I gave up and sobbed into his shoulder.
I hated him so much. But I couldn't pull away anymore. I had quickly been reminded of what it was like to lean on someone, to have someone to share all the crap with. And despite all of his downfalls, I loved him. I loved Kisuke so much.
But I love Shizuko too. And I couldn't let the people who put her in danger get away with it that easily.
I sniffed, shutting my eyes as I whispered, "I won't forgive you. If you refuse to do something or say something…"
"Kumiko," He took me by my face, his eyes wide with worry and desperation, "I will—I just…not right now."
"You've been on your own for a hundred years," I leaned my forehead against his, "But I haven't. I have to look out for Shizuko…and I don't trust Yoruichi. She's wanted you for so long, Kisuke, and I was willing to fight for you. But you're not my priority anymore—my daughter is. And she always will be. I…I can't do this with you, Kisuke. Not if you're not fully on my side."
He was limp as I stepped away. Wiping my cheeks, I pulled my device communicator out. I needed to contact Squad Six about Shizuko's transfer orders. But as I grabbed the door handle to leave, I paused and looked back at him.
It was a mistake. He looked completely broken. Devastation didn't begin to describe it. I understood fully, because I felt exactly the same way. After all this time, I still felt that we had a chance. I was willing to accept the changes and the new Kisuke…but I couldn't accept this. Because this wasn't a new thing—this had been an old thorn in our side that had only grown.
"Soi-Fon had told me once that it was a common practice for Central Forty-Six to use suspects or persons involved in a crime…as a clean-up squad. It was how Sosuke got away with using me and not raising suspicion." He could see the words form on my tongue before they had even been spoken, and I watched his shoulders grow heavier. "Did Yoruichi…did you know?"
"I didn't…I dealt with the prisoners when they were sent to me."
"And Yoruichi?"
"I don't know."
I didn't need to say it. I didn't need to tell him to go ask her, because I could now see the question burning in his eyes too. And if there was one thing I knew about Kisuke, it was once he had a question he needed an answer.
"I don't expect you two to ever stop being friends…I've made good with those who I considered enemies in the past. But for the love of anything holy, Kisuke, you need to put her in her place."
