Karin stirred from her meditation and quickly stood from her spot against the wall to check on her partner on the bed. He was still sound asleep, but she had hope soon his eyes would open again. She hoped she had given him the push he needed in the right direction.
"I better let everyone know about the fallen barrier." She muttered to herself, remembering that Toshiro explained his injured state meant the force keeping Kamai banished was no longer active, since he had been unaware of it and hadn't reinforced it. "Oh, first I should check on Miyuki. I hope she got to see her mother… and I never said goodbye to Ruala…"
With a lot on her mind, Karin leaned down and left a gentle kiss on Toshiro's cheek before hurrying out the door, Shimmer still on guard in one corner of the room.
'I sense you're in a rush, is everything alright?´ Dyrilӕn reached out to her partner once she noticed the link connecting them all had dimmed, no longer in use.
'I was able to talk to him, but things could be better. Could you see how Miyuki is doing? I still never gave my regards to Ruala but I need to find the Royal Guards first.'
'Considering what you told me I'm sure Lady Ruala would not be angry if you didn't speak with her.'
'Yeah, but… I owe her that much after everything she's done for Toshiro and I.'
Not arguing further, Dyrilӕn's voice dimmed as she focused on leaving the Dragon Nest to find the ice witch, letting Karin focus on finding Senjumaru and the others. After finding one of the servants and asking for help to get to them, she was reminded that a public funeral for Tenjiro was also being held that day. Never having been close with the healer, Karin had forgotten about it, preferring to focus on Ruala. Right, so the guards were all going to be busy.
"I can send a message to them that you request a meeting with them." The servant offered with a bow. It was still weird being given this kind of treatment by the souls of the royal realm when everyone back home treated her the same as always. Well, Byakuya and the other nobles had been a little more formal with her family since Isshin accepted getting their Royal Family status back, but Rukia at least treated them the same.
"Oh no worries, I've gotten the hang of the butterflies." Karin waved off the offer, calling one of the huge white butterflies over from the window.
"Nonsense, my lady, I can have someone send the message in person." The servant doubled down on insisting special treatment.
"There's no need to bother anyone, and I don't want to go interrupting a funeral. A butterfly won't be too distracting."
"Alright…" The poor servant didn't seem convinced, perhaps even somewhat annoyed that they couldn't provide service to the Soul Reaper.
Karin waited until they walked away and gave a sigh of relief before having the butterfly send a short message away to the guards. Sure, the message was a bit important, but interrupting a funeral felt wrong. If Kamai had waited this long she should at least have time to let the realm mourn their precious guardians before putting them in a panic.
If they were indeed busy, however, that meant she could go back to Ruala's kingdom and pay her respects to the mage. Boy did everything feel rushed all of a sudden. Maybe she should send a message to her brother, and one to the Captains in Soul Society so they could change their plans…
Was this how Toshiro always felt? Was he always trying to juggle a million things at once? No wonder he had a hard time getting any time to go see her. She remembered her promise to Toshiro's mother… if she was going to make good on that promise she needed to figure out how to deal with pressure like this, that way he didn't have to do it all alone. And the first step for that was something a Kurosaki wasn't always great at.
She needed to ask for help.
Her thoughts led her to hurry up to the roof of the palace, careful not to get lost in the maze of the magic stairway while she was pondering ideas. There she waited as the red blur that was her partner headed over with a white-haired rider on her back, a ruffled looking wolf held gently in her paws. Miyuki's familiar had to be carried since she wasn't really built for riding, and the poor canine wasn't fond of it.
The first thing the princess did once the dragoness landed was rush over and capture Karin in a tight hug, the startled human-soul noticing signs of crying all over the woman's face. Judging by the big smile, though, it wasn't a bad crying.
"I can't thank you enough for the opportunity you gave me, Lady Karin." Miyuki sniffled. "I wish I could have had more time with her, but I learned so much, and a lot of my concerns were answered. I can never repay your kindness."
"Aw, come one Miyuki, it's no big deal." Karin responded, awkwardly reaching up to pat the woman's hair. "Not many get the opportunity to see their mom again after so many years. I know if it was my mom I would have appreciated someone coming to get me, so I just did the same."
"You lost your mother too?" Miyuki let go of the human and listened curiously.
"Yeah, when I was super little. She was protecting my big brother, it was a total accident, but we all miss her."
"Mothers really are the best." A soft smile settled on the witch's face as she rubbed away the rest of her tears. "Thank you for letting me finally meet mine."
"Really, Miyuki, no need to thank me. And I actually have a favor to ask."
The princess listened closely as Karin explained the situation they were all in.
"Your fears are not unwarranted; it would make sense we escaped so easily if Lord Kamai knew about the fallen barrier." Miyuki said, a worried frown on her face, brows furrowed. Her wolf sat next to her quietly. "If he's waiting this long it's likely to make sure the sisters are well rested since they got injured in the invasion, as well as to gather whatever demons the Soul Reapers didn't kill. They may be fewer in number, but if he's coming here we will also be a smaller force, and both Kazara and Korla are intimidating forces to go against."
"No kidding, they took out Toshiro easily enough." Karin scowled. "If those two and their boss are picking a fight here it will be a rough one."
"I can fill everyone in on Kazara and Korla's powers, but I doubt they will trust my word alone."
"Let's see if your aunt can help us."
"But they are still in mourning…"
Miyuki and Karin both took a moment to think up an idea. Everyone was currently busy with a funeral of some sort and neither woman wanted to barge in with bad news.
"We might not have a choice, there's no telling when Toshiro will wake up." Karin finally said with a sigh. It was up to them to do something while their king slumbered and healed. The weather clearing was a good sign of his recovery, but if Kamai's power was the real obstacle in his way it was unlikely he would wake soon. "I know Sylfie and her family will listen to you, just tell them what I've told you. I sent a butterfly to the guards so hopefully they'll be here soon."
"I will take you to Lady Sylfie and then alert the dragons. They will not take kindly to Dethmaiyn coming near our home when there are still hatchlings." Dyrilӕn offered confidently. "Myndrӕl is still there, with him we can hopefully convince the dragons to take a stand or at least evacuate the weak."
"Look at us being a diplomatic team." Karin couldn't help a proud smirk.
"Yes, I do believe you'd make a great queen." Miyuki smiled kindly, unable to see the pink that rose up on Karin's cheeks. "Let us fulfill our duties quickly."
The wolf gave a grumble at having to be carried again.
"Well then, Anya, you may stay with Karin if you like. You are not required to stay beside me." Miyuki mentioned to the familiar.
"Oh, you named her?" Karin asked curiously.
"Yes. I decided I would name her after my mother. It was the last thing I did before her memory faded and she seemed quite happy. Now that she is named, her power will grow, and perhaps she will be able to speak and change form as Seraphina once did."
"I thought she was a demon wolf like Lyrah? Doesn't she have a human form?"
"Yes, but she's not fond of it."
Karin cast the wolf a curious glance, wondering why. The canine, Anya, turned her head away stubbornly and gave no hint of an answer.
"Well, feel free to tag-a-long behind me, I'm going to see if any of the guards showed up." Karin got back on topic since Anya clearly didn't want to discuss her shifting ability.
"I will be back soon." Miyuki scratched her familiar behind the ears affectionately, the wolf wagging her tail with glee, before turning back towards Dyrilӕn. The dragon took care to help her mount and hold on properly before flying once more back to the island.
"Alright, I'm going to send a message to my brother, I think he was training with Sir Nimaiya still…"
She wasn't wrong, but since Oetsu refused to miss the funeral, Ichigo had to go with him. So, when the butterfly appeared, Ichigo was insistent on seeing what Karin had to tell them that had to do with Toshiro. His training was complete now anyway, so he saw no reason to still be shadowing his trainer.
"I would demand you sit still and pay your respects as we have examples to set as Royal Guards…" Senjumaru said to the man with a frown, keeping her voice low to avoid perking the interest of the other souls in the area. "However, if it concerns the Soul King, then that takes priority. Nimaiya and I will remain here to keep up appearances."
"Thanks." Ichigo was just glad her loyalty to the Soul King was highest on her list and didn't force him to stay. He never really got to know Tenjiro much at all and was only here because he shared a title.
Kirio and Ichibe both stood with grace and excused themselves to see to their king. No one gave them any scornful or angry looks, just bowed their heads respectfully, understanding their king was more important and thanking the guardians for their time. They arrived at the palace just in time to see the red dragon take off from the roof. Had they missed her?
Their worries were quickly set aside as they ran into Karin herself once they reached the current king's floor, both parties on their way to the meeting room where they had planned to wait for one another.
"Oh good, I just sent another butterfly, hope I didn't interrupt anything." Karin spoke first, looking a bit distracted though relieved to have found them.
"Technically yes, but if something has happened to His Majesty then we are here to address it." Ichibe responded.
"Nothing has really happened to him, but… here, I'll explain on the way."
The Royal Guards listened with quiet fascination as Karin explained everything that had happened to her that day, from Anya herself pleading for Karin's help, a memory lost in time, to her conversation with Toshiro about their new problems. They had so many questions, but having been guardians for a long time they knew what to focus on first.
"I never gave the barrier any thought, but I suppose it makes sense a banishment must be renewed when a new king is crowned." Ichibe mused aloud.
"All this time we've had the defenses fortified in the Soul Society and left our enemy's real target wide open." Kirio frowned. "And Hitsugaya is still unconscious."
"We saved him from the demon palace but now they're coming to get us all." Ichigo scowled. "We've already wasted a week, what do we do if he shows up right now?"
"We protect the king with our lives." Ichibe said as if that was obvious. "If you wish you may alert your comrades in the Soul Society, I'm sure as friends of the Soul King they would be willing to help, but it may be more important to protect their city."
"Dyrilӕn and Myndrӕl went to talk to the dragons about defending their home, so they might be willing to help." Karin added on.
"They are far less likely to join in than the Soul Societies, unfortunately." Kirio sighed. "More than likely they will be retreating back to the wilds to avoid conflict altogether. The majority of them don't want to risk losing more of their elemental species when they've only just started seeing a rise in hatchlings."
"It's still worth a try though, so good thinking." Ichibe praised the young woman. "Hikifune and I will begin gathering up the commanders and see what kind of defense we can manage. You and your brother should contact the warriors capable of traveling here and then stay with the king."
The Kurosaki siblings had no argument there, heading further into the wintry halls while the Royal Guards hurried off elsewhere.
"I bet we can set up one of those screens once we send word out to them." Ichigo mused aloud as he walked next to his sister back to where Toshiro was.
"One thing I like better about the human world is cell phones." Karin added with a grumble. "I mean, Soul Reapers have them, but they only use them on missions in the Living World, otherwise it's butterflies and letters."
"I hear that." He sighed heavily. "It's even worse up here since everything takes longer trying to get in here. Can't wait until everything calms down and I can just be in the Soul Society."
"Oh yeah, I guess you can stay down there since dad agreed to take back our Royal Family status. Which is still really weird by the way."
"No kidding, I'm still getting used to being a bodyguard."
Their conversation becoming more casual, Karin finally noticed something different about her brother.
"Ichi, what happened to your zanpaktou?"
Instead of the usual single giant blade at his back, which now looked different, there was a second smaller blade resting at Ichigo's side. The large blade had a hollow cut near the back of the blade but otherwise wasn't too different from his original sword with a long grip, and the short blade resembled more of a black trench knife with the guard extending around to fit around the hand.
"Oh, this was what I was training for with Oetsu." Ichigo replied, patting the blade at his hip. "Turns out the zanpaktou I had wasn't a real one or something, the way I got it was unnatural, so he helped forge me a real one after I did some deep thinking and training with Zangetsu and my Hollow. Now I can fully unleash both of them the way I should be doing."
"Quit getting so much stronger, I'll never catch up." Karin sighed playfully with an eye roll.
"That's the point, isn't it? I need to protect you guys." He chuckled, ruffling her hair. She hurried to fix it and scowled back at him.
They reached Toshiro's room where Shimmer and Yuzu both greeted them, the girls staying to watch over their friend while Ichigo stepped out for a minute to find a messenger and get word to Yamamoto about their new information. The brief calm had finally been disturbed. For now, they had to hope Kamai couldn't make it to the Soul King's realm, as there was no way he could just sneak into the Tenchuran and he had no dragon to carry him up like the others. The Tenchuran hardly needed to be used as most of the warriors who could go into the realm had dragons to take them, several of the drakes able to carry those who had no dragons.
Yamamoto made sure this was the case, abusing the fact that Ichigo was now a member of the Royal Families and a Royal Guard to basically ignore the Central 46 and send up the fighters that were ready and willing to go. Not that they would put up a fight anyway, even they knew that if the Soul King's life was in danger they had to do what they could to protect him when able… even though some of them wondered if letting Kamai be king would be so bad at this point. They were only so involved in this war because the current Soul King couldn't let go of old ties, loyal to a fault, and now their branch was suffering heavy losses in a war they never had to worry about before, that suffering now extending to the other branches.
But no one would say this of course. After all, if they did win with Hitsugaya remaining king, their efforts might just be rewarded. The soldiers going to fight, however, had no such political concerns in their mind. They were there to protect a friend or avenge ones that had fallen, some even there only for the thrill of the fight.
The dragons made their way towards the heavens with quick wings. A few of them possessed the element of lightning, feeling an odd static in the air that wasn't from any of them. Was there another dragon exploring the edges of the realms? Thinking nothing of it, they entered the Soul King's realm without delay.
A shadow followed them.