Chapter 44: Endless knot of poison (A friend in high places)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner spirit speech'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
"I'm afraid that our agreement about this subject is officially coming to a close. The council of Elders ordered me to stop looking into it."
As the words came out of Byakuya's mouth, Ichigo listened to them with a slowly growing unrest. Several things felt odd with the statement though he couldn't quite put the finger on what those things were. Was it the man's darkened expression, the twitch in his neck muscle, the tightened grip on the glass or the slightly lower pitch of his voice? Ichigo allowed himself whole five seconds of thinking about it before giving any outward reaction. However, he was not a master of his own emotions and so some of them must have shown on his face before he spoke. It was either that or Byakuya was way too good at reading him because the man gave him an almost imperceptible nod of agreement.
"Why?" Was everything Ichigo managed to say before downing the rest of his drink. Without a word, Byakuya did the same and then stood up to walk back to the wooden cabinet, from which he took the whole bottle of whiskey. He then refilled both his and Ichigo's glass.
"I think the better question would be 'why now'?" The Captain said once he was back in his chair.
"Why now?" Ichigo repeated in a questioning tone. Before replying, Byakuya looked to the bottom of his filled glass, shook the liquid in it with a light flick of his wrist and then, with a sigh, placed the glass back on the table without taking a sip.
"When you came to me with this problem, it was a time of relative peace, Kurosaki. But let's look at what happened since then." He stated and put both his elbows on the table, looking more like a Captain than he ever did. Interested in where he was going with it, Ichigo remained quiet.
"After your bold accusation of Shinigami having something to do with illegal brothels filled with nastiness, obscenity and pure plain degeneracy, several things happened, some of them at the same time. As far as I could determine, there was a threat of Bounts, a betrayal and a defection of three Gotei Captains, a conspiracy involving the Kasumiōji Clan, a threat of Dangai collapsing and the war with Aizen. And these are just the major incidents. Hidden within those are the murder of whole Central 46, manipulations and schemes, death of several important Kasumiōji Clan members… the list goes on and on." Byakuya slowly listed, taking a long sip of whiskey once he was done. Feeling an unpleasant distaste of bitter guilt, Ichigo looked at his own glass and emptied its whole contents into his mouth in one shot. After he placed the glass on the table, Byakuya once again refilled it.
"And your point is?" He asked with a whisper and coughed. On its way down his throat, a bit of whiskey got into the wrong hole.
Byakuya waited until he regained his composure and then made him look into his eyes.
"Changes."
"Changes?"
"Yes. Changes. Ever since you came, the Soul Society has been changing. People living in Seireitei, those who came into contact with you, are changing as well. I myself have changed. If Rukia's words are to go by, it was for the better. However, not everyone is like that. Some people have changed for the worse, which is, frankly, not surprising. You scare them, Kurosaki. You scare all of us."
Involuntarily, Ichigo's right hand twitched and reached for the glass. Despite having drank three shots of the golden, brownish liquid already, his throat was getting worryingly dry.
"I scare you?" He croaked in a hoarse voice. Right after that, he took a fair sip from his glass. Without breaking the eye contact with him, Byakuya nodded.
"Yes. Maybe not physically but definitely philosophically."
Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo suppressed the urge to burp. It seemed he was drinking the whiskey too fast.
"Please, Kuchiki-san, we both know I'm a Neanderthal, so speak in a way I can understand."
To his surprise, his words caused Byakuya to snort. It was brief, but it happened. For a second, it seemed his own reaction surprised him and, with wide eyes, decided to gracefully ignore it by taking a gulp of the exquisite booze of the thinking man, the whiskey.
"You may not realize it yet, but you are no longer just a person, Kurosaki. You represent an idea. An idea of a change. For Soul Society, a place sustained for the past thousand years by stagnation, you represent something incomprehensible. Therefore, you represent the greatest fear of all, something the elders of any and all clans, and those in absolute power, fear the most. Change, innovation and a shift to something different. Something that could potentially no longer need them. Hence, fear."
Maybe it was the alcohol, but despite the uneasiness flowing in his veins, Ichigo suddenly realized he was enjoying the conversation. He raised his left hand and shook it.
"Alright, I get it. But, getting back to the original topic… how is it connected to that?"
Byakuya broke the eye contact and lowered his eyes, where he pointed his sight at the glass, less than half-filled. In one smooth movement, he brought it to his lips and gulped down the rest of its contents. His hand fell down with too much momentum and the glass smacked against the table in a surprisingly loud noise, though fortunately, it didn't crack. A few seconds later, the glass was once again full of whiskey.
"You brought the topic of brothels. It was your idea. And what is your idea is no longer wanted."
Ichigo's narrowed eyes formed a scowl, and he cocked the glass backwards to take a whole shot at once. He watched Byakuya refill it with a shake of his head. But before he could speak, the Captain continued.
"At least that's what they want us to think."
Ichigo's scowl melted, and he blinked in surprise.
"Huh?"
"Kurosaki, I was specifically told to let go of this matter by the council of Elders. Do you know what that is?"
Ichigo got over the surprise and shrugged.
"A group of old, smelly and fat gramps who are in true control of the Clan?"
Byakuya ignored his offensive adjectives and nodded.
"Somewhat. I am the Head of the Kuchiki Clan and the responsibility of it lies on my shoulders. I make everyday choices and decisions. However, I can be overruled. Council of Elders is the only one with that kind of power. In truth, it is a bit more complicated than that but there's no need to go into pointless details. The important thing is, they bothered calling a meeting just for this. Therefore, I had to officially state I will no longer help you. Going against their wish wouldn't be, in this case, very smart."
Seeing an odd look on the man's face, Ichigo understood his words.
"Officially."
Raising his glass in a toast, Byakuya nodded.
"Indeed, officially."
After drinking together, Ichigo gave him an intense stare.
"But why would you risk going against their wishes like this?"
Byakuya formed a tiny smile, causing Ichigo to realize that the man had truly changed from his cold, icy persona from months ago.
"Like I said, your presence changed me, Kurosaki. But what's more, I think there is something we are missing. I know the Elders of my Clan and I saw their faces when we met. This wasn't their decision. It's not them who want me to stop digging in this." He stated and his smile turned into an angry grimace. Ichigo clenched his jaw.
"Then who is it?"
For just a moment, Byakuya's reiatsu increased as the man poured the rest of the whiskey in the bottle to his and Ichigo's glasses. He gulped it all down and looked at Ichigo with a hard gaze.
"The only one who has the power to influence even the Council of Elders. The Tsunayashiro clan."
…
That evening, Ichigo and Byakuya ended up drinking more than either of them had before. The first bottle that ended right after the revelation of the possible suspect wasn't the last but the topic changed into things that weren't as serious or heavy. By the time they finished the second bottle, both were already tipsy and it was during a scene of two of them sharing a laugh over Byakuya's story from his youth when Rukia entered the office, worried about the noises and their prolonged absence. To say seeing Byakuya drunk was an absolute shock for her was an understatement. She barely managed to squeak and left as soon as she came in, which prompted the two drunkards to laugh even more and louder.
That was the extent of Ichigo's memory for that night.
When he woke up the next morning, he found himself in a nice, warm and soft bed but it wasn't a bed he recalled being anywhere in Shiba mansion. Despite the cruel, shattering headache and oversensitivity to the sunrays coming through a gap between window curtain, Ichigo recognized the clean interior of Kuchiki mansion and realized they forced him to spend the night. For him, it was not a big deal but now that he lived with Shiba's, he just knew they would think something different than just a night of drinking happened.
Not that he blamed them. He was sure not a soul in Seireitei would have believed him if he told them he enjoyed a night out with Byakuya filled with booze and laughter. Not a single thing in such a statement was believable.
Once he got out of the shower and put on his clothes, he felt a lot better. However, he was still unsure why did Byakuya show him this side of him. His head was still hurting and so he concluded it must have been because of the stress of dealing with the Elders and Clan matters in general. Thinking anything else was just asking for trouble. Byakuya said he had changed but something convinced Ichigo they were still not friends.
It just didn't work like that.
Right?
After meeting with Rukia and Byakuya for breakfast and a short conversation, he bid them farewell and quietly returned to the Shiba mansion. No longer dry as a desert dune and with his stomach full, the headache was slowly receding and Ichigo found himself able to think with logic once again.
'Tsunayashiro Clan, huh? Now why would such a prominent Clan want us to stop investigating something they must think of as a nonconsequential matter?' He thought and absentmindedly walked past a wide-eyed Kūkaku. But being deep in thoughts didn't help him and a strong hand clasped his shoulder only a second later.
"Oi, Ichigo. Did you…?" Kūkaku's voice assaulted his eardrums with an intensity never heard before and he cringed in pain. As soon as he did, though, her voice trailed off, and he turned around to see her smirking.
"You've been drinking!" She exclaimed with a happy squeal, causing him to cringe again. The next thing he knew, she was hugging the living soul out of him, laughing like a maniac.
"Get off." He mumbled into her breasts but she appeared to be ignoring him.
"Finally! You are a proper man now! Wohoo! I will celebrate that with saké!"
With that, she let go of him and practically ran away to the lounge, leaving him cringing and shaking his head in disbelief.
"… did she just say saké? Sun's barely up…?" He said in a confused tone but quickly got over it. There was no point in thinking too hard about his family's habits. It would only cause his headache to return in its original intensity. Instead, he aimed his steps towards the only part of the house he knew would be vacant and quiet. The library.
Unlike the main library in Seireitei or the one in the Academy or even the one hidden within the Kuchiki Manor, the Shiba library lacked a certain finesse, a sense of superior knowledge or numerous rows of large bookshelves. Instead, it was a fairly small room with three bookshelves, each on one wall, the only wall without it being the one with doors. In the center of the room, there was a modest desk with a modest chair, a modest lamp and modest box filled with modest pens, pencils, bookmarks and notebooks. It looked like anything but the library of the former Great Noble Clan but that was most likely due to Kūkaku not being a book kind of person. Most likely, she only kept it in existence because of Clan obligations.
Still, it felt cozier than any library in Seireitei ever could.
Feeling the remnants of alcohol slowly evaporating from his body, Ichigo took an energetic step towards the nearest bookshelf and let his eyes roam over the many titles of neatly organized books, pamphlets, textbooks and old, fragile looking scrolls. However, he took only a moment to realize that just by glancing at their covers, he wouldn't be able to determine the importance of each book. He had to physically took it out, open it, flip through the pages, read lines of text and think about their usefulness.
"This'll take me weeks." He groaned and almost wished for a wooden cabinet filled with bottles of whiskey he could use to pass the time. Then he paused. The mere existence of the thought surprised him.
'Of all people, Byakuya is the one leading me down the wrong path of alcoholism. Ironic.' He mused with a chuckle. Then his sight fell on the stack of books once again and a yawn crawled out his mouth so lazily, he felt his jaw creaking.
'But this is important.'
Once the yawn passed, he tentatively shook his head to get rid of weariness and took a good, hard look at the bookshelf in front of him.
"I need some kind of system for this." He muttered and assumed a thinking pose with his left hand pressed against his stomach, supporting the right elbow and his right hand supporting his chin. While his brain worked, his eyes darted to every direction without a firmly set goal. Then both his eyebrows shot upwards in a stroke of an idea.
"Let's forget the textbooks for now. They probably contain freely available information, which is something I'm not looking for. Same thing for pamphlets." He muttered and brought his eyebrows downwards, to form a deep frown.
'I'm kind of worried these scrolls will fall apart as soon as I touch them but they seem to be the oldest thing in here, so there may be something I'm looking for. Good thing there are only a few of them.'
With that in mind, he reached for the closest scroll and spread it open on the desk. Leaning down, he squinted to see the tiny letters, manually printed on the paper and mentally read through them.
'Financial report of the Great Noble Shiba Clan. Okay, not this one.'
He let go of one side of the scroll and let it roll into its original form. After putting it back into the bookshelf, he took out another one. Using the same process, he quickly determined it contained no usable information. He repeated the same action a few more times but, before he could feel the first hint of frustration, he opened the last scroll in the library and read the first line with wide eyes.
'Great Noble Shiba Clan: Genealogy.'
Goosebumps spread across his whole body like a gentle breeze of a mortal reminder and he reflexively rubbed his right forearm, which allowed the scroll to close and him to find an excuse to mutter a curse. In a series of quick motions, he grabbed four random books, opened the scroll and placed each book in each corner of the scroll. Then he sat in the chair and brought his attention back to the scroll.
Soon though, excitement turned into sour awakening when he realized he didn't recognize any name.
'Why am I even surprised…?'
However, he noticed that someone had scratched several names, masked them with a layer of ink or even straight up burned them out.
'Traitors of the blood, maybe?'
But then, as his eyes slid down the scroll and he read through several unimportant names, he noticed a name he recognized.
'Kaien Shiba.'
He involuntarily gulped but forced himself to read further.
'Mother: Aimi Shiba. Father: Hideaki Shiba. Siblings: Kūkaku Shiba, Ganju Shiba. Wife: Miyako Shiba. Offspring: None.'
There was a dotted line connected with both Kūkaku and Ganju and, following it, Ichigo quickly found another name he recognized.
'Isshin Shiba. Mother: Etsuko Shiba. Father: Kenshin Shiba. Wife: Unknown. Siblings: None. Offspring: Unknown. Well, that's a lot of unknowns.' He noted and briefly closed his eyes. Despite never knowing them, it was nice to know the names of his grandparents, at least from his father's side. For reasons now known to him, his father never talked about his own parents.
When he opened his eyes, he looked back at the dotted line that was connecting his father with Kūkaku and Ganju and there, in small letters, he found another line of text. It caused him to hum quietly.
'Hmm, so he's their Uncle, which makes me their cousin but, at the same time, me and pops are not from the same branch of the family. Uh, why does this have to be so complicated?'
But his attention was slowly diverted when he noticed tiny holes in the scroll, a bit on the side away from his father's and his cousins' names. Both holes were in the middle of a certain name, but because of the damage, it was impossible to read it.
'Wait… that's a K, and that one is a Sh… well, obviously. Surname is Shiba but the first name is impossible to read, just that it begins with K.' He noted and looked closer at the tiny holes.
'Burned out. Why?'
Now that he was closer to the scroll, he noticed another detail.
'A very faint, barely visible dotted line that goes from the unknown name to both Dad and Kūkaku with Ganju. So, some kind of distant relation. Hmm.'
He pondered about it for a minute but then pushed all four books away from the corners of the scroll and let the scroll close.
'Interesting but not important right now. I'm just wasting time.'
With a sigh, he looked up, away from the desk or the scroll and stretched himself, only to feel his whole body creaking and protesting, a fairly accurate indicator of just how long he had been in the library. When a quiet groan of pleasure escaped his lips after a particularly nasty stiffness released itself in his upper back, he decided it was worth checking time in a more traditional way.
'And I'm thirsty as well.'
He gave the books he used to straighten the scroll a quick glance and was almost on his way to the door when a stubborn tick of consciousness forced him to stop, grab the books and haphazardly place them into a free spot in the bookshelf. Only then he left.
After brief wandering through the mansion, he found out it was already past lunch. With a speed of a bear coming from winter hibernation he swallowed every and any food he found in the kitchen and then hurried to his room to grab his things so he could be on his way to his regular spot in the Academy; the secluded training room.
Once there, he briefly went over what he had learned during the past few days, marked the books he already finished, The Art of War being one of them, and only then, he immersed himself into reading the pages he hadn't read so far.
"Page 374, section Bakudō spells. Bakudō #4. Hainawa (這縄, Crawling Rope). Binds enemies with a Reishi rope to stop their movement. Generating a crackling yellow energy rope within his hand or hands, the practitioner throws it toward the opponent. The energy winds around the opponent's arms and body, immobilizing them."
Tentatively, he placed the book on the ground while making sure it would stay that way after he retracted his hands. Then he glanced at the palms of his hands.
"This time… this time it'll work."
…
Over the next few days, Ichigo found himself returning to the Shiba library with a consistency of a mathematical axiom. He wasn't sure why he felt so drawn to the place but a nagging thought whispering to him from the back of his mind was telling him it was the place where he would find at least some answers to the myriad of questions he had. He just had to be patient and the universe would reward his patience with some grand revelation.
The thought always brightened his day with its sheer ridiculousness, absurdity and just plain nonsensical nature. As if the universe cared about him. And if what he had gone through represented the universe caring for him, he was sure he felt safer without it.
However, so far, he had no luck with the potential revelations. He had gone through at least two dozen books but, aside from some interesting tidbits, there was nothing worthy of being called a revelation. And it showed. Ichigo had never been one of the most patient people but he was fairly sure he had gotten better. Yet even then, there were signs of frustration on him; rigid posture, sharp movements while going through the books, a perpetual frown - almost a scowl and frequent sighs.
Then again, he had used to be like that all the time.
The morning of the fourth day turned out to be different. It started in the same way as the previous ones; toilet, shower, clothes, breakfast, a short conversation and then route to the library. There, he reached for the next designated book but then his eyes fell upon the four books he had used to straighten the scroll containing Shiba Clan genealogy and he paused. With a shrug, he decided to try his luck.
Ten minutes later, he was glad for this spontaneous idea.
"Great Noble Clans of Soul Society." He read the title of the chapter in an excited whisper. For a short moment he raised his head, looked at his surroundings and then took a seat on the chair, feeling a slight anxiety in his stomach. He fought through it and looked back at the book.
'Alphabetical order: Kuchiki, Shiba, Shihōin, Tsunayashiro. Yeah, that matches what Aizen said.'
Then he frowned.
'Wait. There should be one more name. Where is it?'
Flipping through the pages and skimming through many lines of text, he spent the next few minutes digging through a large amount of detailed information. But what he was looking for seemed to not exist. Only after reaching the end of the chapter, he found a small note printed on a separate page.
'Author's note: For obvious security reasons, this chapter includes no details about the last Great Noble Clan, whose name shall not be stated. Any curious reader should also know trying to find any information on this Clan is strictly prohibited. The only knowledge I may share with you, dear reader, is that the last Clan has, ever since its inception, never lived among the others in Seireitei and, instead, chose for their life the seclusion of the Royal Realm. It is their duty to spend the rest of the eternity by guarding, protecting and watching with careful eyes the linchpin of our existence and the key that holds everything together: The Soul King.'
All of a sudden, he felt like he had spent the whole night drinking. Aside from mild dizziness, his throat turned to a desert and his tongue seemed too large for his mouth. With one hand, he grabbed the armrest and squeezed it.
'I had the right book in front of me for so damn long. If only I came here to live with Kūkaku and Ganju sooner. Maybe…' In his thoughts he trailed off and shook his head. Without missing a beat, he looked back to the book.
'All right, I learned something new. Let's see if this book contains any other stuff Aizen didn't tell me.'
He flipped the pages back to the title of the chapter and read.
'Great Noble Kuchiki Clan. Blabla, protecting the history, blabla, hm, mmh. Nope, I was aware of most of this already. Let's skip Shiba's for now. Great Noble Shihōin Clan. Hmm, leads Onmitsukidō, yeah, not important, blabla, ah, protects the Tenshiheisō, the Imperial Soldier Garments, but there's nothing on its description. Aside from that, nothing new. Great Noble Tsunayashiro Clan. Good, I know next to nothing about these guys and… what the hell?' He stopped reading and his eyes widened. Someone had covered the next several lines of text with a thick layer of ink that made it impossible to read anything past the name of the Clan. The few letters he could decipher stood alone and, thus, made no sense and as he stared at the heavily inked page, he felt the muscles in his face twitching. His jaws moved towards each other and caused two tiny mountains to rise on both sides of his face, one on each, on the place where his jaw muscles were. The pressure of his grip on the armrest grew and turned the color of his knuckles white. With a shaky hand, he placed the opened book on the desk and leaned in the chair.
Then his whole body jerked and a short shout came through his gritted teeth.
"FUCK!"
He spent the next few minutes just sitting and panting. While doing so, he kept glancing at the opened book and his expression turned sour, as if the book stared back at him with a smug grin, goading him into doing something reckless and stupid.
'Whoever did this is mocking me.' He thought and growled. But it was pointless to get angry. Not yet, anyway. Everything had its place and time. Now, it was time to read more; to search and research, to study and learn. He leaned forward, back to the book, and flipped through the pages, to an earlier section of the chapter.
'Great Noble Shiba Clan. Let's see. I know this. This too. Mhm, nothing new and… huh?' His eyes, so far sliding across the page without a hint of interest suddenly sparked with curiosity as he read the subtitle of the next section.
'Theory behind the fall of Shiba Clan.'
He narrowed his eyes but continued to read.
'Fall of the Great Noble Shiba Clan is a black spot in the history of Soul Society. It was a shameful incident never seen before among the Great Noble Clans and it is a matter forbidden to research. However, given a great deal of freedom for the purpose of writing this book, I will try to theorize the reasons behind this incident within the legal borders.'
He skipped a few lines of pointless text and dived into the theory itself.
'After everything they permitted me to look at, I can conclude that the fall of the Shiba Clan is a mixture of at least three separate incidents. First incident: Murder of several members of Shiba Clan at the hands of their own, a certain individual with the name of K. Shiba who, after this event, fled the Soul Society and, as far as we know, hid within the vastness of the Human World. I theorize that this incident is the most probable cause for the downfall. Second incident: Death of the Head of the Shiba Clan (at that time), Kaien Shiba. Why did such an ordinary event become a trigger for the downfall of the whole clan is questionable though undeniable. From this point onwards, Shiba clan lost a lot of its prestige and several other members (who all vanished without a trace) and found itself under close surveillance. Then came the third incident which was the final nail in the coffin and triggered the inevitable downfall. Third incident: Disappearance of the temporary Head of the Clan (who belonged to the side branch of the Shiba Clan, as the main branch did not possess a suitable successor), Isshin Shiba, leaving the Clan with no one who could become a Head. Thus, the Shiba Clan was cast out and officially dissolved, though the few members who are still active remain to be treated with a proper respect.'
Closing the book, Ichigo took a deep breath. He stood up, grabbed the book, placed it back into its original place and walked out of the library without looking back. The room was no longer cozy. It awoke a mild claustrophobia, and it made his throat tighten with indescribable sadness. While he didn't find what he was looking for, he had found enough.
Enough to retreat and admit a temporary defeat.
In his mind and in his heart, he felt for his father.
'I'm sorry, dad. I never knew you carried such a burden.'
…
Sitting with his back propped against the wall, Ichigo closed the book he had been reading and reached for his notebook that was already half-filled with a myriad of notes, observations and thoughts on all the topics he had been trying to learn. Before he made another scribble, he glanced back at the now closed book and narrowed his eyes.
'War as a continuation of politics by any other means, huh? Fits quite well, which only makes it more infuriating.' He thought and wrote a short note in his notebook. Then he grabbed the book and put it in the shelf next to him. Right after that, he threw the notebook on top of the book.
It was just the beginning of an evening and yet he felt more tired than usual. Ever since he had stopped visiting the Shiba library, he felt like something filled his head with unnecessary thoughts that stubbornly resisted all of his attempts at pushing them to the back of his mind. Going back to his previous routine didn't help at all. He needed something new, a stimulus that would turn his attention from useless thoughts to something that would make him more productive.
There is a saying that goes 'be careful what you wish for' and in the next morning, Ichigo understood what it meant. His stimulus arrived sooner than he had hoped for and in the form of Yoruichi Shihōin walking through the entrance of the Shiba mansion. At first, he thought she came for Kūkaku, as she usually did, but when she sat down on a chair next to him while he was feasting on his lunch, it became clear his assumptions had been wrong. More important though, she didn't break the silence and just watched him eat. Soon enough he couldn't take it anymore.
"Something you want, Shihōin-san?"
In response to the greeting, Yoruichi shuddered in am exaggerated way that reminded him of a cat trying to get rid of something on its fur. She looked at him with a sour grimace.
"Ugh, don't call me that. Yoruichi is fine."
Gulping down whatever he had pushed into his mouth during her response, he shrugged.
"Okay. Something you want, Yoruichi-san?"
He saw her grimace withering. Then she leaned back and scratched the top of her head, in a place where her ponytail was starting.
"I don't exactly want anything. But I was wondering…"
When she trailed off without even trying to continue voicing her thoughts, Ichigo felt the urge to roll his eyes. Still, he went along with her and put down his chopsticks. He finished eating anyway.
"About?"
She tilted her head and looked at him with a quizzical stare.
"About what you did for Aizen while you were acting as a spy. How much do you remember?"
Ignoring the unpleasant twitch in his stomach, he grabbed a glass of water and chugged down its content in one turn. Then he shrugged again.
"Not much."
"Hmm."
One of Ichigo's eyebrows twitched at that reaction. Though he couldn't admit it out loud, he was sure Yoruichi was acting unusual. Either she was trying to breach a touchy subject, or she was acting with a different purpose in mind. He considered both possibilities to be troublesome. Then again, he considered Yoruichi herself to be troublesome.
"You know…" Yoruichi started and cut him off from his thoughts. He glanced at her to see a quizzical, bemused expression playing on her face as she struggled with her words. He knew it because he often did the same thing and so he waited until she could continue.
"… I heard during one of your missions, you even broke in to the Shihōin compound."
A smirk of self-satisfaction threatened to overtake his features and so he took another gulp of water to mask his reaction. When he was confident in his ability to control his facial muscles, he put the glass down.
"Whew, good job me, then." He muttered in a joking tone that caused Yoruichi to look at him with her eyebrows raised high. Her reaction would have surprised him if not for the hint of amusement playing in her eyes.
"I mean, shouldn't it be difficult to break in the compound of a family that produces the best assassins in the Soul Society?" He added with an imperceptible smirk.
"Surely, you jest!"
"I don't and don't call me Shirley!"
He saw Yoruichi blink in surprise and, mirroring her, he blinked too. For a second, he thought she was making a reference to a movie he had seen as a kid but now that she seemed actually confused, he was no longer sure. But then the corners of her mouth twitched, and she erupted in a loud laughter. Shaking his head, he laughed too. Through the fog of a shared amusement, he noticed Yoruichi's breasts jiggle in the rhythm of her guffaw and it made him choke on his own saliva. When she saw him choking, Yoruichi laughed even harder. The monkey effect caused Ichigo to laugh at himself and soon, the two of them had tears forming in the corners of their eyes. Hugging herself with one hand, shaking from her trying to suppress her giggles, Yoruichi slapped Ichigo on his upper arm.
"I think… whew… I like this new you. Good, hah, good one, Ichigo."
The reality of him sharing a laugh with Yoruichi Shihōin settled in fast but it didn't erase his mood. The animosity he had used to hold towards the woman was withering. For that or any other reason, his laughter didn't die and turned into a series of chuckles that lasted for a few more seconds.
"You know how Shiba family is, born comedians." He stated with a grin once the last chuckle passed. With a smile on her face, Yoruichi nodded.
"Yeah. Well, getting back to the original topic, yes, it was quite an achievement. Not a good one, mind you, as breaking in the compound of a Great Noble Clan usually costs prison time if not worse. However, it made a strong impression on Yūshirō."
Ignoring the prison remark, Ichigo produced a short humming sound with a increasing intonation that ended abruptly. He blinked once.
"Who?"
Yoruichi's brow twitched in realization.
"Oh, Yūshirō Shihōin. My younger brother. He's currently the Head of the Shihōin Clan. He's also the one who almost caught you during your mission."
Ichigo nodded to himself.
"Right."
Then he narrowed his eyes at her.
"I didn't injure him or something, right?"
Yoruichi chuckled but shook her head.
"Of course not. He may look weak but he's not the Head of the Clan without a reason. No, he's fine. The only thing you wounded was his pride."
Looking away from Yoruichi, Ichigo grabbed the glass of water and gulped down the rest of the liquid while thinking about the person in question.
'Seems like they gave me a full pardon for what I did as a spy. Well, not that it makes little sense; I had to do those things. Though I have to say, I honestly thought they would punish me in at least some way. Maybe my diagnosis played a role?' He thought, and the looked back at Yoruichi, who seemed to have been watching him with a curious stare. Something in her eyes made him pause and then caused a wheel in his brain to turn until a tiny tooth clicked in a proper place.
"Ah, so that's what you meant by not exactly wanting anything."
When her stare changed from curious to confused, he elaborated.
"You want to visit him but since they officially banished you from Soul Society you find it awkward to enter your old home by yourself."
After he said that, there was a short moment of silence, where Yoruichi just stared at him with a blank expression until a sigh crawled out of her mouth and caused her to lower her gaze.
"I retract my previous comment. I think I no longer like the new you." She muttered with what seemed to be a pout. It made Ichigo grin, but he tried to hide it with a stiff cough.
"Sure, I'll go with you. I think I owe your brother an apology for my actions even though he may know the truth already. I mean, I want to be on as good terms as possible with the Shihōin Clan."
An instant later, he was met with an intense gaze that caused him to squirm on his chair. Staring into his eyes, Yoruichi offered him an honest smile and patted him on the shoulders.
"Thanks, Ichigo."
…
"BIG SIS!"
Since his mind could not process the situation happening in front of him, Ichigo was rendered speechless and motionless as he watched a smaller copy of Yoruichi trying to catch the original Yoruichi in a series of zig-zag movements that reminded him of a game of a tag. Yoruichi's copy, the current Head of the Shihōin Clan, Yūshirō Shihōin, was sporting such a large and goofy smile that in contrast with Yoruichi's deadpanned, unfocused gaze it created an absurd scene straight out of surrealist comedy. The boy who looked so androgynous he could pass as a girl, made several futile tries to grab ahold of Yoruichi's waist until, and Ichigo had to heighten his senses to see that, he mimicked a fake flash and landed right behind her only to hug her.
Yūshirō's victory lasted only until Yoruichi bent backwards with enough momentum to whack the top of his head with her own skull. It forced him to let go of her body and press both his hands against the sore spot.
"H-harsh as ever, sis." Yūshirō whined and formed a childish pout, only to notice Ichigo standing on the side, staring at him with a blank expression. It was at this moment that Ichigo overcame his surprise, just in time to see the current Head of the Shihōin Clan gape like a fish and avert his gaze. Despite the dark brown color of Yūshirō's skin, a hint of a blush was visible on his cheeks.
"That calmed you down, didn't it? Yūshirō, this is Ichigo Kurosaki." Yoruichi stated while walking towards Ichigo.
"I know! I… ehm, I mean, yes, I recognize this person." Yūshirō exclaimed, only for his cheeks to gain an even deeper shade of red and he tried to fall into what seemed to be a formal manner of speech. Giving her younger brother an odd look, Yoruichi snorted.
"Oh please, come off it, Yūshirō. You can relax. Ichigo doesn't care much for politics." She stated but, just to be sure, she glanced at Ichigo, whose reaction was a simple shrug.
"Ichigo, this is my little brother and the current Head of the Shihōin Clan, Yūshirō Shihōin."
"Hey! I'm not little anymore!" Yūshirō exclaimed with a pout and Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle at that, which only made Yūshirō pout more. It was a relaxing sight, seeing the leader of one of the most important families in Seireitei acting like a normal, ordinary person, and Ichigo felt the tension in his body withering. It was hard to act stiff towards somebody like Yūshirō; a Noble with the manners of a commoner.
"Pleasure to meet you, Shihōin-san." He said while extending his hand towards Yūshirō. The said person grabbed it and, with a flustered expression, shook it high up and low down.
"We came because Ichigo wanted to apologize for his conduct."
Ichigo glanced at Yoruichi when she said that. His brow slowly creased, and he tilted his head to the side, giving the Shihōin woman a thoughtful look. There was a battle of thoughts happening in his brain. Was she trying to make him feel embarrassed or was she masking her own embarrassment by diverting the attention away from herself? Not even a second later, just before he heard Yūshirō speak, Ichigo let go of that train of thoughts. It didn't matter. He said he would go with her but he never said he was going to play her game.
"Oh, no! There's no need to apologize, Kurosaki-san! I am well aware of what your position was back then. It's okay!"
Ichigo's head snapped away from Yoruichi's direction and towards Yūshirō with the speed of a slash. He looked at the young-looking boy with wide eyes. Then he narrowed them into a frown. Something was amiss. Those words had been said too fast and with too much vigor, even for somebody with this leisure kind of personality.
"Are you sure? I mean, I'm thankful, but you lost an important artifact, after all." He said in an unsure voice. In response, Yūshirō eagerly shook his head.
"Mhm, it's fine. We got the relic back in one piece. No harm done."
Then he flashed Ichigo a wide smile and motioned towards the house.
"Come on in, the inside of the house looks different during daylight."
While walking through the door and along a long hallway, Ichigo leaned towards Yoruichi with his frown still in place.
"You got it from Las Noches?" He asked her in a whisper.
"Yep."
A moment later, he leaned towards her again.
"You sure it's okay? He seems fine with it but there's something… off about your brother."
He noticed Yoruichi stopped walking and so he did too. His eyebrows rising, he realized she was chuckling. It confused him.
"What?!"
Between the chuckles, she also snorted and gave a slight shake of her head.
"You really don't get it?" She asked.
His frown returned with a force and slowly transformed into a scowl. Couldn't people in Seireitei talk in simple terms? Why did they had to resort to beating around the bush?
"No."
She leaned close to his ear, and he clenched his jaw.
"He's embarrassed because ever since you bested him, he looks up to you as some kind of rival role model." She whispered in an extremely quiet tone. When he registered her words, Ichigo's eyelids twitched in a spasm of inability to comprehend the meaning behind them.
"… what?"
She chuckled.
"After my banishment, Yūshirō had to train really hard to become a viable candidate for the post of the Head of the Clan. So, you see, Ichigo, it's been literally decades since anyone bested him in combat related things. By doing that, you have earned a lot of his respect but, since it is such an unfamiliar feeling for him, he has problems dealing with it."
Staring at her face, Ichigo absorbed the words one by one. Questions popped within his mind but he suppressed the urge to deal with them and filed them under the code 'not important'. Still, hearing Yoruichi saying such things made him look at her with a blank gaze.
"You seem to know quite a lot about him, considering you haven't seen him in a century."
Her eyes widened, and she glanced away saying nothing in return. It didn't fit the narrative but then again, did he care about it? Relations within the Shihōin clan were not his business. So, instead of asking any further, he just shrugged and followed Yūshirō, who had noticed they were no longer walking behind him and was waiting for them at the end of the hallway. Together, they spent the next hour wandering through the vast estate and its many rooms, hallways and verandas. At the end of the tour, Yūshirō looked at Ichigo with a nervous glance that made him look like anything but a head of one of the most prestigious clans in Seireitei.
"Kurosaki-san!"
The boy's voice came out with such intensity, it almost caused Ichigo to jump in surprise.
"Y-yeah?" He stammered and turned to Yūshirō with wide eyes that made the Shihōin heir rub his head in embarrassment.
"Ah, sorry about that. Well, I was just wondering… what do you think about this place?"
Feeling unsure, Ichigo looked away and studied his surroundings, the interior of the building.
"You're talking about the manor, right?"
When he noticed Yūshirō nodding to that, he released a shallow sigh and leaned back to a wall behind him.
"It's a nice place, I suppose. Less uptight than Kuchiki's, less threatening than Kasumiōji's and a lot more normal than Shiba's." He said with a friendly tone that made Yūshirō take a deep breath. For whatever reason, to Ichigo it looked like the boy was gathering his courage for something.
"I see. Well, if you like it, would you like to spend a few nights?"
Something about the way he formulated the question made Ichigo stare at the boy with a blank expression until he realized, with a help of his inner voices, that there were other ways he could understand it. A moment later, Yūshirō's eyes widened almost in a comical way. Standing behind Yūshirō, before any of them could speak up, Yoruichi erupted in a boisterous laughter.
"BWAHAHA!"
"NO! I didn't mean it like THAT!" Yūshirō immediately exclaimed and turned to Yoruichi to silence her by force, only for her to run away, laughing like a maniac all the way. The boy paused, then turned to Ichigo with a look of dread. Before he could say anything, Ichigo, with one hand placed against his own face, raised his other hand to stop him.
"It's okay, Shihōin-san. I… I think I got it. And yeah, sure, it would be nice to spend some time here. It'll be a nice change of pace."
With his hand covering his eyes, Ichigo didn't see the boy's face but heard him sigh in relief.
"In that case, could you call me like you call Nee-sama?"
Letting his hand fade away from his face, Ichigo shook off his own embarrassment and formed a tiny smirk.
"Yoruichi-san?"
In return, Yūshirō puffed his cheeks, crossed his arms and stomped the ground.
"You're making fun of me!"
Ichigo raised both hands in defense.
"Couldn't help it, it's just so easy to talk to you, Yūshirō-san. So, to preserve the balance, call me Ichigo."
Yūshirō's face instantly cleared up.
"Alright, Ichigo-san!"
Blinking his eyes, Ichigo opened his mouth to protest, as he didn't like it when others used honorifics when addressing him but, seeing the excited expression on the boy's face, he swallowed his complaint and admitted his defeat.
'… funny thing is, he's most likely decades older than me…'
…
Two days later, Ichigo had to admit he quite enjoyed the stay at the Shihōin manor, even more than he had expected. True to his first impression of Yūshirō, the Head of the Shihōin Clan truly was easy to talk to and just in two days, it felt like they had known each other for months. There was never a moment of boredom but, at the same time, spending time with the boy never became annoying. It seemed like Yūshirō had some innate ability to recognize when his own exuberant personality was becoming too much for Ichigo to handle and he immediately channeled his inner peace to turn more serious. At such moments, Ichigo understood just how could Yūshirō be a head of a clan. In his serious mode, the boy acted a lot more mature and level-headed but never to the point of reminding Ichigo of Byakuya. Unlike the Head of the Kuchiki Clan, Yūshirō didn't radiate a cold aura around him and, instead, there was an odd warmth of honesty. Furthermore, he was willing to talk to Ichigo about topics most wouldn't, though, as Ichigo soon found out, even Yūshirō had a limit.
It was during a pleasant evening, when the two of them sat on a veranda eating pieces of watermelon, that their conversation took a turn to seriousness.
"You know, Yūshirō-san, those things I stole from you... you called them relics."
Munching down the remnants of his piece of watermelon, Yūshirō wiped the almost transparent, reddish juice from his chin and glanced at Ichigo with a nod.
"Sure. It's because that's what they are. Relics. Artifacts of the past. Antiquities which should not have a place in the present."
With an inquisitive stare, Ichigo lowered his hands and placed his half-eaten piece of watermelon back on a plate.
"For antiquities, they possess a lot of power." He remarked and watched Yūshirō shrug.
"Eh, if you say so. I have actually never seen anyone using them. They've been lying in our vaults untouched for centuries."
Using a napkin, Ichigo cleaned his face, wet and sticky from the fruity juice, and leaned backwards until his elbows touched the wooden floor and prevented him from lying down.
"How old are they, even?"
"Hm, that's an easy one. They've been around since the establishment of the clan, just like the other tools in care of the other clans."
Intrigued, Ichigo blinked.
"Huh?"
Yūshirō continued as if there was no interruption.
"I mean, most of the Noble clans and all Great Noble clans came into existence at the same time. Well, at least that's what they told me."
Ichigo listened to him closely, making careful notes in his brain with a thoughtful expression.
"And when was that?"
"Hmm, I think it happened more than two thousand years ago."
Ichigo's expression changed and his brow formed a frown.
'That's oddly specific.'
"Hmm, then what was before that?" He asked but, in that moment, Yūshirō stiffened and turned to look at Ichigo with an evasive gaze. Then he shook his head.
"I… I can't talk about that, Ichigo-san. I mean, even if I knew the answer… I just can't. Please, don't ask more. I already said too much. If they knew… uh."
His eyes widening in surprise at the sudden change, Ichigo straightened up and gave Yūshirō a light pat on his shoulder.
"It's fine, it's fine. I shouldn't have asked. It's not even important. I was just going with the flow." He said with a smile and, at the end, gently squeezed Yūshirō's shoulder. The boy nodded.
"Yeah."
Silence fell upon them and they both returned to their meal; the watermelon they had cut was massive and, so far, they barely ate a quarter. For a few minutes, the only sound, beside the song of the wind wheezing past them, was made by their mouth as they mowed down the large fruit with renewed vigor. Only once they could eat no more, the conversation restarted itself.
"Have you heard about the trials?"
Ichigo, busy patting his bloated belly, registered the words only after a burp found its way out of his mouth. He quickly apologized.
"Sorry. You mean the trio: Ichimaru Gin, Hinamori Momo and Kaname Tōsen? All I know is that it was supposed to take place around this time."
He heard Yūshirō release a deep sigh.
"It went down during night. That's why I woke up so late."
"Really? Wait, you were there?" Ichigo looked at him in surprise. Tilting his head to the side, Yūshirō gave him a sad smile.
"Head of the Clan, remember?"
Seeing the boy's expression, Ichigo braced for bad news.
"So, how did it go?"
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Yūshirō shifting himself to take a more pleasant seat with his back propped against the wall and his legs stretched towards Ichigo until the soles of his feet tickled Ichigo's side.
"It was a difficult trial, that is undeniable. Before I tell you the results, let me talk about those three. I think you don't even know what their intentions were, do you?"
Staring at the tiny feet squirming next to him, Ichigo shifted his own position and grabbed them by the ankles. While shaking his head, he began to gently massage them.
"No."
Yūshirō gave him a grateful nod and then looked away, out of the veranda.
"After the interrogation, one thing became clear. Ichimaru Gin was never a true traitor. His only motive was vengeance against Aizen Sōsuke. It seems that during his youth, more than a century ago, Ichimaru witnessed some of Aizen's henchmen leaving the current Vice-Captain of the 10th Division beaten and seemingly violated. It is unclear what exactly happened to her as she herself isn't sure, but it left her soul damaged."
Despite all the watermelon he ate, Ichigo felt his throat getting dry.
'Matsumoto-san…' He thought with closed eyes.
"His plan was to get close to Aizen until he could find his weakness and then use it to kill him. He admitted though that staying near Aizen for such a long time left its mark on him. He never strayed from his goal but, over the course of more than a century, he awoke sadistic tendencies and became almost as manipulative as Aizen himself. Therefore, he pleaded guilty to all charges."
They both sighed. While the revelation of Ichimaru Gin's motives was surprising, Ichigo didn't feel as surprised as he thought he would. Sure, he never liked Gin, and the man was a superb actor, since nobody came even close to suspecting him of doing such an elaborate ruse, but, for some reason, Ichigo felt like it was fitting.
Or maybe he was just that used to schemes, manipulations, conspiracies, intricate ploys and refined plots that he just didn't give a damn and took the new information in stride.
"I see." He muttered while continuing the massage with mechanical movements. He heard a quiet groan and looked up to see Yūshirō closing his eyes, looking content. Switching the foot, he waited for the boy to speak again.
"Under normal circumstances, his actions would get him a strict sentence. Even though his motives were morally strong at first, his deeds degraded them into a broken cause and it is unthinkable we or his victims could forgive him. Truth be told, he was very lucky the Central 46 remains inactive and, thus, unable to operate and that the Captain Commander insisted on these trails taking place while he was still in charge. If it was Central 46 who judged him, the next time he would see the light of the day, he would be centuries older."
So far listening in silence, Ichigo let out a bit of air through his nostrils.
"Hm, yeah, I bet he would. So? His sentence?"
Yūshirō opened his eyes and formed a perplexed expression.
"Instead of the Central Underground Prison, the Commander sent him into Maggot's Nest for seven decades with an option of being released in case of emergency. He was stripped of his zanpakuto, his reiryoku was severely bound by Sekkiseki shackles and he will need to undergo regular psychological reevaluation and therapy."
A frown found its way on Ichigo's face.
"That's… kind of light punishment, isn't it?"
"It is, and it spurred a lot of dissatisfaction among some. On the other hand, I heard there were some who wanted to clear his name of many crimes. Despite his behavior, it seems people liked and still like Ichimaru Gin." Yūshirō replied while giving a short nod. Then he continued.
"Moving on, there was Hinamori Momo. Hers is a sad case and, since she's barely functioning as a person, they cleared her of all charges. They shifted the blame on her long-lasting mental instability. There is no proof, but it seems like not even Aizen Sōsuke is to be completely blamed for her state and that the responsibility for it lies on her own shoulders. Ever since meeting him, she became severely obsessed with the man."
An image of tears flowing down a small face appeared in Ichigo's mind.
"Must have been hard to listen to it for Captain Hitsugaya. I heard they were close."
Yūshirō shook his head.
"He wasn't present on this trial."
"He wasn't?"
"He excused himself, citing his inability to being level-headed and objective."
A servant came to take away the remnants of the watermelon and their used, dirty plates and since he brought a large bowl of a freshly made lemonade, they stopped the conversation. Lazy because of his full belly, Ichigo used the short break to pour both himself and Yūshirō a glass of lemonade and moistened his throat with it. When the sound of footsteps died down, Yūshirō continued.
"The last one was Kaname Tōsen. Since he died during the battle in Hueco Mundo, the trial was just a formality. It was this trial, however, that caused the greatest uproar that is now being concealed." He said and, while doing so, became more serious than ever, causing Ichigo to stop doing what he had been doing and look at his face.
"There is only so much I can tell you, Ichigo-san. Please don't ask for more."
'Is that fear in his eyes?' Ichigo wasn't sure but just the possibility of it being true made him realize he was now treading on a thin ice. If he didn't want to break it and fall into the depths of cold water that could swallow him whole, he would have to be careful.
"You don't have to say anything if it's that troublesome, Yūshirō-san."
Yūshirō stared at him for a moment, then shook his head.
"Let us lose the honorifics, if you don't mind."
Ichigo nodded.
"Okay, Ichigo then. It's true. I don't have to talk about it. But I want to. I need to. You need to hear it." Yūshirō said, placing an unusual amount of emphasis on Ichigo's name, a fact that didn't go unnoticed. However, Ichigo didn't protest and, instead, only gave another nod.
"After some investigation, we put some things together, and it seems the reason for Kaname Tōsen's defection started, just as it did with Ichimaru Gin, even before he became a Shinigami. No, let me rephrase that. His defection was the main reason he even became a Shinigami in the first place."
Careful not to show his increased heart-beat, Ichigo grabbed his glass and took a sip of lemonade, his eyes never leaving Yūshirō's face.
"I'm not following."
"In the past, Kaname Tōsen loved a certain woman. This woman was a wife of a certain man. This man killed the woman over a petty matter. Kaname Tōsen tried to get justice for the woman. He never got it and, on the woman's grave, he swore to avenge her death and to kill the justice that allowed her to die with no one taking responsibility for it."
His frown deepening, Ichigo narrowed his eyes.
"I'm still not following."
Yūshirō gave him a forlorn gaze.
"Ichigo. There are few who could escape punishment for such obvious crime. Think about it."
Without missing a beat, Ichigo had the answer.
"A noble."
"In this case, not just any noble."
In an instant the answer became clear.
'Tsunayashiro.'
End of Chapter 44.
Another chapter packed with interactions and spreading breadcrumbs of what will come into play in the future. We also learned what happened to several other characters after the war. In the next chapter, we meet new characters that you should all know from the canon.
To reviews:
Dinner - yeah, sometimes i sacrifice interactions in exchange for a chance to squeeze more details in the chapter. During writing it's not a conscious choice. It becomes one during editing. And it's probably not a good one.
Scarease - while Gotei 13 is a military organization, the real control of SS falls under the Great Noble Clans, though as you can see in this chapter, he can try to go around them.
syphiralae - not at all, I'm glad for questions (unless answering them would spoil the story and there's no other way of answering them)
the god wolf - yes, maybe, perhaps, yes, that's a spoiler and the last one - it'll take a long time before we come across a godlike being. Until them, antagonists will be of a different kind.
MugetsuIchigo - since when were you under the impression his reiatsu needs recovering in the first place, heh.
1. Guest - you are neither wrong nor right, can't comment any further
2. Guest - yes, I'm aware of the novels and I read most of the important info in them. You'll see later, since I'm incorporating some of it in my story. Besides, I mentioned Tsunayashiro clan several times and this name came from the last novel.
kaxipoptos - i'm glad my readers notice details. Gives me determination to include more of them. Vizards do hold a grudge against Ichigo - part of it is their inability to let go of their past (as a spy, Ichigo had to play the role of their betrayer and betrayal is something of a sore spot for them) a part of it is that he didn't let them have their revenge and thus, they don't believe him. I'll expand on this and their status in the future. They threaten him because they are confident. Elder council is not canon, it is my own little addition.
Well, that's all for now.
Next chapter: Chapter 45 - Family matters (A missing link) - will be published on 16th August!
BTW: To give you guys an update, I recently began working on the arc that come after this one and the one after that ends. Once I finish it, I can start preparing for the final three mini-arcs of the final arc - what I want to say is that in near future (once I make a good reserve of chapters - no sooner than after summer) I can start updating this story more often - I'm thinking once a week. That's because at this pace, it'll be 2020 when this story reaches its end.
See ya.