Renji swung his blade down in a sharp downward arc at one last monster as he shut the gate behind them and turned breathlessly to rejoin the rest of the group, cursing softly to himself about the necessity of taking the gate for unauthorized shinigami. He bent forward at the waist slightly, placing his hand over the stitch in his side and focused on breathing again as he listened to Komamaru telling Unohana what had happened in the shop.
"Abarai, you're late,"
Renji straightened and turned to the side of the room where the voice had come from, bowing formally at the sight of his captain and Ukitake both standing along the wall.
"Gomenasai, teicho. I will try to be on time with my next -" Renji faltered for a second, trying to remember just what it was that he had forgotten in the fighting.
"Under the circumstances, the fact that you forgot to report back for five hours is understandable. I take it that I will be hearing your report of today's events at the joint meeting, Abarai?"
"Yes, teicho." Renji agreed with a nod, the slight relief at avoiding a reprimand from Byakuya completely disappearing at the thought of a full meeting of all the captains and vice-captains. In all his time in Soul Society, he had never heard of a situation that was urgent enough to require that, not everything that had happened with Ichigo and Rukia, not even the situation with Aizen had needed that.
"Have their been any preliminary checks of her condition and her strength levels?" Unohana asked.
The question broke Renji's train of thought and he looked up. "Ai. Yourichi and Rukia had most of her wounds treated by the time we saw them and Urahara said that they were serious, but not life threatening. I haven't felt any spiritual energy from her, and if it weren't for what I saw with the bracelet, I would say that she has even less that that of a normal human soul. Whatever that means, Urahara said that she needed to get some source of energy outside her own reiatsu soon if she was going to live. The only other thing I can tell you is that she was conscious when we left Urahara's shop."
"She still is," came the slightly muffled voice from by Komamaru. Not so muffled to keep the irritation out of her voice, or to hide the slight slurring that left the otherwise clear words faded a little around the edges though, Renji noted. If what he heard in the girl's voice had disturbed him though, it had obviously alarmed Unohana.
"Please, let me see the girl," Unohana asked, an urgency suddenly present in the captain's normally soft voice. Komamaru did so without an argument, and Unohana took the girl, balancing her easily.
"Isane, please go get an IV, a glucose and saline drip solution, a short lasting intravenous pain medicine with a codeine derived base, gauze, antiseptic, reiatsu infusions, and Yamada-kun and bring them to the first empty room available."
The vice-captain nodded and both women flash stepped off in different directions.
"I believe we should be heading to the meeting," Ukitake said pointedly, moving to usher the other captains and vice-captains towards the hallway leading out of the division, "before the Fourth division is not the only one with its captain and vice-captain arriving late."
They began walking slowly, a strained silence developing as they all began to feel the tension that almost seemed to flow off Ukitake in waves, a far cry from the captain's normal relaxed demeanor. Part of Renji wanted to break that silence and ask just what the meeting was about, and another part of him wanted to have the silence stretch out as long as possible, just in case his captain had changed his mind about being angry enough to reprimand him for his belated report. Matsumoto looked over, the concerned look on her face showing that the situation bothered her just as much, if not more, than it did Renji.
"Ukitake-teicho, how long do you think she will be in the Fourth Division?" she asked, torn very strongly between anger and worry. It did not surprise Renji that the vice-captain was so worried about a strange girl she had just met, but the level of anger in her voice took him aback after everything that they had dealt with today until he remembered a comment she had made during a drunken conversation awhile back, telling him about how she had met Gin when she was starving to death in Rukongai. Remembering that, he could only imagine how much of a personal betrayal Matsumoto felt, knowing that Gin had done this to a girl that reminded the vice-captain so forcibly of her younger self. There was no way that he could tell her that he knew that, not right now, but part of him wished that there was as they listened, waiting for Ukitake's answer.
"I truly do not know. Being rusubin is part of how she was strong enough to survive in the first place, but it is also how she ended up nearly draining her reiatsu. Her recovery depends on how strong she is, and that could be quite a long time in her current state. She is much younger than I had thought she would be."
The gates of the First Division were open as the group joined the stream of other captains and vice-captains who were streaming in and formed into their ranks, any talking fading as soon as they entered the door. There was a blur of movement and Unohana and Isane flash stepped into their respective places just as the Captain Commander entered and the meeting began. Instead of beginning the meeting by speaking as he normally did though, he bowed formally to the wall opposite where he stood. Or, rather, Renji noted, what should have been a wall. In its place was a screen not unlike the one that the video monitor in Urahara's shop had, but far more liquid in its appearance, as if someone truly could step through the screen and into the room if they chose to. Looking closer at the screen, it was frighteningly clear that both of the people shown by the screen would have no qualms about doing such a thing if they were provoked. And, if the expressions on their faces were any indication, it would not take much to provoke them.
"Shinsanorya -shi, Hirikka -shi, thank you for meeting with us so promptly."
"Yamamoto- dono, we could not do less and keep with the spirit of the treaty we have with the shinigami."
"Nor could we, with this meeting being about what happened to one of yours today, rusubin."
"Be that as it may," said the figure who had answered and they all heard a sigh from the man on the other side of the screen, and from the corners of their eyes, everyone took another surreptitious glance at the screen and the figures beyond it. The figure that was speaking was a younger man dressed in a business suit, seated at a desk with one hand rubbing his temple in frustration while the other figure stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. In the light, it was clear that she was the elder of the two, her dark hair liberally streaked with gray tied back severely above the collar of the military uniform she wore. In spite of the obvious emotion which should have shown in their gesture and the atmosphere of anger that was tangible even through the screen, there was a level of control underlying every movement and action the two made, so much so that none of the anger had come through in the man's voice when he spoke but only the calm, polite, almost friendly address that one would greet a respected business colleague with.
"There is one more question that the treaty demands I ask, in spite of the fact we both already know the answer, but I need to ask before I say anything else. Yamamoto, as head of the Gotei 13 and Captain Commander of the shinigami ranks, did you authorize what lead to the death of Dakamoragu Masumi, who was in the process of becoming the 16th member of the rusubin council and the actively functioning watch for Karakura town and the surrounding areas?"
"No, I did not, nor did any of the shinigami under my command. The traitors are no longer with us."
"No, I did not think that you had, but the treaty did require me to ask. Now that the required formalities are done, let me speak plainly if there is any hope for this meeting to be brief. The traitors did not violate the treaty that we have with the shinigami so it is still necessary for me to do the same, which ties my hands considerably, but I can offer you that help which I am able to without hesitation if that will destroy the traitors all the sooner."
"Shinsanorya, are you speaking for all of the rusubin or as an individual when you say that?"
The woman behind the desk cleared her throat and spoke. "In this matter, he speaks as both. I have received word from the rest of the council members and they have agreed to help as well since it is a more than personal matter. If it were otherwise, it would be the thirteenth seat of the council standing here in my stead since she would not need to have traveled so far and was even closer to Dakamoragu-san in life than I was. However, as the second seat of the council, I am willing to vouch that this is no personal vendetta but truly a matter of concern that the rest of us are willing to support Shinsanorya in as far as the treaty will allow us."
"Then, please do so. Anything that would help us in our war against the traitors would be most welcome at this point."
"Very well. I already have a compilation of all of Dakamoragu Masumi's records thanks to Hirikka's involvement in helping her file for emancipation rights which I will have one of our allies send with a copy of the testimonies of various humans and shinigami who witnessed her state earlier today as soon as they have finished transcribing it. In the meantime, I can do this."
Before anyone could question just what "this" actually was, the man tapped a small coin-shaped token which he had picked up and spoke to it.
"Greetings to Hakuzosu Daisuke, Hakkei of the tailed brothers from he who cares for the Ryukyu Islands and she who cares for Fujiyama and Lower Honshu."
The token glinted with a soft bronze glow and a voice answered from it, loud and clear enough to be heard easily "Greetings to you as well, Shinsanorya Hasaki, Hirikka Yukimoe. What need do the dragon of the islands and the tsurara-onna of Fuji need of us?"
"We are calling to ask aid of our tailed brothers for our allies so that they may learn more about one of ours who has joined them."
"Keep your favor, rusubin. This we will do freely, whether the girl's favor stands or not. After what she did for us in the past month by dealing with the outcast yuko who became akume and everything that they left behind, she has earned such loyalty, even if it did not give us reason to spy on the death god with the unfortunately similar name who was so involved in this. Pity this is not something that I could bite this one for with how he disgraces the name of fox and acts as just a general pain in each of and every one of my individual tails and that of every lawful kitsune in the brotherhood. Dare I hope that letting you hear a way to knot their tails together would actually work instead?"
"If it is within bounds that we and our allies may follow, then yes."
"Oh, we can manage a good bit more than that, my tailless dragon brother, a good bit more to help you and the death gods both. Listen."
There was a brief sound like wind chimes that were being tossed about in the middle of a thunderstorm before the distinct sound of footsteps and muttered swearing were heard, still coming from wherever they were transmitting to the token in the rusubin's hand.
"Ah, Aizen-sama, I'm a thinkin' that that message a bit ago might mean that the little mouse we were a tryin' to catch might have been smart enough not to have gotten lost in a one way tunnel. The arrancar just finished the last search and there ain't hide nor hair of her to be seen. Couldn't be as easy as something' just ate her, could it."
"No, hardly. And someone with the sort of aim that she had to send the monsters, not to mention to avoid all thirteen of the traps that we sent to fetch for her, would have been able to avoid the hollows long enough to not be eaten. Although, it is possible, I suppose since she no longer has the power of a rusubin to help. However, I believe it appears she had the sense to somehow find a way to escape from the garguntura. Not that it will help her. She has cut all of her ties with the rusubin, and the shinigami have strict rules about taking someone who was created illegally. Especially a rusubin shinigami with the treaty in place."
"So Soul Society will have to throw the little mouse back out again if she lives long enough to get there. That's good, Aizen-sama. It'd have been a pity if something ate her before I got a chance to play a bit, don'cha think?"
"Normally, I would say that you were being petty, Gin, but with the little rusubin, I am almost inclined to agree. I do have to wonder how she got a hold of that sort of demon to send though."
"So Ulquiorra found out what type of puppy it was that bit ya?"
"Yes. Hellhound. A Celtic monster that is like a cross between a tengu-yokai and an okuri-inu, only a bit more vengeful than either spirit it seems. They seem to have a specific role when it comes to dealing with oath breakers. Which certainly explains why I am needing to rebandage my hand again. Oh, while he was at it, I also had him look up what the last two monsters you and Kaname got were. A bit surprising, to be honest. I would not have thought that the rusubin would have been allowed to be so vindictive. Although, if she was in charge of Karakura town, I suppose that is only reasonable on her part."
"Alright. I already guessed mine was a bitchy sort of water spirit from the seeing pool that she put up right before she tried to drown me, but I think Kaname might have overdone it a bit. I mean, ain't crispy-critterin' it and half of the kitchen 'til they're ash a bit extreme, even for him."
"Possibly, but I wouldn't complain overly much, Gin." Aizen warned softly. "If it had been that monster in your bathtub instead of the water spirit, which Ulquiorra informs me is called a nix, we would not be having this conversation. Kaname is the only one here who even had a chance at surviving that sort of attack."
"Well, ya can't fault her for her aim at putting the enchanted toad in the kitchen and thinking' one of us would have found it and tried to break it usin' kidou. But why the hell'd anyone want to keep a half hatched cockatrice egg in the first place? An it was a cockatrice, right? 'Tween the toad Wonderwice was chasing and Granz mutterin' about serpentine DNA in the egg carton, not likely to be anythin' else."
"No, it was a cockatrice, and given an hour or more it would have been a basilisk. It was mere luck that Kaname was the one to find it and kill it. Still, I do wish that there had been a way of saving its venom. It could have proven quite interesting to see what sort of weapon it could have been used for. Pity about that, but at least we won't have to worry about the little rusubin sending any more nasty presents to keep us from interfering with her jurisdiction. The possessed yuki-onna was an interesting diversion, and even the stone demon, the half Japanese datsueba who also was apparently part dangga, and the gashadokuro were nothing more than minor annoyances. The kurage-no-hinotama was simply a bizarre phenomenon, and the rest of the things were easy enough to deal with. But those last three were beginning to become a problem. If we had not taken care of her when we did, she might actually have become a danger in the future."
"You're sure that this is the end of it, Aizen-sama? I thought in the treaty that--"
Aizen laughed quietly and went back to the normal conversational tone he had kept throughout the conversation that grated on Renji's nerves in a way that was far more frightening to him than Gin's anger had been. "Oh, being shinigami isn't what will stop Soul Society from taking her. Without proof that it was an intentional attack from a shinigami to make her rouge and not an accident or even an intentional decision on her part that simply ended in a rather tragic failure, she is too much of a danger for Soul Society to take. In fact, in spite of the fact that the attempts failed, I wouldn't be surprised if they had to kill her anyway just to keep that from being a risk. Or they would if the rusubin council wouldn't interfere. Who knows? If we are lucky they just might anyway."
"Yeah. Hey, did you see that light by the window? The green one?"
"Interesting. It looks like phosphorescent dust. I wonder how it got onto that window ledge? It could be just part of Szayel's experiments, but with everything else, I think I had better have a closer look just in case it does turn out to be another problem."
For a second, the sound of footsteps began to come closer only to be replaced by again by the sounding chimes and the rather pleased voice of the Hakkei came through again.
"I take it that is the sort of information you needed?" asked the kitsune, keeping the note of well earned smugness from his voice with audible effort.
"How - that was more than I had hoped for. That is certainly more than enough. What do the rusubin owe the tailed brothers for this?"
"As I've already told you once, there is no debt between us for this is no favor but a matter of loyalty between the brotherhood and her. We would be poor allies if we did not give some honor to that but I suppose that since it is you and the death gods asking and not her, I am obliged to ask something. So, just send my regards to the pretty little firebird that holds your thirteenth seat and to the newest kit that her worthless husband has foisted on her and we will call it even. I refuse to ask more for something I wish to do anyways."
"I will tell Amazorakou what you said."
"Good. She is almost as cunning as the little kirin sister was. Now, go and speak with the death gods so that you can make good on that offer to knot their tails together. That is something I truly wish to see."
The soft glow that had encompassed the token faded and Shinsanorya lowered his arm back to the desk. "Yamamoto-dono, thanks to the assistance from the twelve-tailed fox of the Kohaku clan I am able to extend the full help provided for in the treaty under such circumstances. However, Dakamoragu Masumi is under your authority now even more than she was ever under mine. Do you will me to do so?"
The Captain Commander nodded. "Your concern is understood, but there is no problem posed with this. It will not interfere with the fact she is shinigami or her duties as such. Reinstate the girl as rusubin and cut the traitors out of the treaty."
He nodded and took another token from the thick chain of them that hung at his waist and pressed it softly and it glinted the same silvered black as the ones in the shop had before turning a soft green and then silver and a tiny but clear form of a kirin appeared, etched in an almost luminous light onto the token as the rusubin sat silently concentrating on the small silver disk. A moment later he nodded again and straightened up.
"Hirikka, you are the most senior rusubin. This next part is yours by right," he said before and ducked his head again and continued to fiddle with the glowing medallion until it was completely encompassed in a small orb of energy that trailed off into a delicate net of threads, or at least that was what it looked like to Renji's inexperienced eyes. However, given the analytical, almost critical look that the female rusubin gave to the token before she began to speak made him wonder if she was seeing something behind the orb and net that as shinigami none of them were able to see. Hirikka began to speak then, her voice far a deep and rich alto, far gentler than her would have expected from a woman who looked even more like the strict and terrifying sort of military librarian than Nanao did. "The head of the rusubin council and the senior rusubin of Fujiyama hereby reinstate Dakamoragu Masumi officially as the sixteenth seat of the rusubin council and the rusubin of Karakura Town. Moreover, let it be known to any that are allied to the rusubin that the three shinigami traitors, Kaname Tousen, Ichimaru Gin, and Aizen Sousuke are no longer part of the alliance between the rusubin and shinigami after today."
Three strands of the light net snapped, dissolving in the same way that Masumi's bracelet had back in the shop and the corners of Hirikka's mouth twitched up slightly, an expression that Renji had only ever seen once before when in gigai in the living world, watching an elderly panther in the zoo trapping a small furry animal that had been thrown into its cage for a meal. It had been years since Renji had seen that look, and if the brief glimpse that he had seen of it from the rusubin before she reschooled her face into the normal cool expression she had been wearing before, it was a look that Renji honestly hoped to never see on a human face ever again. From where he sat in front of her, the other rusubin missed the expression on his second seat's face, but he seemed to know when she had finished because he nodded and stood.
"That will have to be enough for now. Thank you for your assistance and in including us with the meeting, but the Hakkei is right. There is much that still needs to be dealt with yet because of what has happened for both the rusubin and the shinigami. Excuse us then. As much as I wish to know what has happened with Masumi-san, it would be best for me to inform our other allies of what has happened and leave you to finish your meeting in peace. Yamamoto-dono, please let me know when she is healed enough to begin resuming her duties as a rusubin and I will provide the help to train her with long distance work until she is ready to leave Soul Society."
The screen flickered and disappeared, leaving just the blank wall and door opposite the Captain Commander through the rest of the meeting.
It was nearly two hours later when Renji walked out of the meeting, feeling rather bleary and tired as he walked next to his captain back to the division, keeping silent as much out of frustration as exhaustion. Even after the help from the rusubin, the testimonies from Soifon and Hitsugaya about what they had seen in the shop, his own report on events and the girl's identity, and Unohana-teicho's evaluation of her state, they were still no closer to finding a solution to this mess than they had been before. Hell, Renji thought with a snort of bleak humor, things were so fucked up that Captain Commander had ended the meeting without even announcing what division she would be in if she ever got of the Fourth.
"Abarai, go get sleep."
Renji raised his head suddenly, and turned to face Byakuya, and knew that the surprise must be obvious on his face even as he did so. "Kuchiki-teicho?"
"Go back to your quarters and sleep, Abarai," the captain repeated, his voice sounding slightly tired but otherwise the same expressionless voice that his captain always had "before you leave yourself too weak to fulfill your duties as vice-captain. That is an order."
"Yes, teicho." Renji bowed and turned to go back to his quarters, looking over his shoulder and watching as his captain walked back towards the office rather than his own quarters, the hem of the white haori flapping softly in the breeze as he left. Renji sighed and continued walking until he got to his quarters and shut the door before falling promptly and deeply to sleep.
A/N: Anybody wondering about the mythological creatures? Because Masumi is half Welsh Australian/half Japanese, this gave me a chance to play with my mythological background a lot. The idea of a basilisk with Tousen was just too priceless to miss. Same with the hellhound, since their main prey are oathbreakers. I thought the cross breed of a clothes stealing spirit and a vampire which feeds on gay men was great. Same with the jellyfish that explodes into fireballs. Kirin, or the Oriental variation of a unicorn are protectors of the pure, and with Masumi being rusubin as well as with her age, it seemed to reflect her better than most of the council. Can I honestly say that my favorite character so far is the Hakkei? I wish I could include him more, but, alas. Hope you are enjoying this so far.