A/n: Oh what was that about finishing this story nice and quick? The even bigger tragedy is that I already had this chapter typed up for months but couldn't bring myself to edit it until now. We'll see how it goes from here, but consider this chapter a result of my moral outrage over Hisagi's absence in the manga. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter!

Chapter 2

After Sae had laid Hiromu onto his bed—he'd fallen asleep—Hisagi handed her the duffle bag and backpacks. She'd had Hisagi take them to the alley where she'd dumped their shit, in order to retrieve them. As Sae set the bags down, Hisagi gave the room a brief scan. He looked pretty incongruous standing there, kimono and sword against the room's bland modern furniture.

"Do you stay in inns often?"

Sae sat down on her bed with a groan. Long day. "More like nothing but inns and motels. We don't have an apartment. We never stay anywhere longer than a week. Gotta have somewhere we can ditch at a moment's notice."

"Because of the hollows?"

"Is that what you call those mask—things?" She slid her hands into her pockets. "Then yeah, because of the hollows. They come, we run. Sometimes I shoot at them. Rinse and repeat."

"How long has this been going on?" Hisagi asked, then amended, "I'm sorry. I should let you rest."

"Don't worry about it. I should sleep, but not sure if I can. I mean, you're some kind of death reaper, aren't you? A Shinigami?" She took off her hat. Her bandage was starting to feel itchy. Should change it. "There's a lot I want to ask you too.

Hisagi didn't reply to that. His silence made Sae wonder just how much help she could extract from him. Was he part of some kind of an organization? Couldn't be very high-ranking, if he was out doing legwork, so what was he authorized to do? Because this guy was some kind of a reaper. And what she wanted from him was a very great amount: help for Hiromu, a way to stop the masks or Hollows from tracking them, some way to defeat them, or sense them coming from afar. She had questions she wanted answered. Why had they never met another Shinigami before? Why did those monsters chase them specifically? What exactly was it that Hiromu did whenever he "concealed" his presence? Even Hiromu himself didn't know, only that it was like he was suppressing something into his body that he usually let flow freely. It wasn't air. The breath holding was more of a psychological association. Made it easier for him to hold back the actual—whatever he was holding back.

When Hisagi spoke again, he gestured towards the bandages on her face. "Are those injuries recent?"

"Huh? Oh, they were from yesterday. Still need to stitch one of them up."

"Could I help you with them?"

"I don't know. You know how to stitch faces?"

"No, but if it's just mild cuts or lacerations, I can probably mend it with a kaido. A healing incantation."

Sae was incredulous. "You have healing spells?"

Hisagi shrugged modestly. "I don't specialize in healing kido, but I learned the basics. It should be enough." He sat down next to her, his shoulder next to hers. "Can you remove your bandages?"

Sae was about to ask him to tend to Hiromu first, but on second thought, she wanted to make sure the spell wouldn't have any weird side effects. Hisagi probably didn't treat living humans much. A little healing spell may end up killing her. So she slowly peeled the bandages off, dropping them in a little pile on the bed. Hisagi tried to suppress a grimace; must not be a beautiful sight.

"It was a rough night, okay?"

"I believe you." Hisagi rubbed his palms together, his brows crinkling. "I'm sure I can manage this."

"No pressure. If you could even just accelerate the healing process, that's be great."

He began to lift his hands. "I'll do my best. And sorry," he mumbled, before pressing his hands against her face. Sae tried to relax, tried not to stiffen her shoulders. He tilted her chin with one hand, and then carefully pressed his palm against her injured cheek. It was a warm, rough palm. Then she felt it grow warmer, and then hot—not a burning hot, but the kind of hot where you were cold and finally stepped out into the sun. The whole thing was finished in about a minute. Hisagi removed his hands, exhaling in relief. Sae rubbed her face, then rubbed it again. There was still the blood to clean off, but there was nothing underneath it. The stinging was gone, the rawness was gone.

"Everything alright?" Hisagi asked anxiously.

"Yeah, it's—great. It's all gone." Sae ran her hand over her face one more time. "Holy shit."

"Why don't you wash your face? I can see if there's any residue once all that blood's out of the way."

There was no residue to clean up. Even the bruising was gone, although if she looked very closely she could see the faint pale outline of a scar where the deepest laceration had been. She washed her face and neck, then rebraided her hair, making sure to get all the excess fringes out of her face. When she stepped out, Hisagi was standing over Hiromu, his hand against Hiromu's temple. She returned her hands to her pockets and waited until he was done before purposefully clicking the bathroom door shut. Hisagi gave a start, then stood up, like he was caught doing something criminal.

"Hi. I was just—I thought while I was waiting I'd take a look at your brother's head. He seems fine now."

Sae put on a smile. "Sure. Thanks." She walked over and gave Hiromu's head a brief scan. Healed, just like her. "The gift that keeps on giving, aren't you?"

"You're overstating it. It's nothing." He turned to her, his eyes searching her face. "You, um, you look good."

"A step up from ten minutes ago, for sure." She tucked her bangs out of the way and said in an apologetic way, "Listen, I don't want to be an ass and kick you out once you've helped us and all, but you think we can call it a night? I'm not sure how much longer I can stay awake. I'm pretty wiped out. And I'd like Hiromu awake when we talk too."

"Of course. Take all the time you need. I'd also like to take the time to patrol the area. The concentration of Hollows here is—worrisome. I'm not sure what the Shinigami stationed here are doing." The crease between his eyebrows deepened, the briefly smoothed up again when he gave her a smile, one meant to reassure her. "I'll be back tomorrow morning. Don't worry about being attacked tonight. I'll take care to eliminate all the Hollow in the vicinity."

"Thanks. I really appreciate what you're doing for us."

Hisagi left through the window, disappearing the second he dove into the night sky. Sae waited a few seconds, until he was definitely gone, then dropped her smile and exhaled, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"Hey Hiromu. Wake up. I need to talk to you."

When Hiromu opened his eyes, it was kind of funny to watch his face cycle through expressions: panic, because she never woke him up for no reason, then relief when he realized it was all good, and then sullen, probably because about that little moment on the rooftop. He gave Sae a miserable look, then turned away, all prepped and ready to give her the cold shoulder.

"Oh grow up. You can be pissed after we're done talking. Anyway, you know that Shinigami that saved us? Hisagi?"

Hiromu hesitated, then grudgingly shrugged his yes. His eyes were swollen from crying. He could barely keep them open. Poor kid. She'll let him sleep soon.

"He's going to be coming over tomorrow, to explain shit to us. Maybe we'll finally be getting some answers. You know, to help you out." She gave Hiromu a little nudge on the cheek. It seemed to soften him up, just a little. "But I want you to stay quiet while we're talking. Like, completely mute. Any questions you have for him, you whisper them to me first. Can you do that?"

"Why?"

"There're just things about us that I don't want him to know. At least not until we get to know him more first."

"You think he's going to hurt us?"

"I just want to see if we can trust him. See if he's hiding anything that might hurt us. I'm not saying he wants to. I'm saying he might."

Unconvinced, Hiromu insisted, "He seems nice."

Sae snorted. "What, just because he vouched for you when you were getting snot all over my lap? Raise your standards, you brat." She shook her head. "Now I don't want to sound ungrateful. He does seem like a sweet guy, and he did save us. But how am I supposed to know if that is what he is? Just because he hasn't maimed us yet, doesn't mean he doesn't want something. The way he showed up was a little too convenient. The second we were about to jump off the building, there he was. That shit can't be a coincidence. I can't believe it." When Hiromu began to look sullen again, Sae put a hand on his shoulder. "Consider it a trial period. If he passes, we'll be friends. If he doesn't—" She didn't really want to think about that. Run from some super monster-killing guy like him? Probably will have to flee the country while his back was turned. "So you'll stay quiet tomorrow?"

With some hesitation, Hiromu said "Yeah. I'll be quiet."

She ruffled his head, then stood up. "Good man. Now go back to sleep. And hey, don't worry about the masks tonight. I'm sure Hisagi will get rid of them if they come."

"You just said you don't like him."

"The hell I did. I said I didn't trust him. Big difference. Besides, it'd be weird for him to go through the trouble of saving us, and then abandon us."

Sae tucked Hiromu in, then collapsed onto her own bed, her hands for once at her side, instead of under the pillow with her gun. Yeah, she didn't trust Hisagi. But it made sense for him to keep an eye out for them, at least for the night. And a part of Sae wanted to believe it for the sake of convenience. How many years had it been since she got to sleep in peace? She couldn't remember.

There was a cut on Sae's shoulders that she just noticed after she'd stepped out of the shower. It was shallow and scabbed, but pretty long. Sae thought about getting Hisagi to fix it for her, then grinned it off. Ask too many favors of him and she'd have spent all his good will before she got to what she really wanted. She stepped out of the bathroom and waved over Hiromu, who looked up from his reading. She jerked a thumb behind her.

"The water's still hot."

As Hiromu scuttered past her, Sae checked her watch—nine-thirty—then went to open the window. The calendar was still spring, but the weather had begun to turn summer warm early and the humidity was beginning to set in. It was still early though, and there was a tepid little breeze, which was nice to dry her hair in. As she waited for Hiromu to finish his shower, she perched herself on the windowsill and watched the trains go by, each one becoming less populated then the last as rush hour drew to a close. Hisagi said he'd be over in the morning. Just as Sae was beginning to wonder when he was going to show up, a backpack was thrown on top of the wall that separated the motel from the street behind it. The fuck? Then Hisagi hauled himself into view. He grabbed the backpack and hopped down, checked to make sure he hadn't dropped anything, then slung the backpack over one shoulder. Well wasn't he was being dapper today. He had his usual chokers and armbands, but he'd switched out of his black kimono in favor of a sleeveless shirt under a black leather vest, and torn black pants. It was all very tight looking, very calculated in the way it flattered his torso and hips. Like she said, damn good-looking. But on the other hand, who the hell dressed that tight, except for hookers? She smiled when Hisagi caught her eye.

"Nice entrance. Not as good as your first one yesterday, but—?"

Hisagi laughed a little as he walked over. "I'd have a hard time replicating anything I did yesterday with this body. I'm using a gigai."

"A what?"

"It's a type of body container. Normal humans can see this body. It's grounded in the material world."

"Well don't you have all the nice things?" She ran her eyes down his body. Clothes aside, it didn't look any different from his Shinigami state, although there was something less intense about it. Gut-feeling-wise, not appearance-wise. "You expecting to meet anyone today?"

"Only you and your brother. But I thought—you didn't seem very comfortable when we spoke yesterday. You seemed a bit guarded."

"Yeah?" Sae's smiled lowered fractionally. "Well I was pretty tired yesterday, so maybe I wasn't as polite as I should've been, so—"

Hisagi cut her off. "It was my fault. I should've realized that a Shinigami's power may appear overwhelming to a human. I'd also be on the edge if I were in your position. The gigai puts me on the level of a normal human. I can leave it whenever I want, but I thought that it would—" He gestured with a hand, trying to find the right words. "Give the conversation a more equal feel. Maybe put you at ease."

They stood and sat across from each other and looked at each other without speaking. Sae tapped her index finger on the window sill, unsure of whether to deny or apologize. There wasn't a point in denying it, but she wasn't sorry about it either. So instead she said, "I appreciate it."

"It was the least I can do."

"Nothing personal, you know."

"I understand. Trust is earned. I abide by that principle as much as you do. Although," he began, slowly. "I suppose that means I don't exactly trust you either."

At that, Sae felt—she felt okay with that. It was a logic she could get behind, and having it out in the open eased some of the tension in her gut. She dropped her feet back onto the carpet and stood up. "Come in. Hiromu's been wanting to meet his lord and savior."

As Hisagi stepped into the room after her, the bathroom door creaked open, letting out a cloud of steam and Hiromu, who was rubbing his hair with a towel. He saw Hisagi through his mussed up bangs, and beamed.

"Hello, Hisagi san. Sae said you'll be coming over today."

Hisagi raised a hand uncertainly. "Hiromu, right?"

"Yeah!" He ran up to them and huddled next to Sae, clearly eager to meet Hisagi but also needing Sae to boost his confidence.

"Little shit's ready to put a ring on your finger," Sae commented mildly.

Hiromu tugged her arm, mortified. "Sae!"

"I'd be honored," Hisagi said solemnly, although the corner of his mouth twitched when Hiromu turned to him, looking helpless and betrayed.

"Yeah, be honored all you want. Anything more and I'll kill you." She took Hiromu's hand and led him to the bed, sitting him down before sitting down next to him. Hisagi took off his shoes and sat down on the bed across from her, his legs folded under his thighs. It was very civilized. Sae gave Hiromu's hand a squeeze, a tacit little reminder of what they'd discussed last night.

"I imagine you have questions first," Hisagi said. "Please, go ahead."

She should've made a list, or an itinerary. There were so many things she wanted to know. At the same time she had to regulate what she said, because for all that she told Hiromu to keep his trap shut, she didn't know what she was planning to share or omit from Hisagi either. How could she, when she had no idea of knowing what he wanted out of them? Blindfolded and stepping on a minefield was about as safe as this. Basics sounded like a good idea, questions that'd been hounding her for years.

"Why do those things chase us?" Sae said. "Those masked monster things. You called them something."

"Hollows. Corrupted souls who've lingered too long in the living world after death. Only souls with extreme attachment to the material world—some sort of regret or wish, for example—remain after death. Most pass on to Soul Society without much trouble. But the ones who stay—the longer they remain in this world, the more their humanity is eroded. Once the process is complete, the soul turns into a Hollow. They're mindless creatures for the most part, driven by a need to devour other souls. So Hiromu—"

Sae's grip tightened. "They eat souls?"

"Yes. The material body can be damaged in the process, but it's not what they feed on. Specifically, they're attracted to the spiritual energy that souls possess. We call that energy reiatsu. All souls emit reiatsu, similar to how a human body takes in and processes energy, but the amount that each soul produces vary from person to person. The more reiatsu a soul has, the more attractive they are to Hollows, as targets." Hisagi directed his gaze to Hiromu. "Your brother's soul produces an immense amount of reiatsu, far beyond what a normal human soul contains. Any Hollow that he comes into proximity to would want to prey on him."

Hiromu started opening his mouth, but Sae elbowed his arm. "So long story short, Hiromu smells nutritious to these Hollows and they all want to get in on the kill. Yeah," she said, scowling. What the fuck those freaks think her brother was? Filet mignon? And it wasn't even his meat they were gunning for. It was his soul. His goddamn soul. Son of a bitch. "Yeah, that makes sense. It's always been Hiromu who was the target. If we split up, they follow him. If we're in a crowd, they pick him out." She glanced at Hiromu, whose shoulders were slumped. He was biting his lips. Ugh, not this again. She wrapped a hand around his shoulder and patted it. "It's alright, kid. I'm not blaming you for anything," she said boredly. "Nothing's your fault. It's all good. Etcetera, etcetera. Don't cry. You're gonna wake up with sore eyes again. He's always like this," she told Hisagi. "Not the crying part. The guilt complex. Pretty unhealthy thing to have when you're ten years old. Which is why he should stop tormenting himself. Like come on, kid, you're staying my charity case no matter what, so accept your fate and move on. Also, didn't peg you as the type who liked to watch little kids cry, Hisagi."

Ducking to hide a smile, Hisagi said "Sorry, just was reminded of something. Don't be so hard on him. It's difficult having to watch his sister go through what you go through every day, especially for his sake."

"I'm not being hard."

"You're being a little hard."

"Just because he's made out of jello, practically. Anything's hard next to jello." Sae gave Hiromu a final pat on the back before sliding her arm off his shoulder. "So about this reiatsu."

Hisagi nodded, indicating for her to continue.

"Can it be concealed?"

"Unfortunately not." Before Sae could demand what the fuck he meant by that, he said, "At least not exactly."

"So there are ways."

"To mitigate the amount exuding from the body, yes. Reiatsu in large amounts can be damaging to those with little to no spiritual pressure. When Shinigami with high levels of reiatsu enter this world, they're required to have their reiatsu restricted to safer levels. I have one placed on me, for instance. Here." Hisagi loosened his shirt collar and peeled it apart to reveal the skin below his collarbone. A small black tattoo was inked there. "This is my squadron's seal. If I want to have it removed, I'd have to get permission from Sei—um—from headquarters. Emergencies only." He released his collar, brushed the creases out of the fabric. "But the seal only reduces the amount of reiatsu my body radiates. It doesn't eliminate it, and it doesn't hide it from Hollows, which is what I assume you want for your brother."

So there was nothing that they could do, Sae wanted to say, scathingly, and angrily, because she thought they were finally going to get somewhere with this miserable situation. A way out.

Wait a minute. What Hisagi said didn't make sense. Because Hiromu did know how to hide his reiatsu. It was what he did when he concentrated, held his breath and held back. That change in the air that Sae could only feel instinctively every time Hiromu did that, it was his reiatsu being sucked back into his body. It had to be. Sure, doing it was extremely strenuous on him, and he could only hold it for minutes at a time, but he could do it, and he was fucking kid. Was Hisagi saying that Shinigami had no way of replicating what a ten year old human boy learned through pure instinct? Either that or he was lying or he didn't know. And if it was because he was lying, then—shit, Sae didn't know.

"Hijibe san? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. A little disappointed is all. I guess a quick and easy solution was kind of too much to hope for."

"Quick and easy, maybe, but I don't think a solution is out of the question. You'll have to take a lot of what I say with a grain of salt. I'm not as knowledgeable when it comes to Shinigami resources as many of my comrades. We have a research division that usually handles those things. But our resources are advanced. If I search around, I'm sure there'll be something we can use, either to hide you and Hiromu's presence from Hollows protect you from them if they do come."

"And you think that you'd be allowed to use those resources?" Sae asked skeptically. "On some random little humans like us?"

"Protecting souls are our duties as Shinigami. That is what all our forces and our technologies are for." Then his voice dropped lower, into a murmur. "Although I don't think you're wrong to be suspicious. May I speak with you alone, Hijibe san?" As he spoke to Sae, he turned to Hiromu, his expression apologetic. "I'm sorry, Hiromu. There are somethings I'd rather you not hear, at least not yet."

Hiromu looked up at Sae for permissions to speak. She shrugged, and he said shyly, "Can I ask Sae about it later?"

"Sure. If she gives it a pass."

"Yeah. If I give it a pass." Sae stood up and grabbed her cap and a pack of cigarettes off the bedside table. Hisagi stood up with her. "Go read your books, kid. I doubt we'll take too long."

There wasn't much privacy to be had in a motel room, unless they wanted to talk in the bathroom. So they ducked into the back alley again and hoisted themselves onto the wall that Hisagi had climbed over earlier, sitting so they faced the motel, so they could see if anyone was nearby or not. The sun was a white hole in the sky, and the heat was growing harsh. Sae had to adjust her cap to block out the glare. Hisagi didn't even seem to notice it. Absentmindedly, Sae trailed her eyes down Hisagi's neck and arms, which gleamed with sweat. She liked her men like this, all sinew and muscles, with powerful shoulders and a tight torso. If Hisagi noticed her gaze, he didn't act like he did. Sae shook a cigarette free from her pack and offered it to Hisagi.

"No thank you."

"Suit yourself." She lit up, pocketed the pack, then leaned over, propped her elbows on her knees, and waited.

"I mentioned earlier that souls with high spiritual pressure can affect other souls adversely. This includes a variety of things: stunning, to knocking out, to even something simple like intimidation, lowering morale. The Shinigami with the highest reiatsu out of us can even kill humans if they aren't careful. Hence the limiters."

"Shit," said Sae. "'Sounds—terrible."

"Hiromu doesn't approach that level at all, so that was just an example. But his reiatsu level is still incredibly high. He must have affected people around him somehow. I wanted to ask if you've noticed any of the symptoms I just listed, or if you've experienced them yourself in the past."

Sae blew out a stream of smoke, watching it disperse before she replied. "If I feel any different when I'm not around Hiromu, I wouldn't know. We're never separated. Never have been. But other than that, I think I know what you're talking about. Our parents, I mean."

Hisagi remained silent, to let her continue, but she detected a small tensing of his shoulders, the metal clinking of his chains.

"They died about a month or two after Hiromu was born. First mask, uh, hollow I ever saw. Now that I think about it, they weren't only killed that night, weren't they? Their souls were eaten. I was wondering why the asshole didn't chase after us once it was finished with them. He must've already eaten his share."

"I'm sorry," Hisagi said in a quiet voice.

"Yeah well, they weren't spiritual or anything. They got what they were expecting, so there is that. But back to the point. During the time when they were alive, and after Hiromu was born, they were always very—sleepy. Weak. I was fifteen at the time. Very nasty kid. You could kick her if you met her on the streets and it'd be a goddamn public service. So I wasn't around my parents much when Hiromu was born. But I knew them well enough to think how weird it was. My parents were healthy people. Those annoying morning people kind of people. You know the type. Soon as Hiromu was born, that all went to shit. They were falling asleep mid-conversations, mid-eating,behind the car wheels. It was insane. They went to all kinds of doctors and psychologists. I had it too for a while, until it stopped. Never thought too much about it until I began realizing there was something weird going on with Hiromu. After that, it was just speculation, no concrete conclusions. But I think what're you talking about is it. It sounds right."

The time must be around noon. From where they sat, they could see the street that the alley led to begin to fill with people in their work clothes, the dim hum of crowds growing louder. Hisagi didn't speak for minutes, maybe processing what she'd just said, maybe soaking in the sun. Sae used the silence to light another cigarette, then offer the pack to him again. He shook his head.

"There's something I want to tell you, Hijibe san."

"I'm not stopping you."

"I'm not sure you'd appreciate it."

"You never know. I might appreciate it very much."

Hisagi didn't smile like she thought he would, which told Sae what he wanted to say was not going to be something she'd appreciate at all.

"I've actually been tracking you and your brother for some time now. Specifically I was tracking your brother's reiatsu. It was an assignment I was given. His reiatsu tended to aggravate Hollow activity in areas he stays in. It was causing some difficulty for the Shinigami assigned to handle them."

Well, there it was at last. The Motive. Sae flicked the ash off the butt of her stick. "And?"

"I was only ordered to identify the source of the disruptive reiatsu, then report back. Then I'll be told how to proceed on the matter, and how to take care of your brother's situation. I'm sure we'll be able to come up with some sort of a solution."

"That'd be nice if you could," Sae replied.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing so much. You gotta do what you gotta do."

He kept his head facing forward to avoid her eyes. "I didn't want you to think I want to help you only because I'm obligated to."

"I'd trust you more if you did. Obligation and duty's something you answer to. I can get that. Charity's too whimsical. You'd abandoned it the second you grow bored. No, I'm glad you told me. Makes me feel better." She stamped her cigarette out. It was getting too hot to smoke. "You send your report yet?"

"I'll be returning today to do so. Hopefully it won't take long. I'd rather not leave you and your brother unsupervised more than what's necessary. And for that, I do have something that may be able to help."

Sae removed her sneakers before slowly placing a foot onto the polished wood floor of Hisagi's apartment—a safe house, he called it. She clicked the door shut behind her. Hisagi had disappeared into one of the rooms, with Hiromu trailing after him like a little add-on tail. Cute, though he'd better not forget whose kid brother he was. As Sae dropped the duffel bag onto the ground, Hiromu's laughter intermixed with Hisagi's voice spilled down the hallway.

Hisagi reappeared with an armful of futon and comforters. Hiromu padded after him, holding the pillowcases.

"I only have the futon I was using," he apologized. "I hope you don't mind sharing with Hiromu."

Once he'd dumped the futon and sheets into the washing machine, Hisagi called Sae over and tapped one of the structural poles embedded into the corner of the house. Plastered on it was a yellow-brown slip of paper inked with kanji characters that Sae didn't recognize.

"This is a talisman with a binding kido spell on it. It converts the binding kido into a barrier that rejects Hollow from the space it's protecting, which is this entire apartment. I specialize in binding kido, so I'm fairly confident in its durability." He tapped the talisman with his index finger, each tap a hollow thunk against the wood frame. "More importantly, there is a communication line attached to the talisman itself. Between Shinigami, it can be used to call reinforcements, in the event that that the current forces are insufficient to deal with the threat. But for you, it's simply act as an alarm. Should a Hollow attack the apartment, I'll be alerted in immediately. In most circumstances, the seal should hold until I arrive."

"Hiromu, are you hearing this?" Sae said without looking away from the talisman. "Because I'm remembering jackshit."

"Uh huh. I'm listening."

"Unfortunately, there's not much I could do for you if you leave the apartment. I'll be back in a couple days, so it'd be best if you didn't leave until then. There's plenty of food in the fridge. Until then, settle in however you like."

"Are you leaving soon?"

"As soon as I put my gigai away. I'll be storing it in the closet, on the right side. If you want to keep any clothes in there, just shove all my clothes next to the gigai. There should be enough room."

The washing machine buzzed, indicating the end of the cycle. Hiromu trotted off to dump the load into the dryer, with Sae following him. As Hiromu began stuffing the wet futon into the dryer, Sae tapped him on the shoulder and leaned down so she wouldn't have to raise her voice.

"You mind giving me a few seconds with Hisagi alone?"

"Can you tell me when he leaves? I want to say bye."

Sae clapped him on the back. "Sure thing, kid."

When Sae returned to the bedroom, Hisagi was back in his Shinigami kimono. He'd had exited his gigai, which he was stuffing unceremoniously into the closet. Sae crossed her arms and leaned her shoulder against the doorframe as she watched him work. It was kind of a funny sight, like he'd just killed his twin brother and was trying to hide the evidence. The kicker was the gigai kept falling out every time Hisagi was about to slide the door shut, forcing him to shove it in again. He caught Sae's raised eyebrows and grinned embarrassedly himself before slamming the door shut one final time.

"I know how it looks."

"Then I won't comment."

Didn't look like he was taking any suitcases with him. All he had on him was his sword, which he unsheathed after taking a step back from Sae, holding the tip downward and the edge away from her.

"I'll be sure my report gets to my captain as soon as possible."

"That'd be great, thanks."

Letting the silence hang in the air, Sae wanted to say something else, but it was nothing that needed to be said, just that she wanted to say it. Because honest to god, she was desperate. She didn't want Hisagi out of her sight, because if he disappeared—if they never saw him again, then who knew when was the next time they saw a Shinigami, let alone ask them for help? Nothing Hisagi did so far warranted that line of thought, but she didn't know.

"Listen," said Sae, before she could agitate herself further. "About this whole thing, with figuring out Hiromu's problem."

Hisagi gave a small nod, letting her continue without speaking. She didn't know how to continue, so instead she walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, clutching them so tightly that the muscles under her grip tensed.

"Just do something for him. I don't care what it is, or—or what kind of shit you have to pull to get past that red tape and—fuck, fuck I'm probably sounding like I don't give a shit the kind of trouble that'd give you, but you know what?" She gave his shoulders an angry shake, her knuckles growing white from how badly she clutching them. "Maybe I don't give a fuck about anything else. This is the rest of my little brother's life we're talking about! Like, sure he looks happy and nice and everything, and that's because he's a real nice kid, and no kid gets what they're missing out in life. But the way he has it, his only choices in the future is dying young or growing smarter and waking up every day thinking how bad he has it, and how it'll never get better no matter what he does, or what I do. I don't want him to have that! It's not fair, it's not fair," she repeated furiously. She wanted to say it again, make Hisagi really understand even though probably couldn't no matter what she did. Then she noticed her nails digging into Hisagi's shoulders. Didn't break skin, but watching it made her realize what she was doing. She let go quickly and stepped back, keeping her head low. "Sorry." She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and index finger, then gave her head a shake. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Hisagi allowed her a moment to recover. She needed it. The disgust and humiliation she felt for letting that outburst happen was so harsh it was almost paralyzing. Then Hisagi reached over, his hand hovering uncertainly before settling on her forearm. "I'll do whatever I can, for the both of you."

"Worry about him first."

"He won't be happy if you aren't."

"He'll live. Not sure if you noticed, but I'm not what you'd call sister-of-the-year material. The faster I become unnecessary, the better. I mean, if you could help the both of us, I'm not going to complain, but I don't know. I don't want to be too greedy. Doesn't ever work out."

"You really think that?"

"Didn't they teach that in Shinigami School? Greed is bad."

Ignoring that, Hisagi said "You're an amazing person, and you're an amazing sister, and I don't know what deficiency you think you have, but it's nothing compared to the kind of sacrifices you made for Hiromu. You can't—" He paused, struggling to get his words out, as if he was agitated. "You can't think otherwise. It's too harsh on yourself."

He said that with a straight face. He actually did. It was nice of him, and Sae didn't know how to respond. "Thanks."

"Hijibe san—"

"Hiromu wanted to say bye before you left, by the way. Mind obliging him?"

Hisagi stared at her. She could catch something forlorn in his expression, but it was smoothed away by the time his head turned towards the doorway. "Is he still in the laundry room?"

"Should be."

"Alright." His hand left her arm, a chill rushing through the vacant skin, where his palm had been. He left the room, with Sae listening to the clop of his wooden sandals, then the murmur of voices from across the hall.