Thank you for the reviews. I update by the review... though I will be increasing the number of reviews required to get the next portion of the story as we go on.

As for the mystery of what Kit did, the answer is simple. He attacked not only dearest Akalia, but also Captain Shinji Hirako. Attacking a Captain without the purpose of training is a jailing offense... but to take on the entire group of her rescuers and revealing a secret they share (which you will learn much later) caused for his death to be called for. Execution was generous for his crime.

Both to be vexing and to keep up the suspense and confusion, I will not reveal her secrets all at once. If you are patient and read the many future chapters waiting to be devoured, you will unravel the mystery of dearest Akalia.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this next chapter of Secrets and Lies.

Viper-Sindel

Three hours later, I cried myself to sleep in his arms. Considering it was morning, I assumed that Sosuke had moved me into my quarters, making sure I was comfortable on my bed, before leaving me to rest. The clock read my usual wake-up time, back before this whole mess.

"Old habits die hard?" came Sosuke's voice, making me jump. He was sitting at my small table with some fresh tea, looking over at me. He smiled softly at my confusion. "I figured the last thing you wanted was to be alone right now."

I smiled warmly, then theorized that I had to look awful. A glance in the mirror confirmed that and I shook my head with a small smile.

"I look like death warmed over," I commented dryly, making Sosuke chuckle.

"Congratulations on Third Seat," he told me, making me blush.

"It was undeserved," I stated. "I think Ginrei gave me credit for Kouga's work, not my own."

"Nonsense," he stated, handing me a cup of tea. I gladly sat down and drank it. "You delegated admirably."

I sighed and smiled softly.

"Why are you not in squad six?" I teased. "You and Ginrei think an awful lot alike."

Sosuke smiled.

"He just recognizes talent for leading when he sees it," he replied, handing me a few baked-fresh cinnamon rolls from down the street.

"You think of everything, Sosuke," I said, kissing his cheek before starting to eat, making him blush slightly. "What would I do without you?"

"Be completely lost," he teased, making me laugh and hit his arm lightly. He chuckled and we finished breakfast. Afterwards, he went to work and I took off for the bathhouse. I took as quick of a shower as I could, then dressed and headed off for my own day of work.

However, every time someone called me Third Seat, I kept looking around for Kouga… only to painfully remember that he was no longer here. The title I felt I did not deserve was pure torture that day… tearing me apart with every greeting. It was as though everyone had forgotten all about my beloved Kouga. Of course, everyone else had not been as close to him as I had. No one else had held his heart, his love, his soul… and he would never know that mine had been mostly his all along. I cared about Shinji, yes, a part of me even loved him… but not like how I had loved Kouga. Not at all like that.

I had too much trouble concentrating… and Ginrei noticed. He sent me home early, telling me to take the day to clear my head… so I did. I walked up slowly to the manor I now owned. It was not as huge as the head of the family's house, but it was still substantial. Four stories of varying shapes and sizes, spread out like a castle over six blocks… I kept expecting to see Lady Kuchiki or Kouga… but my heart knew I would not… as I wandered from room to room.

Flashes of memory assaulted me everywhere I looked. Times where the three of us had eaten together, when Kouga and I had stayed up late to talk and laugh, playing board games into the night… Snapshots of the food fights the three of us had gotten into…

When I got to the master bedroom, I struggled to open the door. My mind knew I had to… but my heart was very reluctant. Inside, everything was still neat and tidy, thanks to the servants, the large four-poster bed a welcoming sight to my weary mind.

Master?

I paused and glanced at my sword.

There's a strange distortion of time and space in this place…

I frowned, sensing it just as he said it.

Come to your Soul Room. You need to see this.

So I sat down on the bed, pulling Durnehviir across my lap. With a soft sigh, I sent my mind inward, soon coming to rest in the large mountainous region that was my soul room. Nearby, a very large, decaying dragon rested before a large towering stone, something written on it in a tongue I did not know. I called it a word-wall.

"What is it?" I asked. He gestured to look at the wall and— "What the?!"

There was a dark, black door in the middle of the wall!

"Wha… what is this, Durnehviir?" I asked. He shrugged, telling me he didn't know any more than I did. "Should… should I go through it?"

He looked at me, his aged, wise eyes looking right through me.

"In this case," he said softly. "I believe you should."

So, nervous as all hell, I stepped through the doorway… into a place filled with darkness! There was a dark mist everywhere, making it hard to see.

"Hello?"

My voice echoed… and the darkness stirred.

"Is anyone there?" I called out again. Just as I was about to give up, a voice rose from the dark.

"A-Akalia?"

I froze, my heart stopping for just a moment, before it started to race.

"Kouga?" I whispered, painful hope in my voice as I dared not believe what I'd heard.

"Akalia!"

His yell resounded around me as I ran forward, trying to find him.

"Kouga!" I cried back, charging forward through the mist. "Kouga, where are you?"

"I'm here!" he called back, his voice getting closer. "I'm over here!"

A dark shape took form in the mist and I ran right for it, ran right into the warmth and arms of my beloved friend and keeper of my heart. If I doubted even for a moment what was happening, the feel of his arms wrapped around me, holding me to him, banished the ability.

"K-Kouga… how?" I asked softly, feeling tears stinging my eyes. "How is this possible? You… You're dead…"

His eyes darkened with anger and hate.

"I'm not dead," he bit out. "Ginrei and Yamamoto betrayed me. They sealed me away!"

I was shocked, my heart threatening to stop.

"What?" I asked, my voice disbelieving and heavy. He looked at me.

"So did Muramasa," he went on. "I called for him, asked for his help, and he didn't answer me! He wasn't there when I needed him most!"

I shook my head.

"I'm sure there's a good explanation for all of this," I argued both with him and myself. "But right now, I really don't care what it is…"

I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight.

"I've missed you so…"

My soft, sorrow-filled whisper seemed to chase away his anger, his hate. His whole body relaxed as he just held me.

"Did… did you get my letter?" he asked softly, hesitantly. I looked up at him and decided actions spoke louder than words. I cupped his cheek with my hand, then leaned up quickly and kissed him. His surprise lasted only moments before he kissed me back, pulling me flush against him, up off the ground, as he spun me around.

"It wasn't unrequited…" he whispered, realizing. I shook my head.

"Not even for a second," I assured him, letting my hand run through his hair, though I saw his hair-ornament missing along with a portion of his red locks. "What happened?"

He frowned.

"After being betrayed by Ginrei, I was no longer able to think of myself as a Kuchiki," he answered me. "So I cut it off."

That hurt a bit.

"Well, as his honoring your last request, I became one," I admitted, surprising him. "He was always so proud of you, Kouga… but he worried that you would become consumed by your power and lose yourself along the way, as so many others had before you…"

He placed a finger to my lips.

"I don't want to talk about Ginrei… or anyone else right now," he told me softly, his piercing green eyes looking deeply into mine. "The only thing I want right now… is you."

It warmed my heart to hear that.

"Kouga…"

And he kissed me, letting his hand run through my hair, his other hand gliding down my back to rest on my hip. I shivered at the touch and kissed him back, letting him know just how much I loved him. Slowly, he pulled back, leaning his head against mine.

"I've wanted to do this for so long…"

His soft whisper filled my heart with joy, with love for the man that stood before me.

"I love you," I whispered softly, watching a warm smile cross his face.

"I love you, too," he told me, kissing me again. I practically melted into him, it was so sweet, so loving… so full of the passion he had just for me… before he pulled away again and just held me, held me like he never wanted to let go.

"How is this possible?" I thought aloud, making him get a contemplative look. "Where are we? Is this just a dream?"

"God, I hope not," was his reply. "I don't think my heart could take it if it WAS just a dream."

"It is not."

The familiar voice sent me into pure shock.

"Ada?" I asked tentatively. "W-what is this?"

"My gift to you," he answered me, his voice coming from all around us. "Call it… making up for you having to lose your family all those years ago, my child."

I got an amused look.

"Technically, I didn't lose them," I pointed out. "They're still very much alive… I just can't go see them… though they can come see me."

A low chuckle was all I got.

"I will only allow you to visit Kouga like this twice a month," he told me. "Kouga, your story does not end here, with your incarceration. You will see the world again… and it will be up to you whether you get to live in it… or die a traitor's death."

Then I sensed him leave, the feelings filling my heart causing me to hold Kouga tightly to myself. While I was dismayed that I would only see my beloved twice a month, I understood why. Ada wanted me to move on with my life, not just cling to the past… just in case Kouga made the wrong decision upon his release.

Kouga looked at me, his face puzzled.

"Was that your father?" he asked. I shook my head.

"He was my grandfather," I answered. "I was born with great and terrible power, power I could neither contain nor control. Fearing for my life and my safety, my parents begged my grandfather to save me. Ada told them the only thing he could do was seal my power within me, but that would not keep me safe. I would have to be sent forward in time to a place where the world would have forgotten I'd existed… and my parents had let me go. 700 years later, I was given to a hollow named Ulquiorra to be taken to the Soul Society, to a family that had long served mine. Their son was to journey with me and keep me safe. He was to be my friend and consort."

"Kit!" Kouga said, surprised, understanding much at last.

"I didn't know about the consort part until Kit blurted it out when he was bashing my skull in," I went on. "Anyway, Ulquiorra disobeyed. Yes, he went and got Kit, but then he raised us for many years together in Hueco Mundo, using his power to keep us hidden completely from everyone else. When we were fully grown, I accidentally got too far from that barrier… and enemies of my father's attacked. Ulquiorra lost his life that day, but used the last of his power to cast me and Kit into the Living World through a garganta."

I paused, letting Kouga absorb that.

"While in the living world, we were discovered by a Soul Reaper who got frustrated when their konso didn't work on our souls," I continued. "After that, he came back frequently to check on us. After a while, he stopped coming and we met someone new. Sosuke Aizen."

Kouga's eyes widened again.

"It was Sosuke's idea to bring us back to the Soul Society," I explained. "It was also shortly after that, about a year, that Kit and I enrolled in the academy. Six years later, we graduated and joined the thirteen court guard squads… and you know the rest."

Kouga shook his head in wonder, trying to absorb all this.

"This is what you couldn't tell me, what Kit was talking about," he figured out. I nodded slowly. "Being raised by a hollow, it's no wonder that you were wary of Soul Reapers…"

I nodded, sighing softly.

"So… now you know a bit more of my secrets," I told him, making him look at me sharply.

"There's more?" he asked. I nodded, getting tense.

"I'm not ready to explain the others just yet," I admitted, relaxing when he smiled warmly.

"Then I won't press for answers," he assured me. I kissed him softly.

"That's one of the reasons I so love you," I revealed. "You're so wonderful… though I have a question. Your letter said you would file for divorce AFTER you got your revenge, yes?"

He nodded.

"I take it then that you were unaware that you and your wife had already filed for divorce three weeks prior to your incarceration," I stated, making his eyes widen in shock. "It would seem your wife already knew… and cared about you enough to let you go."

He was openly surprised and touched.

"I… I never knew… she cared that much…"

"She passed away three months after you 'died', leaving everything to me."

Kouga shook his head, tears starting to fall from his eyes. Softly, I just held him, letting him cry. After a bit, he looked at me calculatingly.

"Are you in my house now?" he asked. I nodded.

"Master bedroom," I answered. He smiled softly.

"Go to the dresser, third drawer down, far left back corner," he told me. "I meant to give it to you at your birthday party… but when it got cancelled… well…"

He blushed a bit and I chuckled, kissing him softly.

Master?

Kouga jumped, startling me.

"Is that… Durnehviir?" he asked. I nodded, surprised.

Master, Shinji's here, waiting for you to wake up.

I sighed.

"And there ends our time for this visit," I said sadly, kissing Kouga softly. He held me, held me like he refused to ever let go.

"I don't want to lose you just yet," he admitted, his voice husky as tears started to fill his eyes again. Hearing his voice, tears started to well up in my own.

"Nor do I," I agreed. "But I must… I have duties to attend to… and I think a change of division is in order. I cannot serve under Ginrei or Yamamoto anymore, not with the knowledge that they lied to me, to everyone, and betrayed you so."

He sighed and kissed me softly, lovingly.

"I hope time flies before you return to me," he whispered, kissing me again. I returned his passion, his fervor. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I told him, kissing him one last time… then slowly pulled away and looked to my right. There was the black door, waiting for me. "Until next we meet, love of my soul."

He smiled sadly.

"Until then, keeper of mine," he answered… and I walked through the door. Back in my own soul room, I sighed heavily… then forced myself to wake up.

Sure enough, sitting on the bed next to me, was a familiar blonde.

"Shinji," I greeted warmly. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

He just grinned.

"Eh, it wasn't that long," he told me. Remembering Kouga's words, I walked over to the dresser and opened the drawer. Reaching in, I felt a small box and pulled it out. Curiously, I sat back down on the bed and held it in my hand. It was too big for a ring, too small for a hair ornament…

"What's that?" he asked. I spared him a small smile.

"Something Kouga left me," I answered. "He meant to give this to me at my birthday bash, but it got cancelled."

Shinji nodded and let me open it. Seconds later, I nearly dropped the box, my hand flying to my mouth as tears gathered in my eyes.

Inside… was a matching amulet to the one Kouga had always worn. In fact, it looked like…

Wordlessly, I took it out of the box and held up his amulet, looking between them both. I was shocked at what I saw!

"Looks like they fit together," Shinji said quietly, reaching over and putting the two amulets back-to-back. Sure enough, they fastened like they'd always been part of each other. Immediately, I started to cry. This had been Kouga's way to tell me that he loved me, that we were two halves of a whole…

Kouga…

Shinji realized just what I had, an upset look coming to his face for a moment… before he pushed it aside and hugged me, offering me the comfort I desperately needed.

"Easy," he cooed softly, running his fingers soothingly through my hair. "Let it out…"

And I did. I cried until I had no tears left to shed.

"Gods, I hope this gets easier," I commented softly. Shinji kissed my cheek.

"I'm sure it will," he told me. I smiled softly, then remembered something else, making me frown.

"I need to transfer to another division," I stated, startling him again.

"Why?" he asked. I got a pained expression.

"I was made third seat," I explained, like that said it all. Fortunately, Shinji was very intelligent… and knew exactly what I meant.

"I'll ask Captain Kuchiki for a squad transfer to seat four in mine," he told me, making me smile softly.

"You're amazing, Shinji," I told him honestly. He grinned and waved off the compliment, getting a light blush.

"Just doing what I do best," he told me. "Taking care of my girlfriend."

I chuckled and he kissed me softly.

"Shall we go get some supper?" he asked. "Everyone's looking forward to seeing you now that you're out. We've planned a party, too."

I laughed.

"In other words, you're using my get-out-of-jail-free card as an excuse to get drunk," I rephrased, making him laugh. I chuckled and got up, letting him lead me out the door and to the courtyard of squad five. All of my friends were there, Kensei manning the grill, Shunsui pulling out tons of bottles of sake, and Jushiro passing out sweets.

"Thanks for coming, everyone," greeted Shinji, making everyone give varying responses… minus the expected one from Hiyori.

WHACK!

A sandal hit his face, sending him crashing to the ground nearby, making me laugh.

"You're late! How can you be late to your own party?!"

Still giggling, I walked over to Kensei, accepting a kabob. Taking a bite, my eyes lit up.

"This is positively sinful, Kensei!" I squealed, making him blush a bit, though he grinned in pride. "Gods, it's like an orgasm in my mouth!"

Now he really blushed, all pride gone as shock and embarrassment took their place. Mashiro started laughing uproariously at his face while a few others shared his expression.

"It's official," I stated. "I'm coming to your house for dinner every night."

"He's a really good cook, isn't he?" Mashiro agreed. "That's my Kensei!"

"Yours?" I asked teasingly, quirking a brow. Then I gave an exaggerated pout, wrapping my arms around Kensei's neck, making him go bright red. "Oh, Kensei! How could you?! I was supposed to get the first date!"

Poor Kensei was so red as he pushed me away, sputtering some nonsense that only served to make me laugh. Abruptly, I was jerked into a hot kiss, Shinji's jealous side showing again, making me giggle and kiss him back. Teasing hoots and whistles surrounded us, making me blush and giggle some more, breaking the kiss. Shinji was grinning at me.

"Mine," he told me, stealing a quick kiss before letting me go, keeping his arm around my waist. I giggled and let him, finding his jealous side extremely endearing.

"I wanna propose a toast to our dearest Akalia," Shunsui said, raising his glass. Others quickly grabbed their own and looked at him. "Welcome back and please don't scare us like that again!"

Everyone laughed, but took a drink anyway. I chuckled and shook my head. Looking around me, joy filled my heart. This… this was what having a family, a real family, felt like. All around me, people were talking, laughing, and having fun. It made me smile.

I miss Kouga… but at least, even without him here, I know I'm not alone anymore…

I was transferred to squad five in three days' time. It was one of the fastest transfers on record. Ginrei had been puzzled why I'd wanted to step down a seat, until I explained that I couldn't hear that title without getting painfully reminded of one who was no longer here. He had relented immediately and let me leave with his blessing.

I had taken to wearing the joined amulets all the time now, the rubies resting right over my heart. Deep down, I knew it irked Shinji, seeing that blatant claim of Kouga's on my chest, but I couldn't bring myself to leave it behind. He tolerated it quite well, never asking me to remove it, either.

Sosuke, on the other hand, was another story entirely. He was not pleased that I continued to wear that amulet, telling me that clinging to the past was NOT going to help me move on from Kouga. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I never had to, thanks to Ada. Sosuke was also not pleased that I was dating Shinji, claiming he believed I was rebounding on him at the loss of Kouga, using Shinji to deal with my own pain.

In a way, he was right… so I couldn't really argue with him… but I also refused to let him walk all over me with his opinions. Finally, after two days of arguments, he revealed the real reason he didn't like me with Shinji. Sosuke didn't trust him and didn't like him. I shut that up really quick as soon as I pointed out that, if Shinji was so bad, why had we not gone to bed together for more than sleeping yet? Sosuke had turned bright red and had immediately told me he was glad to hear that, but it was something he hadn't really needed to know.

I smiled, shaking my head as I forced those thoughts away, stepping into the office. True to prediction, Sosuke was stuck doing ALL of the paperwork while Jazz music played. Shinji was relaxing in his chair, looking over some reports that had him frowning something fierce.

"Keep frowning like that and your face will get stuck," I teased. The blonde sighed and looked at me with a small grin.

"Well, you could always come over here and make my day better," he suggested, making me chuckle and Sosuke shot him a dark look (one Shinji completely missed).

"Not in front of me, Captain," came the voice of our third seat from the sofa, a young prodigy by the name of Gin Ichimaru. I absolutely loved that boy. Others found him creepy, due to his eyes almost always being shut and his mouth always being turned up in a large, deceptive smile.

"Of course not," I assured him, lightly running my nails through his hair. I'd learned shortly after meeting him that he loved this. Such a simple touch, but it soothed him like none other. One time, I swear I'd made him purr. He smiled up at me and I took the seat next to him, pulling him over to lean back on my lap, his head resting on my thighs so I could aimlessly run my nails in his hair. It relaxed me just as much as it did him. After a few minutes, I was rewarded with a view of his baby blues as he opened them to look at me.

"You spoil me," he told me. I grinned.

"You deserve to be spoiled," I replied, giggling as I saw Shinji's jealous expression. "Anything I need to take care of today?"

"Not off the top of my head," was his reply. "But there is a mission coming up. It's a simple run to Hueco Mundo to gather some intelligence."

I tensed immediately, not that Shinji noticed. Gin and Sosuke did, though, considering my hand had stilled completely.

"I'm considering sending you and Gin," he thought aloud, making my heart sink. "Do you think you've trained hard enough for this?"

Unable to lie, I agreed.

"Yes," I answered, thankful my stiffness and nervousness didn't slip into my voice.

"Could you run these to squads eight and thirteen?" asked Sosuke. I shot him an extremely grateful look as I took them, one he smiled at, telling me he knew I'd needed to get away for a moment.

"Sure," I answered, then glanced at the boy in my lap. "Wanna come?"

His smile lit up like the night sky, making me smile back, nervousness and tension forgotten.

"Yes!"

I giggled and ruffled his hair as he sat up. I took the stack from Sosuke and Gin walked at my side out of the room. Once we were out of earshot, Gin frowned at me.

"Do you not want to go to Hueco Mundo?" he asked. I spared him a strained smile.

"It's not a matter of want," I answered him evasively, hoping he'd just drop it. Thankfully, he did. "Are you excited to go there? Have you been there before?"

His usual smile reappeared on his face.

"No, I've never been there," he replied. "But I hope we get to battle a few hollows while we're there."

I shook my head with another strained smile.

"We may get a hell of a lot more than we bargained for," I whispered ruefully, knowing well he probably heard me. Gin's hearing was almost terrifying. Fortunately, he chose not to respond.

"Akalia!"

I turned with a smile to face Mashiro as she bounced over, hugging me excitedly.

"What on earth has you so happy?" I asked, unable to help myself as her boundless joy began to sink into me as well.

"There's a party tonight at Squad Nine's courtyard," she told me. "Kensei's cooking again!"

"I am so there!" I told her, making said man blush slightly as he slowly walked up, a few of his upper-seats following him. I jumped over and hugged him, looking up into his eyes from mere inches away. "Where you off to, gorgeous?"

His blush darkened.

"Hey!" Mashiro pouted, pulling me away from Kensei. "Get your own Keni-kun!"

I laughed as Kensei grew even redder.

"Keni-kun?" I teased, making said male now glare at Mashiro as she started to explain in exaggerated words about the nickname. It had me laughing so hard there were tears rolling down my face, especially when Kensei reached his limit and his own squad members had to hold him back, to keep him from hurting Mashiro. Which, of course, only started another fight between him and Mashiro, making me laugh even more.

"So, when are you two getting married?" I teased. Immediately, both of them blushed darkly and denied it emphatically. I laughed, enjoying their embarrassment. A soft chuckling next to me reminded me that Gin was here, making me grin at him. "Sorry guys. I gotta finish this paper run. I'll get more details on that wedding date later!"

Then I bolted, Kensei roaring threats through a tomato-colored face, Mashiro screaming denials after me. I was helplessly giggling as Gin kept pace with me. When we reached the eighth, I walked to the office and knocked on the door.

"Come on in," Lisa called, making me smile.

"Shunsui slacking again?" I asked, handing her the paperwork. She nodded, rolling her eyes.

"Honestly, how a man like that is a captain is beyond me," I commented, knowing Shunsui (who was resting on the roof) could hear me.

"You and me both," Lisa agreed, then shooed me away. I giggled and left, walking quietly towards the thirteenth. I lightly played with the amulets I wore, catching Gin's eyes.

"Why do you still cling to Kouga?" he asked me. I smiled softly and decided to trust Gin.

"Because I know he's not dead, Gin," I answered quietly. "My Ada allows me to speak to him twice a month. He was imprisoned, not killed."

I frowned.

"He was betrayed… thus the reason I could no longer serve under Yamamoto or Ginrei," I explained. "I'm going to see him again tonight. Ada said he would one day be freed, but we don't know when that is. Ada won't tell us. Until then, he and I make due with our few conversations."

That seemed to throw Gin a bit… so I decided to throw the last stone.

"I hope you're prepared for our mission," I warned softly, sighing heavily. "I can guarantee it won't go according to plan."

I said no more, knowing he'd get all the answers soon enough. Part of me wished it was Shinji going with me… but the other part of me was glad he wasn't. I wasn't sure how he'd react to my greatest secret.

"Akalia!" came a surprised yet gentle voice. I looked up to see Jushiro sitting on his deck. I smiled warmly. "And young Ichimaru. Welcome. What brings you this way?"

I smiled and handed him the paperwork, making him give me a rueful smile.

"Don't you ever come just to talk?" he asked. I chuckled.

"If I did that, you'd never get any work done," I teased, making him chuckle.

"Are you going to the party?" he asked. I smiled softly.

"Only for a little while," I answered. "I don't feel like sticking around once Kensei and Shinji start to get drunk."

Jushiro laughed, remembering my welcome-back party and how badly the two had behaved. They'd ended up naked as a jaybird, dancing on the table, singing way off key and really loudly. It had been hopelessly hilarious.

Then Jushiro handed Gin and I a few bags of candy, making me chuckle.

"Thanks, Ju," I said, kissing his cheek as Gin and I left. The walk was silent as we made our way back to the office. We just ate our candy and observed the people around us.

So, another part filled with secrets and questions. I hope this satisfies a number of your questions... and raises even more.

Please Review and tell me how I'm doing! Even criticism is appreciated as it helps me mature as a writer.

Viper-Sindel