"An 'enemy until further notice?' On what grounds?"
The anger in Toushirou was apparent, but in a way that hit me more than it hit them. He was still being professional, but protection was a firm undertone that made itself apparent probably only to Rangiku and I.
"I have no need to explain myself to you, Hitsugaya-Taichou; by order of the Soutaichou, any threat to the Soul Society must be kept in custody—"
"And does the Soutaichou know what you're doing?" Toushirou cut off Kurotsuchi-Taichou. "Last time I checked, I was the one in charge of Kiteyama—she isn't a threat to the Soul Society regardless of whatever it is that resulted from her blood—"
"I did consult the Soutaichou, for your information, Hitsugaya-Taichou; for the time being, she's to be in my custody." Kurotsuchi-Taichou snapped his fingers, and the men stepped forward.
I struck a match, and lit the remnant tobacco in the pipe. I took a deep drag in silence with several pairs of eyes on me, and cleared the ashes out of the pipe before tucking it away and standing up.
"Thank you for letting me take one last drag. I'm ready." I clenched my fists and stepped forward.
One of the black-garbed men—I assumed from the stealth force—stepped up and reached for me. "I'll be the one to—"
"You won't." Toushirou intervened; sternly staring down into the man with an aura of warning. "I'll be the one escorting her to the facility." He clarified. "Matsumoto,"
"Way ahead of you," she quickly collected all of the documents, and took off.
"I'll be joining—lets see the fruits of Kurotsuchi-Taichou's labor." The feline strutted toward Soi Fon-Taichou.
Toushirou picked me up, and we took off before the others.
I clutched his shirt—now that it was just him and I, I allowed my bravado to slip and ease myself into him for what could possibly be the last time.
"Bare with this for now," he began, making sure that we were far ahead enough to be out of earshot. "I don't care what he says; you're not an enemy, and they will not be allowed to hold you in custody while I'm here."
The lump in my throat was hard to swallow. Although his words took off some of the edge, the thought of being…
"Toushirou—I'm scared," I didn't mean to whimper, but my emotions left no choice in the matter.
Without me having to say it, he knew what I was truly scared of. It wasn't the fact that I was deemed an enemy, and it wasn't the fact that I would be held in custody like a prisoner—it was the event that I still had trouble coping with.
His grip on me tightened, and he held me closer to him. "I'm not going to let that happen—it won't be like that,"
I pressed my ear to his chest—listening for that fast-paced heartbeat that eased me each time I heard it. Kami, I hoped he was right.
We arrived at Squad 12's Division, and Toushirou set me down as the others arrived. Kurotsuchi-Taichou marched forward into his domain like the tyrant he consistently portrayed; his Squad members bowing at his entrance and the young girl from before—Nemuri? I was terrible with names since I didn't remember the cat either—fell into his flank.
"You and your men are dismissed, Soi Fon-Taichou—I'll take it from here. Hitsugaya-Taichou, and Shihouin Yoruichi, the two of you are also dismissed." Kurotsuchi-Taichou said without even turning around—the fucking nerve of this guy was too much.
"For the time being, I'm solely letting you take her I to your Division, Kurotsuchi-Taichou; I'll be present for the entire duration of her visit here until the Soutaichou gives the word." Toushirou shot back—thank you, Kami.
"Soi Fon and I are staying for additional informational purposes—don't worry, we'll stay out of the way," the cat—Shihouin Yoruichi—replied. Why did that name sound so familiar?
Kurotsuchi-Taichou scoffed at their retorts, and continued forward. I was shocked that there was no snippy comeback from him since this man was the epitome of an asshole.
Toushirou ushered me with a light tap, and I made myself strut forward before Soi Fon-Taichou behind us said anything. Toushirou walked at my pace beside me with a cool demeanor rather than the angered one he expressed before—I on the other hand struggled to maintain normal breathing patterns.
While I technically didn't have anything aside from disgust on Kurotsuchi-Taichou—I still didn't like him. I didn't want to be anywhere near him, yet now I was supposedly in his custody because of my blood?
We walked into the room of preserved creatures, and it was then that I started to lose it again. My head shifted back and forth at all the seemingly innocent lifeforms trapped like fucking pickles in jars—the thought of that now being my future causing my heart rate to increase in speed tenfold.
We made it to the room we had visited before, and as soon as we did, Kurotsuchi-Taichou snapped his fingers, and several of his white-coated lab rats swarmed in and took my arms.
"O-Oi!" I tried shaking them off.
"Kurotsu—"
"Let me remind you that she is currently in custody—moving her to a holding cell is necessary until I can inspect her." He cut Toushirou off.
Toushirou looked back at my cornered-mouse facial expression, and so I took a deep breath and stopped resisting even though every fiber of my being wanted to react like a cornered lioness. I calmly walked in the direction they pulled me, and once we got to what I assumed was some type of advanced technological hardware lining the wall, a push of a button turned the wall—a huge glass vial emerging from the shadows. My fear from not more than one minute ago completely being brought to life.
"You can't be serious?" Toushirou's angered warning phased even me.
The man on my right pushed me forward as the glass opened, and with stars clouding my vision from the increased heart rate, I stepped in—tears on the brink of the edge.
"It's a necessary precaution—with the threat she poses, it is a risk I'm not willing to take. That holding chamber is strong enough to withstand the force of a Taichou—she isn't getting out of there unless I let her out." He told him.
"She isn't a threat to us Kurotsuchi—the past month I've safeguarded her has proven it to me—"
"So you think, Hitsugaya-Taichou," he cut him off.
Kurotsuchi-Taichou turned his back to us, and went to his huge computer; typing speedily across the abnormal keys with his atrociously long-nailed fingers. Several images popped up onto the screen; pictures of items I'd never seen before in my life that successfully churned my stomach with the bad feelings they added to my light headedness.
"Now tell me—who remembers what this is?" Kurotsuchi-Taichou turned around to face us; grinning albeit having angrily furrowed brows—an odd expression of sarcastic annoyance.
"The Hougyoku," Toushirou replied.
His tone alone told me that whatever it was he just said was bad—ensue the public display of panic.
"Precisely." Kurotsuchi-Taichou mockingly replied as he turned around.
With a quick, coordinated stroke of the keyboard, one of the background images on the screen was brought forward, overlapping the prior image of the Hougyoku. It looked like two strands of DNA, but it didn't quite meet the movie criteria that normally portrayed it—this was different. This was too irregular to be called DNA, yet was the only conclusion I could come to. In an instant, the picture became sectioned off in chunks; foreign language and verbiage appearing in the sections as if to explain the results of the product.
"After the skirmish with the Espada in Las Noches along with the battle that took place leading to Aizen Sousuke's defeat," Kurotsuchi-Taichou began, "I had the pleasure of gaining several exciting test subjects. Within my plethora of corpses, I was able to gather vital data in regard to the Hougyoku; so much that I could easily create one in its perfected state—a feat neither Urahara Kisuke or Aizen Sousuke were able to accomplish on their first attempts. I dropped the subject after collecting the data I was after due to a lack of interest, however, that doesn't mean the data wasn't fascinating enough for me to retain the properties of it in my immediate memory."
"So then the reason why you've deemed Kiteyama Akinoyo a threat," Shihouin prefaced.
"Correct; with just the small sample of blood, I was able to detect striking similarities within her biological make-up to that of the Hougyoku." He turned to look at me—his piercing mustard-colored eyes framed by his black and white contrasting skin making my heart skip several beats.
"On record, there were only two Hougyoku ever created; one by an infuriating man infatuated with the 'greater good'—as the simpletons phrase—and the other by a man infatuated with surpassing Kami by malevolent means. Which leads me to a few conclusions that I by no means choose to risk; the first and more than probable, being the same as Abarai Rukia—within you is a third Hougyoku. If this is the case, then it can branch into two outcomes—you are unaware of this, and are being utilized by someone else, or, you are aware of this, and have merely merged with it as Aizen Sousuke had. The later the more threatening outcome of the two."
He looked at me as if I'd annihilated people for fun. As if I were a malevolent, blood-thirsty criminal meant to be in a fucking cage.
"It seems a bit unwise to jump to conclusions,"
All heads turned to see Abarai-Taichou at the door; her facial expression stern and serious as she strutted forward into the room.
"I don't remember handing out invitations to just storm into my domain without first getting clearance," Kurotsuchi scoffed.
"So this is your reasoning for deeming my subordinate an enemy? An accusation at a woman void of any memory from before five years ago? While I understand the precaution—you're being a bit extreme," Abarai-Taichou halted beside Toushirou.
"Call it what you will, Abarai-Taichou, but the fact remains that until tested, Kiteyama Akinoyo is a threat. What if the loss of her memory is simply a ploy? How do you know for certain that she isn't deceiving us?"
"You think I chose the life I had?"
All heads turned to me—in seconds my overwhelming panic was replaced by sickening anger. I'd had enough of this—had enough of accusations I knew nothing about.
"You think I lived for five years as a fucking slave for no reason? You think the tracker bracelet that confined me to a gigai as well as the organization was something I chose to put on myself? Countless drugs, countless violations, countless times I've been beat—that's all seemingly a ploy to you? Ask Hitsugaya-Taichou what he saw; ask him about what he had to forcefully pull me out of due to my lack of strength."
I shouldn't have been talking that way to a Taichou, but my anger was increasing by the second, and there was no holding back anymore.
"I don't know what a Hougyoku is, and I barely recall hearing the name Aizen Sousuke, but regardless, your accusation of me is wrong. I am not an enemy. You're more than likely right—I probably do have that thing within me, and if I do, that doesn't mean that I plan on utilizing it to harm anyone. I let you take my blood, let you and Soi Fon-Taichou bring me here, and I walked into this glass prison without struggle—I'm letting myself be at the mercy of everyone here in exchange for assisting me with this complete shit of a situation I'm unfortunately in. That alone should prove where my allegiance lies, Kurotsuchi-Taichou; if I truly were an enemy, you wouldn't have my blood in the first place—think about that for a second. Do your inspection—get the answers that both you and I need, but don't go around making such drastic assumptions about someone you haven't had the decency of having a five minute conversation with!"
My fists were clenched, and my gaze just as piercing as the arrogant scientist staring back at me.
"You dare address a Taichou in that fashion?" Kurotsuchi's reiatsu flared with his anger.
"Wouldn't you if the circumstances were reversed?" Abarai-Taichou replied for me—Kami I loved her more and more each time she surfaced.
"For you to—"
"Leave the punishment to my discretion since she is my Squad member. Go on with your analysis and what exactly it is you're planning on accomplishing, Kurotsuchi-Taichou." She cut him off.
With an audible grunt of disgust, Kurotsuchi-Taichou turned back to the screen to continue pulling up information.
"With yesterday's debacle with Koizumi Fumiko, I discovered another tidbit of important information,"
He pulled up the corpse of Koizumi Fumiko on the screen, and it took everything in my power not to vomit from the visual that scarred my soul. I looked away from the screen—breathing heavily to calm myself as I stared at the Kanji on Toushirou's haori.
"With my findings from Kiteyama Akinoyo's blood, and the supposed situation she's in; the first test I did on Koizumi Fumiko was a comparison to my findings. The results weren't so shocking—their biological make up is almost identical; prompting the question of multiple Hougyokus rather than just one—who knows of the other 11," He turned back around to his audience; observing their facial expressions as he concluded. "Koizumi Fumiko's appearance and her motive in retrieving Kiteyama Akinoyo already told us there is an upcoming battle for the Gotei 13, but with this new discovery, would it turn into battling a dozen versions of Aizen Sousuke?"
"Aizen had no hint of having created another Hougyoku—if he had another, then he wouldn't have concocted the plan involving me to retrieve the one Urahara created to combine with his own." Abarai-Taichou began. "There has to be some type of mistake to this,"
Before Kurotsuchi could make his snarky reply, Shihouin walked over to me to gaze at me through the glass as he spoke. "While you're correct involving the quantity of Hougyoku created; it is highly unlikely that Kurotsuchi-Taichou's findings aren't correct." He turned around and sat before looking at the group in front of us.
"I've seen this type of information before during my time at Kisuke's—there's no doubt in my mind that Akinoyo has traces of the Hougyoku within her; which would make it absolutely vital for the enemy to capture her back. This is the reason she, and all the others were abducted—they were the test subjects that crawled out of their containment cells. How everything came to be is still unknown, however, this data Kurotsuchi-Taichou has presented uncovers an important piece of this puzzle." He paused for a quick breath before continuing.
"Do I think that Akinoyo is an enemy? Absolutely not. However, I do agree that she needs to be examined for full-proof evidence that she indeedcontains a Hougyoku, or was created to become a Hougyoku." The night-shaded tom-cat turned to look at me, and I stared into his amber eyes doing my utmost to be calm and collected. "The more we know about her, the more we can get to the bottom of this mess." He concluded.
"At least one of you is intelligent enough to understand the seriousness of this situation," Kurotsuchi-Taichou commented with heavy annoyance.
"What about the journal found in her possessions? There could be more information about this in particular in it," Toushirou brought up.
"I've been busy researching her blood; Nemuri Hachijou will continue the translation once we're finished with her examination." Kurotsuchi-Taichou replied.
"And how is it exactly you plan on examining her? You've already taken a blood sample—what's left other than a reiatsu scan?" Abarai-Taichou questioned.
"My, my, the concern the two of you have for her is touching," he crudely remarked. "There are several other tests other than just a reiatsu scan—all of which are necessary for absolute certainty." He passed Toushirou and Abarai-Taichou to get to the vial glass container I stood in.
He pressed a few buttons on the wall beside my container, and immediately my world turned into a vibrant shade of neon blue. I looked around like a frantic mouse—looking down at my hands and limbs like they were about to be completely severed in one foul swoop. The light came from beneath me of course, a light heat making me more claustrophobic than I already was. Was this his version of a reiatsu scan? I looked up to Toushirou with my worry clearly readable on my face—his cool eyes telling me to breath from a distance.
"There are two ways to extract a Hougyoku," Kurotsuchi-Taichou crept into view.
"No, Kurotsuchi—you can't!" Abarai-Taichou suddenly stepped forward. "I won't allow you to do either of those to her. They're both extremely—"
"You don't think I know of this, Abarai-Taichou? It's about time you annoying lot left—you're all getting on my last ner—"
"I won't allow you to bring harm to my subordinate, Kurotsuchi-Taichou." She cut him off. "Until Hitsugaya-Taichou or I see the written order, you're not touching her." She finalized—Kami, my Taichou was awesome.
My machine flickered the neon light that dilated my pupils as Kurotsuchi-Taichou scoffed; the machine turning off completely in an instant. His main computer had several images surface at the reading, but he stayed next to me while he made his retort.
"Whether you like it or not, Abarai-Taichou, I am going to get to the bottom of this. She is a threat because of what she is even if all of you don't deem her an enemy. Within her very make-up lies a power that once threw the realms into chaos, and I don't plan on letting that happen again! If she isn't an enemy, then at the very least she needs to learn control before the enemy at our doorstep utilizes her to destroy us all! Until further notice I am in charge of her, and I will make sure that this situation is contained before it gets out of hand!" he practically shouted at her.
While I didn't like him, and was scared out of my mind at the thought of him possibly ripping me open—from where he stood he had a valid point.
"Kurot—"
"Hitsugaya-Taichou," I interjected.
All eyes went to me, and I swallowed the hard lump in my throat.
"He has a point. I don't like it either, but at this point, I don't think there's another alternative." I stared into Abarai-Taichou. "Whatever 's inside me, or whatever I am is the piece to this puzzle that's already causing chaos—I don't want to, but," I looked at Toushirou—his eyes cautious and glazed with silent worry. "I think that I need to do this—for everyone's sake."
I bit my lip, and took a deep breath. I couldn't stop my hands from shaking, but I made fists to solidify my resolve. If we found out what exactly I am, I could possibly utilize this to stop the organization, and save myself rather than relying on my fellow Shinigami to save me. I could take my pride back, and save myself and others by my own hand.
"For someone with questionable intellect, that's the most intelligent course of action you could have possibly taken." Kurotsuchi scoffed.
"Don't push it—Kurotsuchi-Taichou," I retorted with clearer than crystal warning.
He bypassed my retort and opened the container I was in. As the glass opened, he stepped out in front of me and turned to the crowd.
"There you have it—a willing subject. Now that she's consented, all of you need to leave. Not only is your presence of utmost annoyance, you're not needed here anymore. Leave now before I have to use force," he threatened.
"Since I'm willing to be your lab rat, I do have a request, Kurotsuchi-Taichou," I began with my forced bravado as always. "I'd like Hitsugaya-Taichou and Abarai-Taichou to stay—with this new information and past formalities, I think its only fair to have the two of them here at the very least."
Truth be told, I don't think I could do this without knowing Toushirou was here in case of anything. The thought of him leaving me here sent me down an anxious whirlpool that threatened my very sanity. Abarai-Taichou was in the same situation if not at least similar—I wanted her here to not only assist me, but to also show some of my gratitude by displaying my trust in her.
"We weren't planning on leaving anyway," Abarai-Taichou walked clear past Kurotsuchi-Taichou to put her hand on my shoulder and ease me with a small, determined smile.
I tried my best to crack a smile, but ended up having to suffice with a quick nod so as to not breakdown in front of everyone.
Before Kurotsuchi-Taichou's rebuttal, Shihouin stepped towards Soi Fon-Taichou as he spoke. "Soi Fon and I will be off—we have a few things to attend to. We'll be back to see the results," he looked up at me—I nodded as my only from of communication.
"Nemuri, prepare the examination room." Kurotsuchi-Taichou ordered the little girl—immediately she took off through the doorway at the other side of the room. "Akon," Kurotsuchi-Taichou spoke into a monster-like intercom device.
"Kiteyama, a word please," Toushirou stepped toward me.
"Don't take her out of the premises, Hitsugaya-Taichou," Kurotsuchi-Taichou threatened.
Toushirou didn't grace the bastard with a reply as he proceeded out of the room—myself following suit behind him. Once we were out of the room, I proceeded into his right flank as we walked down the hall silently to get out of earshot. He led me outside, to which I promptly started digging for my dried leaves and pipe—he knew I was putting on an act, and knew that internally I was dying from the amount of panic that developed in me.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He asked me as I shakily tried to strike a match.
"Not one bit," I replied through the teeth clenching my kiseru. "But it looks like I don't have much choice if I want this shitty situation to be over with quickly—do I?"
At my sixth failed attempt due to shaky hands, he took the matches from me and lit one; lighting my kiseru for me as I leaned toward him.
"There's always a choice," he began as I exhaled the drag. "I'm here to make sure you know that—as your caretaker, and with my status, I can dispute the order with my judgement. The Soutaichou is intelligent, and takes everything into consideration before giving an order—which is why this whole 'enemy' decree is more than likely Kurotsuchi overreacting."
"With my luck, I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't overreacting," I replied before another inhale.
"I assure you—that's more than likely not the case," he replied.
"I guess we'll find out soon enough,"
I crossed my arms, and leaned my head back; taking in the regular oxygen in a deep inhale to try to help soothe myself along with the tobacco—it was looking like to no avail though.
Without hesitance—and with no regard to whether or not there were cameras—he placed his hand on my shoulder and turned toward me; closer than a Taichou-subordinate relationship allowed. I looked up into those orbs I called home; threatening to break custom with the embrace I was in desperate need of.
"Whatever happens, I am on your side—I hope you've remembered my words," he told me.
I placed my hand atop of his, taking another deep inhale to stifle myself from succumbing to what I wanted most.
"I know you are—I can't even begin to describe how thankful I am to have you," I attempted a weak smile. "I trust you to make the right decision when it comes down to it—just promise me that,"
I could tell he wanted to lean in toward me, and I cursed internally at the unfortunate situation that halted his actions.
"I promise—I won't let anything bad happen," his eyes flickered between my eyes and lips. "We'll leave here together,"
I stepped out of his lingering comfort to take one last drag—readying myself for what was about to happen by my prior means .
"I'll hold you to it, Romeo," I smiled.