Juushiro honestly wasn't expecting to ever wake up.
That was what made his current situation so surprising. He was vaguely aware of warm blankets, the familiar scents of the Fourth Division. Prying his eyes open he looked around curiously. Definitely the Fourth. He wouldn't have thought being reborn in the Living world would be so familiar…
Then it occurred to him that being reborn would involve babyhood and he was most definitely not a baby. Blinking, it occurred to him that he was most likely alive. How had that happened…?
"Ah, you're awake!" There was a soft sound of footsteps and Juushiro smiled as a very familiar face looked down at him. His greatest regret when he'd thought he was going to die was that he would never see that face again. "How are you feeling?"
"Not terribly." Weak, sore and sick, which generally described him whenever he'd suffered an attack. But suffering a major attack when a very powerful arrancar was trying to kill him, well… he should have been feeling much, much worse. Rather, he should have been in pieces scattered across the ground. "How am I alive?" He asked and blinked as Shunsui grinned.
"I thought you'd never ask!" His best friend and lover took a seat beside him, still grinning as Juushiro looked at him curiously. Why was he so cheerful? "It's an amazing story! Why, it's the talk of the whole Seireitei! Let me tell you…"
We all know about that arrancar and his hollow minions. But where the story gets interesting is with a young cadet named Lupe.
Now, this poor young cadet was just painting a picture down by a river in the Rukongai. By some odd coincidence, it was quite close to where you were facing off against that arrancar. And when your third seat happened to find him, the poor man begged the cadet to help you. Ridiculous, of course! How could a cadet help a taichou? Well, except with – ahem. Sorry. You know how my mind is.
Anyway. This brilliant young cadet decided that he was going to do something, damn it! So he left your officer – I'm afraid he died – and went to help you. And he did! Remarkably, this lad has a shikai. And so young! He defeated your opponent but broke his left arm in the process. A very nasty break, too.
Showing extreme fortitude, our intrepid young cadet managed to put you over his unhurt shoulder and began to carry you out. Were you aware that whole area is swampy and rather treacherous? He tried to use shunpo and slipped and fell. Yes, with a broken arm. And he landed in a very deep mud hole. Excellent times were had by all! …I know, I'm cruel. Have some sake? No. Right, the story…
Now our brave young cadet kept going and eventually reached the main road. Then he encountered those terrible little mosquito hollows that wretched arrancar had made. Now, young Lupe could hardly fight, having you on his back and a broken arm on the other side. So he panicked! And reacted in exactly the opposite way that someone trained would. You know how our first instinct was to hold in all our reiatsu when one of them tried to suck on us? Well, he did quite the opposite. He fed them a massive burst of his reiatsu and made a remarkable discovery! They have a limited capacity!
Yes, isn't it amazing? Mayuri says they're like leeches. They can only hold so much reiatsu and if they're hit with too much they explode! It takes an advanced class taichou to do it, however. Hitsugaya actually can't, to put it into perspective. We have a young prodigy on our hands! And it gets better. This young cadet didn't just kill the hollows molesting him. He cleaned out entire blocks around him! The shinigami from your Division all report seeing bugs going up like fireworks! Amazing!
Now, back to our cadet. Young Lupe was now tired, cold and his reiatsu was exhausted. Oh, and he was bleeding from about a dozen hollow bites, did I mention that? So he kept travelling onwards, leaving quite a blood trail behind him. I'm told it was possible to follow it for blocks. Fortunately, the bleeding had mostly stopped by the time he reached the blockade your men had set up. Unfortunately, he'd fallen into a mud pit and they mistook him for some kind of swamp hollow. I'm told no less than three kido hit him simultaneously! The poor man tried to protect you and in the process, broke his other arm.
No, I'm not joking. Yes, that really happened. So you were both lying on the ground and when your shinigami realized what they'd done, they were all very sorry. They gave the poor cadet some sake and he babbled out a slightly hysterical version of events before passing out. And that is the end of the epic saga of Lupe…
"… Although I am seriously thinking of writing an account for the Seireitei communications." Shunsui concluded as Juushiro stared at him in disbelief. "The only question is, what to call it? A Cadet's Extremely Bad Day? Saving Ukitake Taichou? Decisions, decisions…"
"Shunsui!" Juushiro couldn't help but laugh. "You are insane." He told his lover severely as Shunsui just smiled. "I thought I was dead." He said softly and the smile disappeared as Shunsui gently set a hand over his.
"If it hadn't been for that cadet, you would be." He said softly and Juushiro nodded, feeling a lump in his throat. He'd come so close, all because of his disease. "We need to thank him. I haven't met him yet. He has his own bed, though. Perhaps I should pay a visit." Shunsui mused and Juushiro shook his head.
"I would like to be there." He wasn't sure he would be out of bed before the young man, though. Two broken arms wasn't good but with kido, he would likely recover in a week. Less, possibly. High reiatsu levels speeded recovery and it sounded like his reiryoku was massive. His own attack had been very bad and Juushiro wasn't sure how quickly he could recover from it.
"We can go thank him together when you're feeling better." Shunsui said before gently resting a kiss on his forehead. Juushiro closed his eyes, just feeling the warm lips, the rough touch of beard. They had to be careful about these kinds of gestures but the Fourth was as safe as anywhere. "I'm afraid I can't stay too long. Now that we have such an easy way to destroy the hollows, everyone who can do it, is. That's myself, Kenpachi Zaraki and Yama-jii." Juushiro's breath caught as he met Shunsui's eyes. That meant the cadet… "Yes, impressive isn't it? Such raw power! And he can actually do kido. I anticipate the Divisions will be fighting over him." Shunsui said lightly and Juushiro smiled slowly.
"I'm getting him first." He wanted this young man in his Division.
He sounded absolutely remarkable.
"Ow." Lupe muttered as he tried to do up his pants with one hand and his teeth. "Mudderpockers fwuck gwarf argh!" Finally deciding he had the knot as good as it was going to get, he winced and let go. Hopefully the pants would stay up this time. To his relief, they did.
You should have just manifested me to do that – what? Starrk did just that and Lilinette gave him a tremendously puzzled look as she stood in front of him. "What's up with you?"
"You're not doing up my pants. You are, however, putting my shoes on." He said firmly and she blinked before laughing. "I have some pride." He added as she bent down to slip on his socks, then his shinigami sandals. The sandals actually weren't that difficult but the socks were nigh impossible.
"Yeah, and your pride is why you're not calling the nurses. Honestly Starrk, you should enjoy this. It's not like anyone's gonna treat you this nice when you get out of here." She said and he sighed softly. He was getting very good treatment in the Fourth. Ukitake taichou was extremely popular and as a consequence, so was he. Starrk didn't think it would last very long but it was enjoyable while it did.
"Lupe, Lilinette. I'm Lupe." He corrected her and she looked a bit guilty at the slip as she stood back up. "I wish I could keep you manifested but…" It made him feel guilty, sometimes, keeping her trapped away in his inner world so much. She just shrugged.
"I'm a zanpakuto. Didja know it's actually kinda taboo, manifesting your zanpakuto in front of people?" She said and Starrk blinked. "That actually made Aizen kinda uncomfortable. But you did it yourself and normal arrancar don't have zanpakuto that talk, so he decided to make the best of it."
"Hmm. I had no idea." Another little cultural tidbit that no one had informed him of. Starrk sighed to himself. It felt like life as a shinigami was full of booby traps. He looked into Lilinette's face and saw sympathy there. Of course she understood how he felt, she was half of his soul. That was as true now as it had ever been. "I should go." He needed to see the taichou he had rescued. Then he would be back to the academy. He couldn't fight or practice kido much like this, but one arm did work. He could at least keep up with his academic classes.
His arms didn't actually hurt much at this point, although his left one was fully immobilized in a kido cast and the right was in a sling. So squaring his shoulders, Starrk returned Lilinette to his inner world and walked off. He wasn't really eager to do this. There was a very definite chance that Ukitake taichou would recognize him. But it had to be done so he might as well get it over with.
When he arrived, the white haired taichou was reading a book. He knocked carefully on the half-open door before pushing it fully open. The man on the bed looked up in surprise, his gaze dropping to the kido cast and the sling. Sympathy warmed those brown eyes and he smiled. Starrk blinked, feeling as though his breath was suddenly stolen away. That was the sweetest smile he'd ever been graced with.
"You must be Lupe Ruiz y Mendoza. I've heard so much about you." Ukitake said and Starrk nodded, managing a small, very abridged bow. He couldn't do more, it hurt too much.
"Hai, Ukitake taichou." He said, using proper shinigami courtesy. The man's smile warmed, the skin around his eyes wrinkling ever so slightly in amusement.
"Please, call me Juushiro. I shouldn't stand on rank with the man who saved my life. Would you please take a seat?" He said and Starrk couldn't help but smile as he took a seat near the bed. It looked like Juushiro didn't recognize him. That was a comfort.
I still don't like him. Manifest me so I can kick his ass! Lilinette commanded but Starrk ignored her. It would hardly be fair anyway, with Ukitake this sick.
The next half-hour was spent very pleasantly, conversing about a wide variety of topics. Starrk noticed he surprised the shinigami several times with his response, particularly when they delved into philosophy. But then, he still had a very hollow take on the subject.
"Hollows don't care about us at all, you know." He suddenly said as his mind went in an odd direction. Lilinette made a soft warning sound but he ignored her. This was a thought he'd been idly chasing for some time. "Not the advanced ones. In fact, to them we seem like hollows ourselves." It was a strange thought but he knew it was true. He'd been there. Ukitake looked a bit taken aback by the odd statements.
"What do you mean?" He asked and Starrk smiled before continuing.
"To powerful hollows, the world is all about eating and being eaten." He said, remembering that mindset. Aizen's shikai had given him the proper hollow mental equipment and with Szayel's help, it had been flawless. "To a powerful hollow, a shinigami is just something to be eaten… or that can eat us… them. Not literally, of course." Starrk hurried on, hoping that small lapse would be unnoticed. "But to those hollows, purification just seems like another form of devouring. Nothing to fear, just something that happens. And shinigami are just something that happen, like other hollows happen…" Starrk knew some hollows had hard feelings about shinigami but most didn't. To them, shinigami were part of the spiritual landscape, probably dangerous but potentially useful.
"So you don't think hollows would hesitate to follow a shinigami?" Juushiro asked and Starrk shook his head.
"They wouldn't hesitate for a moment, if the shinigami had the strength to hold the pack. That's all that matters." That was a truth any hollow would know in their bones. Juushiro smiled weakly.
"I suppose that does explain why the Espada followed Aizen so readily. But how do you know so much about how hollows think, Lupe?" Ukitake asked and Starrk hesitated. That was a sticky question. Shrugging, he just gave the pale shinigami a half-smile.
"I don't know." He said simply and Juushiro blinked before laughing. "Perhaps I was one. Who knows?" It was going to be found out anyway and probably sooner than later. This man did hang around with the other one, the one who wore a kimono over his shoulder. Starrk was absolutely certain that man would remember him. "But I should probably be going." It was getting time for him to go back to the academy. Ukitake nodded his acceptance and Starrk stood, going to the door –
And happened to open it just as someone else was intending to walk in. Their eyes met and Starrk felt a moment of shock followed by horror as he easily recognized the man. From the expression of shock on his face, the recognition was mutual. Starrk had a slight advantage, though. He'd been expecting this encounter and recovered from his surprise more quickly.
"Pardon me Kyoraku taichou." He murmured as if this was completely normal and ducked past the stunned shinigami. He hurried away, not quite running but moving swiftly. He was vaguely aware of eyes on his back before he managed to turn a corner. He knew it was false comfort, but that made him feel better.
He didn't want a confrontation with Kyoraku Shunsui when he had two broken arms.
"Shunsui? Is something wrong?" Juushiro asked as his lover stared after the departed cadet. "You look like you've seen a ghost." He meant it as a joke but the wondering look Shunsui turned on him made him blink.
"I just did." He said and Juushiro looked at him blankly, not understanding. "You don't recognize him?"
"Um… no. Although he does seem vaguely familiar." Juushiro said hesitantly. "But I'm sure I've never met him before." That familiarity though… it did give him the oddest feeling. "He's the cadet who rescued me. Lupe Ruiz y Mendoza." A very Spanish name. Kyoraku's expression segued from shock into disbelief.
"He rescued you?" He said and Juushiro nodded before his lover suddenly laughed. "Ah, amazing! Remarkable! After he tried so very hard to kill you, he saves you from certain death!"
"What? Shunsui, what are you babbling about? Who is he?" This was starting to annoy him. Why couldn't Shunsui just speak plainly? His fellow taichou lost his smile, suddenly sounding extremely serious.
"He's the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk." He said and Juushiro's breath caught in his throat as his mind flashed back to the quiet, thoughtful young man sitting by his side. Those grey eyes had seemed so sensitive, calm yet oddly secretive. That face… how had he not seen it? But there were no mask fragments, no hollow hole.
"You purified his soul." Juushiro realized. Shunsui nodded, very serious. "Has this ever happened before?" A former hollow coming to Soul Society in a recognizable form… he'd never heard of that before. Shunsui shook his head.
"No, but most hollows are not humanoid. And arrancar are new." Shunsui reached under his straw hat to scratch his hair for a moment, thinking. "We probably shouldn't mention this. It's not his fault but…" He let the thought trail off and Juushiro could easily fill in the blanks. It wasn't the young man's fault that he was a purified hollow, but the war with Aizen had been bitter. There might be some serious questions about his loyalty if this came to light. "He must have been a remarkably powerful plus soul. Or perhaps all purified arrancar will maintain their spiritual pressure? If so we might have some interesting recruits in the future!" Shunsui mused and Juushiro managed a wan smile.
"As long as they don't remember." Although that reminded him of what Lupe had said about hollows. "I wonder how much he does remember?" He definitely remembered something. Not much, perhaps, but something. Shunsui frowned.
"I'll have to call him to my office sometime for a chat." He mused and Juushiro nodded. "Well, that's all very interesting but how are you feeling? About ready to go home?" He asked and Juushiro nodded with a smile.
"I would love to." He and Kyoraku shared a small bungalow in the better part of town. Shunsui didn't get along very well with his family and Juushiro wanted some privacy, so no one had ever questioned it. No one was aware of the fact that they'd been lovers literally for centuries, enjoying each other in their private little nest. Juushiro honestly couldn't wait to get back to it. Shunsui glanced at the door and Juushiro felt his reiatsu, quickly checking for any eavesdroppers. Finding nothing, his lover bent over and kissed him thoroughly. Juushiro sighed, melting into that feeling.
He loved Shunsui very much.
Starrk frowned to himself as he bent over his work.
He'd given up on math and was leaving it to Lilinette. But that left him with plenty to do. Right now he was studying the history of Soul Society. The events and the things behind them were difficult for a former hollow to understand. A few things were already becoming clear to him. Nobles had great power and it was wise to stay out of their way. Shinigami could challenge each other to duels and they were usually fatal, with no penalties for the winner. Starrk wondered if he would ever have to face such a challenge. Cadets were not allowed to issue or accept such things, but he wouldn't be a cadet much longer.
He was being put into the advanced program after the incident in the Rukongai. That meant he was getting tutoring on several of his subjects but fortunately, the tutors were female and from higher classes. Most of the girls in his own classes avoided him like he had leprosy, but his tutors were at least willing to treat him like a human being while they taught him. Starrk considered it a slight improvement.
"I'm starting to become sexually frustrated." He muttered as he continued to read. Lilinette giggled in his mind, amused by the thought. It was nothing but the truth though. His hand just wasn't enough. "…I wish I could convince one of the women to have sex with me." Unfortunately, his skills at seduction were rather poor. The only time he'd slept with women had been Halibel and her fraccion. Absolutely no effort on his part had been required. Quite the opposite… the fraccion had cornered him and informed him he would be pleasing them that night or would live to regret refusing them.
I wonder what these twits would think if they knew you've had a foursome with three beautiful women? Lilinette asked and Starrk smiled, shaking his head. No one would ever believe it. Not to mention what happened when Halibel caught you all. That'd make their hair turn white.
"It was… interesting." Halibel had a taste for bondage and he'd been pretty much helpless at that point. She'd given him a very interesting demonstration of her talents. "I miss that about Los Noches, I really do." It wasn't that he'd had sex frequently, but it had always been available when he wanted it. There was always someone willing to accommodate the Primera Espada.
You know what was funny? Aizen's reaction when I told him you'd lost your virginity to Barragan. Lilinette said cheerfully and Starrk flushed at the reminder. He really taught you something that day, didn't he?
"Oh yes, that is certainly true." That was how Barragan had sold it, in fact. And he hadn't been lying. Starrk wasn't sure he'd ever want that particular experience again, but it had definitely been interesting. "These children really have no idea what perversion is… mmm?" Starrk looked up in surprise as someone knocked on his door. Carefully sensing the reiatsu behind it he frowned and slipped off his bed. That felt like a full fledged shinigami, if he was any judge. He carefully donned his sword, keeping his hand near the hilt and his power ready before he opened the door.
"Lupe-san?" The woman in front of him was completely unfamiliar to him. She was wearing glasses and her hair was caught in a very neat hairstyle. The band on her arm indicated she was a fukutaichou, which surprised him. "I am Isle Nanao, fukutaichou to Kyoraku taichou." She seemed like a very serious young woman. Starrk nodded, wishing she wasn't here. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this. "He would like to invite you to speak with him at your earliest convenience."
"…" Starrk knew instantly that this was not an invitation that he could refuse. No cadet refused a taichou and even if he did, it would only make the man more suspicious than he probably was. "I can come with you now, if that is convenient, Nanao-san." He said politely and she smiled slightly, adjusting her glasses.
"Thank you Lupe-san, that would be ideal." She led him out of the dormitory and Lupe caught a few surprised and envious looks from the few cadets who were out and about. "I'm told you have advanced shunpo?"
"Yes ma'am." He replied and she nodded before launching into shunpo. He followed close behind, keeping up with her easily. He could have easily outdistanced her, in fact. The skills of the Primera Espada were far beyond what any fukutaichou could muster.
They reached the office in question and Nanao rapped sharply at the door before sliding it open. Starrk blinked as he beheld the taichou he'd been brought to see. He was drinking some sake and neglecting his paperwork badly, from the condition of his desk. Nanao ushered him in and closed the door firmly behind him. Starrk had a feeling she didn't want to see her taichou not working any more than she had to.
"Ah, Lupe! Please forgive me for not rising. I've been indulging a bit today." Kyoraku said with a cheerful smile and Starrk was absolutely certain he was a liar. Not that he hadn't been drinking, but that he was at all unsteady. No, he was willing to bet the taichou could have a sword at his throat in an eyeblink. Starrk bowed, trying to keep his expression perfectly calm as he took a seat. "I want to personally thank you. Juushiro means a great deal to me. Were you aware that you might be receiving a special award soon for your valor?"
"I, what?" Starrk was taken aback by that and flushed as he made a quick gesture of negation. "That is hardly necessary, taichou. I was only doing what I could to help." That was true. Although… Kyoraku laughed and put it into words.
"But how many other cadets could help so effectively? By any logic we should have lost you both! Although you came rather close, eh? Two broken arms. How are they doing by the way?" Kyoraku dropped his gaze to his arms and Lupe stretched out his right, fisting his hand. His left was in a sling now.
"My right arm is fully healed although I'm not to overstress it. Kido practice but no sword work." He answered honestly and Kyoraku nodded. "My left is still healing. The break there was worse." Fortunately he was right handed. Although he did have a very good aim with his left. His shikai required it.
"Hmm. Tell me, Lupe. Do you remember anything of your past?" Shunsui asked and Lupe sighed to himself. The expected question. He managed to smile at the man, feeling tight with tension.
"Only my name." He lied easily. Kyoraku lifted his eyebrows, a small smile of disbelief crossing his face. Starrk could tell he didn't believe that at all.
"You seem to have an odd sympathy for hollows." He said casually and Starrk stiffened slightly. Then he controlled his reaction and smiled gently. Again, it was a very Aizen-like smile. Kyoraku actually lowered his sake, looking mildly taken aback.
"Do they not deserve our sympathy, Kyoraku taichou? They are souls just like us, that have gone mad from too much time without our touch. Any of us might become one, if we happen to fall in battle to one." Starrk said and Kyoraku frowned before nodding.
"Most shinigami consider that to be a reason to hate them, not sympathize with them. And what of the atrocities they commit?" He asked and Starrk shrugged.
"They don't know any better. To a hollow, right and wrong are meaningless concepts. All that matters is their needs, wants and desires." He said and hesitated as Kyoraku pushed across a small cup of sake. "…Thank you." He couldn't think of any way to graciously refuse, although he really wanted to keep his wits about himself. Starrk took a small drink of it, wincing as the alcohol burned on the way down.
For Starrk, the next half-hour was fraught with tension. Shunsui skillfully questioned him, obviously trying to determine how much he truly remembered. Starrk resisted well, betraying very little of his true awareness. It was exhausting though and Starrk couldn't imagine how Aizen had lived a part for so long.
"I believe I should go, Kyoraku taichou." Starrk murmured before pushing himself to his feet. "I do have a great deal of work…" He was just moving towards the door when a lightning flash move caught him by surprise. Starrk gasped softly as he was abruptly forced against the wall, Kyoraku's face much too close to his own.
"I don't think you're telling me the truth, Lupe." Kyoraku's voice was almost mesmerizing and Starrk stared at him wide eyed, his breath speeding up as a new tension suddenly sang in the air. It had been so long since he'd had sex with anyone and this man was desirable. Very desirable… and for hollows, sex was all about dominance and submission. "You've been tense the entire time we've been speaking. Why?" Starrk vaguely noted that he wasn't nearly as good a liar as his father. Aizen wouldn't have betrayed himself that way. "Perhaps – " What perhaps would be, would forever remain unspoken as Starrk impulsively surged forward and placed his lips firmly against Kyoraku's.
He felt his whole body trembling with need as he grasped the taichou's robes. Shunsui's lips parted in shock and Starrk used that, opening his mouth invitingly and teasing the taichou with a wet touch of his tongue. He was the lower ranked, the submissive here. Kyoraku suddenly seemed to grasp that and gripped the back of his head, taking the invitation and exploring his mouth, tangling their tongues together. Starrk groaned, deep in his throat. He felt like his body had suddenly caught fire…
"Oh." Kyoraku said as they parted. His grey eyes were wide in surprise as he stared at the trembling cadet. Starrk swallowed convulsively, suddenly afraid. Was he going to get challenged to his first duel? It was quite possible. "…I misread this completely, didn't I?" He said, then suddenly smiled. It was the most charming smile Starrk had ever seen. "All this time you were tense because… my, my." Shunsui caught his chin and Starrk's eyes went wide as he was pulled into another kiss. This one was slower, more leisurely and he could really taste the sake on the taichou's breath. "This isn't a good time or place. Come to my home tomorrow night, around seven." He whispered and Starrk swallowed before nodding convulsively. Even if he'd been given the option of refusal, he wouldn't have. This was far too intriguing. "I'll be expecting you, cadet."
"Yes, taichou." Starrk whispered, meeting those eyes again and feeling a tremor go down his spine. Kyoraku let go of him and stepped back, adjusting his straw hat with a smile. Starrk made his escape, keenly aware of those eyes on his back.
He wasn't entirely certain what would happen tomorrow but he was going to find out.