A/N: There's so many threads running simultaneously in Chasing. Hopefully it doesn't end up getting too chaotic. But for those of you complaining about the time skips in Phases, worry not. Chasing will all take place in a period of about one year and a half so, there won't be as many time skips.

We have two plots running simultaneously for this one—the romance plot and the action plot. Right now, I'm toying with the idea of the action plot ending first and the romance second, but I've considered having the romance end first and I've also considered having them end at about the same time. We'll see what happens.

No, to those asking, neither of the twins have bankai yet. But Yuzu isn't too keen on Jungetsu's shikai abilities either.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. At all.

Chapter 4: Bound by truth

It had been four days since Soifon's team first left for the human world. In that time, Yuzu had managed to drop by the Fourth to visit Rangiku, as had Karin. The Tenth Division vice-captain had regained consciousness by the second day after her attack, but the twins' conversation with her had been cut short by a representative from the First arriving to collect her statement.

Since then, things at the Sixth had settled down into something that almost resembled normal. Everyone was still tense and waiting to hear back from the Second's team, but after the first day of anticipation, they had resumed their normal duties. They still talked about it, though, and Yuzu had walked in on whispered conversations about the situation more times than she cared to count.

On top of it all, there was Byakuya's strange mood. He no longer seemed to be in the foul mood he had been in on the first day after the attack on Matsumoto, but he still seemed more distant than usual. Yuzu would never say that he had been talkative, but she had managed to draw him into a conversation once or twice in the past. The past few days, though, he seemed to go through the motions of being a captain automatically, but it seemed like his mind was elsewhere. Twice, she caught him staring off into space when he thought nobody was looking.

It worried her somewhat, though she would never tell him that. Still, she followed Shiyougi's advice and stayed mostly out of his way, not asking him about it again.

On the fourth day, Yuzu returned from a trip to the Tenth to gather information from Hitsugaya about Soifon's status. It was about two hours after lunch, meaning the normal Division office hours would last for three hours yet. She walked back to the administrative office to deliver her report to Byakuya and found it empty.

The Sixth Division captain's desk was still there, along with the paperwork he had been completing earlier, but everything had been neatly sorted into different piles, like it normally was when he left for the day with paperwork still undone. She frowned, setting her status report on her own desk and leaving the office in search of her taicho.

It wasn't particularly odd for a captain or a vice-captain to vanish. There was always information to be gained from other Divisions, and occasionally a captain might wander off on his own to follow a lead or to test an idea. But this, coupled with Byakuya's strange mood over the past few days, was enough to get her suspicious.

It hadn't taken her long to find him. He was walking through the courtyard, heading purposefully for the Division gates. He looked as though he was heading home, and that was what she would think, if it wasn't for the fact that it was still early in the day, and Byakuya hardly ever left early. She wouldn't have really noticed back when she was just a seated officer, but he hadn't left early in all the time she had been vice-captain.

In fact, he often left late.

Her frown grew a little more concerned as she stared out the window, watching him.

"Is something wrong, fukutaicho?" asked a voice from behind her.

Yuzu turned her head slightly, glancing at her eighth seat—Shirogane Mihane. The young vice-captain shook her head. "Iie…" she said. "Nothing's wrong, Shirogane-san. I was just wondering why the taicho was leaving early."

Mihane frowned, following Yuzu's line of sight. She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," she said, beginning to walk away. "It's the third of March. Taicho usually leaves early then. It has to do with his clan, I think. Some noble obligation…"

Yuzu stared at Byakuya as he walked away, heading down the road that led to the Division gate. And suddenly, everything seemed to click. The look on his face, his short temper lately, the mention by Shirogane-san that he left early every year on the third of March…

She understood. And the moment of understanding took her breath away, her eyes wide as she watched her taicho leave, walking alone underneath the mysterious plum tree.

Her hand curled into a loose fist at her chest and she took a deep breath, nodding once to herself and gathering her courage.

She walked quickly out of the Division doors, catching up with Byakuya just as she left the gates.

"Taicho, may I walk with you?" she asked as she reached him.

He frowned deeply, turning his eyes on her. They didn't have the same edge as they had had three days ago, although it was apparent that he was trying. It seemed like at this point, he was past anger. When he spoke, the disapproval was there, but mostly he only sounded tired.

"…I am attending to a private matter," he said. "…I do not see why you would want to."

He began to walk away. It was a polite, cold dismissal, of the type that she had been given lately. But she was a Kurosaki as well, and she could be stubborn when she wanted to be. She took a deep breath, aware that she could be pushing it too far. Aware that this would be a breach of their calm, professional relationship.

But willing to risk it anyway…

"…I recognize the look on your face," she said quietly. He continued to walk, although she knew that he could hear her. "…Nobody should have to visit a grave alone."

He stopped walking then, and turned his head towards her. Yuzu watched him, taking a deep breath as she waited for the other shoe to fall, waited for him to scold her, waited for him to tell her she was mistaken and continue on his way. But there was no anger in his eyes this time, no disapproval. Just a look…a single look that made her stop in her tracks…

You have no idea, it seemed to say, of the burden I carry.

It was true. She didn't. But in that moment, she wanted to know…

Then he turned away, continuing to walk.

"Do as you wish, Kurosaki."

"Hai, taicho…" she said in reply, hurrying to catch up with him.

She said nothing as they walked, following him through Seireitei. Eventually, the path began to look familiar to her. It was the same path she took to Seireitei's inner circle, the ring in which the manors of the Four Great Noble Houses stood. She had walked this path many times, both to visit her grandfather and uncle in the Ankoujin Manor, and as an Academy student when she had trained with Byakuya. She didn't ask questions as they walked, not even when Byakuya led her through a small side gate in the wall of the Manor instead of going through the main gate like always.

Led was a strong word. He didn't so much lead her as he did ignore her as she walked beside him, allowing her to follow if she wished but not acknowledging her presence. Still, it was better than a dismissal, so she did follow. Yuzu kept her eyes on the ground as she walked, not turning to look at him. The whole way, though, her curiosity was burning, and her heart was pounding in her chest. She knew that she was about to find out some huge secret, one of the things about Byakuya that few people had ever seen…

They walked down a side path through the Kuchiki House's gardens for a bit, before crossing a small bridge and coming to what looked like a small, private cemetery. Byakuya led her through several rows of graves, and she caught the name Kuchiki on every single one of them. A relative, then. He was visiting a relative.

Suddenly, she felt like an intruder here, and she paused, feeling the urge to turn back. But, no, she had meant what she said. She wouldn't leave him alone now. She quickened her pace as he began to walk away, matching his stride as they reached the very end of the row.

Byakuya came to a stop in front of a small grave. It looked newer than the others, although it was hard to tell in Soul Society. Her perception of time had become so skewed since she got here. He stood in front of it, his eyes falling slowly on the headstone. Yuzu came to a stop beside him, turning to face it.

Kuchiki Hisana.

For the first time since following him from the Division, Yuzu looked at him.

She had never seen her taicho look so grieved. The look in Byakuya's eyes was that of old, old pain…pain that had never had a chance to heal. They stood there in silence for a few long moments, Yuzu simply standing aside and giving him space.

When she spoke, it was in a hushed voice, so as not to disturb the quiet.

"Who was she, taicho?"

For a moment, it seemed like Byakuya wouldn't answer. She didn't repeat the question. She had already intruded enough by coming along. She wouldn't force him to tell her anything he didn't want to.

"…She was my wife," he said, just as her thoughts began to wander. "Rukia's sister. We were married for five years. She died seventy years ago."

"I…see…" said Yuzu quietly. She turned to face the small grave, the weight of Byakuya's admission settling in the air between them.

Five years…

She had been here for sixteen, and didn't look more than a year older than she had looked when she first arrived. Five years was nothing in Soul Society time. A blink of an eye, a drop in the water…

…To open your heart to someone and have them cruelly snatched away from you in so short a time…

Five years was enough time to fall in love without being able to see the truth of one's feelings, if you were Kurosaki Ichigo. Five years was enough time to open your heart, if you were as closed off as Kuchiki Byakuya. Five years…

Five years was enough time for a child to know her mother…

And suddenly Yuzu was five years old again, and she was pacing the living room, because her father had just run outside for an unknown reason and her brother and mother weren't home yet, and the TV was on in the living room and tuned towards the news, and she was so…scared…because she could tell something wasn't right, but she couldn't tell what it was. And Karin was crying, bawling her eyes out in the corner because she wanted Mama…and that was the last time Karin had ever cried…ever…

The memory of grief took her breath away, and she lowered her eyes to the ground…

She felt like she needed to say something, because the silence between them had grown tense, the air seeming to tingle with anticipation. She knew if she didn't say anything now, she would lose it, this brief glimpse at who Byakuya was inside, and he would close himself off further than he ever had.

So she said the first thing that came to mind.

"…I was five years old when my mother died…" she said quietly. "I thought it was the end of the world."

"Your mother?" asked Byakuya, frowning at her.

"Mm," said Yuzu, nodding once. "…Kurosaki Masaki." She pointed at the last kanji character in Hisana's name, her smile growing wistful and sad. "…They shared a kanji character actually. She wrote her name with the characters for truth and blossom. That's why I thought about it…"

"…How did she die?" asked Byakuya after a while.

"…She was killed by a Hollow…" said Yuzu quietly. "…She died protecting my brother…Of course, I didn't know that until much later…" That was another thing that had upset her when she found out about the shinigami. She had always thought her mother was murdered. That was what she had grown up knowing. She had hated being the last person in her family to know the truth…

"…What was she like?"

Yuzu sighed. "She was…warm," she said. "And kind…She was the thing that held our family together. When she died…"

She shook her head, as if by doing so she could chase the memories away. Dark days. Dark days for her father and for her brother, and certainly dark days for a five year old girl.

At five, her mother was her world. To see that light taken away, to watch as every other member of her family slowly hardened, withdrawing into themselves…

"…I see that I have overstepped my bounds," he said. "I apologize."

The apology surprised her, because she had never heard one from him before. But neither had she seen him like this. And those who knew grief understood it. She shook her head slowly.

"…It's alright," she said. "It was a while ago."

Not as long as he had been grieving though. Not seventy years…

Had he come here every year since then, like she and her family would visit their mother's grave? She couldn't imagine. It was longer than she had been alive.

"…I think…" she said softly, a faint smile on her face as she considered the grave. "…I think Hisana-san would be happy…to see that taicho still cared for her after all this time."

She heard him take a deep breath at her words, exhaling it slowly into the air.

"…You did not need to come here, Kurosaki…" he finally said.

"I wanted to," said Yuzu in response. "You said to do as I wished."

She knew the look of people who had closed themselves off because of pain. She had lived with three such people for most of her life. And in all honesty…she couldn't say that she was much different.

She'd only reached out instead of drawing in.

"Hm."

There were no words after that. The pair of them simply stood there in silence, watching the grave.

On the fourth of March, eleven captains and one vice-captain walked in to a jigokucho flying around their office, carrying the soutaicho's summons. The captains stood in two lines once again, facing each other as the soutaicho stood between them. Soifon was back in her place at the head of one line, next to Unohana-taicho. The captain of the Second had her usual stoic expression on her face, not giving any details on the mission she had just returned from.

"Soifon-taicho has informed me that her team was unable to find any trace of the Arrancar Catalina Falza or known associates in Shibuya or the Tokyo area as a whole," said the soutaicho. Ichigo frowned, glancing at the Second Division captain. He was impressed in spite of himself. He didn't think it would have been possible to search the whole Tokyo area in five days.

"However," continued Yamamoto, "In her report, she also informed me of a group of powered humans living in the Shibuya prefecture. It is a smaller group than Kusanagi, but one that has not had dealings with shinigami before. Is this correct, Soifon-taicho?"

"Hai," said Soifon, nodding. "This group calls themselves the New Dawn. It appears they are not aware of the difference between shinigami and Hollows, which explains their fearful reaction to Hitsugaya-taicho. Our group attempted to make contact, as per the soutaicho's orders, but they fled from us as well."

"They could have encountered Arrancar before," suggested Ukitake. "They might have thought Hitsugaya-taicho to be something similar."

"It's a possibility," said Soifon. "It's also another possibility that the Arrancar and the New Dawn may somehow be connected, and they were warned by their Arrancar allies to steer clear of shinigami. We were not able to get close enough to discover the truth."

"So, what are we going to do?" asked Renji, frowning.

"Soifon-taicho, what do you recommend?" asked Yamamoto.

"Infiltration by a member of the Gotei 13," replied Soifon. "A shinigami in a gigai would be able to pose as a powered human, and would be able to gain entrance into the New Dawn without alarming them. If they are truly ignorant of shinigami, they would not be aware of our ways, and so would not be expecting us. If they are not, it wouldn't matter either way."

"Agreed," said Yamamoto, nodding. "We are aware that these Arrancar possess Espada-level reiatsu. Therefore, I would like to send one of you, in case the situation takes a turn for the worse and battle becomes necessary." He frowned, looking over the assembled group. "Unfortunately, since this New Dawn has already seen Hitsugaya-taicho and Soifon-taicho, our representative can be neither of them."

"Right," said Ichigo, nodding once. "I volunteer. I'm still pretty familiar with the living world."

"Unfortunately, our representative cannot be you either," said Yamamoto, frowning at Ichigo. "Many of these new powered humans came about as a result of either contact with you or another shinigami, or from your battle with Aizen Sousuke. The risk that someone may recognize you is too high." He paused, looking around at the assembled group of captains.

"…Kuchiki-taicho," said Yamamoto, after a moment. "Can I leave this to you?"

"Hai, soutaicho," replied Byakuya coolly, nodding his head.

"You will of course have to submit to the power limiter," he said. "However, I give you authorization to remove it if you should enter into battle with an enemy of sufficient strength."

"Oi, wait a minute," said Ichigo with a frown, glancing across at him. "Are you sure about this? Byakuya hasn't stayed in the human world since, what, the 1800s?"

"I believe it was the early 1900s, and I fail to see how it makes any difference," replied Byakuya coldly, glaring at Ichigo from across the meeting room.

Ichigo scowled, folding his arms. "Of course it makes a difference," he said. "You'll be posing as a human, right? In Tokyo? You'll stick out like a sore thumb!"

Yamamoto frowned in thought, nodding at Ichigo. "…You have a point…" he said. "Very well. If you are amenable to it, Kurosaki-fukutaicho will accompany."

"That is acceptable," said Byakuya.

Ichigo's eyes widened at the implications of that.

"Hey, that's not what I meant!"

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Masaki and Hisana actually do share a kanji character. Masaki is written as 真咲 which means "true blossom" and Hisana is written as 緋真, which means "scarlet truth". Interesting little fact I noticed. ^^

More songs for our little ByaYuzu soundtrack. Owl City's Dementia actually fits pretty well. ("Big surprise, I'm a ghost keeping out of sight. Rub your eyes, you're a star in the summer night. This is love, this is war, it's insanity." and "Every hand let me go that I tried to hold. Every warm-hearted love left me freezing cold. Keep the pace just in case all the magic dies.")