"So will you take it back to the Seireitei?" I pursued. "I can't leave the trail once I'm on it or I'll loose it. You're my last best hope of getting my reports to my Captain."
"I'm not a messenger service," she said in a bored tone, licking a paw.
"I'd make it worth your while," I wheedled.
Typical of most women, she was holding out for the goods and we both knew it.
"How so?" she asked idly, leaning her head into a particularly on-the-spot scratch.
"There could be a nice kitty toy in it for you," I teased. "Something with catnip in it."
"Funny, mister," she growled at me.
She unsheathed some of her claws and looked at my narrowly. I just grinned back at her.
"Okay okay," I said. "I don't have anything on me besides the presents I got for my buddies-"
"Did you get Rukia a present?" the cat asked archly.
I could just hear the amusement in her voice. Typical cat, she knows all about my one-sided pathetic-ness and only finds it fun to poke fun at me about it.
I grumbled a bit under my breath, the heat in my face saying it all. It had been the best one of the lot. I scratched the back of my head and in the process, I accidentally pulled free of my shirt my Heartsblood diamond, the glowing, pulsing, indigo, trillion-cut gemstone set in white gold to resemble Zabimaru flashed in the firelight, shining with its own light. The cat's eyes caught and centered in on it.
"Where did you get that?" she asked urgently.
I swiftly stuffed it back inside my shirt.
"You can have anything but that!" I said quickly.
No way was I giving her (if the Old Woman of the Mountain was to be believed) the heart and core of my personal power. It would give her absolute power and control over me, and to me, it was already bad enough that I was under the thrall of one woman, without adding another one to the mix.
"I should say so," Yoruichi said seriously. "Do you realize what you've done? That stone around your neck could un-do you!"
"They explained it to me," I said uneasily. "After the fact."
"I think you had better tell me what happened, and don't leave anything out. Start with you encounter with the Shadows and go from there."
I had heard that Yoruichi Shihouin had been top-tier nobility at one point, and most days you wouldn't know it, but there were some times when her Manner-Born blue-bloodedness came poking out. That peremptory tone of hers...
"It's mostly here in the reports," I said evasively. "Ya can read those if ya want, but I'm kinda tired of tellin' it."
"Mostly?" Yoruichi sprang. "But not entirely. What are you leaving out?"
Zabimaru, my personal Realm that I'd conquered from Katschei, who Isana really was, Zabimaru's other form, the new abilities I was learning from him, my recent mastery of kido... Come to think of it, I was starting to keep a lot more under the roses than I had ever bothered to before.
"That's between me an' my sword," I said firmly. "I'm askin' ya as a friend, can ya help me out?"
"I'll help," she said slyly. "But you owe me."
"Fair enough," I said.
I was leery about owing a favor to Yoruichi, she was a capricious and troublesome woman and who knew what kind of mischief she'd use the marker for, but all in all, I'd consider whatever she asked me to do a small price to pay for peace of mind.
"I just don't see why you didn't come to us in the first place," she grumbled a little. "We'd have helped you out, you know."
"I felt my reasons were good ones at the time," I replied. "Although, later on, once I was in it, I regretted not being thorough, but I just didn't want to drag everyone into my mess, especially if the Punishment squad came after me.'
"Punishment Squad, feh!" Yoruichi said scornfully. "Most of those fighters are practically still in diapers compared to me."
She gave a distainful little sniff and looked at me squarely.
"Are you sure this wasn't some kind of male pride thing? It had better not be... Rukia has been worried sick. We get one hastily-written letter penned on the back of a train brochure mailed to us in a stupid code telling us you've been turned mortal by an enemy no-one's ever really seen or heard of before. You go mysteriously missing from the Seireitei, and no-one knows where you are or how to find you. Have you no consideration at all for the people you leave behind to go galavanting off with some mortal woman-"
"I couldn't help it!" I protested, gesturing to the metal studded collar fastened around my neck.
"I gave my word and I'm bound under Geas by a powerful Earth Spirit to her will until my task is done. Besides, as for the enemy... without that Shadow, bound up and contained, I have no proof that they even exist. If I have no proof to clear my name with, the Seireitei might just decide to execute me."
"Compelling, but you still could have come to us for help Renji," Yoruichi replied.
"And I was not gallivanting," I grumbled.
Yoruichi flowed down from Isana's lap and padded over to me to look more closely at the collar around my neck.
"That's a powerful spell alright," she said after a long moment. "More powerful than a mortal, or even a fairly high-level Soul Reaper should be capable of."
"The Believed are a league of their own," I muttered.
Yoruichi looked over at Isana with a long and unwavering look. After a very long moment Isana inquired
"What?"
"I'm wondering," Yoruichi said very slowly and carefully. "Exactly what kind of woman you are that you would bind a person against their will to take you as an additional burden into an already dangerous situation and risk his life further, as well as your own, by doing so."
"I am a mother," Isana answered with quiet dignity. "I will do what I must to keep my boy from harm."
Yoruichi weighed and measured Isana for a moment longer and then turned to me, flicking one ear to the side to dismiss Isana as a concern, and continuing her previous track
"All I'm saying is that when you get back, be prepared to hear it. Himself is very much not pleased with his errant Lieutenant for flittering off without orders to do so, and the fact that his little sister is so distressed is not helping matters any either. Rukia..."
"Is she really mad?" I asked anxiously.
I could handle the Kuchiki lecturing me, I'd take whatever punitive chores or work he gave to me, I'd even be willing to take a demotion if that was what he felt I deserved... I was not willing to have Rukia mad at me.
"She's pissed," Yoruichi replied.
My heart sank. I knew Rukia; that girl could hold a grudge like no-one else. She was one of those types that held a lot in under the surface, but when it boiled up, watch out. I was going to have to do a lot of groveling to get back into her good graces. It wouldn't matter to her whether it was my fault or not, I'd done it and that was enough for her. It wasn't fair but I'd learned that that didn't matter either.
I sighed, I'd have to find some better presents for her on my way back. I could start with a letter, she'd probably rip it up, but if I explained about the situation it might soften her up enough to be reasonable... later on. A lot later on.
"There is one factor that is working in your favor however," Yoruichi said. "The same night you disappeared, Kuukaku Shiba, who hasn't stepped a toe inside the Seireitei in decades, if not centuries, went and visited the Kuchiki Estate and requested to speak with Byakuya and Rukia Kuchiki. Rukia said to Ichigo who told to Uruhara who said to me that Kuukaku Shiba told them of the encounter with the Shadow and of your valiant defense of her person and the children, and that you had disappeared."
"You mean," I said, hardly daring to hope. "I could go back and they won't throw me in the tower and have me executed?"
"Executed?" Isana yelped, staring at me.
I hadn't really mentioned that bit. We ignored her.
"Most people think that the letter is an elaborate hoax,"Yoruichi said, shaking her head in negation. "Or something you're doing to keep from being arrested. The Shiba's were once one of the Four Noble Families, but they've fallen out of favor in recent centuries. I'm afraid they're considered so eccentric now that their word doesn't carry much weight."
"And the Captain?" I questioned next with a vanishing sense of hope.
"You know him," she said. "He'll wait until all the facts have been laid out and then make his judgment of the situation."
So, probably no help from that corner then.
"Do you think he believes Shiba?" I asked next.
"I think he believes something happened, and I think he knows you well enough to realize that what ever is dragging you away from your duties in Sixth must be important, mainly because I think he knows that you wouldn't risk making both him and Rukia angry if it wasn't important."
Boy was that ever true.
"What do you mean executed?" Isana interjected into our conversation.
"I guess I still need that proof then," I said, crestfallen. "I'll still ask you to send those reports back and... could you wait a bit while I finish off a letter?"
I was mostly caught up on Rukia's letter, I just had the events that had happened that day to report on to the both of them.
"You never said anything about being executed!" Isana exclaimed.
"It's not a problem,"Yoruichi said, still ignoring Isana. "I take it you're resting here before continuing on your way?"
"We sorta have to," I said, shrugging. "We're both about done in."
Isana had clearly had enough of being treated like furniture for she abruptly started up to her feet and gathered in her power, glowering at me. The fire in the fire-pit flared up with her temper.
"Down Renji!" Isana shoved a magic-command into my collar and I was jerked downward. My chin bit the ground and I glared up at her, snarling.
"Now that I have your attention," she said with a sharp and irritated smile. "You never said anything about them killing you when you said they'd arrest you."
I should have known I couldn't keep it from her forever, but I thought I'd have been able to keep it from her long enough. isana was surprisingly tough, and I'd learned she was protective as well... she might not be willing to just let me up and get myself killed on principle.
"There are some crimes in the Seireitei that are considered capitol," I informed her reluctantly. "Giving your power to a mortal is one of them. The last time that happened, she was trapped in her gigai while her spiritual powers recovered and that's how we found her. If I show up in a mortal body with no proof to back up any of my wild claims... given everything that's happened in the past year or so, it's most likely they'll assume the worst and lock me up. Plus there's the fact that I've been AWOL for weeks, they'll probably assume that I was just trying to avoid being arrested."
"You can"t go back then," Isana said firmly.
It looked like she'd already decided for me. I wasn't having any of that. It was bad enough that I was bound to serve and protect this woman by a spell, I wasn't going to let her dictate to me whether or not I took responsibilty for myself. No-one could take that away from me.
"One way or another, I'm going to," I replied bluntly.
And nothing was going to convince me otherwise.
"But what if they decide that you're making it up? You could be killed."
"I might be exonerated," I said hopefully.
If we weren't in the middle of a war and they weren't seeing traitors under thier beds, I might be exonerated. As it stood, the odds were not looking good for me.
"I... I won't let you go," Isana said firmly.
Oddly though, her voice was shaking. I looked over at her and frowned. What the heck was up with her? I was just her bodyguard, she seemed perfectly willing enough to let me risk my neck so she could get her son back, and I sorta admired her for that, but any decision beyond that point wasn't any of her concern.
"By the time it becomes an issue," I told her, a bit of steel in my voice. "It won't have anything to do with you."
"The hell it won't!" she yelled back at me.
It looked like she was getting worked up over it and I got an uneasy feeling about that. She looked really upset and I wasn't sure why. It made me nervous.
"I'm not just going to let you run off and hand yourself over to be killed, forget it!" she exclaimed, starting to her feet and pacing frantically in front of the fire.
It seemed that she was really working herself up about this.
"Look," I said, trying to calm her down a bit. "I'm still going to get your son back for you and get you back to the Mortal Realm, just like I promised. You have nothing to worry about."
"I wasn't worried about anything until you told me that if you go back you'll be killed!" she snapped at me. "And now you tell me that once you're done helping me out and I release you from the spell you're going to turn around and go be executed. Well, mister you can forget about it. I'm not going to let you. I'll keep that spell on you if that's what it takes but I won't let you go to die."
"That's not your decision to make, and you promised," I growled at her.
I was on my feet and across the fire, looming over her threateningly. My reiatsu was suddenly a thick cloud in the air and she leaned away, her eyes wide and a little frightened looking by the sudden intensity.
"I will hold you to that promise," I said, my voice low and menacing.
I'd let her get away with some things, but I wasn't about to let some mortal woman I barely knew dictate my life to me. I wasn't going to let her chain me in her front yard like some pet dog. And I definitely wouldn't let her keep me away from Rukia. If going back to the Soul Society and getting killed was the only way I could see Rukia again then so be it, that was what I would do. I wasn't going to tuck my tail and run away like a coward.
"Y-you can't make me," she said tremulously.
She was shaking a bit, possibly because she'd seen me in action and she knew I was dangerous. Each of her Guardian Spirits in her arsenal had been defeated by me before they'd sworn loyalty to her.
"I don't think you want to test that," I said, my voice low and steady.
Part of it was a bluff. She was so tiny, and she looked so much like Rukia, I knew deep down that i wouldn't be able to lay a finger on her... but i certainly wasn't above slinging her over my shoulder, taking her back to my superiors and letting them deal with the problem. If nothing else, I'd at least get this damned collar off my neck.
Bluff or not, neither of us was backing down. I topped her by a good foot and a half, so when I loomed over her threateningly, it had to be to good effect. To give her credit... she knew how dangerous I was. She'd seen me fight and she knew I could take her and her Guardian Spirits out in under a blink, but she stood her ground. She stared steadily back at me, not glaring but not giving up either. I flared out a bit more of my reiatsu, testing her resolve, and she flinched a bit but still didn't give in. I wasn't going to give in either, this was my life and my choice. It didn't matter whether or not she felt it was for my own good, I was not going to tamely let her lead me around by the nose.
"Okay children," Yoruichi's voice broke the impasse. "Am I going to have to separate you two?"
"You may have to hold me back," I growled.
"I'm not going to let you go get yourself killed over some stupid principle," Isana said. "I'll tie you up and throw you in the closet first."
Yoruichi chuckled and said
"To a guy like him, that wouldn't make any difference anyway, and what is it with you mortals and closets? Besides, it's not your place to decide these things. Renji has gone out of his way to honor his word to you, even though he gave it under duress, which, by Soul Reaper law makes it invalid... actually, Soul Reaper law states that he doesn't have any right to give his word to a mortal in the first place since interferring in mortal affairs is not part of a Soul Reapers job so technically, you've already compromised his integrity."
"He was mortal when he gave it," Isana countered swiftly.
Geeze, the woman was quick, she could find a possible loophole to exploit faster than any modern lawyer could. No wonder Kuchiki had been so quick to marry her, if anyone could help him tap-dance around all those rules it would be her.
"My point is that Renji has acted honorably, it reflects badly on you that you want to betray that trust by keeping him with you."
"I'll betray whatever trust I have to if it means saving his life," Isana said adamantly. "I don't care how badly it reflects on me, he's saved my life so many times, I'm not going to just let him run off to die."
"It's noble of you to be so concerned for him, but you can't run his life for him," Yoruichi pointed out logically. "Renji makes his own decisions, if you try to get in the way of that, most likely he'll treat you as an obstacle. Do you know what he does to obstacles?"
Isana nodded. She'd seen me smash, slice and barrel my way through enough of them that she knew exactly what I did to obstacles.
"Good, then lets have no more of this. Be content that he is willing to go along with you enough that he will rescue your son with you and take you back to your home safely. He's actually risking his career for you and your child, so at least try to act a little grateful."
Isana bowed her head a bit, I could sorta tell by the set of her shoulders that she was feeling anything but grateful right then and what she really wanted to say was "fuck you" but she bowed instead and said in a level controlled tone
"I apologize for my rudeness."
"Uh, yeah," I said a little stiffly.
I could smell the resentment coming off from her but I didn't really know what to do about it. I wasn't giving in so we were stuck that way.
"Good, now that that's settled..." Yoruichi finished off the last of the fish.
I pulled out my packet and added the latest onto my report to the captain. On the end I told him that even with Yoruichi volunteering to help out I still couldn't turn away from the opperation so if he had any orders for me, aside of 'return to base,' he should write them down and send them along.
My letter to Rukia was, as usual, a little more difficult. Part of me wanted to apologize to her for worrying her but at the same time it wasn't like I could help it, and I didn't think she'd be willing to accept it if I did apologize, so I told her that I was going to do my best to get the mess straightened out and come back to see her soon.
I improvised an amusing-looking set of kitty-saddlebags consisting of the two packets of mail and a long scarf around Yoruichi's kitty form and we flashed over to the nearest World Gate.
"Wait here for me and rest up with the woman," Yoruichi said. "I'll return by morning and we can be on our way tracking down that Shadow of yours."
"Thanks a lot for doing this for me Yoruichi," I said gratefully.
"You owe me," she replied easily.
She activated the Gate and scampered through it and then I headed back to camp.
"I'm going to bed," Isana said in a stiff little tone.
She still was not happy with me. That was fine for now, we'd settle this out later. For now, this mortal body of mine was about wiped out and I needed to rest.
"Good night then," was all I said.
I'd say cat fight, except in this case the cat stayed mostly out of it, except to finish it. I hope you all enjoyed and its nice to see some new readers dropping lines. Please reveiw and tell me what you think.