Summary: As the band makes their way through Rukongai, they cross a group of bloodthirsty cannibals

The Stag

Hisana's fingers tangled in Kaien's robes. With all her might, she pulled him back just in time. His body was responsive. His mind likely perceived the trap before his muscles could spring forward to stop his momentum. Immediately, Hisana whipped around, her wide eyes searching for Byakuya.

He was too far for her.

She reached out, straining to catch his silks. It was no use. He was beyond the grasp of her outstretched fingers.

No, it had to be Gin who was the closest to Byakuya, no one else.

Gin, however, stood. Calm and still, he stood with his hand just unfurling. "Too late," he said, turning to her. His smile—that hideous thing—stretched tautly across his lips—tautly like the string of a bow that pulls back a readied arrow. Hisana's eyes widened, and she quickly flung herself toward a nearby tree. Yes, just as they had passed, there was a body of solider strung up, his foot caught in a snare.

"Hisana?!" Kaien beckoned, confused.

She knew he would turn. She knew he would look down. And, she knew he would find Byakuya hanging by his leg in a trap. The trap was not particularly clever. It was not particularly well-constructed, but it would hold the young heir.

Hisana knew all of these things as she limped toward the tree.

She knew that Kaien would not make a move before thinking about which move to make. She knew that Byakuya, in his anger and humiliation, would be stunned for a moment. She knew that Gin would watch with an amused expression, knowing just what to do but refusing to do it.

She had to act quickly. Nimble fingers fumbled with the soldier's leather strap. The strap held the soldier's bow and quiver tightly against his body. "I am so sorry. Please forgive me," she whispered into the man's decaying face as she pulled back the buckle to release the weapon. Once loosened, she grabbed the bow and quiver of arrows, and she ran toward the small ledge.

"Forgive me, Lord Kuchiki," she called down to him.

He didn't respond with words; instead, she caught a flicker of movement, swinging movement. She had to be quick. The tattered silks of the rope would not hold him for long if he struggled, and, if she was a betting woman, she would wager a year's salary on there being spikes at the bottom of the pit. Deadly, poison-tipped spikes.

"Please, Lord Kuchiki, do not move." She tried her best to sound soothing, but she knew the stinging strain of her voice exposed her fear.

Her hands gripped the bow, feeling its weight. It was cheap, poorly constructed. Worse yet, she was sorely out of practice, not by will but by command. Archery was a forbidden art in Seireitei. It only survived in the depths of the districts, where anything that could kill a man was considered a prudent tool.

It was going to bend too far to the right. She knew it just by how poorly the weapon sighted. She was going to have to correct for its defective manufacture.

"Hisana." It was Kaien.

Words bubbled up, barely breaching the surface. She could only guess what those words be, and she did not have the patience to weather the inquisition that surely built in his throat. So, before he had the opportunity, she stopped him, cold. "No, Vice Captain Shiba." Her tone was quick and pointed.

Then, she drew back the arrow.

She had no delusions that she could hit her target, which was the binding that trapped Byakuya's foot. Instead of wasting an arrow that could tear the fragile silks, she aimed high for a branch approximately the same distance away. Her index finger helped her fix her strike, and, exhaling a deep breath, she let the arrow sing.

She missed. No surprise there, she observed with a rictus. Not that she hadn't hoped to hit the branch, but she took solace in the fact that she wasn't that far off.

"Vice Captain Shiba." She was going to need someone reliable for this task.

Immediately, Kaien took a step forward. "Yes."

"I am going to release Vice Captain Kuchiki from the trap. On a count of five, could you kindly catch him with a kido spell?"

He gave a small nod of his head.

She glimpsed his resolve out of the corner of her eye. "One." Her voice went quiet.

"You hear that, Byakuya!" Gin called down, heavy amusement threading through his words.

Byakuya did not see fit to return Gin's playful barb.

"Two." Her fingers gripped the wood tightly, so tightly that her fingertips went white.

Deep breaths, she told herself. Relax.

"She's gonna shoot you. Hope she doesn't miss!" Gin cupped his hands against the sides of his mouth to ensure his voice flowed directly to Byakuya.

"Three." Hisana inhaled a deep breath. The air rushed into her lungs, filling them so full that she could feel the burn of her muscles expanding in her chest.

Kaien gave another nod his head, his hands poised to release a net of energy. "I'm ready."

"Four."

"Isn't it exciting!" Gin continued, voice escalating.

Drawing back the arrow, she set her gaze on the silk binding.

"Five."

The moment her breathing went still, she pulled back the arrow. Adjusting for the imbalance, she let the arrow fly.

Perfect.

She exhaled a heavy breath, and she smiled.

Retrieving Byakuya, Kaien then turned to her. His face spoke volumes; it was a cross between bemused and relieved. "So, where did you get that skill, Hisana?" Slowly, his gaze crept to her, as if he was expecting a certain response.

"I used to hunt game."

That respond did not please Kaien Shiba. He raised a brow, and his lips twisted, as if he was preparing to expose her mendacity. "Ugh, huh." He bailed at the last minute.

For the time being, she pushed Kaien's skepticism aside, and she rushed to Byakuya's side. "Lord Kuchiki." A potent combination of horror and deflating pride bleached his skin a sickly shade of white. Sweat beaded across his brow, and he heaved a few tremulous breaths. "Are you well? Is there something I can fetch you?"

He shook his head.

Tenderly, she swept a hand across his forehead. He felt flushed with heat. "Are you certain?"

His eyes fixed her. He did not seem entirely displeased with the situation, nor did he appear wholly shocked. But, his breathing went ragged, and he gave a hearty cough.

"Here," she said. Her hand dove into her robes, fishing for a handkerchief. Gently, she wiped his lips, and, as she was prone to doing from her training at the Fourth, she examined the phlegm. It was clear, healthy.

Thank the gods, she sighed to herself before folding the silk square and handing it to him, just in case.

"Vice Captain."

Hisana jolted up upon realizing it was Kaien, and he was referring to her. "Yes?" She turned to find him staring down at her and donning a look of mortification.

"Your nose."

Reflexively, her hands shot up to her face. Indeed. How had she missed it? Feeling the slick skin of her nose and mouth, she removed her hand and saw red.

An overwhelming sense of wooziness set in as she began to consider the source of the sudden nosebleed. Before she could help herself, she saw stars flash before her eyes. Then, everything went dark.

"How is she?" Kaien's head bobbed up the instant Byakuya finished his watch over Hisana.

The hour was late. A deep nightfall blanketed the forest. Never had twilight been so dark. Every leaf, limb, and potential threat stirred in that inky blackness, and no one was particularly happy about it. Strange howls and cries reminded them that they were not alone, and they were not safe. If it wasn't the animals that kept them on edge, there was always the fact that someone had set all those traps. And, the traps, at least the ones they spotted, only grew with observation. Dead, carved up bodies were strewn throughout the forest. Whoever it was, he or she or they were cannibals.

Gin found it quaint. No one else did. It was a living nightmare.

And, to top it off, Hisana was in the midst of a coma.

They had tried their best to drag her unconscious body through the forest. Byakuya was particularly keen on taking care of her, but they all had their turns. Even Gin.

Exhaustion, however, eventually sank them. Within a few hours, they had to submit to the yearnings of their weary bodies. Even Byakuya.

"She hardly moves."

Kaien pushed his back fast against the trunk of the tree, and he tried his damnedest to repress the sigh growing in his chest. He did it for Byakuya because, holy hell, the kid looked like he was mentally collapsing under the weight of Hisana's impending demise.

He thought he was taking the death of a fellow Vice Captain and friend hard. Well, not as hard as Byakuya, apparently. Byakuya wore the veil of misery to perfection. Poets would've had a field day, penning verses in his honor.

Kaien didn't think the kid had it in him, not after centuries of enduring Byakuya's particular brand of hubris. But, even at his most censorious, Kaien would've never wished this on the kid. It was painful to watch.

"Did you give her the medicines?" A digression was what they needed. Kaien was going to forget Byakuya's reply for the time being.

Byakuya closed his eyes, nodding.

Kaien went still. Normally, he would've teased his childhood frenemy. But, there was no use. It was clear Byakuya had it bad for Hisana. It was clear from the subtle cracking in his visage. Even his reiatsu had grown melancholy. Because, Byakuya. He never did anything the easy, normal way. He was just the type of idiot that would carry a torch for a woman for, likely, years, and then go off and decide to become romantic right as she was handed a death sentence.

Dammit, Byakuya. You fool.

Kaien shook his head, tossing his chastising thoughts away. "We're gonna make it."

Kaien leaned his head back against the coarse bark. It sounded good, reassuring. They were going to make it. He had weathered plenty worse.

Feeling the chill of Byakuya's movements, Kaien peeped through a half-squinted eye. "Hey! Where're you going?"

Byakuya halted, mid-step. The long broad strokes of his back went still. His shoulders shifted slightly as if he was going to answer, but the reply never came.

Kaien gave a light snort. "Gin is more than capable."

Byakuya's silence proved deafening.

Only Byakuya could stifle you with silence. Such an ass.

The young noble, not heeding the glare that Kaien leveled his way, returned to the fireside. Gin was more than happy to take his leave and return to the Land of Nod. Not that Byakuya was expecting an argument from Gin; although, he was certain Gin had said something unctuous before returning to the pine.

Byakuya, however, was of no mind to hear it. His misery squelched whatever remnants lingered on that balmy breezy, and he took Hisana's cold, lifeless hand in his own. Pain crested over him. Its effect was brutal and complete. He felt as if he was drowning. He felt weak. He did not possess the resolve to swim against its currents any longer.

"Hisana." Her name felt so light on his tongue. It felt right, as if he could say it over and over and never grow bored with its sound or texture.

He said her name every way his heart knew how. Pleadingly. Earnestly. Sternly. It didn't matter. The spell was too deep. It would not break.

But, he refused to leave her side. No. He remained, seated in seiza on her blanket. His hands gloved her own, and he drifted into fitful slumber.

When the dawn lit the sky, he roused. The sunbeams, few but mighty, pried his tired eyes open, and, fleetingly, his gaze went to her. He prepared himself for the cold sting of sorrow at her state.

"Lord Byakuya." Her voice cracked under the strain of speaking, but she was there. With him. Her gaze might have been glassy, and her skin was deathly pale, but she was present.

"Hisana." Afraid that she might slip away, he grasped her hand tighter.

A wisp of a smile thinned her lips. "I'm so happy it was you."

His heart sank. Those words were not the product of a clear mind. Hisana was many things to many people, but she was not so free with her feelings. Something was wrong.

"We are almost there." It was an unconvincing lie.

They were, in fact, nowhere close to there. They were in the middle of the forest, with many more districts ahead of them.

Her weary smile lengthened at his obvious mendacity. "My strength," she began, forcing her weak voice up her throat, "it returns."

He wanted to frown at that. They had come full circle with their lies. "Of course."

"Rest with me, Lord Byakuya."

His lips parted at her offer. With a single command, his whole body flashed hot and cold. His muscles smarted under the temptation, begging for his submission. But, he couldn't.

"Please." Her eyelids fluttered closed, but, with great effort, she forced them back.

"Rest." It was a painful conclusion, but he softened his refusal with a caressing touch against her brow. With as much gentleness as he could muster, he tucked a stray tress behind her ear, and he pressed his lips against her head.

Her eyes rolled back, going white before closing.

"Hisana?"

The breeze died in the air, and the world around him became still and stale. Panicked, his mind began processing every little thing. His body knew, even when his wits fled.

Her body spasmed under his touch. It began as a quiet flickering of muscles, but, steadily, it grew into convulsions. A violent fit seized her. Her limbs became rigid, as if her body was tearing her apart from the inside out.

"Hisana!" He rolled her onto her side, and that was when he realized his mistake. The power bracer he had placed at the top of her arm days ago remained, untouched.

"Hisana!" Quickly, he snapped the hinges back and removed the restrainer from her body.

Her body ceased. Her limbs, once tensed, relaxed; their suppleness returned fiber by painful fiber. It took two minutes for her to regain consciousness. The glassiness of her gaze remained, but there was a glint in her eyes that had not been there before.

"Lord Byakuya."

His heart crashed to a simpering thud at the sound of his name. "Hisana."

Absently, her thumb traced the outline of his knuckle, and a kind smile bent her lips. "I'm glad it was you."

For three days, the band roamed the forest, danger ever present at their backs. For three days, they traversed the uneven terrain, avoiding traps that only grew with each passing step. For three days, they survived on their water reserves and berries.

"We're lost," Kaien announced under his breath.

Hisana turned to Byakuya. It was unconscious, but her little finger curled loosely around his thumb. The touch was light, almost imperceptible, but he relished the sudden intimacy that sparked from those hands.

"I don't believe we are," Hisana stated, assuaging Kaien's tattered thoughts.

"I'm pretty sure we saw that bush a few hours ago."

He was tired, she reminded herself. They were all tired, and hungry, and thirsty. "I have an idea."

In seeming unison, the men turned to her, full stop, and waited to hear this idea of hers.

Taking their silence as consent, Hisana fetched the bow and quiver of arrows that had become permanent residents among her things. "Food."

"No." Byakuya's response was instant as was Kaien's.

Gin took a tiny step toward Hisana. "Sounds perfect."

"I like how you think, Vice Captain Ichimaru." She shot both of the nobles a teasing glare. "You men keep watch. Gin and I will go hunting."

It was the best idea she could come up with. Both she and Gin had toughed it out in Rukongai as youths. They had honed survival skills that did not demand sword or spell.

"Got your sling?" She cocked her head to the side and her gaze fell to his left hand. It was answer enough.

Finding a very high tree, Hisana stopped. "I will scout, see if I can find any worthwhile game."

Gin stared at her. Smile on, eyes pressed closed. "Don't slip and fall to your death." He spoke the words in such a way that made her doubt his sincerity. In fact, it sounded more like a wish.

"Your concern is appreciated," she stated, deadpan.

Swiftly, she looped her arm through the bow, and she climbed, careful not to slip to her death. It was all muscle memory. She remembered the feeling of dried bark against her palms and the way her feet were supposed to fit into the corners of the branches. It felt good, familiar. She felt like she was home, embraced in nature's perilous grasp.

Once she was high enough, she ceased her ascent and balanced, arms wrapped around two sturdy limbs, to view the forest floor. A few seconds of quiet watching and waiting passed, and, then, as if by miracle, she saw it. A darting movement pulled her gaze a few meters to the right.

A smile broke across her face, crinkling her eyes. Yes, the telltale white flicker of a deer's tail stayed her attention. Never had she been so excited to see a living food source. Without hesitation, she began plotting her attack.

She would need to descend from her current place on high, and she would need to be silent. Agilely, she dropped to a more level position, and she reached for her bow and arrows. It wouldn't work, she told herself. The range on the poorly made weapon would only serve to alert the animal, and there was no way she could outrun it. Not in her present condition. She would have to track it. On foot.

Quickly, she landed on the forest floor, and she paused, searching for her companion. Gin, however, was nowhere to be found. How typical. She should've guessed.

I've done it on my own before.

"Why is she so difficult?"

Byakuya's gaze trailed to Kaien. It wasn't intentional. It was an unconscious fleeting glimpse.

Kaien was on verse two of his harangue.

"She was in a coma only three days ago, and, now, she's hunting?" Kaien appeared incensed. "Tell me, Byakuya, does Hisana look like the type of woman who hunts?"

"She mentioned it once before." Sometimes, Kaien made it too easy to antagonize him.

Kaien rolled his neck and breathed a heavy sigh into the air. "And, what are we supposed to be doing?"

"Keeping watch." Byakuya got the distinct impression that Kaien did not like watching. He didn't either.

Kaien's eyes hardened, but, before he could summon verse three of his diatribe, a loud snapping cry rang out across the forest. Immediately, the two sprang into action. "What was that?" Kaien asked, proceeding with some caution.

Byakuya shook his head. It was better to continue in silence. Judging by the noise, whatever was behind the commotion lurked nearby.

Kaien gave a small whistle, and Byakuya responded, knowingly. Memories of childhood games tugged at the threads of his awareness—games the three highborn children used to play. He remembered what the whistle meant. It meant Kaien was taking point, and Byakuya was to flank.

He hated flanking. He preferred a direct approach, much like Kaien. But, Byakuya was the youngest of the three noble children, and being the youngest meant being stuck with the flank position.

"Hello?" Kaien called into the forest. "Anyone there?"

Not quite what Byakuya would've done. He liked direct, but he also liked strategy. Kaien, however, was too high-minded, too worried that whatever lingered in the forest was an innocent.

Innocents, however, did not live in those forests, Byakuya thought to himself. At least, not for long.

"Got you!" The voice was creaky and unfamiliar.

Kaien wheeled around to the sound. Shock marred his expression, but he was too late on the draw. He clasped the hilt of his sword with a white-knuckled grip, but it was sheathed. Indeed, he had been too slow, and, now, his gaze was following the length of the stranger's steal.

Byakuya, however, was quicker. He pulled his sword, and, with a dead-eyed stare, he pressed the tip of his blade to the leathery-faced man's neck. "Drop your weapon."

The stranger's weathered countenance creased with amusement, and he gave a sharp whistle.

Before Byakuya could react, they were surrounded. At least ten other able-bodied men, draped in leafy garments, neared with weapons drawn and with hungry looks lodged in their eyes.

So, these were the trappers.

Hisana waited. Patiently, her gaze was steady and quiet. Perhaps there was a benefit to the bracer—she could hunt undetected by her prey. How refreshing.

Stringing her arrow, her fingers tensed, her breathing went still, and her mind narrowly focused on one hope and one hope alone: Kill that damn deer.

Just a little more to the right. Just a little closer.

Poised for the kill, Hisana drew her bow back. Every muscle went stock-still as she waited for the opportunity to present itself. She could do this. She had done it many times before, but, now, at least she had men to help her drag the carrion back to the fireside.

Just as she was about to let her arrow go, she couldn't. Her mind stayed her hand before it could release its tension. Babies. Yes, the doe she had tracked had babies. Three little heads lifted once their mother stepped forward, right into Hisana's line of sight.

Damn it!

Hisana was never one for moral dilemmas. If she didn't take the shot, and quickly, she would risk her companion's lives. If she did take the shot, then there would be four deaths instead of one.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Hisana released her grip, and her arrow sailed through the air. Just as it had done all those years ago, it found its target, downing the doe.

Perhaps she was cold, unfeeling. Perhaps life's torment had skewed her moral compass, but she took the shot, and the babies scattered on their wobbly thin legs. Hisana felt slightly empty upon viewing her prize, but she approached it, drawing a small blade that she kept hidden in her garb. The deer was still alive. Its breathing was ragged, and its glossy black eyes spoke of its pain and anguish.

Hisana extinguished what little flame remained in that poor creature with her knife. "Peace," she murmured and bowed her head.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Before the words fully pierced the air, Hisana had her bow ready and loaded. A shadow fell over her, veiling her face and eyes. She could barely see the intruder, with his back to the waning afternoon sun. The shadows had him in their clutches.

"You've got spirit, girl." He did not seem the least bit perturbed by her weapon. "And you can hunt." Bending at the knee, he kneeled close to her. "Tell me, what's your name?"

She responded by letting her arrow go. She knew the type—trappers. By the look of it, they ate their captors so there was no use in negotiation. Once his body hit the ground, she turned on her heel and released two more arrows, each finding their target with ease.

"Who are you?" Hisana commanded, keeping her arrow trained on the last bandit.

The man just stared, stupidly in her direction.

"Tell me, boy, who are you?"

"You killed it," he murmured, seemingly distraught.

"I will kill you if you don't give me an answer."

"You killed the stag's wife."

Byakuya kept his mouth shut. He could hardly believe it. Trapped again in a snare. It was the second time that week. How dreadful.

Kaien seemed no better about it. At least Hisana and Gin were not on the menu tonight. He could take solace in that.

"So, do we have a plan?" Kaien asked, glancing over at Byakuya.

Byakuya did not say a word. He had analyzed the enemy's movements, finding them too random to predict. Then, he moved onto considering what items they could use to enact an escape. Unsurprisingly, the trappers did not leave any weapons nearby. And, with no clue how close or how far Hisana was, using the demon arts was out of the question. The last time Kaien used even the simplest of spells, she fell into a coma, and, right then, they could not afford a downed member of their team.

"Not yet." He was honest.

Kaien grimaced. "Me neither."

They weren't going to be eaten, Byakuya vowed to himself. His constitution would not allow it. How barbaric. Being the food of peasants only added to the insult.

Feeling the strain of his muscles being pulled beyond their limits, Byakuya raised his head and adjusted his weight against his tethers. Just as he did so, he caught a glimpse of a row. It was hard to tell one row from the next. The trappers were a loud bellicose group. Rows seemed the only manner in which they could communicate.

But, this row was different.

"Hisana," he whispered to Kaien.

On cue, both men tried to swing their weight against the net that held them so they could get a better view. Indeed, it was Hisana. She was not bound or bruised, and she appeared to be walking under her own volition.

"What is happening?" Kaien asked, struggling to crane his neck to get more than the glimpse his position allowed.

"She is conversing with the fiends."

"Is she okay?"

Byakuya scrutinized her manner before responding. "Yes. She appears intact."

"She's not wrapped up in ties."

"No." Quietly, he willed her to look. He needed just one fleeting glance. "Hisana," he said to himself, and, as if his command had reached her, she lifted her head, her eyes panned the camp, and she found him.

Without hesitation, she took off toward them, but she was stopped with some ado from the watchers. He couldn't hear her words, but he knew they were heated and terse from the expression on her face. When she finally obtained passage, she drew her knife and cut their ropes.

With the weight of the nets gone, the men came crashing to the ground and sprawled out in a heap. "Get up," she commanded, eyes searching the area nervously.

"What is it? And why aren't you bound and gagged?" Kaien seemed a little miffed at the last part.

"They are apparently low on women," she said, pushing them to the perimeter of the camp.

"What does that mean?"

"They want me to marry the chieftain."

Kaien and Byakuya did not know how to respond to that revelation. "Come again?"

She shook her head. "Go. Go. I've managed to secure your safety."

"Whoa, Hisana, you're not gonna marry that guy," Kaien began, voice rushing over her in a tangled web of consonants and vowels.

She fixed Kaien with a disbelieving glare. "No, Vice Captain Shiba, I am not going to marry the chieftain. Trust me. Go. Wait for me near our camp. I will return."

Before they could protest, she shoved them into the encroaching forest and shot them a warning look.

Kaien was not about to obey her commanding stare, but Byakuya caught him before he waltzed back into the fray. "Trust her."

"Trust her?" Kaien looked appalled that Byakuya dared to suggest such a thing. "We're supposed to protect her."

"She doesn't need our protection at the moment. Trust her, Shiba."

Kaien turned to Byakuya, eyes betraying his lack of understanding.

"She is clever. She knows what she is doing. Better than we do." With that, Byakuya turned on his heel and continued into the brush.

Rubbing his head, Kaien's gaze flickered to the camp.

Byakuya was right.

He always hated it when Byakuya was right. At least it was a rare enough event. He sighed and followed after the young noble.

Heavy, tense silence fell between the two men as they waited with baited breath for her return. Minutes slipped into hours. Day slipped into night. Kaien was becoming increasingly agitated. He went from bracing his shoulder against the bole of a tree, to pacing, then back again.

Byakuya would deny it if asked, but he felt similarly. Perhaps he had been too generous. Hisana was exceptionally clever, and she knew Rukongai and its perils better than either Kaien or he did. She and Gin….

"Where is Ichimaru?" Byakuya turned to Kaien, eyes wide.

Kaien cocked a brow and jerked his chin to the left. "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear."

There Gin was. His smile was wider than ever, and he seemed more pleased with himself than usual. "I found a deer."

Kaien rocked back on his heels, pivoting to the balls of his feet. "What?"

Gin dragged the carcass behind him on a hastily fashioned wooden sled. He pulled the sled with some spare rope he had found among Hisana's things. "It looks delicious."

Kaien turned to Byakuya and then back to Gin. "You mean to tell us that you…did…that?" Color him impressed.

"Don't let Gin take all the credit." It was Hisana's quiet feminine voice. She appeared bone-tired and pale. Whatever she did had spent her, every last drop of her.

"I found it," Gin said in his lilting voice.

"You hauled it."

"So, do we have the pleasure of calling you Mrs. Chieftain?" Kaien teasing, his voice soaked with irony.

Hisana met Kaien's question with a glare. "We should be able to pass through the area unimpeded. I've struck a peaceful accord." Her fingers curled into her robes, and she plucked a discolored, wrinkled parchment. With a snap, the parchment unfurled, revealing a map.

"Allegedly, all of the traps have been plotted." Hisana did not attempt to hide her skepticism, but she shared her booty all the same. "But, first," she said, handing the map to Kaien, "we eat."

"How did you manage this?" Kaien appeared utterly astounded.

Hisana sighed, rubbed the back of her neck, and shook her head. "You don't want to know."

"She killed the stag!" Gin blurted out, far too amused to keep the news to himself.

Byakuya's gaze flitted between his three companions. He could not help but wonder whether Gin was being literal or if he was speaking in euphemism. It was probably the former. He hoped.

Author's Note: It's been so long! So sorry about that. I wrote a majority of the end of the story, and, now, I just need to find the motivation to get from here to there. As always, thanks so much for reading! It means the world.