Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach
Chapter 21
Bait
Three nights had past since Sayomi had been taken to Soul Society and still she slept, giving no sign of ever waking. Ichigo and Uryu had arrived shortly after Sayomi had been placed in her cell, they were spending most of their time with their friend and the rest at the Kuchiki manor with Rukia, much to Byakuya's annoyance. The noble didn't have much time to spare for his uninvited visitors though, he was too caught up in the reports that were coming and going concerning Sayomi's capture and the circumstances surrounding it.
It was a cool and quiet night, the moon was just a small sliver of white in the sky and the stars shined brightly in the velvety blackness above. There was a soft wind sighing through the streets and walkways of the Sixth Division as Byakuya stepped out of his office, his black hair getting caught up in the wind and blowing out behind him. Adjusting his scarf, the man took a single step and disappeared.
"You come here almost every night, Captain Kuchiki, but you never say anything to her. Why is that?" Captain Unohana asked quietly as she stepped up beside her fellow captain, her tiny hands clasped in front of her as the two gazed through the bars of the cell that housed Sayomi's unconscious body.
"I have nothing to say to her."
"Then I wonder why you go through the trouble of looking in on her," Unohana replied with a small, knowing smile before nodding to a guard that stood off to the side who bustled forward to unlock the cell door for the healer.
Byakuya remained silent as he watched the gentle woman take a seat beside Sayomi and lay a small hand on the sleeping woman's brow. There was a small twitch of Sayomi's hands and a small groan that made Unohana withdraw her hand and stand up to get a better look at the woman on the bed.
"Sayomi, can you hear me?" Unohana asked softly.
Sayomi's eyes squeezed shut even tighter than they already were and her hands fisted around the blankets that covered her. Another groan leaked from her lips and she tossed her head to the side, away from Unohana.
Looking over her shoulder, Unohana spoke to the man who had yet to leave. "Maybe you should say something, Captain Kuchiki. You two were close once, maybe she'll wake for you."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but as I said; I have nothing to say," Byakuya replied evenly.
There was a soft whimper from Sayomi as she writhed in the bed she was laid out upon. It was a moment after she had begun writhing that a single tear slipped from beneath her closed eyelids. This didn't escape Byakuya's notice, but he pretended not to have seen it and turned away from the two women in the cell and left.
Captain Unohana sighed as he left, he wasn't as unreadable as he thought he was. He was worried about what would happen to the woman he had once loved and in truth, so was she. She agreed with Ukitake that it just didn't seem fair for her to be persecuted for something she had no control over, but it wasn't her place to question the orders of those above her.
Sayomi didn't wake that night, but she was more active than she had been. She tossed and turned all night, whimpering or crying out every so often. Her forehead was covered in a thin film of sweat, a reaction from the bad dreams and visions that were plaguing her. Unohana sat with her all night, patting her forehead with a cool cloth and talking soothingly to her in an attempt to try and get the girl to wake, but to no avail.
There was a vague awareness, a sort of odd sensation of distant sounds and voices that made some part of her ache. A part of her that was slowly creeping up on her. She had been trying to ignore the slowly returning awareness, the voices, the feelings and emotions they stirred up inside of her. She had to focus on other things, she couldn't afford to let herself get distracted. It could mean her death and she wasn't ready to die yet, not here, not because of the monster that was restlessly pacing in front of her, snarling and growling in frustration as she kept her dark eyes locked on her prey. On Sayomi.
Those eyes were empty. Hollow and yet somehow filled with a palpable rage that made Sayomi shiver. This was the part of herself that she hadn't been able to forget for nearly a century, the part of her that had been born because of Aizen's meddling. It should never have been brought to life, but it had and now she had deal with consequences of what it meant to have a hungry beast that wanted to devour her soul inside of her.
There had been several presences that had come and gone while she sat and watched the inhuman woman pace in agitation. Some had been warm, full of hope and life, and some had been cold, closed off and another that had been chill and distant, yet oddly sad and worried. It was this presence that bothered her the most. She wanted it to go away, to leave her alone and to stop making her feel so immensely lost and alone. It was unlikely that's what the person wanted, but she couldn't help but to feel a pang of sorrow anytime they were near her. It was distracting and she didn't like it, she didn't need to be feeling sorry for herself, she needed to be feeling strong and immovable.
Time had meant nothing to her in the darkness, minutes, hours, months, even years could have passed, but she had no idea and no way of knowing. All she knew was that sometime ago the feeling of being drained of all her energy had stopped. She felt more stable, more like herself, but something was still wrong. She didn't feel as if she was getting any stronger, just as if she were becoming lighter and more alert, more alive.
As time passed the feeling only grew and she began to sense other things in the darkness, not harmful, evil things though. Over time she realized what she was sensing wasn't several things, it was one thing, one being. She closed her eyes, a soft smile on her lips as a chill breeze kissed her cheeks and played with her hair.
"Fuyukaze, it's nice to see you." She opened her eyes and looked up to smile at the beautiful man that now stood in front of her.
The man's blue tinged lips lifted lightly, his swirling gray blue eyes softening. "You didn't think I'd just leave you, did you, silly child? You'd be lost without me."
She knew he was teasing her and she shook her head with a quiet chuckle. "Of course I would, Fuyu."
Glancing over his shoulder, long white hair falling into his face, Fuyukaze frowned. It was an unrelentingly bitter and cold look that was out of place on him and made Sayomi shiver again. The movement caught his attention and her turned back to Sayomi, eyes concerned and thoughtful. "You can't fight her now."
"...I know," she answered, neutrally, evenly.
"Then what do we do, Sayomi?"
She glanced up at him, curious. "You don't often forget to add a hime or sama, or little, Fuyukaze... Worried, are we?"
A playful scowl flickered across his face, but faded into a casual, aloof and somewhat arrogant smirk. "What is there to be worried about, Sayomi-sama? You have a knack for getting out of even the most dire situations. Must be that annoying stubbornness of yours." He poked her in the forehead, smiling innocently when she smacked his hand away with a glare and muttered insult. "So shall we?"
Her blue eyes fell on the pale hand that was being held out to her, she followed the arm to the shoulder and then met Fuyukaze's eyes. There was a sparkle like a winter frost in those eyes, she chuckled and gave a nod. "Sure, why not?" Taking his hand, she let herself be hefted to her feet.
Both Uryu and Ichigo showed up not long after the sun had risen over the Seireitei. Soul Reapers were busy rushing to and fro in order to get their day's work started as the two made their way to the white washed building that Sayomi was being held in. There were masked guards everywhere and both boys knew that it was likely there were several more hidden throughout the area to watch over the former Soul Reaper that was being locked in the building they had just entered.
"Good morning, Captain Unohana," Uryu greeted politely as he and Ichigo approached the cell Sayomi was in.
"Oh, good morning," the woman replied, turning to smile kindly at them. "I'm glad you two are here."
"Is she alright?" Ichigo asked quickly.
"She's fine, but she's been tossing and turning all night. I believe she's trying to wake up, but she needs a little help from someone she knows. Perhaps the two of you would sit and talk with her? I have some things I need to attend to."
"We'll stay with her," Uryu replied.
"Good, I'll let the guards know and have Isane check on you soon," Unohana said, standing from the chair she had been in all night. "She seems to be having some bad dreams and that's nothing to worry about, but if she wakes up or begins to get feverish tell the guards immediately."
"Will do," Ichigo nodded, entering the cell with Uryu as Unohana was let out. He frowned when they were locked in, but he hadn't expected them to just leave the door open either.
Uryu took the seat beside Sayomi while Ichigo sat down on the ground, crossing his legs and leaning into the cold stone wall.
"So...what are we supposed to talk about? It's not like we have any good things to tell her," Ichigo said, propping his chin up with the palm of his hand.
"Except we do. Her brother, remember?"
"Yeah, but I don't think that's a good idea. We were told not to tell her about that," Ichigo replied.
"Since when do I take orders from Soul Reapers?" Uryu sniffed haughtily.
"Whatever, but it's probably best we don't tell her anyways. Everyone else here is going to let her think he's dead. It would make us look like liars if we said otherwise."
"You're forgetting that she actually trusts us."
"No she doesn't," Ichigo shot back. "If she trusted us she wouldn't have gone off to Hueco Muendo all on her own and she would have told us what was going on. Orihime even said she thinks we all hate her, she's not going to believe us."
"She may not believe you, but she'd believe me," Uryu retorted.
"Yeah, whatever," the orange haired teen sighed.
There was a small sound from the girl on the bed and both boys whipped their heads towards her. Her brows had drawn together and beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, her hands were clenching while her lips moved almost imperceptibly.
"Sayomi?" Uryu asked quietly.
There was no answer except for a flicker of movement behind her closed eyelids.
"Sayomi, can you hear me?" Uryu continued.
"Wake up, dumbass," Ichigo urged, prodding at Sayomi's shoulder. "We're all waiting for you so hurry up. That thing in there is no match for you, right? You beat me for crying out loud and I was damn near completely hollowified."
"Shut.. up," Sayomi grumbled quietly, her lips pulling into a frown.
Uryu and Ichigo exchanged looks of surprise. Had Ichigo's taunts really gotten to her? Was she really still trying to win against the creature in her mind that Urahara had told them about? Was she losing? Was that why she couldn't wake up?
"You can win, Sayomi," Ichigo said strongly, surely. "Now stop taking your time and wake the hell up."
Her pale lips moved again, but there was no sound this time.
"Can you hear me, Sayomi? Can you open your eyes?" Uryu prodded gently.
Her face twitched, her lips pulling into what looked like a frown before she relaxed and her blue eyes fluttered open as she sucked in a large gulp of air. She blinked several times to clear the fog that had settled over her though her thoughts remained muddled and confused. She could hear two people talking, but their voices were distant, like they weren't even in the same room. Struggling to pull herself out of the darkness that had been her world for several days, Sayomi let her eyes focus on the blurry image in front of her. When her vision cleared enough for her to make out that there was someone looming extremely close to her face her eyes widened in surprise and she tried to scoot away, but ended up smashing her head into the person's nose instead. There was a shout of pain followed by a string of curses and a sigh that sounded very familiar to her.
Looking around again now that her vision was a bit clearer, Sayomi was extremely confused to find herself in a sort of cell with two people who looked very familiar.
"Uryu? Ichigo?" She questioned shakily.
"You're awake," Uryu said with a smile.
"About damn time," Ichigo grumbled, rubbing at his nose with a sour look on his face.
She tried to push herself up, but couldn't find the strength to get herself more than a few inches from her pillow before she collapsed again. With a groan she attempted to raise a hand to her forehead to wipe away the sweat she could feel there, but she froze, her eyes staring at her wrist with a mix of uncertainty and realization. There was a red band strapped to each of her wrists and it didn't take her long to figure out their purpose, she felt her throat then and wasn't surprised to feel that there was also a thin band there as well.
"Sayomi."
Gasping, she turned to stare wide eyed at Uryu, trying to speak, but only able to move her mouth and not form any words as she took in the cell she was in more fully. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in and tried to summon even the smallest amount of spiritual energy, but failed. She almost panicked, it had been a very long time since she had been without some way to defend herself and not being able to feel any of her spirit energy was quite disconcerting.
'Fuyukaze,' she whispered into the recesses of her mind.
'I'm still here, little hime, now just calm down,' the familiar airy and masculine voice assured her.
Sayomi breathed out in a rush, relief flooding her at the sound of her most trusted friend's voice. 'We're home again, aren't we?'
'Yes, little one, we're home again.'
"Ichigo, tell the guard to get Unohana," Uryu said worriedly when Sayomi wouldn't respond to his repeated tries to get her attention.
"So," Sayomi said when she reopened her eyes, startling both Uryu and Ichigo with the sound of her voice. She no longer sounded weak and shaky, but she did sound completely blank as she sat up with a small wince. "When am I scheduled to die?"
All the two in the cell with her could do was blink at her, they didn't know how to reply to the abrupt question or the way she suddenly seemed completely different from the person they knew. She was too closed off and cold in the way she sat there watching them with no emotion at all. Before Uryu could even try to say that they had no intention of letting her die, they were interrupted by Captain Unohana who had been summoned to the cell by the guards as well as the First Division's lieutenant, Sasakibe.
"I'm glad to see that you're finally awake, dear, how do you feel?" Unohana asked, gently brushing past Ichigo and Uryu.
Sayomi stared at the woman evenly, but refused to answer her question as she looked over at Sasakibe who was watching her closely, studying her.
"I don't understand something.. Byakuya was in the living world when I arrived, wasn't he? I was already half dead, why is it that I'm still alive if his orders were to kill me?" Sayomi asked, ignoring the question she had been asked.
"His orders were not to kill you," Sasakibe answered her seriously.
"Really? Why is that?" Sayomi asked in mock confusion, her lips twisting into a small scowl.
"You're more useful alive," the man replied.
"And what makes you think I'll want to be of use to you when you plan on killing me regardless of whether or not I'm useful?" Sayomi countered challengingly.
"What makes you think you have a choice?" Another voice answered coolly.
Sayomi took in a small breath before letting her blue eyes drift to the figure of the man that had just walked up to the bars of her cell.
"Hello, Byakuya," she said stiffly after a short silence, her blue eyes meeting his stony gaze coldly.
"Sayomi," the man replied, inclining his head to her slightly in a mocking gesture of respect.
Gritting her teeth, she turned her head away and refused to acknowledge anyone else. Choosing instead to block them out and focus on the dull gray stone walls of her prison. She knew what it meant for her to be back in Soul Society and she knew that she likely wouldn't live much longer and part of her honestly didn't care anymore. Her eyes stared at the walls that she knew were reinforced with Seki Seki stone, she could feel the shackles and the choker on her throat and the effect they were having on her already weakened spirit energy. It had been such a long time since she had been in her true form as nothing more than a soul that she was weak and felt strange, her usually extremely sensitive senses were practically useless and it made her uncomfortable.
"Inform Captain Yamamoto that she is awake, she'll likely need to be moved to a more suitable location," Sasakibe told one of the masked guards.
Sayomi scowled, she knew what he meant by more suitable. Somewhere where even the smallest amount of spirit energy she could still feel would be useless, somewhere that would render her completely and utterly helpless.
"That won't be necessary," a gravelly and aged voice said from behind the gray haired man.
The new arrival drew Sayomi's attention away from the wall, her blue eyes searched for the source of the voice, her head rising and her shoulders squaring almost instinctively. She saw the bearded and wrinkled old man walk forward with the help of his knobby wooden staff and take up a spot between Sasakibe and Byakuya, his hooded eyes firmly planted on Sayomi's still body.
"The charges against you are quite serious, Sayomi Himura. Treason and desertion, among other things," the old man said evenly.
"Captain Yamamoto, do you not mean to move her from this cell?" Sasakibe asked.
"I believe that she'll behave and do as she's told. Won't you, former squad Ten captain and heiress to the Himura lands and fortune, Sayomi Himura?"
Sayomi's hands clenched in her lap, but she took a deep breath and respectfully lowered her eyes and dropped her head. "Yes, Head Captain Yamamoto."
"Sayomi..."
She looked up at Uryu and smiled forlornly before lowering her gaze back to the floor.
"I remember her being quite dedicated to her mother and father, I don't believe she'd like to disgrace them or their name further," the Head Captain said firmly.
Her her lips pursed and her teeth ground together at the mention of her adoptive parents and the rather callous remark, but Sayomi said nothing as tears pricked at her blue eyes and she stubbornly refused to let the hurt that remark had caused her show.
"Summon all of the captains and their lieutenants. It's time Ms. Himura was reintroduced to them." Yamamoto turned stiffly away from them all and took his leave.
Sayomi walked with her head held high and with as much of a noble air as she could manage despite the fact that her hands were bound together behind her back. A band of yellow light connected the red bands on her wrists together and four more of the same yellow rope like objects sprouted from the red band around her neck. The end of each rope was held by a man in white robes with their faces covered as they walked around her. They were walking to the great hall in the Court of Pure Souls where all of the captains and lieutenants were now gathered.
It was meant to be a walk of shame in which she was paraded in front of the people whom she had once been allied with, people who cared about her, but now thought of her as nothing but a traitor. She was in nothing more than a flimsy white robe and obi and her feet were bare. The only embellishment was her bracelet that no one had apparently thought to take and that she had no intention of parting with.
She took a small breath as they approached the large set of gleaming white doors that led in to the hall and held herself just a little taller as they began to swing open. The room was long with a sort of platform at the far end that the old head captain stood upon, bent over his wooden staff that he was never without. The long walkway between the door was lined on either side with the captains and lieutenants of the Gotei 13. Sayomi didn't fail to notice that three captains were missing, their spaces yet to be filled so only their lieutenants stood in the spot where their captains should have stood.
One of the solitary lieutenants caught her eye, a young man with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had several tattoos on his face. It was the tattoo on his left cheek that drew her attention, a large number 69. It struck her as odd and reminded her of the 69 on Kensei's abdomen, she knew his reasons for getting the number tattooed on his body, but she wondered why the young man would have the same number tattooed on his cheek. It seemed like an odd coincidence.
Several of the people in the room she recognized. Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku for instance, both of whom she managed weak smiles for, chuckling to herself when Kyoraku winked at her and tipped his straw hat at her. This earned him a sideways glance from his lieutenant, who she couldn't help but feel was familiar to her also. She saw Matsumoto who was watching her sadly and the young man that stood with her, part of Sayomi didn't even think the boy could be called a young man, he didn't look to be over fifteen. She blinked at him, realizing that if Matsumoto was beside him he had to be the captain of the Tenth Division. She remembered seeing him in Karakura town when she had gone the first time to see Urahara under Aizen's orders and she remembered noting that he was in fact a captain, but it hadn't fully registered at the time. She was struck by the fact that the boy had white hair and very bright teal-green eyes that seemed to be regarding her as if she were just a nuisance and he had better things to be doing than being stuck in a room with a traitor.
She stopped walking when she was directly in front of the boy, her icy blue eyes locking onto his. She saw Matsumoto fidget, but the busty woman didn't say anything as Sayomi studied the boy. "What's your name, boy?" Sayomi inquired in a demanding and arrogant voice, smirking inwardly when the boy gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes.
"Toshiro Hitsugaya," he answered stiffly.
Sayomi sniffed pompously. "And since when do they allow children to become captains?"
Hitsugaya glared at her, growling softly, but doing nothing else as her guards tried to tug her forward once again.
"Hey, Ukitake," Captain Kyoraku called in a mock conspiratorial whisper to his old friend who hummed and looked over at the other captain in his flowery pink haori. "Is it just me, or do those two look like they could be related? I mean, white hair, both are short and-"
"Who are you calling short?" Both Sayomi and Hitsugaya snapped at the man only to end up glaring at each other again.
"Same short temper," Kyoraku chuckled.
"You do have a point, Shunsui, however, I don't think now is the time," Ukitake replied, nodding towards where Yamamoto stood, patiently it seemed, waiting for Sayomi to be brought before him. However, judging by the slight flicker of annoyance in the reiatsu that he had just released he was anything, but patient at the moment.
"We are not here to talk amongst ourselves, we are here to discuss what to do with the traitor that now stands before you," Yamamoto proclaimed, his reiatsu flaring momentarily to display his displeasure.
The sudden rise in reiatsu, though it wasn't significant, was still enough to make Sayomi who was weak and unable to call upon any of her own take a deep breath in surprise. She forgot about the white haired boy beside her and let herself be led to the center of the room to stand before the aged head captain. Her four guards remained in place around her as she proudly squared her shoulders and took a calming breath while evenly looking at Yamamoto.
"Sayomi Himura, you already know of the charges against you as does everyone present," Yamamoto began, addressing the entire room with a voice that sounded worn and aged. "You are here to provide us with information about the traitors Sosuke Aizen, Kaname Tosen and Gin Ichimaru. If you do not cooperate we will find another method with which to get answers from you, do you understand?"
Sayomi nodded her head obediently. "Yes, Captain Yamamoto."
"Good, then we'll get straight to the point. What do you know of Aizen's plans?"
"Very little," Sayomi replied honestly. "I know he intends to attack the four pillars that Kisuke is building and that he plans on doing what no one else has ever dared and try to sit upon the heavens as a supreme ruler. I don't know any specifics though."
"I find that hard to believe since he wanted to take you as his queen," Yamamoto challenged.
"With all due respect, you may believe what you want, sir, but it's the truth. He didn't trust me, he never gave me any information, just orders."
"Why would he give you orders if he didn't trust you? Why would he want you as his queen if he didn't trust you?" A short, thin dark haired woman asked harshly.
Letting her eyes corner over to the woman who had spoken, Sayomi saw that she was a captain, one who looked very familiar. "Soi Fon, wasn't it? He wants a trophy, not a comrade. An obedient and submissive plaything was all he wanted. I would have had little to no power, I would only have the respect of his pets, so long as I had proven myself to them. That's why he gave me orders, not because he trusted me, but because he needs me to be respected and accepted."
"If that's so then it makes no sense that he would provoke you into attacking him. Wouldn't that only make his pets resentful instead of respectful?" Soi Fon shot back.
Sayomi stared at the small woman evenly. "You don't know Aizen, but then again neither did I and I've obviously severely underestimated him. The man is manipulative beyond belief, he knew what my reaction would be to seeing my brother dead at his feet while his sword still dripped blood. There's also the fact that the rooms in Las Noches are.. Programmable for lack of a better word. It wouldn't have been hard to have the room we were in altered so that no one would have realized what was happening inside of it. Same goes for the movable hallways."
"Why would he go through all of that trouble?" The young Captain Hitsugaya asked.
Sayomi shrugged. "Who knows why that man does anything? He's not exactly all that easy to understand."
"The same can be said of you. You betrayed all of your friends to join Aizen, yet many of them seem to believe that you didn't betray them, that you were only trying to kill your brother as revenge for his part in Aizen's experiments. Yet you you didn't kill him and you told Urahara on your second visit to his shop to collect information that you no longer planned on killing your brother. If you had changed your mind then why stay with Aizen? Why not leave?"
Turning her head to look over her shoulder to look at the man who had spoken, Sayomi couldn't entirely hide the hurt in her eyes when they met Byakuya's.
"I had changed my mind, but... You of all people should remember how much Gin meant to me, Byakuya. I loved him, he raised me and took care of me even though I was nothing but a burden as a child and so I gave him a chance to explain. To tell me why he had betrayed Soul Society, why he had joined Aizen and why he tried to kill me that night on that field. In the end, I could understand some of his reasons and I couldn't bring myself to hate him anymore. He made choices I wish he hadn't, but there's nothing I can do about that now no matter how much I wish I could. The choice he made to betray Soul Society, to help Aizen isn't something I can forgive, and I know it can't be forgiven, but.. I love him, he's my brother and he was manipulated and used... He was turned into something that he isn't and I blame Aizen for that. He made my brother, my once caring and loving brother a killer and a traitor, it's Aizen I want dead. I want him to pay for what he's done to Gin, to me and to countless other innocent souls. He's responsible for so much suffering and he needs to be stopped, he needs to pay for what he's done."
"She must be lying," a high pitched, strange sounding voice said.
Switching her attention from Byakuya to the masked captain of the Twelfth Division, Sayomi remained quiet. It didn't matter what she said, she already knew she wouldn't be believed and she knew that in the end, she'd pay the ultimate price for it. Too many people here feared things they didn't understand, she was one of those things and Soul Society had never been known for easily accepting anything that wasn't ordinary in their eyes.
"She obviously wants us to believe that she's not the traitor that she is. I say you hand her over to me, her make up is unique and I'd like to perform a few tests. I'm sure I could have her talking in no time," the captain finished.
"That won't be necessary, Captain Kurotsuchi," Yamamoto replied. "So far her words are consistent with the reports I have been given. That isn't to say that I believe her... Another question, the eight others that disappeared that night are they still alive and if so where are they?"
Sayomi ignored the question, instead choosing to focus her attention on the marble flooring. Her fists clenched and her breathing became strained as a heavy pressure began to push upon her lungs. The head captain was quite serious about getting an answer and the longer Sayomi refused to give it to him, the heavier the pressure on her chest became until she fell to her knees, sweat coating her forehead as she grimaced from the pain, panting for breath as she continued to stare at the flooring.
"Answer me."
"No," she hissed between her clenched teeth. "You plan on killing me regardless of what information I give you, right? There's no reason for me to tell you whether or not the others survived. You want answers from me? Then try negotiating." Sayomi gritted her teeth together to keep from crying out as the pressure on her body intensified and all air was knocked from her lungs. She felt as if her body were being crushed beneath the weight of an entire ocean. After several more agonizing moments the pressure subsided and Sayomi sucked in a deep breath, some color beginning to instantly return to her deathly pale cheeks. Her entire body felt weak and she was trembling as if she had been encased in ice. She could hardly move as she panted and gasped for breath on the cold tile of the hall.
"I see you have decided to be difficult, then so be it. Take her bracelet and return her to her cell, the rest of you are dismissed," Yamamoto ordered.
Sayomi's eyes widened at the command and she looked up to see that none other than Byakuya was walking towards her. It struck her as ironic that the very man who had been there to help her tie the bracelet on for the first time would be the same one to take it from her. She eyed him wearily, holding her hands to her chest. She wouldn't give Fuyukaze up, not without a fight. The fact she would lose that fight in a second since she was powerless with all of her reiatsu being sealed by the bands on her wrists and neck, didn't matter to her. She wouldn't let her only friend go willingly.
"Let me see your wrist," Byakuya demanded calmly, looking down at the girl on the floor who was stubbornly glaring at him. "Sayomi, either you give me the bracelet willingly-"
"Go to hell," she hissed bitterly.
Sighing, the nobleman stepped forward. The room was clearing out, the only people left were a concerned looking Captain Ukitake and a curious Captain Kyoraku. Byakuya was now less than a foot in front of Sayomi whose chest was still rising and falling rapidly as she glared at him and brought her hands further into her chest, curling her body protectively around them.
"It would be better if you didn't resist, Sayomi. I don't wish to hurt you," Byakuya told her quietly, gently as if he were talking to a frightened animal.
Her lips parted in a silent gasp as she stared up into the smoky eyes of the man she had once loved so very much. She could see the man she had fallen in love with in his eyes as he stared down at her, see that the cold front he had been putting up was just that, a front, an act. He was a noble and he was expected to act like one, just as she was.
Wrapping her hand around the silver link bracelet, Sayomi lowered her head and closed her eyes. 'I'm so sorry, Fuyukaze.'
'You have nothing to be sorry for my little Sayomi-sama, nothing at all. I will always be with you.'
Tears pricked at her eyes and she sniffed before pushing herself up from the ground, wobbling slightly as she stood up and once again proudly raised her head to meet Byakuya's gaze evenly, almost arrogantly. She stretched her right arm out, her heart aching as her bracelet jingled quietly.
"Am I going to die?" She asked bluntly, but softly as Byakuya reached for the blue ribbon that held Fuyukaze to her wrist.
Byakuya's eyes looked up to meet hers, but she was focused on the hand, his hand, that was hovering near her wrist. He slowly pulled the blue ribbon free and gathered it and the chain link bracelet it was woven through carefully into his palm before closing his fingers gently around it. He stared at his closed fist, the cool metal links felt familiar in his hand and he could sense the sadness and concern they were giving off. When he looked up to meet Saymoi's pale blue eyes again she was looking him directly in the eyes. Eyes that had once been so full of life and happiness, now looked as if they were slowly dying as she blinked and a single tear she couldn't quite hold back slid down her cheek.
He remembered the question she had asked him then and finally replied. "I don't know, Sayomi."
Sayomi nodded and took another deep breath, trying to maintain some sort of pride despite the situation she found herself in.
"Excuse us, Captain Kuchiki, but we must return her to her cell now," one of her four guards said.
Byakuya bowed his head in understanding, watching as Sayomi turned and was then led from the room. She paused near the door, looking over her shoulder at him and her eyes were so full of loneliness and loss that he was almost glad her guards urged her forward again and she turned away.
Opening his palm, he stared at the glittering silver links and deep blue ribbon. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he thought that the polished metal somehow seemed less vibrant than he remembered. It was almost as if some of the life had gone out of the bracelet, just as the life and light was going out of Sayomi.
"So...How'd it go?" Ichigo asked tentatively.
"I'm a traitor, Ichigo, nothing is going to change their minds on that," Sayomi replied.
"But you did nothing wrong," he protested. "You were only trying to help!"
Sayomi sighed, bowing her head tiredly. Ichigo and Uryu had been pacing outside of her cell when she had been led inside, curious and tense about the proceedings of the meeting she had been taken to. Neither one was allowed in the cell now that she was awake and were forced to sit in uncomfortable wooden chairs or stand outside in order to talk to her.
"But I did. I abandoned my post here, my fiancé, my title, everything. I then betrayed the few people who cared about me to try and kill someone I felt had wronged me," she finally answered.
"But that would have benefited Soul Society, not just you, they have to see that," Uryu protested.
"Why? Even if they did see that they know that I'm not just a Soul Reaper any longer, I'm something else. I'm something that they refuse to accept and I'll be dealt with in the same way they deal with all of the things they don't accept."
"You don't think they'll actually kill you?" Ichigo asked, clearly shocked by the idea.
She didn't immediately answer the question, but took a moment instead to gaze up at the boring gray ceiling above her. When she looked at Ichigo, there was nothing in her tone to indicate that she had any sort of feeling over what she was about to say. "I do and they will. It's just a matter of time."
"I won't let them, they can't-"
"Lower your voice, Kurosaki," Uryu turned to say to his orange haired friend that had jumped from his seat and was shaking with anger.
"But they can't-"
"Thank you, Ichigo, for wanting to help me, but...I'm home, if I were to choose some place to die, this would be it. I know what's coming and I don't mind, so please don't get so angry. I will accept my punishment," Sayomi said.
Ichigo froze, she had sounded just like Rukia had on the night that Byakuya had retrieved her from the living world several months ago. She had humbled herself and was willing to take the ultimate punishment for a mediocre crime.
It was the next day that she was visited by none other than the head captain himself. The old man slowly made his way into the exterior of the room that housed her cell, his lieutenant trailing obediently behind him. Once directly in front of the bars, the old man stopped, placing both hands on the top of his staff and watching Sayomi through half lidded eyes.
Shifting, Sayomi went from laying down to sitting up straight and waiting to be addressed.
"I want the entire story. From the beginning, if you don't mind," the old man told her.
She couldn't help the flicker of confusion that crossed her face at why he would want to hear her story from the beginning. He had to already know what she was and how she had become what she was, so why did he care, or did he?
"Pardon me for asking, sir, but why do you wish to know? I already know that whatever I tell you now or in the future won't have any baring on the punishment you choose for me," Sayomi replied, keeping her voice steady and calm.
"My reasons are not your concern," Yamamoto answered.
Sayomi frowned, that was certainly not the response she was hoping for. It was definitely the response she had expected though. "By the beginning, I assume you mean the night that I disobeyed orders and went to help Kensei and the others."
Her only answer was a minute tilting of the head captain's chin.
She took a moment to gather her thoughts before heaving a sigh and beginning her tale. When she had finished almost an hour later, Yamamoto and Sasakibe left, barely saying a word to her as they turned to leave.
Unknown to her, Byakuya had heard the entire conversation. He had been down the hall the whole time. The head captain had been aware, but had chosen to ignore his subordinate and let the man hear what Sayomi had to say. The nobleman didn't go into see her that night, there was too much on his mind to distract him. Including her admittance that at some point at least, the others who had also supposedly died with her were alive and that she had had a relationship with the one man whom he knew had loved Sayomi for a very long time.
He could tell by the way she spoke towards the end of the conversation, about her brother's death and the way she had fled Hueco Muendo after managing to wound Aizen, that she was still very upset over the loss of her brother and wanted to avenge him. He wondered what her reaction would be if he were to tell her that Gin Ichimaru was very much alive. He wondered if it would bring some life back into her once vibrant eyes.
The Head Captain was aware, as was everyone else, that Gin Ichimaru was alive and well. He had also been told of the theories that Aizen still had plans for Sayomi, the old man didn't quite believe it though. He felt that Aizen had abandoned Sayomi and that the man wouldn't attempt to recapture her. Byakuya wasn't sure he agreed, Aizen had proven to be a hard enemy to understand, but he had spent so much energy manipulating Sayomi and trying to corner her that he didn't see Aizen simply leaving her to die.
The only thing to do was wait.
For Sayomi waiting was all she could do, but she was soon to find that she wouldn't have to do very much more of that. The day after the short questioning by the captains of the Gotei 13, she was once again brought before the head captain and all other captains and their lieutenants. Even Ichigo and Uryu were present. They had no idea why, they had just been summoned there and had decided it would be best to go.
She didn't look at anyone as she was led down the center of the white room, her bare feet making little clapping noises against the smooth marble beneath them. She took her place with her four guards around her, her chin held high as she was presented to Yamamoto. She heard the sound of the giant doors sliding shut behind her and it wasn't long after that the head captain spoke.
"Sayomi Himura, you are here to learn your punishment for your crimes."
Sayomi listened to the raspy voice speak, well aware of what was coming, but dreading it all the same.
"The Central 46 had previously issued orders to execute every one of the nine who had been affected by Aizen's experiments," Yamamoto continued.
"You know, old man Yama," Captain Kyoraku spoke up, his aloof voice and lazy tone causing the old man to frown slightly as he looked at his former student. "I'm a bit curious to see those orders. I mean, when you think about it those nine did nothing wrong."
"That may be true," Yamamoto replied. "But it doesn't change what they are. Or that she joined Aizen."
Kyoraku shrugged. "No, but when you think about it we've accepted Ichigo over there as a substitute Soul Reaper and he's not all that different. He's stuck his neck out for us more than once despite what he is. Plus, Sayomi here was trying to kill Aizen, that's been confirmed by several people. Had she succeeded that would have helped us quite a bit. We can't just ignore that."
Yamamoto's frown deepened. "Nor can we ignore the orders of the Central 46."
"The Central 46 doesn't exist anymore," Kyoraku countered. "I'm not saying we should ignore the orders entirely, but it can't hurt to have a look at them. There was a lot we didn't know about what was going on at the time."
"Kyoraku is right," Ukitake spoke up, smiling at Sayomi when she glanced over her shoulder at him, her surprise that he and Kyoraku would so openly stand up for her written on her face. "I also happen to have the old orders here." He pulled a small scroll from the sleeve of his haori and began to slowly unravel it.
Sayomi was wide eyed as she stared back at Ukitake, she hadn't expected this. She hadn't expected anyone to so openly question the orders for her execution. To so willingly question the Head Captain and his actions.
The large room was unnervingly quiet except for the soft rustling of the scroll that Ukitake was unrolling. Even Ichigo and Uryu were waiting in a tense silence in the back of the room.
"Well," the young captain of the Tenth Division spoke up impatiently. "What does it say?"
Kyoraku sauntered over and read from over Ukitake's shoulder. "Says here," the man began. "That the nine who went out that night were supposed to be executed because they were turned into Hollows."
"Which she is," Soi Fon snapped irritably. "Can we just kill her already?"
"But she isn't a Hollow!" Ichigo shouted, finally losing the composure he had managed to keep up to that point. He stalked forward, face stubbornly set into a determined glare as he stepped up to Sayomi's side, his eyes on the Head Captain. "She's just like me. She's a Soul Reaper that can use the powers of a Hollow, but she isn't a Hollow. You accepted me, didn't you? You gave me this badge, didn't you?" He brandished the substitute badge he had been given. "You can't kill her for being different when she's just like me!"
There was silence again as everyone stared at Ichigo's flushed face.
"Ichigo is right, you know," Kyoraku said. "She's not a Hollow. She's not just a Soul Reaper either, but that didn't keep us from accepting him when he's not much different."
"Their situations are not the same," Yamamoto replied.
"Maybe not, but these orders say to kill her for becoming a Hollow, she isn't a Hollow," Kyoraku said.
"Then what are we supposed to do with her?" Hitsugaya asked.
"We use her."
Everyone's attention turned to Byakuya.
"Use her?" Ichigo shouted angrily.
"It's not a bad idea," Kyoraku agreed, nodding thoughtfully.
"Not a bad idea?" Ichigo argued. "What are you even talking about?"
"A trap. You want to use me as bait," Sayomi said, eyes on Byakuya. "But to capture what?"
"You don't believe that either your brother or Aizen would let you die, do you?" Byakuya asked.
"My brother?" Sayomi repeated, confused. "My brother is dead."
"Do you really believe that?" Byakuya asked.
"I saw him... I," she trailed off, to shake her head uncertainly.
"He's not dead, Sayomi," Uryu said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He was in Karakura when you came through with Orihime. It was all just a trick of Aizen's."
"I.. I don't understand," she said weakly.
"Aizen wanted you weak and out of your gigai. He wanted you vulnerable, Sayomi. Can't you think of why?" Byakuya asked.
She stared at him, her mouth working but no sound coming out. She finally shook her head, looking down at the cold stone tiles. "To make me more manageable. To make me easier to control."
"And?" Byakuya pressed.
"And," she sighed, closing her eyes. "So he could rescue me from here."
A few murmurs of confusion were voiced.
"Why would he do that? Why rescue her? He tried to kill her," Hitsugaya pointed out.
"Because I would have nowhere else to go and I would owe him my life. Which is exactly what he wants," Sayomi replied. "Even if you use me as bait he won't come for me himself. He'd send a member of his Espada, maybe a few of their Fraccion."
"Maybe even one of his captains," Yamamoto mused in his raspy voice.
Sayomi's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "My brother?"
"It's possible," Soi Fon agreed. "He may come and then we-"
"No!" Sayomi interrupted. "I will not let you kill him."
"He's a traitor, even you can't deny that," Yamamoto said.
She was beginning to breathe too quickly, to panic as her heart raced in her chest. "I won't agree to this."
"You don't have to agree," Yamamoto said.
"Even if we decide to use her as bait to draw them here, that doesn't really answer the question of just what it is we're going to do with her," Hitsugaya pointed out.
"It seems a little harsh to keep the poor thing locked up, don't you think, Ukitake?" Kyoraku asked the white haired man beside him.
Ukitake smiled, chuckling at the position that Kyoraku had put him in. "Well, it does seem a little unnecessary. After all, wouldn't it be a better idea to use a decoy and keep her hidden?"
"Hidden where? The only usable and reliable jail space we have right now are the cells in each Division, but those aren't exactly hidden," Hitsugaya reminded.
"True, true," Kyoraku agreed, bobbing his head thoughtfully. "But you know.. If I remember correctly Sayomi here can turn herself into a cat, isn't that right?"
Sayomi blinked at the dark haired man, she had no idea how he had known about that. Only a handful of people knew she was able to transform into a cat just as Yoruichi had done. "Yes, but how did you know that?"
The man smiled. "Just a guess, Yoruichi was your master after all and you were her favorite student."
"So what if she can turn into a cat? What's your point, Kyoraku?" Soi fon pressed.
"There aren't a lot of people who know about Sayomi's ability to transform, especially here in Soul Society. Let her transform and we can hide her in plain sight. With her reiatsu restricted no one will be able to tell that she's anything but a normal cat."
"You just want to let her run around Soul Society?" Hitsugaya questioned. "Are you insane? She'd just run off with Kurosaki the first chance she got."
"I'm not going anywhere!" Sayomi shouted. "I'm not going to let you kill him. I'm not going to play a part in killing my own brother."
"Relax, we're not asking you to," Kyoraku told her reassuringly, stepping forward to put a hand on her shoulder. "No one said anything about killing anyone and we don't know if your brother will even be sent here. You wanted to get to Aizen, didn't you? You wanted to stop this war?"
"Yes, but-"
"Then help us," Kyoraku said.
"I will, but-"
"Well then, old man Yama," Kyoraku called, looking up at the Head Captain. "How about we find a decoy and let this old friend of ours stretch her legs a bit?"
~A/N~
You're all so spoiled this week... ;) Anywho, it was either going to be post the chapter tonight or not until sometime next week. It's done so I figured I'd celebrate reaching 100 reviews with a new chapter.
So thank you to Delirium's Requiem for being the 100th review for the story. Yay!
And of course thank you to all of my lovely and amazing readers and reviewers, you make writing all of these stories worthwhile.
Please feed the monster. He's also spoiled this week. :)