Hey all! Sorry for the wait between chapters - there's been a lot of real-world stuff taking up my brain space lately. Your comments and feedback keep me going though, so thank you so much for that!
24. Consequences
Back Then: Circa 1800 C.E.
The Human World wasn't a place Kaede visited often. Before Sousuke - before her eyes were opened to the truth of her situation - she'd yearned to spend time here, longed for the chance to guide souls into the next stage of the cycle and protect them from Hollows. She'd even entertained some hopes of finally getting to experience some aspects of human culture that she'd only ever read about in the books Urahara brought her.
This was as far from those naive dreams as she could have imagined.
"Sorano-san," spoke another operative, his face half-covered in the standard Stealth Corps uniform. "Your orders?"
Kaede swallowed the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. There was no place for compassion here, no sanctity for the lives they were about to snuff out. She felt the eyes of the "subordinates" she'd been given for this task upon her, waiting for her instructions - or, as she was sure the case was for at least a few, watching for any signs of hesitation or weakness.
"Kill them all."
Two days earlier
When Kaede had returned from her "vacation" with Sousuke, she'd been unsurprised to learn that just over two thousand Rukongai citizens had been culled in the days following the Hogyoku's creation. The Shinigami were the balancers of the realms after all, and they'd acted quickly to maintain that precious balance.
What did surprise her a bit was how relatively low the number was. It was strange…considering how many Gillians went into the Hogyoku's creation, she'd expected a higher imbalance.
Not that she was complaining.
She almost regretted not being there to take part - not because she wanted to kill innocent people, but because she'd been the one responsible for their fate. Unlike the Catastrophe, she'd done all of this knowingly and willingly; the least she could have done was clean up the resulting mess herself.
Sousuke's opinion had been quite different. "It is a necessary sacrifice, love. We knew this going in, and there will be more to come. Do not make their passing meaningless by indulging in regret."
Her personal guilt was assuaged somewhat by indignant anger when she heard which districts had been chosen for sacrifice. As she should have known: only Souls from the poorest districts were killed. Gods forbid any wealthier citizens be culled, let alone anyone from within the Seireitei.
Besides, she assured herself once again, they're just being flushed back into the reincarnation cycle. They would eventually be reborn, die again, then wait for their next lives to begin anew, and so on for eternity - but she was going to give that meaningless cycle purpose. That, she decided, was how she would honor their sacrifice: by creating a better fate for them in the future.
She tried to put it behind her as she took up her duties in the Stealth Corps once again. Then, a few days after her return, she and Soi Fon were summoned by an uncharacteristically grave Yoruichi. The captain of the Stealth Corps stood with her back to them, staring out of a half-shuttered window in silence for several minutes.
"Yoruichi-sama?" broached Soi Fon. "Is…is something the matter?"
Yoruichi took in a sharp breath, letting it out in a huff before replying. "New orders from Central - not just for us. It's an operation that several divisions will take part in, one that needs to be carried out with perfect efficiency…otherwise, we risk a new war breaking out."
Kaede's brows knit in confusion, and from the corner of her eye, she could see that Soi Fon was just as thrown by the pronouncement. A war? With whom? If there was some rebel group agitating against the Seireitei, surely they, as members of the Stealth Corps, would have heard about it by now.
Yoruichi finally turned to face them, her golden eyes hard in the shadowy room. "What do you two know about the Quincy?"
Kaede and Soi Fon exchanged twin looks of confusion.
"They're…Hollow hunters," Kaede offered. "Humans with the ability to not only perceive reishi, but shape and use it."
"They've historically been antagonistic against Shinigami," added Soi Fon, not to be outdone. "Though after certain events, their ability to completely destroy Hollows has also been useful in maintaining the balance of souls."
Kaede didn't have to look to know that Soi Fon had side-eyed her. "Certain events" was obviously a reference to the Catastrophe; the disappearance of thousands of Souls in the Rukongai had indeed thrown off the balance for a short time. It had been even more of a problem then because Shinigami could only purify Hollows, not destroy them completely, and there hadn't been enough Hakuda and Kido masters at the time to deploy.
The Quincy, ironically, had been the answer to the problem. They even developed more advanced Hollow bait and other technology precisely because of this incident, allowing them to lure enough Hollows to the Human World to correct the imbalance. The Shinigami barely had to lift a finger in the end, and since then, there had been a tacit truce between the former opponents.
"Unfortunately," Yoruichi sighed, "it seems they've outlived that 'usefulness' - or rather, they've taken it too far. Attempts to negotiate with the Quincy population in the Human World have fallen apart. They continue to destroy Hollows without regard for the balance of souls, even though the Shinigami have repeatedly warned them against doing so."
There was a hint of bitterness in her voice that made Kaede wonder how much her captain believed what she was saying, and how much was just the story Central 46 had given.
"Anyway, the decision has been made, and our orders are clear: The Quincy must be eliminated."
Kaede's eyes went wide, her breath catching in her lungs. "What? As in…"
"As in," Yoruichi continued, "wiped out. It's not just Central's order; this came directly from the Royal Palace. The Quincy have proved to be too much of a liability. For the sake of all existence, they must be taken out." She crossed her arms. "Process this on your own time. Right now, I, along with the captains of Divisions 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9 have been tasked with forming tactical groups to carry out the operation. Division 4 will be providing medical support, as usual, though we don't anticipate there being too many casualties on our side."
So Division 12 wouldn't be involved…that, at least, was a relief to hear. Hiyori wouldn't have to be part of this.
"Wouldn't they just wind up in Soul Society when they're killed?" Soi Fon asked. "That could be a bigger problem down the line."
"Quincy don't wind up in Soul Society after dying," Yoruichi said. "Whatever it is that lets them completely destroy Hollows also destroys their own souls when their living bodies die."
"So they don't reenter the cycle of souls?" Kaede asked, confused. "But wouldn't this create a bigger…"
She trailed off as a horrifying realization hit her.
"The 2,000 Rukongai citizens only stopped the bleeding," Yoruichi said, confirming Kaede's suspicions. "It was enough to buy time so we can put this together."
It was as bad as she and Sousuke had predicted. Only it wouldn't be Plus Souls paying the price for their experiment; it would be living, human souls that wouldn't even get another chance in the cycle.
What she'd done to create the Hogyoku…while she hadn't completely erased those Gillians from existence, she had turned them into something unrecognizable. It had been enough to affect the balance of souls, and from Soul Society's perspective, it had happened out of the blue.
Who else would they blame?
It took every bit of self-control she had not to vomit right then and there.
"…Kaede!"
Kaede snapped back to attention to find Soi Fon snapping her fingers before her face.
"Pay attention," the smaller Shinigami chastised. "Yoruichi-sama isn't finished!"
Light-headed with nausea, Kaede forced herself to look up into Yoruichi's golden eyes and ignore the cold sweat that had broken out all over her body. Process this on your own time.
"As I was saying," Yoruichi spoke, her eyes narrowing a bit, "We can't just send a bunch of captains to the Human World; even with limiters in place, there's too big a risk of our power upsetting the spiritual ecosystem there. Instead, a handful of select teams will strike known Quincy pockets in the Human World simultaneously, thus preventing any communication between them and stifling possible retaliation. In particular, we're targeting the largest known clans for complete annihilation. If all goes according to plan, the entire Quincy population will be reduced to almost nothing within a few days. Even if there are survivors, there won't be enough to launch a retaliatory strike, and the strongest lineages will be cut off entirely."
Kaede had heard Yoruichi speak of eliminating "threats" before with this sort of cold straightforwardness, but those had always been Hollows or Shinigami. These…they were Quincy, sure, but they were still Human…
"Soi Fon will remain in Soul Society with me," Yoruichi continued. "But you, Kaede, will be leading an important team."
Kaede blanched. "Me? Lead…?"
"I know you're ready for it," Yoruichi assured her, misinterpreting her surprise. "And with your unique skills, there's no one better. The initial strike will eliminate the majority of targets, but there will doubtless be survivors trying to escape. They will go into hiding among the general populace, relying on their ability to blend in with normal Humans to go unnoticed."
Soi Fon's envy was palpable, even though her expression remained stoic - but Kaede couldn't care less about the smaller Shinigami's jealousy right now. She realized what her task would be, even before Yoruichi said it: After all, her sensing abilities were stronger and more refined than any other Shinigami's.
"Your sensing prowess will be invaluable in picking out which among the populace are Quincy as opposed to normal Humans. Once you've determined who and where they are, you will dispatch your team to eliminate them quickly and quietly. Should any attempt to escape, you have permission to use Mono no Aware to cut them down."
Kaede felt detached from her own body after that. Some part of her mind managed to focus on the assignment and make the necessary preparations, but it was all done in a haze. While she was supposed to be asleep in the barracks of Division Two, as was customary before a major operation, she slipped out. Even if she tried, she doubted she'd sleep tonight.
She found Sousuke not at their house, but on the grounds of Division Five, overseeing what appeared to be a training exercise. Listening in, she heard Sousuke instructing and assuring his charges about an upcoming mission in the Human World.
"You're a part of this too?" she asked in lieu of a greeting as soon as he was alone.
"I'll be leading a strike team, yes," he replied coolly. "Kaname will be on my squad - it will be good practice for him."
Kaede blanched. This was hardly the sort of "practice" she'd wish on anyone, especially not someone like Kaname. "Is he all right? I mean - does he know that…"
"He's prepared for what must be done," Sousuke said. "And he understands that it is ultimately in service to our goals. Don't worry about Kaname, love. He's perfectly capable, and he is fully aware of how the situation arose. I presume you've been given your own orders?"
She told him the details in a rush, her earlier nausea threatening to return with every word.
"I see," was his response. "You realize this is a test. They're exercising their control over your Shikai by granting you 'permission' to use it in certain circumstances. They fully expect such circumstances to arise, and will be watching to see how you act when they do. Assume that at least one of your team will be a plant from Central 46 put there for that very purpose."
Kaede blinked hard, shaking her head slightly. "That's not…"
"You still doubt the lengths they will go to control you?"
"No," she snapped. "I just wasn't thinking about the fucking politics of being ordered to murder a bunch of humans who did nothing wrong!"
Sousuke's eyes, ever calculating, ever piercing, peered into her wilder ones. "You blame yourself for this happening."
She had to look away. "I…I knew there'd be lives lost when…but this…they're being blamed for something they didn't do - for something we did."
"Perhaps," Sousuke conceded. "Though there are a few opportunities to be had here, if you will consider them. Or are you so determined to be the villain of the story that you will hear no alternatives?"
Kaede flinched with indignation at the hint of mockery in his tone. "Fine," she ground out, crossing her arms. "Enlighten me."
"The operation is set up to minimize damage overall," he began, "but there will inevitably be some casualties on the Shinigami side. Captains will remain unaffected, as they will not go to the Human World unless absolutely necessary, but other ranked positions will probably open up. There's a small chance that the situation will escalate beyond what Soul Society wishes, but it's highly unlikely, and as much as we could one day benefit from the upheaval of an all-out war, we aren't quite ready to take full advantage of such a thing yet. This, then, is better used as a stepping stone, a chance to distinguish ourselves in the eyes of those in power…especially for you, love."
He touched his palm to her cheek; if they'd had watchers, it would have looked like he was speaking sweet nothings to her rather than whispering words of treason. "This is where you will cement your reputation, both as a formidable Shinigami and an obedient soldier. Your performance during this operation will leave the fools of Central 46 with little left to use against you. After all, there will be several witnesses - including ones of their own planting - to attest that not only did you remain entirely in control whilst in the Human World, you also performed above and beyond expectations. We don't even have to set anything up; the situation will play itself out in our favor."
Kaede closed her eyes. Sometimes she wished she could see the world as he did, as a game board or a set of opportunities to be taken or discarded. She knew she cared too much; even her years in the Stealth Corps had yet to dull that tendency entirely.
"I don't like this," she whispered.
"I know, love," Sousuke crooned. "Your compassion, your empathy, how much you care about consequences…these are things the people who seek to control you don't even acknowledge. They only see your power and how they can use it. But these are the things that make you a true partner for me, for they are things I lack. I will rely on you for those attributes to balance against my own when we've reached our goal, but in order to reach that goal, you must set them aside for now. Remember what we are working toward."
She laid her hand over his and squeezed it, trying to borrow some of his strength and resolve until she found her own again. Their goal…she just had to keep that in sight. They were going to make a better, fairer world, one where sacrifices like this wouldn't be necessary. They would be rulers worthy of their positions, not absentee and aloof, but present, attentive, and active. All of these sacrifices would have meaning, because they would lead to that better world. These Quincy souls…they'd never reenter the cycle, but nor would she let them go to waste.
She had to believe that.
That night, instead of sleeping, she went into jinzen. There was a question on her mind, one that she didn't want to ask, but one she had to know the answer to - and it was an answer only her Zanpakuto could give.
Her inner world had changed again. The trees had become twisted and barren, their branches sharp and claw-like. Under her feet, the ground was littered with decay, so that every step she took meant sinking a bit into the soft, spongey dead matter. Kaede barely recognized the grove; at first, she thought she was lost, for nothing about it was familiar anymore, and the spirit of her Zanpakuto was nowhere in sight.
"Hello?" she called, trying to calm the panic rising in her throat. "Mono no Aware!"
"I am here."
Kaede spun around and gasped out loud. Ever since she'd cracked the bone-mask that made up the spirit's face, that mask had been slowly falling away like grains of never-ending sand. Now, though…it was a face she didn't recognize at all. Rather than the serene, wistful expression she was accustomed to, this…thing bore a wide, sharp-toothed grin. No - not quite a grin; it was more like an exposed mandible. The eyes were still twin pools of darkness, but now they were set in skull-like sockets with no lids or lashes to adorn them. Even the spirit's kimono had changed, becoming more ragged, as though the creature wearing it had been lying in a grave until this moment.
"What happened to you?" Kaede asked, taking a step back from the figure.
The spirit stared blankly back at her. "I am as I am - as you see me."
For once, her Zanpakuto's cryptic way of speaking almost made sense. After all, a Zanpakuto was supposed to be a reflection of one's soul.
How fitting, then, that hers had taken on the appearance of a monster.
Kaede swallowed and forced herself to ask the question plaguing her. "When I - when we made the Hogyoku, and you asked if I was prepared for the consequences…did you know this would happen?"
The spirit's new, demonic visage was as inscrutable as ever. "It was one of the possible paths."
Kaede closed her eyes, her soul heavy with resignation. "So you did know."
The spirit made no answer, but Kaede didn't need one from it. If Mono no Aware, her Zanpakuto, had foreseen this as a possibility, that meant one undeniable truth.
On some level, she had known, too - and she'd gone through with it anyway.
Human World
Her team scattered on her order, flash-stepping to the spots she'd pointed out on their shared map. She felt each life as it was extinguished, each soul like a blue-white blaze in her mind's eye being snuffed out.
Two in a basement, out of breath from their mad sprint for survival.
One who'd locked themselves in a closet in a futile attempt to escape notice.
A group of five who made a dash for a sacred temple, likely hoping to use its protective wards, not realizing that their sanctuary had already been destroyed by the first strike team. They dropped dead in the middle of the town square, their blood staining the cobblestone streets - though by morning there would be no trace that they'd even existed.
Then it was onto the next location.
She pointed to the map, gave a number, and the other Shinigami - all of them trained Stealth Corps assassins - did their jobs. Some of their targets weren't escapees, but simply unaware of what had just happened to the majority of their kind. Some were asleep. Some were so young, they'd have been barely a blip on the radar for any other Shinigami.
But not for her.
It didn't matter how strong or weak the reiatsu was, whether "pure" or "mixed." She had honed her senses to a fine point over the years, and with every signature she found, she could feel her ability sharpen further.
Her team was highly efficient, to the point that for the first several locations, she did little more than direct their movements. But she felt every one of the lives they took, and though she tried to encase her soul in impenetrable armor, each one chipped away at it, threatening to break through.
The worst were the kills she committed herself, because then, she saw their faces.
In keeping with how she presented her Shikai in Soul Society, she could only strike from a distance if she could see her target. That wasn't true; she'd become proficient enough to cut anything she could perceive through her spiritual sense, whether she could visually see it or not. But to keep up the ruse that she was sealed and therefore limited in her power, she'd lied, and was careful to make her actions back the lie up.
So in order to strike down any stragglers now, she had to be able to look at them.
The first Quincy she had to kill personally had managed to injure one of her team. She'd swooped in to strike him down before he could draw his bow a second time. The next few were the result of being short-handed; there were simply too many in the vicinity to be handled by the people under her command.
They'd regroup, and once Kaede determined the location to be "clean," they'd move on - and so it went on for days. Many of their targets didn't fight back; they were the runners, the ones told to flee by the stronger warriors. They were the women, the children, the elderly and infirm, hardly capable of being threats.
But they were Quincy, and so they were equally marked for death.
Town after town, region after region, day after day - it all blurred into one long nightmare that she couldn't awaken from. So she detached, receding deep behind the mask of the perfect operative. She became the void, unknowable to her allies and untouchable to her enemies.
Not that she was entirely sure which was which at this point.
Another town, another target. Kaede sent one of the assassins after a strong signature in a townhouse where several other Quincy had already been killed. At first, she'd thought nothing of it - most likely, it was just another unlucky survivor who'd hidden during the initial attack.
Then something strange happened.
A burst of reiatsu came from the house like a small explosion. Kaede felt the assassin she'd sent fall, not dead, just momentarily stunned. The Quincy, however, was running. Kaede gripped Mono no Aware's hilt and flash-stepped to the scene.
When she saw the runner, her heart, which she'd so carefully tucked away inside her armor, threatened to burst from its confinement.
The runner was a girl just in her teens, dressed in a servant's garb - and in her arms was a child of maybe three or four with light brown curls and wide, chestnut eyes. The servant girl…she wasn't the Quincy, Kaede realized.
The child was.
In a flash, Kaede guessed what had happened: This was the child of the Quincies who lived in that house (which, if her memory served, had belonged to a fairly strong clan). When the parents were killed in the first strike, this servant girl had hidden with the child, perhaps in a safe room that had been set up before - it wouldn't be the first such instance Kaede had come across. The safe room would have been protected by wards and traps which the Shinigami assassin set off - nothing powerful enough to kill the Shinigami, but it covered the girl's escape.
The girl now dashed into a darkened alley, clutching the child to her chest and breathing heavily. Her face was streaked with frightened tears as she shakily shushed the whimpering child in her arms. Her eyes darted into the alleyway, unable to see Kaede's spiritual form just a few feet away. After a few seconds, she dared to peek around the corner into the street.
When she did, the child's head turned into the alleyway, wide brown eyes locking onto Kaede's form.
Kaede stood frozen in place. She knew what was to happen now: She was supposed to slaughter this child. The strength of its reiatsu marked it as a "pure" Quincy of powerful lineage; if she could sense such potency now, what would happen if the child was allowed to grow up?
"Sorano-san!" The Shinigami she'd originally sent to the house, the one stunned by whatever trap he'd set off, came running into the alleyway. He turned to the oblivious girl and the far-too-aware child. "I've got this - ack!"
He clutched his chest, eyes wide over his cloth mask. Inside his ribcage, his heart burst open, pierced through by a blade that never penetrated his skin. Kaede lowered her sword, and the other Shinigami dropped to the ground at the other end of the alley. No blood escaped his body; there was no visible wound for it to do so. The damage was all internal and perfectly fatal.
It hadn't even been a question in her mind. Rather, she'd decided the second she saw that child's eyes.
This one will live.
As soon as the servant girl started running again, Kaede went to the fallen Shinigami's side. This man, while he hadn't exactly shown pleasure in taking lives, was all too willing to kill children just because he was ordered to do so. Maybe she wasn't any better, but right now, she couldn't wonder about the moral implications. She just had to get rid of the body…and then she had to get back to work.
Eighteen thousand.
That was how many Quincy lives were taken around the world, give or take a few dozen. Eighteen thousand men, women, and children, all struck down for a crime they hadn't committed.
The number meant little to Kaede when it was totaled; she'd lost count of how many she'd contributed. The "clean-up" operation she was a part of lasted for weeks as Soul Society sought to ensure that the Quincy race would never be able to rise again.
By the end of it, she was empty inside.
There was praise - for her leadership, her efficiency, her perceived thoroughness. The Shinigami she'd killed was easily written off as a casualty of the operation, no need to investigate. There was even a new nickname for her, at least within the Stealth Corps: She was now the "Bloodhound," famed and feared not for her destructive power but for her uncannily sharp senses and tenacious dedication to the chase. As far as Soul Society knew, every target she'd gone after had been eliminated, giving her team the highest body count of all the clean-up crews.
At first, she wanted to throw up every time she heard the nickname; over time, she numbed to it, as she'd numbed to just about everything else.
Sousuke, on the other hand, was more than satisfied with the results of all that had happened. As he'd predicted, the higher-ups were finally starting to gain some confidence in her stability and her loyalty. She'd even been granted a numbered rank above Soi Fon, and while it did nothing to endear her to the petite Shinigami, Sousuke took it as a sign that Yoruichi was showing Kaede more favor.
Kaede barely registered Sousuke's words as he lauded her rise and how it would contribute to their plans. Instead, she found herself staring at the Hogyoku, that small hell-orb that had caused all of this, half entranced by the swirling vortex that was its core and half overcome with a mounting desire to negate its entire existence in the most violent way possible.
"We never should have made it," she uttered, interrupting whatever Sousuke had been saying to her. "It never should have existed."
Sousuke peered at her with a thoughtful frown. "You still blame yourself."
"Who else is there?" she intoned in a hollow voice.
She heard him sigh. "The deaths of those Quincy are not on you, love. Soul Society made that decision."
"Because of what we did," she argued.
"Not necessarily."
Kaede finally tore her eyes away from the Hogyoku to give him an incredulous look, though she couldn't muster the sort of impassioned righteousness she'd had before. "What other explanation is there? No, really, enlighten me on how we are somehow totally innocent of causing a genocide."
Sousuke held her gaze evenly, unmoved by her harsh tone. "I do not deny that our actions contributed to this. However, the genocide of the Quincy race would have been ordered sooner or later regardless of anything you and I did."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that Soul Society used this as the excuse, but they would have found another within the next century." He sat down beside her. "After my team eliminated the family we'd been assigned, we were tasked with gathering and destroying any technology, research, and records held by them. However, if we came across anything that might suggest that the Quincy were planning another uprising…that, we were to bring back to Soul Society."
He met her gaze. "They wanted evidence - anything to support their decision, even in retrospect. They may have used the imbalance as the excuse to strike, but I think they know that the Quincy aren't solely to blame. Rather than seek the real reason, they took this as an opportunity to eliminate the last of an ancient enemy."
She shook her head. "That makes no sense - there's been peace between Shinigami and Quincy for centuries, why…"
Sousuke reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. It was burned a bit around the edges, but the script was still perfectly legible.
The sealed Quincy king
regains his Pulse after 900 years
his Mind after 90
and his Power after 9
Kaede looked up at Sousuke with a furrowed brow. "What is this?"
"The real reason the higher-ups wanted the Quincy wiped out," Sousuke said. "It's called the Kaiser Gesang; we found versions of it at several Quincy estates. It appears that the Quincy view this as a prophecy of sorts, predicting the return of their last king."
"But the last Quincy king was killed by Yamamoto centuries ago."
"He was defeated," Sousuke corrected. "Nowhere in Soul Society's records is it written that he was killed."
She fixed him with an incredulous stare. "You don't mean you actually believe this is real."
"Whether I believe it doesn't matter," he said. "Nor does it matter if the higher-ups do, or whether it's true or not. What matters is whether the Quincy believed in it. When people want something to be true, they will unconsciously act to make it true; if the original conditions aren't met, they will reinterpret them to fit whatever conditions exist. It needn't be the original king; a new person could use this to assume that role and lead the Quincy against Soul Society when the time came."
He took the paper back from her. "The point is that Soul Society wanted an excuse to do this. Enough of the higher-ups remember the last war well enough to fear what would happen should another Quincy king rise. Eliminating their strongest clans greatly lowers the chance of any survivors producing a successor in the next two centuries, and on the off chance that the prophecy does come true, they've effectively destroyed any army the king would have."
It…made sense. It certainly wasn't the first time Soul Society took extreme measures to prevent conflict; the very existence of the Nest of Maggots proved that. Not all of the Quincy were dead, but it would be several generations before they repopulated to any meaningful level. Even then, most future Quincy would likely be "mixed" by necessity, rendering them weaker than their ancestors.
The face of that Quincy child, those wide, chestnut eyes framed with light brown curls, flashed through her mind. Would it matter that she'd let one "pure" child go? After all, what awaited that child as they grew up now? They and any other survivors would forever be in hiding, having to repress their powers lest the Shinigami come for them again.
How poetic that she sympathized with an historical enemy of the Shinigami more than the Shinigami themselves.
"After what we-" She cleared her throat and forced herself to amend her words. "After what the Shinigami have just done to the Quincy…if that Quincy king does remerge, he'd have every right to rain destruction down on Soul Society."
Sousuke's face took on a thoughtful expression. "One would have to go back to the start of the universe to tally up the wrongs on either side. Conflicts happen because both sides believe themselves to be justified in some way; ultimately, I don't think there is any cosmic scale that can tell us objectively which is 'right.' But from conflict and hardship comes progress - and that is always worthwhile."
He cupped her face with his hands, thumbs lightly brushing under her dry, downcast eyes. "Don't torture yourself any further, love. I know how much it pains you to sacrifice life of any kind, but you know such sacrifices are necessary to place us at the top of the heavens. Once there, we will oust the ones who make such sacrifices necessary. We will one day make all stages of life better for everyone; don't let misplaced guilt make you lose sight of our goal."
Was it misplaced guilt? She wasn't sure, but she also didn't want to bring it up again - not when it was so much easier and more comforting to simply accept his view. Yes, they may have caused this in some way, and yes, on some level she'd known…but it was necessary. They'd make up for it. They'd make it all better.
Someday.
She just had to live with herself until then.
Author's Notes
This was a heavy one. Hard to write. But now we see at least some of what present-day Kaede is wrestling with. As for what became her breaking point…that, we have yet to unravel. Soon, though.
Some headcanons that went into this chapter:
Quincy souls: First off, keep in mind that what's presented in this chapter is what most of Soul Society understands about Quincy at this point. So…it's not necessarily the whole truth. What they think, though, is that Quincy souls undergo "soul suicide" when their bodies die; thus, Quincy never reenter the reincarnation cycle (or go to Soul Society, for that matter). Later on, when Mayuri is conducting his horrible experiments, he has to make "deals" with living Quincy to separate their souls and take them to Soul Society for experimentation. (My full headcanon for what happens to Quincy souls when they die…that'll come up later, but feel free to speculate in the comments!)
The balance of souls: I'll admit, I STILL don't fully understand how this works in the Bleach 'verse. Granted, considering the "original sin" that created the Bleach 'verse in the first place, perhaps it's not supposed to make total sense. Actually, it would make more sense for it to be a broken system, come to think of it…not that the original world was "perfect" to begin with… But yeah. Just had to get that out there. If you have a good way to explain the balance thing, please share!
Also…any theories on who the Quincy child was?
Final thing, I swear…I have a Tumblr! Same username (KitsMits). I'd be happy to field asks about MnA, Bleach characters, headcanons, and maybe even post some drabbles that don't fit into the main story :) Come find me and say hi!
Next time: We return to the present day, where Kaede learns that her very existence had more impact on some people in Soul Society than she could have imagined (such as a certain child-sized captain and his closest friend)…we'll see what Soul Society thinks happened back then…she and Urahara begin to plan for how to move against her ex…and for the first time in over a century, she comes face to face with the spirit of her Zanpakuto.
Until then, be well! And as always…
Stay Tuned!