Pre-Note

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. This is for creative purposes. I do own this plot.

There is an Image for this Chapter.

Reminder: Mature-rating. Mystery-themed. Light sexual content. Crucial to remain attentive to detail. This is for Rukia and her relationships.

Good Deeds With Bad Lies

Present

Wildfire wasn't looking at him.

They'd been like that for days, maybe even weeks. Minister Asa had left them there to rot and Raiden didn't have the energy to try and bust out.

He felt guilty.

Raiden had told her the whole story—about the execution, the revival and him aiding Rukia.

The whole reason that file had been moved was because he was trying to save Rukia.

Once he found out about the revival project the Captain had saved, he had gone in to find out how to do it. After finding all he needed, he figured he would hide her file at the same time in case anyone would try to reopen it if they found out who exactly was being executed on the soul reaper side.

But then he heard footsteps.

It had been Sensei Haruyoshi coming and he immediately panicked and slid it under the rug—tripping over it slightly as he tried to get out of there quickly and well…he never went back.

Upon hearing that, she was infuriated and yet she didn't shout at him or hit him like he was expecting her to. The silence was bitter. She went to the corner of the cell and huddled up while he looked away and eventually sat down against the opposite side of the cell.

They had been quiet since then.

He heard from some of the guards outside that Renji had cut some chains of the chandelier and was basking in the heroic limelight they were showering him in.

Raiden couldn't even feel jealous about it.

He didn't even care at this point.

He just wanted things to be back to normal again but after taking occasional glances at Wildfire who refused to show him her face, he knew it would take a long time before things would.

"Look, you got the wrong idea." Renji said with his arms up.

"I don't think I do, Secretary of State Abarai." Sensei Seo said smoothly with a raised brow. "It's obvious that the reason the pure light let you break that chain is because the particles of the person who gave birth to it recognized you and let you cut it."

"It isn't that simpl—"

He shoved his hands into his coat's pockets. "Which is exactly why I'm appalled by the fact that it let you cut it."

Renji immediately thought of Rukia and realized he could use that to his advantage.

"The obvious answer is Ru—"

"Secretary of State Abarai." A voice coldly interrupted him. It came from behind him—there was a blade to his neck, belonging to a dagger.

He slowly moved his head to catch a glimpse of the person and saw none other than Major Shira.

"Major Li!" He greeted energetically. "It's been a long ti—"

"Soul shadow bones are near my barracks where the injured are supposed to be healing. Get rid of them." She ordered.

He saw this as his ticket out and agreed.

"Yeah…sure." She removed the blade from his neck, leaving a thin scratch to bleed.

Closing her eyes, she waited for him to move. Awkwardly he turned to Sensei Seo, "guess I'll see…ya later."

Sensei Seo cleared his throat, clearly displeased but the kind mask he wore, much like Aizen's, held him together. "Yes, of course. We can chat another time."

Renji flashed an awkward smile and headed out with Major Li following closely behind him.

He stopped to thank her but she walked away.

Though she didn't say anything, as usual, he knew she came in there to save him.

After all, they had history.

Rukia knew this thing—this soul shadow—far in front of her was a part of Jushirmai.

Though her eyes remained locked with its head, it felt as though she was dreaming as visions came and faded despite her never closing her eyes.

She knew that Jushirmai could take his abilities and manifest them into living beings like he had done with Kla but this particular aspect of him was one she thought he would never share.

As she stared at the thing she thought of Jushirmai's many other abilities and aspects of his power she had come to learn about.

His real allies…his real subordinates were something like this—soul shadows—manifestations of even the most insignificant, irrelevant feat of his being.

She had always thought of those potential beings as his slaves but not actual bodies he would put out to fight. Her past experience and encounter with some always had them doing some dirty work.

Considering this meant that these were his real defenders, extensions of his body and mind and thoughts and the feelings which he gave onto others.

And while those things could all be destroyed without harming him, she found it almost ironic that he had physically turned himself into their heart.

The creatures that were being born around her also were sustained by his life force despite being formulated by the soul collector's reishi.

It was all just another one of his complex, interrelated systems where he stood in the middle as the beating heart.

"I think it's time you slept," its voice was hideous but the worst was yet to come when he mimicked the Captain's voice to say, "my dear".

Rukia backed away, slowly.

Past

In one week she'd be off to the Seireitei for the very first time. She couldn't deny how excited she was internally despite feeling bad about it.

All those books she had read upon coming to the Rukongai about all these beautiful places which existed in the Soul Society were finally going to be real to her.

She wasn't excited about meeting nobles but seeing all the glamor of the manors and the walkways and the gardens was what really got to her.

She didn't know how she'd handle it all when she got there. Sensei Okasake had made it mandatory for the graduates to take mannerism classes for the week to ensure there would be no issues.

After one of those classes on a Thursday, she met the Captain near a waterfall she never knew her district had.

She was all dolled up in her short sleeved uniform, her new black cuffs, flat black shoes and loosened hair, sitting atop a rock which was high enough for her to be able to swing her legs.

She barely recognized herself in the mirror now. The Rukongai girl she knew seemed much more refined now—much more capable.

She definitely had a lot more goals she could achieve now as this Rukia. One of them was to oversee the parliament that managed Rukongai District affairs but in order to be eligible, she needed a title.

Sensei.

Which…aligned with her sheatsu ranks.

"Isn't there a way to speed up the process?" Rukia asked him. "I learnt up to eight in Judan, I already passed my tests for three blades and kido, I still have more to learn about my sheatsu but as Sensei said, it'll take a lifetime to learn about every layer to it which is why he'll alternate with training me and my community service hours. Doesn't that already fit the requirement?"

"You are missing one thing." He pointed out.

"Which is?"

"What subject will you take on for your peers?"

Rukia shrugged. "Fan chained blades, I'm pretty good with them. I could mix that with defense and speed—good enough?"

"And what of the next?"

Rukia had no idea. "Alright, I get your point. I don't really know anything valuable I can teach them that isn't 'how to survive in the Rukongai'—wait! That could work…not specific to here but I do know a lot about getting creative with nothing if that counts for anything."

"Following that, you would need to write something formally to have it certified by the board Ministers, five non-division Senseis and the Colonels of the Ancestor Region."

Never mind!

"That's gonna take forever." Rukia semi-whined. "Guess I'll just have to wait."

"You are only obliged to do five hours a day. You will have spare time."

"I read better than I write. Doing a whole formal essay on it all will take a lot of time." Rukia said. "Unless there's a way around that, I guess I'm stuck."

"Hirosuke."

"I didn't say anything about fast tracking my Sensei title. I only asked if I'd be able to access the Rukongai District's complaint files which I wasn't even allowed to retrieve anyways but he made an exception."

"That could cross over to your formal work. Though the same people I mentioned would have to approve of it."

"Guess we'll see when I get there." Rukia said before she thought of her volunteer job. "Do you have any idea what I'll probably get? I asked to do something related to the academy but a lot of people went for that over training or assisting noble kids which makes sense."

He was silent for a moment.

She felt unnerved by it despite him doing it often.

"Something wrong?"

"Hiroshima…has other plans for you."

The way he sounded made her insides churn.

What did they want her to do?

"What…?"

She didn't know what could be so horrible. Was it a noble? She calmed her nerves, thinking that he knew she would be annoyed at the thought of having to assist one but the ominous chill in the air said otherwise.

"The thing." He simply said which perplexed her even more.

Rukia leaned back. "What thing?"

"The thing with Hiroshima."

She thought for a moment and let the dots connect for themselves.

"You mean…the creep?" Her voice was drenched with revolt. "No way…what does he want me to do?"

"He believes you might be able to rehabilitate it."

Fix him?

"I'm not a doctor. I can't fix whatever problems he has—he's something else." Rukia said.

"He does not see its problems as something incapable of being fixed."

"Still! What am I supposed to do with him?" Rukia asked. "All he does when he's around me is say weird things and tell me how much he wants to be my friend."

"You will be there for five hours a day. It would be basic training, an easy task."

"I don't think he needs training."

"That is what makes the task simple." He answered. "Nonetheless," the next part came to a warm surprise, "Hirosuke has been trying to change his mind though it will likely take time and delay the start of your work."

That was the last thing she wanted. Renji, Raiden and Wildfire were already excited about going to the Seireitei all together. If she started later they'd finish sooner and she'd be all alone.

"Great," she sarcastically remarked, "I can't believe he wants me to take care of his son."

"It is a thing."

She glanced up at him.

"What do you think I should do?" Rukia asked. "The problem isn't training him, the problem is staying around him for too long. He gets a lil' weird."

"That will not be a problem so long you complete your hours during the day."

"What's the difference?"

"You are surrounded by people."

Rukia found that response a bit silly but went with it anyway. After all, it did bring her some relief that she was surrounded by high ranking officers and people with actual authority as opposed to her district where there was little to no one that could do something.

Still, she hoped Sensei Okasake changed his mind. She could endure it for a couple days…maybe weeks but what she did know was that she would not last a whole year of completing her community service hours just by hanging out with him.

The thought in itself was morbid.

###

It was a day before her start date.

Inside his office downstairs with bright light seeping through the cracks, she saw the dread in his face before he explained to her that the other Sensei Okasake still wants her to train him. He even got the board Ministers approval which meant he was entirely serious.

"I will continue to pursue him regardless." Sensei explained to her.

"I still don't know what he expects me to do with him. Captain says it'll probably be basic stuff but isn't that weird? I mean he's heir and it's pretty obvious he has other things of his own too so really, all of this stuff is useless to him. He already knows this."

"That is why your time is being wasted so I will have to take drastic legal measures in the meanwhile." He replied.

Rukia's shoulders slouched. "Isn't there anyone else besides you that might be able to persuade him?"

Sensei shook his head. "Anyone who held favor with him no longer has the same effect."

Great.

"Hiroshima likes that thing a great deal." Sensei explained, which she was already partially familiar with via all the stories and rumors about them. "He believes that its issues are rooted in its past in the Rukongai District and that it is wrongfully being judged for it."

"So basically he thinks that everyone's against him because he's a commoner but…" Rukia stopped. "It's not that I don't see how everyone would be extra nitpicky of him because he's not noble blood but if he really believes that's the problem then why doesn't he let a psychologist examine him?"

"He tried, the it said no and she has never been found."

Rukia gulped.

"Okay…but obviously he has some issues, how does he expect him to succeed him if he's so weird? Stuff like that doesn't heal on its own." Rukia said. "From the two times he's spoken with me, he always tries to say we're similar—because we're non-nobles—but even if the trauma he endured here is bad, there's some things about him that I can't explain…I just feel."

"It is using that to its advantage. It knows your feelings and hatred of the class system so it is attempting to build a bridge between you to be more in favor of it." He explained.

"I do sympathize with the fact that he's a non-noble who's heir." Rukia confessed. "But…trauma from the Rukongai District can't be the only reason he's like that and if you, Captain and other people agree then why is he heir?"

They both despised him and it had nothing to do with class. If the other Sensei refused to have him properly treated then what was the whole point of having him as heir?

After learning about how important the Okasakes were to the Soul Society's structure, it seemed almost ridiculous and completely unlike a high ranking authority figure and noble personnel to not want to get rid of him.

"It has not been authenticated as heir as of yet."

The confession stunned her.

"You mean…he isn't officially heir." Rukia reworded to make sure she understood right.

He affirmed it with a nod.

"I thought he was—everybody refers to him as heir, you referred to him as the heir when you introduced me. If the legal stuff hasn't even been done yet then what…"

"It was adopted for the purpose of being heir hence why it has always carried that title but formally it is yet to be recognized as heir."

Man, this noble stuff was complicated.

"So basically he's not your heir yet, just Sensei's son?"

"Yes but considering its adoption and Hiroshima, it is perceived as heir."

Rukia let the news settle in. "And I'm guessing nobody outside of your legal realm knows about this."

He cleared his throat, "no."

Well this changed a lot of things.

"Hiroshima is attempting to prove his competency to be legitimized as heir before it can be exposed. That is why the board Ministers supported his decision in having you train it. Considering your abilities, they believed it would be an opportunity to reform it."

Following that explanation, Rukia had to ask, "but it's not like he's actually lacking anything to be heir…I don't see the point of him faking that. The whole point is succeeding Sensei Okasake who will leave his sheatsu with him. Besides that, I'm sure he's fine at everything else—All his problems are psychological. And if you count whatever feeling he gives off then yeah, sure—that's unknown too but overall I mean, how is he not officially heir yet?"

"The same reason we do not want it to be heir. Despite passing off its tendencies as a product of its trauma, he still has enough sense to not authenticate its title until he is sure there is a cure. An heir's authentication must also be approved by an overseeing council. Hiroshima still accepts that despite being able to override it."

"But if that's the case then there's really nothing I can do for him. Why do those board Ministers think that 'training' him can cure him?" She asked.

"Their idea of training is a lot more different. They believe it can learn from you as a person via activities such as training."

"So I'm just there to be an influence." Rukia reworded. He gave her nod to confirm it.

"I have heard that you wish to fast track your Sensei title. You will have quite a lot of spare time to do your work since you will be watching him more than training him. It is a relatively easy job."

When she looked at it in that light it really did sound like she had it easier than the other trainees. It benefited her a lot in the end though she still wasn't sure how she'd be able to last with him for five whole hours. It usually took less than two minutes for her to start feeling agitated and weird.

"However," his voice was hoarse, "you should never be alone with him after sundown."

What?

"During the day you are with others and have access to others. Beyond the Seireitei, you should not be seeing him after sundown."

"And if it happens, I tell Kit?"

"You can use your abilities now so you will return here and notify me or anyone who is here at the time directly." He said. "If it is late, you can send a butterfly."

Rukia nodded her head.

"If we are lucky, by mid-June we might be able to sway him once your time with it proves ineffective."

That made sense.

"I guess being able to show proof to the Ministers would change their minds." Rukia said, more to herself. "Are there any more special instructions?"

"You may come whenever, as long as you can complete five hours before sundown. Aside from that, you are free to do what you please with it and the rest of the time you may go through those complaint files and complete your work for your Sensei title."

Tomorrow was only hours away. She couldn't wait for it—it was not only her first field trip outside of her district but it was also going to be a new familiar space to her as she completed her hours.

She had all the time to walk around and enjoy whatever the Seireitei had to offer on one condition—watching the non-noble unofficial heir for five hours a day.

###

"He wasn't even authenticated as heir at this point." Tōshirō said as they observed Sensei Okasake and kid Rukia walking out of the room and into the forest upstairs. "I truly do not know what could have prevented them from formally restraining him. They already knew he was dangerous, their legal personnels knew it and the other Okasake was not as far gone if he was still willing to abide by the rules. Even if the hold the heir had was great, I do not see why they would waste the opportunity to restrain him."

Rangiku agreed. "Yeah and when you think about it, they could've just asked for her help with sealing him early instead of making her watch him."

"Well it's like we said earlier," Shinji brushed it off, "it probably wasn't that simple. I mean it looks like they got the advantage so why wouldn't they take it?"

Ichigo lowered his head to look at Tōshirō. "You said it yourself, Tōshirō—there likely isn't one and considering how weird the guy is, we're probably gonna hear just now that he's got something that they can't counter."

"I know what I said but it is peculiar that the board Ministers believe there is a chance to reform him—it is almost as if they only see his problems as psychological, almost as if they don't know that he is incredibly dangerous beyond it. Okasake and Kuchiki seem to know…but those people they spoke of…"

"But if that was the case then they would've easily been able to convince the Ministers that Kuchiki-san shouldn't be responsible for him." Uryū said. "They would be able to tell them something more to convince them that the heir was beyond redemption."

"You're right." Captain Ukitake said grimly. "Though I don't see how the board Ministers would think that reforming him would be possible—especially by relying on Kuchiki."

"Who are these people anyway?" Ichigo asked.

"They are a legal council like Central 46. They provide a second opinion to Hiro-sensei and Shima-sensei. Ginrei-dono is one of them, so is Cornel-dono." Captain Ukitake said.

"There are six others—Minister Martel, Minister Sol, Minister Pembi, Minister Naga, Minister Mitsudara and Minister Ashina." Sui-Feng added.

"Great, we got a bunch of old people runnin' the place." Kensei scoffed.

"Actually," Captain Ukitake chuckled, "not all Ministers are old or expected to be. You'll find that a lot of these positions have quite a lot of people born within recent generations. I suppose it just seems that way to you because there's still so many elders from our very early generations active over there."

"Regardless," Tōshirō said, "there must be something wrong with them—it could be the heir's compulsion technique or…"

"They could be sacrificing her to reform him because his abilities are impressive enough for them to want to authenticate him as heir." Uryū said.

"But why would they sacrifice Nee-san?!" Kon shouted as he jumped and waddled his fist in the air. "Nee-san is just as valuable to them as him! Why would they use her to fix him?!"

"Guess we'll find out—look." Ichigo ordered, staring straight ahead he saw that the environment changed and they were in the spider lily field, ahead of them was Rukia on the mustard path and the older Sensei a few feet in front of her.

###

The Seireitei was the nicest place she had seen in her life, she couldn't imagine what the area belonging to the noble homes would be like if the rest of the Seireitei was so nice and clean.

Renji, Raiden, Wildfire and her had made arrangements to come as early as possible so they could walk around and see all the places they would properly explore later.

They had retrieved the long sleeved version of their assassin uniform. The new attire made the whole thing seem real. The sleeves were tight near her arms and then flowed open into butterfly ones near her wrist. With her skirt version it looked so pretty, it made her feel like a princess.

By the time they took their brief tour, it was about ten in the morning.

Renji and Raiden got volunteer work organizing paperwork for exam takers at the academy and Wildfire was assisting a noble teen who's manor was located far down the noble residence space which led to her flash-stepping there and leaving Rukia to begin her walk to the noble homes area.

As she passed barracks, she eventually found herself down an open path of a beige and mustard colour. The field transformed from grass to a field of beautiful red flowers that were upturnt.

At its peak, there was a large tree.

Upon spotting it and the miniature bump the ground shaped into after it, she saw Sensei Okasake, the older one, flash-step on the path ahead of her.

She stopped.

"Sensei!" She greeted with a warm bow.

"Ah, I am glad you came early." He sounded overjoyed. "I could not wait."

Clearly. She didn't even reach the tree, let alone the entrance.

"Me neither." She lied with an uneasy tone though he either couldn't tell or ignored it.

He clapped his hands. "That is great."

There was a smile in his eyes that seemed fueled by the utmost energy. Too much energy. It felt almost peculiar. He had trained her a bit in the Rukongai District so she knew how youthful his aura was but today felt different. Today those lines on his face did more work than ever.

It was hard to believe at times that he was known for having a straight face.

"Here he is~!"

Rukia watched the pride come to his face as his arm stretched and hand tipped downwards. She forced a smile at him before looking to the space beside him.

She battered down the nervous feeling inside her as the memory of those iris eyes came to mind but it was interrupted by a blast of yellow and blue—something forming the shape of a ring was hurling towards her like an armadillo.

She didn't have time to react before it sprang free from its circles and jumped right in front of her.

It was a child. Way smaller than her, with wide brown eyes, two pigtails tied with red strings and a yellow top with large, droopy sleeves and wide blue bottoms.

It was staring up at her, blinking—red stained his cheeks as an innocent curiosity took over him. He became infatuated with her.

Who the heck was this?

"Huh…?"

She watched a surge of energy come over him before he jumped and wrapped his short arms around her legs and squeezed tight to…hug her. He lifted his legs to circle around her skirt and pressed his cheeks.

"Sensei…who is this?" She asked warily as she glanced at the top of the child's head to him.

He had his eyes upturned with a very small tint of colour on his cheeks.

He chuckled, "that is my boy."

No, it isn't!

"Um…" the child was fervently moving his head back and forth like a dog into her skirt, "this isn't him. I thought I was watching your son—the other one, the heir."

Nobody ever mentioned he had another one so that in itself didn't make any sense but she couldn't find any reason to justify as to why she saw this one as his.

"Oh, well I guess it has been several years since we first met. It feels like it was just yesterday considering how long it took before you changed your mind." He responded.

"Sensei, I didn't meet this one." Rukia said, determined. "I remember what your son looks like. He's taller than me, his eyes are light purple, he's…he's…" this was crazy.

She looked at him for an explanation but he just tilted his head. "I only have one son, my dear—what are you saying?"

"This isn't him, Sensei." Rukia said firmly, letting the confusion show in her face.

At this point, he was ignoring how concerned she was.

"Well…" he sounded as though he was bidding them farewell. He confirmed her assumption seconds later. "I'll leave you now to reacquaint yourselves. Lunch is at twelve so you will have a break in between—"

"Sensei!"

"—when you are done, you can complete the remaining hours at the manor." And just like that, he was gone.

Rukia studied the child still fastened around her legs. It was only for a moment—very brief—but the harder she tried, the clearer it became.

A feeling took over.

It was him…?

###

"Don't remember him ever looking that happy." Captain Kyōraku commented at the sight of the now former Sensei.

Captain Ukitake agreed. "He's not usually this…frivolous. I had seen him when his son was around but it seems that he had much more of a hold on himself then than now or here."

"That kid's the same one we saw messin' with Koga." Ichigo pointed out. "That's the daytime personality."

"Well he certainly looks harmless to me." Rangiku said. "Kinda annoying but cute."

"Matsumoto." Tōshirō scolded. "Anyways, it's obvious that the heir was controlling him here. I would like to believe your accounts," he was referring to Captain Kyōraku and Ukitake, "and Kuchiki's about who he actually was are better than this picture."

"He doesn't look all high and mighty either." Lieutenant Hisagi said. "If anything, his brother looks like he runs the whole place."

Captain Ukitake let out a wistful hum. "You must believe me when I say that both of them were equally very regal and strict. Though, of course, Hiro-sensei was the most reasonable of the two. This…this isn't the person he is or was…in fact, he did have a temper and was a bit feared at times despite his charisma. As Kuchiki mentioned before, many fell to his feet."

"Well that guy doesn't scare me." Lieutenant Hisagi said, in reference to the Sensei who had now disappeared. "He's just a weird little guy but the Head Commander of the Soul Society? Our superior? You gotta be kidding me."

"You did not know him so you should not say those things about him." Sui-Feng warned. "The person you saw there was not him."

"Still doesn't look like much if you ask me." Ikkaku said. "How weak you gotta be to get controlled by your son. If Head Captain's fine, why wasn't he?"

"We should not bring that up until we know for sure." Captain Ukitake warned, glaring at Ikkaku with his left eye.

"Won't deny he was terrifying when he wanted to be." Captain Kyōraku said. "What you saw there was—"

"The Okasake heir." Ichigo finished for him. "And when you push that aside, all we got is that lil' creep."

"Must not be older than three or four in human years." Uryū said. "I wonder what this good entity of his really means. I mean before we thought it was innocent love for Kuchiki-san but this…"

They observed how he clutched his tiny hands on Rukia's arms and dragged her to the tree in the field—saying he wanted to climb it.

###

It was noon and Rukia had met up with her friends after spending two hours trying to grasp what her assignment was.

He still a very young child who wanted to jump and play and climb trees and do all the little wonders and joys regular children had. It was unbelievable.

She had tried talking to him to catch glimpses of the face and voice of the person she knew but this person was someone completely new.

The hint of his presence she had felt for less than a second became nothing.

Neither Sensei or Captain had mentioned anything about this but she had no way of reaching them unless she sent a hell butterfly. Considering it was a regular work day, she thought against it.

Still, she didn't understand why they didn't mention this or if she was being incredibly duped into thinking that other boy was his son.

She didn't know what was going on anymore but she also didn't have anyone to talk to.

She had thought of going to the manor early but she didn't know anyone there. There were people available for regular inquiries down at the noble community service centre but she doubted they would be any help when it came to this.

She sat across from Renji with Raiden to her right and Wildfire diagonal to her on the far end of the long picnic table in the stark white cafeteria.

All the graduates were here.

There were about twelve long tables and each held about thirty students. It was loud and busy as everyone laughed and talked about their assignments within their friend group.

Renji and Raiden had gone off about theirs while her and Wildfire had listened. In front of them were their trays of lunch. There was almost an equal portion size of everything, clean and precise.

While she ate quietly and listened, she didn't know how to explain everything that had happened with the 'heir'. When it was her turn to speak she didn't know what to say.

When Raiden pressed on her to cough it up she explained the whole interaction. While Renji and Wildfire didn't know what to say and were stunned by it, Raiden concluded it was probably just a test because it was her first day.

Rukia didn't know what that 'test' was supposed to prove.

"Ruks, look, if you say the guy doesn't look like that then it isn't him. They probably got one of those theatre kids to fool you. Probably tryna see if you're a good babysitter, no big deal!" Raiden said.

But the heir was older than her.

They definitely wouldn't be climbing trees together or swinging or playing ball or hide and seek. And he definitely wouldn't be yelling at her for applesauce or juice or whatever else the little thing she had been with asked for.

This was a young child and the heir…the heir was something beyond that. He was almost a man stuck in a boy.

"I guess…but—"

Renji interrupted her. "Did Captain tell ya anything about it?"

Rukia shook her head. "No."

"So it's probably just a test!" Raiden concluded.

"Even if it is one, it still is weird." Wildfire said. "Wouldn't they send a kid around the same age as the heir and not some toddler? You even met him before so trying to pass him off as a little kid is just…"

"Exactly! He was just so…small and irritable. He just wanted to play. He asked for snacks I didn't have and was all in all just…different."

Wildfire hummed as she thought. "Wonder why they would do all that. And Sensei not listening to you is even weirder—that's not like him…"

Right! "He was so…happy…all giddy and excited for it to happen."

Raiden continued to brush it off, "look, it's gotta be some sick joke, at least he got a sense of humor."

Rukia reflected on his behaviour and wondered if it was just a farce but she would have never imagined him to be the type to pull jokes like that.

Wildfire thought about Raiden's idea for a second. "Hmm, it's not like you're any normal graduate either…"

"Exactly! It's probably just his idea of a warm welcome to the neighbourhood, relax!" Raiden said.

When she glanced at Renji ahead of her to see if he agreed too, he didn't.

Guess she'd have to wait until she saw Captain or the other Sensei again.

"Where you headed after this?" Wildfire inquired.

"Manor." Rukia answered. "You?"

"Her Highness," she rolled her eyes as she put her napkin down, referring to the second daughter of the current Lady of the Chousokabe clan, "wants to take a stroll down the Leamouth Botanical Gardens up north."

"Well I gotta go up to the Isshiki clan and figure out what the heck they're gonna do with me." Renji said as he wiped his mouth.

"Isshiki? What happened to the academy? I thought you were only stationed at one place for your hours." Rukia asked him before Wildfire spilled the beans.

"These two idiots broke the paper copier and had exams flyin' all over the place so test results got delayed." She explained.

They both flashed a megawatt smile as a tiny spot of red came to their face in regret.

"Ya didn't let us finish the story!" Raiden said in their defense.

"Anyways, I got thrown over there so I guess I'll be seeing ya." Renji said.

Rukia turned to Raiden. "How about you?"

"QRSQ guys hooked me up with them. Way better than moving soul reaper exams."

"When everyone's done, we can meet outside the community centre."

"Hm, I might not be done until sundown though." Rukia said. "I asked to see those complaint files. There's probably lots to go through—even after I'm done with him, I'll still have to start going through them."

"Oh right," Wildfire said. "Her Highness will probably keep me there until sundown too."

"We can wait up for ya." Raiden offered.

"Yeah, we still gotta start from scratch 'cause of this morning." Renji said. "Killin' a couple extra hours after won't be hard."

"I'll be back before sundown." Wildfire reassured them.

"I'll be at the centre before the sun starts to set." Rukia confirmed, not wanting to take the chance of the heir appearing at the manor when it would start.

"Then we're all set." Raiden said as they stood up with their empty trays.

"They'll probably be someone you can talk to at the Okasake manor, Rukia." Renji said to her as they left their trays on the stand.

"I hope."

Upon leaving the cafeteria, they all went their separate ways. Rukia got a hell butterfly message about the location of the papers and where she was expected to go.

Interestingly, Sensei Okasake told her not to take the heir to the manor and finish out her hours with him first before going there.

The irritable little kid appeared at her feet within minutes asking to play hide and seek and for three hours they did a bunch of things on their 'play date'. Once those three hours were up, the little kid squeezed her legs tight, waved goodbye and ran off.

The hell butterfly then returned to lead her to the Okasake manor. Inevitable chills took over her as she finally passed the tree and then was led into the noble homes' residence.

At first she was confronted with tall silver walls to the left of her which ran all the way down with seemingly no end. To the right of her, the red lily field had long cut off and it turned into a field of grass and regular trees with white benches at the front of them.

After what felt like a very long walk, she was directed to turn left. When she did she saw two guards. Upon seeing her, the tall, now light beige walls split open as doors and she walked in.

She held her breath as she did.

Upon seeing the manor, her stomach dropped. It was huge, wide and gorgeous.

The structures were so detailed, the grass so green, the flowers so pretty.

An arrangement of plum trees could be spotted at a distance diagonal to her, brightly lemon tinted flowers she recognized as primroses, hibiscuses and buttercups peppered the place with others, a massive wisteria tree cried lavender petals from a distance, three story leaf fountains sprouted streams of sparkling water all over the place, bellflowers coiled around basin fountains of grey-blue rock, lush green bushes cut into clean shapes were nestled between picnic benches and curved pathways—it was so dreamy!

Rukia couldn't wait to explore it all later. The hell butterfly led her onto the veranda and the shōji slid open automatically to reveal a room that made her eyes sparkle.

A complete reflection of the citrine stone—all the colours you could imagine defining warmth.

Upon stepping in, she was faced with a large portrait of a very old photo of people she now recognized and knew. To the left of her was a cabinet with a clock atop it, then a shōji and then another cabinet with antiques above it.

To her far right were photo frames embedded into walls mixed with paintings, a cerulean vase and other antiques that were polished.

Some faces she recognized, some she didn't. It'd probably take awhile to understand all the little stories behind the ornaments and antiques they had everywhere.

As she followed the wall from its furthest point to the space a few metres beside her she saw a low table of brown with two small incense holders and a thin brown folder on it. Behind it, there was a red cushion.

The butterfly led her to another table that was slightly diagonal to it. It was low and had piles of folders on it to the side.

That was hers.

She kneeled onto the cushion with her head spinning all around to familiarize herself with the place. It was so quiet.

She didn't think anyone was even here…she was alone. With that in mind, she decided she wouldn't explore any further until she was sure she had permission to.

Though she was sure he wouldn't mind, it still was a foreign place.

Maybe a guard or even a maid would later complain about how rude she was as an outsider for going around the place.

Her eyes fell on the picture frames on the wall across from her—she searched for him but he was in none of them.

Weird.

Despite Sensei's hatred, she was sure the other one would have had photos of his son somewhere or everywhere with his enthusiasm. She wondered which face he had photos of—or if he had both!

That was awfully weird when she thought about it. She didn't know when Sensei was going to be back or if she'd be able to see the Captain today to ask about it all.

She constantly reminded herself that they were busy people and that checking up on her on her very first day was not easy with their schedule. She likely wouldn't see them at all today.

She began to go through the files. The shōji being left open allowed her to take glances at the pretty view outside, memorizing the little details and pathways she would explore once she got permission.

Reading the files was admittingly difficult at first. She had started with the worst districts she knew of and spent hours deciphering handwritings and complaints. Some of these papers were so old, she feared that most of these people were already dead.

It infuriated her to the point that she kept going once she got the gist of it. She made mental notes and actual notes to do follow up on these places—by the time the sun started to set, she had a whole stack of notes for a single district.

She hadn't even noticed how fast the time went. It was only when she took a glance at the walls and saw the shadows and took a peek to her right where the view was now basking in a pink orange light did she realize…it was sundown.

Upon seeing it, she reluctantly packed up her work and put the folders to the side. She gathered her notes together but struggled to decide where she'd put them.

As she contemplated between taking them with her or leaving them here to complete tomorrow, a shadow grew in front of her.

She froze. Her heart stilled as the feeling tensed her arms and shoulders.

He was here—behind her.

She didn't move. She didn't say anything either. She kept her head down and hands busy shuffling papers.

"Welcome home, Rukia."

She was mortified at the sound of that voice again. His voice—the voice of a man—so deep and sinister. She hated it. Her heart shivered as he said her name.

Considering that she had been warned about this made her feel more alarmed than she had been with him in the Rukongai District.

"What?" He cracked an amusing smile behind her. "Was my introduction not up to par to you?"

Again, she didn't answer. Instead, she finally put the papers she was mindlessly fumbling with into a folder and cleaned up her desk.

"You know…" she could feel him getting closer to her, she tried not to show how tense she felt as he got closer and closer, "…I do…" it was almost as if though he was speaking above her shoulder, "…really…"

His body was less than a centimetre away from her. Something about the aura he was radiating was distracting—she hated how easily she fell into it.

When he moved away and walked around her she hid the relief that washed over her when he didn't come any closer.

"…want you to help me."

He was kneeling in front of her now—across the desk. Her eyes swiftly moved to stare at him when he finished his sentence.

Suddenly all the tension she had felt vanished and she throbbed with curiosity.

She had a bunch of things she wanted to ask him but something inside her was telling her not too.

Somehow it felt like she was accepting the friendship proposal she had denied a long time ago if she did.

Rukia stood up while looking at him, grabbed her file and walked out as if he hadn't said anything. Until she got her answers, she didn't want to be anywhere near him.

"Until tomooooorrow, woo-key-ah!" Rukia paused. He mimicked the voice of the little child version she had been dealing with all day so perfectly. She snapped her head back at him to see him waving with a smile.

End Note

Image for this Chapter

The appearance of the child version of Jushirmai. Inspired and and a reflection of the child in The Tale of Genji animated series.

byaruki / tumblr