The Iced Moon Arc Bleach

by tending

Lieutenant Kuchiki has a secret. A variety of secrets that the Gotei 13 do not know until a figure of her past and present tips them off and then a story is told, a past. A past connected to the very creation of the Soul Society from the Soul King to zanpakutos. Soul reapers are not the utmost rulers after all.

38. The Appetizer & First Course

Pre-Note

Note that in a previous chapter I named Byakuya's Aunt, Koga's wife, Ayame on a whim—which unintentionally mimicked the characters of Koga and Ayame of Inuyasha. I changed it because I didn't like it but I now realize that it was also the same as them. Weird and unintentional coincidence. Cho Marisol has also been changed to Cho Estelle.

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

There are Images for this Chapter.

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

Update as of September 23rd, 2022: Hi, so there's this rumor going around that this site is glitching/going to go down so I'm in the process of moving the updated chapters here onto AO3 so that they're still available to you until my next update IN CASE anything happens! It will be under the user NairaRains on there in case anything happens. I just wanted to alert the remaining people who still read it in case something happens. I still will update on this site so long it is here as this is the main one.

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The Appetizer & First Course

Past

The next few days in the past had been slow.

Mellow as the weather, a recuperation period at best.

Patch ups after the incident passed by languidly. There was little to nothing that evoked any brain stimulating conversation between them as it did. Most of the Gotei 13 members laid on the Kujou family field, unconscious while their injuries healed.

As of now, there were only ten of them, including himself and Kon, that were awake and could watch. He assumed the lack of transitions was deliberate to let them heal but neither one of them could figure out why they had been attacked by those creatures or how they had been attacked.

At some point, their assumptions led nowhere and they gave up on thinking about it. The Head Captain sure had a lot of questions he needed to answer when they got back.

After the incident, a special unit was formed to scope the passageways using a single access point. It was obvious that someone had been there recently. There were signs of activity from shoe prints to specially designed torches but no sign of those creatures or indication of whom.

While that ensued, some of Haru's division members worked on restoring and sealing the Kujou field while the others along with Yoruichi's division sealed off other access points using the binder Major Li had of them. That project went on from Thursday, the day of the incident, to Wednesday of the next week.

On Friday, Major Haru met with Central 46 and justified his decision to seal off the place without getting permission first since the passageways were soul reaper's property. He argued that the matter should be passed off to them because it involved assassins but Central 46 delayed their decision, citing they needed to speak with the Head Captain.

Since they couldn't touch the place until they were granted permission, the most they could do was stand guard and wait.

Kujou's grandfather was starting to press guards about the situation as security around his manor intensified. He was finally investing in putting up gates to separate his house from the field to block off the presence of the officers who were sealing off the hole from the explosion.

Major Li was yet to wake up. Her condition had improved as days passed but her doctor warned them, being Haru, Minister Asa and her half-sister, that she wouldn't be able to partake in any intense activity for a while. She'd likely be under tight restrictions until she could properly breathe again but Captain Ukitake and Kyōraku said she'd never abide by that and didn't based on what they saw.

The lab report on the substance of those creatures had also been delayed after an 'incident' occurred with the sample upon removal from the tube. The fact that they could send a lab report to somebody meant that there was another person on the case who worked for the 12th Division on their side but they were yet to see them.

Until that report came through, Rukia couldn't do much of anything either. She was back to watching the toddler heir again. She had been watching it since Friday in spite of fulfilling her volunteer obligations to the academy.

The older Sensei Okasake was nowhere to be found and the other one didn't return until Tuesday to the manor where Rukia explained everything. She also didn't see the Kujou kid after the last exam on Monday.

Byakuya's father or grandfather were nowhere to be found either or at least shown.

The end of October was already near. The desolate gray skies and recurring cold rain of autumn finally marked the end of the extended summer season they had enjoyed up until last week. It matched the mood which only grew duller.

The incident at the Kujou field was just a small taste of what was yet to come. An early preview of what type of storms they'd see in November and onwards.

Setting the tone for the rest of the story.

###

Thursday

A week had gone by since the incident. It had been rather quiet around the manor since it happened. Minister Asa made sporadic visits but even then, she'd only stay an hour or two leaving her with the toddler and staff.

Despite having questions, she didn't think asking the toddler version would provide the answers she needed. The other version had to visit her himself but he hadn't shown himself to her in any other form but the toddler in a while.

He had every opportunity to approach her at the manor now but didn't.

She figured he wanted to torture her for a little while longer, make fun of her submission. Of course he knew she had questions. She even waited up for him at night and wandered around her district in hopes of being visited by him.

Early this morning, mail had come in—amongst the many was a formal invitation to the Kujou's family celebration that would be held in late November. Despite promising she would, she felt a bit discouraged from attending it.

Some members of the 6th Division were assigned to guard the hole they temporarily sealed from day to night but that didn't mean they were safe. In spite of Central 46 still deliberating on the matter, she decided to check it out herself. There was no harm in sending one or two people down there to check.

Sometime in the afternoon, she met up with Renji and Raiden in front of the Kujou field to do just that. The guards from the 6th Division also agreed that Central 46 was wasting time and subsequently, let them in with ease.

Following their instructions, they lifted up a small circular slot at the center that they would jump through to enter the passageway.

"Here," Rukia extended her hand to Renji to her far left who held it for a moment and then to Raiden across from her.

Raiden's eyes bulged wide when her sheatsu lit him up, feeling excessively and intriguingly empowered.

"Woah…"

He looked at his slightly enlarged arms. "That really boosts ya up!" He glanced at her, "hey, how come your arms look like twigs when this whole thing is supposed to be your muscle power?"

Rukia squinted her eyes, annoyed at the mention. "I can take it back any second ya know."

He put his arms up, "hey, hey, I didn't mean anythin', calm down!"

"Sensei!" Her head fired left at the call, it was Kujou grinning cheek to cheek behind a guard who was yet to let him in.

"Kujou…" Rukia acknowledged, a bit surprised. The guard let him past and he came jogging to them. "I thought you were at your grandfather's place."

"I-I was—or am—for now." He answered, "but grandfather missed me so I came back for a day or two."

"Uh…" Raiden looked at Renji who had no reaction to his appearance.

"Oh…" Rukia said, "so…what are you doing out here? As in here, here."

"Well I felt you nearby," he blushed, "so I came out," he scratched his head, "thought you came to see me."

Raiden and Renji arched a brow at each other but he wasn't paying attention to either of them to notice.

"Oh…well you see, we were—" she stopped once he looked down at the hole.

"Are you going in?" He asked her.

Well duh, Raiden thought.

She had to put it gently. "Yes…we're investigating right now…you see."

"Can I come?" He asked cutely. She felt Raiden and Renji stiffen. She knew that translated into 'no' but Kujou was too nice, she didn't want to let him down.

She tried to think of an excuse. "Are you sure that would be alright with your grandfathers?"

"Huh?" He lost the grin, a confused look followed, "I'm an assassin, they know I have to put myself in dangerous situations…"

"But you're sick," Rukia reasoned. "Are you sure it's worth the risk?"

"That's never stopped me before…" he answered slowly.

Rukia was starting to feel bad. "Well…"

She looked at Renji and Raiden's faces that were practically screaming 'no' but she couldn't go through with it.

"Sure." She surrendered. They were glaring at her unhappily now but there wasn't much she could do.

The smile returned and so did his tinted cheeks..

"So—" Raiden said with his hands on his waist, clearly very agitated with her, "aren't you gonna give him some of your fancy sheatsu so he doesn't fall apart when he hits the ground?"

Rukia scowled at him.

Kujou leaned forward, "N-No need!" He said while waving his left hand. "I've got second rank Major sheatsu!"

"Wait a minute," Renji felt insulted, "you have Major sheatsu?"

("Sure is one heck of an insult." Shinji muttered.)

"That's gotta be a hand-me-down or somethin'." Raiden said.

("Could this be how they find out about his power?" Captain Ukitake wondered.)

Kujou chuckled, "n-no hand me down, it's all me!"

Raiden crossed his arms, "no way I'm stuck down here as SOS when I'm much stronger than you, there's gotta be some people who get the wrong thing."

"Weren't you just talking about how muscular power forms our sheatsu, Raiden?" Rukia asked with a raised brow.

Raiden scoffed, "exactly! There's no way you," he leaned towards Kujou, "are more stronger than me! Even Abarai got more stamina than you!"

"Hey!" Renji shouted in offense.

"I wasn't agreeing with you, you idiot." Rukia said, "didn't you call my arms twigs?"

"Yes," he hissed at her, "but you're a weirdo, I'm talkin' about regular degular people here!"

"Thanks!" Rukia sarcastically remarked. "Anyways—rule number one of sheatsu is that it comes from innate physical strength so if Kujou has it, he's got it. End of story."

"It's not the end of the story," Raiden protested, he gestured to Kujou on his right, "he's gonna break the moment he gets down there and that's the guy you wanna bring along?"

"Raiden." Rukia chided. Oh why did he have to be so rude?

"What?" He asked. "I'm just saying what we're all thinkin' here!"

"No, you're not." Rukia contested in a restrained voice. "Kujou's already an assassin so he's already above all of us in some kind of way so quit it."

"Above?" Raiden was about to lose his mind, "Ruks, you gotta be more cockier than that."

("Sorta agree with that one." Ichigo admitted.)

"Oh, boo hoo," Rukia brushed off.

"Besides, not even you," he flicked his finger at her, "think he's strong enough to make it down there. What's the big deal about sayin' it out loud?"

She clenched her fists, "I. Never. Said. That."

"Look," Raiden called with his brow arched, "you can fool whomever you want but we know what you're thinkin' alright, the guy's a phony, not even his muscles match his power."

"Raiden!" She was already repressing the volume and anger in her tone because she was in nobleville as an Okasake representative, he needed to stop provoking her before she blew. "Stop being rude!"

"You know what your problem is?" Raiden asked, "you're too—"

"Don't say it." She interrupted, "I know what you're gonna say."

"Really?" Raiden goaded. He was challenging her, "what?"

"That I'm too compassionate." She answered.

"Oh—" he dropped the smug look, "well fina-fucking-ly! Who told ya? Glad somebody said it to your fucking face!"

"You know, I'm starting to think you're more cut out to play Okasake prince than me." Rukia said.

"Well then pass it over then!"

"Nuh-uh."

Kujou jumped in. "I-I think Sensei is an excellent princess!"

Raiden turned to him, "oh," he flashed a face of disgust, "you're one of her—" he didn't bother finishing his sentence.

"Sorry," she apologized to Kujou. They had been yelling in front of him this whole time. "They're—he's—a bit…"

"O-Oh no worries!" He chirped. "I've never been in a friend group before, it's n-nice to watch!"

"This is Renji and Raiden." She introduced.

"Hey." Renji dryly greeted with his arms crossed.

"H-Hi, I'm Kujou Kotaru!" He stammered nervously.

"You can call me Arigawa." Raiden roughly ordered.

Renji shrugged, "doesn't really matter to me."

Raiden leaned back, offended by his leniency, "have some fucking respect, Abarai." He snarled. "You can't let some rando just call you Renji."

"Raiden." Rukia snapped.

"What?' He asked acidly.

Rukia gave up.

"Ignore them." She told Kujou as Raiden's eyes flickered.

"Abarai, do you wanna throw any one of us down there or are we jumpin in as usual?" Raiden snarkily jested.

Renji clenched his teeth at the mention. He awkwardly chuckled, "you forgive me for that Ruks, don't ya?"

The agitation bolted through her body, she turned to him, forgetting about Kujou to her left.

"It's been years!" He reasoned.

"Not until this scar," she pushed her bang up to show a faint zig zag at the rim of her forehead, "goes away."

Raiden bent over the circle to catch a glimpse, "yikes, and you pushed her down when she was suppressin' the shit of her powers too. That might not go away."

"Y-Yeah—" Renji stumped back, "but you can't even see it! No biggie!"

"Right." Rukia sarcastically remarked, "stupid." She muttered.

When she caught herself she turned to Kujou again and apologized. "Sorry."

"N-No worries!" He reassured her with a smile. "S-Shouldn't we get in now?" He looked up, "it might rain."

"Some water scarin' you, kid?" Raiden asked him.

He staggered back, "n-no! Not at all I ju—"

"Raiden, he's older than us." She was getting tired of his snarkiness. No matter how Kujou looked, he was superior to them. "Stop being rude."

Raiden stretched his arms, "alright, so I'm going in. Let me know when you're done playin' mother hen here."

Rukia clenched her teeth, "Raiden."

("You know I'm startin' to like him." Shinji said.)

He jumped in.

Rukia puffed in annoyance before looking at Renji, "you got to teach him some manners."

She'd slip into informal speech while Kujou hovered the hole and dived in.

"The guy's an asshole, Rukia, nothing can teach him." Renji said.

"I can still hear ya, Abarai." They heard Raiden seeth from underground. "And you, you're lil'loverboy almost cracked my head open! Get down here!"

"S-Sorry!" She heard Kujou apologize.

Renji and Rukia looked at each other and jumped.

When they got down, Raiden was examining the wall in front of them and Kujou was looking around to the left of them. The explosion had quite literally blown the walls beside them apart so the space was much bigger now.

The rocks were like a carnelian stone, a gradient of red to orangey red to a very light orange. They were rusty though. Dust was all over the place, so were insects and rats.

When one of the guards closed the circle, it was pitch black. Renji lit a finger with fire which Raiden and her used to make their own personal torch.

Kujou came running to them. "It looks like an underground tunnel."

Raiden took the ember and lit something he held between his lips. It was a thick cigar!

"Where did you get that?" Rukia questioned furiously.

He puffed out, "ooooh, cool, huh?"

"Not cool." Rukia said. "Stop doing that."

"Rukia," he took the cigar out, "put the maternal instincts aside for a sec, it's good."

Kujou began to cough rapidly.

"Ah shit," Raiden scowled, "what the fuck's wrong with you?"

"Don't tell me you got it from some dealer in Inuzuri." Renji said, unimpressed.

Raiden scoffed, "heck no! I got it from one of the guys I work with. Here, try it!"

"Put it out." Rukia ordered as Kujou continued to cough. "I told you he's sick, he's super sensitive to these things as am I!" She closed her nose.

"I told you you shouldn't have brought him down here." Raiden said. "This is the only one I got so I'm smokin' it! Don't like it? Get the fuck back up!"

"You know that's i—"

Kujou cut her off. "I can investigate myself."

Renji didn't think it was a good idea to split up.

"Relax, you can stay." Renji said. "It's better we stick together. More eyes and ears to keep a lookout."

Rukia looked at Renji with a small smile. At least he had some manners. He was looking at Kujou to the left of her, who was rightfully feeling not welcomed by the group because of Raiden.

"We're just here to take a look around." Rukia assured him. "I doubt we're going to find any trace of them, let alone see them again. My guess is that this place ends somewhere and merges with the rest of the Seireitei's sewer. Sensei told me it was designed by soul reapers who were preparing for the 'inevitable' civil war."

"Oh." Raiden jerked his neck back in surprise. "So this shit's been here from time then."

"My father's clan were the ones who helped expand the Seireitei. The sewers down here were made around that time. This must be part of the expansion but there was never something like this to my knowledge." Kujou informed them.

"Come on," Raiden said, "what's the difference between this and a sewer way?"

"W-Well the sewer pathways underground were made up of chalk rock. I never heard about an underground passage made up of this." Kujou explained.

"And there's no chance of this being a noble thing?" Renji asked. "Ya know like them wanting some different rock to make up the place?"

"I'd have to check with my grandfather." Kujou replied.

"Let's just take a look around for now. If it's just dust and rats, we go back up." Rukia said.

###

"Guess there's nothing to see."

Ichigo threw himself against the grass and looked up at the sky. Kon stood up angrily and brushed off non-existent dirt from his skin.

It was just a part of the day. Nothing to care about.

He closed his eyes and imagined the wind he couldn't feel ruffle through his hair and cool his skin. When's the last time he felt wind? When's the last time he felt anything?

"This certainly is nice." Captain Ukitake commented.

He took a glance beside him to see that he had joined him on the grass too.

"Ukitake?"

"If only we could feel the wind." He added as he stared up at the clouds which meshed closely to form the same slate grey.

Ichigo agreed. He closed his eyes again and tried to relax a bit. He heard Captain Kyōraku grunt on his way down, now seated beside Ukitake.

It felt nice to relax like this for a change. Though he couldn't feel anything he could finally recharge himself after everything he had experienced.

Shinji came beside him and stretched while Kensei grumbled at the fact that they were relaxing when they should be walking around and investigating but even Unohana thought it was pointless.

Everything they needed to know would come to them.

With closed eyes, Ichigo ascended into nothingness. He felt nothing, thought nothing and laid still.

Sometime when Ichigo woke up, he heard a muttered voice which sounded a lot like an old man. At first, his body froze in panic—his hand reached out to grab something but couldn't feel anything which made his frightened reaction worse.

Slowly, as his memory came back, he had come to terms with the fact that he had fallen asleep. The voice in the background was still inaudible but Ichigo was having a hard time adjusting himself to care about what they were saying.

Slowly, he cracked open his eyes and was met with the sharp grey sky.

The voice was starting to become audible. It was deep, heavy. He pushed himself up, stretched his arms out and wiped residual drool.

As his bones cracked he realized the voice belonged to Byakuya's grandfather. When he twisted right he saw the injured bodies of the Gotei 13 still resting and when he twisted left, he saw Byakuya and Ukitake staring at each other and then at him.

By the looks of it, only three of them could hear it.

"You will not leave this house until I permit you to return." Byakuya's grandfather announced with a low tone. "No one connected to that house will you be in contact with for the time being. Should you attempt to betray this order, the consequence will be the same."

Ichigo pieced together the scenario from the words they could hear coming from the clouds. Byakuya's father was in trouble. Deep trouble. The rough tone Byakuya's grandfather used was enough to nerve him.

"—Once your inclusion is finalized, you will never see Hirosuke again, you will never step foot in that house nor be informed of their affairs. It will be as though it never existed." His chest grew heavy at the mention. "Your case or any other attempts of rationalization will be deemed irrelevant."

He paused. "You are dismissed."

Ichigo looked down on the ground, disheartened by his words. The consequence being his formal inclusion under the common law would mean that the heir case would have to be handed off to the others which Ichigo knew meant a lot to him.

"There is no argument that will omit you from taking responsibility for your actions." Ichigo assumed he hadn't moved yet. "They were rash and negligent."

"There will be no opportunity to reflect the next time, should you survive." He reminded him.

"If you cannot think of Hirosuke nor yourself or this clan," he began slowly, "then have some audacity to think of your son."

That made him think of what would have happened if that move had been fatal. He had, quite literally, brought himself into the mess of those creatures to pick her up. Though he was quick, there was still much to consider about his health if flash-step was enough to make him unable to breathe.

Though he understood why Byakuya's grandfather was upset with him, he obviously didn't intend on ignoring either one of their concerns and feelings in regards to his health, it just happened.

Threatening him with so much for something so little seemed incredibly unfair.

Captain Ukitake drew a deep breath, equally disheartened by his punishment. Their dwellings of remorse were interrupted by the grass molding into the hard floor of the Okasake study.

Ichigo didn't look up at Byakuya when it did, unable to bear the thought of him thinking like his grandfather did too. He alleviated his attention to the conversation between Rukia and the god lady over soup.

###

Rukia slid a badge with a symbol she had found with Renji and the others onto the table for Minister Asa to examine.

"It is those fiends." She seethed, eyeing the symbol in disgust. "Those abominations are playing with us."

Soul reapers? It couldn't be.

She threw her head back and laughed. "Abominations, I tell you, abominations…"

"These things," she gestured to the symbol, "are just trying to taunt us."

"But it wouldn't make sense for them to belong to soul reapers." Rukia argued. "Unless…you're saying they're taking credit for their…work?"

"This symbol belongs to their rebel group—the rebels who want to get rid of us." She explained.

"You mean the A.A.A." Abolish Assassins Association. "But," she was not convinced, "it doesn't add up."

("That's the ex-soul reaper rebel group, no?" Ichigo asked while standing up.)

"What better way to antagonize us than to corroborate with its cousins?"

("Abolish Assassins Association is what they stand for." Captain Ukitake wearily explained. Byakuya's father was still occupying his mind. "And yes, they are recognized as ex-soul reapers or rather, 'missing' soul reapers on our files.")

"But—" that didn't make any sense either because she would have thought he hated soul reapers and the A.A.A would never work with an assassin—"why help an anti-assassin organization? Why take credit for his work?"

"They are the same thing." Minister Asa said. "Abominations, errors, things that do not belong in this world, things that should have never been made." She emphasized. "They're cousins!"

It was hard to believe that he'd lend some of his creatures to the A.A.A to attack them even if they did share some similarity in that particular light. The A.A.A would never take credit for an assassin-related job or ask for creatures.

"Muttons." Minister Asa grumbled as she ate. "That passageway was made by those abominations when we were on the verge of a civil war, they were hideouts."

("So that split you all were going off about wasn't as pleasant as you made it out to be." Mayuri said.)

"So I've heard." Rukia said. "How far do they go? Haru only sealed the access points Major Shira found so there's still lots more we don't know about."

("On the contrary, it was pretty peaceful considering the way it happened. Sure there were protests and a few rebellions but it could've been much worse with Yama-jii's and Shima-jii's temper." Captain Kyōraku said.)

Minister Asa signalled her to wait with her finger as she sipped some water, "they're all over the Seireitei. They run along sewer ways and any other thing buried down there."

("Naturally we began to prepare for a civil war ahead when it occurred." Captain Unohana added. "Certainly we had to expect some repercussions.")

"And no one goes down there anymore?"

"They've been cited as unused since that agreement." She murmured. "Or at least that is what the Head," she emphasized acrimoniously, "of those abominations say."

("They haven't been used." Captain Ukitake told them. "I didn't even realize we were down there until Hiro-sensei said it.")

"Least that explains why no one ever found them before us." Rukia said. "Haru's team did find things down there though which means even if they're unused, someone's been down there to check on them."

("Not tryna burst your bubble or anything but Head Captain's been lying to you guys too." Ichigo pointed out. "You never know what he could pull on ya.")

Minister Asa pressed a napkin against her mouth and removed it. "I would've liked them to stumble upon them and rip their flesh."

She put it aside, "at the very least they should have done that."

Rukia thought about that idea for a moment. "What if they did?"

Minister Asa stopped.

"But with the A.A.A." She clarified.

"What if…this badge I found belonged to someone they killed?" That made a lot more sense. "They could've been down there—the A.A.A—trying to use that passageway as their own hideout or something and then discovered those things living down there."

(Captain Ukitake agreed. "That is likely.")

"Good riddance." Minister Asa snapped vehemently. She calmed herself down before adding, "assuming that is the case."

("These rebel groups formed just before the split occurred." Captain Unohana went on. "There are two groups. The A.A.A, Abolish Assassins Association and K.T.I, Kill the Imitations.")

"We should investigate that." Rukia suggested. "Find out why the A.A.A was down there. They had a mission if they came all the way here."

("Which means their leaders and successors know all about the little tricks and spaces we sealed off to use to their own benefit." Captain Kyōraku finished for her.)

"I'd leave that to you."

"Those creatures, whatever they were, were also hanging down there for some reason. We still don't know how they were made, why were they made, what they were doing down there. Killing off some members of the A.A.A wasn't their intention, they had to be defending something, no?"

"You must remember it is a disease. It can make things just as filthy without reason."

"But not to just hang around in some empty soul reaper passage? They must be for something." Rukia argued. "And if he made them then he definitely had a reason for it. Unless they're just allies of his who were there for their own reason."

"You cannot differentiate between ally or creation because either will have its miasma." She explained. "Its miasma has no genetic properties or at least, does not show it."

"Can't they just tell whether the miasma they use was born with them or transferred?"

"That is not enough." She replied before sipping her soup. "The lab does not have its DNA. The most you can do is make sense of their presence down there so inquire about what you wish."

Rukia was confused, "they don't have his DNA?"

But how—"what do you mean they don't have it?"

"It never leaves a trace." She answered.

(Shinji brushed it off. "I don't think we should take her word for it honestly. Even if she does know about what's going on, she's crazy. I don't think they tell her that much.")

So how did the Lieutenant find out he's not related to the Okasakes? How'd he get his DNA to compare?

"Haven't you all ever tried to get some of his DNA?" She didn't want to mention what the Lieutenant said about him having no relation to the Okasakes because she felt that was a matter she should take up with him.

"Of course." She answered firmly, "there was not a day that went by that I didn't cock my eye out to find just a pinch to use myself but it leaves nothing. Its presence is neutralized."

"What about blood?" Rukia asked. "His hair? Clothes from the toddler?"

"I have never seen his blood." She admitted slowly. But she had. "The toddler cannot be trusted as a true source of it either. It has to be from one of the official versions."

("Yeah, see, the chances of that?" Shinji asked. "They're just holding her on a string.")

"What about the spoons? The stuff he eats from?"

"Not a trace."

Rukia slouched in frustration. What in the world was this thing? Not even Sensei Okasake could do that! Or at least, she thought.

"But…he has to have DNA." She was determined to make sense of it. "If I could get his blood or spit it has to show something!"

She had seen both. That would have been a perfect opportunity to get some. If only she knew then that they don't have any record of his DNA.

"Bodily fluids could work though you would have to snatch it quickly."

And with that, she found her next mission.

###

Tall outdoor lights, lining the empty pathway, fluttered on at once in response to the mauve-grey tone dimming the Seireitei, though they did not radiate enough light to reach most of the pathway nor the trees.

She braced against the bark of one, intending to slide down and organize her thoughts a bit by writing until she caught sight of him.

First far away, behind a tree kilometers away and then between a blink, he popped right up in front of her.

Taken aback, she blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't just her imagination. She had been, admittingly, thinking about him a lot.

She never thought seeing him face to face again would leave her speechless but it kinda did. She didn't know how to start her inquiry.

"About time." She remarked, "I got questions."

The world around them became black. She was no longer leaning against a bark but a wooden wall. She was in a room, a big one but it was very dark. There was light coming from somewhere but it was very faint—just enough to see him but not enough to see anything else.

("Where do you think they went?" Kon asked.

"I have no idea." Ichigo replied.

It was weird how they disappeared. In between a blink, they were gone like they were never there.)

"We can talk here without interruptions." She never thought she'd be glad to hear that deep, baritone voice again but she was less relieved when she remembered what being around him meant for her again.

That itty bitty feeling of unervingness was starting to return. Especially since she had no idea where she was.

"Here as in…?" He walked ahead of her.

"The little corner of your mind." He answered with his back to her.

("Ichigo." Shinji called.

"Yeah?")

She didn't believe him. "I'm serious."

("Try using that pin she gave you. Maybe they're here but we can't see 'em or something."

"Wha—" he looked down at it, "I don't know how to activate it though. Last time, it just came on by itself.")

When he looked back at her, she noticed he was drinking from an embossed glass cup she hadn't seen before.

"I already told you." He grinned softly, "we're safe, no one can hear us, no one can see us."

("Do you know how to do anything?" Shinji asked.

Ichigo grumbled. "Sure you just gotta press it or somethin'."

"Let me try!" Kon said.)

"It's just a shed." Rukia said. She couldn't even see a door in here but that had to be it.

("No, you idiot!" Ichigo pulled back, "you're gonna break it!"

"It wasn't exactly made for you, Ichigo. It could work on anybody." Shinji pointed out.)

"It's not." He refuted. "But I'm not here to argue with you, Rukia. I'm here because you want me to be here. I'm here because you have questions."

("Give it to me!"

"It can't even come off, remember!"

"Then make it work!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm trying!")

The word seemed to delight him.

Rukia decided to ignore it and cut to the chase.

"Those creatures…were they yours?"

("Ukitake, you have any idea how to work this thing?" Ichigo asked him. "Kurotsuchi?")

"That isn't your real question, Rukia."

(Captain Ukitake apologetically smiled. "I'm afraid my understanding of these stone pins is minimal. They each serve their own purpose, I can't tell you how to make it work.")

"Answer it."

He grinned, "yes."

("Let me see it." Mayuri hissed before he studied the stone. "Ah, yes this is very interesting."

He lifted up the pin with his finger and grinned.

"That stone isn't for your taking, Captain Kurotsuchi." Captain Unohana said. "You wouldn't know how to handle it.")

"So they're you." Rukia stated to confirm. "You made them."

(Captain Kurotsuchi scowled. "If you're so knowledgeable, come and figure out how to do it then."

Captain Kyōraku and Ukitake tensed.

"It lit up for a second." Kensei pointed out.

"It did?" Ichigo asked, distracted.)

"Why? Is there a problem?" He tilted his head. Oh how she hated his face. "You should have easily guessed that it was created by me."

("What'd you do?" Kon lowered his brows. "Think!"

Ichigo hastily leaned back, "—I don't know!")

"How'd you make them?" Rukia asked.

"You don't care about that." He barked.

(Captain Unohana gently beamed. "Strange how even a scientist, as you call yourself, cannot figure out how to activate a simple stone.")

"Answer it."

"They are a part of me. Simple ingredients. They needed a life force and some ambition."

("Marvellous." Mayuri sarcastically muttered, "just marvellous. You, an ex-assassin, have the nerve to criticize me?"

"Maybe I just need to say it, ya know." Ichigo said to Kon, Kensei and Shinji.

"You didn't say anything the last time." Kon reminded him.)

"Didyou lend them to the A.A.A or did they just manage to eat one?" She inquired.

"They needed some assistance." His answer surprised her.

("Think, Ichigo. You must've thought of something that triggered it." Shinji said.

"I'm trying, I'm trying.")

"Assistance?" Rukia repeated, "why help the A.A.A?"

("Maybe we should settle down." Captain Kyōraku advised Mayuri and Captain Unohana.

Captain Ukitake nervously chuckled, "yes, I think—"

Shinji, helping Ichigo, interrupted him. "It flickered on again.")

He ignored her. "What you encountered was a prototype for something I've been working on for some time. They are useless to me now but I had no reason to get rid of them."

"And the A.A.A comes in how…?"

("What are you thinking about?!" Kon yelled.

"I'm telling you I don't fucking know!"

"You don't know what you're thinking about?!"

"You gotta try harder, Ichigo, come on." Shinji importuned.)

He approached her slowly, "they needed defense, some guards, things to spit on and order around. I thought, why not share?"

("Okay, okay, shut up already, I'm trying!")

"So basically you gave them that prototype to maneuver because you're a very charitable man." Rukia grumbled. "Who ordered the attack last week?"

("Just think about your friendship, I don't know." Shinji suggested.)

He shrugged, "no one."

("This is an Okasake stone, it's got nothing to do with that!" Ichigo argued.)

"I found an A.A.A badge." Rukia said.

("Thought you knew nothing about it." Shinji replied.)

"Then they must've gotten rid of them when it was time." He smirked, "They attack whomever disrupts their peace. What happened to Major Li and Haru was just an unfortunate circumstance."

("I don't but she—"

"You said she gave it to you to help you find your way with your powers!" Kon accused.)

She couldn't believe him. "You lent the A.A.A those prototypes to get rid of them."

("Okay, I didn't exactly say that but she said somethin' like that.")

He grinned, "now you're getting somewhat smart."

("You did!" Kon shouted. He put his hands on his hips. "Nee-san gave it to you 'cause you became a big baby once you lost your powers!"

"Now wait a minute—")

"Wonder what disguise you put on to convince them you were their ally." Rukia muttered which made him grin wider.

("You couldn't handle being powerless all of your life so she gave you the pin to fix you up!"

Ichigo got his point. "Kay…I got it.

Shinji snorted.)

He came closer to her. "Maybe one day you'll give me the opportunity to show you."

("I-I wasn't crying!"

"Trying to rewrite your own version of history now?" Kensei asked.

"You weren't even there!")

That line made her skin crawl. The last thing she needed was yet another version of his face to haunt her.

("Ichigo-san…" Captain Ukitake chuckled, "I suppose you didn't know…"

"Know what?")

"Did you dump all of them underground or did they get there on their own?"

(Shinji grinned, "you made the papers."

His eyes widened. "I made what—")

He tipped his glass towards him and watched the liquid follow. "The little soul reaper passageways are their homes. They eat whatever comes down there."

("Wait." Ichigo paused. "I can hear them—him—shit, wait, everyone shut the fuck up."

"And you don't need them for anything? You don't use them?"

("What are they saying?!" Kon yelled.)

"No."

("Shut the fuck up, I'm tryna hear." Ichigo ordered.)

Rukia stared at him like a school teacher would. "Nothing?"

He locked their gaze. "Nothing."

("Think he said somethin' about those creatures eating whatever's downstairs.")

"So get rid of them."

("Gee, how useful." Shinji sarcastically remarked.)

"No, Rukia. They stay there."

("Shut the fuck up." Ichigo hissed, "I can't hear.")

"If they were nothing to you, you would've gotten rid of them." Rukia argued. "What do they do for you?"

"Nothing." He replied instantaneously. "I gave them life to live. They live it by cleaning up the sewer."

"What a nice way of saying exterminate soul reapers." Rukia sarcastically remarked. "They're the only ones who know their way down there."

("Those creatures are down there to kill soul reapers." Ichigo informed the group.)

"That has nothing to do with me nor does it have to do with you." He said as he came close to her. "Major Li and Haru went down there to explore on a hunch, who would have thought they'd be mowed down by them?"

Rukia unknowingly stepped back when he came too close but to her displeasure, there was no more room—just the wall.

Her muscles tensed. To calm herself down she asked more questions. "How long have they been down there? Can they reproduce?"

(She's nervous, Ichigo thought to himself.)

He wasn't answering her.

She internally panicked. "What was the A.A.A doing down there? Did you order those things to take them out when they got there?"

She didn't know what to do with her hands. She pressed herself as much as she could against the wall as he towered over her like a snake hovering over its tiny prey.

(There was a sense of alarm which took over him. He was feeling her emotions now, not his.)

"Answer me!" She ordered. "You would know what they were doing down there. What were they going to do?"

He was too close. Very close. It was making her insides twist and turn, goosebumps pepper skin and her heart beat so wildly she felt insane.

"Enough with the act," he calmly said. "Those aren't your real questions."

(They're close, Ichigo reported to himself.)

"They are." Rukia sternly opposed.

"You're a liar." He said. "There's something else you want. Something else that was bugging you."

She hated how those eyes peered down at her. Taunting her, studying her, inciting all these feelings inside of her.

"There's nothing." Rukia muttered.

He quickly got serious, "after what you did—" that rough tone brimming with anger returned, "I would not have come here even if you begged to answer useless questions about some long discarded piece of trash I let live in some abandoned soul reaper sewer."

("What's going on?" Kon whispered loudly.)

Rukia swallowed nervously.

"No…" he quietly said, "you wanted something else so I came to give you it."

With the way he was acting, she couldn't even think.

"What?" She asked.

He smirked. He was letting her think so she did. It was distracting having to do it in front of him while staring into those amused indigo eyes but she didn't have much of a choice.

She briefly reflected on her conversation with Minister Asa and aligned his words with it.

His DNA.

"Your—"

There was something warm touching her lips. It shocked her, enough to make her freeze while her heart did all the pounding and butterflies did all the dancing in her stomach.

(Something interrupted her but he couldn't say what. It went quiet. All he could feel was shock coming off of her.)

She couldn't form a coherent thought after she lost it. The warmth disappeared, so did the smooth texture on her lips. She was breathing heavily, a bit spellbound by the act.

She could only look up at him.

Her first kiss.

Without a doubt her cheeks were red hot. She probably looked so vulnerable right now, she detested it but right in front of her…a few inches taller than her…this boy, if she could call him that, had done her first kiss.

The sly grin on his face was taunting her. "You're going to need to open your mouth a little if you want some spit."

(Ichigo gasped.

"What happened?!" Kon yelled.

He kissed her…)

When she didn't answer, he leaned closer which made her heart skip, "unless we leave that for the next time."

"For now…" His body jammed her, including her chest which made her even more startled. She flinched. He was pressing the glass up against it. "Use this."

Rukia looked down at it and back up.

"DNA." He explained. "So they don't have to steal some off your lips."

###

"What's happening?" Kon whispered over and over again. He continued to pester him but Ichigo couldn't say a word.

It was just silent after that.

He wasn't going to tell them that he kissed her. Not only was it private but it was wrong.

Ichigo told them what he believed was a confession about those creatures deliberately being made to eliminate soul reapers and that was it.

Fortunately the area changed and they were back in the Rukongai District where Rukia was talking about finding the A.A.A's hideout with Renji and the others.

###

Friday

Rukia couldn't stop thinking about that kiss.

The feeling felt anew each time she pressed her fingers against her lips. She didn't know how to make it stop. It was her first so naturally she was a bit excited about it but each time she remembered who it was she had to force herself to feel repulsed by it.

She was having a hard time balancing her feelings of excitement tied with new experiences she'd never truly thought about and concern tied with the fact he was not a person she could let consume her mind that much.

It was dangerous.

The fact that her mind thought about him twenty-four-seven now was bothering her. She was becoming weak, he could easily slip in and take ahold of her if she couldn't train her mind to be quiet.

She asked Raiden, Renji, Roger and Wildfire to do some digging into the A.A.A's hideout in the Rukongai District. She had no choice but to force her mind to be incredibly active elsewhere to avoid thinking about it.

She couldn't tell either of them about it. She felt embarrassed. She stood there and let him kiss her. What's worse is that it did things to her, rendered her speechless—captivated by the unfamiliarity of it all.

All she could do was write all her feelings in her journal and ensure even more so than ever that no one ever read it.

She had too much pride to admit that he had incited something in her that was supposed to be special. The only way to forget was to work and never spend a true minute in her mind alone.

Roger had gotten a lead on where the A.A.A's headquarters were located by the end of the day. The district closest to the eastern mountains.

They were to observe that area next.

###

Saturday

Of course she dreamt of him.

Her dreams had been a fusion of nonsensical segments, finishing off with him cornering her in the spider lily field against another tree and closing in on her.

When she woke up, the others were already gone. Roger, who waited outside of the shed, informed her that they had decided to observe the place together and let her rest—apparently they tried to wake her but she wouldn't budge.

At first she wanted to go join them but Choda stopped her from leaving and furiously demanded that she take over inventory so he could finally get his well deserved break so counting took up most of her day.

The others came back at night and detailed everything they saw and heard.

###

Monday

Byakuya's father ended up meeting Kujou's paternal grandfather at an event the academy held on Monday to congratulate the students and hold casual parent-teacher interviews.

He was still not allowed to visit the Okasake manor or anywhere else that wasn't green-lit by Byakuya's grandfather so the entire investigation going on right now with the A.A.A was something he was completely oblivious about let alone everything else.

Kujou's paternal grandfather, a yellow-eyed, old man with a full set of bluish-grey teeth, named Jouchi Kenjo had approached Byakuya's father and teenage Byakuya and congratulated them, revealing himself as Kujou's grandfather.

Byakuya's father, surprised by both his appearance and the relation, then explained to teenage Byakuya that he was classmates with Kujou's father but he never knew that he had a son.

From there onwards, they began chatting and teenage Byakuya disappeared with what Ichigo assumed was a teacher.

"We should arrange to have dinner sometime." Kujou's grandfather suggested. "We might catch up better that way."

"I agree." Byakuya's father beamed.

"When would you be available?" Kujou's grandfather politely asked. "I can make time any time."

He hesitated. "I…will let you know."

Kujou's grandfather straightened his back, "you must be busy. Even off duty your schedule is packed."

He resembled a bit of Captain Kurotsuchi.

"It seems so." Byakuya's father replied. "Nonetheless, I will find time to sit with you, rest assured."

"I'd like to formally invite you to the manor." Kujou's grandfather said. "What better way to revisit memory lane."

"I will come by before the end of the month." Byakuya's father affirmed. "No later than that."

"Splendid." Kujou's grandfather remarked. "Till then."

"Yes, till then." Byakuya's father said and turned.

"Just a second—" Kujou's grandfather called. He spun half way around, "—I'd like to ask you something."

Kujou's grandfather moved closer, "by any chance do you still see our Head Commander Okasake?"

Byakuya's father took a few seconds to reply. "Ah, godfather, yes."

"Well, I had a message I was hoping you could relay to him for me." Kujou's grandfather explained. "Would you be willing?"

Byakuya's father nodded.

Kujou's grandfather leaned back, "I was hoping to formally invite his granddaughter to dinner with I and Kotaru. It has come to my attention that they've become great friends. Kotaru speaks quite a lot about her, I thought it was about time we got to sit down and chat."

"Oh," he fully faced him, "they have."

"It is quite nice, isn't it?" He smiled. "I was trying to pass on the message to one of their advisors but as you would imagine, it was quite difficult to get through."

"I can tell her." Byakuya's father said, "we can have that dinner at the same time."

"What?" Kujou's grandfather leaned back, appalled.

"Would that be an issue?" Byakuya's father inquired.

He composed himself, "no, not at all it is just….well, we intend on catching up and with her, I want to meet her. The purpose is different is all."

"We could still do both. You will not speak with her all night." Byakuya's father reasoned.

"Well…I suppose." Kujou's grandfather replied, "though, I would have assumed you would not want other guests at the table."

"We are coming from the same place." Byakuya's father explained. "It would be easier to do both at the same time."

"I see. Well then I guess I shall see you both whenever you decide." He smiled, "of course there is no problem with welcoming both of you. I reckon this dinner will be quite fun."

Byakuya's father agreed.

###

Tuesday

Babysitting day.

Without a doubt, getting out of her sleeping bag this morning was incredibly difficult.

It was drizzling out and freezing. The rain meant they'd have to stay inside the manor and play.

Sensei was so busy she couldn't count on him being there at all or even for an hour, Minister Asa would likely only appear for lunch and then leave, she hadn't seen Captain at all since the incident, and as a whole he didn't visit the Okasake manor as much as she had initially presumed in June, and Lieutenant Kuchiki and Major Li were still recovering from their respective injuries.

There were others who often visited the manor but she couldn't count on their attendance nor did she know any of them intimately.

Sure there was still the staff around but that wasn't enough to bring her the sort of 'relief' she felt when others who knew what he was were.

Anyone else a part of the investigation were busy with their own individual duties. She would be alone in there with him.

The mere thought made her quiver.

The dark day made her wonder if she'd step right in and be surprised with him—the pre-teen/age version that had kissed her.

She carried that thought up until she reached the closed double doors. Nervously, she pushed them a part—preparing herself for whatever would appear behind it.

When she looked ahead, she stiffened. Her hands never left the doors. There were an ominous pair of cyan blue eyes staring down at her. He was standing, his hands over the head of his cane, wearing his white haori for home use.

Which one was this?

Relief washed over her when that sinister stare melted into a welcoming one.

"You successfully evaded glaze trick training like an expert." He praised her. "For that, I will commend you."

Her hands dropped, "Sensei!"

Oh, how happy she was to see him! If he began to train her again, she'd have no opportunity to even think about him let alone what he did.

She rushed up to him, excited.

"I suppose you missed it." He said which was definitely not true but she went with it. "In that case, I will make your return to it less challenging. I want to introduce you to something else."

"Is it hard?" Rukia asked.

"No, no," he assured her, "this is actually the easiest trick of them all. Hirosuke and I do it once a while. It is a recharging technique."

"Then, let's do it!"

"Hmmm…" he studied her, "you seem rather eager today."

Rukia just smiled up at him.

"Suspicious but I'll take it."

He extended his hand for her to hold, Rukia clasped it gently.

"Let's go."

###

Sunday

Rukia walked side by side with Sensei Okasake, a feat she'd earned from her hard work, while enjoying something she'd never heard of before but was apparently an adopted custom from the human world.

Lavender ice cream.

It was sweet and fervent with a colour a lot like indigo. Sensei apparently liked it a lot but was reluctant to admit he enjoyed some of the newer creations from the human world that he was completely unfamiliar with.

She had asked if Lieutenant Chōjirō, the soul reaper who often gifted them peculiar sweets, introduced it to them to which he had said 'no' and explained that another clan ran a small shop for it here and had introduced it to the rest of the Soul Society.

Somewhere down the curved pathway, they approached a white bench nestled between two boxwood hedge bushes sprinkled with frost.

"The best thing about us is that we are never too cold nor hot." He said while bending down to sit. "We can enjoy these treats year round."

Rukia remained standing while licking her treat.

"Hmmm," Rukia moaned in agreement, "guess they can never run out of business, huh?"

"Oh no." Sensei confirmed. "They have visitors year round."

"Might bring the others to try it." Rukia said, "Roger especially loves sweets."

"Hmm," he mused, "where have those clowns been? I have not seen them much around you, except Roger."

Rukia giggled, "they're fine and here." You just don't see them, Rukia thought. "They're just working on a case right now…for Major Haru."

"Oh, I see. That's good." Sensei said. "The purpose of this stage is to explore your identity and make good connections. I am glad to hear Sojuro took them under his wing."

"Me too…" Rukia agreed. Major Haru would be fine with covering for them.

"Do you have any plans on what you might do?" He asked her quietly.

Rukia licked her lips. "Not yet…"

"Let's see…" he folded his arms above each other, "you are quite different from everyone else. You already have a title and run a class, I think you have already found something."

"I guess." Rukia replied.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Rukia shrugged.

"Does teaching not fulfill that?" He asked her.

Rukia's eyes traced the shapes that made up the stone path. "It's not that it doesn't and it's not that it does. I just don't think it completely," she paused to think of the right words, "matches what I can do."

"You recognize your potential." He pieced together.

"Not…exactly like that," it sounded too cocky, "but ever since I got to meet people who have a giant amount of their own, it got me thinking."

"That perhaps what you wield is too great to spend all your life in a classroom?"

Rukia eyed him, "maybe that but…less obnoxiously said."

"That is natural." Sensei consoled her. "Believing that you may not be fit to be a classroom Sensei for the rest of your career is not wrong. This stage is all about discovery. You may find yourself in some unusual places but with experience you learn what suits you and what does not."

("What if that's how she got it?" Ichigo asked. "That task to protect the Soul King spirit? Even if that's what the guy wants, nobody's been focusing on it at all. It could've been something she got before the shift went there.")

"That's just the thing, I want to find something that really, really, really suits my powers, something that represents my sheatsu well."

("I agree. There has been such little mention of it. Seeing that she is already equipped, perhaps that was the task that they chose seeing that it suits her abilities more." Captain Ukitake said.)

"You want a perfect answer." Sensei decoded. "Let's see," he mused, "you are quite ahead. Your project to rebuild the Rukongai District is a very valuable thing to have as a guiding force, you work with Hirosuke who has been preparing you to become the vessel of our clan and you're gaining experience in a potential career field. I would say to focus your energy on executing more tasks for our clan, it is easier to stumble upon new areas that might appeal to you."

Rukia licked her ice cream, savouring the taste on her tongue as she thought. "It's easier said than done. I barely have the time to do those things."

"Ah yes," he remembered, "you are quite busy indeed." He was quiet for a second. "You should make time for it."

Rukia glanced at him.

"You like to help others, I am aware, though you should not neglect yourself while being here." He advised her quietly.

"Winter is near, take some time to work with others, work on your training with me and so on." Sensei recommended. "Take on a few cas—" he stopped.

Rukia watched his expression harden. She became nervous when he didn't speak.

(Kon pressed his paws near his mouth, "—ah! Do you think he's gonna turn again?!")

"What are you working on with that boy?" His voice was low, guttural, menacing. She studied him carefully.

("Uh oh…")

"He will not tell me what it is." He added. "At least not truthfully."

"He needs you for something." He went on, suddenly the stone floor felt like a court stand. "What?"

He kept his tone low and serene as though he was trying not to frighten her but it was too late. With just a few words, he had set off some alarm within her that was extra attentive of his movements.

"Nothing. It's just a few cases." She answered warily. "He needed some help so I offered to get some experience."

"That is a nice gesture," he said, "though what will you learn from soul reaper cases?"

A part of her relaxed when his expression loosened.

She flashed him a look of disbelief, "cases are cases. It just helps me get the hang of things, that's all."

"It is a waste of time." He commented. "You should invest in taking cases from our side."

"He needs help." Rukia reasoned. "It doesn't take up too much of my time either."

"There is something more to what you're doing." He glowered at her suspiciously. "I was not hit with such ridiculous accusations because of soul reaper cases."

Rukia realized that he also remembered what the Lieutenant had said to him weeks ago to test his identity. In that case…

"He…didn't mean that." Rukia said slowly.

"I'd like to believe that." She felt his sincerity. "Though," he looked down.

Rukia moved in closer.

"I have lost favor with him." He admitted. "He does not see me the way he used to nor speak to me."

He eased into the story.

"It has been like that for some time now." He explained, lowering the cone in his hand. "He and Ginrei have become taciturn. Actually—Ginrei is much worse. I do not know when it began or how it began but he has not looked my way in any respectable regard in centuries. Sojun was a bit subtle in his transformation, in fact," he glanced at the sky, "I did not sense anything unusual about him until…"

He squeezed his eyes shut and looked down. Rukia figured he couldn't remember but she placed her bets on that thing being adopted that initiated the shift.

("The adoption." Ichigo pieced together.)

"Ah," he brushed it off, "regardless of how, they have become cold to me. Sojun feigns his kindness but I see it. There is a rift between us though he will not admit to it. Freda was like that too."

Kuchiki Freda…that was Captain's wife, the Lieutenant's mother.

("Her and Gureta-san were very close. She likely tried to reason with him like the others but gave up once he became the way he is now" Captain Ukitake said.)

"One by one," he explained softly, "they just—" he flicked his hand, "went their own way with Hirosuke and left me behind."

("Uh…" Ichigo shifted his eyes to Captain Ukitake on his right, "who is that by the way?"

"Kids gotta come out of somewhere." Captain Kyōraku remarked with a smirk but he didn't get it.

Captain Ukitake smiled. "Ginrei-dono's wife, Sensei Kuchiki."

"You're kinda slow, Ichigo. That should've been an easy one." Shinji said.

He snapped his head to Shinji on his left, "WELL—")

Rukia brimmed with remorse. She felt terrible for him. It's not that they wanted to leave him behind, it was that stupid heir! She'd never seen him in such a vulnerable light before but now that she had she knew their dissociation wounded him terribly.

If only she could explain to him that he was not who they resented. It was the other version of him, the one he controlled.

Maybe there was frustration because he had easily been taken by the heir's spell but none of them truly resented him, at least she hoped. She knew nothing about Captain's wife or Captain's dislike for him prior to the thing's adoption but she was sure it only grew irremediable after it happened.

For the Head Commander of the Soul Society to become so foolishly entranced by someone who was evidently taking advantage of him now must have dimmed their respect.

"Anyhow…they are like that now so what he said has more meaning than you think." It did. But not in the way Sensei was implying. "That is why I have to ask what is so special about this case you are on. He is usually not that brazen."

"To accuse me of something as such means he is becoming like Ginrei. Not even Sugina," Captain's daughter, Kuchiki Koga's wife, Lady Kuchiki to her, "is vile like that. It is disheartening to see what has become of our relationship."

("Who?" Ichigo quickly asked. The name sounded familiar but he couldn't remember the context in which he heard it.

Shinji sighed.

"Their daughter." Captain Ukitake explained, which completely confused him. "Kuchiki Koga's wife."

"Oh!" Ichigo remarked. "Why the hell didn't you just say that?! The Kuchiki woman in the noble heir photo!")

Rukia wanted to say something to comfort him but couldn't.

"Some impenetrable quality of theirs," he mumbled, "he believed I was harming you, lying to you, it was just—" he looked away, almost ashamed, "monstrous."

("Seems like he really took it to heart." Captain Kyōraku observed.

"Well naturally…" Captain Ukitake wistfully replied. "I knew he would be offended if he of all people implied such a thing.")

He didn't move his head for a long time. Rukia saw the pain vividly in his glum eyes, she wanted to reach out and comfort him but what could she say or do that would make up for the pain of being casted as an outsider by his own family?

Ice cream trickled down the sides of the cone and slithered down her knuckles as it had with him, staining his sleeves.

"I do not mean to put you in the middle of this." He continued quietly, "but…I do hope you too do not become like that either."

Me? Surprise took her.

"You knew Ginrei before you were affiliated with us." His eyes remained fixated on the hexagons which made up the ground. "It is natural for me to be worried about what will become of my grand niece," he upraised his head, "if she listens to a party that despises me."

Rukia was quick to refute his suspicion, "they don't say bad things about you, I told you Lieutenant Kuchiki didn't mean what he said. And I'm not gonna make someone my enemy because somebody says so, you should know that."

("This is gonna cause a rift soon." Shinji predicted. "He worried that she's gonna become like them and the more he switches, the more—"

"She's gonna act distant." Ichigo finished for him.

"You could've let me finish ya know.")

He nodded his head in response. "I am just telling you ahead that it concerns me."

"Well it shouldn't." Rukia huffed as she wiped the remainder of ice cream on her hand.

She hated that he believed that she would easily turn on him because of anybody else. She also hated how he was unable to understand their intention. This entire thing was so frustrating!

"It has melted now, hasn't it?" He glanced at his sleeve, trying to assuage her displeasure with his comment. "Guess November has not been as cold as I presumed."

"They're expecting snow by the end of the month." Rukia mumbled nonchalantly.

"We should do this again when it gets colder." He ruefully proposed. "We can talk longer."

Rukia stared back at him sourly, wanting to hear his apology. He straightened his back and pressed his lips together.

"You are never easily swayed or dragooned, I am aware." He told her sincerely. "It merely just a thought that crosses my mind from time to time."

"I suppose it was wrong of me to even nourish the thought." He admitted.

"Wrong is right." She quietly responded. "Whatever happened between you and Captain isn't my business and I won't make it my business. Captain has never said anything about you nor ever 'influenced' me to think poorly of you. And about Lieutenant Kuchiki…you know what they're like with their work. He was behind and part of the reason he was behind was 'cause of me. He just got a little frustrated is all."

"Please don't think of what he said as a sign of anything. He always speaks positively of you." Rukia added.

("That's not gonna last either." Ichigo muttered.)

"That's nice to hear." He commented though she didn't think he believed it. "I was his mentor."

"So I've heard."

His mouth twitched. "But those days have long passed now."

"Doesn't mean a thing." Rukia replied.

"If that were true—"

"Sensei!" Kujou interrupted him.

(Shinji looked up in exhaustion. "Now where did he come from?")

Rukia twirled left, tracking the sound to see Kujou holding the hand of who she assumed was his paternal grandfather.

"Now, now," his grandfather tapped his hand, "remember your manners.."

"O-Oh!" Kujou spotted Sensei in front of her and bowed deeply, "f-forgive me, I did not notice your company."

"But you did." Sensei tartly pointed out, addressing Kujou's grandfather.

("Why doesn't he like him?" Kon immediately asked, now dangling over Ichigo's head.

"'Cause he's from a soul reaper clan, probably." Ichigo replied. "Get off my head, I can't see!")

Rukia felt a little uneasy. She wasn't expecting him to be so impolite.

Kujou's grandfather graciously bowed. When he rose up, he simpered. "I meant no offense. We were in the area and Kotaru, here, spotted his friend. I did not believe it would be discourteous to approach you both."

"You were wrong." Sensei retorted. Kujou went pale, thinking he made a horrible mistake.

Rukia flashed a weak smile at him. "It's alright….were you on a walk?"

"Y-Yes!" Kujou stammered. "The frost gardens are popular around this time, h-huh?"

"Hm," Rukia nodded her head, eyeing Sensei who was stone cold.

"Have you and Sojun decided on a date yet?" Kujou's grandfather asked her. Rukia blinked in confusion, what date?

She felt Sensei sharply stare at her, awaiting her response too.

("And…is that why he's pissed too?" Shinji asked.)

Kujou's grandfather immediately recognized her dazed look and leaned forward, astonished himself, "he didn't tell you?"

Rukia slowly shook her head.

"Oh my—" he remarked, looking at Kujou beside him and then back to her.

"We invited you to dinner!" Kujou explained to her.

Dinner?

"What dinner?"

Kujou's grandfather pressed his palm against his forehead, "I invited you to have dinner with us a week ago. I asked Sojun to tell you since I could not get through with anyone who would be able to invite you."

"Oh…" Rukia replied, "I didn't know, sorry. I haven't seen him in a while."

"You haven't?" Kujou's grandfather asked, appalled.

"The way he made it seem—" he stopped. "Oh, well, let me ask you now. Would you be willing to join Kotaru and I for dinner?" He swung their intertwined hands, admirably staring down at him, "he talks quite a lot about you," Kujou became beet red, "so I thought it would be nice to sit down and chat."

"Oh…sure!" Rukia forced a smile. If she said no, she'd break his heart. "When?"

"That is just it." Kujou's grandfather said, "Sojun was supposed to set the date. He and I planned to meet for dinner to catch up but he was unable to fix a date at the time. When I mentioned you, he insisted that we do it at the same time so…I assumed he had met with you and you both—"

"And what business do you retain with either of them?" Sensei roughly inquired, still staring straight at her. Rukia guessed the question was for Kujou's grandfather.

"Well," Kujou's grandfather twitched, feeling unwelcome, "Sojun and my son were classmates for some time. They were often seated together and worked together. I would have assumed you knew that."

The snarky remark only made her more uncomfortable with the situation. Sensei did not like him and despite the amiable face Kujou's grandfather put on and his seemingly sanguine persona, he didn't either.

"Kujou and I know each other." Rukia explained to him, "we met at the academy."

She sensed how irked he was by her response immediately but there was truly nothing she could do.

"Precisely. Anyway," Kujou's grandfather leered at Sensei in the process. "Should we set up a date now? I will set another day up with Sojun."

"Um…" she hesitated, "maybe I should talk to him first since he wanted to do it together."

"Oh, there is no need for that." He rebuffed. Rukia was stunned by how uncouth he became so suddenly. "Though I agreed, I truthfully wanted it to be just us and the family but I did not want to turn him down."

("Sure didn't seem like it then." Shinji commented. "Whadaya think?"

"We can't assume everybody here is two-faced." Mayuri replied.

"Why not?" Shinji asked.

Ichigo agreed with his suspicion. "He did kinda switch pretty fast…")

Interesting…

"How's next Thursday?" He asked her. When she didn't provide an immediate reply, he then asked, "is that not doable for you?"

Rukia quickly answered, "no, no, that's fine."

"Splendid, I will fix us up something good." He assured her, resuming that cordial expression he had when he arrived. "Until then."

He bowed quickly and turned, dragging Kujou out in the process who didn't even get to bow let alone say 'goodbye'.

("See." Shinji pointed out.

"There is a word and it is called impatience." Mayuri snapped. "Or even offense since that no-good 'Head Commander' completely disrespected them."

"You know, he kinda looks like you." Ichigo pointed out.

Mayuri glared at the back of his head. "I hope you do not mean me."

"I see it." Kensei agreed.

"What an interesting resemblance." Captain Unohana commented.)

Weird.

When she looked at Sensei, he was relaxed now.

"Be wary of him." He warned her. "Do not think his affability is without intent."

"What's wrong with him?" Rukia inquired. He didn't necessarily do anything wrong to her but he did seem to be impatient. "And don't say it's because he's from a soul reaper clan."

"Well…that too." He said which almost had her roll her eyes. "He is up to no good, I can tell."

"Sensei." She chided, that was not a reasonable explanation.

"You must look past his character." He instructed, "there is trouble, even if you cannot sense it now."

"And what could that be?" She asked, disbelieving.

"Trouble is trouble." He said, "you do not always know you are in it until it occurs but it is always good to keep an eye out for ones who are conniving like that. Be precautious, tread lightly and trust no one, that is what a good assassin does."

("Interesting." Shinji sarcastically remarked.)

###

As promised, Rukia remained extra observant of Kujou's paternal grandfather, Jouchi Kenjo since their conversation in the frost gardens.

Throughout the week, she met him several times which made the whole 'formalized dinner' practically useless now since Kujou continued to make fitful appearances with his paternal grandfather by his side.

Kujou's grandfather was definitely starting to come off as strange. Though he remained nice to her, there was something that was starting to bug her and it only intensified each time they met.

At times he seemed impatient, then eager, then greedy and then normal again. There were many times he stared down at her like a rare jewel he had found in the dirt. His eyes were bright yellow, the kind of weed flowers which tended to eye her hungrily and he had a full set of teeth tinted grey blue which disturbed her when he smiled.

And boy, did he smile a lot.

He also rarely gave Kujou any opportunity to speak to her. He did all the talking and had Kujou come along like an excuse. He definitely had a lot of interest in her specifically and it was starting to become too uncomfortable.

Now, instead of dreams about that heir and his kiss, she dreamt of this old man leering over her with a wide smile and hungry eyes, just waiting for the opportunity to bite.

In just three days he had managed to completely disturb her in a way that did not exactly frighten her but did not exactly make her feel safe.

And it had nothing to do with the heir. This ambiguous feeling that pulsed through her was due to the sole presence of Kujou's grandfather.

It nipped at her so much that she slept at the Okasake manor overnight on Monday, Tuesday and now, Wednesday. This was the first time she had ever stayed overnight but she needed protection that she was unlikely to feel in the Rukongai District from him.

One thing for certain is that she did not want to attend this dinner. Keeping the Lieutenant out had been very deliberate. He wanted her alone with them and that spelt trouble she did not want to be in.

###

They were now taken to the day he'd been waiting for.

Byakuya's father's return.

He stepped through the doors of the infamous Okasake study for the first time in three weeks on another cold, rainy day. It was Thursday, the day of the dinner.

"Well isn't it Mr. Exciting?" Sensei Okasake sarcastically remarked upon seeing him.

He went around his desk. "I have been punished, you can let it go."

Sensei Okasake repressed a smile, "he kept you in there for three weeks."

"As a result, I am now severely behind." He replied as he opened the top of his desk. "When did you find out?"

"Yesterday."

"It is no wonder."

"Why?" Sensei Okasake innocently asked. "Were you expecting something?"

Displeased, he flashed a stern look of irritation.

"My sincerest apologies," Sensei Okasake said, "but your two defense attorneys were busy working for the week."

"I assumed he did not tell you." He organized his desk. "He threatened my relation to this house."

Sensei Okasake feigned his concern, "I suppose the next time you do something exciting, I will have to take offense."

He slid open mail. "I would have had to do it either way but naturally, he does not see that."

Sensei Okasake circled his pen over his paper, "well you should have expected that."

"That is why I said naturally." He emphasized.

"Well, you must sympathize with Ginrei's concerns as well."

"That should be in regards to the situation."

"It is." Sensei Okasake calmly refuted. "He did not tell us for that very reason. My dearest still does not know."

Her absence from the study struck him just then. "Where is she?"

Sensei Okasake grunted, "her room."

He stopped moving.

"Room?" He repeated, rather surprised. He glanced at his desk calendar, "I was gone for three weeks, not three years."

He gestured to the shōji doors slightly diagonal to him, "I gave her the one closest to us so she's always near."

On cue, those doors parted open, she stepped out—"morning."

"The belle of the ball." Sensei introduced.

Her eyes wandered up. "Oh." His appearance surprised her. "Key?"

"Please." He exhorted.

Rukia opened up the little drawer next to the door.

"I see you have finally adapted to being the princess of this clan in my absence."

She approached him, "I'm staying here to avoid someone, it's temporary."

"Well I hope that 'someone' does not impede your ability to work." She walked back. "We have a lot to do today, we are far behind."

"Sensei's back to normal."

He froze.

"He's been like that for two weeks now." She explained.

Byakuya's father deeply inhaled. The heartiness from his return had been stripped from the atmosphere. It now brewed with subtle frustration and displeasure.

"Glaze trick." The dismay showed for itself.

Rukia shook her head, "more. We've been at it for two weeks."

Upon hearing that, his blank face emanated what they could already feel. This was the equivalent to a death sentence.

"Seems like you will not be receiving any assistance today either." Sensei Okasake quipped.

"We are too far behind to accept any more disruptions." Byakuya's father said.

"Well don't call him that." Rukia adjured. "Other Sensei I mean, a 'disruption'—this is what we wanted."

The stance she took confounded him.

"Also, we still have something. Remember those creatures that attacked you?" Rukia asked. "They're prototypes of something he was working on. He left them in those old soul reaper passageways designed for the civil war 'cause he doesn't need them anymore."

"Oh yes…" he momentarily forgot his frustration, "what became of those things?"

"Apparently the A.A.A were trying to form an alliance with a different soul species—" as she had learned from Renji and the others, "—to strengthen their defense but were unable to find any that were willing to go against assassins. He offered them those creatures using some other version and they took control of them temporarily but as expected, he just handed it off to get rid of them. Those creatures turned on them the exact same day they came out of that hole. The only reason they were under there was because the A.A.A planned to make some headlines for their cause by attacking an assassin clan, being the Kujous, with those creatures."

"I see." Byakuya's father lowered his eyes, "and the nature of those creatures?"

"The lab report said they were made out of different reishi, each particle they found was unique to someone else, a damaging water substance and his DNA."

"D…NA." He repeated slowly. Though his tone did not indicate surprise, the way he impassively repeated it did not fare well with Rukia who stared at him, almost scornfully.

She was starting to have some doubt about him, if not some skepticism, because of the whole DNA issue. He could feel it.

"Where did you find DNA?" Byakuya's father inquired authoritatively.

Rukia didn't provide an immediate answer.

Sensei Okasake cleared his throat, "you have dinner arrangements today, now don't you?"

Seeing that he changed the subject made Ichigo wonder if Rukia had told him about what had happened. It seemed more certain than likely since he mentioned the dinner so abruptly.

"Dinner?" That distracted Byakuya's father. "Oh…Chief Jouchi…did he tell you I am attending to?"

Considering he wasn't surprised to hear it was today meant that he had likely arranged the same day with Kujou's grandfather who must have been very displeased to share the dinner again since he was set on meeting her alone.

She idly nodded her head and then looked to the opening of the hallway to her left.

The other Sensei Okasake appeared—still wearing his white haori which had quickly become the most obvious indication that he was his normal self.

"Where did you put the sunstone ringlets, Hirosuke?" He grumbled as he did.

"They are in its stone house." He muttered.

"All of them?"

"All." Sensei Okasake confirmed.

"Well—" he looked at Rukia, "we will have to take that out of our lesson plan today since Hirosuke," he leered at the back of his head, "decided to move all of our ringlets."

"There are chrysoprase ones in the emerald arsenal here." Sensei informed him.

"If I was looking for chrysoprase I would have asked for it." He sharply remarked before resuming his interest in Rukia. "I will bring them over for tomorrow's lesson, I do not need Cornel rummaging in any more stone houses."

"Oh and—" he caught sight of Byakuya's father.

He straightened his back very slowly, almost as if he was stunned by his appearance. They said nothing to each other.

Rukia, near her room doors, stared at both of them from a distance—specifically glaring at Byakuya's father to say something but she didn't catch his eyes.

"Hello god uncle." Byakuya's father acknowledged. The discontent with his presence was obvious.

After a brief interval of silence, he replied, "I heard you were recovering from an injury. I am glad to see you are well."

Seeing that he was not going to get a reply, he cleared his throat and looked at Rukia who was prepared to leave also, "we should get going."

"I will need her for the case I am working on." Byakuya's father said to his back. "It is important."

"Find someone else." Sensei Okasake roughly ordered.

Byakuya's father stared at her to speak up but she shook her head.

No.

"Let's go."

"Hmph. Bye, Sensei!" She bowed.

Sensei Okasake waved. "Bye, my dear."

She then glanced at Byakuya's father, dawning a more serious look. "Bye, Lieutenant."

He didn't respond to her. Stifling tension could be felt through their stares alone.

On their way out, through the gardens, Sensei Okasake ahead of her gently said, "you see. He does not see me the way he used to."

He slightly turned back at her. "He is upset with you."

When he stopped, Rukia walked around him. "I'll help him today and every other day I'm here."

She apologetically looked up at him, "we can train until the afternoon then in the evenings, I'll help out."

He stared down at her, "seeing that this matter you both are working on is important enough for him to be upset with you then I will see to it that you are free in the evenings."

Rukia gave him a small smile.

"I would not like to drag you down with me." He added which erased the smile immediately.

"Stop that." She chided. "It's my fault, I got a bit distracted and couldn't make time for it, that's all."

Sensei Okasake shook his head, "it is mine. You have obligations elsewhere but I hoarded you to myself."

Ichigo was starting to feel more sympathy for him as he got to know him. There was a good natured person in there that had lost his way immensely. He was witty and charismatic, a good teacher too—a great mentor.

There was a certain charm to him like Rukia had described in the present time. He admittedly fell for it too.

None of this was his fault.

And when he considered the case, Rukia wasn't exactly obligated to always help out. The only reason she was bound to the case like this was because of the Kuchiki notion of loyalty and obligation which in this time and period, she had no real reason to abide by.

At this point, she was just helping out because she despised the heir but none of that meant she had to always be at their beck and call.

Ichigo did understand Byakuya's father's silent frustration because he was behind and unable to do the job effectively without her but there were others on the case too. He wasn't exactly as limited as he made himself to be when Rukia could offer her insight after hearing about how each subject went.

"That isn't your fault." Rukia said, "I still do need training and we were already behind too."

"Nonetheless," He began to walk ahead of her, "I would not want you to lose favor with that clan."

###

Evening came quickly, the sky had become pitch black early because of the time change.

Byakuya's father approached the Jouchi manor alone in his usual light overcoat that ended around his waist. Ichigo expected him to be much more sensitive to weather like this but then again, wearing anything more than an overcoat no matter the temperature was not a Kuchiki thing.

The Jouchi manor was gateless. It was definitely a third or fourth class noble manor. There were patches of dead grass framed by small white picket fences but nothing luxuriant.

As he neared the manor, he passed a tall, broad tree with curvy branches. On the straightest one, Rukia popped up with flash step. She stared at the manor and crossed her arms.

He looked up at her. "Let's go."

She leaned against the bark of the tree.

"You go." She instructed sternly.

He stared at her wordlessly.

"And—" she reached into her pocket and pulled out an embossed glass vial with rose pink liquid. "Take this."

He studied it, "soul shadow medicine." He relaxed, passing off her suspicion as absurd, "he is not a soul shadow, just a very ardent gambler."

Rukia gestured for him to take it in spite of his comment.

He looked back at the manor and then to her, "I admit he can be a bit capricious but he is harmless."

She didn't change her stance.

"Did he say something to you?" He inquired.

"Something's off." She muttered.

"He is a gambler who likes diamonds, an addict." He explained. "His character reflects the activity."

"A gambling addiction doesn't make someone feel the way he does." She refuted quietly.

He studied her for a moment. "This is not a part of the case."

She sharply glared at him. "I didn't say it was."

"Well you certainly are acting like it."

"I'm not." She objected, "and I'm not going." She asserted. "I'll wait here."

"Rukia."

"You go in and tell them I'm not feeling well," she instructed, "I'll wait out here, take all the time you need."

"There is nothing he can do." He assured her.

"I'm not going in."

Ichigo felt she should have explained why she felt that way so he could be more understanding towards her but it seemed that she was still upset with him after this morning.

They had already started the day off on the wrong foot and both of them were still displeased with each other, though they didn't show it outwardly, because of it.

Whether it was the fact that they were both invited and noble etiquette ordained that they had to do it unless there was a good reason not to or because he believed she was worried for nothing, he did not want to go in without her and his inability to oblige by her wishes was evidently exacerbating the rift between them that began this morning.

"You and I are not seeing eye to eye today." He pointed out.

Rukia said nothing to that. Her earnest expression hadn't ebbed once.

There was concern, he understood that moderately but there was no danger. At least, that's what he believed. Despite being determined himself to show her that Kujou's grandfather was not the person she was making him out to be, in this case, a soul shadow, he let her have her way.

"You can take it or leave it." She mumbled, referring to the vial she was handing out.

He took the vial while staring at her and slipped it into his pocket. He didn't believe Kujou's grandfather was a soul shadow, let alone dangerous, but he took it to appease her.

He turned to the manor and began to walk. When he neared the lawn of dead grass, he looked back at her one last time.

She was not coming in.

He approached the red door which Kujou's grandfather opened just an inch to greet him. A gold door chain obstructed his face; they could barely see it when he greeted Byakuya's father. He closed the door to remove the chain and then stepped out.

When he noticed Rukia wasn't there with him, the wide grin on his face disappeared. "Where is the belle of the Okasake manor?"

"Belle?" Ichigo repeated.

"That's what Sensei Okasake called her." Kon whispered loudly.

"She is not feeling well." Byakuya's father replied.

"Oh." His shoulders shrunk. "How sad."

He put his hands together, forcing a smile, "Kotaru will be sad to hear that, he was looking forward to it."

He was trying to repress his own disappointment with it but it showed for itself. His reaction was odd because he didn't want them to attend together in the first place so in the end, it worked out the way he wanted.

What changed?

Byakuya's father said nothing. Kujou's grandfather observed the area, craning his neck left and right to see if she was there.

"Did you just come from seeing her?" He asked him, eyes averting to his right hand, the same hand he had used to take the vial from her.

Byakuya's father followed his gaze. "Yes."

"How is she?" He eagerly inquired.

"We may discuss that inside." Byakuya's father said, which snapped him out of his daze.

"Oh yes—where are my manners?" He put his palm on his forehead, "come in."

When Byakuya's father stepped in, Kujou's grandfather observed the area.

He was looking for her.

His neck moved counter clockwise from the nearest view to his right, it eventually stopped at the tree that she was hiding behind.

He glared at it.

A dark look dawned on his face in offense.

How he even knew she was there didn't make sense. He would have to be very good at sensing reiatsu or sheatsu that was being pressed down like that.

He stepped backwards into his house and slammed the door shut.

A message to her.

"Ouch." Shinji remarked. "Someone's not happy."

"Hm," Captain Ukitake mused. "Perhaps her suspicion about his soul shadow origins might be right."

"I still say he's a creep." Shinji replied.

"He could very well be both." Mayuri said.

"Like a soul shadow animal with a good ear or a good sense of smell." Ichigo said. "But with, ya know, creepy tendencies?"

###

Sometime before the clock struck nine, Lieutenant Kuchiki finally stepped out of the Jouchi manor.

She had observed the presences which had dined with him inside the manor from afar. The Jouchi family were quite a sociable family. Kujou's behavior made a lot of sense when she realized this was where he was coming from, his creepy paternal grandfather aside.

When the door closed, she stepped back onto the straight branch and leaned against the bark of the tree as he approached her.

He raised his arms, "I have not been poisoned."

Rukia said nothing.

"We will have dinner with them next week." He informed her. "You are without an excuse now."

She would have asked why he decided to make arrangements without consulting her first if she wasn't determined to prove a point. Her eyes averted to his gloved hands.

"Remove your gloves." She instructed quietly.

"Glov—" he looked down at his hand, "that is not an appropriate request."

She said nothing. He was frustrated with her for sure but whether he did it now or later when he returned to his home, she would be proven right either way.

He caved and pulled off the glove from his left hand. It was covered with peach orange scale-like spots which likely ran up his arm. The discovery stunned him. He moved up his sleeve and there were more.

"I knew it." Rukia stepped closer to the edge of the branch to get a better look.

He removed his other glove and the pattern was the same. The early sign of soul shadow sickness from rotting bones.

He stared at her, waiting for an explanation. "You sat beside him, your arms touched a bunch of times and he handed you photos. He's one of them."

"I would not have imagined…" he took the glass vial out of his pocket and poured some of the ointment on his rough skin. The ovals were fresh and already beginning to red.

As he pocketed his white gloves and the vial she had given him, Rukia stared back at the manor.

"I could not sense it."

Rukia wanted to tell him she couldn't either but a thought she dreaded came to mind. He was Kujou's grandfather.

Despite how uncomfortable he made her feel, she had all these excerpts from Kujou about his grandfathers being his pillar of strength, his guardians and if it was not already obvious, people he valued the most. The death of one of the two would most definitely ruin him.

She didn't have the heart.

"It is not safe," he looked back at the Jouchi manor, "to speak out here. Let us return to godfather."

###

A maid came in with glass vials carrying rose pink, deep cranberry and auburn brown liquid for the Lieutenant. Rose pink was the ointment for the rashes, the deep red syrup was the medicine to drink for the symptoms and the auburn one was if the infection had surpassed stage two.

Fortunately because of the ointment she had given him, he was able to evade moving up a stage let alone completing one.

The family nurse wrapped his arms with white bandages and called him lucky because the infection did not spread anywhere else as she explained why Kujou's paternal grandfather made her uncomfortable.

"He did inquire about your condition a lot." He reflected on the dinner arrangement. "I did not see much of his grandson, he was seated far down with his cousins."

"Did he say stuff like Kujou being sad that I wasn't there?" Rukia asked.

He gave her a nod.

Rukia looked away, feeling horrible. "How do we get rid of him?"

He unwinded the string around a folder knob. "The answer to that is simple."

"It's not." She objected. "His family. They were all sitting on the table and do sit on that table regularly and none of them get infected, Kujou doesn't either. But you sat beside him and got it. I'm pretty sure he's been like that for awhile. Something's up, they either know he is what he is and bought some repellent from the Adachis or they're all like him."

"You suspect the clan consists of soul shadows." He stated.

"Unless you know another way they'd be able to not sense him and stay unaffected. You didn't touch him that much, you were separated by a few inches and you caught it. It doesn't make sense." Rukia explained.

"Do you remember the Lady of the Hoshina clan?" He asked her.

"Of course." Rukia replied.

"The Lady of the Hoshina clan remained a soul shadow for two weeks. She did not infect any member of her family."

"We don't know what their dynamic was like inside of the manor for those two weeks." Rukia argued. "It's a stretch."

"Suggesting that the Jouchi clan are merely soul shadows now is also one." He said, much to her dismay.

"They're different." Rukia replied, "much different. They're close but none of them have gotten infected. If any of them were, that table wouldn't have been full."

"The Lady's youngest daughter did not nor did anyone else." He reasoned.

"But I don't think the soul shadow version of her was close with her daughters at all." It's true that she merely witnessed her being scolded but the soul shadow version did pin the cat's murder on her. "As long as she kept her distance, no one would get infected."

"If you would like to prove me wrong, we will attend that dinner together next week."

"Fine." She spun around. "I'll stay close to them, until then. I don't really have a choice since Kujou tends to find me a lot."

"That is a person you would also have to consider a soul shadow if you believe the Jouchi clan are soul shadows." He pointed out.

She was reluctant to admit that was true but Kujou felt like a different case to her. After all, soul shadows had access to their bodies' memories and thus could play the role perfectly to rid themselves of any suspicion.

Whether he wanted to or not, he had to play the role of Kujou's grandfather and extremely well at that. He could have given him the soul shadow repellent without him knowing via a maid or something.

"Not necessarily." Rukia said, "but we'll wait until next week to settle that."

He studied her.

"You and I really will not see eye to eye this week."

Rukia just looked back at him as though it didn't matter. She was still annoyed with the way he treated Sensei this morning when he was just making an effort to speak with him.

Prior to this, the whole point had been to utilize their bond to guide him out of his corruption with the heir. Now he was being stingy just because her training was somehow disrupting his ability to work.

Though she still wanted to be a part of the heir case, it was terribly annoying that he was treating her like she had sworn her soul to it and had to be available every time he asked. Granted, this was the first time she could sense how displeased he was with her this morning but still.

Maybe she could be the one to pull him out of the heir's corruption, who knows? He certainly wasn't entertaining that thought.

He drew a breath.

"I'll help you in the evenings." Rukia announced quietly. "Maybe starting from late afternoon, whenever you're here during then."

She took his silence as his way of expressing gratitude. Or maybe he was still displeased with her.

She began to walk away.

"How did you find its DNA?" He asked her. The question zapped her spine straight. She only turned back halfway to look at him, he was scribbling something as per usual.

Feeling emboldened today, she completed the turn.

"How did you know he and the Okasakes weren't related?" She asked him.

He stopped writing. He didn't even move which felt like a slash against her skin.

He didn't have evidence that would be admissible in court to prove the heir wasn't a true person and he never disclosed to her that getting even a pinch of the heir's DNA was practically impossible for everyone.

He never even bothered to explain how exactly he came to discover this; he just expected her to believe him because he started the case. Slowly, she was becoming too submissive—doing everything she said she wasn't going to do while being here.

If he wanted her to trust him, he needed to be honest.

With such a simple secret, she was starting to consider some of the heir's words about working with him and what it meant despite wanting him to be wrong. She could admit that, at least to herself and her diary, that she didn't wish for him to be right.

"You first."

"Why should I go first?" Rukia asked immediately. She was extremely irritated now but she repressed more than half of it because the person behind the desk was a noble.

They started working together and knew of each other only because of Captain and Sensei Okasake. There were boundaries, limits to what she could do and say. Somewhere along the way she had forgotten that until now.

"He had a breakthrough." He explained while resuming his work. "It was brief, it lasted a few seconds but he told me that godfather and him had birthed 'that evil'."

("That's why they ain't got any evidence." Shinji muttered.)

She hated how that anguish looming over his aura prevented her from questioning when, where, how and more importantly, 'is he Okasake blood'?

("So he's Okasake blood?!" Kon shrieked.)

"At the time, I had no idea who that was or what that meant. The term 'breakthrough' would not have been deemed appropriate to me then, an outburst out of grief would have been."

("Because of Gureta-san…" Captain Ukitake said.)

So this happened prior to the heir's adoption which meant it was prior to the start of the case. But what period of grief was he referring to? His wife's passing? His sister's?

"As I began this case some time in the future, I was met with similarities between the thing that were either scarcely different or amplified." He continued. "I suspected something as such and had Sojuro observe it. He suspected that it could manipulate land and came to that conclusion."

"I began to act upon that idea. I had godfather do a specific regeneration trick to replenish the land," this was the trick she had learned recently, "—he found something unusual about it as if it had been poisoned, overtime, he attributed it to one of the Soul King's organs being irritated by something and it could not be his. This was its hold on god uncle. The spirit was being disturbed by what it had done to him. One discovery led to another and we attempted to get ahold of its DNA, but we could not."

"It came from someone god uncle would deem an outsider, Aunt Cornel, an abomination and godfather, an ally."

Rukia knitted her brows. Sensei Okasake was friendly with everyone, it was impossible to guess who it was.

"I do not know why or how but they had an altercation, its blood was on him and father brought it to me. That is how I tested their DNAs." He explained. "The person I speak of is Head Captain Yamamoto."

("What I tell you?" Ichigo asked. "He's been involved from time, who knows what went on between him and the heir, why'd he go looking for him?")

Her eyes flared up at the mention. Head Captain?! As in the commander of soul reapers?!

What could have possibly happened between him and the Head Captain? Who initiated it first? She was dying to ask—not the Lieutenant but him.

She didn't know whether that was a bad thing or a good thing but he was honest with her.

"It is your turn." He noted.

Rukia resented him for asking about how she got his DNA because it brought back the memory of that kiss. She hit him once before, why couldn't he just connect the dots?

With that thought in mind, she realized she could easily lie and say she just hit him. It was much more believable than saying he just gave it to her in a cup.

"You have to believe me though." Rukia warned him. "I'm telling the truth."

He waited.

"A week after the incident, I went down the hole with Renji, Raiden and Kujou. We just did a bit of digging and I found an A.A.A badge inside the water. When I got back, I talked to Minister Asa about it and we spoke about those creatures, she told me the lab wouldn't be able to tell us if it had his DNA and that's how I found out. I went on a walk that day and he found me. He took me to this place—" Rukia got a bit irked when he started to write it down.

"—I don't know where but it looked like I was just inside a shed, the walls were made of wood, so was the floor." She had to include that detail if he wanted to keep it for his records. "I couldn't see anything, there was only enough light to see him. When we got there, he said he knew I had questions about the A.A.A and his involvement. He was drinking something when I asked him stuff, then he cornered me and said the real reason I wanted to see him was to get his DNA and he gave me the glass. That's that."

(Ichigo wondered if that was a lie or the truth. He had only heard what went on in there, maybe he gave her a glass as a cover up.)

Rukia pulled her lips inward, remembering the kiss, as she waited for him to finish.

(Or maybe not.

When he considered how quickly Sensei Okasake had changed the topic about how she got DNA, it pretty much confirmed that it was a lie to him.)

"It is kind to you." He didn't mean literally of course but Rukia was starting to think he really was. "Abnormally kind."

"This matter with the A.A.A," he began, "who is investigating it at the moment? Or was?"

She clenched her teeth. "I sort of handed it off to Renji and the others. They went off without me one day to check out their hideout and it just went from there."

He leafed through a booklet. "I see. I will check in on them if I have any questions."

And that was that.

He quickly resumed his attention to his work as though she wasn't there, seemingly forgetting to formally dismiss her.

"Do you have any potential people on hand you want me to look at?" Rukia asked, just to be polite.

"You can leave it for tomorrow." He wasn't even looking at her. "You said the evening."

Rukia took that as a sign to leave. She twirled around and went out of the doors. He probably didn't even notice she left.

###

She took her sweet time getting up today. It was Friday, if her schedule was normal she would be in the Rukongai District until Tuesday but since Sensei was normal now, she had training periods scheduled that she eagerly looked forward to.

She sent a hell butterfly to Sensei about meeting her downstairs in the Rukongai District as opposed to visiting the manor. She waited for him in a huge hall glistening with blues from the porcelain tiled floors reflecting crushed stones to the tapestries and paintings of silk and watercolour.

When he arrived, he suggested that they continue their training down here for the remainder of his lesson plan for her and she agreed.

From there, he pounded his cane onto the floor and it began to crack—her lesson began.

The floor transfigured into glossy black water, the hall dimmed, the blue of the room faded into gray. Waves violently shot up and she flash-stepped to evade each and every one of them. They were quick. She had to reduce the smudged residue she left behind of herself when she did. That was the objective.

Those waves could cut and sting her so it was important.

"Merge with the darkness." She heard Sensei's hoarse voice command her. "Do not simply evade their strikes, put yourself inside of it, become one with it."

Rukia didn't understand how she could do that when they would hurt her. They were powered by his sheatsu, they couldn't touch her skin.

"This sea is not your enemy, use the water as your cover." He continued as she quickly zapped from place to place.

She couldn't even speak to him. Multitasking while doing something like this was not a skill she had acquired yet. Her head was too focused on not getting cut.

"You are not listening." He scolded. "You are betraying the darkness, you have to welcome it!"

Rukia grew nervous inside. She didn't want to disappoint him but she couldn't find the strength to get cut by these things.

"Do not be simple-minded!" He chastised. "You have to move as one, challenge its own darkness!"

She was trying to consider his words but her feet and instinct wouldn't allow her. She continued to zap back normally, sweat trickled down the sides of her face and she couldn't find the time to cool her body with her reiatsu. They were becoming too quick which was obviously under his command.

"Become the darkness!"

Again he hollered at her, "become the darkness!"

Her body grew more reluctant to do so as he repeated it.

"Become it!"

His voice bled with impatience. "Become it!"

Her feet grew numb, her muscles were beginning to ache and that soup she had this morning was starting to come up.

"Become the darkness!"

I can't, Rukia thought to herself, I can't.

Whenever screamed of darkness she only thought of one thing, one person and one place she had only been to once. She felt as though merging with this water was the equivalent of letting him in—letting his thoughts in, nourishing those feelings he birthed whenever she was near him and so on.

"Become the darkness!" She heard him shout again over the water. Her hearing was starting to become worse, it was like he was miles and miles away from her. "Become it!"

Her breath quickened, her body was tender and warm. It was the sweat, it was frustration, it was him.

"Become the darkness!" As a quiet echo from afar was the last thing she heard.

###

The toddler version of the heir showed up some time in the afternoon at the Okasake manor. He sat on a cushion in front of Byakuya's father's desk and pouted with a red ball in his hand. Naturally, he paid no attention to it.

Minister Asa came in from the door closest to the small kitchen and scowled. The toddler pouted harder and bowed his head.

"What is this fiend doing here?" She asked, rubbing the black chain of that big key she carried around slowly.

For the first time, Byakuya's father looked at him, "it came in this morning."

"With who?" She snapped venomously.

"No one." He answered.

She muttered something as she stomped towards it, towering over the toddler with tears in its eyes. Like a snake, she bent her head and viciously glowered. "Get out."

The toddler sniffed.

"Out." She repeated.

His gaze fell on the ball, she pounded it out of his hands and it burst open. The toddler opened his mouth to wail but her face frightened him enough to hold it in.

"We do not allow abominations to dwell on our soil nor our homes." She seethed. "A disgrace, I would spit on you if I did not have some—" she tittered and stood up straight.

The toddler tightened its jaw, forcing himself not to cry as he stood up. He glanced at Byakuya's father who paid no attention to what was going on in front of him and then meekly stared up at Minister Asa.

No matter the situation, she kept her posture perfect and hands together in front of her with that key chain coiled around one arm. He was sure she slept with it like that too.

Ichigo wasn't expecting the toddler to do anything but reluctantly move away but he proved him wrong. He straightened his back, his eyes flared with fire and he stomped his foot, "I want Wukia!"

Minister Asa let loose of her hand and slapped the toddler so hard, he fell to the ground.

"Damn." Shinji commented.

When Ichigo caught a glimpse of the toddler's cheek, it was bright red, the colour stretched all over it.

He knew it was wrong but he felt sympathetic when he began to cry. Snot ran down his nose as he sat on the ground and spread his legs out. His face became wet in mere seconds.

"Quit your sniveling this instant!" Minister Asa ordered.

His sobs got louder. For some reason, he reached out to grab the bottom of her dress as if he was asking for some sympathy but Minister Asa did not allow it and slapped him again with the back of her hand.

The force of her hit sent him flying into the rim of Byakuya's father's desk who immediately looked up at the red-faced toddler whose face was soaked with tears.

He bawled louder, the sight of it pained Ichigo's chest.

Tear droplets touched the floor. The sight infuriated Minister Asa who hovered over the spots as if they had stained it.

"Look what you did, you abominable scourge!" Minister Asa barked. "The floors have been touched by your venom, your putrid waste!"

Something came over the toddler and it stood up and began to push against her in fury. Minister Asa stepped back as if his hands frightened her, nonetheless her voice stayed stern and heavy.

"Stop that! Behave yourself!" She commanded. The toddler kept on going even while he cried. Minister Asa shoved his hands away and sent it flying again.

She quickly dusted herself off and grimaced upon looking at her hands.

"Germs…" she muttered before looking at the toddler who was cowering away against the wall. "Your foul stench is retching! Putrid! Disgusting!"

Each word was encrusted with hate, the woman did not hesitate to bark at him louder when the toddler shrunk smaller. "—rancid! Fetid! Nidorous! Insulting!"

He trembled against the wall as Minister Asa used her entire head and neck to insult him. Ichigo would not be surprised if it lifted off of her body and curved towards him like a snake. She had enough of its characteristics to be a shapeshifter.

"Get out of here," she ordered roughly, "or I will call the muttons to urinate on you!"

The toddler twitched and forced himself up.

Minister Asa didn't even give him a moment to think, "—now!" She screamed.

The toddler tentatively backed away against the side of the door, his gaze never left Minister Asa when he did.

"Nasty pest." She muttered under her breath as it slid open the door.

When a gust of wind flew in from the crack he had opened, the toddler rooted his feet onto the floor and narrowed his head at her. His brows crept up and he pouted.

Almost amused, Minister Asa threw her head back and chuckled, "and what will you do?"

The toddler drew a deep breath and stomped his foot, "FIND. WUKIA!"

His words melted all the humor off Minister Asa's face and left her glowering. As the toddler spun around to leave, she stomped one of her feet and the wind threw the toddler face-front onto the floor of the room and the veranda. The force she used had been strong, blood stained the wood when he pushed himself up.

He looked back at her. His nose had streams of blood oozing out.

The toddler wiped his nose, "I want to play with Wukia!"

"Play?" She simpered.

"PLAY!" He shouted with a stomp.

She grew serious again.

"PLAY! PLAY! PLAY!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. She charged at it with great big stomps but the toddler kept screaming.

He drew his arms back and leaned forward, "PLAY! PLAY! PLAY! PLAY!"

Minister Asa raised her hand to slap it again but was stopped by a voice.

"Leave it." Byakuya's father said sternly, she looked back at him. He surprisingly stood up and walked past her.

The act stunned both of him. He headed towards the tall gates enclosing the manor. The toddler quickly stuck his tongue out at Minister Asa and ran after him.

The atmosphere transformed to the pathway outside the gates guarding the manor. Byakuya's father walked down the path that would lead to the silver gates which enclosed his manor.

A woman was walking in the opposite direction towards them.

Ichigo recognized her the moment he saw her. She was in a semi-formal wear of thin robes of deep purples and greens beneath an outer, defining cloak of deep purple with abstract fern green flowers on it and a high-waisted plum purple skirt.

Her black hair was drawn back into a low ponytail, she had curtain bangs which were evenly parted, just like Byakuya's father and two strands of hair which had twin silver hair pieces as cylinders coiled around them.

"He must've left it with Sugina." Captain Ukitake guessed as he approached her.

She stopped upon seeing him but he didn't. He walked past her and then turned, drawing her attention to the toddler who had followed him.

"Watch it." He instructed. "If I am not back in two hours, leave it at godfather's."

His sister Sugina, Kuchiki Koga's wife, observed the toddler—she had gray eyes.

"What will I do with him?" She asked him. Her voice was very soft but regal. There was definitely only a two to three year age gap between them.

"So long it is not bored it will be fine."

She drew a breath, "I suppose I can take him with me to the shop…"

"Do not take it to the manor." He warned her. "If it throws a fit, just leave it at godfather's."

"Very well…" she muttered under her breath as she watched it. Something struck her, she reached out and grabbed Byakuya's father's sleeve, a look of worry dawned on her face, "—hold on. This is the thing that killed Aunt Gureta."

She tightened her grip.

"It will not do anything to you." He assured her. "It does not benefit from coercing you."

She looked at him, still hesitant to watch it.

"You will be fine." He promised her. "Your blood saves you."

She withdrew her hand from his sleeve.

"Very well…" She mumbled in defeat, "but I will not eat with it."

Byakuya's father slightly grinned.

###

They rendezvoused at the Li manor, in the same room where Major Li laid in the center.

In attendance was Major Haru, Minister Asa, her grand niece Asa Suika, Minister Pembi, Yoruichi, Cem, Byakuya's father and a few others he didn't recognize or hadn't met yet.

Renji, Raiden and Roger were braced against the wall at the far corner but that didn't come to surprise considering they were relatively a part of the case.

What did come to a surprise was seeing the woman who sat a few spaces behind the head of Major Li who laid awake on the futon.

"Kukaku?!" Ichigo exclaimed. "Man," he remarked, "was everybody involved in this shit?"

"She probably knew the whole time that Nee-san wasn't in those mountains!" Kon yelled.

"I said it back then but no one believed me." Uryū reminded them, now awake and standing.

"Can't believe we got duped by them." Ichigo grumbled. "Even Ganju, that's embarrassing!"

"But didn't he say the Shiba clan got out of the assassin organization awhile back in our time?" A voice belonging to Orihime asked behind Uryū.

Ichigo closed his eyes, feeling irritated again. "Yeah but that doesn't mean they had to lie about the whole thing. They could've told us the truth! Not like anyone was watchin' them or anything."

Uryū spun around, "Inoue-san…" he greeted in surprise.

"You're awake!" Kon screamed in glee.

Orihime tilted her head and tittered, "guess I'm feeling better now."

"You don't know that for sure." Captain Ukitake interjected.

"But who would bear the responsibility of watching them if it's been years since they were last associated with them?" Uryū inquired.

Shinji shrugged, "they got their own club, they know the people intimately, shouldn't be too hard to watch a few dropouts."

Captain Kyōraku agreed. "I don't see the problem of checking in on their old folks."

"I regret to tell you that the Head Captain and Central 46 denied my request." Major Haru explained to them. "Although I personally explained the situation, they refused to hand over the maps."

He stood in the same place he had when Major Li had undergone surgery and was recovering.

"That shouldn't come to a surprise." Minister Asa murmured while fiddling with her key chain. It seemed like she and Byakuya's father were supposed to come here together when she came to the manor. "He probably wants to send one of his abominations down there."

"What'd he say when you told him soul reapers couldn't take the job?" Minister Pembi asked beside her.

"She's…so…hot!" Shuhei squeaked behind him, also awake.

Ichigo turned to him, surprised. "Shuhei?"

Kon's cheeks got warm, he fell into a lovesick stupor, "she sure is…"

"That it was his property, those pathways were used by soul reapers so they should be the ones to get rid of them." Major Haru replied. "I gave Central 46 the lab report of the substance and explained that Shira had gotten injured in hopes of persuading him but it looks like we'll have to do the job secretly."

Cem, the tall guy who often came to the Okasake manor with the centaur guy and the eccentric guy named Jerruam stepped forward.

"Head Commander Okasake can overturn his ruling and Central 46's. The board Ministers can formally meet to discuss it if you want to be magnanimous." In spite of his appearance, he was likely only in his late teens. "I won't break the law to do this, we have an option."

"That takes time." Minister Asa harshly snapped. "The others may agree that those fiends should handle their own creation."

"We have three Ministers here." Cem argued, Ichigo assumed the third one was in reference to Byakuya's grandfather who wasn't in attendance at the moment. "You only need one more to overrule them. That shouldn't be too hard if you make a good case, Minister Kuchiki, Minister Pembi and you will be enough to convince at least one other person."

Minister Asa stood appalled as if what he said was utterly stupid, "you want to call on a law like that for something so trivial?"

"Usually I'd agree with you Cem," Minister Pembi began, "but once we get on that debate table anything can happen, especially if we go back and forth with Central 46. It might go to waste when we can just hop right in and exterminate them."

She craned her neck to spot Renji, Raiden and Roger near the corner some feet across from Minister Asa. "You guys went in just like that and came out, right?"

"She knows Renji?" Shuhei asked, completely smitten. "Should ask him to introduce me when we get out."

Raiden with his back against the wall, arms crossed and one foot hoisted up answered, "yeah, it was easy."

"We scoped the area for a good three hours." Renji added beside him. "We didn't find any of them but no one got in our way either."

"Exactly." Minister Asa roughly said, "those passageways are empty, the leader of those abominations confirmed it himself. We will take less than an hour to clean them."

"But—" her grand niece looked up at her, "—won't he send people there now?"

Minister Asa scoffed, "then those creatures will eat them right up, we are cleared."

Kukaku stretched, "I'd get it done quickly, Yoruichi and I can handle it, no biggie."

"With all due respect, Kukaku-san, if Shira and I could not, two people will not be able to." Major Haru said. "The nature of that substance will not be defeated as easily."

"I'll send my division then." Yoruichi casually announced. "He won't put his foot down if I go, soul reapers are soul reapers."

"That's better." Cem said as if he was commending them, "we shouldn't be placing ourselves in spaces we are not to be, especially in the act of something unlawful."

"10th Division can tag along with ya." Kukaku said, "a joint mission with two soul reaper divisions with assassin hybrids, that should be enough. We'll just exclude the actual soul reapers."

"I see no harm in that." Major Haru said, looking down at Shira and Byakuya's father for approval.

By the looks of it, they had a slightly different opinion.

"Sheatsu isn't their strength, it's their speed, unity and regeneration abilities." Major Li croaked out. "The liquid they come out from might be infinite."

"That is the root of their strength and creation. If you cannot get rid of that, you will never get out of there." Byakuya's father added.

"That is true…" Major Haru mused. "Sensei and I only subdued them. She used sheatsu to push them down as did I. Though Shira and I could cut them, they likely went back into that liquid and reformed themselves."

"Won't ice work?" Minister Pembi asked. "Freeze them and crush 'em."

"Who led the examination?" Yoruichi inquired.

"I did." A boy with peach hair curved like a ship figure came out beside Major Haru.

He crossed his arms, "I already told Sensei everything I know about it. A bunch of particles belongin' to different people, some sea contaminant and his DNA."

"How'd…" Minister Pembi grew curious, "...you get his DNA?"

"Sensei." He answered. "Anyway, I don't got a solution yet so going down there without much of a plan sounds stupid."

Mayuri muttered something inaudible beside them. He was gnashing his teeth at the teen with the lab coat as if he knew him.

"If I may intervene…" Roger slid forward, "those prototypes only react when someone trespasses their territory. So long they remain undisturbed, we have time to find a solution."

"Then there's no use in getting worked up over it." Kukaku said. "If we don't disturb them, they don't disturb us, we should leave it that way."

The peach-haired scientist boy sluggishly leaned his head to the side, "it'll take some screwin' around but I'll get it eventually."

"Well he doesn't sound very reliable." Uryū sarcastically remarked.

"I guess…" Ichigo said, "they didn't let Urahara in but they let him…?"

"Maybe there's more to him than he shows." Captain Kyōraku said. "Personality isn't everything."

"Just tell the soul reapers to stay clear of the passageways, simple." The peach-haired scientist boy added.

Minister Asa looked as though she spit when she turned to him, "fool, we'll tell them nothing!"

"The A.A.A planned on using those passages and those things to attack the Kujou family." Minister Pembi reminded them. "Someone's gotta prosecute them, what'd Head Captain say about that?"

"He wants to prosecute them." Major Haru answered.

Minister Asa scoffed, "he'll let them loose!"

Minister Pembi put her train of thought into words. "The A.A.A knew those passages well if they planned on utilizing them to attack the Kujou family and they likely knew lots about those creatures' abilities if they took control of them for a while."

"So what?" Raiden questioned boldly, "we just gotta nab one and they'll tell us all we need to know?"

She twisted her neck to their side and bent. "That's actually exactly what I was thinking, Renji."

"I'm Raiden." He corrected bitterly.

"On second thought…maybe she doesn't know Renji." Shuhei said, disappointed.

"We do know where they are located for now." Roger pointed out.

"They probably got a bunch of backups so you should probably get goin'." Renji added.

"That's an easy job." Kukaku brushed off before she looked back at Yoruichi against the wall. "Whadaya say, Yoruichi?"

"We still have to consider their rights." Byakuya's father reminded them. "The Head Captain and Central 46 must determine whether they will be considered under soul reaper law or will be extradited to be tried back at the Capital."

"The Kujou clan still have a say in this though." Minister Pembi pointed out. "That hole's on their property and they were their targets."

"I would argue they will not have much of an influence in his decision." Byakuya's father responded. "The A.A.A are still soul reapers even if they are no longer a part of their respective divisions."

"I'll take over the interrogation process." Yoruichi assured them. "We'll get one of them talking by the end of it."

"Then that is settled." Major Haru said. "The matter of the A.A.A will be handed over to the second and tenth division respectfully and the creatures will be left on standby until Cecil," he addressed the peach-haired scientist, "can find a solution to combat it."

"Great," Kukaku stretched, "then we're done here."

In the midst of stretching, she glanced at Byakuya's father's arms that were still wrapped in white bandages. "By the way, what happened to your arms?"

"That is a separate matter that likely has no relevance here." He replied.

"What about him?" Yoruichi asked before clarifying, "Sensei Okasake."

"He is training Rukia."

"And the kid?"

"It is around though it does not say or do much."

"Wonder when he'll finally do somethin' interesting with himself that doesn't come from a bunch of different creatures like this." Minister Pembi said. "It's getting boring."

"We shouldn't wish for that if something so minor can affect us this great." A man criss-crossed in front of Major Li's body chastised, the texture of his voice was deep and brittle.

"Anyone know him?" Ichigo asked.

A vibrant sky blue, like crystals, made up his small eyes, particularly luminous against his tanned skin akin to a deep shade of clay beneath thick, sharply cut brows and parted bangs. He had a faint moustache and a goatee which added a rough edge to his appearance, looking as though he'd smell of smoke and expensive cologne.

His hair was curved like the tip of two leaves on the sides of his shoulders and upwards at the top of his head like whipped cream.

"He's Shira's companion." Captain Ukitake answered.

"No matter their purpose or appearance or composition, they are strong—posing enough of a threat to get rid of plenty of us." The man, dubbed as Major Li's companion, continued.

"Yeah, that's Shelby." Captain Kyōraku confirmed. "Captain Komamura probably knows him, he's from a wolf pack."

He wore a sleeveless white haori over the top of his black kimono with some gold pins on it and a few beaded necklaces slung around his neck.

"You got it backward, Shelby." Minister Pembi replied. "Cowering away like that shows fear."

"I agree!" Shuhei shouted as if she could hear him.

"It shows strength." Shelby refuted. His two hands were curved upwards on the sides of his knee as he observed Major Li who was staring straight up at the ceiling. "Calculation, precision."

"That's the kinda thing that's delayed us for years." She said before glancing at Cem diagonal to her. "You coming? 'Ro wants to snack."

Cem quietly walked to her side as she went out the shōji beside Renji, Raiden and Roger who stuck around.

Cecil skipped after them, "I wanna snack too!"

Kukaku stood up, "well, if that's all you got to say then I'm gone."

Everyone else remained still.

Yoruichi raised her head and looked at Byakuya's father. "Where did you get the infection from?"

"It is hard to believe but Chief Jouchi." He answered. "He is a soul shadow."

"Chief Jouchi is Kujou Kotaru's grandfather…" Major Haru mused.

"It is quite a coincidence." Byakuya's father commented.

Raiden stepped further into the room from the corner. "I got a question about that kid, actually."

They turned to him. "He's got second rank Major sheatsu but acts like a twig. He said he didn't inherit it so what's his deal?"

Renji came beside him. "Maybe he's just a sick kid but I don't think he could take a punch."

"He is awfully jumpy for someone of his ranks." Roger added.

"That is precisely what I wanted to discuss." Major Haru replied. "I requested the surveillance footage of the Kujou family's field to revise it myself after the lab was done with it and Central 46 saw it. Kujou Kotaru was behind Sensei when she ran into the field but those creatures did not harm him. He was surrounded but neither of those things touched him."

Renji, Raiden and Roger looked at each other.

"He was not defending himself either." Major Haru added.

"See." Raiden said. "Weird."

Byakuya's father looked at the ground in deep thought.

"That thing on its neck…" Major Li began, "what is it?"

"Sensei attributed it to being a talisman." Major Haru replied. "She disclosed to me that she did not ask much of it."

"Perhaps we should." Byakuya's father said sternly, "Chief Jouchi has infected me but he did not or has not been infecting any member of his family, his grandson included."

Shelby spoke as though he was reading out their fortune. "There may be more to him than we expect."

"I arranged for Rukia and I have to have dinner with him next week since she did not attend this one." Byakuya's father informed them. "We will go from there."

"What about that whole celebration thing?" Renji asked him. "You know, that party thing his family's holding this Saturday for his kid?"

"Chief Jouchi will likely be there." Major Haru replied.

"I would have asked if there had been any transactions between the Jouchi clan and the Adachi house regarding a soul shadow neutralizer if Cem had stayed." Byakuya's father said.

"That must be his role." Tōshirō said beside Ichigo.

"You're awake too?" Ichigo asked him.

"I am not crippled, Kurosaki." He snapped. "It was just a few hits, nothing more than ten."

"Ten?" Ichigo repeated, "You had like seventy holes in you."

"There were only ten, I thoroughly counted my hits before I went under." Tōshirō fired up at him in a controlled, fury-restrained voice.

Mayuri sighed, "he's confusing his division number with his injuries, how low."

"We will leave this matter until that dinner and any interaction we may have with them until we meet again." Byakuya's father announced. "There might be some connection to this case after all."

###

Sugina and the toddler were traveling down a garden path when cyan-eyed Sensei Okasake randomly flash-stepped at the end of it.

Upon noticing him, she bowed, "hello god uncle, it has been some time."

She looked down at the toddler who was holding her hand, "Nii-sama left him with me for a while, he was no trouble."

He ominously gazed down at the toddler, it was like he didn't know him or was trying to recognize him.

She awkwardly cleared her throat, "how have you been god uncle? It has been so long."

"Lonely..." He muttered.

Sugina tightly smiled, "I know that feeling all too well."

"You do?" He asked coolly as if he was challenging her.

She hummed and swayed the toddler's hand forward, "your father is here now, you may go. I hate to admit it but you were not as bad as I thought you were."

Sensei Okasake stiffened at the mention. He wanted to protest but couldn't.

"The heir must be trying to get ahold of him again." Tōshirō observed. "He is trying to fight it."

"But I wanna play more with you!" The child protested.

Sugina attempted to pull her hand away, "there will be other days for that I am certain. For now—"

"Gina." Byakuya's father came behind her and looked down at the child. He then addressed Sensei Okasake, "god uncle."

The toddler stood straight up and stomped his foot, "I want to play more with her!"

Byakuya's father only stared down at him as if he was thinking.

"Nii-sama." Sugina stiffly seethed under her breath.

"Why…" he looked up at Sensei Okasake, "don't we return to the manor?"

His proposal surprised both his sister and the toddler. Sensei Okasake's eyes shifted to Sugina who didn't look too happy to do so.

"Sugina, you do not need to come if the thought of sitting with me for five minutes is unpleasant to you." He told her tartly and spun around.

"Yikes." Shuhei clenched his teeth.

Remorsefully she looked up at her brother, a few inches taller than her and then to the toddler who innocently ogled them.

The scene changed to the manor.

Sensei Okasake's knees were pressed into a cushion outside, looking aimlessly ahead at the lawn when they arrived. The maids came out and provided a cushion for Byakuya's father and his sister slightly beside him to sit.

Sugina, who sat facing him to his left, bowed and apologized for her behavior. She eased into useless chatter about how she's been and her affairs while Byakuya's father, facing the lawn, closed his eyes and sipped his tea while they spoke.

Despite being cold to her at first, Sensei Okasake eventually began to talk with her normally. Byakuya's father didn't speak to him at all in spite of his efforts to include him. His sister carried the conversation from start to finish or at least, until lavender-eyed Sensei Okasake appeared on the veranda and greeted her.

"Godfather." She shot up and bowed.

It was brief but a look of envy appeared on the cyan-eyed Sensei's face when she did.

"Just a second—" she bowed to him and swiftly entered the infamous Okasake study.

Byakuya's father didn't attempt to make any conversation with him in the meanwhile which was frustrating. He stood up and entered the study through another shōji they had never seen which made up the wall next to his desk.

He left it wide open.

Sugina and lavender-eyed Sensei Okasake were immersed in a conversation. He was giving her plum desserts which she hovered over in delight.

"I suppose it has been a while since you last had your plum." Cyan-eyed Sensei hoarsely observed from the door. He was standing with his two hands near his lap now.

"Not at all." Sugina objected, distracted by the ornate display of sweets. "I had plum pudding with godfather for godmother's anniversary last week."

Byakuya's father stiffened near the door as she went on chatting with their godfather, completely unaware of what she'd done. To hear that she had gathered with his brother hardened his already solemn expression near the door.

By the looks of it, Byakuya's father was still being attentive to his feelings despite refusing to show him any kindness of his own.

"I believe he wants to use Sugina to repair their bond in the meanwhile." Captain Ukitake said.

"Gina." He called sternly.

"In the meanwhile?" Shuhei repeated.

She languidly looked up at her brother to her right, "yes?"

"Yes, I think he is still frustrated with his appearances or perhaps he still believes that he is under the heir's compulsion like the last time." Captain Ukitake explained.

When he didn't answer, she walked close to him. He leaned forward, "you went out with godfather for godmother's anniversary?"

Innocently she blinked, "yes, didn't I tell you?" She beamed, "you would not have been able to come either way."

He gestured to the veranda which confused her. Slowly she peered outside and saw that cyan-eyed Sensei Okasake had walked away.

"Oh…" she shrunk down. "I…"

"He's probably going to turn back soon." Uryū said.

###

When Rukia woke up, she remembered nothing then everything all at once. She winced when she attempted to move her right arm to rub her eyes.

Beside her, she felt something warm—a body. Her memories told her it was Sensei who had been training her so she called out to him but got no response. When her vision came into fruition, she saw Choda staring down at her.

"Choda…?" She called quietly.

Even in her stupor, she knew not to ask what had happened. She recollected everything and remembered why she was here.

There was a lamp burning, it casted shadows against the walls and contoured Choda's face. She caught a glimpse of the space between the end of the floor and the ground, it was night out.

Night…? The Lieutenant immediately came to mind. She unzipped herself from the sleeping bag in a rush and sat up.

"Choda, what time is it?" She asked him frantically. While she waited for a response, she smoothed her hair with her left hand and gently pulled her right arm up.

"Where were you?" He inquired rudely.

Jarred by his tone, she furrowed her brows, "what's wrong with you?"

"Where were you?" He repeated harshly.

Rukia groaned, she didn't leave him anything hard to do, why was he being so stingy? She glanced over his shoulder to read the little chestnut clock Renji had bought from a shop in the Seireitei.

It was almost six.

Relief washed over her. It was evening now, she did not leave the Lieutenant hanging. God knows that'd cause another problem if she didn't show up.

"Why can't you tell me where you were?"

Rukia shot him a look, "it's not a big deal, at work."

She attempted to get up.

"What work do you do?" Rukia froze. Why was he asking her about that now? "Every time I ask, you lie, it's fishy. What do you do over there?"

"Why are you asking now?"

"You leave for days, you don't sleep here at night, you either come in early in the morning or the afternoon, you barely know what's going on with the crops and you're never here once the job's done."

She had no idea what to say.

"Arigawa, Abarai and Roger have work but they come back here, you run off on your own schedule."

Rukia didn't know how to explain herself. She was practically cornered by him now but she still couldn't find the will to be honest to him that she was training to be an assassin like Renji and Raiden.

He was particularly irked with them for being one, if she admitted to giving in despite all the work she was doing for the Rukongai District now, he'd scornfully watch her and dissociate.

Not to mention, she had noble alliances now so it would most definitely look like betrayal to him.

Seeing him now had her thinking of other ways she could tell half-truth, half-lie without jeopardizing their friendship and her own image. She was an ally of the Rukongai District and she was not going to leave them now because she had responsibilities as a 'noble' of a prestigious clan.

"Be honest," he vehemently leaned forward, "are you working for a brothe—"

"—oh god, I babysit a noble, alright! That's what I do!"

He leaned back in surprise.

"I babysit a noble." She repeated, emphasizing each word firmly.

"There's a kid, I watch him and that's the end of it, alright?" She snapped. "I come in and out because they're nobles and they're annoying and they're demanding, are we done here now?"

She composed herself, waiting for him to process it.

"How?" He quietly asked.

"It just happened." She muttered. "Don't know why they picked me but they wanted someone from the Rukongai District and somehow I got the job."

"Hmm…" Choda gazed down, "I suppose that rumor of two high ranking nobles visiting you was true."

That's still going around?! Captain…

"Um…"

"All that equipment you're able to buy and sweets you bring make sense…" he continued. "They must pay you well."

Rukia bobbed her head. "So can I go now?"

"You have a shift?" He asked her as she stood up.

"Yes." She hissed.

"We'll talk later then?"

His question made her smile. She nodded her head, "I promise."

She ran out and headed towards the woods. If she was playing full-time lowly babysitter now to Choda, she couldn't appear that equipped yet with portal jumping.

To ensure she wasn't stopped by any nobles, specifically Kujou and his grandfather, she made sure the portal led straight into the yard of the Okasake manor.

By then, she was changed into her assassin uniform in the process—her left arm gloved while her right arm remained wrapped in white bandages from the injury she suffered earlier during her training session.

She stepped into the study.

"Here," Rukia internally grumbled at how he didn't hesitate to hold out photos for her the moment she came in.

She attentively listened as he explained each person's profile thoroughly. By the time she got through twelve summaries about twelve different people, a good five minutes had passed.

He finally glanced up, "I will come wit—" he stopped once he caught a glimpse of her bandaged arm.

"Did I infect you?" He asked her.

Rukia shook her head, "just an accident from training."

He looked as though he wanted to ask more about it. Rukia quickly asked a follow up question to save him from the act.

"Anyway, you don't need to come, I'll be fine." Rukia assured him. "Doubt any of these are actual problems that concern the case."

His eyes moved from her arm and back to his work. "I want to be there in person regardless."

Man, you people are stubborn.

"Didn't you just recover from an injury?" Rukia asked him, he perked up at the mention, "it'll be fine, just stay here. I'll probably be done in two hours or so."

"I was not injured."

She wasn't even going to bother trying to figure out what he was implying.

If he wasn't injured, where in the world did he go for three weeks that prevented him from working on the case?

"I am certain you do not know much about my illness but I am unable to flash-step because of it." He explained. "I had flash-stepped to relocate Shira and myself out of the mess when those prototypes emerged from the Kujou field."

She thought Major Li transported herself the moment she fell down.

"—Though I would have had to flash-step either way because of the situation, father did not accept my act as one out of necessity and restricted me from visiting here or leaving the manor unless he approved."

Rukia was a bit astonished at the fact.

When she reflected on the Captain's demeanor when she informed him of everything that occurred, it made sense now.

"I run out of breath when I do it, it is not good for my heart." He informed her, Rukia never considered his illness as something that sensitive because of how careful he was when it came to showing it. "I merely needed a ventilator that day to provide some support for my breathing. I was fine by morning."

He could've returned on Friday or even Monday of that next week. She couldn't believe Captain punished him for something so trivial. Granted, maybe it was not something exactly trivial because it concerned his health but locking him up inside the manor and preventing him from contacting them was a bit…

"It is because of father that I could not come here." He reiterated. "There was no injury."

"He didn't tell us…" Rukia was still caught in the daze of it all. "I told Sensei the same thing he told me."

"I figured that four days after the incident occurred and he did not let me out."

Rukia stared into the ground, calling up on the memory of that exchange she had with Captain in front of the spider lily field wistfully.

"So that's why he was mad…" Rukia mused, "I mentioned Major Shira's injury too…"

She hadn't seen him since the incident either.

"In that case," she snapped herself out of her sullen daze, "let's go."

She spun around.

"Do you have your right glove with you?" He asked her.

"Yes, why?"

"You will have to answer questions regarding your injury at each house we go to. You should wear it over your bandages."

She glanced down at his hands and realized he was wearing both gloves over them. The sleeves of his overcoat and soul reaper uniform covered the rest.

Smart…

She pulled her glove out of her pocket and tugged it over hers. When she did, cyan-eyed Sensei Okasake entered the room.

Her eyes lit up upon seeing him. "Sensei!"

"Ah, my dear, how is your arm?"

"Not so good." She admitted. "I can barely move it, it hurts!"

She pressed her arm with her left index finger, "—see it moves like there's no bone in it."

"Oh my—we should have the nurse look at it." He peered at her arm through his glasses.

"I can't squeeze it."

"Hmm," the sound rumbled her insides, "we will avoid that exercise until you are healed again. Perhaps she will be able to prescribe you something to ease the pain."

"I hope so." Rukia mumbled as she attempted to gently squeeze it. "It gets hot when I press it."

"We will have it re-examined when you return." He assured her. How quickly she forgot! The Lieutenant was behind her, preparing himself to leave.

Sensei gazed up above her head. She turned back at the Lieutenant who only paid him a nonchalant glance. It immediately infuriated her.

Seriously, what was his deal?

It's not like he was interfering with their work now.

Kuchikis, she grumbled.

Sensei lightly tapped her arm and bid her farewell. Her heart sank lower as he walked away. He was so pitiful. Sad. Lonely. Misunderstood.

She wanted to fill all that grief and emptiness up with joy and laughter for him. As his unofficial grandniece and his trainee, she needed to do more.

The Lieutenant had to be deliberately trying to annoy her now because he stood up once Sensei left and walked to the door, ready to leave.

When she looked up at him, practically brooding, he merely stared down at her, "what is it?"

Rukia muttered all the insults she could think of in her head that she could never say out loud. He was feigning a look of innocence behind that emotionless mask he wore fully aware of what irked her.

How insensitive was he to ignore Sensei's calls for reconciliation and attention?

"Nothing."

He would have to be stone cold to do that.

She was starting to think she was helping out the wrong person.

###

In a hall of minimalist fashion, Rukia and Byakuya's father knelt into the cushion provided as guards bowed to their sides and an elder of the noble clan came out with a wide hospitable beam, being overly benign and gracious to them as every elder was.

This was their eighth house of the night.

After they exchanged the usual pleasantries, they got down to business. Elders would usually melt into apologies and speak of how ashamed they were at this stage but this elder looked completely unbothered upon the mention of her daughter.

"She is a lost cause. There is nothing you can do for her." She assured them calmly as if she knew it all. "We do not acknowledge the beast. It has been like that for centuries."

"Centuries?" Ichigo repeated. "Doesn't that mean she's a long-term one?"

"But they already found all the main ones…" Kon reminded him on his shoulder.

"Even if that's true, I see no harm in letting us evaluate her condition." Rukia kindly replied.

She usually did most of the talking for these things so she was well-trained with persuasion. Most elders were not usually adamant to accept their help though. Considering they were two nobles from two great noble clans, they fell to their feet and accommodated them quickly.

This elder had started off like that too. It didn't go unnoticed when maids flocked in like birds and quickly polished objects in the room when they sat down. Now, it seemed as though she was not going to abide by them because she was certain she had everything under control.

"If it had been three centuries back, I may have believed there is a solution but there is nothing that will fix that beast." She told them. "The only reason I have not killed her is because it is against the virtues if you are not an officer."

"What a nice way to speak about your daughter." Shinji sarcastically remarked.

"She must be a priestess." Uryū figured after observing the hall. "This clan likely runs a sanctuary."

"The book of virtues is that god lady's creation." Shuhei reminded them. "She must be a follower."

"—There!" Orihime shrieked at a large plaque embedded into the walls. "Those are the list of virtues."

"Well whadaya know…" Shinji muttered, "every old woman in this place gotta be a looney bin in disguise."

"This might be an opportunity to restore her." Rukia reasoned. "This matter we are working on has victims who have done the most abnormal things, said the most obscene things and look very strange. You have the utmost protection and confidentiality from the press and anyone you don't consent to if you agree."

"There is nothing that can be done for her." She repeated. "She is lost."

The woman's superciliousness would be suspicious if that didn't seem to be a personality trait.

"I would like to challenge that." Rukia announced. "We might be able to show you that she is still in there."

"That is kind of you, Sensei but I would not dream of humiliating you like that." She most definitely would if it had been a different person asking.

"What a strange thing to find pride in." Rangiku, now awake, said behind Tōshirō. "She seems certain no one can save her daughter."

"Why not?" Rukia asked, the elder's grin melted. "This is as much of an opportunity for you as it is for me."

The elder contemplated. "While…that may be true, Sensei—" she was forcing cordiality in her tone, "—I simply cannot let you see that monstrosity I keep downstairs. It cannot be saved."

"Even if that's true, what's the harm in trying?" Rukia pushed. "You didn't call us here, we came here on our own time to see her."

"I can only accept your help if you accidentally kill her for me." She unabashedly said as though it wasn't her own daughter she was speaking about. "But I am not telling you to do that."

"She will never be fixed so there is no use in seeing her." She pontificated.

As she went on about all the reasons she believed it was pointless, a maid or nurse dressed in all white came hustling down a platform behind her in distress.

She caught their attention quickly as she stood stiff and waited for the elder to permit her through. Her face and neck were glazed with sweat.

The elder stood up graciously with her elbows sharply pointing out.

She pulled her lips into a smug smile, "as you can see I have matters which concern the beast before dinner. I would be more than happy to welcome you to our feast if you would be willing."

The maid or nurse behind her was frantically shaking her leg as if she was running out of time to say what she needed to say.

Another one in the same white uniform came sprinting out of the platform in hysterics. She paid no attention to what was happening and just began screaming.

"Elder Odine, Elder Odine, Elder Odine!" She screamed. "Odette is frothing outside her mouth again, it looks like she's about to—"

She quickly stretched her worried face into one of shock when she caught sight of them. She bowed all the way down on the floor immediately, trembling as the gaze of the elder drilled holes into her head.

"Let's go." The elder hastily ordered, addressing the first nurse who had come down.

Before completing the turn, she made sure to bid them farewell.

"I hope to see you soon, hime-sama," her gaze betrayed the wide smile she put on out of obligatory kindness. She was irked by Rukia's determination or perhaps offended by the fact that she could not take her word for it.

She addressed Byakuya's father, "esteemed Lieutenant Kuchiki."

She bowed and began to walk with the first nurse, almost stepping over the one who was still bowing. Ichigo was sure she would've stepped on her if she didn't have guests.

"She kinda reminds me of Lieutenant Ise." Shuhei said. "Doesn't like anybody stickin' their nose in anything she runs 'cause she knows it best."

"We will not be staying for dinner." Byakuya's father announced, speaking for the first time.

The elder stopped and tightly smiled, "oh that is a shame. I would have loved to have you over."

She was glad she wouldn't have to hear their attempts to convince her.

Wails were heard. The daughter she was hiding or 'beast' as she called her was getting louder.

"We will return," Byakuya's father added, "with a warrant."

She would not allow her displeasure to show in full. Instead, she faced them again with the most delicate of smiles.

"I am not running an unethical practice here." She affirmed. "I have nothing to hide."

"Your daughter might be a part of a very confidential case." Rukia explained sternly. "That's enough to get a warrant, our business here concerns her—nothing more. You'll lose any opportunity of keeping it from the press when we get it, there's no guarantee that someone won't be notified. You'll have whistle-blowers all around you, ready to sell off information. The condition of your daughter and anything else you managed to hide will no longer be a secret."

Her mouth twitched. The hollering got louder, so did the wails of what seemed to be a herd of nurses from the space the platform led into.

Panicked, the maid beside her bowed, "Elder Odine." She urged.

High-pitched shouts and screams got tangled up as one. There were indistinguishable pleads accompanied by feet scurrying against the floor.

The elder was not even remotely phased by it. She remained fixated on Rukia.

"Would you call yourself a virtuous being, hime-sama?"

What did that have to do with anything?

Though he could only see the back of her, the failure to provide an immediate response indicated she too was puzzled.

"Because you see—" presumptuously she smirked as she paused, "—I only allow virtuous people to step into this ward. This is a holy place, my staff are virtuous, so are the members of this family."

"Why would she say that to the granddaughter of the person she worships as god?" Uryū asked.

Rukia remained quiet, uncertain of what to say in response.

"So you see," she tipped her head forward and flashed her a knowing look, "even under the circumstances, I cannot let you into this ward, it would be immoral."

"What constitutes your virtue?" Byakuya's father asked.

The elder cracked a wide smile at this question as if he was asking something ridiculous.

"Celibacy." She answered. "Now—" she shook her head, "I am not trying to judge you or proscribe you but—" she sighed, "the fact of the matter is that I know what a majority of Rukongai girls are like. They lose it before they even fully develop!"

The woman was smiling, laughing, between her words.

"They're immodest. They get themselves tainted before it is their time and well…I respect you as the princess of our holy clan and I do sympathize with your background and where you came from but I cannot grant you an exception because of it. The place you come from lacks discipline and purity and though I do not think of you as such now, your past in the Rukongai District trails behind you. What you lost then cannot be forgiven."

He couldn't believe the woman was brazen enough to say something like that to her face. She was one of the highest people of honor here and yet this woman who was supposed to fall to her feet was attempting to denounce her because she believed she wasn't a virgin.

Rukia stood up.

"And if I say I am still virtuous, what will you say?" Rukia asked calmly. "That I'm lying?"

The elder pressed her lips together.

"There are others even if the one I spoke of was not committed. Have you ever slept in a room with another sex?" Renji and her friends. "Have you ever stolen?" Yes. "Killed something?" Yes. "Immodestly dressed?" Ripped kimono. "Swore?" Once. "Touched another sex inappropriately—kiss?" ….kinda.

When Rukia didn't respond, she went on, "these are all against the virtues even if you no longer belong to that group of people, they cannot be wiped clean. My staff and this clan have never broken these virtues or broken them before their time. This ward has never been entered by people who have and I will maintain that rule."

Rukia lifted her left hand out. "Touch me and feel my virtue."

The woman's brows crept higher.

"Or am I so filthy? Ridden with every disease imaginable that you wouldn't dream of touching someone like me who comes from a place you deem unholy and expendable?"

Impressed by her challenge, she chuckled, "I wouldn't dream of humiliating a person of your standing."

"I'm the princess." Rukia sharply stated. "Of the holy clan of the Soul Society," she made sure to emphasize the terms the woman had used earlier and it did strike a nerve. "I am asking you, co-Head of the Quarter Sanctuaries, Head of this sanctuary and follower of the virtues to touch my hand and feel my purity. Are you heedless enough to disobey my request?"

The woman looked as though something got caught in her throat. She approached her, timidly, having had all her confidence and authority stripped from her.

When she touched her hand, everything they expected to occur did. It only took a few seconds for the woman to melt to the ground and bow—moved to tears upon feeling the purity behind her reiatsu. She came alive at the touch, enraptured by the energy she felt.

"Oh, hime-sama!" She cried as she continued to bow.

Rukia didn't move or say a word as she did.

Byakuya's father stood up, "now that we have witnessed your impertinence, we will witness the alleged monstrosity that you have created."

The elder was too moved, mumbling prayers of forgiveness near Rukia's feet, to say anything in response.

"Let's go." He told Rukia, who pulled away her feet from the elder and followed him.

The nurse led them up the platform and into the brick walled corridor. It was like a dungeon space. Narrow and dark.

As they went down a flight of stairs, the screams and shouts got louder. Other nurses in white were scrambling for buckets of water, rags and carts. Jail cells with skeletons still hooked up in chains could be seen as they came down.

So this was a dungeon.

Another nurse ran up to them, leading them down the hallway and left into a very narrow hall. The light became less and less. There was practically none until they reached a cell to their right, gleaming with light as stark as moonlight.

Nurses crowded the front of the cell that was open. They made way for them to see what 'beast' was kept inside.

Ichigo caught a glimpse of the daughter, chained up against the stonewall of the 'cell', the size of a pantry, and shrunk. The light he had seen was moonlight gleaming from the top of the cell through a barred circle.

The daughter was wearing a white nightgown, almost brown in colour from the dirt on the lower half of it. Her entire body caked with dirt and scratches, her auburn hair sticky and wet with something like tar making it brown.

Two nurses were pressed against the walls of the small cell, scared to get close to her.

When she raised her head, her eye bags were swollen and dark, matching her eyes that were completely black. She inherited the same freckles from her mother but you could hardly see them with her hair sagging down to her chin.

She was screaming, growling each time one of the nurses attempted to move even an inch. She jerked her body back and forth trying to rid herself of the cuffs which kept her secured near the wall—two enclosed on her wrist and two on her ankles.

What the hell was this?

Rukia tentatively approached her. She grew even more enraged, the froth bubbling near her mouth shot left and right as she furiously shook her head back and forth. Whatever was inside her was growling loudly.

It was like a scene from The Exorcist.

She kept pushing herself up, trying to release herself from the chains. The nurses got scared and moved out of the small cell in hysterics. The daughter, Odette continued to scream and kick her feet like a little child.

"It has been some time since I last saw this." Byakuya's father said near the cell frame that formed an arch.

"He's taken her right through." Rukia observed.

"She does this every night." One of the nurses informed them. "As soon as it hits seven she screams till dawn."

"That's her resting time." Rukia explained. "It happens here—" she pointed to Odette's head, "—it takes hold of her and then appears outside here."

"It?" A frightened nurse asked her.

Rukia's lips twitched, unable to explain herself further.

"She is beyond all three compulsion stages." Odette grew more furious—shaking her head faster and faster so that the froth could reach him as Byakuya's father explained the details. "She is in the last stage, this is a fixed one."

Rukia looked back at him. "She's two-hundred and fifty-four?"

"No, she is one-hundred and twenty-eight." He explained to her. "I had thought she passed as she went missing soon after I found her."

Rukia took a few seconds to think, staring at the woman who tore her jaws wide to scream at her face. "Her mother kept her down here, locked her away…she was too ashamed of what happened to her and had too much pride to accept help."

"I am not sure if redemption is possible." Byakuya's father admitted. "It has been feeding off her mind for centuries now, likely using this situation she has been enduring to secure its hold. She is no more than a slave to him now."

"We still have to try." Rukia told him. "He hasn't killed her yet which means she's useful to him somehow. Having her locked up and alive inside her mind like a prisoner… she's still there, somewhere."

"She nevers eats!" A nurse from the hall shouted over the ear-deafening screaming. "She throws everything we give her!"

"That means he's feeding her something else." Rukia figured as she stared at the woman's stomach.

She lifted her left hand and attempted to stroke her hair but was met with spit, more screaming and head-shaking.

When she gently netted her fingers inside her greasy hair, Odette didn't necessarily calm down but she kept her demon eyes on her, twitching as though she was waiting for the right time to bite.

"Sedation won't work on her." Rukia said, the word kindled rage inside Odette that she unleashed with screams and thrashing.

She made more of a mess and had the squeamish nurses run out of the tiny cell.

As they left, she became louder.

Rukia continued stroking her hair in spite of all her pounding.

Froth came out of her mouth like bubble water. She perched her legs up and spread them in an obscene way. The nurses clamored in disgust.

"You put your legs down, this instant!" One nurse boldly ordered her.

Odette snickered and sent a pan full of bubbly spit to her face which had her screeching and jumping in utter disgust.

Rukia became fixated on her stomach.

"What do you have in there?" When Rukia leaned close, Odette jerked at her in a way that startled her. "Something's there…"

She looked up at Byakuya's father, "something's in there."

His eyes fell on the woman's stomach but there wasn't a bump or anything that indicated there was anything there.

Rukia addressed Odette. "Something's inside of you…"

"Something—" she found a way to cup her cheeks, "—is inside of you."

It was brief but Odette stopped and looked at her in a way that felt like there had been some break through. This time when she erupted in fury, she sobbed but tears did not coming out.

"I think she's giving birth…" Rukia said in panic.

Her breathing got erratic, so did her wails.

"Birth?!" One of the nurses yelled, the crowd grew into more of a frenzy. "That's impossible!"

Elder Odine suddenly appeared from the dark murk of the hall.

"There is no one who would have impregnated her." She stated as if she hadn't been humiliated just moments before. Once again, seizing control of the situation.

"She is." Rukia argued.

Odette's wails blared once she caught sight of her mother. She was starting to push forward which had the nurses scattering.

"Call a doctor!" Rukia pleaded.

"No." Elder Odine answered coldly. She stepped beside Byakuya's father and glared down at Odette.

"That kinda tickles." Shuhei said while rubbing his arm, the elder's shoulder had brushed through him.

"That is not possible." Elder Odine objected.

"Why do you think you know everything?!" Kon screamed up at her. He had settled beside Rukia to observe Odette closely.

"You…" the elder was at a loss of words when Odette winced, "disgrace! The daughter of a priestess! The daughter of this sanctuary! Connived with the devil! Birthing a child!"

"We do not know if that is what it is." Byakuya's father told her.

"Of course, that's what it is!" Elder Odine snapped. "How shameful…how promiscuous of you!"

"Is she forgetting the woman was locked up in here for ages?" Shuhei asked.

"I don't think she cares about that." Uryū answered.

"We need a doctor!" Rukia shouted.

"I cannot have a doctor in here deliver a child conceived by the devil!" Elder Odine argued. "Think of this sanctuary, hime-sama, think of this clan, its members, our reputation!"

"Call Doctor Thatcher." Byakuya's father told her.

Rukia glanced up at him, she didn't know who that was by the looks of it but the elder sure did.

She gasped, "how can I bring such an immoral man here? His practice is illegal! Against god!"

"That is the only person who will be able to help her and keep this matter private." He argued.

The nurse behind her was convinced before the elder, "I sent Sora-san to get him."

Elder Odine looked as though she wanted to faint at the mention while Rukia tried to console Odette who became a bit quieter as she caressed her.

A tiny man scurried right through Tōshirō. He quickly unpacked his briefcase of medical equipment and urged the nurses to help him.

He mumbled things to himself while he did everything in a rush.

There was a vent in between the space Odette's legs were spread apart but it was quickly covered by a baby blue blanket that covered her knees to the floor. Odette became harder to control, jerking the chains holding her captive hard. The foam from her mouth was all over her neck, running down to her chest.

Byakuya's father stepped out while a few brave nurses came in to help.

"Kill it!" Elder Odine ordered from the hall, contradicting her own virtues moments later. "The moment it comes out, kill it!"

Rukia was about to stand up but when she did, tears flowed down Odette's eyes which convinced her to stay.

"Will you be taking this beast's hand?" Doctor Thatcher asked her while he honed two of his instruments.

"Yes."

"What do you think is gonna come out?" Kon asked them.

"Something the heir wants out." Tōshirō replied.

"Are we really gonna stand here and watch this woman give birth?" Shinji asked them, feeling a bit awkward.

"If you are that squeamish, just look away." Sui-Feng suggested hoarsely.

When Odette started screaming, Shuhei moved away from the cell, "yeah, I'm staying here."

After minutes of yelling tangled with growls and Odette's resistance, Doctor Thatcher reported that he saw something. They waited for what he would bring out. Ichigo's heart was pounding with apprehension.

When Doctor Thatcher raised his hands, he brought out something that looked like a sculpture at first with a defined face like it was a baby—glossy black. Within seconds it began to melt in his hands which resumed the shrieks and jitters of everyone but Rukia who sat mortified as the thick liquid slithered down onto the ground and beneath the blanket.

She didn't hesitate to lift it up. It oozed into the vent.

"Sick…" Ichigo said under his breath.

"Looks like they found its birth mother." Captain Kyōraku said.

"Is it over?" Shuhei asked from the hall.

Odette frantically kicked and screamed as the guck came out of her. Her veins were more defined, a dull purple and blue. She screamed upwards, curling her fingers like they were claws. The nurses once again left after she became more violent. Doctor Thatcher jumped up and staggered back.

"W-What's wrong with her?" Kon asked, bracing himself against Rukia who he merely slipped through.

Deep growls rumbled the ground. She gnashed her teeth furiously first at the doctor, then her mother who was peeking from the hall and then Rukia. When Byakuya's father appeared at the arch of the doorway, she snapped her head towards him and sprang up.

Odette's right elbow jammed into Rukia's injured right arm, she winced and held it as Odette ripped the chains holding her captive off and lunged at everyone nervously watching in the hall.

Tōshirō, Uryū, Rangiku and Orihime had no other option but to duck because of their injuries while Ichigo and the others flashed out of the way instinctively.

She massacred the nurses that were clustered in front of the cell with her left arm which had elongated into the shape of a black tree branch just like those creatures. Doctor Thatcher fled from the tiny cell and ran off, a herd of nurses followed.

She charged at Byakuya's father who stood directly in front of the arch, braced against the wall.

He used kido which sent bright yellow planks from every angle to stop her. Odette leaned her head back and had reiatsu line her slowly, giving Rukia time to run around her and exit the cell—they followed as the bars came down and imprisoned her.

The planks restraining her flew out and she slammed her body against the thin bars of the cell, growling at Rukia, Byakuya's father and her mother who were braced against the wall. As she did, her arms struck through the holes of the cell, like tree branches, and rushed left and right.

A maelstrom of screams broke out.

Rukia gasped. Her foot fan blades cut her arms but the substance meshed closely together and formed more.

Odette continued to slam her body against the cell bars even though she could easily melt into the thing she had become and get out.

Once the bars flew out, she threw herself at them. Byakuya's father threw himself to the left, Rukia froze as Odette punctured holes into the wall, close to her body, while the mother was slung to the top of the ceiling.

Odette's arm went right through her. She struggled, lifelessly kicking her feet which made Odette's grin wider. She threw her to their right, crushing her body against a far wall.

Rukia jumped down—"dance!"

She clasped the cloth of Byakuya's father's uniform around his shoulders and flash-stepped them out of the hall while ice covered Odette and restrained her again.

Somewhere in the dungeon, Byakuya's father stood up from his position as Rukia observed the slaughter of bodies on the ground.

"This is insanity…" she muttered. "We have to call Haru. I don't know my element abilities well enough yet, I didn't even use sheatsu when I called for it."

She looked up at him. "We have less than a minute until she breaks out of it."

Byakuya's father, panting heavily, nodded his head, "it is quite a coincidence. We have found the prototype's mother."

"It's too much of a coincidence." Rukia said.

"You are likely right." He replied as a hell butterfly landed on his finger. "Send for Sojuro."

"With the fourth division." Rukia added before it fluttered off.

The sound of walls tumbling down accompanied by cries were heard. Rukia gasped, ready to come to their aid.

"I will have to wait outside." Byakuya's father told her. She raised her hand and made a portal for him before sprinting towards the corridor.

###

Back in the Okasake study, the Lieutenant gave her a binder he had of headshots of all the official obsessions he had found. He left it on a particular page for her to see where Odette's photo was in the second row.

Rukia didn't even recognize her. Auburn hair styled into a half ponytail and big curtain bangs, eyes cinnamon brown, freckles peppered on her cheeks. The woman she had seen in that prison was a mowed down version of her. Lost and forgotten.

They had no choice but to lock her back up into that cell. There were hundreds of body bags that were rounded up by the medical unit of the fourth division once they were able to restrain her.

Rukia learned that she was not a complete version of the prototype which is why she was unable to liquify herself properly. It was only her arms that were capable of doing that which meant she was still in there.

Every part of her body was rock solid except her arms, there was hope. Getting to her would be easy now that there was a separate investigation being launched into the practices of the sanctuary that Minister Asa was taking over with the first division.

She ached for the pile of bodies that would have to be buried and mourned within days despite questioning the moral integrity of the nurses there. Lieutenant Kuchiki was certain that Doctor Thatcher would not talk despite what happened though she didn't know why or how.

By the time everything occurred from their visit to Odette's capture and cleanup, it was already ten. Despite her early nap, she was exhausted. Odette was not an easy person to restrain. Part of her feared that the Lieutenant was going to tell her 'let's go' to meet the other four people they were left to visit. It's not like her fatigue mattered to him.

Something about this visit had revitalized his energy—his determination—even more so than before. She felt it. It was as if they were close to something he wanted, needed, to complete the case.

"You should take the medicine I gave you when you began the glaze trick."

Rukia forgot all about that. She didn't even use it.

"I'll take one when I get back." Rukia promised. The bag was somewhere beneath the table in their shed unless one of the boys had gotten rid of it.

"You do not need to return until your usual days." He suddenly said, which definitely woke her up.

"Sensei and I have training periods scheduled every day now. It won't make a difference until he goes back." She told him. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"I see." He said. "We can visit those we were unable to today."

"Sure." Rukia said before she bowed and stepped back to leave.

The doors suddenly pulled apart. When she caught sight of the visitor, she froze. It was him, in the night form, the form that had kissed her!

Rukia drew a breath in a shock, not expecting to see him come in so brazenly.

"What do we have here?" He asked with his normal voice.

She grew nervous. The last time she had seen him was when that thing occurred. He could say anything in front of the Lieutenant, anything!

She hated how much that memory plagued her. When Elder Odine had mentioned her being kissed, the memory played over and over again. She feared she would sense it in her when she had offered her hand to prove her purity, fortunately she could not.

"Hmm…" he studied her. "Congratulations."

For what?

"You found the mother of those prototypes so easily, Sojun, it must be a gift." Though he was addressing the Lieutenant, his gaze remained fixated on her. "What a coincidence."

It delighted him to see her so over the edge.

"This display," his hands gestured to the both of them forming an oval, "is riveting. You hunt, she restores. What nuisances you've both become."

Though he was intending all his remarks to be sarcastic, deep down she wanted to believe there was truth to that.

"It's impressive." He didn't look impressed at all, only amused. "For you to guess that Odette was still alive and for you," he emphasized those words specifically, "to give her a little relief from her duties."

"You told me you were done with them." Rukia muttered which absolutely thrilled him.

"I am." He assured her blissfully. "It can't be helped if the mother doesn't wish to die."

He was disgusting! She couldn't believe, even for a moment, she was phased by him. She even wrote about that moment in her diary, admitting to what she felt, surrendering to the little girl inside of her who was curious about what stuff like that felt like.

"Certainly there's some sense in her to drop them in the sewer. I apologize if they got in your way." There was no sincerity to that apology, only glee. "It should interest you that I sent some wallflowers to Major Li as an apology."

Her eyes shifted to the Lieutenant immediately. He was looking at her too.

"What?" The fangs came out. "Does it unsettle you?" He paused. "I don't plan on killing her. Yet."

"What a disservice that would be to her brother." He added smoothly. "She should have the same thrill that he did when I killed him."

Rukia gasped, she hit the rim of the Lieutenant's desk behind her unknowingly. He killed Major Li's brother?! She never knew she even had a brother. She wasn't as familiar with her family members except for her younger half-sister and her brother-in-law who she had only met once.

("That must be how they started talking again…" Captain Ukitake said to himself.)

"That is," he paused again, "if depression doesn't kill her first."

Disgusting! She thought. His eyes sharply shifted to her, his lips curved into a smirk like he heard.

"I just wanted to give her something nice." He explained, "after all, Odette's wastewater busted her lung."

"What are you doing here?" Rukia asked him rudely.

"Don't you know?" He challenged her. "Or have you forgotten so quickly?"

Before Rukia could respond, his eyes got cold and his smirk dropped. "I'm the heir."

She wasn't expecting that type of response.

"Why?" He asked sternly. "Did you think you could change that, Rukia?"

"Is connecting with Sensei a little difficult for you these days?"

"You can only hold onto him for so long."

"It's been weeks."

"Is that a challenge?" He asked her flatly.

"No." Rukia pushed herself off the rim of the Lieutenant's desk. "Just an observation."

"Your observation intends to mock me."

"If that's how you see it then sure."

"That man is nothing more but collateral damage." He spat bitterly. "Even Sojun no longer cares for him anymore."

That certainly felt true. The way he was neglecting him and brushing him aside as if he was nothing to him was strange.

That was his mentor, someone who had lots of pride in him, someone who thought of him as his son!

"No matter what you think of him, no matter what anyone thinks of him," she made her to emphasize loudly, "that's still a person valuable enough to you to take and wield as your puppet, as your defense. You need him."

"I think it's fair to say that I have surpassed the need for him now if prototypes are able to get rid of someone like Major Li."

"—If that were true, you wouldn't be trying so hard to get him back under your spell."

"His resistance means nothing." He calmly argued.

"I think it does." Rukia said. "Something shifted."

Even if it was brief, she caught it the moment it happened. A nerve was struck.

"And do you think feigning the Okasake princess title will change that?" He dashingly inquired.

Rukia shrugged. "—It certainly did something if you're out here talking to us like this."

"I came to congratulate you." He retaliated.

"You could've easily done that with your mind."

"You mean within your mind?"

"Isn't that your specialty?" She sardonically asked.

He took a moment to reply, uplifting his thin lips into a smile. "Indeed."

"I didn't know you enjoyed that feat between us so much." He added, thrilled by the thought.

Oh, now he was trying to annoy her.

"In that case, I will pay you a visit there."

"I was just trying to prove a point."

"And you did." It felt as though his voice had rippled right through her. He lost the smile again, "you're more of a nuisance than Sojun ever was, is that what you want to hear?"

That felt rewarding.

She was about to reply but a voice inside her head kept her quiet and it was not hers.

Don't get cocky. Don't think I won't share our little secret with Sojun and the others, what will they think of you then?

She was too distracted by his threat to think about anything else, specifically how he was speaking inside her head now.

"That means nothing to me."

The kiss?

It took everything within her power to ensure a blush stain wouldn't appear on her cheeks.

"It does."

It. Does. Not! She replied in her head for the first time.

"To be able to feel like you're in control now does." He added.

It makes you forget that you gave yourself to me.

You, she made sure to emphasize loudly in her head, kissed me!

And you allowed it, he cackled.

"But rest assured," he continued, "he won't last a week."

You, he emphasized in her head, won't last a week.

What did that mean? She made a face outwardly. You think I want to kiss you again?

("I think they're doing it again." Uryū realized. "The same thing they did back then when he first met her again. They're communicating in their mind.")

Kiss? He repeated in amusement. I was talking about our dear Sensei Okasake. Don't tell me you still dream of it.

("Wonder if that's an Okasake feat or their own." Shinji muttered.)

She clenched her fists. We were talking about it just now!

The subject we're talking about now is that pathetic father of mine. I moved on the moment you stood there like stone and took it, you lost your appeal.

It was her first time, what did he want her to do? The embarrassment showed for itself, she should've never written about it in her diary let alone let it dwell on her mind for so long.

"He will." Rukia quietly responded.

("Her attitude changed." Tōshirō observed.

"Whatever they were discussing in there must've done it." Kensei said.)

"I'll take that as a bet." He replied, unbothered—uncaring about her feelings of offense.

("Something like a threat." Uryū assumed.)

"Do whatever you want." Rukia mumbled before she turned to the Lieutenant and bowed, "night."

She walked past him and went straight out the door.

When she got to the Rukongai District, she and Choda went into the field to watch the stars.

Mimicking something Kujou had done long before, she spread her left arm out and fell into the cold grass. Her right arm stung with pain from the fall but she didn't care.

Choda joined her and they looked up. As they complimented the stars and talked about their day, Rukia thought back to the first time they met.

"Hell isn't here." Rukia abruptly said, he looked at her instantly. "It's in here."

She pointed at her head.

(AN: This is a line in reference to their conversation and meeting in Hell is Here: Skeptics and Hypocrites Part I)

###

Some time after Rukia left, Yoruichi and Byakuya's father appeared at the Li manor to see the wallflowers the heir had allegedly sent.

Shelby had been the one to escort them to the hall where the tall pile of baskets, bouquets and offerings were stacked in the meanwhile. It seemed that he had stayed back to oversee Major Li during her recovery since he appeared the moment they arrived.

"Can't feel a thing." Yoruichi reported at the height of the pile.

Byakuya's father sighed. "Neither can I."

He stood up straight, "the chances of those flowers having anything malicious is sixty against forty. It could be an act of provocation or…"

A woman came in and bowed. "Greetings. Li-sama has asked me to send you both home. She doesn't believe that the gift you are looking for was sent to her."

"That's weird." Ichigo commented. "I don't think she'd send them home just like that."

"It is late." The woman added. "She said she would speak to you both in the morning about it."

Yoruichi and Byakuya's father weren't buying it.

"If she's awake, we're speaking to her." Yoruichi announced sternly before she hopped off the pile. "Let's go."

Shelby looked at the woman who was about to speak, silencing her with his eyes. He led the way out of the room and outdoors to her shōji which he parted. When they stepped in, she laid awake—eyes still looking straight up at the ceiling.

"Now I know you didn't dismiss us." Yoruichi said as she walked around her.

Major Li scrunched her face. "No…?"

"One of your maids has become its disciple." Byakuya's father told her before he kneeled into the cushion placed across from her thighs.

Her eyes shifted to Shelby looking over her.

"It is fine." Shelby calmly assured her. "I will handle it."

"Did you get any wallflowers delivered to you recently?" Yoruichi asked her. "Personally."

She thought about it. "No."

"I was with her." Shelby informed them. "She didn't get anything."

Major Li, who kept her eyes up at the ceiling, weakly raised her right hand and tapped it against her futon. "There was something I forgot to mention on the day everyone was here."

They waited for her to clear her throat. "There was something I saw between those creatures before it happened."

Her voice, which was normally deep and austere, came out raspier and drier than usual either due to her injury or because of a cold.

Shelby took the lead in her explanation. "She was not injured because of them directly. It seems that the thing made an appearance in a different form or it had another creature appear to distract her."

"It wasn't like the others," Major Li reiterated. "It looked like a soul shadow."

Byakuya's father reached into his overcoat's pocket and pulled out a small journal to write it down.

"But it was not." Shelby continued for her.

She circled her hand above her face, "something like a goat or sheep or deer." She took a deep breath, "I don't know. Rukia will likely be able to figure it out."

She furrowed her brows at the ceiling, using her hands to trace his face above hers. "Its jaw was long. It had antlers and a staff in its hands, that's all I can tell you."

"I saw it, something flashed through my eyes and by the time I got my sight back, I was—" she fluttered her eyes in irritation, "up in the air."

Ichigo felt like the pieces were coming together when he thought back to how Major Li had come out. He turned to the group, "her eyes were dilated when she came out."

"Whatever that thing was must've been there to distract her on purpose." Uryū said.

"Do you remember what you saw?" Yoruichi inquired.

Major Li didn't answer. Instead, Shelby, who came off as her representative speaker, did, "no, she doesn't."

Byakuya's father glanced at her in case she had anything to add but she didn't.

"It is likely its ally or creation if it does not have a single animal trait." Byakuya's father closed his book and put it inside the pocket of his short overcoat. "I will check through my archives to see if anything similar shows up."

"We can ask a composite artist to come by." Shelby suggested. "For you," she looked up at him, "to get a better picture."

###

Saturday

Since her hand was injured, she spent the morning doing light drills with Sensei Okasake in the Rukongai District before arriving at the Okasake manor to practice writing and speaking with the Head Mistress around noon.

By the time she finished, it was still mid-afternoon and bright outside. Considering she had the free time, she decided to meet up with her friends to hang out since it had been awhile since they last did anything fun within the Seireitei.

When she walked back into the Okasake study, she expected the Lieutenant to be gone as he usually was around this hour to do whatever he did outside of here but to her surprise, he was still behind his desk.

It was funny how he was given time off of his Lieutenant duties when his only real problem was the physical aspect being fighting. Besides that, he was practically fine.

"We still have those four others to do today." He reminded her the moment she stepped into the study from the corridor.

"It's only three." Rukia replied, referring to the time. There was no way she was going to start working this early for him.

"There are suspects who recently visited a dream seminar that took place in the Seireitei." He continued as if she hadn't said a word. He lifted small photographs that she didn't look at nor did he. "Keep them with you since you will be here all day."

Instead of protesting or making a face, she approached his desk. It was better than making this conversation any longer than it needed to be. His attitude towards Sensei these days had really changed her opinion about him. That brat, no matter how terrible he was, had been right.

Collateral damage was what he was. If it meant getting rid of the heir, he and anyone else would likely just become it when the time came.

"They work for the Gotei 13 in some shape or form," he explained to her as he went through the photographs. "They will be easy to meet and follow if you happen to run into any of them."

It didn't go unnoticed how he slipped one of the photos out when he stacked them together for her to take. When she got close to his desk and took them, she focused her gaze on the photo he had left out.

Who was that?

###

Rukia popped up on another tree branch and Byakuya's father treaded lightly on the path beside it with his arms crossed. He didn't know if it was the same day or another but they were out together which was rare.

There had only been a few times they'd seen them outside the Okasake manor in broad daylight. He could name each and every time they had because they were so few.

He wondered what was so important that they had to come outside together. Someone was walking down the path in the opposite direction of Byakuya's father. As Ichigo stared at him, he noticed quite a lot of things that felt familiar.

When he drew near, Ichigo practically fainted.

"DAD?!"

"Captain Shiba?!" Tōshirō and Rangiku simultaneously acknowledged in surprise.

###

The mystery man in that photo was not even remotely a secret. He just didn't believe it was anything serious to consider. It took everything within her not to eye roll the moment he told her.

It was just a member of the Shiba family, a family she learned that Kuchikis, by 'nature', didn't like, which was funny considering that a woman named Shiba Kukaku was indirectly a part of the heir case.

When she pointed it out, he said that he agreed to it on certain terms and conditions because Yoruichi was the one who asked to have her involved.

Seeing that he and Captain didn't agree to Urahara Kisuke, a good friend of Yoruichi's who was very harmless, being involved but agreed to a member of the Shiba family made his reluctance to believe that a member of the family could be experiencing some 'trouble' from the heir sound stupid.

There was no harm in considering the fact that he was experiencing symptoms. That is precisely why the moment she found out, she didn't hesitate to go find him—Lieutenant Kuchiki came with her on his own accord.

"Finally!" His arms drew up cheerfully upon seeing her.

He was young. Early adulthood. If his behavior wasn't any indication, his face was. He was a member of the 10th Division on the soul reaper side and assassin side, that was the most she knew about him.

When he caught sight of the Lieutenant standing firmly beside the tree she was on, he smirked.

"I was wondering when you'd both get to me. What took you so long?"

Rukia braced against the tree bark, "why didn't you just come to the manor?"

"I was waiting for you to come by!"

("RUKIA YOU ARE SO FUCKING DE—")

"That's a little silly, isn't it?" Rukia asked him. He put his hand behind his head and smiled with a shrug. "So what's wrong with you?"

("I can't believe it…" Ichigo said in disbelief.

"THEY KNEW EACH OTHER THE WHOLE TIME!" He shouted. "The whole time!" He repeated while looking at Ukitake beside him.)

"I have already told you." She heard the Lieutenant say in a low tone.

("Well," Uryū pushed his glasses up, "you should've expected something like that when you found out your father was a soul reaper."

"Y-YEAH BUT—")

She looked down at him, "I mean outside of the Kuchiki-Shiba hatred-slash-feud."

("Shiba…?" Ichigo repeated in distaste. "Why'd she say 'Shiba'?")

She resumed her attention to Shiba Isshin, "sorry."

("Seems like he's forgotten all about us, Jūshiro." Captain Kyōraku said beside him.

Captain Ukitake chuckled, "yes, I suppose he is too shocked to have noticed.)

He brushed it aside. "No worries! We can be civil," he leaned forward, "am I right, Lieutenant?"

(Ichigo's eyes bulged.

He looked left and right for answers in panic. "He's a Kurosaki, his last name's Kurosaki, Ku-ro-sa-ki, r-right?")

Crickets.

("HE'S A SHIBA?! LIKE A NOBLE SHIBA?!" Ichigo erupted.)

He straightened back, "—well," he looked to his left, quelling the sting of rejection. "If that's how you want to play it s—"

("If he's a Shiba that means…" His breaths became short and quick. "I'M A FUCKING SHIBA!"

"What was your first guess?" Uryū sarcastically inquired.

"I'M A SHIBA!" He squeaked. "I'M A SHIBA!"

Kon was too shocked to say a word.)

"What are you dreaming about?" Rukia interjected.

"Oh, uh—" he stammered, "right!" He flashed a grin at her, "I gotta say it hasn't been easy. A couple beetles there, a couple snakes here, even some caterpillars! It's gonna take awhile to get through it, Sensei, you might wanna sit down and you—" his gaze shifted to the Lieutenant and paused.

("I'M A NOBLE!" Ichigo shouted frantically. "I'M A NOBLE!")

"Can do…" he slowly pieced together his words, "...whatever you want to do, doesn't bother me."

("Forget that, Shiba Isshin is your father?" Rangiku asked him.

"Yeah," Ichigo emphasized loudly. "Y-You know my old man too?"

"What an awful coincidence." Tōshirō commented.

Rangiku's face remained stern.)

"Though—" He slid to the tree, placing his hand on the wrong side to block his mouth, "—did you have to bring him along?"

He slid back to his spot in a flash, "not that there's anything wrong with it!" He assured him with a grin.

Boy, did he have lots of energy. He kept the firm tone of an overly enthusiastic seller trying to cajole buyers into spending.

("I can't believe this shit!" Ichigo exclaimed. "He's a noble! A Shiba! A Shiba-Noble-CAPTAIN!"

"Well he isn't exactly a Captain yet, Kuros—" Uryū stopped when Ichigo became pale.

His shoulders lowered and arms dangled as the realization sunk through him.

"Oh no fucking way…" he muttered.

"So are you gonna faint again, Ichigo or—" Shinji began to sarcastically inquire.)

"Did you see anything extreme?" Rukia inquired.

("G-Ganju…K-Kukaku…")

"Extreme…hmmm," he stopped to think. "Jumping off a cliff maybe."

(Ichigo fainted.)

"Is it recurrent?"

("I cannot believe he is Kurosaki's father." Tōshirō said.)

"Happens all the time."

("Sure wasn't expecting that." Shuhei muttered.)

"Do you see yourself with any injuries? Do you see yourself pushing off a loved one?"

"Hmmm, nothing like that."

She had to admit that he wasn't selling it. "I don't think you're going through what we're looking for. Dreams like that can happen from time to time."

"W-Wait!" He stammered. "You don't know yet! What if it's just starting?!"

Fair…"Do you draw?"

"I wouldn't say I'm an artist bu—"

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean has anyone ever discovered drawings of yours that you don't remember doing?" Rukia asked, she was sure he understood the symptoms already if he was so confident he was going through it.

"Nope!"

"Then…" she regretfully clenched her teeth, "you aren't going through it."

"Come on, Sensei!" He urged. "Not like you're runnin' on a deadline or anything, hear me out!"

"Another time." Rukia let him down gently. "I'm not a doctor, I can't figure out what's wrong with your dreams."

"A waste." The Lieutenant blatantly commented and she admitted defeat.

It was.

"Oh, so you can talk, Lieutenant!" He exclaimed. "Jokes on you, I do have something!"

("Is it over?" Ichigo asked from the ground. He kept his arm over his eyes. "I can't look.")

"I'm sorry but you're really not going through anything that matters to this case." Did she just apologize for that? "And that's a good thing!"

"No, no—not about that, Sensei, I mean about the heir!"

Rukia arched a brow. Now what could that possibly be?

He crossed his arms and observed the field to his right.

"Obviously you don't know about it because someone—" he stretched his neck to the Lieutenant's direction, "—isn't on duty anymore but Head Captain gave the 10th Division a special order to guard the Soul King chamber for a few days and specifically asked me to oversee it." He explained proudly.

"Pretty cool, amirite?" He asked. "Head Captain wanted the whole place to be looked over under my command."

("Can we please fucking skip this part?" Ichigo begged.)

He definitely wanted someone to be impressed. Jokes on him, the person he was seeking praise from would never be phased by something like that. Let alone anything he did because of his Shiba origins.

"Anyways—a few days back I caught the little sucker looking around the place. He wanted to get in to see the Soul King spirit and I made sure he didn't get a whiff of it." He gushed.

"That is nothing." The Lieutenant remarked, the smugness left Isshin's face.

She disagreed.

"That is something." She told him quietly.

For the first time, he looked up at her, "the Head Captain instructed him to guard an empty chamber because there was nothing notable he could do."

"Empty?" Isshin repeated.

"Not about that." Rukia said, "I mean about him, why would he go there? It's empty, he knows that, everybody knows that. It's just some fancy cell."

"We can assume it is material it is looking for."

"Yeah, but from soul reapers?" Rukia asked. "Don't tell me they had enough effort to actually make some barrier for an empty chamber."

"So where's the spirit then? Does the Head Captain know about that?" Isshin asked them. "'Cause you know," he sniffed cockily, "he wouldn't have given it to me if he knew."

("Please?" Ichigo asked, the second-hand embarrassment was killing him.)

"I have not been there so I do not know." He replied to her. "But it would have to be believable to convince everyone that it is in there."

"O…Kay," she was trying to see his point-of-view but she was not getting it. "But material hunting? That's…"

"Unexpected which makes it likely."

"I guess but to show up there altogether for a material hunt sounds off. He could've sent anybody for that, one of his minions for instance."

"It is very particular about who or what it brings out. That might not be a risk it wants to take."

Okay, that was reasonable.

"That makes sense but I still don't get what material the soul reapers would have used to entice him that much." She looked at Shiba Isshin, "do you know what it's made of?"

"Sure!" He enthusiastically said, "a couple of glasses here, a couple flash-step proof walls there, some neutralizer, fancy barrier, reiatsu, stuff like that."

"He is not credible." The Lieutenant stated.

"I'm the guy on duty, you know, unlike yourself, I know what I'm talking about." Isshin said. Rukia couldn't argue with that. "I can get you a full report on that material in a day!"

("Don't tell me he's a part of this shit now.")

That was enticing.

She turned to the Lieutenant. "What do you say?"

"He is still not reliable."

Rukia frowned. "Oh come on, he's a n—"

In creating her defense, she realized something she had easily overlooked.

She resumed her attention on Shiba Isshin who waited for her to speak. "You're a noble."

"Yeah."

("Stop sayin' it!")

"So how did you not know that the Soul King spirit wasn't locked up in that chamber?" She inquired. "That's like…common sense."

Isshin nervously laughed, "well—"

"It is as I said." The Lieutenant interrupted. "He is not reliable."

She had to admit that she believed his judgment.

"Now hold on!" Isshin said. "I just thought they had a little agreement to throw everybody off, ya know, like they wanted to do somethin' that no one would expect, that's all!"

"I will ask one of the others to take on the task." Lieutenant Kuchiki assured her immediately as he spun around.

"Wa-Wa-Wa-Wait!" Isshin pleaded as he walked away.

His shoulders drooped when he didn't turn around.

"Man!" Isshin remarked, approaching the tree. "Guess at the end of the day we're all just labourers for the Kuchiki family, huh."

Rukia covered her mouth to chuckle.

("Oh now you're laughing." Ichigo sat up. "Laugh!" He encouraged her. "Laugh!"

"Uh…are you alright, Ichigo?" Shuhei asked.)

Labourers indeed.

He suddenly put his hand up to shield his mouth again. In a loud whisper he asked, "are you sure you can't let me in? I'll be discreet, come on!"

Rukia smiled, a little amused by him. "Not my call."

He slouched.

"But…if Kukaku-san can be a part of it under certain conditions, maybe there's hope."

("S-So what is she like then to me?" Ichigo stuttered. "An a-aunt? A f-first cousin?")

He zapped up and smiled. "It's only a matter of time then!"

She really didn't believe they'd ever budge with him but at least she made him happy.

###

Ichigo turned to Captain Ukitake who nervously smiled. "A-Answer!"

He put his arms up as if he was trying to calm him down before the scene changed.

Byakuya's father trekked down a pathway, seemingly near the academy. As he neared an intersection, Kujou's paternal grandfather came out of nowhere, delighted to see him which immediately put his questions on hold.

"Sojun!" He rushed forward.

Byakuya's father barely paid him a glance.

Kujou's grandfather, in his usual merriment, continued without a care. "I'm glad I found you. I don't know why your guards were so adamant to let me in or I would've met you at your manor, I actually had news about our dinner arrangement for this week."

Ichigo was surprised he didn't question why Byakuya's father looked so serious. The soul shadow seemed set on ignoring it.

"He probably knows they know about him." Shinji assumed. "I mean if he's got super hearing and super smell…"

"Anyways," his voice trailed off, "what I wanted to say is that I invited other guests. I thought it'd be nice to have more since we've already discussed everything we wanted to and I know quite a lot about Sensei now. Would that be a problem?"

"No." Byakuya's father simply answered.

"Good." Kujou's grandfather forced a close-lipped smile. "Well, I should get going now. See you then."

Byakuya's father headed in the opposite direction.

"—Just a second."

He stopped.

"Do you happen to know if Sensei will attend Kotaru's party?"

"He likes her again?" Kon asked.

"She will."

"Oh." He pressed his lips together and grinned. "I am quite happy to hear that. There is no dress code but do tell her she does not need to wear her assassin gear."

"Is that all?"

Kujou's grandfather said nothing. Byakuya's father took a step forward to leave.

"—Will your son attend as well?"

"No." That response came much quicker.

Kujou's grandfather looked confused, "but you haven't asked him yet."

Byakuya's father sharply looked back at him.

The old man's daringness dissolved. "I…didn't mean any harm, I just thought…"

He was hesitant. "Well wouldn't it be better to ask him first before saying no?"

"He is not attempting to hide his ability now." Tōshirō noted.

Byakuya's father went with it regardless. "I know my son. He will not attend."

"I see." Kujou's grandfather replied.

"If that is all, I will leave now." Byakuya's father announced before he turned.

"Just a second."

His shoes grazed against the ground.

"Shira." Kujou's grandfather said. "I heard she was injured by those creatures. Is she alright?"

"Yes." His voice bled with impatience. "May I leave now?"

This time he waited for a response, it did not come. But the moment he moved, Ichigo already knew it was coming before he heard it.

"—Wait."

This time, he spun around in agitation, chafed by his inability to leave without interruption.

Kujou's grandfather dug into the pocket of his white haori and pulled out something that made Ichigo's chest drop.

"That is quite e—"

Speaking over him, he said, "forgive me but you left this behind at the manor."

Byakuya's father glanced at the object in the palm of his hands as he spoke. The moment he did, his brows shot up.

"That's the soul shadow medicine Nee-san gave him!" Kon shouted.

Tōshirō moved forward. "He knew…he was prepared for it!"

"—I didn't know how to get it back to you since I haven't seen you nor Sensei in a long time and of course, they wouldn't let me through to see you at your manor." His tone was patronizing. "I kept wondering if you'd come back for it but you didn't, I reckoned it wasn't that important but seeing that Sensei gave it to you, I thought I should give it back."

It was the same glass vial that Rukia had given him on the night of the dinner, still filled to the rim with its rose pink soul shadow medicine.

The appearance of the vial left Byakuya's father as it did him, speechless. What the hell did he put on his arms then?

Kujou's grandfather raised his palm and smelled the vial without opening it.

"Ehmmm." He moaned. "It still smells like her."

Shinji grimaced.

"It's the night flower, isn't it?" Kujou's grandfather grinned. "What a marvelous scent for a perfume."

###

"If he knows, what's the point of the dinner then? Who are the guests?" Rukia asked the Lieutenant who was back behind his desk after a late lunch.

It was thundering out.

"I do not know." He responded, "I did not feel the need to ask."

"He's probably got something ready for us." Rukia mumbled. "He knows we won't just leave him alive now."

"Which is why it is interesting that he invited others to the table."

Rukia took a moment to think and consider what Kujou's grandfather possibly hoped to achieve by inviting them and a few others to dinner.

"He had a duplicate prepared of your ointment," he began, "his clan's transaction records with the Adachi clan involve an unlisted substance that is likely the neutralizer, he is aware that we know of his identity and yet he insists on having this gathering with others and implied that you would be attending the celebration on Saturday."

"That means whatever he's got planned for us on Thursday won't do anything to us."

"No matter what he has planned it will not make a difference."

"It might." Rukia said, "if it's just a normal dinner he probably just wants to talk about it."

"You mean to persuade us that in spite of his turning, he is still very much like his former self?"

"Something like that. He's got to try something to make us not get rid of him just like his family isn't."

"Well that sort of thing should not work on us." The Lieutenant dismissed. "A soul shadow is a soul shadow. There is nothing left but memories to use."

"Even so, those memories might be manipulative enough to change even your mind."

He raised his head.

Rukia shrugged. "You never know."

---

Present

Okasake Gureta was a force to be reckoned with.

Despite her own sheatsu ability, she was still very unskilled for someone of her ranks. The person she was clashing with was someone who had a thousand times more experience than her, someone who had been training since the Soul Society was created which left her at a severe disadvantage.

She could no longer call upon her ice element to cool her sweat. At this point, she was just trying not to get slashed. Her own body was failing her, for some reason she was already incredibly exhausted. Within moments of starting to engage with her, she was already panting.

First, she thought it was her technique, then she thought she was just a bit rusty and eventually it came down to the fact that she was a body belonging to the past fighting in the present.

Her muscles were throbbing. The pain hit her sharply each time they clashed. Whatever animal form Okasake Gureta had taken was fierce. It amplified her inherent skill which made it difficult to push her off now. Her skin cut open—her flesh ripped a part as a butterfly clip dug deep into her left arm.

It bled tremendously. The blood poured down her arm like water would from a tap. It stung worse than any pain she had felt in a very long time. She squeezed her eyes shut as hot tears formed around her eyes. In spite of all this, she had to carry on.

She held her arm, trying to force back the many muscles in her face that were tightening as she charged against her. Her neck was stinging for some reason too. Her body was tender and hot. Like a needle was threading up and down her skin, it pinched all over.

Tears slithered down her face as she went on. Now with her injury and this prickling, she was much slower now, less attentive to her surroundings. Somewhere down the line, even her vision was starting to fail her. As she took slashes from left and right, she tried to make sense of it.

Was she getting dizzy? Was her body that weak now? Did Okasake Gureta do something to her? As she spun round and round and round, trying to salvage her defeat, she had a breakthrough.

Soul shadow infection.

The tip of her flat shoes plunged deep beneath the breasts of her, running a straight line while rotten blood pummeled out. There were white streaks mixed in between and black smoke. When her foot shot out, Rukia spun and flew back to make some space.

The infection immediately took her feet. She felt it claw scales into her skin down under. This wasn't good. Despite the soul shadow being shocked at first, her lips quickly upturned into a smirk followed by a sweet sounding laugh.

Her hands, both covered in blood, reached up and touched her neck—scales. The infection had been slow to get onto her but as her sheatsu weakened, it found its way in. Now her vision would fail as the infection took her eye.

"Very nice." Okasake Gureta sarcastically said. "Seems like my brothers didn't teach you well enough."

If she was back in her own time, she would've never been left like this.

"Oh shut up, Jushirmai." Rukia retorted.

"Seems like you aren't very smart either."

You're not her! She hated that the thing sounded exactly like Rukia always imagined she would.

The gentle, soft-spoken noble with a voice slightly deepened by age, it felt humiliating having to be devalued like that by a soul shadow from it.

"That doesn't mean anything to me." She stated. "You're not her."

"An air-head." The soul shadow criticized her loudly.

"Having her memories means nothing."

"How did my brothers manage to find someone so short-sighted? You're a rank above me and yet," she raised her arms up and dropped them in disbelief, "I have overwhelmed you."

"Shut up, Jushirmai." Rukia seethed slowly. "You know better than to underestimate me."

"Perhaps you have some spunk to you but that's it."

"Have some manners." She chided.

"Manners?" The soul shadow repeated, humored by it. "A quarter of my manor has been destroyed because of you, the older you has my stone and I have overwhelmed you. If anything, you should have some manners. You're on your way to destroy my family's legacy."

Her chest tightened. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I will not ruin it! I did not ruin it!

"You ruined it."

"I did not."

"You did."

"I did not."

She took a step forward. "You fell for him."

Rukia gasped, "are you crazy? I did not!"

"You did." She tittered, approaching her slowly. "Just like me."

"I did not…" Rukia took steps back as the woman glowered over her. "I didn't!"

She moaned. "You smell of fear and night flowers."

"I'm not like you." Rukia retorted. "I'd never…I'd never end up like that."

"Is that supposed to mean something?" The soul shadow sweetly asked. "Was I too weak? Too stupid? Too ready to give myself off to anyone?"

Her eyes widened. "N-No! No…" she didn't mean this. It was just the soul shadow provoking her. "I just meant that I don't like him like that."

"You do." The soul shadow insisted. "You are as obsessed with him as he is with you. Infatuated!" She cried loudly, "as him."

That delighted grin on her face wasn't hers nor was it the soul shadow's, it was his.

Her back was pressed against the cracked wall. Even though she was far from her, Rukia felt cornered.

"I am not."

"Lie to yourself as always." The soul shadow said.

"I'm not lying!"

"You're an indecent girl!"

"I am not!"

"A liar!"

Rukia pressed as hard as she could against the wall, feeling suffocated by her presence, at the brink of tears and all softened up from her sensitivity to those vicious words.

"You know nothing about me!" She shouted in between tears which slipped out as her eyes grew hot from the infection.

"Don't I?" The soul shadow asked, close to her. "I know—" as she spoke, a deep voice in her head repeated the same words simultaneously, "everything about you."

Her vision went out like a light. Not even a hint of colour could be spotted. She felt her body come alive in panic as she felt the woman tower over her. Her arm was raising to slash her, Rukia quickly flash-stepped but she barely missed the tip of whatever blade she had summoned to use.

"Still some energy left in you." She heard her say from far. "Good."

She felt the wind. It was strong and vicious. The infection was making her slower mentally and physically. Now, without her sight, it made it incredibly difficult to navigate her way out of this mess as the woman lunged at her—striking quickly.

Her neck got sorer as she yanked it left and right to avoid the surge of air that came at her. The scales of the infection burnt against the wind, her breathing was getting heavier, her willingness to keep fighting was dying.

"You have to give it up eventually." The soul shadow said.

When she finally gave in, her back pounded against the wall of the manor—breaking it. She rolled onto the snow-covered ground while Okasake Gureta soared above her and watched from an angle.

Her blood dotted the whiteness of the snow, she pushed herself up as the cold agitated the scales more. When she did, she had given into her exhaustion and panted as if her soul depended on it.

Something about the changed atmosphere woke her up and she wobbled up onto her feet. She didn't have enough air in her system to force a flash-step and with the way the symptoms of the infection took hold of her, she couldn't even summon her blades out let alone a portal.

With her left hand holding onto her right arm she turned back and limped her way to the manor. The soul shadow laughed in the air, watching her struggle to move forward.

It was humiliating.

"Prideful and weak." The soul shadow scorned.

She lugged herself to what she believed would be the veranda that had been smashed into pieces.

"I wonder if I kill you, will I erase your existence?"

"I.." she grunted, "can't. Die. You…" she stopped moving to breathe, "should know that."

"Naïve and stupid. Do you really think you came back from what happened all those years ago?"

Rukia looked up in the sky, sensing her by her reiatsu.

"That was something you earned." The soul shadow emphasized. "A special feature that came to you because of something raw inside of you."

"Desire, vengeance, need." She listed roughly. "The present version of yourself isn't really you."

What?

"At least, not entirely."

---

End Note

Cecil was introduced in Rarity Fades Into Nothingness (Chapter 24). He's currently Major Imamura's Secretary of State in the present.

Each section of the past takes place in a certain month or span of months. It's always specified. This one is for late October—late November.

Note the thing Shira indicated she saw is something that was introduced a few chapters ago.

Images for this Chapter

Cecil moodboard

Sugina's clothing appearance, taken from the Heian period's style for noblewoman. It's just to show the layers.