Chapter 11 - The Steps We Necessitate
~ Day 4 ~ Morning
As he looked down the scope, Captain Kurotsuchi was sure. He stared intensely at the white fleck and saw the microscopic wisps of a gaseous material breaking from the whole, not enough to diminish it, but enough to identify what it was—reiatsu.
'Why would an animal possess such a thing?' he wondered. 'Are they biological, soul creatures, capable of exerting reiryoku, exactly like shinigami?'
He looked more closely at the sample on the glass slide. It was folded and compressed reiatsu, not unlike a tile formed by a shinigami attempting to walk on air, but again, it was very confusing. He had pored over every report, and not a single one mentioned the beasts using that technique, but rather, they indicated a startling level of agility for vaulting to and from physical structures like trees and the forest floor.
If they could pack their reiatsu, why would they depend on physical techniques?
He rose from the microscope and scratched his chin. The answers would come in time, he supposed. For now, he would follow procedure and unravel their mysteries, one hypothesis at a time.
He strode to a huge machine, where a young woman was analysing another sample of the same foreign reiatsu pulled from Kuchiki Taichou during his operation. Writing crossed the screen, and each time it reached the furthest part on the right, it emitted a sound indicating a result.
"Rin, has it found a match yet?"
The woman looked up and shook her head. "Not yet, Kurotsuchi Taichou; we're in the thousands, but we still don't have a match for this reiatsu signature."
He made a humming sound of annoyance. "I want to be notified if you find one, or anything that even closely resembles it." She nodded, and focussed on the screen. His anger would only increase, if he thought she was slacking.
Cataloguing reiatsu was a relatively new piece of technology; it allowed them to identify who was present at a crime scene, and since each signature was unique to every individual, it was a valuable forensic tool. Protocol dictated, for every sample of reiatsu collected, it had to be run against the bank of known users. The only problem was it had only existed for the last seven hundred years, and while all the Gotei ranks were required to add their reiatsu to the database, there was no law mandating nobility had to do the same—unfortunately.
Kurotsuchi despised this fact. It limited him to only having a portion of possible registered signatures to work with.
He strode to a wall of floor-length biological safety cabinets. They were a work of art, both in their design, and in their function. Within one of the containers, he could work with potentially hazardous biological materials with no risk to himself, or his lab staff, and ensure the sample could not be contaminated by anything in the lab or become a contaminant itself. To get any information on this enemy, the samples he had managed to secure, could not be introduced to anything that would affect the results of his experiment.
He placed his hand inside the first cabinet and sealed it. Once he was absolutely positive that the environment inside the cabinet was sterile, he reached for his reiryoku. Pushing it down his arm, he pushed reiatsu into the cabinet. When he was sure there was enough, he withdrew his hand, carefully making sure the seal was still intact to prevent its escape or contamination. He fixed a label to the front of the unit—Control A—Normal Reiatsu.
In the second cabinet, he began exactly the same way, but this time he concentrated. He pictured the reiatsu folding in on itself repeatedly, until a solid piece of his reiatsu floated around the tank. Once again, he sealed it and added a label. This one read—Control B—Compressed Reiatsu.
These controls would serve as an invaluable comparison of how reiatsu from a known source, a soul reaper, would normally behave whether or not it was compressed. Using them as a standard, he would be able to clearly identify any anomalies in the foreign reiatsu samples, both in appearance and behaviour. That was crucial if he wanted facts to emerge from his theories.
Quickly donning a specialised glove, Mayuri took a sterilised sample bottle containing a piece of the compressed reiatsu from the creatures and opened it inside the cabinet. He had not altered the sample in any way; it still held traces of Unohana's reiatsu, Byakuya's reiatsu and the lingering stains of kaidō. This time, he was very quick to seal the chamber, as the foreign piece of compressed reiatsu darted from the tube with alarming speed. Thankfully, it settled down after a few seconds. Again, he affixed a label to the front of the cabinet. Test A—Compressed Sample—Contaminated.
Finally, he reached the last cabinet and reached into a bottle rack and removed the only remaining bottle. This piece of reiatsu had also come from the creature, but this one had been utterly stripped of any trace of reiatsu from any other individual. He released the pure sample into the cabinet with a cruel smile. This one would not be reintroduced to any other reiatsu; he was going to starve it. He added his final label. Test B—Compressed Sample—Pure.
He smiled.
'Perfect,' he thought.
He placed a blank notepad in front of each cabinet; he would note any changes as they occurred and not a second later.
He brought a wheeled chair to the centre of the space in front of the cabinets. If anything happened, he would be able to react no matter which sample showed activity.
He blinked when a hell butterfly wafted towards him and landed on his finger.
Your presence is urgently requested to conduct forensic analysis of a crime scene involving a murder of a member of nobility. Please respond stating your availability. Thank you.
It was Kyouraku Taichou's voice, and Kurotsuchi frowned. While it was certainly intriguing, he couldn't leave his experiment. Now that it was in motion, he was committed. He drew his reiatsu around him, and formed a new hell butterfly with a reply for Captain Kyouraku.
I am currently working on a sensitive experiment related to investigating our enemy. Therefore, I am unavailable to provide assistance on additional cases at this time.
He allowed it to leave with an appropriate air of apologetic dismay. Any other time, he would have agreed to such a request, but not when he had something else that so thoroughly occupied him. Another Captain would have to do it, and with that thought in his head, Mayuri returned his gaze to his safety cabinets without a second thought to Captain Kyouraku or anything else.
Unohana pulled a sheet of paper from her desk and signed it with a flourish before handing it to Lieutenant Abarai. "Your reiatsu levels are normal and your heart and lungs sound healthy. Your wounds have healed completely; I pronounce you fit to return to active duty."
Renji grinned. Finally, he could return to his squad and get started on the work that he knew was piling up in his absence. Sensing his renewed motivation, she got his attention with a cautious tone, as he shrugged his yakuta over his tattooed chest.
"Pace yourself and give your body time to readjust to strenuous training. Only attempt techniques if your body can handle it. I don't want to see you back here again as a patient."
Renji had no intention of disobeying the petite, and yet terrifying Captain. He nodded quickly.
She nodded in reply and stood. "Excellent, in that case, please excuse me."
She rose to leave, as Renji finished tying his obi. "Thank you for everything; I will always be grateful for everything you've done for me and my Captain." He bowed respectfully and she smiled.
A hell butterfly flew into the room, before fluttering around and landing silently on Retsu's finger. The look in her eyes changed drastically; her initially pleased look became dark, and her eyes flashed with something cold and frightening. Renji stood wondering what could possibly have elicited such an expression, when she swept from the room with no explanation or warning.
He shrugged it off; if he needed to know, she would have told him. Since she hadn't, he resolved to focus on something he considered far more important, Byakuya.
It didn't take him long to reach the private room his Captain had been moved to after his stay in intensive care, and he knocked before entering slowly.
Byakuya looked up from the file he was reading with a smile that reached his eyes.
Renji felt his own face responding with a smile filled with warmth. He was delighted to see his Captain awake and alert after the terrible events of the previous day. He crossed the room and kissed Byakuya's forehead.
Byakuya turned his head and captured the redhead's lips in a light, chaste kiss. He rested his palm on Renji's chest, subconsciously moving to grasp his shoulder to draw him closer. He felt a thrum of approval in Renji's reiatsu as he pushed against his palm and deepened the kiss. As his head fell back, rough fingertips pushed his black hair away to knead the sensitive skin of his neck.
Byakuya melted under the strength of his Lieutenant and an unguarded hum of pleasure rose in the back of his throat. Renji responded with fervour as he felt the caress of Byakuya's tongue on his.
He moved his right hand down Byakuya's chest, feeling every deliciously defined muscle under the thin cloth. Renji could feel the groan Byakuya released throughout his body, as his midriff arched to meet the resistance of his hand. Instead of giving in to the curl of his body, Renji allowed his hand to continue to slide over Byakuya's bandaged hip before he stopped.
The kiss slowed, and their lips met softly, Byakuya's reiatsu shivered under his touch. Renji responded with his own reiatsu, meeting his Captain's gently, like two lovers interlocking their fingers, and with another light kiss, he pulled away.
Byakuya's eyes opened slowly when he felt Renji pull away from the kiss, and found himself searching his Lieutenant's calm gaze for an answer.
Why did you stop?
"I'm sorry," said Renji. While Byakuya appeared much improved after his horrific ordeal, Renji knew he was far from healed and that it was wrong to press him like this. "There's a time for us to explore this, but it can wait until you've healed."
I can wait.
A downward flicker of his eyes was Renji's only indication that Byakuya was upset by this, but Renji met his returned gaze fiercely.
"You've been through so much in the last few days. Even releasing some of your reiatsu could be dangerous."
Renji paused as he remembered the agonising tremors that had wracked his body, or the way he had utterly surrendered to the fog of pain. He never wanted to see that expression on his beautiful features again. "We were blindsided by the complications of what we thought was a normal recovery. When they took you back to surgery, I was powerless to do anything to help you. You were in so much agony, you didn't recognise anyone in the room and that terrified me. We can't risk anything that might prompt another relapse."
Byakuya silently agreed and from his regal frown, he knew Renji understood. He remembered the pain, and only by reading the medical chart, had he finally understood the severity of what had actually occurred. To see it written in black and white had been a very jarring experience and it showed in his voice.
"I read the medical report," he said quietly. "The notes were quite extensive."
Renji sat and donned a serious expression. "Then you know that you're lucky to have the function of your kidney, not to mention the stress on your heart when your reiatsu was almost depleted. You need to take it easy," he said. Renji suddenly realised how strange it was for him to be giving his Captain orders per say, and he quickly relented. "I know you're not fragile by any means, and I know you don't have to listen to me, but it would make us all feel better if we don't tempt fate if that makes sense?"
Byakuya relaxed visibly on his pillows for Renji's benefit, causing him to send a mild glare of amusement at the nobleman. When Byakuya's eyes creased with a chuckle, Renji made a sound of exasperation though it was heavily filled with mirth.
"Is it possible, hypothetically, for Byakuya Kuchiki to take a few days off and focus on healing and relaxing?" he asked the room.
Byakuya struggled not to laugh as his lip twitched. He turned a disdainful expression on his Lieutenant, as he looked at him through his eyelashes. "It is—," he replied detachedly.
"Thank goodness," said Renji, who brought his palms together in a silent prayer of thanks, touching his fingertips to his forehead.
"—Hypothetically," came the delayed reply.
Renji released a drawn-out groan and looked up when he heard the deep, rich tone of his Captain laughing. His eyes widened; he couldn't ever remember him laughing like that. It sent a trill of joy coursing through his body. He walked to the bed and began fixing the displaced blankets around the nobleman.
"Just promise me you'll rest," said Renji.
"I will," came the soft reply.
Renji nodded. "Good. I have to head back to the squad; I have a lot of work planned for today, and I know Suzuki has been waiting for me. He's been invaluable."
Byakuya raised an elegant eyebrow at that comment. "Really?"
Renji's eyes bulged as he frowned seriously. "I have a new appreciation for how you've held control over the division; you ask so little of us, and it's only because of your absence that I'm beginning to understand just how much of the workload you've put on your own plate. Suzuki has been incredible, and I promise when you return, we're going to continue to help you as a team." Renji received a stunned expression in response. "Anyway, I've really got to go."
Byakuya reached out and touched his hand as he turned, forcing him to spin back.
"There's a Captain's meeting today. Will you get me the transcript of the meeting, please; I would like to read it," said Byakuya. Renji frowned.
"You need rest. You shouldn't be worrying about anything. You promised me, and that includes not working," he said.
"I just want to read it. As a Captain, I need to be aware of what's going on, even if I'm not there."
Renji fought with himself, debating whether to allow it or go have a conversation with Unohana.
"Do you promise you'll only read it?" asked Renji. Byakuya nodded. "Do you also promise that if you get tired, you'll stop and rest before picking it up again?"
"Yes," said Byakuya. Renji's gaze narrowed. "I promise I'll take care of myself. I won't interfere with how you run the squad in my absence, because I trust you, and I know you'll make the right decisions for the squad, whatever they may be."
Renji's jaw dropped with a stupefied expression and when he realised that fact, a flicker of embarrassment rippled through his reiatsu. Though, he could concede that Byakuya did not compliment others readily, choosing to bestow them on very specific individuals. Renji just couldn't believe he'd been added to that short list. He collected himself.
"I'll do my utmost to live up to that high praise. I'll drop the transcript off after dinner, around six," said Renji.
With a final nod from his Captain, Renji left the room intent on getting back to the men. While Suzuki was more than capable as a third seat, there was no substitute for real leadership. He knew his squad; they worshipped Kuchiki Taichou, and following his brave sacrifice, they would do anything to make sure he was beyond impressed when he returned. He knew what he had planned would be difficult, but he knew the Sixth Division would never let their Captain down.
I will not let you down again, Taichou. Next time, we'll be ready with our men behind us, and I'll be damned if those beasts ever touch you again, because it'll be the last thing they ever do.
A gust blew across the training grounds of Squad Eleven, providing some much-needed relief for the men. Many had shed their yakuta's, bearing their naked chests to the merciless sun, allowing the sweat to drip down their skin. Zaraki Taichou sat on the steps of the veranda that housed the indoor dojo, with the majority of his body hidden in the shade.
As the wind picked up, a well-manicured hand hurriedly slapped a sheaf of paper to stop it from flying off while continuing to write with his other hand. With an irritated curl of his brow, Yuumichika didn't even glance towards the finished notes as he placed his tea cup on the stack. He knew exactly where everything was. When a second gust arrived and ruffled the exposed edges of the stack, the little cup toppled, and sent it into the grass.
"Damn it!" he cried. He dove onto the stack and replaced the light cup with a plate from his lunch, and in the process, dropped his pen. He groaned as he stared at the ruined sheet, which was now dripping with black ink, in spite of his dramatics. He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down.
'Now I'm going to have to rewrite the whole thing!' he thought to himself. He wanted to scream, but deep down, he knew he was fighting a battle in futility. He was exhausted, and he'd only gotten through assessing half the squad's so far.
"Tough running a squad, huh, Sanseki?"
Yuumichika's eyes flew open and his head fell back.
"Ikkaku—" began Yuumichika, as Ikkaku stared down at him. Yuumichika started to get up, but his low reserves of energy were obvious.
"Don't get up on my account," said Ikkaku, "You look like you could use a break." His words had the intended effect.
Yuumichika exhaled loudly, causing an exasperated sigh to leave his throat. "Don't patronise me, Ikkaku! I'm not in the mood." He stood, his notes forgotten, and met Ikkaku's challenging gaze.
"I was in a pretty good mood myself this morning. There I was having a decent breakfast when who fucking strolls in wearing my badge? What happened to all that talk about, 'we're friend's, Ikkaku,' or 'I'll always have your back?' Huh?" He sneered.
Yuumichika raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sheer vitriol flying from his best friend. "I'm sorry—"
"You should be," growled Ikkaku. Yuumichika glared at him.
"That's not what I meant, Ikkaku! I'm sorry—" he repeated with emphasis, "—that I didn't get a chance to explain it to you before breakfast. I was planning to seek you out before the end of the day in order to explain what happened."
"So, explain," said Ikkaku, as he crossed his arms. "Tell me why you're wearing my badge!" He became increasingly more aggressive as he took a step forward. His nose was an inch away from Yuumichika's. "I bet you couldn't wait to run off to the Captain, seeing as how your favourite number was finally up for grabs!" He finished with a growl.
"That's enough!" A veritable mountain of reiatsu burst from the slender man, and forced Ikkaku to step back without even realising he'd moved. For a split second, Ikkaku gulped as he tried to inhale, and adjust to the frigid air. He could only stare as Yuumichika fixed him with a glowing, but venomous azure glare. As the adrenaline coursed through his veins, all traces of his previous fatigue vanished. "If you want to hear an explanation, then listen! If you're not prepared to do that, then I suggest you return to your lunch!" His measured words, steeped in a low, cold tone of voice, stunned Ikkaku. As quickly as the burst of reiatsu came, it receded, but Yuumichika's gaze remained resolute. Unbeknownst to the two, the immense burst of reiatsu had garnered the attention of every member of the squad, including the Captain.
Ikkaku regained his bearings, and stood quietly. His glare didn't diminish in the slightest, but Yuumichika outright ignored it. He could empathise with his friend who absolutely deserved an explanation, but that didn't mean he would condone his current pig-headedness.
"Two nights ago, it was made brutally clear to me that our division cannot handle this new enemy. The men were not able to match the enemy's speed." Ikkaku glared, and made a sound as if to disagree, but Yuumichika simply held his palm out. "Because of that, their excellent training became worthless. They couldn't hit the enemy or evade fast enough to stop themselves from becoming easy targets." Ikkaku's glare became more pronounced and Yuumichika met it in full. "Argue as much as you like, Ikkaku, but facts are facts; the men were not trained to handle this kind of enemy or assault tactics!"
Ikkaku couldn't contain himself. "Bullshit! The men were fine! We were in a rhythm, I hit 'em and you put 'em down! You're the only one with a different opinion!" His heated words reached clearly across the now silent division.
"Wrong!" Yuumichika hit right back; his words were low but uncharacteristically harsh. "You didn't bother to follow us to the Fourth Division, so how could you know how badly wounded any of the men were?" He shot a humourless laugh at Ikkaku. "I thought, at the very least, you would have read the reports when you got back. You didn't, did you?"
Yuumichika held his gaze very carefully, and when Ikkaku broke eye contact, he knew instantly that he was right.
"Damn it, Ikkaku! That was your job; it was your command!" He shook his head with absolute incredulity. "I stayed with them! A Lieutenant from another squad stayed with your men!" He took a deep breath, and lowered his voice slightly. "Did you know Katō-kun almost lost an eye, or Miura-san nearly bled out from a leg wound? Did you know Kusajishi Fukutaichou arrived alone, or how badly injured our Captain was when he got there a few minutes after her? No, because you didn't read the combat report I wrote, or the medical reports from Unohana Taichou!" He closed his eyes and forced himself to take another deep breath, but it didn't quell his growing anger as each further indiscretion made itself known to the new Third Seat.
"You didn't care to know the fate of your own men and that is precisely the reason that the only thing you took away from the engagement was how much fun you had. When the fun was over, you took off after the Captain, trying to see if you could catch the tail end of his battle!"
Ikkaku was just about to retort, when a glance from Yuumichika stopped him in his tracks.
"Go ahead and deny it, Ikkaku!" Ikkaku's mouth curled into a silent snarl, but stopped himself when Yuumichika's eyes filled with sadness.
"Do you honestly believe that after everything we've been through together, that I would seek out the Third Seat position, purely to piss you off?" he asked softly, not realising the whole squad was continuing to eavesdrop. "Is this some kind of game to you?"
Shaken by the quiet question, Ikkaku frowned. "What?"
"Do you know what it means to be a soul reaper," he asked. "Do you even care what we stand for?"
Ikkaku's frown deepened with further confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Yuumichika pointed at the massive perimeter wall of the division, though it was quite a distance from where they stood. "We, Squad Eleven, exist to protect them! Every soul in this world depends on us and the rest of the Gotei when a threat appears. We are the only thing that stands between them and certain death. We can't afford not to take our jobs seriously!"
"That has nothing to do with—" began Ikkaku, when Yuumichika raised his voice.
"It has everything to do with your current predicament!" He stared at his best friend. "As Third Seat, it was your responsibility to prepare your men to do their job!"
Ikkaku reared back, and his anger boiled over in an instant. "I did do my job! If the men were having as much trouble as you think they were, then maybe they shouldn't be members of this squad!"
A gasp rose from the squad, followed by deeply disgruntled murmurings. Even Captain Zaraki frowned. Yuumichika glanced at them reassuringly, before returning his gaze to Ikkaku.
"If you had done your job, then that fight wouldn't have been so disgustingly one-sided. What you should have done when you returned was read the reports to come up with a training strategy for future battles that you and Zaraki Taichou were happy with. Instead, you continued to ignore your responsibilities by further embarrassing him when you decided insulting Captain Kuchiki in front of his family and Lieutenant was a better use of your time."
Ikkaku sneered. "That still doesn't explain the badge, Yuumichika."
His simmering anger continued to grow at the clear insubordination and Yuumichika subconsciously released more reiatsu in response. "Yes, it does." He ground his words out slowly, and yet, the whole squad could still make out every word. "I spoke to the Captain and told him that a Lieutenant had offered to teach me the techniques that would decimate this enemy so that I could teach them to the men. I was offered the badge because I did your job."
Ikkaku just stared at his best friend, his expression burned with betrayal and fury. "So that's it, after everything you said yesterday, you just took it?"
Yuumichika didn't back down, and stared at him dead in the eye. "I made a choice between offending you, and protecting the squad. Captain Zaraki trusted you to do that, and in his and Kusajishi Fukutaichou's absence, you failed. As Third Seat, nothing should have come before your men."
A ripple of something akin to approval met his words as the crowd of shinigami started talking a little louder. Ikkaku's eyes flickered in their direction before settling back on Yuumichika's arm and seethed. That badge did not belong on anyone's arm except his.
His thoughts were extremely transparent. As Yuumichika stared at him, he couldn't shake how strange it felt to argue with his best friend, but Yuumichika was resolute. When Shūhei had explained to him the stance of the other Lieutenants, he knew Ikkaku wasn't playing up to his potential. He also knew that Ikkaku was in real danger of reprisal for what could be perceived as insubordination. He couldn't let that happen. Yuumichika had to get through to his best friend and protect him. If his plan worked, then Ikkaku would benefit greatly and get his badge back.
"Everything I said yesterday still stands, Ikkaku. Do you want it back?" came the quiet question.
With eyes glued to the badge, Ikkaku answered automatically with an almost inaudible whisper. "Yes."
"Then earn it; put the men first."
Without another word, Yuumichika swooped down and collected his stationary, and strode away. Ikkaku followed him with his eyes, watching as he passed the Captain with a respectful nod, as he headed towards the obstacle course.
A few of the men gawked at him, but Ikkaku just glared at them. How could they possibly understand? His mind was made up, and nothing Yuumichika had said would change that. He would show that bastard and the squad.
'That badge is mine, and I will get it back!'
Shunsui looked up in relief as Unohana greeted the family at the Chiba mansion. As he met her gaze, he fought the urge to shudder; he hadn't seen those eyes in over one thousand years. He was well aware of her past, and knew how familiar she was with death. Somehow, he knew in that single instance that her expertise would prove essential in uncovering the manner in which Seiya had been killed.
She followed him silently to the room where Kyouraku rested his hand on the doorknob, suggesting a reluctance to re-enter.
"It's pretty bad in there, Ya-chan. He was tortured physically and psychologically before he was killed, and—"
Her deadened stare through her hooded lids sent a shiver through him, halting anything else he might have said. "The more you say, the more you could cloud the issue. I thought my being here was to provide you with answers." She hummed at the end of her statement. "And there I thought you were tight lipped, Shu-chan?"
This time he did shudder, and fixed her lifeless gaze with a hard stare. "I'll hold my tongue, if you can promise to do the same?"
She put a hand over his on the doorknob. "Very few people mess with nobility, either because they have nothing to lose and therefore, they don't care, or they're sure of their own power to negate the backlash of such an action. Finding out which is why I'm here," she said.
Her double entendre hit home and he released his grip. His eyes followed her as she crossed the threshold, and right before she sealed the door, she pinned him with a look that was both threatening and non-negotiable. She was not to be disturbed.
Damn. After all this time, she could still petrify him. Hell, he'd pay to meet one person that wasn't scared shitless by her.
Unohana Yachiru surveyed the room with a disinterested gaze. With barely a wrinkle of her nose, she scoffed. This smell was nothing compared to the piles of bodies she'd left in her wake, days after they'd been allowed to putrefy in the baking sun. The most offensive scent was probably from the room itself; years of disgusting cologne stuck to the outdated decor, and it would take years for it to dislodge.
Without a moment's hesitation, she unleashed her enormous reiatsu, and engaged her senses. Tuning it finely, she pinpointed two signatures, and focused on the oldest, faintest trace first.
Unlatching the window, she hummed with relief, as fresh air wafted into the room. 'You entered here,' she thought. Her vantage point allowed her to see part of the grounds and the guards at strategic positions. 'We can see them from here, and yet, no-one raised the alarm, and all the sentries are still alive. Why?'
She couldn't understand it. The intruder had clearly come here to kill Seia Chiba, and yet, his small army of security officers and house staff, even his family, had lived to tell of it. She would have had no compunctions of destroying the house and everyone in it, if she had come here to kill. Her gaze flickered.
'Unless you didn't come here to kill him?'
She swept her reiatsu across the courtyard, through the trees and over the grass. She picked up on a hint of a signature on a thick tree branch, and another a step from the sill.
'You watched the guards until they were far enough away, and used shunpō to get you right to the sill. You knew the window would be open so you let yourself in.'
She paused. How could he have known? Getting into Seiya's room undetected was one thing, but how would this intruder have known he would be alone and sleeping?
'You watched him from that tree for days. You didn't make a move until you were familiar with the routine of the entire house because you needed uninterrupted access to him. But still, why?'
The chiffon curtains billowed as she re-entered the room. Sweeping her reiatsu around her, she continued to trace the movements of the assailant. She saw the seal of kidō over the door, and the body. Her eye pinched slightly as she felt for it and realised it was only a weak bakudō. Bakudō Number One normally presented a victim in a particular pose on their hands and knees with their head down. Here, the body was immobilised but spread eagle on his back.
'You modified a basic bakudō purely to torture a man? What about the mirror?'
She knew the size of it would make it difficult to transport and ruin his attempts of concealment during his watch on the compound, meaning the attacker definitely hadn't brought it with him. She searched the room, and sure enough, scuff marks on the floor told her exactly where he had dragged it from. The curtain ties had been repurposed to hold it in place on the bed's ceiling.
'You improvised with the mirror, but without help, you would have needed large reserves of reiatsu to lift it, and hold it while you secured it in place.' Her footsteps crunched on the thick carpet as she sank into the armchair. 'And then you waited with a drink, for your victim to wake.'
Her lidded gaze stared out from her relaxed position. He had gone to so much trouble to set the scene for whatever this was, but if he had wanted Seiya dead, he would already have been leaving.
'Did you kill him to prevent him from coming after you?'
It was possible. She stared closer at the body. With a flicker of reikaku, she knew he had started with the nails. She could feel the sadistic pleasure as they were removed, but the painstakingly slow pace the attacker had chosen was interesting.
'You came here to torture him, but were you unsure of how to start, or if you had the stomach?'
The mattress creaked under her weight as she reached to touch his hand. Spilling reiatsu into her fingers, she could feel past the fluids and felt the free-floating bones. Red streaks of brown blood marked each segment of each finger, showing her exactly how the intruder took the time to ply each bone from its socket. She began doubting her previous thought; he had much more than a simple working knowledge of anatomy based on how precisely he could dislocate each bone without breaking it, and there was no hesitation or squeamishness.
Moving her hand upwards, she could feel the massive bludgeoning that smashed his bones. The centre was crushed but the ends of the bones were intact.
'Definitely a blow from a large weapon,' she thought, 'A hammer, maybe?'
The legs showed the same damage, but she couldn't understand why he had begun so meticulously, intent on prolonging the torture, only to devolve into a fit of rage. What changed?
She tuned her senses to pick up on the emotions clinging to the room. Closing her eyes, she allowed each of the lingering feelings to hit her. As the sensations of agony echoed through her mind, she felt sick. Not because of how bad it was, but because of how weak he was. Despite being born with reiatsu, he couldn't even break a low bakudō under this kind of duress. She felt the confusion and helplessness, and the panic of knowing the pain would continue until he understood why this was happening.
The attacker felt smug in a sense. Their righteousness, conviction and sense of justice swelled around her. The calm conversation had disappeared in a single moment of recognition. Now they were on the same page, with their transgressions on the table. Seiya had to pay.
Yachiru felt the acceptance, but couldn't decide if Seiya had simply surrendered to the fact that he would die, or if it was a nonverbal admission of guilt. Either way, at this point, the assailant was almost lost in his frenzied anger to retract the rib cage carefully. Some ribs clung to their sockets, while some were loose and simply leaning against the peeled muscle wall. Noting to herself that Seiya would have been delirious from the shock of this, the intruder was equally lost in his own vicious train of thought. The work here was just messy, and the stab to the heart was the crescendo that ended the show.
'Chiba paid for his crime, and you got your revenge.'
Opening her eyes, she took a final glance at the room. She was very decided on her opinion of the nobleman; he was utterly weak, and she didn't feel the slightest sympathy. Granted, she wouldn't say he deserved to be tortured, but then again, there was no way she could say for sure without all the facts.
The killer, on the other hand, was intriguing. Either they were incredibly stupid, or were secure in their strength. If this person was strong, it was a question of how strong. She knew there was only one person stronger than her, but would this intruder at least be able to put up a fight if they ever crossed paths?
The way they had stalked the victim and struck at the opportune moment could speak of intelligence or cowardice. The vast reiatsu and use of kidō screamed that this was the work of a soul reaper, but she'd need a reiatsu sample to test that theory. What was most perplexing was the sudden devolution of the killer's emotional state. The switch from calm to manic happened quickly as if the strike to Seiya's heart was when they had finally gotten to the heart of the matter.
Whatever the reason, Yachiru couldn't make herself care. She had the cold, hard facts, and it would be up to Shunsui to figure out the rest.
She was done here.
At Squad One, the Captains formed their ranks before their Commander. With a gentle stamp of his cane in the silent room, Captain Yamamoto called the meeting to order.
"Let us begin; we're here to discuss the new enemy. You've had three days. What do we know?"
Hitsugaya coughed politely as he took a half step forward, causing his fellow Captains to redirect their gaze. "I have created a geographical profile. It is my intention to create a visual representation of their movements in order to understand their motives and behaviours. I have highlighted every directional mention of this enemy from every report I've received, and based on that, I have a theory that might explain their primary motivation."
With all eyes focused on him, he elaborated, "I believe they are drawn to high spiritual pressure. Having the highest spiritual pressure of any soul reaper on the battlefield, the most severe injuries were sustained by Captain Kuchiki and Captain Zaraki. The beasts were relentless in their attempts to kill them, although why they're this drawn to high spiritual pressure, I can't say. They are also drawn to areas where reiatsu is concentrated; based on the reports, their movements are leading directly towards the Seireitei. Perhaps they are a form of hollow we haven't seen before? " He stepped back in line, while noting the expressions of the Captains. Some were thoughtful, while some frowned deeply.
Kurotsuchi stepped forward and nodded to Tōshirō. "I do not believe these creatures are hollows. It did not possess a mask, teeth or any other identifying traits we're aware of."
Yamamoto peered at him under his bushy eyebrows. "Do you have an alternate theory as to what these animals are, Kurotsuchi Taichou?"
Speaking directly to the Soūtaichou, Kurotsuchi elaborated. "Only Captain Kuchiki's attack stood out. He was stabbed, and during this process, the beast implanted a piece of packed reiatsu into his body. This fragment was enough to deplete his reserves of reiatsu to practically nothing after two days. Because it eats the reiatsu of its victim, it is impossible to heal that person until every piece of the beast's reiatsu is removed as kaidō won't hold. I believe this may be their method of predation, and that they are much more like us, soul-based, biological animals, capable of exerting reiryoku."
"That is remarkably disturbing, Kurotsuchi Taichou. Is this theory based on what you've learned in your experiments?" asked Yamamoto.
"Yes, but my experiment is still ongoing. I am trying to determine how the fragments will behave if there is an endless supply of reiatsu for it to eat, and a second where there is no access to reiatsu. Ideally, a living specimen would allow me to answer the questions I have with facts."
Yamamoto released a deep hum of thought with a hint of a growl. "Does anyone else have anything to add?"
Zaraki stepped forward. "There was something very off about them, and I didn't like it one bit."
Unohana glanced at him and absentmindedly scratched the skin under her plait. "Could you please explain that statement, Zaraki Taichou?" As he locked eyes with her, she found herself wondering if he remembered her.
"At first I thought they were weak. They couldn't stomach my spiritual pressure, and I thought the battle would be over before it started, so, I pulled it back in."
At his words, Unohana frowned heavily, before down turning her gaze to the floor. She was thankful when he didn't notice the guilt in her eyes, and supposed he mistook her expression as her agreeing with the creatures being weak.
"When they got back up, they're eyes started glowing, and when it stopped, they switched from normal combat to sneak attacks. They feinted and sent a decoy to attack me, and when I struck at it, a pair of them charged at Yachiru and knocked her off my shoulder. They're conniving and smart. If you ask me, they're too smart; I would expect that kind of strategic thinking from a human opponent and not an animal, but that's just me."
"Thank you, Zaraki Taichou," said Unohana, and he gave her a nod before stepping back in line.
"Anyone else?" asked Yamamoto. When none of the Captains stood forward, he stamped his cane on the floor. "In that case, I want you to find out where they came from, Captain Hitsugaya." The youngest Captain nodded sharply. "Captain Kurotsuchi," said Yamamoto, "Your request to capture a living specimen is granted. I want to know everything about these beasts."
"Of course, Soūtaichou-sama," said Mayuri, with a cruel smile forming at his lips.
"Sasakibe, make a note; I want Squad Nine to respond if any further presence of this enemy is detected. Zaraki Taichou," he said to the taller Captain, "You will respond if any additional sightings occur." Zaraki said nothing, but grinned. "Finally, Captain Komamura, your orders are to protect the Seireitei from a breach by this enemy, if that is indeed their intended destination." The giant wolf-like Captain nodded with a sincere expression of seriousness.
"Is there anything else on the agenda?" said Yamamoto to the room at large. Shunsui stepped forward.
"A nobleman, Seiya Chiba, was tortured and murdered in his home in the Seireitei. After a preliminary investigation by both myself and Unohana Taichou, I believe Chiba-sama knew his attacker, and that that person was likely a member of nobility, or a soul reaper."
A few gasps rang out though the room, and Yamamoto's eyes narrowed. "What is your reasoning, Captain Kyouraku?"
"The killer used kidō, and had vast amounts of reiatsu. Whoever did this was holding a serious grudge, and was intent on drawing out his pain and suffering, because it wasn't enough for this killer to just kill Chiba and be done with it. For some reason, it was very important to the killer that Chiba was aware of who they were, so that he could pay for his crime. The killer believed he deserved it. Something tells me this person isn't done."
"I can agree with that, " said Unohana, with a nod to Shunsui. As he stepped back in line, she stepped forward for the second time. "This attacker stalked the house for some time, I would say as much as a few days, and became intimately familiar with the routine of the entire household. This is how the person knew when to move without alerting the guards.
"I'm not sure if this person is a soul reaper, but they definitely had some training. They modified a bakudō to restrain the target, and seal the room against intrusion and to make sure they weren't heard. They also have deep anatomical knowledge, as they were able to expose the entire ribcage and dislocate every bone in his hands and feet without breaking them. This is a very dangerous individual." She took her place in the line-up.
Amid mild sounds of shock and revulsion, Yamamoto gave another bang of his cane. "Ukitake Taichou, Kyouraku Taichou, I want you to find and arrest this individual." The aforementioned Captains shared a glance, before nodding at their commander. "Fon Taichou, you will discover how this person entered the home." She bowed in response. "You are all dismissed."