Disaster had hit Osamu like a train, he was still reeling. The very nature of the accusation brought him to near the point of uncontrollable rage, it was the single worst insult anyone could level against him and he would neither forget nor forgive. Even now his mind still played out little scenes of Kuroda, weak and helpless before him and all the cruel, vicious and unspeakable things he could do to her. However, as infuriated as he was his reason could just reign back his desire. Still though, the man was in the mental equivalent of a deep, dark and nihilistic pit and he wasn't sure he could climb out.

The 10th division had been similarly affected, their moral was at rock bottom and their dependability in battle threatened to plummet because of it. Demotivated, resentful and afraid any commander would be well advised not to rely on them. Thankfully, or perhaps unfortunately, Kuroda was not well advised and the 10th were to be at the forefront of tomorrow’s battle. Osamu was worried if they would stand. After all, you don’t go up to a man, say he is being investigated for committing the most heinous of offences, may very well be executed and his family imprisoned and then ask him to die for you. This further called into question the soundness of Kuroda’s mind but Osamu could not worry about that too much for now. Similarly he was worried that Kuroda would set him and all his men up to die tomorrow. One thing was for sure, Osamu was going to be watching his back just as much as his front tomorrow and any general should realise that when you commanders started doing that you were doomed.

Still, the battle tomorrow was something Osamu knew he had to win, the war effort required it and he needed it as well. To that end The men of the 10th were busy making their final preparations for the battle tomorrow. Inventories were being checked and re checked, drills were being gone through one last time, officers received their final orders and general preparations were near completion. Osamu had spent a great deal of time building a well oiled machine, so well oiled it barely needed him at this stage. He had given the order and it was being carried out as well as was possible but not as well as it could be. They had to account for all their actions and men of the 8th could inspect them at any moment. As a result preparations were suffering. All of this was going on in the yards of the 10th, yards which had long since been covered over with tarpaulins to guard against aerial observation. It was hard to tell if Osamu was smart and cautious, or just paranoid.

His paranoia, or rather fear, had led him to request a meeting with Yue some days ago. He had done so in order to try and assure himself that the knife that would one day end up in his back wouldn't be held by her hand but it was more than that. He feared less for himself but more for her and the whole soul society. Osamu had a mind that was near incapable of thinking small, everything was big and he put every little thing into the context of the bigger picture. This way of thinking led him to be very concerned for her and even the Yukihiro clan. He hoped that he could garner their cooperation one day but today was not about that. It was about her and her alone. Anyone who made a habit of watching the 10th would have noticed a sharp increase in security since the grand meeting which was not a good sign. It showed Osamu felt isolated and threatened, unable to rely on or cooperate with the outside world. Even he knew this was a bad thing, isolation leads to death but until some of his fears were lessened he could not do anything else. So, he hoped to talk to Yue to satisfy himself that his own hide was safe, but also about the bigger picture.

Unfortunately she was late, significantly late. He had privately resigned himself to the fact that she was not going to appear, only increasing his worries. As such he was heading to meet his 3 o’clock appointment with a heavy heart and a worried mind.

It hadn't been a particularly bad day for Yue, not compared to other days at least. The Patrol Corps were constantly busy and reporting to her day and night, causing a constant flurry of butterflies around the girl. They certainly got annoying at one point, distracting her from attempting any paperwork but she wouldn't swat them away; she couldn't bear being rude to the animal.

However, one thing that definitely wasn't a highlight of her day - or rather, week - was Osamu. The man had called for a meeting, a meeting Yue didn't want to attend. She was sure it would only lead to more arguments and she wasn't sure if she could remain civil for much longer. Perhaps it was Isao rubbing off on her but Osamu irritated her to Hell and back. He didn't take her seriously, probably because he didn't see her as having a mind equivalent to or possibly greater than his. It was probably his ego but Yue couldn't stand for it; she couldn't let her age take direction of any civil conversation and dictate whether her words were considered or not. Perhaps he would listen more if she was physically older, though Yue still doubted he'd listen to anyone but himself.

Yue had several reasons to be concerned about Osamu, a cornered rat fights harder than anything else and if he really felt he had no way out other than by taking her on then he could be a real threat. After all, Osamu was still an animal just like any other person and you really do not want to fight an animal when it’s afraid. Particularly not an animal like Osamu who had harnessed his own fear to his advantage in the past. He didn’t suppress it like some did, he used it and he used it well. But one thing Yue did not have to worry about was her physical age. True she looked young but she did not look like some child fresh from its mother’s skirts so Osamu could ignore it. Secretly he kind of envied her for it. He was by no means physically old but everyone likes to stay young forever. He hoped to stay at his current age for the rest of time but he didn’t waste much time thinking about that, it was one of the few things he admitted was beyond his power.

Eventually, Yue found avoiding his presence no longer a viable option. Not even doing paperwork could take its place, as she'd miraculously, in her time as Captain, finished it all. And she never would again. It was better leaving it to her Lieutenant, Yue decided as she left the Division barracks and made her way out in the open streets, her documents were probably full of overlooked mistakes anyway. Certainly a product of her distraction and paranoia. Arriving at the Tenth Division took much less time than she'd originally anticipated and would've liked; however, there was no turning back now. The men at the gate were strangely alert as if waiting for a threat - surely he didn't have so many before? They bowed and allowed her to pass, probably having been notified beforehand of her arrival. Entrance to the outermost areas of the 10th division was relatively free, Osamu wanted people to be able to come to his division with complaints, questions and concerns and overzealous security would not aid that, besides the guards recognised Yue. Security got tighter however, the deeper you went in.

The Division's base structure and layout was just like hers minus the additional buildings but it felt alien and unfamiliar as she walked through the inner 'streets'. Some of the new functions of the tenth were housed in locations other than the main divisional HQ, on little bits of land they had acquired over the years. This included the civilian holding cells and the civilian courts Osamu ran, which were located off site. However, the additional buildings here were so large and numerous as to render the once standard HQ almost unrecognisable. The older buildings were made of good stone whilst the newer extensions were made of a much flimsier material but the new outstripped the old. Osamu housed almost his whole administration here and it needed offices as well as stores, warehouses and loading bays. Furthermore, depending on which direction Yue came from, she may have had to pass through the vast refuge population and their temporary housing and shelters. Osamu kept the refugee’s close and anyone could tell they were living hard lives but something was odd. For anyone familiar with the old lower districts of the Rukongai they noticed something was missing and something had been added. The smell was gone, the smell of blood, excrement, fear and death was gone. What was added was a few of the bigger building in the camp which bore signs such as “school” and “health center.”

Passing by the refugee camps wasn't an easy thing for her to do; her mind constantly flashed back at the prospect of how easily she could've been one of the those hopeless, peniless people. Granted, her current position as a Noble wasn't ideal at all and sometimes Yue could barely tell the difference. She kept her sight away from the people sitting outside or working; it would only further bring home the fact that she once knew them all by name if she recognized some faces; on the other hand, it was highly unlikely they'd recognize her as the small, elusive thief that had once darted through their homes and beings until she'd robbed them blind. She smiled wistfully as the memories flooded back, one by one, reliving her hard days as a petty thief. It hadn't been as bad as people had made it to be - she had had a house to herself in 69th and enough to eat, hadn't she? Of course, that was before the invasion.

Once Yue had passed through the outermost gates she was in a surprisingly empty courtyard, all of the military activity was going on in secure areas elsewhere. Once through the courtyard she would pass through further gates and be presented with a reception area. Several civilian receptionists on desks were dealing with various members of the public, a waiting area had been built as well as several meeting rooms off to the side. A few doors behind the receptionists were marked with the signs. “No unauthorised access beyond this point, security passes must be displayed, all visitors must be accompanied at all times and papers ready for inspection.” These doors were guarded by slightly more serious looking shinigami and who knew what security lay beyond?

8th division men were also present, some carrying papers about but all watching like hawks. Yue’s presence would have been undoubtedly noted and recorded in their investigation. The atmosphere in the room was thick and tense. A fight threatened to break out when two 10th division shinigami who were on guard near one of the doors started gently whispering to one another, only to be noticed by one of the men of the 8th who noted the event down before stalking over and loudly demanding that their conversation be repeated. Osamu’s men explained, perhaps even truthfully, that they were discussing how to react if Yue became aggressive and attempted to kill both their captain and other senior members of the division. This seemed to satisfy things for a few moments but shortly the same two guards began whispering again. The investigator from the 8th turned on his heel sharply and, as if by instinct, the men of the 10th present in the room all put their hands on their swords. The room froze, there were far more guards here than just the two whisperers and it was obvious the man from the 8th would stand no chance if a fight broke out. Still though, the repercussions for the 10th would have been huge. A few tense moments seemed to drag out forever before the investigator backed away slightly and the men of the 10th then slowly relaxed their grip on their swords. One thing was obvious, things were on an absolute knife edge here.

Yue would not have to report in to reception however, the guards recognised her. They did not wave her through but one walked into one of the secure areas, presumably to pass on a message. He hadn't told her where to meet him, only when and that she hadn't bothered to comply with; what difference would getting the location wrong as well make now? A few moments later Osamu appeared, but he came in from the outside, the same way Yue had entered. Looking at the woman he seemed to genuinely smile and said “Ahh, good. Nice of you to make it at last. I was starting to worry. Come, let’s walk in the courtyard.” He gestured her back outside and held the door open for her as she passed. It clunked shut behind them with an ominous thud as Osamu put both hands behind his back and started to slowly pace around the courtyard. “I am afraid I’m going to have to combine this meeting with a previous appointment, I’d scheduled something else for this slot but the two can be done together. Tell me, why do you think you are here?” He seemed genuinely interested and it wasn’t a trite point or a opener to discipline like a teacher asking a naughty school boy that same question. He really wanted to know how she was thinking.

Yue found herself in a courtyard similar to the ones present in every Division, the enclosed space unnerving her to the point where she knew she wouldn't react well and as calmly to any notion of a threat or aggression. She turned towards Osamu, lacing her fingers together underneath her overly long sleeves in her characteristic, peaceful pose. Most people found her either walking, standing or sitting like this, a perfect image of zen. "That's perfectly fine, Iwakura-san," Yue's smile became more cheerful, though not at his question as he'd assume, but at the prospect of having interrupted his meticulous plan. "Perhaps so that we can have a lovely discussion of you taking over Seireitei?" Strangely enough, there was no sarcasm evident in her voice; it was so well hidden and masked underneath genuine layers of friendliness it was not perceptible. She laughed lightly and added, "On a serious note, though, I think that discussion we had at the meeting isn't considered over yet, not by a long shot. Are you here to persuade the House and I to agree to your demands? Or perhaps get me to support you in those actions?" Her eyes were piercing and perceptive, staring sharply at Osamu, contrasting against her sunny smile.

He raised his eyebrows when she said they were here to discuss his plans to take over the Seireitei. Her sarcasm was well disguised but he knew her intent. Their little spar at the recent meeting had been illuminating and she would never have said that if she were serious. Osamu had to admit, she did seem peaceful with her hands as they were, tranquil and elegant, it was a pleasant sight to be sure. That was until you realised you couldn’t see what her hands were doing. Smiling slightly Osamu said in a manner that was half a joke. “How many knives do you have up those sleeves Captain? How many poisons are they coated in?” He chuckled slight saying. “Don’t worry, you can keep whatever you have tucked up there. I know you aren’t going to kill me today, or tomorrow. Day after tomorrow perhaps.” He looked at her sideways as he walked, casting a wry smile at her before he looked ahead once more. But there was an odd emptyness behind it all.

Yue gave Osamu an amused look at his jibe about her hidden weapons, giving him no hints as to the authenticity of his statement, but played along. "One can never be too careful, Iwakura-san. You never know, the person you're targeting might just walk right by you." She laughed at the thought of sticking a couple of poisoned senbon in Osamu's neck and knocking him out, most probably doing Seireitei a favour.

Returning to his previous point about his so called plot he leant towards her slightly as they walked and whispered. “Come on, you can’t say you aren’t a bit tempted to take this place over. All those nobles, all those shinigami jumping at your every word. We can pull it off if we work together. They’ll never see it coming.” He was being just as sarcastic as her but he wasn’t so good at concealing it and his smile gave him away. It was evident though that she was serious when she brought up their previous discussion and the fact it was not over. He locked eyes with her for a moment, peering into her just as she was peering into him. It was debatable which one of them was better at it, probably her. Their eyes were fundamentally different in what parts of one another’s souls they exposed. To him her eyes were like needles, piercing and precise. His eyes were more like rumbling furnaces, hinting at the vast machine that they powered. Her smile just accentuated her eyes in his sight, rather than hide them. After a few heavy seconds though he broke the contact and looked ahead and kept on walking. “You didn’t answer my question, you just asked me what the answer was. I asked to assess your thinking, your understanding. It’s not a pass or fail test but if it were you would have passed with flying colours. Sharp, calm, subtle, deceptive. Used to taking what you need and not giving, at least for most people.” He waved a dismissive hand, he was getting off of topic.

“It’s true, I want you and your house on side and we may discuss that later on. For the moment though it’s about you personally. I need to understand and I fancy you want to understand me as well. If we are to be friends it aids cooperation, if we are to be enemies well, it’s always good to know the soul of your foe.” He seemed very matter of fact about all of this and he was, but he was also enjoying himself a little, though he was hiding that fact slightly better.

She in turn inched away from him as he leaned in and whispered an offer to join his ranks, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I think I'll take you up on that offer; I've always wanted to play head honcho of the Gotei." Yue didn't bother hiding the sarcasm at this point, going along with the general flow of the meeting.

His stare didn't unnerve her as she'd originally anticipated. Yue could see the fire in his eyes, his passion for the huge conspiracy he was brewing. No doubt it would bring trouble, she thought as she challenged his stare until he looked away. She wasn't surprised he'd 'seen through' her so easily; it was expected of the leader of the Division tasked with the ruthless assassination of anyone the Central 46 deemed a dangerous element, unworthy of living or a thorn in their side. Perhaps she would be handing Osamu's head on a silver platter the next time. "I'm glad I succeeded in disorienting you instead. As for taking and not giving, that is the duty assigned to me. Of course, though, I have people I treasure. I wouldn't hurt them if it killed me. Don't you? Don't you leave someone out of your destructive loop?"

“No….It’s more fundamental than that.” Was his only reply to her statement that her duty was to take and not give. He did not explain it, preferring to let it churn around in her head. If she wanted clarification she would ask for it. “As for people I won’t hurt and this destructive loop you mention. You are wrong on both counts. What I want is worth the suffering and death of anyone, yes even me. As for the destructive loop it is not of my making. I don’t drive it, I’m fighting it.” His tone was heavy suddenly, the playfulness of earlier gone, though it could return just as swiftly. His voice was laced with sincerity as well. Whether or not he was right was another question but anyone could tell he believed what he was saying and there was no lie present.

It was at this juncture the doors to the reception building opened and a man said. “Your three o’clock is here sir.” Before the man had even finished talking there was the sound of something running behind them and heavy breathing. Osamu turned round calmly, but with a broad smile, to see a great Irish wolfhound tearing towards him hell for leather. It was a grey, shaggy thing but you could tell it was originally designed to be a predator in wet and windy lands. It had a much gnarled stick in its jaws and as it drew closer it leapt up into the air and hit Osamu full force before bouncing off of the man, landing on all fours and running around excitedly for a moment. Osamu laughed heartily and bent down slightly, tapping his thighs saying in lighter tones than normal. “Come here boy.” The dog ran over to him and jumped up again, putting his paws on Osamu’s shoulders and dropping the stick so he could lick Osamu’s face. Osamu just laughed and squirmed slightly, tickling the dog’s underbelly. After a moment the dog seemed to register Yue and calmed down. He looked at the new woman quizzically for a moment before walking around her in tight circles smelling her feet and legs. Osamu looked at Yue, smiling and said. “He’s called Monty, don’t worry he’s a friendly dog. Utterly loyal and will rip your throat out on command but don’t worry. I rarely give that order.” He chuckled again and said in a slightly more serious tone. “Don’t worry. So long as you don’t scare him you’re fine. You like new people, don’t you boy?” The last sentence was obviously addressed to the dog.

The moment the dog bounded through the doors, Yue was already several feet away quietly observing the man and his pet. So he did have a compassionate side. It was strange seeing him so loving towards something other than his dear plans for the future. Still, she couldn't help but flinch away from the dog as he circled around her and sniffed at her legs. It was uncomfortable having a strange creature assess her like that. "I'd hate to do that." She replied, already much farther than she'd previously been. It was mildly surprising to note that Osamu had made an appointment at this particular hour with a dog. It still didn't diminish the amusing fact that she'd interrupted his playtime with his pet. "Is that all you wished to ask of me? Or have you finally decided to leave well enough alone?"

Osamu chuckled slightly when he saw Yue flinch at the approach of the dog, so she did have something resembling fear down in there? It was encouraging to see something other than the stony edifice he had previously been exposed to, even if it was only for a brief instant.

Osamu shook his head when she asked if that was his only question. “You aren’t getting away that easy. Besides, you never even answered my question. Well, not the serious one any way.” He casually picked up the stick his dog had dropped and threw it over to the other side of the court yard, the hound chasing after it like a streak of lightning.

Yue gave him only a serene look and nothing more. "You asked me a question and my opinion on it. Yet you immediately declared me wrong. That is your problem. You are never wrong. I am never right, or anyone for that matter. Has it not occurred to you that you're living in a self-sustained bubble? You remind me of a child covering its ears and screaming to the world that the sky is green simply because he is colorblind." Despite the initial appearance of her words being philosophy, they were just facts and nothing more. Facts she'd gained through observation. "You cling to your fears of being wrong."

“When did I declare you wrong, aside from when I was musing to myself?” He waved a bit of a hand and said. “Unimportant.” He didn’t want to get bogged down in an argument over something that insignificant so he was just going to let it slide. Weirdly when she launched into a deeper character assassination of him, saying he was little better than a whining child and refusing to see the world around him he didn’t get angry or upset. He smiled. It was not a smug smile or a purposefully antagonistic one. It didn’t even seem to be a pitying one. He seemed genuinely happy. “Why do you think that? If I truly am like the stubborn but understandably misguided child, incapable of seeing the world as it is. You explain, you make sure they understand. Tell me, why am I like this child, why am I wrong? What am I wrong about?” Osamu genuinely wanted to learn, he gave everyone a chance, even several chances, to justify themselves to him. To persuade him. He never just shut off his mind but he was not easily led.

Naturally, Osamu's happiness at her statement made her slightly more wary of the man. Most others would usually get instantly offended, which was why she'd learned to keep her mouth shut and keep her observations to herself. Osamu, however, was a different matter. He took all of her words in stride and seemed genuinely curious to learn how she'd come to that conclusion. But she'd never explained her train of thoughts before and she doubted it'd make any sense. "It's self explanatory. Everybody else says it's blue but you are convinced it's green because that's the way you see it. You try and convince everyone that it's green. But then you cannot be blamed for that, it's not your fault you were born like that. You are not wrong, just innocently misguided until you grow up and accept reality as it is. Of course, I'm not calling you a child. You're far from one. What you have achieved in the past 100 years is great but the way you now seek to achieve more, bordering on extreme, denotes you're unsatisfied with what you have. You're unwilling to budge to allow others in because you deem them wrong and misguided, blind, ineffective, partial but while you tack on judgement after judgement, they're all judging you back. You're playing a dangerous game. I'm not saying you're wrong or right. I'm saying you're on a dangerous path."

“I have many questions for you as I am sure you have for me. Unless of course you have made up your mind already in which case you disappoint me. I know you are clever, don’t shut off your mind just yet. But in this little discussion you aren’t going to be able to just take. You have to give. This is a trade, not a robbery. We may trade many things, but for now I need to know why you do what you do. Why do you do your job and why do you cling so hard to the old and your family? Do you believe what you do is good and right, if so why?” A little bit of the playfulness was gone, it could return at some later point but you could tell he was serious. You could also tell he was being relatively open, honest and fair about it all. This wasn’t a fight to him, not now any way. He didn’t want to be enemies but he lacked faith in Yue possessing a similar attitude.

The barrage of questions aimed her way barely made Yue bat an eye. As expected of him, she thought to herself as her mind worked back to the flurry of question. Luckily, they still remained in her head. "Why do I do what? You're going to have to be a little more clearer." Yue smiled once again, this time a trace of enigma lacing her voice. "I don't cling to them, I do what is expected of me and support the people who have been through thick and thin with me." True. "They took me in when I had nothing." False. Another one of her lies, expertly weaved in between half-truths and enigmatic statements. It hadn't been her helplessness that had compelled them to take her in; it had been the broken mess of a Yukihiro left behind when he'd grabbed at her and scared her. Sometimes, that instinct still surfaced whether she liked it or not.

"I don't usually believe that I'm right; I simply look at the facts. Mathematically or scientifically, there's always a solution. There's always a theory confirmed possible and impossible. There's always something proven possible or impossible given facts. That's what I base my decisions on. I don't always cling to the steadfast hopes and beliefs like most, including yourself, do. It's not about faith, it's about facts. Believing you can save the entirety of the population by spreading out resources is a mathematical impossibility. The only possibility of those actions is resources spread so thinly that they're practically ineffective and essentially non-existent. That is but a small example, though, of one of the flaws of our human mind."

He was tempted to pick her up on her last sentence, she seemed to be implying that her mind was somehow, more than human. But he opted to let that one slide. When she began to answer his question he was relieved, he had worried she would refuse to give him anything. He couldn’t work with someone like that. Such people were fundamentally greedy and uncooperative, poor team players and entirely untrustworthy. He cracked a little, slightly more mischievous, smile when she asked him to clarify what he meant by his question. He knew she didn’t need it to be clarified. But as she set about answering him he listened very carefully. A family that had stuck with her through thick and thin? Believable enough, even the devil protected his own so why not nobles? When she claimed that she had nothing when she was taken in he believed her. He did however, question the motives of the nobles who took her in. It was not that he doubted that she did indeed have noting. Instead he doubted the fact that they had taken her in for that reason. But he remained silent on the topic.

Soon however, they got to the real meat of things, right and wrong. Though Yue seemed not to want to express things in those terms, strange but he heard her out. She expressed everything in terms of possible and impossible. Not the worst way to approaching things but less than perfect. Osamu was silent for a few moments after she finished speaking, looking into her eyes, deep in thought and with a brow just as deeply furrowed. He even ignored his dog for a few moments when the loyal beast came up and started pawing at its master to throw the stick again. After a while he just said. “I see.” Before bending down to take the stick and throwing it once more, the dog chasing happily after. Looking back at her he walked closer, slowly, but not so close as to be threatening. “You are close to being right, in how you think. What is possible and impossible must always be considered but it’s too simple. Right and wrong matter. It helps you choose between the variety of possible options. It even helps you look for the right scenarios to assess as possible and impossible.” He wasn’t talking down to her, he respected her too much for that. Indeed, her earlier accusation that he only ever thought of himself as right and her as always wrong wounded him. Surely their experience around the table in their previous meeting proved he didn’t think that way. If anything the accusation worked better in the other direction. He had been the one trying to work things out, adapting, and compromising. She had sat their stubbornly and refused to budge an inch. Her staying power was to be admired but it was poorly directed, she had to learn when to move as well. But he did not throw that comment out there quite yet. That was a pointless antagonism for now.

“We disagree on what is possible as well, though you slightly misunderstand my objective. I have no intention of spreading resources evenly, I agree that is stupid. Even once we have driven the hollows back into their barren world we cannot share things evenly. Instead it’s about fairness and justice and I know it can be done. I’ve been modelling it for a very long time. It’s about survival as well. Not mine, all of us.” He looked tired suddenly, far too tired. As if all the weight on his shoulders suddenly got a lot heavier. Truth be told he was tired of being isolated. He had his division at his back, the people too and other odds and ends. But he didn’t have anyone at his side. But he didn’t make that obvious. He just looked tired and fed up.

"Our judgments and society dictate what's right and wrong. Countless millenia have demonstrated what is right and wrong. Yes, it's all about decisions but success has always favoured the possible. You see, because it's impossible to succeed if it isn't possible." At this point, Yue was spinning him around in circles. Had he been even a little less intelligent than he already was, and he'd probably have been much more lost. She was used to blank looks, scoffs and honest, good people as well as heinous murderers pretending to understand, hanging onto her every word in an attempt to make sense of her words. Obviously only a few got close to deciphering the meanings but it always resulted in even more questions and confusion. There was a reason why she was so quiet, demure and docile. At times, words were more dangerous than mere actions.

He was disapointed by one of Yue's comments, that millenia and times past had demonstrated what was right and wrong. That was no system for morality. But he decided not to focus on that. “We aren’t friends Yue. I wish we were, there is a very short list of candidates and you are sitting at the top of it. But I think you’re far more likely to stab me than help me as we currently understand one another. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to kill you, not unless you try first. But I’m going to give you one of the privileges of a friend and hope you don’t abuse it. It’s stupid of me but I’m going to trust you, to a degree.” There was then an odd pause before he said. “There is something in there….” His statement went unexplained, he was staring right at Yue as he said it. Some might have taken it as a statement that there was some intelligence hiding in there but Yue should know Osamu did not mean that. He had overtly stated several times that he thought she was an intelligent woman so he must have been eluding to some other hidden quality.

Yue laughed at that comment. The reputation and assumptions came along with being the Captain of the Division that dealt with assassination and underground work. If she'd tried as hard as she could to erase that assumed image the Division gave her, it'd be forever before she'd get rid of it. The duties of the Division spoke volumes; they were feared and for good reason. Who knew when you'd suddenly have a soft hand over your mouth and cold steel running over your throat? "Unless ordered, I don't stab people in the back. As dishonorable as that is, it's my duty. I try to avoid collateral damage but I see no point in being sneaky about it unless there's good reason, in which case the Central 46 will order it. It's not me you should be worried about; it's the higher-ups you want to avoid." Had it been anyone else, they'd have kept quiet and let Osamu run himself down into the ground. Had he not been warned, it'd have been akin to suicide. Of course, that what they usually made it look like. But she hoped he'd heed her genuine warning. "I'm doing you a favor by telling you this, as a friend. Anyone else would've let you commit suicide. I, however, don't think it's entirely fair. I'm flattered that you consider me a friend and that you trust me but I don't really think that's going to change things. I'm still going to sit on the sidelines of all of this because I don't fancy myself willingly involved."

“In less than 100 years the soul society is going to burn, the streets will run red with blood and our heads will be on spikes as will the heads of your whole family.” His tone had become matter of fact again, almost casual in the way he prophesied doom. “I’m trying to stop it. I’m trying to make a better world whilst I go about it as well but I think the ‘I’m trying to stop us all dying’ motive might have a more instinctive appeal to you.” Perhaps a tad of his tongue in cheek attitude had returned. “Earlier you said you had nothing when the Yukihiro family took you in. I’ll take you at your word and assume you really did mean nothing. That you were once one of the lowest of the low. Survived all that wretchedness and in some cases the near indescribable life.” He was tempted to go into a little aside about his own life but, stopping himself, he stayed on target. “Even if you only understand a fraction of how bad it can be you can see the gap, you can see the difference between the haves and the have nots. It’s only gotten worse for the have nots since the occupation but it is more dangerous now. They are being asked to give more and they are physically closer than they have even been to those who hold dominion over them. Even if it’s worse for the nobles as well the difference is so much more apparent to the so called lower orders. I walk amongst them almost every day, I make it my business to be the best friend they have in high places. They are all starting to realise just how vast the difference is and they are realising why that difference exists and they are not satisfied with the reason. There are ugly murmurs and dangerous talk circulating and it's the kind of thing you can't just supress.” The dog returned and Osamu absentmindedly took the stick and threw it again, his true focus was on Yue, he wanted her to understand the point he was making with a quiet desperation. He wanted Yue, the woman, on side and he needed the Captain of the 2nd.

“It was always going to happen one day, just so happens to be now. They will stay compliant during the occupation so long as you don’t push the peasantry too hard. They are smart enough to realise that now is not the time to be grabbing what they deserve. But once the hollows are driven out the clock starts ticking and it’s a short timer. The people will not sit and wait for the change they want to go through the old system and the system would probably try to stop them anyway. If they aren’t given at least some of it, they will take all of it and there will be nobles, members of the middle class and shinigami alike who stand with them, either for selfless or selfish reasons. It will be a civil war unlike one we have ever seen and the old order will lose. They will win many battles, particularly early on but in the end the old order will die a bloody and violent death. You can’t hold back an entire nation. You cannot rule over those who, en masse, withdraw their consent to be ruled over.”

By the time he was done talking, Yue knew what he said held little merit. She'd been one of them and lived among them, among the most violent and bloodthirstiest of men that thrived in the lower districts. It was painfully obvious as to their worth as revolutionaries: all talk but no action. Most were simply satisfied with what they had, having been used to it their whole lives. Yue had been satisfied with it. Had she not been taken in she'd have returned back home from the 1st district and went on. It was people like Osamu, who'd stumbled across one out of a thousand people with the smallest of complaints and saw himself as their savior. Little did he know how much damage he was causing. Yue carefully measured her words before speaking, keeping most of her opinions to herself. Some things just weren't fit to be said.

"We don't push them at all; they're used to it. I was used to it. I've seen everything from a commoner's perspective and they don't care. Not unless someone feeds the fire, like what you're doing. Don't you think that once in more than twenty thousand years people would've risen up and protested? No. Because it doesn't matter to them." They lived in separate worlds; that was their way of life. Even if disrupted, they'd feel much more comfortable and familiar in their old ways. Thousand-year-old souls wouldn't take lightly to being relocated and given things, having their schedules rewritten, working and other things.

A prime example was the Human World's Communism which had taken place around sixty years after the human Yue's death. What had started as a grand scheme, a plan for the equality and fairness for everyone and stripping nobles of their money and power had rendered the country hated and backwards in terms of money, military prowess, scientific and mathematical progress and other such things. They were feared but not for their power and prestige as a prime country as it should've been; no, they repulsed other countries enough to keep them running and erect as much buffers towards Communism as possible in the form of other countries. The Berlin Wall was another example - hundreds had tried to escape only to be shot down. No resources, an inefficient justice system based on 'fairness' and unhappy people. They'd torn down the wall eventually and conformed to their old ways, despite being modern and having a life span ten to fifty times shorter.

However, these facts Yue kept to herself, quietly thinking the situation over. Arguments with the man were pointless. It only caused her headaches and made her waste energy on trying to convince Osamu. That wasn't how she normally worked. She was so used to peace and not getting herself involved that arguing didn't appeal to her anymore. "I see your point but it is unlikely unless you goad them, like I said. If you think this cycle is so bad, then why hasn't it collapsed even once in the past several thousand years? Nevertheless, be careful. I'm not threatening you, just a good-natured warning. Be careful at who you stir up and who you put down. I'd think you were intentionally rallying a revolution if I didn't know any better."

Had Osamu been aware of Yue’s internal machinations and her opinions on communism he would likely have challenged them, and blamed failures more on internal mismanagement and ideologically motivated aggressive foreign policy, which simply was not a concern for the soul society. But since she did not voice her thoughts he could not respond to them. Her voiced concerns however, he did respond to. “Our history is patchy at best, we don’t know there were not attempted uprisings. Even if there weren’t there is a first time for everything. I won’t say I hope you are right. For people to want to stay like that seems wrong on every level, from self-interest and morality to plausibility. If you are right and they want to stay squatting in the filth then I might leave them there. It would grieve me to do so. I know I can help. I’ve been designing it for decades. But if leaving them there helps stop a civil war I may inadvertently spark then so be it. It’s against almost every moral fiber of my being but peace is worth a lot. Even if I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror. But I’m not convinced you are right. I believe we are being presented with a unique set of circumstances and I have been keeping track of the Rukongai and its inhabitants for a very long time. I have never heard dissatisfaction on this level nor have I read of it in historical accounts. Why not set things in motion to ease things just in case?” Osamu gave a sigh. “As for your warning. I’ll take it as being as good natured as you claim rather than a veiled threat. It plays to my ego to think you might actually quite like to keep me alive.” He cracked an odd sort of smile at her before he continued. “I’d like to see a revolution, or rather the society that would follow a successful one. But I am not treasonous enough to cause one intentionally.” Part of him wondered if it was because he wasn’t brave enough instead but he couldn’t afford to dwell too much on that now. There was time for hating himself later.

Again, Monty returned and Osamu took the stick. This time however, he did not throw it for his hound to chase. Instead he tossed it up and down in his hand a few times before saying to Yue in an offhand manner. “Catch.” He tossed it to her with a gentle under arm throw, the dog going after it. “Throw it about a bit, he likes you.” From the great wet panting of the shaggy beast it seemed Osamu was right, then again only Osamu really understood that dog.

Yue caught the stick with a small movement and the dog raced after it - namely, towards her. It really did look like it was doing to chomp up her small hand accidentally or deliberately so making sure there was enough space between the dog and herself, she hurled the stick much farther than Osamu originally had in order to keep to dog chasing and busy. It would be a while before it came back.

Pacing around slightly Osamu continued to explain his actions and motivations. “I want to stop that civil war and so far as I can see there are two ways to do it. One is both morally abhorrent and entirely impracticable and that is to slaughter the Rukongai, every district except a select few at the top. Every man, woman and child would have to be put to the sword. Our infrastructure would then collapse and we all die anyway. Plus you can never exterminate a whole population. People have an annoying habit of surviving. The second option is to give them at least some of what they want and hope it calms the mob. That is what I am doing and what I intend to do. Of course I am doing many other things as well, like trying to win a war and make sure things are run as well as humanly possible but I get the feeling this is what you’re really worried about.”

"They have what they need. That's why there's barely been a revolution, unless there was one individual looking to stir them up. I'm sure they didn't do it intentionally but they did it." Yue replied, still keeping much of her opinions to herself. She'd already started subconsciously altering her outer ideals to suit Osamu more, if only to avoid conflict. There was no point arguing with him, nor giving out her true opinion as it was kept getting rebutted back again and again.. "As to your previous statement, I never said they were content. I said they were used to it. All that filth can be taken away simply by cleaning up the area and renovating houses that need to be." It was simple logic, really, and Yue didn't know why Osamu hadn't considered it. It would be much more effective and safer to improve the Rukongai resident's lives by increasing their standard of living with logical measures rather than overthrowing the entire system and building a new one, with possibly only one man standing on top of it all. Kuroda would've never allowed it, let alone the Central 46 and the Soul King.

"Once you break that cycle it spins out of control. Building hospitals and schools is all fine and I would support such a movement but rallying for equality is not a smart move. Public hospitals with good resources after the war as well as schools is an honorable deed but I really do wish you wait until the war is over and even then, leave everything like social status as is. Once they're educated and kept healthy and clean it's more than enough. You could even set up open markets and shops and setting them onto even the smallest of jobs so that they can earn their keep and while some won't take kindly to it it might work as long as you don't change too much, like social standing and family dealings." With that, Yue paused, and could hear the dog coming back. Hopefully it'd run up to Osamu and not her. "A civil war is worst kind of war. Believe me, nothing good will happen out of it. If you do goad them enough and they start an uprising, you might just swallow your words when most of them die in the act."

Osamu gave a little shrug and began pacing about again in almost every direction, though he was slowly getting closer and closer to Yue by a very indirect route. “Of course, I can’t give them what they want yet. I don’t have those resources at my disposal quite yet, but I will once the occupation is done. I can give them proper sanitation at last, create and enforce building codes, build schools and hospitals for all create a system where I guarantee everyone food and emergency shelter. Bring law and justice to the streets, build good and fair courts for the plebs. You claim you climbed up out of the shit. Good, I’m glad for you. But remember what it was like and if by some chance you did well out of it remember it’s every victim. You are not a cruel woman, callus at time perhaps but not evil. We have the power and the opportunity to do something about it. How can we not stop our fellow man from suffering when the means are at our disposal? Even if that doesn’t motivate you it might stop a war and that’s reason enough.”

Yue sighed, already tiring. But her lack of opposition was already paying off as she sensed he was close to dropping the subject. "That's all very noble and honorable but like I said, don't mess with social status, the law and justice. You'd have to be a high-ranking individual and even the Soul King himself in order to change laws like you want to and I seriously advise you against it. It's not me nor my personal opinion but everything and everyone else. Do something that benefits them but not change their way of life. Good and fair courts means more legal battles than you can imagine. That'll only disregard equality and allow revenge and such things to blossom. But as far as I'm concerned, schools, hospitals and shelter are good points I'm sure all four Noble houses would stand for." As long as he didn't go too far Yue didn't see the problem with it. But that was the issue - he did plan on going too far, he did want too much. And there was nothing Yue could say or do to dissuade him.

He could have ended things there. It was a powerful argument, or so he thought. He had intentionally omitted his third reason for doing the things he had described but he did not think that would sway Yue so he remained silent. It wasn’t anything to do with power, ambition, pride or revenge. It was something far purer yet far more terrifying than any of that. But that was a thought no one else in the whole world was privy to and he had mastered hiding it long ago. Still. He needed to tell Yue a few other things, to be fair to her. He respected her too much to omit it.

Looking at her he locked eyes with her for a few moments, clearly making an assessment of some description before saying slowly but confidently. “I know Yukihiro and Ichigawa do not see eye to eye on a great many topics. I also know you are engaged to Ichigawa Ryuusei. I don’t know why, I can guess but I don’t know and it’s not particularly my affair to know.” He sounded a little sad when he said that but he didn’t draw any attention to it and kept the conversation moving. He meanwhile, had drawn quite close by now and was speaking more quietly, standing still a little way off to her side. “I bring this up because I might be about to tread on some toes but I respect you too much to shield you from it. I need you too much as well. You have seen what I have done to the Ichigawa, what I am doing and what I have to keep on doing. I’m replacing them. Reducing their house to an irrelevance and no one even wants to stop me. Soon they will be powerless, a foot note in the history books. It’s all quite legal. I employ more lawyers than anyone else now and they have kept me on the right side of things. It has to be done. They are the single house that is most responsible for the looming war, millennia of neglect brought us here and they were the ones doing the neglecting. Even if they were to try and fix it now, it’s too late for them. They lack the skills, experience, resources and respect. A kind, good and selfless man could come from that house but as long as he has that name the people will not listen. Their house is not only useless it is dangerous. You should hear how people talk about them. I am able to do their job, for now. But I will not live forever. When I die a system must be in place in order to replace me, maybe even replace me before I die.”

Stepping away slightly, Yue drew herself farther from Osamu but turned to face him. His mention of her engagement didn't bring back pleasant memories - no, far from it. She'd only spoken to Ryuusei several times over the years and never in private, so she feared the implications of marriage. Her long sleeves weren't just for decor; they hid the symbol of the unwanted commitment that was rarely, if ever, seen by others. However, that ring symbolised much more than that. It stood for the Ichigawa's triumphant victory, the proof of their subtle yet effortlessly effective sabotage. Ryuusei might not have been a fighter but he had a much more dangerous weapon at his disposal. Yue normally wouldn't attribute traits and skills as genetic but the way it surfaced in each and every Ichigawa member, especially the with the Head's family was frankly, quite alarming.

Yue smile changed to a slightly more amused one, yet one could still see the sadness behind it if they looked closely enough. "I'm not the right person you should be telling this to, Iwakura-san, though my father would likely treat you to tea or something. Like you said, I'm engaged and therefore, in 200 years, I'm going to be a part of that family as an Ichigawa. There's no escaping it, really, but that's not something I want to talk about. But I want to ask you a question. How do you think Kazuhiro got my father to marry me to his son?" The Ichigawa and Yukihiro naturally hated each other and didn't even bother hiding it. There was nothing noble in their actions, only hate that was gladly reciprocated. The engagement had come off as such as surprise that people had immediately dismissed it as a rumor, started by one party in order to humiliate the other. However, though Yue knew the true motives of the two Houses, it had little to no effect rendering the agreement practically useless.

Osamu’s answer to her question was relatively flat and matter of fact. “He’s smart and ambitious. I don’t have the spies in noble houses I would like, so facts about the intricacies of your arrangements elude me. But the grudge between your families is legendary. I doubt he threatened or intimidate your father into it. That seems like a game your father is more likely to win.” Osamu was tempted to call the man her adopted father but opted not to, again that seemed like a pointless antagonism for now. “I doubt it was for the promise of peace. Your father and family don’t seem like the types to be interested in that. Which leaves two alternatives. Profit and blackmail. Every family has something they can be blackmailed over but if I knew what that thing was for your family then it wouldn’t be of any value as a blackmail weapon. Profit, whilst plausible, seems unlikely. I doubt your father would essentially sell off one of his own for a profit. He seems to have too much pride for that and, love him or hate him, he does seem to look out for the well-being of your family as a whole. What is clear is the Ichigawa have been clever. But I think I know where you are going with this. Your warning me of the Ichigawa ability to which my response is, I don’t care. I know I’m able, I know I’m clever and I’m determined. What’s more I am right. I’m winning and I’m going to keep on winning. They can’t be allowed to do their job anymore and I’m not going to let them stand. By hook or by crook they are going to lose their importance. They’ve been too busy focusing on you Yukihiro they never saw me coming out of left field.”

In response, Yue laughed softly, shaking her head. For what, he probably wouldn't discern. Amusement? Pity? Disagreement? Perhaps a combination of all of those, more or less. "You're off by a mile, Iwakura-san, and I don't blame you. Profit and blackmail are viable options and indeed are integrated into the agreement to an extent. But it's insignificant as compared to what the Ichigawa have done. It blows any ulterior motives my father has out of proportion by a long shot. I admire and even respect your confidence and if I hadn't known any better, I would have wagered on you."

"But," The word stalled and held the tension until Yue was sure Osamu was itching for her to continue. "If the Ichigawa are as useless as they are, why are they still in the top spot? Surely they would've been knocked out at some point, right? I suspect one thing and I personally am not happy with it: they're letting you win. They're simply biding their time because I know they're clever. Some much more than you and I combined. Furthermore, they have the Central 46 wrapped around their finger. They're diplomats. And while there are many diplomats out there, the Ichigawa are at the top for a reason. Do you know how many revolutions they have prevented? How many times they've convinced the Central 46 of changing laws and statuses, often for the better? If they let you edge them out, they can come crashing back with full force. You aren't going to have the Central 46 on your side, are you? Nor 3 Noble houses? When push comes to shove, my family are most likely going to support the Ichigawa because of this engagement." At this point, she was skirting around the real ability of the Ichigawa, unrivaled by even the most talented speaker.

"Further more, you can't erase an entire clan that has been around for tens of thousands of years, nor can you overlook their numerous other duties such as managing the Academy, acting as lawyers, passing laws and their position in the government. I doubt you're going to want to do all that and on top of that, no matter how good you are or can be in the next five thousand years, they have one dangerous thing over you: they're as persuasive as can be. They have stopped countless civil conflicts, wars and revolutions merely with words. They're capable of causing great damage, whether political or social and even personal, if they wish and I doubt you want them on your back. I don't support them but this is another warning. Don't underestimate them. How do you think Kazuhiro got his worst enemy hand over his only daughter and heir over to them, thereby ending the current family line? Yes, another from a different branch of the family can take over but with me married off, it ends there. So does his pride. Otou-sama is an extremely stubborn man, Iwakura-san. How do you think that happened?"

He sighed and summoned himself, he knew this was going to be the part Yue was going to have the most difficulty swallowing but it was for that very reason he had to bring it up. He both wanted and needed to be honest with her. If he concealed things now and then they came to light latter her wrath would, he believed, be both inevitable and mighty. “The Ichigawa brought the system into such disrepute it might not survive. If I can calm the people with a notable increase in their living standards, security and social guarantees then good. We will have peace and order and we can end it there. It will not be truly fair or just but it will be peace and that’s the most important thing. But I’m not confident the people will stop there. They might want to rule themselves to some degree. If a revolution comes they will want to go the whole way, kill the noble families, put an end to inherited responsibility, get rid of the central 46, establish their own government and make every man, including shinigami, subject to it. It does not particularly matter if you think this is good or bad, impossible or possible. They will push for it as hard as they can if it erupts into a full-fledged war. In order to prevent this war it may be necessary to surrender some powers to the people. Particularly the powers held by the Ichigawa and some legislative authority held by the central 46.” He let the point sink in for a few moments, his tone was serious and he had a face to match. He clearly did not relish this. His was not the face of an idealistic, firebrand rebel. Some young man with dreams of justice, it was far too heavy for that. True he would not mourn the death of any part of the old order but you could tell that was not his motive.

“I hope it does not come to that as it will be a tremendous task and I fear the central 46 might be even more stubborn than you.” Clearly a little bit of levity had crept back in after he had made his main point. He even smiled slightly again. “It would be a mad, uphill struggle and I will do everything in my power to make the masses happy with what I can give them. It would not be real justice but I want to stop a war even more than I want to build a fair world and pressuring the central 46 is liable to be a spark for the civil war I fear. But if the people calmer it must be done. We are looking into the future at an event I will move mountains to prevent but I would not be being truly honest with you if I did not share with you the plan for this highly undesirable contingency.”

Walking away from her, back turned in a subtle but profound gesture of trust he held his arms open slightly and gave a great shrug before letting them flop to his side. “You can’t blame them really, if they do chose to go that far. Born in the gutter you’re fated to die in the gutter for most of them, no matter what their skills and soul. Men aren’t allowed to climb up. Even the very rare few who become shinigami run against prejudice their whole lives and should they manage to become captain commander by some insane miracle they still don’t have any real power. No legislative authority, no ability to alter society. They have no voice. This exclusion applies to everyone of almost every class aside form a very select few. A very select few who were chosen because some absent king picked their ancestors long ago and ever since then we have been ruled by virtue of who squirted who into who’s womb more than by skill and character. True some are picked.” He said gesturing to Yue casually. “But they are only picked by men and women born into their positions. True, the system occasionally produces good results but it produces bad ones more often. Just look at the mess the Ichigawa made of it all. Sex and birth are no basis on which to run the world and these people enjoy insane levels of legal protection and privilege. I’m amazed the masses haven’t chopped everyone’s head off already.”

Turning to face her he sighed but smiled and said. “But that’s a revolution I am trying to stop, as I have already explained. I appreciate the morality of it all but like you my edge is tempered by life and reality. Things become far more nuanced. I hope you can see that I’m not some mad dog rebel out to overthrow the whole order. Nor am I out for myself or my own power. I don’t serve a family, a noble house, the central 46, the king. I don’t even really serve the common man though I do hold them close to my heart. I serve the soul society. With all the paranoia, the bickering, the fear, greed, love and hate people seem to have forgotten about her. I serve the realm. Someone has to.”

Yue accepted it well enough, nodding slightly in response every few seconds. It was the way things had always been, though. Too much equality often brought injustice despite the logical rationality of it not being so when the plan was originally drafted. There were too many examples of that in human history for Yue to ignore the possibility which in turn was already high, up to 95 percent. "I see your point but it has always been like this. People have learned to live with it. Social status is more than just a name and something that isn't as easily earned as you'd think. Yes, birth dictates your potential in life but you shouldn't think people of higher standing have it easier. Those who are born and have everything given to them on a silver platter but don't work hard for it are not only judged and ostracized by not only the rest but their own families too but are often cast away. You have to work for it. Our duty has been dictated for such a long time that sacrifices are often necessary. Sacrificies that will probably ruin your life but improve others'. Arranged marriages, constant training, manners, formality, events, occasions, burials, everything. It's so tiring that sometimes I can't even stand it. I don't want to marry Ryuusei as I prefer another and I can't change the agreement nor my feelings. But it's my duty as a part of the Yukihiro clan and I can't change it. Nor can others."

"That brings me to my last point. I agree with you on social prejudice and the unfortunate reality of where you're born that you can't control. It's not fair, but nothing is fair. As long as you work hard enough, you can achieve anything. I've come across so many people with personal obstacles that they've overcome with sheer willpower. It's all in your head and it can become reality if you work hard enough for it." To many it seemed she had gotten the golden ticket out of Rukongai but it wasn't so. If she hadn't worked hard and dedicated the rest of her life to training, no doubt she'd have been cast out. It was thanks to people like Akimoto and his son, Kouta, that she had managed to succeed. If they hadn't pushed her past her breaking point, the chance that she would've been standing there having a chat with Osamu would be slim to none.

Yue’s various pleas, arguments, warnings and statements were effective. Not 100% effective but effective none the less. Osamu still thought he was right but he was more open to the possibility that maybe, just maybe, he was wrong. Certainly Yue was making some sense and he agreed that she had some perspectives and experience that she did not, just as the reverse was true. Osamu was not a man used to making fundamental concessions. He was used to trade and barter, give and take but not compromising on his fundamental nature or his overreaching goals. He looked distinctly uncomfortable for a few moments and when Monty came running up with his stick Osamu gladly took the excuse to put his attention somewhere else for a few moments. Rather than just throwing the stick he engaged in a little tug of war with his dog, a tug of war Osamu could easily have won but he let his dog put up a good fight before Osamu wrenched the stick free and threw the stick again. Whereupon he looked at Yue, then looked at his feet and sighed deeply.

She was starting to feel slightly concerned for him and her smile dropped, prompting her to step closer and watch him with concern, contemplating on whether to ask if he was alright or not.

He stayed like that for about three long seconds before looking up at her and engaging her with a look of seriousness and conviction. “All right. I’m not convinced you are right, only time will convince me of that. I still think the worst is coming but you make several good points and as I have already said, my primary motive is avoiding a civil war or minimising the damage from one I cannot prevent.” His stomach was in knots, he felt like he was going to throw up, his head ached but he kept it all well contained and presented a calm façade that only an expert could see was slightly cracking at the edges. “I’ll slow down. A lot. I’m not scrapping those more radical plans yet but I’ll put them in cold storage as it were. We’ll go with the schools, hospitals, work programs and other key quality of life programs whilst leaving the social order essential untouched. Perhaps something akin to a plebs court to deal with Rukongai issues only could be established. But I’ll back of the bigger affairs for now. If you are right and they are satisfied with that then… so be it. I’ll stop there.” Though even now his mind was pulling in a thouand different directions on this point. He was oddly silent for a few moments, clearly he wanted to say more but it would have been something of an unseemly emotional outpouring and he oddly he cared a bit too much about Yue’s opinion of him to do that just yet.

Instead he kept himself in check and after a moment of gathering himself he continued. “I don’t think they will stop but I’ll avoid putting the other elements of the plan into action until I know they need more, rather than just thinking it.” This was a big concession for Osamu, though he could set his pride aside in small matters, such as insults and jokes, easily enough this was huge to him. Furthermore Yue had to realise he had spent decades preparing this. It was a huge personal sacrifice. He looked at her for some good long time, his gaze suggested now was not the time for her to be leaving. Not just yet. He diverted the issue for a moment and declared in a slightly lighter tone. “Of course this still means taking on the Ichigawa, even with the reduced plan they stand in my way. They are still going to have to go. I believe I can manage this myself without disrupting the social order to the degree where upheaval becomes likely. You never know, I could quite literally replace them. The Ichigawa could become the Iwakura. Stranger things have happened.” He was smiling and laughing by the time he had finished that sentence and though he said it in jest the thought was in his head now, where it would sit and fester. “Still, you clan and theirs have no great love for one another. If anything you should support me in this particular endeavor.”

There was nothing Yue could've liked hearing better and it brought back her smile, significantly increasing its brightness. "You don't know how glad I am to hear that, Iwakura-san. I certainly hope you can achieve your goal of hospitals and schools, you can consider me on board with that." Though the fleeting thought of him trying more crossed her mind more than once, Yue decided to push it to the back of her mind and address it later. There was no point in dwelling on it now, not when there was a far more important thing to worry about, she realized with growing horror. She'd unwillingly and quite accidentally revealed her origins. It wouldn't be enough to reveal anything more; any digging he would do would be useless, as there was no record of Sakurai Miyuki - she didn't exist. Nevertheless, it truly alarmed her and it showed on her features the more she thought about it.

"Still, I cannot see how getting rid of the Ichigawa will benefit society, nor how it will be possible. Those diplomats are necessary and you might just sorely need them at some point. Trust me, if you haven't yet come face-to-face with an Ichigawa, consider yourself lucky because they might just make you your own worst enemy. They're indispensable, even my father will admit it as long as they stay far away from him. I personally don't like them and I might not mind seeing them as individuals go but they have a gift that isn't worth getting rid of." Here, she paused, her mind still filled with worry. "Though I don't see how you'll manage to make a family big enough to be considered a clan in the next two thousand years." Her tone changed to a slightly lighter one, though not less serious. He wasn't married yet and while he possibly would in the near future, Yue couldn't see him with a large enough family, especially if they had medium to large reiryoku reserves, to call a Clan. Additionally, he wasn't noble enough, unless he married a woman from the other three families.

Yue’s fear that Osamu may attempt more was well placed, he desperately wanted to go further but he took Yue’s cautions seriously. If going further really would cause a civil war rather than avert one, well then, he might just have to stop. Perhaps, if he thought he could win the war, he would go further. A generation of blood was worth the change, perhaps. But these were questions Osamu would have to wrestle with personally, deep in the night. She could however, rest easy for now. As things stood he would stop where he said he would. However, he was clearly not as happy with things as Yue now seemed to be and her pledge of support for his frankly paltry measures rang hollow and mocking. Even if it was genuine it seemed to taunt him. One thing was for sure, he was going to have trouble looking in the mirror tonight. He felt sick and wretched, he felt like he had just betrayed countless thousands, millions even. That he had somehow sold them out. The moral core at the center of his being was twisting and writhing in both pain and protest and he was only just keeping it locked down. He even felt a sense of loss, not of defeat but more akin to the death of something. On the surface he did not smile as she did, he could not even bringing himself to force a smile. Instead he nodded calmly and wordlessly at her pledge of support. He seemed in control but something about his face was wrong. He looked like a man who had just been told that a family member had died and who was ramming the emotional reaction down, deep down to maintain control and decency.

The worried reaction she was displaying at her slip up did not elude him, as sullen as he may have been he kept an eye open. He knew something had gone wrong and perhaps he could hazard some guesses as to what but he did not know anything for certain. He filled that information away in the archive of his mind and made a note to perhaps do something about it soon but for now his mind was darting about in too many directions to focus on that.

At this point, she intently noted Osamu's defeated reaction. All the apprehension she'd felt towards him attempting more rushed up all at once but it wasn't enough to squash down her empathy. She genuinely felt sorry for the man and though it wasn't enough to make her go along with his grand plans of pushing down nobility, Yue felt the urge to comfort him through a reassuring smile, though she maintained her distance.

He fixed her with that oddly heavy look again. Monty came up to his master but rather than throw the stick Osamu just gently gestured for the hound to sit, where Osamu absentmindedly tickled him behind the ears. “Permission to say something personal.” He waited for her answer, he wasn’t about to take liberties with what he was about to say with Yue being amenable to it. Plus he was about to ta subject she didn't want to discuss head on but he felt he had to do it. Yue nodded in response, her mind already far off of the meeting, eager to return back to her Division. A question or two couldn't hurt her more than this meeting could've.

“Your fiancé. If you love him, fine. I wish you the best of luck, happy life, many children and so on. But if you don’t or if the cost is too high for your liking don’t damn well do it you fool. You can hit me for that statement if you like.” That last sentence was said like a joke but you could tell by Osamu’s tone that he was using humour and levity to ease a difficult topic. “Set aside family duty for a moment you are a Captain of the 13 divisions. We do a damn hard job for a damn small reward and it’s a damn important job to. We deserve some basic happiness in our lives. We can’t all get it but we shouldn’t lie down when misery is forced upon us and I certainly don’t want to see you subjected to that. Disregard any family duty you may have for a moment and ask yourself. Do you want it? If yes then good, and as I said, feel free to hit me.” There was that humour again. “But if no then let’s find a way to get you out of it. I’m assuming you would have tried point blank non cooperation but I know there are other ways. I’ve weaseled me and my sister out of enough arranged marriages to know it can be done. Certainly don’t let the Ichigawa force your hand. Besides, if I keep on going as I am going they won’t be any position to force your or your family to do anything soon. But you deserve to be happy.” He let it hang there, keeping her locked with eye contact. His tone had been dripping in sincerity when not forcing humour. He wagered she would just walk off which would be a shame. Agreement and violence were also realistic options. He also knew the two had other things to discuss but that could wait for a different day. Today, this topic was the only weighty thing left to talk about.

Had she been anyone else, Yue would've slapped Osamu for he hit too close to home for comfort. But what he said was, in fact, true. How could someone love a stranger? Yue doubted her non-existent feelings for Ryuusei would change even through marriage because while she hadn't told him - or anyone else for that matter - she knew he preferred another just like she did. The chance of infidelity was not too high yet they were both careening toward a disastrous marriage with no brakes. Yue herself would never have cheated as it went against her morals but Ryuusei... she couldn't tell.

"I think it's obvious to anyone who knows us both can tell that I don't love him. He's a stranger to me, a stranger that I'll have to marry sooner or later. But I'm willing to do so if it gets rid of the animosity between our Houses. If it benefits my family, I'll do it." She'd been selfish countless times before, mostly prior to being adopted. But her compassionate nature often thought of the greater good and the benefits. It was a matter of personal sacrifice that she was willing to take in order to see others happy. That was one of the drawbacks of being much too soft and compassionate but Yue couldn't stifle it down like most others did in the face of an unwanted event. "I'm thankful for what you said and what you think. I won't feel as heavy anymore, knowing that someone could see through the greater good and see what it really is for. But even if I wanted to, I couldn't. It's a binding contract hidden somewhere. It'll have to be terminated by both Heads agreeing in an unanimous decision." At this point she looked away and drew her light, blue-green eyes up towards the sky. Light, poofy clouds floated against the blue backdrop, bringing with it a sign that it was probably going to rain that night.

"I'd have strongly preferred someone else I already have feelings for but it doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Yue laughed lightly. It was forced, yes, but still sounded natural. She applauded herself for the ability to overlook her fate but it hadn't been so in the beginning, having left the room in tears. The following days had been tear-filled, sorrowful and lonely as the rumors circulated and people congratulated her left and right. "Out of curiosity, though, how did you get yourself and your sister out of marriages?" It wouldn't apply to her, of course, but Yue was genuinely curious. Osamu hadn't struck her as one to be married away.

Her mention that it was likely that both family heads would have to agree made the machinery necessary to break off the marriage far more complex but still a workable machine. Her mention of her already having feelings for another man made Osamu raise an eyebrow as he instinctively said. “Wh..” He didn’t even finish saying the word who, as he raised a hand and said in firm but apologetic tone. “No, none of my business. That might become relevant later on but it’s nothing that needs to be divulged now.” If the identity of this mystery love interest would become important to the plan he would ask. Otherwise it was for her to say, when and if she ever wanted to. He did not laugh or even crack a sympathetic and easing smile when she forced her own laughter. He was taking this far too seriously. When she asked how he got out of the marriages he looked at her and paused to think for a moment.

Yue smiled serenly, though it did make her face color slighly, a light pink that stood out against her pale skin. She didn't divulge that particular bit of information much and wasn't used to admitting it - in fact, today had been the first time she'd said it out loud. It was slightly uncomfortable to do so and to come to terms with but she knew the inevitable couldn't be avoided. Though most suspected nothing between them, it was far from the truth concerning her feelings. It was a double-edged sword, however, bringing home the fact that it could never happen. It was Ryuusei she would be betrothed to, though - luckily, in 200 years. There was still time to avoid the man.

Osamu was pleased to see her smile like that, with some colour added to her cheeks. He was secretly a little disappointed not to know the identity of the true target of her affections but he could live in ignorance of that for now, for her sake.

Osamu had taken Yue’s previous warnings about the power of the Ichigawa seriously, he would adapt as a result of them but he remained undeterred. Ideas were flashing up in his head already. Most of them bad ideas that were swiftly rejected but a bit here and a bit there might survive the intellectual cull and slowly something resembling the skeleton of a plan was already coming into being. Of course the stakes were too high to be rash and hasty so he would reflect on his designs in private for a while before even mentioning them to those who would be the closest confidants in his scheme. These thoughts were still in his mind when she talked about her doomed and seemingly inevitable marriage. It pained him to see her surrender herself in this fashion. He didn’t know the woman well. The vast majority of their time together had consisted of one slightly heated meeting and one surprisingly civil argument. Perhaps the woman had managed to erect a truly stupendous lie through the whole proceedings but he doubted that. Certainly he hoped that was not the case. Never the less, no matter what the truth of things she had garnered respect and an odd sort of fondness from the man and he knew that he did not want her to plunge head long into this misery.

Her devotion to her family’s interests was admirable, and though Osamu thought it was slightly misplaced that was not an argument he wanted to have. Besides, it would likely only frustrate her and he was not here to do that, not on this topic anyway. “I understand your willingness to sacrifice. It’s odd where we draw our lines. I’m willing to be poor, hated, imprisoned, vilified in history, despised by my family, send my whole family to prison or the executioners block, die cold and alone in a forgotten shack in a forgotten slum, all for the cause. But I won’t marry for it. Odd. It’s inconceivable to me.” He caught himself about to go into a rant on the evils of arranged marriages, words like slavery and prostitution came to mind but he stopped himself. He didn’t need to convince Yue and such descriptions would likely only upset her. What he needed to do was find her a way out.

"Well, as long as he or she leaves you alone and doesn't force you to do anything, I think it's fine." Yue wasn't really convinced much herself, making her argument sound slightly weaker and unsure. Countless other features of marriages, most unavoidable, surfaced and drifted through her mind, nearly breaking her controlled exterior. But it wasn't enough to dissuade her from doing her duty. If it meant spending the next thousand years with a man she barely knew, then so be it.

Osamu’s heart twisted slightly at Yue’s desperate attempt to justify to him, and perhaps herself, that the arranged marriage would not be that bad. When she made the delicate but obvious reference to sex Osamu’s soul groaned slightly. He didn’t let it out of his mouth, that would have seemed patronizing. What made it worse though was the fact Yue must have known she wasn’t getting out of her sexual obligations and was engaging in pointless denial. Refusal to consent at all was grounds for a dissolution of a marriage and if it was broken up almost as soon as it was formed then the whole thing would have been pointless. She was going to have to lie down and take it and this idea infuriated Osamu. He had known it all along but now his attention had been called to it, it was really rubbing him the wrong way. Essentially they were talking about rape, it was clear Yue wanted no part in things and Osamu viewed it as worse than murder. The wheels of Osamu’s rage were starting to spin faster and faster but he kept it all under control. His resolve however, had only be strengthened. He did however, slowly shake his head a Yue and the message was clear. It said ‘if you marry you know you aren’t getting out of that particular obligation.’

Relaxing a tad he squatted down and tousled Monty for a while before throwing the stick again. “My father is an ambitious social climber. Never one to accept limits on what one’s station is or what a man is meant to do. I suppose I get that from him but we aim at very different targets. Plus, he kind of think he’s the only one that should be unrestricted, but I’m getting off topic. My family doesn’t need for money. We’re well off and if we ever end up short we are very good at making more. I’d wager we could outspend some nobles, though not the big four. In the space of my life time we went from modestly wealthy to really rather wealthy. But we never had class. He married into class though, relatively minor nobility but nobility none the less. He bought his way in, got them out of a financial tailspin whilst they still had decent assets and got an heiress wife as part of the fee.” Osamu suddenly chuckled slightly, two amusing thoughts struck him simultaneously. Neither of which he voiced. One was the fact that he suddenly realised that Yue, in some respects, reminded him of his mother. Meekly surrendering herself for the good of the family to a man she barely knew. The other was the fact that he had more noble blood in his veins than her, after all she was adopted, yet he was the one who had the poorest relationship with the nobles. He felt that neither the comparison not the reminder that she was adopted would be particularly kind here so his laughter went unexplained. He wished he could have kept it inside but it crept up on him too quickly. Instead he just waved an apologetic hand and kept going.

Returning to the matter at hand he cast a sideways glance at Yue, smiling slightly. “Good old dad is a force of nature and was determined all three of his children should marry up. As the first born I was the prime cut of meat for the market. His first attempt was before I even took up the sword. I stamped on that one by exploiting the fact that the girl’s mother had a soft heart, it was the father who was behind the arranged marriage. I made it very clear to the girl in question that I would make her miserable. I intentionally made every moment we had together agony, I was an utter ogre, whilst simultaneously putting her in situations where she would meet lots of dashing young men. Then through bribed servants, the fact I knew the daughter would go to mother and an absolute model of a man I paid to pour affection over the young woman I created a situation where the mother was absolutely livid with the whole state of afairs. I got a lot of stick but I didn’t care. The girl’s father got more and he was weak willed. He gave up under the hen pecking. That solution won’t work here at all though. By the way, I hear the girls happily married now with two young boys so that worked out well.”

He cast his eyes to the sky as he remembered the second occasion, taking in the same clouds Yue had been looking at so intently mere moments ago. “Number two was a twist on the same approach, but I appealed to wallets rather than hearts. Only reason people would marry us, other than love, is money so I just had to find someone eligible, willing and richer. It was a minor chap from a sub branch of one of the big four. I just got into social situations with the identified bachelor and his parents and kept talking up the marketable qualities of the girl I wanted to lose without seeming too obvious. It took a while but it worked eventually. As soon as that family started sniffing around the girl’s parents dropped my family like a hot brick.” Osamu contemplated things for a moment before saying. “Without wishing to sound base I reckon you are fetching a very high price indeed, not necessarily in coin but in other, more valuable things. Finding someone worth more than you and trying to do a switch probably won’t work. A shame you had to be so valuable.” He grinned slightly at her, it was an odd compliment, wrapped in a joke, but a compliment none the less. Still, he did not dwell on it and continued with his stories.

“After that father decided to drop trying to sell me off, decided I couldn’t be managed. I had shot down several more attempts buy being a stubborn, immovable jack ass. Those two were just the serious threats. However, father decided to move onto a softer target, my sister. Fun fact, you want me to break your neck just touch my sister.” He gave a little chuckle again followed by a sigh as he moved slightly close to Yue with a long, casual and comfortable stride. “I’ll sacrifice her for the grand cause but if anything other than that comes close to harming her I’ll rip its arms off and stamp its head into the ground.” All of this was said with a warm, gentle smile. It was clear he was not merely protective of but also fond of his sister and he had good reason to be, the woman doted on him and at times acted more like his big sister than his little one. But that was a conversation for another day. “It swiftly became clear that my sister didn’t want to be married off so I set about sabotaging the thing. I couldn’t do it by assassinating her own character as I had my own the first time. I didn’t want to spoil her prospects in the event she found someone she actually wanted to marry one day. So I had to go on the offensive. First one I near bankrupted. Got hold of various financial information, got my hands on a few of their plans, built up a good picture of their business model and then went about feeding information and advice to their competition, through conduits of course. Better yet the law started sniffing around when a tax irregularity came to light. Even father wouldn’t marry us into poor nobility so that put an end to that.”

In casual, almost vacant tones he continued. “Attempt number two on my sister doesn’t count. I lucked out. Guy got beaten to death buy some intrepid thugs who made it into the good part of town. Likely made more money off of his purse and clothes than they would usually see in a few years. Not my doing.” Then turning to Yue, with an odd smile he said in a manner that made it obvious he was being ridiculous. “Don’t suppose you’re willing to murder a couple people are you, or have them murdered?” Despite his tone he paid attention to Yue’s answer, ready to carefully examine any nuance or subtle and hidden meaning. He guessed her answer would be no, but it might not be.

"If ordered to, I would." No saying who would, or for what otherworldly, strange reason, the Central 46's orders would be carried out. "As much as I would like my hand to just slip over their afternoon tea, I couldn't live with myself having killed an innocent soul." Her gentle nature made itself clear at these words as her tone slipped back to her characteristic soft, gentle voice. All the murder she'd comitted along with countless assassinations had had, in fact, made her feel so guilty that she couldn't sleep at first. But when their crimes came to light - murders of innocent people, rape, thievery of priceless objects and treason - Yue had no qualms with getting rid of them, even if it was achieved by slitting their throats in the dead of the night, leaving behind no sound or trace. Over the years, as she'd climbed up through the ranks of the Second Division, she was already on par with the most skillful of assassins, being the quietest and most maneuverable of the men. Most didn't even know she was there, not even when their lives flashed before their eyes and were met with the telltale light that accompanied death. It was more of a routine, really, one that somehow never got old as the targets always changed.

It was seen as impossible to be a good, honorable and genuinely nice person with no ulterior motives but Yue had learned to live with it. Most outside the Gotei didn't know her Division's specialty enough to judge her as a heartless assassin but the distrustful look she got from some low-ranked Division Shinigami did hurt a bit, especially when she usually wished them a 'Good morning' and got alarmed looks and cautious looks in turn, probably expecting to be made her next target. "I have other people for that, don't worry," She had once replied to an inquisitive yet brave Shinigami that had asked it to her face.

Her response to his question, though serious, was slightly disappointing. Then again, he had never expected to garner any meaningful information from her due to the light tone in which he asked the question. What he really wanted to know was if she would kill on her own initiative, without the approval of the central 46 or the captain commander. Not if she would perform a legal assassination but a cold blooded murder. The answer to that question would have to come later. The answer she gave was vague, she seemed unwilling to kill but he was not sure of the veracity of it.

“Attempt number three on my sister I resolved with blackmail. Every family has skeletons and I made it my business to find theirs. I shan’t go into details. It would break the blackmailer’s code.” He said that last little bit with a smile. “But you would be amazed what the threat of jail time and loss of property under proceeds of crime rules can do to motivate a man. I doubt the Ichigawa have been so stupid as to be in a position to be readily blackmailed by the likes of me but I can send out some sniffers. It does, however, give me an idea for a bigger, more ambitious ruse that might get you out of this particular little problem. But the idea has only just sprung into my mind and I need to think it through.”

Yue laughed, genuinely entertained at the mental images. No doubt Osamu would've gone to such lengths to rid himself of unwanted obstacles but his persistence made her laugh in near-amazement. She wondered what other methods he had under his sleeve, how many other ways he had to ruin an arranged marriage. It would be entertaining, at least, she thought and it was obvious as she continued to laugh softly to herself. "It seems you aren't much of a fan of marriage, are you?" It was a rhetorical question she didn't expect to be answered but nevertheless, it was an question she already knew the answer to. "I'm amazed at how many ways you found to get rid of fiancees though it does certainly sound encouraging to anyone trapped under the weight of one." It did slightly disappoint her to know every method - the financial blackmail, the sabotage and even the murders could have any affect against her own predicament. But Yue did feel happy for Osamu and the fact that he'd gotten away, several times. "Truly ingenious. You certainly seem knowledgable enough to get rid of anything your father cooks up for you and your sister. It almost makes me wish I had a brother like you too."

Whilst Yue might not have expected her question about marriage to be answered, it was answered none the less and it was answered seriously. It was a subject Osamu felt strongly about and though he approached the question with a slightly light hearted air you could tell he meant every word. “No, I take marriage very seriously and I want to be married, long and happy. Children, grandchildren, the unspoken knowledge and bond between two fundamentally compatible souls, the knowledge of struggles endured together and the fact, that at the end of the day there is someone there for you. It’s safety and security, it’s trails and troubles, the odd flaming row, difficult in laws, nights spent worrying about if tomorrow will get worse and the eternal hope that together it might just get better. I want it all and I want to get it right.” Sighing he smiled and looked up slightly. “I take any such emotional commitment seriously, even if it looks like it might all end up fizzling out before marriage. That’s why I fought off those women. I want to be a happy man, a good husband and a good father. I want to be loved and loved in return. So do we all really except mad misanthropes.”

"I'm glad you see it like that, it's nice seeing someone who remembers the values of marriage." Yue replied, giving him a wistful yet sunny smile. Most marriages were now either due to necessity in the case of Rukongai, misjudgement, a prior arrangement in the case of nobles or simply having no other option. It was rare seeing a truly happy married couple - true, everyone went though rough patches at times but it was uncommon to have it work out in the end. His reminder made her wish for one as well, all the potential moments and events running through her mind at an alarming pace. It did make her smile to herself; to love and be loved in return. Osamu really did have his head straight on that one, it was pretty clear he was on the right path unlike most others who never bothered with the seriousness of marriage. Not until they got thrown in an unwilling engagement, anyway.

He gave a little chuckle and sighed at himself again, he was smiling too now and it was a genuine smile, though a self-deprecating one. “That explains why I never really got close to anyone in that regard. Never really had the chance to get to know someone who might fulfill the criteria. Well, that and the great unsightly thing I like to call a nose. Seriously, who would want to marry this face?” Truth be told he wasn't really ugly nor did he think of himself as such. Characterful would have been what he went for but he knew not everyone agreed and he was using this for a bit of a laugh at his own expense. He considered making a crack that Yue might like to volunteer but, given the situation, he thought that might be in bad taste. Instead he gave another laugh before sighing once more, more sadly this time however, before saying with a surprising resolve. “I like you and I wouldn’t give up hope yet.” He then said with a smile and a slight laugh. “You’re right, I am a genius, nice of you to finally notice.” Before returning to more business like tones. “As a genius I think I can cook something up. I have a good track record and believe me those solutions I went through do not constitute my whole bag of tricks. My ideas are not fully formed yet but it’s coming together. I may have to consult with you later on, if it gets deadly and criminal I may distance you from the design so they can’t hurt you later on but as I said, my ideas are half baked at the moment. The oven of my mind works fast but it’s not instant.”

Yue felt slightly uncomfortable at his joke but laughed along good-naturedly anyway for lack of anything else to do, she'd never known what to say when people citicized themselves.It really couldn't have been nice having people judge him for his nose, something he really had no control over. Eventually, she spoke. "Don't say that, any decent woman wouldn't be superficial enough to be unable to look past your appearance," Yue said, her voice denoting her slight disapproval towards such people. While initially it'd been the first thing Yue had noted about him, she'd moved past it a few moments later and she failed to see why others couldn't now. It made her feel a bit emapathetic towards him, knowing that he'd noticed. It really wasn't fair to him, not anyone else.

Not sure whether he was serious or not, Yue laughed along with him on his second statement, preferring not to comment on it. "I'd appreciate it, but you'd get into too much trouble. The Central 46, through the Ichigawa, might even put you on a hitlist just to spite me," The prospect of it was all too-true and the last thing Yue wanted was for someone to die in her name, doing something to try and liberate her. And on top of that, doing the killing herself. No, that couldn't happen. As much as Yue wanted to grasp at one of the last shreds of hope she had, it would kill her inside to see Osamu die for something so insignificant. And it showed on her face, her normally peaceful look now riddled with worry.

Osamu chuckled slightly and smiled. “Don’t worry about it.” Then, realising the accidental insult of her words he said in mock insulted tones. “Look past my appearance? So you agree with them! Well now I am hurt, to think I thought you were different!” He even put on a tiny little pout but a second later his face erupted into a smile as broad as a Cheshire cat and he just laughed. He knew she didn’t mean anything buy it and she probably knew that he did think she was different. So, after a few moments of chuckling he just said. “We both know good men and women are in short supply these days. We have to value the ones we find.” On the face of it that statement may have seemed sad but he was still smiling because, despite their differences, he believed Yue was going to turn out to be a good woman after all.

"You know I don't mean it like that. Appearance, whether attractive or average, plays no part in a relationship. There's nothing weird about your face, as much as you jab me about it." It took effort to keep the amusement out of her voice, well, most of it.

The look of worry on Yue’s face made him worry as well, less for his wellbeing and more for hers, certainly emotionally and perhaps physical to. Furthermore he took her words seriously. To try and ease he worry he just lowered his voice and said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything stupid. I was just thinking out loud.” She really was too good, kind and soft for her own wellbeing, but she could be hard when she needed to be, or so Osamu thought. She was a rare woman indeed. Something worth protecting and making happy. Though he wouldn’t say it quite like that out loud.

Her words about wanting a brother though, moved him yet further and he gave her a long, warm smile. “You may not have brothers but I am determined, whether you like it or not I’m afraid, that you’re going to be my… friend.” The word friend seemed to have difficulty coming off of his tongue, as if it wasn’t quite the word he wanted but had to settle on it in the absence of anything else he could say. “And what are friends if not the family we chose? Maybe I’m not quite as fond of you as I am of my sister yet but she’s got over a century’s head start on you. Either way if I can stamp on this I will, and, if other problems should arise you can come to me. I think you need a… friend even more than I do and believe me I need one.” Again the word friend seemed not to want to come, it seemed childish to Osamu but there was something else, it didn’t seem adequate for what he had planned. But he gave no real sign of any of that, instead another truth about him manifested though the hesitation. He really wasn’t used to saying the word. He had good men behind him but he really didn’t have friends. “Unfortunately for you I may need you at times as well but, for now, you’re getting all the benefits and none of the cost.”

Compared to how they'd started out the meeting, Yue felt her respect for the man go up. Fine, his plans were out of this world and threatening to ruin most of them including Rukongai but she couldn't deny the fact that his hard-working qualities were admirable and paid off. She found herself changing some of her personal opinions of the man, regarding him with more importance and respect than she'd originally had.

Getting slightly closer still to Yue, though not so much as to be uncomfortable he said in hushed and serious tones. “You don’t want to hurt your family, you want to serve them to the best of your ability even if that means marriage. Fine. I can respect that. Well, respect might be the wrong word. I think you’re a damn fool but I’ll work within that criteria. It’s your life, your rules. But I’m not going to just sit back and let you throw the potential for a good and happy marriage later, away. Call me a bleeding heart romantic but I know it’s one of the things we really should do everything in our power to get right. I respect you, value you and….” He then leant in and whispered to her with a little smile. “Don’t tell anyone this but, like you…” Before he leant back and continued speaking at his previous volume. “Too darn much to idly watch you slide into oblivion. If I can get you out of this mess without comprising your family too much I will do it. I’d beg you to be more selfish but that’s not going to work. You’re too nice for that. Your devotion is both apparent and admirable, if frustrating at times. If I can get you out I will. I’m not sure how yet but I have some proto ideas knocking about my head. You are a Captain and a good woman, you deserve better treatment. But it will involve locking heads with Ichigawa, as will the core cause we were discussing earlier.” Taking a step or two back Osamu than paced in a small circle around Yue, a look of deep contemplation on his face. “I need more information, about them, your family, the exact hold they had over your father to get this marriage going rather than just vague warnings about their power. I’m going to need the support of your house and other houses. I’m going to need a lot of things. But I think we might need to reassess the invincibility of the Ichigawa. Mighty, yes, but even titans fall and even if I can't make them fall I can prize a few chunks out of them, you included. You may have opted to give this one up but the Ichigawa haven't beaten me yet. They may one day but let them come. I'll have to be clever about it but it was you who told me mere minutes ago that anything is possible.”

Yue wasn't all that bothered by the closing distance anymore, not as compared to when he'd first started pacing and circling around her like a shark, slowly getting closer. She doubted he'd attack at all, as was evidenced by the contemplative look on his face. It did indeed strike her that when they weren't arguing about something or the other concering 'the cause' and his grand plans, they were quite easy to get along with. And he certainly did move her with his attempts and willingness to help; most wouldn't be bothered with her personal problems, though the marriage was common knowledge. She was still getting congratulated to this day.

"I'm flattered that you do and I respect you just as much, but Ryuusei-san is a good option considering the alternative." Even now Ryuusei's name was unfamiliar on her tongue and it didn't seem to be fading away anytime soon.Up until now, Yue hadn't shared the last bit that cemented everything into place. "It seems I've had a growth spurt, because Otou-sama is considering me ready for marriage. Even if it somehow breaks between Ichigawa, he'll marry me either to some other noble or worse, to a Yukihiro. Have you seen my family men?" Perhaps a stupid question, but a necessary. Yukihiro Hayate, before his death, had been a prime candidate as Yue's future husband and he'd certainly made it clear enough that he liked the arrangement. She did feel a bit bad at not regretting his painful death but she knew there were more in line, patiently waiting. There was no saying what they would do, compared to Ryuusei. "My father has said he wants a strong heir. Ryuusei-san is obviously an exception but if that plan of theirs goes down the drain, there are more to take his place to 'produce a strong heir', a direct quote from Otou-sama. For all it's worth, I hope the kid comes out scrawny." The last bit, Yue smiled wryly yet sadly to herself, imagining a child - a young male version of her as slender and graceful as she, something Isao would definitely spit at.

Osamu had not been blind to the potential that she might be swiftly sold off again, but it did not deter him. Yue had sold the Ichigawa as the ultimate threat, if he could break them then he could break any other candidates who came forward. A marriage within the Yukihiro’s would be an interesting challenge though to say the least. But he did not let that private doubt surface. “If I can break the Ichigawa then I can break anyone I damn well please and I’ll keep on breaking them until you get what you want and deserve.” A degree of vitriol had crept into his voice, aggression and confidence were both obvious but it was just as obvious that none of this was directed at Yue. “You will get what you want and I believe any such marriage or resultant child can still serve your family, fulfilling all of your criteria” His tone was firm and the way he hit the word ‘will’ left little room for doubt.

"It's not as easy as you think. You can be arrested for meddling. Plus, they're pretty strong... I'm sure you've seen them, haven't you?" Size nor strength didn't bother Yue in the least, nor did appearance. It was their violent, forceful and demanding personalities as a whole that put her off to a large degree. Still, his words gave her lasting peace and her eyes softened. "I cannot control children, Iwakura-san. It's up to the DNA to decide their stature. I'm already halving the chances seeing as how I am," It was highly likely that any child produced by Ryuusei and Yue would be a lean one, something that probably wouldn't be liked by Isao. And his reiryoku wouldn't be as potent seeing as his father's would dilute the strength of Yue's. Nevertheless, it made no difference to her - strong or now, it was her child and she'd love them. But she doubted Isao would see eye to eye with her.

Her jibe at scrawny children though made him smile as well, again in a moment of self-deprecation. “Hey, leave the scrawny kids alone. I was all skin and bone and look at me now. I’m perfectly proportioned, maybe a bit lean.” Compared to many other male captains he was a tad scrawny, statuesquely gaunt was how he preferred to put it. Besides, he thought the muscle bound ones looked like gorillas someone had thrown some clothes over. Furthermore, if people kept on calling his stature into question he could always just cut their heads off, he was good at that and it tended to settle most arguments.

Yue laughed softly and didn't reply for a moment. "I don't have anything against them, I'm the same. But my father... that's a different story. It would be amusing to see him flip a table over a baby." It all played over in head, unwillingly - Yue protecting the small bundle in her arms as she leaned away from the airborne table. Isao raging at her, telling her to produce another one pronto and this time, it'd better be stronger. It made her laugh, her eyes filled with mirth at the mental picture. "It'd be worth it, really."

"But... I'm really moved that you want to help. It's breaking my resolve and I don't think I can handle it." Truly, it did move her enough to finally let some of her distress show; it did feel slightly relieving not having to continuously keep up her tranquil demeanor, one that didn't have any resemblance to her inner turmoil. It wasn't enough to make her completely break down, however, though that would happen sometime that night and over the next few days.

Her confession that she was grateful for his concern and that her resolve might be breaking drew Osamu closer to her as if by instinct. He knew that any, small sign of a genuine emotion from her meant volumes and the more vulnerable that emotion made her appear the more important and meaningful it was. As such, her small display of vulnerability meant a huge deal to him. Slowly, but without fear he went to put just one reassuring hand on her shoulder. Any sign of unwillingness from her and Osamu would be able to smoothly move the hand away as if it were just another one of his many gestures. But if she didn’t give some negative sign a gloved hand would end up on her shoulder, resting there gently but reassuringly. “Even if I did not have to lock horns with the Ichigawa over that other matter I’d fight them for this. You will find I use the word promise very little. I take it very seriously and I only use it when I know I can deliver. As such I will not promise you success. I will however, promise you my every effort and my efforts usually lead to success. I am going to make this better. Now you can stay here and talk about this or any other matter as much as you like you don’t have to say a darn thing if you don’t want to.” At this juncture Monty came up, but as was so often the way with dogs, he picked up on the emotions present readily enough and rather than harass his master to play with him he instead lay down at Yue’s feet and looked up at her piteously, in a way only dogs can do.

The hand on her shoulder made her tense and instinctively slip her hands deeper into her sleeves, reaching for the scalpel-like blade that lay there. She fought down the instinct and abruptly pulled her hands out of her sleeves, the bright glint of the diamond making her shove the sleeves down lower and lace her fingers together again. "But it's only going to cause more damage to others than any one person, no matter how 'valuable' is worth it. Really, Ryuusei-san isn't so bad. As long as he waits, I'm fine with it. I got the good end of the deal, considering the other candidates. And believe me, you can't meddle with inter-House affairs." At this point, Yue knew it was hopeless. But she was determined to see the bright side of all this, even through the prospect of marriage.

"Please, promise me you won't do anything yet. You don't know how much this means to me but it's better if I think it over and consider others rather than only myself." Yue gave him a reassuring smile that for once through the whole conversation, was genuine. It wouldn't do good to only think of herself, she'd feel incredibly guilty afterwards. And that usually didn't end well, at best with a few hundred broken training dummies. Strange emotions she wasn't used to feeling so much ran through her at a hundred miles per hour, threatening to shut her down for good. It took her a while but she eventually got a hold of herself, successfully convincing herself Ryuusei wasn't so bad. He really didn't have the capability to force himself on her, did he? He had helped her out of the mess of the previous family meeting, at least.

Her timidness at his hand on her should made him worry slightly, but she seemed to adjust quickly and become familiar with the hand. He did however, see the ring as she flinched and he wished he hadn’t. That damn thing troubled him now almost as much as it did her. He wanted to rip it off but he controlled himself, breathing gently to calm himself down and just generally being a stable support for Yue for these few minutes. Her claims that somehow this was not worth it made him shake his head. To him, she was rapidly becoming worth it and it was made all the worse for an odd cognitive dissonance in Osamu’s personality. He had something of a white knight complex but at the same time could be cruel, deceitful, callous and even murderous should the situation call for it. “Don’t forget, this is about more than just you, at least in part. You just happen to be singularly important.” He was tempted to go into a great long demonstration of just how important and valuable she was but he stopped himself. It would serve no purpose for now.

As much as she wanted to be left alone in regards to marriage, Yue knew it wouldn't be so, at least for the time being. Nevetheless the well-being of others was still a central worry - her belief that everyone had some good in them was butting heads with her desire to leave everything behind. Naturally, her compassionate side won, like always, prompting her to shake her head. "Ryuusei-san isn't that bad, believe me. I should think of him too - he's the same age, maybe a bit older, and getting tied down just like I am. Everyone has some good in them and they don't deserve getting shunted to the side." To Yue, her people-were-precious complex often collided with logic but today, it didn't. It made sense, at least to her, that the greater good in everyone shouldn't have been overlooked when dealing with issues that didn't involve war and crimes. Though when dealing with others, people often overlooked the other party and the other side of the argument, which was something Yue couldn't do. What if the other party had it just as worse as she did? Didn't it call for action that would benefit both parties? Otherwise it ended up becoming an unfair war, victory depending on who had the stronger support.

Yue’s words seemed to make no sense to Osamu, when she spoke of the good in everyone and the need to consider the other side in this arrangement, her husband to be. If he was at least partly a good man, as she seemed to be asserting, and she wanted him to be well served as well then breaking of the marriage would still serve that goal. He could marry off for love as well. Of course, Osamu was unaware of the brain dead state of the object of his affections but that scarcely affected the reasoning. Love was rare but it was not singular or unique. A person could love more than once in their live and souls lived long lives. He could find another that grabbed at his affections. However, that was not the only thing that confused Osamu. True, you should consider more men than just yourself but not those who are actively going to hurt you to those you care for. They are enemies and an enemy must be beaten. But even if they were friends then breaking of the marriage helped Ryuusei as well. “Marrying him hurts him just as much as it hurts you.” Osamu didn’t feel the need to voice his justification. He trusted Yue would be able to understand it on her own.

Yue shrugged, already having gotten through that. "He doesn't mind." At all, actually, she added to herself. Despite his other girl, he hadn't put up any resistance to the prospect of marriage, emotional or verbal. It had surprised Yue and still did, making her put constantly put her guard up around him. Nevertheless, his intentions were clear. "He's like a male version of me. That's why it's not going to work; we're too similar." Ryuusei was just as passive and peaceful as she was, at least in public, and while Yue felt lucky at first - and perhaps still did - she didn't feel like it would even remotely work. Logically, it shouldn't have. How many couples like that had she bypassed here and there? It never worked. Either way, despite her inner thoughts, Yue sighed as she took Osamu's words into consideration. She'd have to personally ask Ryuusei, though she could already tell he didn't mind. 'Well, that makes two of us.' As much as justifying the marriage hurt her, she couldn't let Osamu waste his efforts; it was out of consideration of him as well.

It did, however, make her feel a little bit better knowing she did have some sort of support, not only from others but from Osamu himself. Having been thrown into several arranged marriages as well, he knew what it felt like to have no control but unlike her, his weren't unavoidable. She had to admit, he'd done some handy work getting rid of women and his sister's suitors; it was far beyond anything she'd imagined. But her question had come with another purpose, to see the extent he was willing to go. And it was quite far, farther than she'd originally thought. She'd kept herself distant, unwilling to reveal anything else apart from the general details already known to the public but his actions worried her, as did his mind. If he decided she was too dangerous, too much of a liability - despite his words, and Yue knew opinions tended to change - he could pose enough of a problem to make her lose focus. In her Division, during her duty, everywhere, Yue knew she couldn't be safe. Nevertheless, she was a person who thought she had no reason to cover up and displayed her genuine personality to him, barely even lying, making the chance of him changing his mind highly unlikely.

Despite all of that, all of the conversation they'd had regarding his and her marriages, Yue personally kept herself distant - until he stopped his grand plans, she couldn't count upon herself to trust him - it simply didn't work that way. People often had an annoying habit of stabbing others in the back, or even in the front when not looking as was often in the case of friends; Yue probably knew that better than anyone else. It set her mind off at a hundred miles per hour, thinking of possible next moves. What was she supposed to do at this point? She didn't trust Osamu and refused to budge an inch towards his side but he had offered her aid, aid that she wasn't willing to take if it meant hurting others. No, no matter how 'valuable' she was, her freedom wouldn't come at the expense of others. At least for the time being, her mind was set on this decision, inwardly cursing herself for her excessive compassion as she descended into yet another slightly sad yet worrying moment. She sighed, lowering her eyes to the dog at her feet. Oddly, the animal didn't bother her as much. But her own mind did, bouncing back between hard logic and her sometimes naive gentleness. She was willing to bet that one day, it was going to get her killed.

Osamu was a bit like a train, when he got going it was hard to stop him, he would plough on with a singular inevitability. Smashing through every obstacle until he reached his destination or he was run off of the rails. Yue had done the remarkable today. With regards to his main plan, to fundamentally reform the whole Soul Society, she had managed to apply the brakes to such an extent that the speeding runaway train that had once been his designs had slowed down to a gentle, manageable pace. In so doing she had, somewhat strangely, instilled a respect and fondness for her in Osamu that then got the engine of an entirely different train rumbling into life as he resolved to save her from a bad marriage and allow her the freedom to marry for love. Even now the wheels had begun to turn and the heavy, lumbering monolith began to slide out of the station and start to pick up speed. Now Yue was applying the brakes to this particular train as well. Osamu would have to be careful around her, she had a singularly strange effect on him it would appear. Considering her plea carefully he eventually nodded his consent. “Very well, I will not make a move for you yet. I will let you think on things but as you think I beg of you, beg of you, to give some consideration to yourself. Do not give any care to the Ichigawa and their prospects and do not fear for your own family. They can come out of this stronger than have been in the past three hundred years.” He sounded almost desperate and pleading in his tones, to his mind he was watching someone do something very, very stupid and permanently damaging for no reason. “We have plenty of other business to attend to in the meantime, like a war and tomorrow’s battle. But, we must start to make moves before the occupation is over or the Ichigawa will be able to strengthen their position. Furthermore, if opportunities come up that aid what we discussed earlier, I’m going to take them. But I will head your cautions.”

Osamu let the moment hang for some long time, letting Yue process any emotion that went through her and not rushing her in the least. After this significant pause he smiled and said with friendly and reassuring tones. “You need anything come to me. Oh, and please stop calling me Iwakura-san. You can use my given name you know.” Then, as an amusing little aside. “Just not in front of the men.”

Saying the same briefly went through her mind - but Yue knew she couldn't help him much in his grand plans. But, as a friend, she would try being friendlier with him. "As a friend, the same offer is extended to you. And I cannot, it's not my place," Yue replied, having been taught to automatically give that response whenever a situation like this presented itself to her. It was unavoidable - plus, being on first name terms would likely attract a lot of trouble, as well as fuel assumptions that the two were somehow involved. That wouldn't serve well to either of them, nor would the implications of her family finding out serve well. "Or my family," She added with a light laugh. There was no knowing how Isao would react to anything and while it was amusing at times, it was also unexpected and shocking, bringing about fright and apprehension.

Osamu was a little saddened that she declined to call him by his first name, but happy that she both accepted and reciprocated his offer of aid. He would not call upon her to aid his grand plans, not yet any way. He was far more likely to go to her for comfort when he was struggling to come to terms with the reduced plans he may have to settle for. “Not even in private?” He asked, almost hopefully but with a slightly mock tone to suggest he wasn't asking too seriously, but he suspected the answer would still be no. Still, he would respect her wishes even though it put up a barrier between them that he did not particularly like or think was needed. He was scared for her, for what she would decide to do. He had to save her from this, it was a rising compulsion and one he was not sure he could resist. He had to help, he had to! He would rescue her!

Yue shook her head with a small, apologetic smile. She did hope he didn't mind her distance, wondering whether they'd really made any progress today, at least apart from the professional discussion. Yue had offered to aid him as a friend and while she didn't feel much of the personal attachment often associated with a friend just yet, she could provide the warmth from her natural reactions. Everyone deserved to be heard out and comforted, no matter their stance in life. Rich or poor, polite or rude, ambitious or not, it didn't matter. If Osamu needed a warm smile or an embrace, Yue would gladly do so, even if it was only to be able to see him happy. Really, despite his shortcomings, Osamu truly was a caring being, someone who didn't deserve to handle everything by himself. In fact, he was much more caring that she'd originally given him credit for and that was threatening the collapse of her logic against compassion. "You can say whatever you want in private, though, if you want. Even if you need me to forget it later, you should be able to speak without getting judged." Her voice was far gentler now, soothing and displaying an even softer side to her. Perhaps it was more that she was originally willing to allow but she did feel he needed it, if not more than she. It was tough to sort out her feelings, finding herself becoming more accomodating and perhaps a tad more emapathetic. He'd finally hit her weakness, that one part she couldn't control as much as she normally did.

Osamu allowed a long, easy smile, to manifest on his face when she said that he could say whatever he wanted to her in private, without getting judged. He wasn’t sure if she meant it but he thought she did. He smiled partly because he believed it would be good for her and partly because he knew it would be good for him. He need a friend, someone he could talk at for a while, someone perhaps to go to just to complain. He had trusted colleagues by the truck load, men who would die for him. But none of them were really his friends. Privately he suspected Yue was in a similar position but he could not be sure. The biggest reason for him smile though, was not her words but rather her tone. The perceptible softness of it, gentle and soothing. He heard those tones far too little and he loved being on the receiving end of them. But even more he liked hearing Yue say them, her specifically. For her own good, in his mind, she needed this kind of openness with some people and he thought she would be a lot happier if she just allowed it out every now and again. Of course, professional image and detachment were important but you needed people you could be unprofessional with. It was one of the reasons Osamu had a dog, it was something to be unreservedly warm and affectionate to and something that gave back just as much. Osamu knew the need to release and give warmth and kindness could be just as great as the need to receive it. “And you can come to me for the same thing if ever you need it.” He felt it was important to reciprocate the offer and he tried to muster in his tone the same degree of comfort and care she had demonstrated but where it could really be seen was his eyes.

Calming his mind down he briefly considered embracing her more fully but decided she probably would be deeply uncomfortable with that plus it would be a tad too familliar at this juncture and so just stayed as he was, one hand on her shoulder and looking deep into her eyes with all the emotion and sincerity he would allow himself to muster. “Is there anything you need or you want, anything you want to say or ask?” His tone really did convey the fact that nothing was off the table. If she had nothing further, they both had a battle to arrange for tomorrow. Though Osamu would not be able to dislodge Yue and her predicament from his mind for some time.

The hand on her shoulder no longer felt as alien as it’d originally did; it was almost soothing, almost. The meeting had taken a turn for the better with hardly any arguments but even now, more than an hour in, Yue was still surprised by Osamu’s warmth towards her. It was unexpected but appreciated, nonetheless, and returned just a genuinely, even though Yue was still internally battling with herself. Absentmindedly, she wondered why Osamu seemed so unaffected and calm, as decisive as he normally was. Yes, it was comforting but it piqued Yue’s curiosity a little bit. She refrained from giving him a questioning look and instead simply smiled at his reciprocated offer. “Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind. But I prefer listening.” It really did make her feel content just listening to others, allowing them to get their problems off their chest. It did help to have a sanctuary at times, even if for seemingly insignificant thing. And Yue was willing to be that sanctuary, for nothing in return and simply seeing them happy.

At his parting offer, Yue shook her head with a smile. There was nothing of significance, not now. In her mind lingered doubts, thoughts and shadows of memories that served her no purpose in helping her calm her state of mind. Most of those were thanks to Osamu but not all were entirely unsettling, some only making her realize things she should’ve already known a long time ago, namely her engagement. Even though it was barely five minutes from their last conversation about the marriage, Yue found herself wishing with all her heart she’d simply wake up and realize it had never happened. However, that was rationally impossible and Yue knew she’d have no such luck. With her blue-green eyes filled with an equal amount of warmth and sincerity, she finally spoke. “Not at the moment. I have to return the question to you, though. Do you?” Osamu had given her a month’s worth of things to think about, but surely he had something on his mind as well. She admired the way he'd so efficiently separated his personal and professional sides and yet still managed to be kind to her, someone who'd shot him down countless times during their meeting. It truly did make her respect for his personal self skyrocket to high extremes that few had been able to reach. If only he'd displayed that side more often, Yue doubted she'd have been as guarded as she was.

Osamu gave a slight chuckle at her question, stepping back he patted her on the shoulder slightly as he withdrew his hand, it had been there long enough. He was smiling, not as broadly as before but it was still genuine. “Not for the moment. I’m confident we will have a great deal more to discuss at other times. But those are for other days. Besides you have given me plenty to chew over.” He could think of a thousand things he would like to talk to her about, but none of it was right for this moment. The mere fact she asked though, meant a great deal to him and he would not soon forget the side of Yue that had been exposed today. “For now, I will leave you to your thoughts and your preparations for the battle tomorrow.”

Yue nodded in response, certain that they'd have a lot to talk about in the future. There was apprehension, understandably, but also curiosity, which mildly surprised her. "Fair enough. Thank you for hearing me out though, that was nice of you. I hope I can return the favour in the near future." It was unnerving, knowing that she'd let him get past despite having her guard up but it didn't bother her much. Osamu was kind-hearted and thoughtful, as he'd displayed today, and Yue didn't feel the least bit bothered by future visits from the man.

Clapping his gloved hands together, in a way that made Monty leap up as if he were summoned, Osamu then rubbed his gloved palms together enthusiastically. A slightly different grin appeared on his face now, one that was excited at the prospect of the hunt. “Tomorrow will be a good day. I am confident of our victory and though we will, of course, suffer casualties, we will gain far more than we lose and I believe our casualties will be comparatively light. Meaningful progress at last, going on the offensive again with good honest soldiering. I have missed it.” He wasn’t insane. He was not one of those mad men that loved battle and death for their sakes alone but he did enjoy the command role of his job and he did enjoy the opportunity to put his swordsmanship to use. What was obvious though was the fact that what he really looked forward to about tomorrow was the fact they were beginning the slow process of taking the city back. The honesty of a fight against hollows also appealed to him, as compared to the dirty politics of the soul society he was getting increasingly sucked into. He didn’t enjoy that but he did it because he had to. A fight, was a welcome palate cleanser for him.

Yue smiled and drew her hands out of her sleeves, dropping them back at her sides for a moment. "It's been far too long since I hacked away at Hollows. It's going to be refreshing tomorrow. I just hope we don't lose too many men, they don't deserve to die and work so hard..." The prospect of seeing her comrades dead made her heart wrench but she knew it was an unavoidable part of any battle. She just hoped it wasn't too much. The less the better. The actual battle, though, Yue could already feel it would be exciting. After all, bashing dummy after dummy into dust only went so far in allowing her to expand her techniques. She also wanted to see what Shunko's altered technique would do to the Hollow with the new Kido spell she'd partly devised herself - dummies only exploded on contant, littering the area with wooden splinters and cotton stuffing. It would be a break from the Gotei's repetitive duties and most of all the arguments and sneaky fighting. Yue didn't feel much towards the ambitious side of Osamu and preferred to avoid it as much as possible; what she'd seen today had given her a new perspective towards the man. She hoped he'd keep it, even if in private; it was much more pleasant.

Osamu was glad that Yue felt similarly about the upcoming battle to him, had his enthusiasm deterred her or driven her away he would have kicked himself. But, happily, it turned out she shared his eagerness. True she was a bit more worried about the loss of life than he was but from their recent discussions that was to be expected. She had a good heart, but one that was perhaps slightly too soft. Osamu never liked loosing men and he detested wasting them but he seemed to cope with the notion better than her. In his mind it was one of the things that made him a good Captain. “Don’t worry.” He said. “The plan is sound, we will lose few men tomorrow and the sacrifices of those we do lose will not be in vein.” He was serious, but reassuring as he said those words, he did not treat death lightly. But, he did not let it get the better of him, as was demonstrated when he looked at her and smiled saying with good humour. “I simply won’t permit it.” Her exposed hands did not elude Osamu, he wagered it had some significance, a symbol of comfort or trust perhaps? Perhaps not? But the way she hid them most of the time implied some meaning. Only time would tell if he was right but for now he allowed himself to be comforted by the sight.

Yue's eyes dropped towards the dog, wondering if it'd try to bite her if she touched it. "Can I pet him?" It didn't drive her off as much as it did before, though it was still a foreign animal she had no experience with.

Osamu smiled broadly when Yue asked if she could pet Monty, considering her apprehension of the beast at the start of this meeting it was rapid and encouraging progress. Not just when it came to her relationship with the dog but for her in general, or so Osamu thought. Regardless Osamu looked down at Monty and pointed at him firmly, saying “Sit.” In an equally firm yet gentle and kind tone. The dog was well trained and though he may have been a bit wild when he wasn’t given commands he obeyed Osamu instantly. The grey scruffy beast promptly sat on its hind quarters, panting slightly and wagging it’s tail. “Stay.” Osamu said in just the same tones before looking up at Yue, smiling and saying in a less authoritarian fashion. “Of course you can pet him. He is a good judge of character and he would have let you anyway. I just told him to sit to make it easier for you. Otherwise he might have gotten carried away and tried to lick your hand or something like that.” He gave a slight chuckle at the image, a chuckle that increased slightly as his mind’s eye envisaged the graceful, elegant Yue, forced to the ground by a great slobbering dog, licking her face and climbing all over her. Still, even Monty at his most enthusiastic was deeply unlikely to do that to someone he had only just met.

If Yue did reach out to touch the obedient creature she would find him warm to the touch, his head bobbing up and down slightly in time with his breathing. His breath would be slightly warm and certainly moist whilst his coat would be surprisingly soft despite its coarse appearance. For the moment though the dog just looked up between the two Captains expectantly, awaiting another command.

There was no need for her to bend down or kneel to pet the dog; even while sitting, Monty's head was level with her waist. While the dog's size was definitely unnerving, he hadn't attacked her yet and Yue doubted Osamu would let it to seeing as how it couldn't hurt her much if she reacted fast enough, and that was a given. But it made up for everything with its size and Yue's imaginary threatening aura. Nevertheless, she placed her hand somewhere between its neck and head as far away from its mouth as possible, albeit lightly at first. Its fur felt soft to the touch, much softer than she'd originally thought it to be and radiating heat. It was much more... alive than it seemed, as absurd as it sounded. It felt almost human and she set her other hand on his head, closer to its ears. Its head moved along with its breathing and Yue lowered her hand to its neck, the other soon joining it in a sort of embrace around the animal. Of course, she didn't dare to get any closer, wary of his teeth but she felt the urge to tighten her arms around its neck in a hug of sorts. It felt so soft, not as wild as she'd imagined. "He's so soft, I like him."

Yue had the dog’s full attention now, it was looking up at her with his big wet eyes, he was panting slightly more and his tail had gone from a gentle wag to a little happy flurry. Monty enjoyed new people and new friends almost as much as he liked old ones and just like people he enjoyed affection, unlike people he didn’t bother hide it so much. But, despite how happy he was the dog sat there, obeying Osamu’s command to stay. The mischievous side of Osamu was tempted to abuse this position and have the hound leap up and jump on Yue, but as amusing as the image would have been he didn’t have the heart to do it. Instead he just stood there in silence for a few moments, letting Yue acclimatise. After a while he said gently and with a warm smile. “You can get closer if you like, he doesn’t mind. Feel free to stroke him, he loves it and he will just sit there and lap it up. Talk to him if you want, in nice warm tones like you were speaking to a child. If you are feeling bold you can tickle him a bit, the belly, neck and behind the ears are his favourite places. But rule number one with dogs is never let them know if you are nervous, it makes them nervous and they can’t control their nerves as well as us. Don’t worry though. Monty is one of the best trained dogs you are ever likely to meet. Even if you are nervous around him he won’t react so long as he is under my command. But remember it for other dogs.”

As hesitant as she was to get closer to the dog, Yue liked Monty's fur enough to partly ignore her fear of Osamu unexpectedly deciding to sic the dog on her. However, at his tone, all doubt concerning the dog evaporated and she drew herself closer, tightening her arms. True to Osamu's word, Monty hadn't moved the entire time, even when Yue circled her arms around his neck in an embrace. His heartbeat was comforting, chest rising and falling steadily enough to relax her. But she didn't dare pet it more than that, lest it decided to suddenly spring up. However, Osamu had trained the dog well, and he hadn't budged. Its tail swished at a fast pace, prompting Yue to loosen her arms and instead pet its head, gazing at the dog with wonder akin to a child's curiosity. Moments later, she tore her eyes away from Monty and smiled at Osamu, straightening her posture somewhat. "He's so sweet, I'm glad he listens to you as much as he does. You're lucky you have such a nice dog." Her hands still hadn't left Monty's head and neck, running down the length of his neck and up again. Osamu truly was lucky to have him, she supposed, and he deserved him too. It hadn't slipped her notice to see how much he cared about his dog and how happy it made him, and it in turn made Yue smile, though mostly directed at Osamu and the dog than herself.

Osamu just smiled and kept on smiling as Yue got more comfortable with Monty and when she embraced him more fully he could barely contain his grin, despite being a dog man he was smiling like a Cheshire cat. He was tempted to get stuck in and hug the dog as well, simultaneously. But again, he resisted his urge and just let Yue have her moment. After a little while Osamu said with a joking and obviously teasing tone. “Careful now. You will make me jealous and a man who envies his dog is a sad man indeed.” He gave a little chuckle, just to confirm that it was all in jest as he stepped closer to his dog and put one hand on the back of Monty’s neck, half stroking him half scratching him and saying gently. “Good boy.” Osamu could tell from the look in Monty’s eye he wanted to lick Yue’s hand but the well-disciplined dog just sat there.

When Yue commented on how sweet the dog was and how lucky Osamu was to have him Osamu nodded his head and gave a little hum of agreement. “I would have gone mad without him, well, madder.” He gave another small laugh before looking Yue in the eye and saying. “I got him a hundred years ago now, it’s a good job the life of a dog is so prolonged here as well. Rescued him when he was a new born pup on the day the hollows showed up. He was just running around barking and whimpering, looking for his mother. Fortunately for him he was in the same building as a bunch of people I was rescuing and I just couldn’t leave him behind. Would you believe he fitted in one of my pouches that day? He’s been with me ever since. He had any number of chances to run away but he won’t go.” As a little gesture of thanks and affection to the dog he went about petting him a tad more vigorously with both hands. Meanwhile Osamu went silent for a few moments as his mind replayed the story in vivid detail.

But he broke the silence when he said in chipper tones. “Do you have any pets? I imagine you as more of a cat person, graceful, elegant and all that. Maybe an exotic bird.” He imagined the answer would be no but he had to check. He thought Yue should have one, it would probably do her a bit of good to have a companion who was just there whenever you needed them, even if they didn’t provide quite the level of company as a human would.

It still felt slightly weird petting a living, breathing animal after so long, nor could she let go of his fur. Her hands remained on Monty’s neck while she listened to Osamu’s story of obtaining the dog. When he mentioned the part about Monty fitting in one of his pouched, Yue looked appropriately incredulous as her eyes dropped back to the dog, whose head was well above her midsection. It was amazing to think how it could’ve grown that large but it was understandable, having been over a hundred year ago. And still, Yue was astounded by Monty’s obedience and wrapped her arms around him once more. “I think he was meant to find you.” Her tone was now softer and had a slightly wistful edge to it. All too soon, she let go of the dog and straightened once more.

Smiling slightly at Osamu’s description of her, Yue bit back a laugh at the thought of owning a parrot. “I don’t, sadly. There are no domestic animals allowed in our houses. I would like a cat, though, they’re so cute.” The thought of hugging a cat made her smile wider, her mind going back to the single time she’d hugged a cat and nearly suffocated it, warranting a couple of scratches in return. Over time, it had calmed down under her gentle touch and proved as a pretty good, entertaining pet, sleeping on her midsection whenever she slept with the other kids in Hayano’s house. Until it was stampeded on and killed by a gang of children looking to entertain themselves. “The only one I had was around… two hundred years ago? It died. Can’t say I was much of a pet owner when I was four.” Owning a dog for a hundred years was an admirable feat, however, and it showed in her sunny smile as she petted Monty’s head. The dog was growing on her at a rapid pace and she didn’t mind all that much. “You’re incredibly lucky.”

Osamu gave a slight surprised spurt, half laugh, half cough, when Yue suggested he was meant to find Monty. “That sounds dangerously like fate to me.” Osamu loathed the concept of fate, it made everything pointless and utterly futile, at least in his mind. It rid everything of goodness, virtue, greatness or tragedy, it tore away all purpose and value and left nothing but a gnawing, unfillable void. If this was a world governed by fate he would sooner not live in it. But he pushed that deeply unpleasant notion aside for a few moments, reassuring himself that he really was in control, before looking up at Yue and smiling. Though her words had unnerved him her soft wistful tone did calm him down somewhat.

Osamu's distress didn't escae Yue as she gave him a slightly comforting look, as much as she could manage. It was hard to understand why a man like Osamu would fear fate so much, seeing as he had himself rooted in so deeply into nearly, in control. Insread of giving him a curious look like she inwardly wanted to, Yue instead said, "Fate or not, no matter what brought you together, here you are. Dwelling on the reason isn't really productive, he's here for you now, right?" Her tone went back to a soothing one almost immediately, her words laced with comfort. It was hard to tell why she was reassuring Osamu but Yue knew she didn't like others in distress and thereby gave him as much comfort as words would allow.

Her story about not having any pets, chiefly because she was not allowed to made Osamu perk an eyebrow. “Not allowed? You are a captain, not some small child!” Whilst his tone was not angry or irritated it was incredulous and Osamu was at risk of becoming incensed. Pausing he calmed himself down and decided to offer a slightly more constructive solution. “You could keep a cat at your office, your divisional building. Your family don’t own it. Its state property not theirs. I imagine you spend more of your time there any way.” He shook his head though when she said she was not much of a pet owner. “Maybe not when you were four, but now. I can see it, you would be good at it, nurturing, taking care of things, warmth, affection..” Osamu was aware he was perhaps straying a tad too far down this line and a silent alarm bell rang in his head as he realised he was drifting slowly into describing the attributes of a mother rather than a pet owner, indeed his tongue was ready to continue with the stream of similarly themed compliments but thankfully his brain engaged the brakes at the last moment. Stumbling only ever so slightly over his words Osamu said. “Well, yes. Needless to say I think a cat would suit you down to the ground, might ease the stress. I hear the mere act of stroking is a great relaxant and even as a dog man I must admit a cat’s purr is a beautiful sound.”

Yue's tranquil and rather comforting demeanor didn't fade at his words, not even at his compliments. She offered him a radiant smile in a way of thanking him and spoke, "That sounds very appealing, but I don't even know where to get a cat from. I don't suppose they roam in other Divisions or in the streets, do they?" She was genuinely curious at the point, evan having a half-mind to go looking for the animal herself. It would undoubtedly be wonderful to have a cat nestling on her lap while she attempted paperwork but admittedly, she really wasn't in the office much either, as the growing stacks of paperwork suggested. She was more involved hands-on in covert operations that required the utmost secrecy, and thus she wasn't seen around most of the time. "Stroking Monty is relaxing, I must admit. His fur is so soft, it's nice for stroking. And that's true, I'm almost afraid that if I get a cat, it might just lull me to sleep." The last statement was accompanied by a light laugh at the mental image of herself passed out in her office, huddling a cat. That happened at times, minus the cat.

When Yue patted Monty’s head again the creature, in a rare breach of discipline, let out a single happy bark. There was not threat or menace behind it and he was obviously a very happy dog, as shown by the yet faster wagging of his tail. Osamu felt the need to translate the dogs bark for Yue. “He’s very happy, he’s just letting it out. Secretly I think he wants to give you a bit of a lick. But he won’t. He’s a well behaved boy.” Osamu could have stood there forever, playing with his dog and passing the time with Yue, but the pair did not have forever, sadly. “As much as I hate to say it I think we had both best get back to our troops. War leaves us sadly to little time for moments like these.”

At Monty's bark, Yue flinched back and retracted her hand, lacing it back with the other one underneath her sleeves. At Osamu's explanation, however, she soon relaxed and gave Monty one last pat. It was about time for them to go their separate ways, Yue decided at Osamu's following words, as her Division still needed her presence quite often. Her Lieutenant was more than capable for handling undercover operations but he had his own squad to oversee, in addition to four more Yue thought she'd best be getting back soon. "I agree, Iwakura-san. I do hope we win tomorrow's battle with minimal casualties." Keen on getting her troops debriefed and allowing them ample last-minute training and tactics, Yue briefly thought over the possibility of borrowing a couple of tacticians from the compound. If anyone could knock down casualties to the bare minimum, it was them.

With a respectful bow, Yue took several steps back and turned towards the gates leading out of the courtyard. Her hand came up in a wave as she spoke, "See you at the battlefield." Her body flickered for a split second and she was gone, out of the 10th Division in a matter of seconds despite several obstacles and the dimming daylight barring her way and vision. All the way on the other side of Seireiteitei stood the 2nd Division, a large but mostly inconspicuous complex of barracks often renovated by her family for efficiency's sake. It now held many extra buildings and underground chambers, maximising the space necessary for the 2nd's operations. Even in daylight, the massive walls and discreetly hidden agents revealed nothing. It took her a minute or so to reach the barracks but as she slowed down and stepped through the waiting gates, Yue suddenly started, as if woken from a dream. As the gates slowly ground shut behind her, Yue realized her huge, irreparable mistake.

Osamu did not bow as Yue had done, he was the type of person only to do that in a formal setting and this meeting had long since stopped being that. So, instead he just cast her a crooked smile and waved idly waved as she left. Just before she vanished though he called out to her.

"Be careful tomorrow. Watch your back. I won't hurt you or the men of your division but I can't guarantee my men won't. They are angry, afraid and they see enemies everywhere right now. If anyone is going to turn on them it's the second, or so they think. They might just strike first to save their own lives. I'll reign them in but they have minds of thier own and Kuroda has made an enemy of them all. It's a mess right now, just get your men out of the way of my men as soon as possible."

When she was gone he found himself unable to return to his work instantly, his mind was too busy churning over the various events of the meeting. Whilst his brain sorted it all out he idly kept on playing with Monty, tossing a stick about, playing tug of war with the stick, racing the dog around the courtyard and so on.

After about ten or fifteen minutes he was done with his ruminations and gently led his dog back into the divisional building, winding through the checkpoints and corridors, reinforced doors and the windowless high security areas until he eventually reached his office. Once there Monty went and lay down in his basket for a short rest whilst Osamu set about some of his paper work. Still though, his mind was half on Yue and the various issues that had crept up because of this meeting. Yue’s slip, her revelation about her origins, did not escape Osamu’s notice. Indeed it had been very important in the meeting and without it Yue would not have been as successful as she was. But he did not focus on that too much now because he wasn’t going to use that information, certainly not against Yue, not unless she gave him serious provocation. He had always despised the class structure and was encouraging of those who broke away from their place in society determined by birth whilst simultaneously disliking, or even outright opposing, those who depended on birth rights.

He would not leak this information to hurt Yue because it would be against some of his most fundamental principles. Even if his morality was comfortable with it he would still not have leaked against Yue because of her specifically. Osamu wanted her close and leaking against her was a sure fire way to drive her away. So, putting the issue to one side, he continued with his work.

Shortly after dawn, when hollow activity was set to be at its lowest ebb, the Western 22nd district lay bathed in gentle sunlight. A man could almost be forgiven for believing it tranquil and calm, were he not to realise it was far too quiet for all to be well. The region lay just beyond the territory already controlled by the shinigami. A simple hop over the walls and you would be there, though of course, the district itself was large enough to prove a worry and difficult to hold. In the eastern most third of the district, closest to the heart of the soul society, lay a built up, residential area with a few minor workshops. At the western most edge of this area lay the great factory that was the primary objective of this raid. The residential area was protected by a solid wall, though it was nothing compared to the monumental edifice that secured what remained of the shinigami controlled soul society. This wall curved back to meet the far greater wall, in a U shape and the factory itself was protected by another, similar wall arranged in much the same way, protruding slightly from the residential area. Beyond all of this, lay the farms. Huge, rolling stretches of open land that had been left untended for almost a century. They were in a state of some disrepair but the ground was still fertile. The farms however, lay beyond any protection and were in no way shielded from the rest of the outside world.

Hollow activity was low, but not entirely absent. They had not formed into organised patrols or well prepared defensive positions, rather a few beasts roamed the region at random. Sometimes they were alone, other times in small packs. What they were looking for was unknown and likely not important, souls to consume perhaps, a fight maybe. What was clear was that they were not ready for an attack in force, or if they were then they were hiding it very well.

Osamu and his men were ready for the assault, or as ready as they could be in the allotted time. Dissatisfaction rumbled through their ranks. News of the allegation of treason had spread quickly and they all felt that they had as much been accused as Osamu. The Captain had spent a lot of time fostering a shared sense of mission and identity amongst his men, a wound of this nature touched them all. Indeed, several men had already openly questioned the wisdom and justice of partaking in this offensive. Why should they fight and die for a Captain Commander who treated them like this? Why battle under her orders and for what she represented. Thankfully Osamu and a few of his senior officers had successfully diverted these mutinous mutters and reminded everyone that they weren’t going into this fight for the top brass but rather the common man and the survival of civilisation, that at least seemed to settle them down. Moral aside the 10th were in fine fighting form they were equipped, trained and organised. Everyman knew his business and he knew it well.

Today they would be going into battle without the NDV, those brave boys were still unprepared and wanted for their proper equipment. So, the 10th had organised it self along those lines into what Osamu termed triganta. The triginta was a temporary measure, put in place by Osamu to help manage and run his division on the field. In time he planned to fold his men into the NDV, as one seamless force. But that particular vision was not ready yet. So, when the division fought as shinigami alone he broke them down into sixteen groups of thirty, plus a few smaller group as runners, signals, special tasks and command staff. Finding no immediate or obvious parallel for such a structure he named the units himself. The name was unoriginal, triginta being the Latin for thirty, but he didn’t need it to be fancy or inventive. He just needed it to work. His men, stood in their triganta, Osamu at their head with a few of his command staff around him.

Osamu had been keeping a close eye on the development of the battle as a whole. Very few hell butterflies or runners would come to him directly, instead they would go to his staff, who in turn decided what the Captain should be informed of and what they should deal with themselves. Still, Osamu knew how the distraction was faring and he would shortly know how the men of the 2nd were performing, once they began their attack. Osamu was a little surprised at himself and his lack of concern for the second and specifically their captain. He would have thought that he would be more worried but not only had the switch in his mind flicked on that engaged his professional detachment but his faith in her abilities was sufficiently great that he didn’t need to worry about her. So, he and his men stood in waiting, ready for the allotted time to commence their advance.

The 2nd’s courtyard, filled with various squads of men dressed in the same style of dress, continued to accommodate the steady inflow of squads. The Punishment Force was all there, standing in attention in uniform lines without a single sign of movement. They were dressed in the standard attire for a Punishment Force member, wearing a dark closed Shihakusho with a thin black sash. The sleeves and pants were wrapped tightly around their limbs to minimize rustling that would give them away; it was faintly reminiscent of a ninja uniform from the Human World. Veiled Patrol Corps poured in from a particular direction, only a dozen or so missing as they were doing their duty. The Detention Unit and Inner Court Troops weren’t present either, as their specific tasks didn’t allow for even a moment of disturbance. The Damage Control Corps were mostly all there, standing just behind the Punishment Force in similar but less sever uniforms.

At the head of them all stood the Fourth Seat who was arguably on the same level as the Third and Fifth Seat, all of them being Corps-Commanders. He surveyed the troops for several long minutes, the heavy folder in his arms thrown wide open as he took a roll-call. None of the Shinigami’s true names were called out – no, those were stashed deep within the Second Division’s underground chambers, the exact location known only to the Captain. Instead, he called out their codenames and received a “Present!” from the corresponding names. When met with silence, the Fourth Seat, who went by the name Hayan, marked them ‘On duty’. All in all, they had a good force.

Just in time, their Captain arrived and they instinctively bowed in a display of discipline, all bending in tandem. Yue bowed in response, offering them a reassuring smile. She turned to Hayan and took the paper with the final details from him, along with the squad division papers. Due to the sheer size of the Onmitsukido, they were to be split into squads of several dozen in each, while the 2nd’s Shinigami were to be split into different squads. She looked over the arrangements illustrates and turned the page, where an approximate count of the members was given. Underneath, a long string of numbers seemed incomprehensible to anyone who didn’t know what they were. Of course, Yue had requested aid from her family and had been sent a probability sheet from the tacticians, something she’d allotted to the different squads several days before and divided them up according to that, after viewing key Onmitsukido agents’ profiles.

Nodding in approval, Yue handed the sheet back to Hayan and said, “Go ahead and split them up, Hayan-san. Please try to hurry up, though, we’re running short of time.” Hayan was well aware that the 2nd Division was to go first in this raid; they were the ones to set the pace against the Hollows. There was perhaps no one better than the Second Division for the job; the Hollows wouldn’t even hear them coming.

In a few minutes, the Onmitsukido and 2nd Division Shinigami had split themselves into their assigned squads and stood in attention, waiting for the signal to depart. Hayan could faintly hear the sound of ticking from an obscure location. Glancing at his Captain, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. She was simply taking off her haori, neatly folding the material and placing it right between the courtyard gates, as was customary. She was to go last; due to her uniform’s revealing nature, her skin would’ve stood out like a beacon amongst all the black of the rest of the uniforms. It was nothing uncommon for the 2nd Division, as they’d seen her without her haori countless times. The other Divisions, however, hadn’t, just like how he’d seen his comrades without their masks but outsiders hadn’t.

His inner musings were interrupted at the sound of a soft beep. At that, Yue turned and smiled again. “Alright, off you go. Please take care; what you do today is crucial for this raid’s success.”

A collective shout of “Hai!” resonated across the courtyard as the Onmitsukido and Shinigami disappeared in an impressive display of Shunpo. Hayan disappeared along with them, taking his place in his assigned squad at the head of the assault. Yue followed last, trailing behind the Onmitsukido as they inconspicuously made their way out of Seireitei and into Rukongai, blending in with their surroundings eerily well. Of course, it could’ve been better had it been night but none of the Shinigami stationed to patrol in Rukongai noticed their presence, even if it was for a mere few seconds.

About a hundred meters or so from the factories, they stopped, inwardly preparing themselves and making last minute adjustments that lasted only a few seconds. At a sign from Hayan, the rest of the squads’ leaders mimicked it before springing forward, intermingling with the shadows that spanned from the massive factory’s walls. The walls surrounding the factory, separating it from the farms that lay beyond cast additional shadows to the already dark scene. It was two hours or so before dawn, giving them enough cover that wouldn’t have been sufficient had it been day. Of course, complete darkness would’ve suited them better but who were they to complain?

Squad after squad leapt over the walls and, at another signal from the men at the front, split up into different directions. Soon, the wailing of Hollows filled the air as the Onmitsukido set about brutally ending their existence. More and more Hollows poured in. An hour in and Hollows were constantly being beaten back, pushed away from the factory. Eventually, the Onmitsukido had cleared a large arc away from the factories which continued functioning. Gillian and Adjuchas fell one after the other as Yue impaled them with high-density Kido. The sound of Shunko’s screeching and the Hollows’ cry was deafening; it was something the reinforcements would be arriving to very soon. The flashes of blue-tinted Kido overtook the left side of the factory where Yue was tasked with keeping the horde of Gillian and Adjuchas at bay; several other Punishment Force members accompanied her, doing a good job of eradicating the monstrous creatures. An agent had left long back, informing the main force to come in and relieve the 2nd of their duty. The 2nd had struck hard and fast, as per their duty. The Hollows were driven back a respectable distance away from the factories which was their primary goal. No Hollow remained in the immediate vicinity of the factories – it now fell onto the 10th to get rid of the rest and avoid the rest from taking the factories back. As soon as they saw the reinforcements arriving, Yue shouted, “Retreat!” As per the strategic retreat often rehearsed, the Onmitsukido retreated and returned back towards the upper districts of Rukongai and back into Seireitei.

Deactivating Shunko, Yue instead stood on the sidelines as the main force advanced in, praying that it’d work. She could already see a dozen or so corpses of the Onmitsukido littered around the battlefield and her heart wrenched slightly for the loss of life. However, she knew it was necessary and didn’t dwell on it, instead remaining back to observe till the end of the battle. She was aware of the fact that he family was to be inspecting the aftermath and remained seated on the high wall out of view, waiting and scrutinizing the battle. Any information would be valuable at this point.

At zero hour plus forty minutes Osamu gave the order to advance, all according to the plan. The messenger had arrived and confirmed that all was still ready and his men were to move up according to the original schedule. He could have reached the battle in a mere moment but in order to maintain unto cohesion his whole force was moving at the speed of the slowest man. Still faster than your average man, but nothing close to the 2nd division. As such, he allowed a comfortable twenty minutes to reach his goal. As his men tore through the streets they provoked some comment, the noise of battle had already drifted over the wall and civilians were starting to mill around, confused and concerned. The sight of shinigami heading to the fray caused some to fear and some to cheer. The mood of the citizenry though, good or bad, had no real effect on Osamu or his men. They would keep advancing in good order and with a certain eager anticipation for the fray.

However, when Osamu and his men bounded over the wall and swept forward it soon became clear that all had not quite gone according to plan. His advance to the factory was smooth and easy, the 2nd clearly having done a fine job. But when he got to the factory things were in a worse state than he had anticipated. The buildings were all as he had expected, but not the signs of battle. There seemed to be slightly over a dozen 2nd division losses which were well within acceptable limits, but the scorch marks, tears, craters and holes as well as the simply huge amount of blood, all suggested far more stubborn resistance than had originally been anticipated. Hostile forces were supposed to be light, intelligence had suggested the counter attack would be the notable opposition. Clearly someone in intelligence had blundered. Still, the second had coped admirably and Osamu made a mental note to tank Yue later. In the meantime he needed to do his part. Putting his hands behind his back the man stood there, surrounded by his eight personal guards, his command staff and few runners and signals men.

“You know your places! Get to them men.” He declared loudly but calmly. This part of the battle had all be planned out well in advance. Seamlessly two triganta went to each of the outward facing walls, with a further triganta manning the breach in the western wall which was led by Osamu’s trusted and capable third set. A further two triganta entered the factory itself, to double check that all was secure. This left seven triganta in reserve to react as necessary to any threats. Truth be told a deployment this size was probably a little over kill for the task, but Osamu did not want to take an unnecessary risks on this assault. For a few moments all was quiet but then some odd noises came from the seemingly deserted factory, noises that were swiftly followed by the distinctive rippling hiss of a cero discharging and the boom as it burst through the roof and tore into the sky. How had Osamu missed this? How had Yue missed this? How had intelligence missed this? Those were questions for another time. For now, he had to deal with it. Moving into the factory personally he signalled the rest of his reinforcements to remain where they were, as unexpected as this was he would not have his men run around like a wet hen. Inside the factory things were not as they were meant to be. The place was packed. There were no gillians, darn things would not have fitted amongst the machines. However, regular hollows and adjuncha were there in abundance.

Seeing opponents of such metal so close to the valuable machines Osamu reacted by instinct and charged, sword at the ready. He would have envied Yue for her Kido tallents, if he had seen them. He would then have proceeded to pester her for assistance in that regard, including her to divulge secrets she probably never would. But Osamu was far from weak and vulnerable. He was fast and utterly deadly with a blade in his hands. Getting toe to toe the man proceeded to almost glide and drift through his foes with a hypnotic grace and alarming speed. The man could be like water when he wanted to be. Of course this was not his only fighting style, he could do battle in almost any fashion he desired. It just so happened that this was the best way of swiftly dispatching numerous foes in a confined space whilst causing little to no collateral damage. All the while the man had a vicious looking smirk on his face, the smirk of a man who knows he is better, who knows he is going to win and who knows you aren’t getting away. Adjunchas presented a bit of interest to the man but not as much as they used to. They were useful in keeping his skilsl in check but they didn’t present the challenge they once did. To an outsider it would look as though Osamu came dangerously close to death time after time as fists and blade sailed past him by mere centimetres. But to a man like the Captain of the 10th a few centimetres may as well have been a mile, it was the same difference.

Despite his swift progress the sheer number of foes, combined with the size of the factory, meant it would take Osamu a few minutes to clear the place. Meanwhile, events outside continued. For a short time all was quiet but that didn’t last long. The blast from the factory roof wasn’t a missed shot. It was a signal. Whilst those in the factory attacked from within fresh waves of hollows attacked from without. Osamu’s lieutenant, the magnificent golden bear, was in charge whilst Osamu was clearing out the factory. The man found himself wishing for the very cannon the factory would soon produce. The 10th was no kido corps and their ranged attacks as the foe closed lacked a certain force and panache. They were not entirely ineffective but they were not as effective as they would have liked. As a result many hollows reached the wall, and what was worse was that though the first wave was made of cannon fodder those that came after were not. Yet again, the enemy came on in strength. Whilst adjuncha closed the Gillian were acting with an unusual degree of sense, suggesting an intelligent commander. They were standing back and just hammering the walls with cero after cero. It was a ferocious bombardment and whilst the walls seemed to be standing it forced the defenders to keep their heads down. The shots only let up mere moments before the adjuncha and other hollows reached the wall, in order to avoid friendly fire.

Thankfully, the men of the tenth had remained calm under fire, all be it supressed. So when the shots ended they sprung up like a jack in the box and took full advantage of their advantageous position. As the foe leapt up or scaled the wall many were vulnerable and open to attacks of opportunity from the defenders in their strong position. So, the ramparts held, all be it under great strain. The breach however, was at greater risk. It was the most vulnerable point and as the hollows tore towards it the infamous third seat of the 10th stepped forward. Rumours and scandal swirled around this man and no one could really know what was true and what was a lie. Certainly though, the man basked in his illustrious reputation. Stepping forward he smiled and gave a happy and eager little sigh whilst rubbing his hands together.
“All right you sorry bastards. Forget about those high born pricks and that withered old hag we call a commander.” But before he could continue a voice called out.
“And the nobles she spreads her legs for!” Which provoked mocking and derisive laughter from the thirty men assembled. Even the third seat smiled and gave a little laugh before he continued.
“You don’t even need to remember the plan. All you need to remember is that there is a bunch of bastards who need killing. If you don’t do it they will burn this city, loot everything you value and kill, even rape your families. So just stick your swords in them.” His downplayed pep talk was well judged as it played to the spirits and mentality of this little cadre who burst into a cheer. As the man took position he added with a vicious little smile. “If any of you die without blood on your swords I’ll bed your wives and feed your children to the dogs.” Again, this prompted an odd cheer that likely would not have come from any other division. Osamu’s 3rd seat was an acquired taste and it had taken a long time for he and the division to build a rapport. But years of shared experiences had done the job.

As soon as the hollows hit the men in the breach showed their metal. They fought well and they fought hard, every man looking out for the ones by his side. Meanwhile, those on the wall were taking pot shots and the logjam of hollows that was starting to pile up down below. The third seat was particularly effective. Seemingly disappearing in the blink of an eye only to reappear behind some unfortunate adjuncha and plunge a blade deep into its neck or spine, before reappearing with equal speed in the front of the line. Never the less, things were hard for the men. Still however, Osamu’s reinforcements remained uncommitted, Osamu had always cautioned his deputies about over committal too early in a battle.

The line was holding, all be it under strain, when the Captain emerged from the factory with a smile on his face but a look of grim determination on his brow and with a healthy spattering of blood on his clothes. Pausing only to briefly nod at his number two Osamu used shunpo to reach the top of the factory and survey the battle. It was clear the bargaining Gillian needed to be dealt with. What was worse however, was the reports starting to come in from elsewhere in the soul society. Reports were sketchy but other areas were coming under attack. Confident of his own victory Osamu did something radical. Vaultign down to his number two he orderd.
“Lieutenant. Take two triganta and outflank those bombarding us, cut them from the side and rear. If further enemy reinforcements attack you fade and strike further down the line.” This, the golden bear set about doing whilst Osamu, not even pausing called out casually. “Number four!”

His fourth seat, a fresh faced young man who’s youthful exuberance disguised his experience, came up obediently. “Take four triganta and fall back deeper in the soul society. Volunteer yourselves as reinforcements, lend aid to other areas.” This would leave Osamu with three triganta of reinforcements left, the two in the factory and one that had not yet performed any action in the battle. He was stretching himself a little thin but he was confident he could pull it off, especially if the hollows were over extending by engaging in numerous and simultaneous offensives. He proceeded to aid the rest of the battles at the cost of his own by calling out for one of his many runners. “Take a message to the Captain of the 11th, he is to release two thirds of his men to serve as reinforcements and aid to other fronts. Only one third will remain in secondary reserve for this location.” Osamu was starting to take control of the whole battle, as was his way. Of course, if the Captain Commander over ruled him then he would comply absolutely but he didn’t have faith in the Commander’s ability to react quickly or appropriately to the situation so he was stepping in. It was true that Osamu lacked all the facts, hence why he was only releasing his own back up to other Captains who might no more and who were directly dealing with the other fronts but he didn’t believe Kuroda would make that call quickly enough. If more information came his way he may give more orders but for now all he could do was give soldiers to other fronts. Doubtless the second would also be called upon to play some further part in what had become a bigger fray.

Watching the battle from her vantage point was actually pretty easy; it allowed Yue to survey each and every part of the battle. Each part except for the factory. It went well for a while, even with the abnormally larger flow of Hollows than expected. Where were all the extra Hollows coming from? It was definitely strange, and Yue leaned in, scrutinizing the battlefield. It was hard to tell who was who so high up and the 10th's large number hadn’t helped either. However, when Osamu headed into the factories, Yue began to worry. It was impossible to see anything from up there. Even if she were on the ground, some of the Shinigami and Osamu were inside.

There were two plausible reasons why Osamu and some of the Shinigami had headed in, right in the middle of the battle. Admittedly, the first reason sounded completely stupid as she thought it over. Osamu could have waited until the end of the battle to inspect the factories and check up on their condition. The second reason, however, made much more sense, despite the fact that the first was a much better option concerning the battle. It seemed that there was an infestation inside of some sorts, an infestation that they’d missed. She inwardly berated herself for not sensing it earlier, though in their defense the Hollows were undetectable, at least until Osamu and the Shinigami had arrived. Yue hoped there were no Vasto Lorde inside or anything of the sort; otherwise, it’d be a battle to the death. A Vasto Lorde or even an Espada were the last thing they needed last now, though the thought of the Espada biding their time was more worrying than being attacked right at that moment. At least with two Captains there, said Espada could’ve been overpowered.

Her mind riddled with worry, Yue watched the factories closely for any sign, anything at all. For the several long minutes she surveyed they factories’ drab grey walls, there was no sign of anything, not even a sound as it was drowned by the sound of battle outside. Yue sighed, contemplating on what to do. Surely Osamu was enough to handle anything in there. The Hollows wouldn’t win this time. Just as she was about to retreat back towards where the 2nd was waiting, Hayan soundlessly dropped down next to her. Yue didn’t start and only turned her head slightly in acknowledgement.

“The 2nd is needed on the other front.” was all that Hayan said before disappearing off the wall. She turned to watch him go and sighed again. As much as this raid was causing her unnecessary grief, it was worth it. And it would’ve been worth much more only had the Captain-Commander listened to her family. Yue was one of the few who knew of the scandal it had caused within the confines of the compound. The outrage it had stirred was understandable and the decision not to use in-depth, special probability sheets for the Captain-Commander was understandable as well. After all, what was the point of showing them to her when she didn’t listen? Of course, Yue couldn’t say anything to the old woman, as she was bound by secrecy. Furthermore, it would’ve been out of place to tell the Kuroda to use her head.

With a last glance towards the battle raging behind her, Yue leapt off the wall and headed towards the second front, a point that had originally been intended for distraction and thus had only had minor defenses. However, Hollows had swarmed towards it like a moth to a flame, for reasons unknown and incomprehensible to Yue. Most of the Onmitsukido had gone back to their duties, the Damage Control Corps in particular. The left the Punishment force, the 2nd’s Shinigami and Yue to deal with the unnaturally large influx of Hollows.

She found her patience being tested by one self-regenerating Adjuchas and she hoped with all her heart it didn’t evolve into an Arrancar, as it’d be a royal pain to get rid of in Arrancar form. He slayed two members of the Punishment force after an hour of battle, making Yue personally go after him. However, it proved to have a significantly larger amount of intelligence than your average Adjuchas as it steered clear of Yue, avoiding her like the plague. That didn’t stop her from pursuing the large, lizard-like monstrosity. Without proper Shunpo, the Adjuchas eventually couldn’t escape the Kido-infused kick that sent it towards the ground mid-jump, smashing it flat. It dissolved into a pool of an acid-like substance, unlike the white dust normal Hollows disintegrated to. And that proved to be another of its special abilities; a second later, it had reformed and slashed Yue’s arm, leaving a long yet shallow gash. She leapt back away from the Adjuchas, landing several feet away before charging again, pumping more Kido into her arms and legs as she did. For a moment, it faltered and Yue feared it wouldn’t hold up – however, miraculously, it did and even as she ran her arm straight through the Hollow and it exploded into dust, the ground cracked and continued to develop fissures under the pressure of Kido. That prompted Yue to finally deactivate Shunko; it often damaged the surroundings equally.

However, with the death of the Adjuchas, the flow of Hollows finally seemed to slow, leading Yue to suspect that perhaps the lizard-like Adjuchas was the leader, of sorts. Obviously the Gillian didn’t have enough intelligence for that, nor did the normal Hollows that she eradicated with a simple kick. Compared to other Shinigami, it wasn’t a ‘simple’ kick but when considering what she’d come to do in the past few decades, it was simple enough for her. Eventually, despite seven more casualties on her side, the Hollows were defeated. None were allowed to retreat and they stopped coming, allowing the Shinigami rest. There were far more casualties in the Seventh, though not by entirely too much.

As the men recovered bodies and treated the wounded, a small group of Healers from the Fourth arrived to take care of the injured. After dealing with her own men – taking a roll call and sending the uninjured back to the 2nd Division barracks – Yue aided the Fourth’s medics wherever needed to avoid more death than necessary. Things continued in this vein until an Inner Court Troops agent arrived, informing her of her dismissal. Relieved of her duty, Yue stayed an hour or so longer, aiding the healers with the injured. There was a surprisingly large amount of injured, Shinigami that were wounded deeply by the offending Hollows. By the time they were over with, there was nothing more than could’ve been done and while most were going to recover, a few would be left with the lasting effects.

Yue bid the healers and Shinigami goodbye and headed back towards Seireitei, straight towards the Yukihiro compound. Inside, the vast network of barracks, living quarters, dojos, offices, houses and gardens were full of men, women and children, not counting the courtyards and the open spaces such as open corridors, etc. Though Yue found it hard to greet each and every single Yukihiro, she did her best, bowing and smiling and receiving both in turn. She headed straight for the tacticians’ offices deep within the compound and descended several flights of stairs down into an underground complex.

The area was dimly lit, yet it was only for effect. While four well-built men remained huddled around a large, round table laid out with close to fifty different maps and long, long sheets of figures and calculations, most of the actual work was done further in. However, Yue knew that she didn’t have to go in any farther; this was enough.

“It looks like we’re going to have to make some alterations, tell Kuroda if you will. Also, I believe that inspection Akira-san wanted is due.” Despite her voice’s light and gentle quality, as if it was nothing serious (though truthfully, it wasn’t all that serious either), three of the men got up and headed through a door leading deeper in. The last man remained seated on the table, still poring over figures before he looked up, his eyes landing on her minor injury. The slash had stopped bleeding long ago but her arm was smeared with blood from where other Hollows had disturbed the cut. He raised his eyebrows slightly, as if inquiring the reason. Yue shrugged and offered him a sweet smile instead before turning on her heel and exiting the underground chamber.

---

Yuzuki was beyond pissed. She glared at a couple of kids that literally ran right through her, seeing as she wasn’t exactly visible to them. It had been several decades since she’s last encountered a spiritually aware human. Even Shinigami were rare nowadays, the last contact she’d had being several weeks ago. Spending a hundred years in the same darn place wasn’t exactly fun.

She kicked at a nearby rock – or a boulder, as that was a more fitting term – and sent it flying, preferably crushing one of those irritating humans that always mistook her accidental meddling as ‘paranormal activity’. Of course, Yuzuki had had her fair share of accidents, often unknowingly upsetting a few items – unlike the boulder, which was completely intentional, she thought with a smirk – and subsequently spooking the inhabitants of the small Irish town. She was almost tempted to go ‘haunt’ a house, because it was certainly better than simply standing there, waiting for something. She didn’t even know what she was supposed to be waiting for and had been waiting for the past eighty years.

So when she saw a Hell butterfly directed towards her, and not the other way round, she jumped up and grabbed at the insect, nearly squishing it in the process. The butterfly gracefully evaded her clutches and instead landed on her cheek, transmitting the message from her Captain. She nodded along even though there was no one there to see her. After sending an affirmative reply back with the butterfly, Yuzuki stretched and headed towards the nearby forest.

It was a two hour walk to the woods that bordered the quiet town and all the while, Yuzuki stirred up stones and sticks with her feet, counting the number of rocks landing and sticks snapping. By the time she reached the edge of the forest, she had counted a number nearly double of her original. She headed inside, weaving amongst the trees in a rather strange pattern – appearing here, disappearing there; one would almost think she was playing a game.

Almost.

Yuzuki abruptly whirled around, her arms lashing out towards something behind her and coming in contact with a body. The body struggled in her iron grip as she held it in a tight headlock. Her height certainly lent a hand in the situation; being five foot seven and several inches taller than the body allowed her to grip the offender tight enough that no matter how hard they squirmed, they couldn’t get away. Yuzuki became aware of the human’s gasping but didn’t loosen her grip – how and why could they see her, much less follow her? Furthermore, she could feel their reiatsu, no matter how faint it was compared to her own much vaster one.

Another form emerged from within the trees, brandishing a rather ancient-looking spear. So these were the Fullbring Captain Akimoto was talking about. Yuzuki surveyed the newcomer for a while, taking note of her short burgundy hair and dark brown eyes. In her arms was a male, possibly the girl’s companion, a boy of average height and had shoulder-length messy dark hair with pale, pale skin, like he’d never seen the sun. He’d long since stopped struggling and instead dug his nails into her arm, which didn’t really faze Yuzuki. Glaring at the humans, Yuzuki loosened her grip ever so lightly so that the male wouldn’t suffocate in her arms.

“Who are you and why are you following me?”

The battle progressed well for Osamu, or at least as well as could be expected. The hollows kept on coming, time after time until they became this near constant stream of foes. As soon as one went down two more were there, cramming into the gap but their sheer numbers limited their ability to move and the walls were a strong defensive position. Even the breach was holding firm, a wall of flesh and swords cutting down the foe time after time. Meanwhile, Osamu himself and his personal retinue held themselves in reserve, momentarily committing to deal with particularly troublesome opponents and then falling back, ready to deal with the next monstrous annoyance. Osamu alone was a fearsome enough foe but with his personal guards at his back he became nightmarish to stand against. They allowed him to operate in relative safety and security, Osamu could afford to concentrate more on single foes whilst his guard fended off everyone else. In this way Osamu could cut down beast after beast, no matter what their natures or tactics. Most importantly it allowed him to disregard the danger and risks of over extension.

Whilst the line held Osamu’s Lieutenant was performing his assigned task admirably. It took him a few minutes as the group had to move at the speed of the slowest man, but eventually they worked their way through the residential area of the district and ploughed through the relatively light hollow resistance in the street. Soon they found themselves behind the right flank of the main hollow force and then they pounced. Attacking from the rear and sweeping along the line they took the Gillian by surprise. Beast by beast they fell and in quick succession. The golden bear wasn’t focused on holding ground, saving lives or any other objective. Just the business of highly targeted slaughter and living to tell the tale. As a result the could move swiftly and freely and by the time whatever intelligence controlling the attack realised what was going on, it was too late to stop the damage. The hollows were making an effort, trying to divert troops from the main offensive to hastily throw up a defensive line and turn their flank. But they always tried to draw it too close to the attackers and it was never ready by the time the golden bear got there. Enemy moral started to waver and coordination began to falter as the foe could not decide whether to commit to attack or defence.

Osamu was plagued by no such indecision, taking his remaining reserve triganta he personally led it over the wall an in to a direct offensive into the enemy’s stalled front. The assault was tiny compared to the vast horde in front of them. But it was fierce, determined and led by a Captain who had nothing to lose. The zeal with which the assaulted was almost enough to make the enemy turn tail and run by itself, the swords provided the rest of the reason. But with a Captain at their front and a Lieutenant at their back, large portions of the foe had nowhere to go. Panicked, confused and very nearly surrounded large numbers of hollows were caught and crushed like a rat in a vice. Regular hollows and gillian fell in droves. Even adjuncha and some arrancar equivalents were caught in the net. Fifteen more minutes of pure, unadulterated carnage saw victory for the shinigami on this front. Osamu knew the battle here was over when he stepped across the body of his latest victim to shake the hand of his number two, fresh from removing his own blade from an unsuspecting eye socket.

The congratulations were brief and to the point, the duo still had work to do. Taking their men back to the factory the men of the 10th went about preparing it for use once more. It had sustained cosmetic damage during the battle but the machines within remained intact. Still, it was not as simple as simply switching it back on. Lubricants had to be applied, raw materials stocked, moulds re cast, blockages cleared, systems check and most importantly, the furnaces had to be re lit. Furnaces of this degree and nature were surprisingly delicate beasts, once allowed to cool the internal heat shielding would crack meaning that re heating would almost certainly result in a vast and ferocious explosion. Every single heat shield plate would have to be replaced and no two were quite alike. Then, the furnace temperature would have to be slowly raised and the internal lining tested and proofed against the various chemical catalysts by exposure to small quantities of the materials. The whole process would take days at best, perhaps longer. But Osamu was still glad and full of anticipation. He had his factory, soon the first of his dreams would begin to take shape.

Meanwhile, men of the fourth would shortly arrive at his location to begin treating the wounded. No division had escaped this day unscathed but casualties for the 10th were will within acceptable limits. The battle casualty replacement pool was well enough stocked to get them back up to a full complement soon enough. Reports of victorious, but more costly, battles gradually filtered back from all other fronts. When Osamu’s own men returned from the divisions he had hastily lent them to they brought with them accounts of well timed, simultaneous offensives that were well stocked with solid opponents. Some men murmured that this was some last great hurrah from the hollows, that the foe had expended their best and that it was an inevitable slide into defeat for the enemy. But Osamu didn’t believe that for a second. Today had been the first shot in a new phase of the war and without solid intelligence at his disposal Osamu had to assume the worst. Things could get a lot nastier from here on out and his current solution was an aggressive NDV recruitment drive, but with Kuroda sitting on his neck his ability to act was hamstringed.

He was still thinking this through when reports of a flying Captain of the second also reached his ears. Apparently the woman had performed well, distinguished herself even. Osamu smiled at the notion and gave a tiny little chortle. It seemed his faith in that particular element of her was well placed. He considered sending her some gently mocking little token but decided against it. He had work to do and no one else was stepping up to the plate, pleasantrys would have to wait for a while. So, stepping out of his own thoughts he gestured to one of his men and declared.
“Get the construction workers in here. I want these walls in pre occupation condition.” A silent nod of understanding and the man went off to fulfil his orders. Meanwhile Osamu gestured to another man, one of his personal runners, Osamu never trusted anyone else with anything sensitive. Leaning in gently Osamu whispered in his ear.
“Send the message to Captain Hayashi, she is to prepare the moulds, master parts and manufacturing documents for secure transportation. We begin as soon as the furnaces are ready.” It had been less than twenty minutes since the final blow had been struck and already Osamu was proceeding to the next phase of the plan. He feared for the future, he feared for what would happen in the coming days, weeks, months and years. But shying away from it would achieve nothing. So, on he went. It was the only thing he could do.

Breathe.

Yuzuki was precisely three seconds away from reaching out and snapping the boy’s neck. Her constant state of agitation should’ve bothered her but so far, Yuzuki hadn’t noticed, having been in the same volatile state since leaving Seireitei. Too long had she spent in a gigai. Too long had she been walking as an invisible soul. Too long she had been alone.

And now, she had people. Humans, yes, but still people. They could see her. While she felt something akin to relief in the beginning, now she was about to pounce of the boy and rip his tongue out, silencing his complaints. Or perhaps shove the hands bearing a razor-sharp crystal into his face; that’d shut him up equally well. Or maybe not, she added as an afterthought, being in no mood to listen to bloodcurdling screams. Perhaps this was proof that she needed to return to Seireitei; she was certainly losing it and she knew it. And the kid would know soon too, if he didn’t shut his yapper.

“Yuzuki, this isn’t working…” The boy muttered, focusing his pale green eyes on the crystal in his hands. It was small, around 3 inches high and a silvery blue color, identical to the one hanging around his neck on a cord, albeit bigger. It vibrated slightly now and then, seemingly straining against its edges. It had failed to do anything, much less move.

Yuzuki gave him and exasperated look. “I told you you’re doing fine, considering you couldn’t do anything a few days ago. The fact that it’s moving even a little bit is a huge improvement, meaning you’re moving every singly atom inside it. I told you to go practice with Ciara anyway, didn’t I? And it’s Yuzuki-san!” The boy, Emmett, had an affinity for high-speed movement, something Yuzuki likened to Shunpo, and he thought himself too good already to practice. Naturally, that didn’t sit well with Yuzuki and she constantly nagged him about it, deliberately irritating him enough to make him throw down the crystal and stomp towards Ciara. Yuzuki smirked in victory and bent down, picking up the crystal and pocketing it, making a mental note to return it later.

“Go away, Emmett, you’re distracting me.” Ciara’s voice rang out between the trees, bringing Yuzuki’s attention back to the duo who, as always, were arguing about something or the other.

“I’m just standing here, what’s your deal?” Emmett shot back before his form blurred, accelerating towards the target tree and back again at the same time as Ciara, reaching his former position four seconds before the girl. Ciara noted this and stomped her foot, growling.

“Get away from me.” She hissed, eyes flaring. Her 6’2 form towered over Emmett’s shorter one but he didn’t back down.

He stuck out his tongue and sneered, “And what if I don’t? What are you going to do then? You can’t even catch me.” Emmett taunted, watching Ciara grow redder and redder by the second. The moment he saw her hands reaching out towards him, fingers bent in a claw-like motion, he ducked and ran off, turning back only to see her still far behind him.

He was yanked back by a strong hand on his arm, a grip that stopped him immediately and he flew backwards, straight into Ciara who was in a similar predicament. Yuzuki stood behind them, a hand gripping each of their arms in an iron-hold. Emmett struggled, trying to pry himself away from her but she was simply too strong, and it was obvious she wasn’t even exerting any effort from the relaxed stance her body took. Glaring at them both, Yuzuki waited until they stopped squirming and let go of their arms. She got hold of their ears before they tried to run off and dragged them both outside the forest, pulling them along with her like they weighted no more than a single feather and all the while grumbling at them, pushing down the urge to just abandon them in an alley somewhere and be done with it.

“You two need to learn how to behave. How do you expect yourselves to learn to become master Fullbringers if you behave like this? You need to concentrate! You need discipline and you need to put your differences aside along with those petty fights of yours! I swear to god, if killing you wouldn’t be counter-productive and against my orders, I would’ve done so a long time ago…”

Meanwhile, Ciara still struggled, obstinately dragging her feet along the ground in order to slow Yuzuki’s step. However, that proved useless as the woman maintained her steady pace with no problems. The girl huffed and glared at the grass, inwardly cursing Yuzuki to hell and back. Why had she even agreed to training with that demon? While Yuzuki had seemed approachable and level-headed at first, her ferocious temper had quickly taken hold and overpowered Ciara and Emmett. She couldn’t even believe the woman was over a thousand years old; why hadn’t she withered into dust yet? Yuzuki still had the appearance of a woman in entering her late twenties and not the hag she was supposed to be. Surely thousand-year-old women didn’t wear such weird ‘uniforms’, did they? They’d seen several other Shinigami and none sported the uniform Yuzuki wore. Ciara huffed again and dug her nails into Yuzuki’s spine, demanding to be let go. Yuzuki barely flinched, the thick material of her Shihakusho shielding her from the harm fingernails could cause.

“Let go! I’m telling the rest of the gang!” Ciara screeched, thrashing her limbs about in an effort to escape. Yuzuki abruptly stopped, turning her head around to lock eyes with Ciara. A chill ran up Ciara’s back, feeling Emmett’s chilly glare.

“There are others?” Yuzuki inquired, dumping Emmett onto the grass and whirling around to grip Ciara with both hands. It made sense. Why would there be only two Fullbringers in an area so large? It only confirmed her suspicions and proved that the humans had lied to her. They’d already showed their untrustworthiness to the extent where Yuzuki simply surveyed them with narrowed eyes.

Ciara stared back at Yuzuki, refusing to answer, perhaps trying to make up for her slip. However, the game was up. Yuzuki let go and turned around, starting to walk towards the Irish town. Emmett hastily picked himself up off the ground and reached towards Yuzuki, misinterpreting her intentions.

“Please don’t hurt them! They haven’t done anything wrong.” He pleaded, his hand closing around Yuzuki’s arm. She yanked her arm away and continued towards the town.

“I’m not going to hurt them. I need to know who they are and their abilities. I have orders to train you, allof you. The fact that you lied to me makes me less likely to listen to you now.” She answered, not once turning to look back at Emmett and Ciara.

“We were only trying to protect ourselves. We’re sorry…” Emmett’s voice trailed away as Yuzuki got farther and farther away from him, leaving the two humans behind. His helpless voice didn’t move Yuzuki in the least and she continued on her way, determined on uncovering the rest of the Fullbringers.

---

The cut on her arm throbbed and burned, prompting Yue to finally sit down and heal herself. Perched on an elevated platform underneath the outer walls of the Yukihiro compound, she placed her hand on the cut and watched it glow green, healing the injury underneath. Her mind, however, wandered back towards the agent that had visited her shortly before she’d entered the compound to alert the tacticians. The Onmitsukido agent had informed her of important information she couldn’t overlook; the documents sat in her office that very moment.

Once the cut was healed, Yue retracted her hand and the very place her injury had been was once again covered by smooth pale skin. Getting up, Yue dusted herself off and Flash Stepped towards the 2nd Division, taking care not to lose her balance as she raced across rooftop after rooftop, wall after wall. In a minute, she dropped down into the courtyard where the 2nd’s Shinigami had assembled pre-battle but was now empty and devoid of life. She picked up her haori that still lay at the locked doors and shrugged it on, once again settling her hands in their familiar, laced-together position. The roll-call and casualty count been taken care of by Hayan long back, leaving the statistics in her office as per her request. This was where she headed to, her steps inaudible on the tiled floors of the corridor.

Her office was housed in the 2nd’s Main Barracks, the building bearing a large ‘2’ on its front and the Division’s insignia on the heavy wooden doors. Momentarily extracting her hands from her sleeves, Yue unlocked the doors with a key that had miraculously appeared in her hand out of nowhere. An observant person, however, would note that it probably came from underneath her sleeves, hidden somewhere on her being. As she entered and closed the main doors, several other doors barred her way to her office and each time, she produced a key from somewhere under her sleeves. Finally, when the last door closed behind her, Yue slid the thin bamboo door open and entered her office. One would think that with all its defenses, doors and keys that this was where she kept all her documents and classified information but no. This was just a ‘dummy’ office of sorts, keeping only trivial information. This was unknown to everyone expect Yue herself, not even Hakkin knew. The folders with ‘classified’ stamped across their covers were only temporarily placed there, before Yue decided whether to leave them there or move them.

She picked up the folders and opened them one by one, first taking note of the casualty and roll-call folder. The casualty rates were average for such a raid, even lower than usual as they had taken a stealthy approach. Shutting the folder, Yue sealed it with a sticker across both ends and placed it in one of the massive filing cabinets lining the room, locking it after placing the folder inside.

Work was no doubt piling up. With her Lieutenant gone for the moment, Yue was met with yet another towering stack of paperwork, probably one she’d been neglecting for the past week or so. She didn’t hesitate to move it to the corner of the room where several other stacks lay, away from her immediate surroundings which made it easier to altogether ignore, as it didn’t nag at her as much. One of the room’s predominant features was the towering stacks of paperwork Yue neglected day after day. The essential paperwork she dealt with but everything else was usually left to her Lieutenant after being moved to his office. The six stacks of paper in the corner told her that a ‘move’ was due.

Shaking her head at the paperwork, Yue returned to the other folder in her hands, with several stamps of ‘important’ and ‘classified’ across it. Upon opening it, Yue inspected documents informing her of a hostage captured by the Sixth. She frowned – that was weird, the Sixth weren’t called upon to participate. So where had this hostage been captured. Sitting down at her desk, Yue carefully read through the contents of the folder, scanning it thrice for minute details and once she was sure every piece of information was extracted from the text in front of her, she quickly gathered the documents. She sealed them in a different folder marked ‘confidential’ to be given to Kuroda. With her mind running at a hundred miles per hour and the folder in hand, Yue stood up and left the barracks, emerging out into the darkness beyond. She surveyed the darkening sky with mild surprise – exactly how long had she been engrossed with the folder? It was long, but Yue didn’t see how it was sunset already.

Her answer came in the form of the battle. After the several hours occupied by the 2nd’s surprise attack, the 10th’s fighting had taken several long hours as well, nearly spanning in the double digits. Yue had, of course, remained there, watching the fight carefully. She had to admit, Osamu was an impeccable warrior with a blade and had cut down more foes than anyone but of course, that was understandable, as he was a Captain. However, his prowess in Zanjutsu had still taken her by surprise, aweing her for a split second before she turned back to the rest of the battle. However, the folder brought her attention back to the matter at hand (literally). There were several agents in the vicinity of the barracks and though they were well hidden, Yue knew them well enough to pick them out. “Takane?” She called out, her voice barely higher than her usual soft tone and the agent dropped from the roof and bowed.

“Yes, Captain?”

“There was a report left on my desk about a hostage your squad captured. Would you please elaborate on it, if it’s not too much trouble?” Yue’s unorthodox way of addressing Shinigami of a lower rank have been perceived as highly unprofessional on her part but it was apparent that the agent was already used to it.

“We captured him a few hours ago near the 22nd district during the battle earlier today.” Takane explained.

Yue nodded along, the bits and pieces falling into place. That’s why they’d returned injured, as was typical of a target-specific attack. Only this time, they’d left the target alive. “He should have been in the Maggots' Nest by now. Why isn’t he there yet?”

“The Enforcement Squad showed up near the end and when we tied the hostage down, they attempted to claim him as their hostage and fighting broke out. We took him to Seireitei and obviously the Enforcement Squad tried to take him to their Division and us to ours.”

Yue smiled at him, urging him to go along. He was admitting something wrong, as was evident by his slowing words. It was a known fact that Yue disapproved of the Sixth and Second’s childish squabbles but she said nothing pertaining to their rivalry. “But he’s in the holding cells now, is he not?”

“Yes, Captain. It was decided he was to be put under the Second’s jurisdiction, where he belongs, for the time being. We waited for your approval to take him down to the Maggots' Nest.” Takane said.

“Take him down. If he’s as important as the report says, you should put him in the maximum security cells. There are a few dozen or so free, aren’t there?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Thank you very much, Takane-san.” Yue gave him a bright smile and handed him the folder. “Please give this to Captain Kuroda.”

“Hai.”

This left Yue alone once again, standing the midst of a huge network of barracks and underground facilities. She turned towards the exit, intent on heading back towards the Yukihiro residence to retire for the night.

So, today was the day. Well, there were going to be lots of important days in quick succession so perhaps “the day” was no longer an appropriate way to describe it. None the less, today was important. The 8th had been conducting their preliminary investigations for a few days since the initial assault on the factory and now they were starting to interview senior staff. Osamu was in part resentful and even furious that this was going on at all, but the timing was most inconvenient for him. Plan were in train, plans that needed careful supervision and this was a distraction he could ill afford.

As the focus of their investigation Osamu was one of the first to be interviewed, though many of his senior staff had already been grilled, no doubt this would not be the last time he was subjected to such scrutiny. He refused to have this meeting in his office, he would not dirty its walls with the profane accusations and vile falsehoods that would doubtless surface. Instead he was holding this meeting in one of the many small conference rooms that existed in the headquarters of the 10th. He arrived on time and took his place at the table. Captain Hakkin however, was late. When she arrived she was smiling, as was her custom but Osamu was not amused.

“Your late.” He said simply, in tones that could cut stone.
“I had a lot of work to do.” Was her casual reply, still smiling. It was calculated to annoy him though and it was successful, but Osamu kept his composure, simply saying.
“Sit down.” In a tone that seemed more order than polite invitation. Hakkin did so with a cheery ease whilst Osamu sat on the other side of the table, brooding. “Let’s get on with it Captain.”
“You don’t seem very happy to see me Iwakura-san” Commented Hakkin, with a mocking tone of false offence.
“Address me by my rank, whilst I still hold it.” There was almost a hint of threat behind those words, unwise perhaps but Osamu evidently felt so strongly about the matter that he was willing to risk it. Unfortunately for him Hakkin realised his position all too well and so said again.
“You don’t seem very happy to see me Iwakura-san.” This time there was a tad more playfulness in her voice which showed she knew exactly what she was doing. Osamu was tempted to be petulant and refuse to speak until addressed properly. But that would be childish and ultimately result in only further harm. Leaning back in his chair he sighed and looked off to the side before saying.

“You expect me to be happy? Your company would be perfectly pleasant were it not for the situation. In case you forget I have been falsely accused of treason, that’s liable to make very unhappy indeed.”
“Falsely accused?” Said Hakkin with a perked eyebrow of disbelief. She did not reveal it yet but the material evidence pointed towards Osamu being correct, but she wonderd if he would reveal something in questioning.
“A redundancy I suppose, both guilty and innocent men would say that. But I had to say it.”
“What if I were to tell you I believed you were guilty?” Said Hakkin, leaning back and folding her arms, examining his reaction closely.
“I’d call you a damn fool and ask why.” Truth be told Osamu wanted to break her jaw for even saying that but he knew this was all just part of her job. He couldn’t hold it against her. She at least, was doing her duty.
“Why? You forget, I am the investigator here. I ask you why, you don’t get to know my thinking.” Retorted Hakkin with a vicious little smirk and a glint in her eye.
“If I don’t know your thinking how can I point out your flaws?” Osamu was suddenly very worried about this little chat. If no evidence was laid before him how could he defend himself?
“Sucks doesn’t it? It only gets worse for you I’m afraid. You know how the central 46 try people?”
“However they damn well please.”
“However they damn well please, your right.” Parroted Hakkin, almost in unison with Osamu’s reply. “They might try you fairly, allow you to present a case, lay all the evidence in front of you, give you time to prepare a defence. Or they might just decide in a back room, call you in and execute you there and then. They might even kill you if they think you are innocent, just to save face. Plus they and the noble houses share many connections, they have no such ties with you.”
“Then they..” Began Osamu’s protest, but he was cut off by the Captain of the 8th.
“Shouldn’t be allowed to try you? That sounds like treason.” She said, still with a slight smirk and a tony bit of the, got you now, attitude about her.
“You said it.”
“You thought it!”
“Prove it.”
“I don’t have to, I just have to say it.” Hakkin was mocking him, taunting him openly, trying to get a rise out of him but what she said was true. The facts didn’t matter as much as what she said the facts were. Her efforts to provoke him were partially successful but Osamu did not leap into indiscretion. Leaning back in his chair with obvious frustration Osamu slapped the table with the palm of his hand and said.

“Then what is this? If you wanted me dead there would be no need to meet me? You would just write up a report that condemned me and hang the facts.” In essence, he was demanding she show her hand, something Hakkin wouldn’t do quite yet.
“Your right, I would.”
“Then what do you want?” Demanded Osamu, with his frustration still evident in his voice.
“Perhaps I care about the facts.” Suggested Hakkin, with a tone meant to suggest that perhaps Osamu had misjudged her.
“Only academically, you enjoy conspiracy and detective work but I doubt you let the truth get in the way of your work.” This prompted Hakkin to give a little laugh, but not one that was to happy. His words had wounded her slightly but as Captain of the 8th she had gotten used to stomaching worse blows than that.
“There are more facts than just the material.” This was an interesting turn for the meeting to take.

“True, but you’re asking me to guess as to your soul now. I don’t like guessing about such things. I like to know for sure before I act.” It was clear that Osamu did not want to play ball but it was equally clear that Hakkin was going to make him.
“You can’t know, you can only guess. Your choices are limited.” She said, smiling and seemingly revelling in her absolute power in this situation. She wanted to see which way he would go, his answer surprised her somewhat. Cracking a slight smile Osamu looked at her for some long time, sizing her up slowly before speaking cautiously, like a man walking on thin ice.
“You aren’t high born. You climbed up from the bottom but you had some help.”
“Perhaps you should do my job.” Hakkin said, with a slight smile and a slightly surprised tone.
“I didn’t intuit that, I read it. In your files.” Was Osamu’s flat and oddly crushing response.
“You have access to my files?”
“Please I run payroll, HR, accounts and so much more besides. Who do you think keeps your records?” Hakkin gave a tiny embarrassed smile, as if she should have remembered that but Osamu kept going. Now he was moving into intuition and character analysis. “You didn’t forget where you came from. Most people who have that opportunity never look back. They save their own skins and then that’s it. You remembered you want to help. But you don’t.” There was a tiny moment where Hakin’s smile faltered, a miniscule crack that Osamu pounced on. “You don’t because you don’t think you can. You are worried you would get stamped on just as I have. You lost your faith long before now.”

“I saw them for what they were first.” She said, slightly sadly and with an empty kind of shrug.
“You were perceptive.” Osamu swiftly commented in an effort to lift her enthusiasm but it was also a genuine compliment.
“Perhaps, but it’s the nature of the job. The nobles and the central 46 aren’t interested in leading, they are interested in ruling. The status quo is all they care about because the status quo helps them. They call it balance but it’s no such thing, they are just scales weighted so heavily they never move.” She said, still seeming disappointed and defeated, not by this interview but by the world in general.
“A boot on the neck rather than a helping hand.” Osamu helpfully summarised, equally disappointed in his tone but not as defeated, there was a bit of vim in there, hiding beneath the sadness.
“You threatened to make that boot slip!”
“Not intentionally I assure you, besides would it have been a bad thing?” Osamu could smell the trap suddenly. Of course, if he kept on telling the truth he would not fall into it but he would have to be very careful with his words and avoid falling into linguistic traps. Still though, he left his question in at the end to see how Hakkin reacted.
“For them, yes, and they are the law.” Was her response, clearly she was being as guarded as him and not revealing her personal opinions on the matter. Her previous words and tone suggested someone of sympathetic views to Osamu but that could have all been a front.
“It can’t last.” Commented Osamu, again cautiously and in an attempt to flush out Hakkin’s thoughts.
“It’s lasted a long time, they think it will last a while longer.” Disappointingly she sounded like Yue on this topic, assuming things would carry on as they had before, failing to recognise that everything was changing, or at least threatened to change.
“Not after the occupation.” Osamu said casually, in an attempt to make her see the fundamental changes that were coming without seeming like he was in any way driving it, and therefore being technically guilty of treason.
“They don’t believe so.” Hakkin’s response was enlightening, it showed that it was not her thoughts she was reflecting, but rather the thoughts of the nobles. Everything she had just said was part of the job and did not provide any real indication as to her own thoughts.
“They don’t want to.” Said Osamu as he leant forward and put his weight on the desk, giving a tiny shrug as he did so.
“Even if they did, do you think they would act differently? Believe it or not they will fight it. In the change they have nothing to gain and everything to lose.”
“They could substantially mitigate their loss.” Pointed out Osamu helpfully, he was trying to offer the nobles the best way out as he saw it Hakkin’s response was slightly demoralising.
“They are greedy, they don’t want to let go of anything. They have been used to everything for far too long. A lot, simply isn’t enough anymore. All or nothing.” Osamu wanted to believe that these were her personal opinions showing through but he couldn’t be sure. It could all be an interrogation tactic. This thought, justified or not, caused him to become more cautious.

“I agree with you, that’s why I know you are lying to me. You’re telling me what I want to hear, you’re trying to make me trust you so I spill my guts out. You didn’t find anything in the records because there was nothing to be found. You know aggressive interrogation won’t work with me so you’re trying to be my friend. You already know some of my opinions but even Kuroda can’t justify that as treason.” Hakkin gave a slight nod, his analysis was certainly justified. What Osamu had just outlined was a legitimate interrogation technique and one that she had used in the past.
“You’re right. That is how I would question you. I can see it won’t work.”
“Flattery won’t either.” Interjected Osamu, with a small and cautious smile. This was a tad closer to the barbs he enjoyed exchanging, but the stakes were far too high for him to take real pleasure out of this.
“But would I not also act like this if I genuinely did agree with you, or at least sympathise?”
“You would, but I can’t afford to trust anyone right now.”
“If you don’t start trusting some people you will not survive this.”
“If I trust the wrong one I will surely die” The implied subtext being that he could hardly be blamed for not trusting the very person who had been assigned to investigate him and who’s division was traditionally as shady as you could get.

“You trust Captain Yukihiro.” Was Hakkin’s unexpected response. Osamu wondered where she was going with this but even more alarm bells suddenly started ringing in his head.
“What makes you say that?” Enquired Osamu, cautiously.
“Our observation indicates that she entered your barracks a shortly after your run in with Kuroda. She spent some time here but left without any sign of a struggle or distress.”
“A professional visit, we had a battle to plan.” Was Osamu’s flat response, he was trying to give Hakkin as little ammunition to work with until he knew her plan. As it turns out she had the ammunition already.
“It was more than that. It lasted too long and my men indicate you never went deeper into the building. ”
“Our discussion became heated, we had something of a debate about our previous meeting.”
“Yet you went unharmed?” Enquired Hakkin, clearly slightly surprised that Yue had not attempted to kill him then and there.
“So did she.” Said Osamu with a slight smile. After all, they were both Captains, there would have been a decent chance he might have gotten the upper hand instead, or at least landed a few substantial blows.
“Very civilized, unbelievably so.” Hakkin clearly wasn’t buying all of this quite yet, Osamu was unsure what she smelled but he knew she smelt something.
“We didn’t walk out of that meeting friends. I still think she will try to kill me. But we were professionals. We had a frank exchange of views but we both conducted ourselves properly. Something the Captain Commander could learn from.” Whilst Osamu had not told a lie he had been economical with the truth. He trusted Yue, not with his plans and maybe not even with his life. But he trusted in her character. Certainly he had a certain fondness for the woman. He would not throw her into this mess by revealing that fact now. Had he done so the 8th would have knocked on her door just as hard as they had knocked on his, or so he believed. He considered it though, forcing a crisis, forcing a rift in the Captains. But he just couldn’t do it, not yet any way. Thankfully, she was satisfied with what he had said, clearly his words had assuaged some unspoken doubt.

“I see. But that just means this investigation won’t expand to include her. There is still the matter of your own treachery. You attempted to wrestle agricultural control from the nobility and have already subsumed portions of Ichigawa responsibilities. Furthermore you seem to be building your own personal army. This all looks very suspicious.” Her previous attempts at friendship were gone, it had failed so now she had to pressure him more, be more direct in her accusations. Thankfully Osamu remained calm under pressure.
“Too suspicious to be treason. If I wanted to bring the system down I wouldn’t do it in this damn silly way. I’m more dangerous than that. Everything I have done has been in the name of the war effort. Soldiers were starving so I turned over every scrap of land I could get my hands on. Still, it was not enough and any extra strain on the system would send us into disaster. Already fighting men would often go hungry when even a tiny deviation from the ideal occurred. I needed more food and more land and I knew the nobles were sitting on it. I was already sending them food but my data on their needs and production statistics was wanting. I knew for a fact however, they were not operating at maximum efficiency. For their own good, and more importantly the good of the war effort, I had to have control of their output.” His tone sounded a little indignant, even betrayed but he was keeping it in check. Crucially he was not straying into accidentally sounding like he was planning something treasonous.
“But they were better at it than you believed, they had reserves after all.” This was another, carefully calculated comment from Hakkin, designed to try and get a rise out of Osamu and tempt him into indiscretion. If there was treason in him she would find it.

“Indeed they did, but that simply put a greater moral dimension on the problem. I have had to deny fighting men food in the past and they just sat there. Even when the food was flowing to all who needed it the diet lacked certain nutritional elements. Whilst I cannot prove a definite link between cause and effect anyone with half a brain would know that some people will have died due to the decrease in performance this food shortage created. Meanwhile the nobles, the central 46 and our Captain Commander just sat there. For what? I cannot comprehend. Men died whilst they sat and watched as their reserves wasted under them and they controlled the greatest concentrations of arable land currently under…” He was about to say, our control, but he realised how those words did not apply any more. It was becoming increasingly clear the nobles did not see themselves as part of the greater whole, instead they were somehow separate. Using a term that demonstrated a shared sense of belonging was not appropriate when discussing the ruling families. His arguments and passions played to a part of Hakkin that was not traditionally put on display. Even now she kept it locked down as she went about her job. His frustration threatened to tip him over into saying something stupid so she kept on pressing.
“It sounds like you are angry with them.”
“Damn right I am, the deaths of servicemen are on their heads and this occupation may have dragged on for longer than it otherwise would. This pointless deceit went beyond callus and bordered on evil.” Evil was not a word used lightly by Osamu, hence why he said it merely bordered on evil, but the strength of his feeling was apparent.
“Traitorus thoughts?” Enquired Hakkin, she was close to finding treason in him, if any lay there. Osamu’s response though began to bring this line of enquiry under control.
“To think others vile is no treason, as you well know. I would have to act.”

“You were taking the farms.” Was her opening salvo in a last attempt to force him into an angry or careless confession on this topic. All with the aim of making him admit to interference.
“A misconception I have heard all too often. I merely wanted to control production and output, not legal ownership, as I thought I had made abundantly clear. Come the end of crisis they could have had all control back and they would have had the legal right to compel it. But they just couldn’t play along. Furthermore I would never have, nor did I, act against the express order of my superiors or against the law. Believe me, I hired too many lawyers to fall into that trap.”
“But you were interfering in their affairs.”
“I wanted their permission. I had yet to step outside the limits of the law, I assure you. Besides, they interfere in our affairs on a daily basis. As ridiculous as that legal protection is I will say one thing for it. Its draftsmen made it so it worked both ways. In reality though it works one way, they can interfere with us as much as they like but the reverse is not true.”
“So you wanted to interfere?” Asked Hakkin, but it was more of an assertion than a question. Osamu had just come dangerously close to accidentally stating he was planning a breach of the law. Not treason perhaps but still a serious crime. Enough to make him loose his commission and likely be imprisoned for a substantial period of his life. Osamu however, was too alert to how close he had sailed to oblivion to fall for it.

“The thought had occurred but I had no plans on acting on it. I wanted to avoid this very conversation.” Everyone knew that simply desiring to do so was not a crime. If it were then everyone would have been imprisoned for conspiracy for one offence or another a very long time ago.
“If you had control of their farms and food, would they have suffered for it?”
“The Ichigawa would have, almost certainly. They have an army that refuses to fight, there is no point in feeding soldiers who refuse to pick up their swords. Everyone that was useful to the war effort would have remained well fed, better fed probably. But I would have obtained the power in a non-treasonous manner, plus making that call is far from treachery. Indeed, the behaviour of the Ichigawa is the closest thing to treason to so far be mentioned in this meeting.” Osamu’s response was true in both fact and law. It may not have made him popular with the Ichigawa but it would not have been treason. Indeed, his counter accusation had some merit to it but more importantly it succeeded in shifting the focus of the discussion.
“I agree, it is suspicious, but I cannot investigate it at this stage.”
“You have the legal power.” Stated Osamu forcefully, as if that should have been enough.
“But not the practical power. I’d be out of a job and in a cell the moment I came sniffing. Regardless of the facts. Surely you learnt that lesson by now.” Osamu just gave a sad groan of acknowledgement.

Hakkin then continued. “What about the other powers you have been stealing away, from the Ichigawa in particular?”
“Again, all perfectly legal.” Osamu would have launched into a long explanation of how it was all well within the law but it turned out he didn’t need to. Hakkin already knew the answer.
“I know it is, your lawyers papers were quite helpful on that point.”
“Those papers are legally privileged and exempt from any inspection or investigation.” Osamu was obviously indignant, illegal access to legal papers was one of the worst ways to violate the integrity of the legal system and fair trial. Hakkin just raised an eyebrow to criticise his naivety, an eyebrow that only went up further when he said. “Certainly it could never be used in a court of law.”
“Stop thinking the rules bind anyone but you. No one else here plays fair and the people who led to this meeting taking place not only write the rulebook but they cheat anyway. Law and Integrity mean nothing to these people and they only spew those words as a way of binding everyone else.” Osamu gave another dissatisfied groan, even though it was the very first piece of genuinely useful advice Hakkin had given him and little did she know but it would have a profound effect on him. Hakkin however, kept going.

“What about your little army?”
“Again, legal.” Was Osamu’s uncooperative response.
“I think we can take that as read. I’ll assume you start every response with those words from now on in. Now why do you need an army?”
“To win the war of course.” Osamu was still being cautious.
“Against who?” It was clear that Hakkin was insinuating the war might have been against the nobles rather than anyone else but Osamu was not about to play that game.
“The hollows, there are no plans to turn the NDV directly onto the noble houses.” Again, this was a truth but a slightly misleading one, he had considered using the NDV to pressure nobles but that was a plan that had only ever existed inside his own mind nor was it a plan he was irreversibly committed to.
“It could be said you are interfering with noble business again.”
“How?” This was a point Osamu genuinely didn’t see. Of course, not seeing it was justified. By now Hakkin was clutching at straws, a fact which became apparent when she spoke.
“Armies are a source of their power. By creating your own you threaten this power, thereby interfering with them.” Her tone was confident but he words showed just how thin the case was getting.
“More direct interference is necessary to pass that test. Besides, by that logic, the 13 Divisions should be disbanded.”
“If they could they would, but that event would spur every other Captain into open revolt. They keep us around because they haven’t worked out how to get rid of us yet. But the day will come.”
“Sickening, but as I said. The NDV are being aimed out, not in.”
“Why create them?”
“Because we were losing the war. We still are, our latest victory is not enough to turn the tide on its own. It is obvious the old ways are no longer sufficient and they never will be again. No one else seemed willing to face up to that fact, so I acted. I took the most plentiful resource at my disposal, the common man, and turned it into a vital war tool. They are already having an effect.”

Hakkin's next question returned focus on hypothetical future events. “Will you disband them after the occupation is over?” Osamu smirked upon hearing the question, he knew she already knew the answer but what was odd was the fact she was trying to make him say it. It honestly couldn’t hurt him, unless he tried to hide it.
“I could lie and say yes, but you would spot that in an instant. I have no plans on standing them down. I have made a full time, professional army and I will keep it. In peace time I shall make it stronger and fitter for purpose. The hollows now know they can attack this place, en mass and well. They will do so again one day, with even more forces. When they do come they will find my boy’s waiting for them as well as everyone else. Perhaps that would be enough to prevent this madness happening a second time and save countless millions in the process. The NDV also allows us to go on the offensive more aggressively, once the occupation is over.”
“Some nobles will find that threatening.” She said, but making them feel threatened or uncomfortable was no crime. That was a fault purely in the noble’s own minds.
“Insecure, egotistical jackasses.” Was Osamu’s predictably bitter response.
“The same could be said of you.” Was Hakkin’s playful counterpoint, all said with a smile.
“At least I admitted it.” The pair indulged in a brief bout of laughter, some of the tension seemed to be lifting from this gathering. “But all of the NDV comes under either 13 division rules or my own personal affairs, neither of which the nobles can touch. Besides, treason does not extend to making nobles uneasy.”

“Indeed it does not, but what about your feelings on having ¾ of the NDV taken away from you?” Again, Hakkin was hoping to expose some treasonous plan that had formed as a result of Kuroda’s actions, even if none had existed before now.
“Anger, sadness, fear, resentment. All the things you would expect. It was a pointless gesture. No one else knows how to use them and without my blessing they won’t follow anyone else into battle. Not now they see a threat against their darling father.”
“Kuroda might just order them disbanded then, for disobedience.” It was a certainly a realistic possibility, Kuroda didn’t seem the type to tolerate something beyond her control. Perhaps she and Osamu were more alike in that regard than either of them cared to admit. Still though, Osamu seemed unconcerned by the suggestion.
“If she does that they will just reform under a private banner, entirely beyond her control. Either that or she will light the touch paper on the very uprising she claims to be trying to avoid. I doubt even she is that stupid. It’s too late to get rid of them now. They are permanent. As for control, it will soon pass back to me in its entirety. As my innocence is proven and others are shown as unable to properly manage them. There will be no choice but to return control of my men to me. As a result there is no need for me to become aggressive or treasonous in my efforts to get them back. It will come back on its own. Once the situation is significantly different I can place portions of the NDV under different Captains, but it would be a slow process and relationships would have to be carefully constructed, this was always my original intention.”

Hakkin seemed to sit there for a while, considering the matter. She was processing the interview to date, the testimonies of other senior officers and all the material evidence at her disposal. She took her time as she mentally checked for inconsistencies or unexplored lines of enquiry. Eventually though, she seemed to settle on a conclusion.
“Judging by your words, the words of your colleagues and the total lack of material evidence. You are entirely innocent in the eyes of the law. But that’s just passing the first test. Now we need to decide whether I want you to live.” She said, with a slight smile. “A voice in the back of my head tells me to kill you. Kuroda, a few short sighted Captains and all four noble families would thank me for it I wager. But…… I’m going to let you live. I don’t want to speculate about this strife that may or may not come after the occupation. I don’t need to look that far into the future. I think we need you, as you were, right now. We may not survive this war without you and your radical techniques and afterwards well…. I can’t say I wouldn’t be glad to see life improved for the others. I will write up a report, officially recommending you be cleared of all charges. If any funny business looks like it will happen with the report I’ll have it leaked. I will also recommend all your former responsibilities be returned to you, especially total control of the NDV.”

“What about the farms?” Osamu was clearly anxious to get as much of his authority back as possible, for both selfless and selfish reasons.
“You won’t get any more than you already had. Not until we have a territorial expansion and you can find some land the nobles won’t claim.”
“Unlikely, but that’s not what I a meant. I meant about managing the farms I had previously, and food distribution.”
“As I said, I will recommend that be restored to you as well. I must say, I never saw paper work like yours when it came to rations. But I’m not sure the Captain Commander would be willing to return your power to you on that front.”
“Then shes…..” But Osamu didn’t have the chance to finish that sentence as Hakkin finished it for him.
“A damn fool, perhaps.” It was unclear if these were her thoughts or if she was merely demonstrating how well she had understood that part of him. “But if she is a fool she is a fool with all the power and motives currently unknown to me.”

“So you suspect her of something?” Osamu was glad to hear he was not the only one who had aroused the good Captain’s suspicions and if he could cast the light of enquiry onto the Captain Commander and her allies then all the better.
“Her actions in the meeting were odd, to say the least. All that business with the nobles and central 46 reeked to high heaven. But it’s nowhere near enough to spark a full investigation. Plus I would likely be assassinated before I get to see any evidence. Still. I’ll be keeping half an eye on her. I’ll be keeping half an eye on you too.”
“At this rate you will run out of eyes.”
“I have many eyes.” There was then a brief period of tense silence, a tension which gradually eased as both Captains began smiling oddly, Hakkin even let out a tiny giggle. “Well, I must be off to write my report. Rest easy Captain.” Osamu noted with pleasure the fact he had been addressed by rank at last.

What Hakkin said next though, troubled him. “I won’t be the one to drive the knife, real or metaphorical, into you. But watch out for Captain Yukihiro. Don’t trust her, she is the most likely person to hold the knife, for all sorts of reasons. You may not want it to be her but desire does not change the truth.”
“What makes you think I trust her, or would want to?” Asked Osamu, still eager to try and keep Yue out of this if he could. He didn’t want her dragged into the mess.
“Because when you were at your most vulnerable you called her. Not me, not your family, not the Captain of the 11th or 12th both of whom you have enjoyed good and strong relations with. You called on her. That strikes of something special to me. As I said, do not trust her.”
“For the moment you are correct.” Though Osamu was not letting on to the fact that he already trusted Yue a tad more than Hakkin would have liked him to. Crucially though Osamu thought he could change things to the point where Yue really could be trusted, one day. Certainly though, Osamu did not like hearing Hakkin’s caution.
“For the moment has nothing to do with it. If the central 46 want you dead, she will kill you no matter what her personal thoughts. If the Captain Commander wants you dead, she will kill you. If her father wants you dead, she will kill you and she may kill you for a hundred other reasons. These are factors that will not change. She barely has a mind of her own when it comes to these important decisions. She is a tool not an independent actor. The only way you can come close to trusting her is if all the above trust you as well. We both know that’s not going to happen, not without some serious effort and luck any way.” Hakkin almost sounded aggressive, not angry but certainly forceful in her opinion. It was if she cared what happened to Osamu but also knew that being gentle on this topic would not work.
“Perhaps..”
“Perhaps nothing, I don’t know what it is you see that makes you want to trust her or think you ever could but I strongly advise you to find those thoughts and crush them. Her soul has already been bought wholesale and I don’t think anyone could ever prize it free. Whatever plan you have, give up. If you merely want the Captain of the second, rather than her specifically then sit back and wait. She will be married off soon enough and forced to resign her position. You could even speed that process along if you want. Make it so a new Captain of the second is forced to come along. That woman is useless to you.” She was sounding increasingly embittered and vitriolic in her criticism, hoping this would move Osamu.
“No…”
“No you won’t or no you disagree with my analysis? Either way it doesn’t matter much. I hope you realise the truth of the situation before it’s too late. You care a great deal about a great many people. That, in a nut shell, is the main reason why I’m cutting you lose, aside from your innocence of course. But let her go, she is one person too many. You can’t help her and you can’t depend on her, ever, but the effort could kill you.” Now her tone had shifted to almost pleading.
“We will see.”
“Indeed we will, hopefully before it’s all too late.”

There was a few moments of heavy, contemplative silence before Osamu stood up and waved Captain Hakkin away, they both had work to be getting on with.
“Of you go then.” He began to walk out before he paused and looked at Hakkin, saying more gently. “Oh and Captain thank you.”
“No need to thank me, I’m only doing my job, and the right thing of course.” With that the Captain of the 8th stood up with a noticeable spring and a broad smile before lightly walking out. Her usual playfulness had returned instantly. It was an odd sight to behold but Osamu was glad of it, for now. This meeting had gone better than he had hoped. Of course he had no way of knowing how Kuroda would react but he couldn’t worry about that now. Hakkin’s caution about Yue though. That did worry him. Greatly.

But Osamu could not sit here all day and let worry and doubt consume him. He had to go on the offensive. In the main he was increasing the readiness of the NDV and putting in place the final preparations for a massive recruitment surge. However, he had something else to do as well. Osamu had always intended to establish a newspaper. Along with trains, tunnels, factories, damns, power plants, courts, a proper police force, an apolitical military and so many more things. Until now it had sat a long way down his list of priorities, it was to be something of an icing on the cake rather than something of substance. But, now he needed another tool in his arsenal aimed at controlling public opinion. He had his generosity and consideration for the refugees and impoverished, he had his attitude of classlessness, he had his capability, he had his NDV, he had his many deeds and word of mouth, he had those he employed to gently massage things and he had a gentle anti noble sentiment gently simmering away. But he needed another string to his bow.

Of course, if he just set up a newspaper under his own name it would instantly be seen as the propaganda tool it was and immediately lose all credibility as well as make him a laughing stock amongst his foes and expose him to possible criminal action. No, he needed to be smarter than that. He needed to fund the start-up of the operation through extremely discreet means but that was no problem for Osamu. The man was a wizard of numbers and paperwork. He could make money appear and disappear like magic and that was when he was using strictly conventional methods. The machines would also be readily sourcable in a similar manner. The problem was finding an editor and senior sub editors who were loyal but also deniable. Osamu’s solution to all of this was surprisingly simple.

For an editor he chose an old con man from the middle districts. Some would have described him as a naughty chap with a heart of gold. However, the people who called him that had all been tricked. He was a greedy chap with a chip on his shoulder and a taste for money and power. Thankfully he owed Osamu big time as Osamu had cut him loose on more than one occasion. Furthermore Osamu promised him what he wanted, namely the money and power that came with being a newspaper editor. But also, they shared a deep residing grudge against the noble classes and the powers that be. The man even held this almost vitriolic hatred above money. Even better he was utterly deniable, there was no paper record of Osamu and this man ever having been in contact. Once Osamu had this man on board the rest was simple. The man would be under instruction to recruit deputy editors from the educated refugee population as well as the majority of the rest of his staff. Then the paper could act freely, reporting on the war, societal issues, scandals, the economy, whatever it pleased and however it pleased. But, on issues where Osamu may take an interest he could control the headlines and articles to suit his agenda. It was perfect. And now, with the 8th off of his back, he needed to see a con man about the soul society’s very first newspaper.

The warehouse-like building stood tall and imposing when compared to the buildings that frequented the human world, repelling intruders away simply by its appearance alone. That, however, wouldn’t deter the woman standing right in front of it, determined to find the hidden Fullbringers. A strong amount of reiatsu emanated from this exact location when compared to the normal, extremely low levels of background reiatsu left over from Hollows over the millennia. It did prove, however, that whoever was inside it really needed to suppress their reiatsu better or at least erect barriers against that sort of thing. Of course, a spiritually sensitive being was a rare to come across in that particular area of Ireland but it was still possible. She was there now, wasn’t she? A hand came up to grip the handle of the massive door, turning it in an attempt to open the door. It didn’t budge, no matter how much strength Yuzuki applied to it, proving that the door was locked or barricaded.

Yuzuki didn’t wait to find out. Whirling around, she aimed a powerful back-kick at the door, shattering a man-sized hole through the wood. Her plans for an inconspicuous entry were ruined – she hadn’t had the patience to look for other means of entry apart from smashing in the front door. Nevertheless, Yuzuki was answered by silence. The interior was dark, boxes made from various sturdy materials making piles upon piles of stored things, whatever they were. As Yuzuki stepped in, her hand on her Zanpakuto, she almost expected to be ambushed by a couple dozen of kids. However, there was nothing, no presence of any living being as far as she could see, though she could still sense the reiatsu.

The decision took approximately two seconds – deciding to follow the reiatsu would be the best idea. She nodded to herself, almost as an afterthought, and focused on the pressure. It was strongest in the far right corner of the warehouse, where most of the boxes were stored. She set off at a quick pace to the corner, some fifty meters away. The place was truly huge, not even her quick strides afforded her to arrive quickly. However, as she got closer a small, inconspicuous glow in said corner was brought to her attention by a barely audible whisper. The whispering stopped suddenly, as if cut off or muffled by something and Yuzuki narrowed her eyes. She stood behind a tall stack of wooden boxes labeled with ‘this way up’ and ‘do not store with explosives’. That last warning piqued her interest and she prodded the box for a second before the smell of gunpowder assaulted her senses. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Yuzuki shifted slightly and listened carefully for any more signs of human activity.

Fifteen minutes passed like this, with no sound nor any indication of a being within the four walls. Not even Yuzuki was detectable, not to inexperienced Fullbringers anyway, her massive amount of reiatsu being nearly impossible to hide. That was exactly what Yuzuki had been waiting for. Apparently assuming that the intruder was now gone, the humans behind the boxes sighed in relief and the light flared up again, nearly blinding Yuzuki. She smirked, intent on apprehending the gang as soon as they came out. And that’s exactly what they did, making their way out between the boxes, only to be met with the smug figure of Yuzuki. More scared than anything, they scattered as much as possible, a running throughout the warehouse and aiming for the exit. Yuzuki was faster than that, using a bit of Shunpo to dart around and catch them like escaped animals. Soon enough, they cowered in a corner, much to Yuzuki’s dislike.

’What a bunch of spineless brats,’ she thought, surveying them all with a displeased expression. Finally, she spoke. “So, you’ve all been hiding. Care to tell me why?”

Silence spanned across the warehouse for a few long minutes. A man in his early twenties, who seemed to be the leader of sorts, said, “We thought you were one of those humanoid monsters.” Yuzuki perked an eyebrow at this, mildly amused at their description of an Arrancar. Why would there be Arrancars in the Human world? The last Arrancar had appeared 64 years ago, if Yuzuki wasn’t mistaken. Nevertheless, she wasn’t surprised that they couldn’t tell the difference between her reiatsu and an Arrancar’s. Arrancars had become unsettlingly similar to Shinigami in the last few centuries, unlike the ones she’d battled 600 years ago, when they’d felt more primal than anything.

However, the fact that they’d sent two of their own to run after a suspected Arrancar didn’t sit well with her. Sending Ciara and Emmett into the lion’s den was dangerous and stupid, something Yuzuki didn’t approve of. They all should’ve either come together or stayed away together rather than sacrificing others, viewing them as expendable. Of course, sometimes it was inevitable but in this case, it was entirely avoidable. Just looking at the kids’ scared expressions pissed her off more than anything. Her previous assessment of them being spineless was correct after all. “Just so you know, they’re called Arrancars and they have the remains of a white mask on their head and face. I clearly don’t have one, therefore I’m not one. However, you shouldn’t have sent Ciara and Emmett to trail after me if you weren’t sure, while you sat here on your cowardly asses, risking their lives. I hope you feel better knowing I nearly killed Emmett.” Yuzuki glared a bit, not too much as she didn’t want to excessively scare the kids. No doubt it would’ve been good for them but Yuzuki found it far too much work to undo the damage she’d done later. “They’re actually going to arrive… now. I hope you feel ashamed of your actions.” Yuzuki berated the group, feeling two faint reiatsu signatures approach the warehouse at a fast pace. Just in time, Ciara and Emmett entered the building, taking in the embarrassed faces of their group that refused to meet their eyes. They were visibly surprised to see Yuzuki there and wondered what she’d done to silence the normally rowdy group. They didn’t wait to find out, however, and went to join the rest of the group, sitting down near the back.

“You’re all a bunch of unfortunate cowards.” Yuzuki started. Her posture made her seem more like the feminine version of a military commander more than anything. “Unfortunately, I’ve been instructed to train you and your abilities. We have a war in my world and any help we can get is welcome.”

The group seemed uncertain, some obviously unwilling to charge head-on into another world and tackle their problems, their war. The man that spoken before seemed unsure and leaned in to consult his companion, a boy in his late teens and platinum-blonde hair, a shade similar to Yuzuki’s. He nodded in response and their whispered conference continued for a few minutes, occasionally being joined by several other members. Finally, they seemed to come to a consensus. Yuzuki would’ve forced them anyway whether they’d liked it or not, one way or the other. She’d wanted to offer them the chance of saying ‘no’, however, and making their own decision so that they didn’t complain about having no choice later on.

“We’ll do it. We’ve been chased out of our hometowns, shunned by our friends and families for our ‘abnormality’. We’ve been chased and attacked by monsters and their human counterparts for too long. We’ve watched too many of our friends and kind die. We want no more part in that.” The rest of the humans nodded in response, agreeing with his words.

Yuzuki nodded and clapped her hands in a military manner, the situation reminiscent of a boot camp. She motioned for them to stand up and pointed to the boxes that lay about. “You made the right choice; at least it shows me that your brains are functioning properly. Training starts right now.” Ignoring the groans of complaint from the younger ones, Yuzuki continued, “Move those boxes to the end of the warehouse and make sure they take up as little space as possible. Stack them if you have to. If they’re too heavy and you can’t lift them high enough, call me.” They nodded and dispersed, some more reluctant than others. Yuzuki didn’t move, surveying them sharply. “After you’re done, I want you all to run twenty laps around the warehouse. And no complaints!” She called after them, her sharp voice startling some of them. Her mannerisms towards training were undeniably identical to Captain Akimoto’s, which was understandable as she had spent several long centuries training with him. And that training had proved effective – Yuzuki was now determined to pass it onto the humans; she’d beat the cowardice out of them if she had to.

---

Several weeks later, Yuzuki stood over Emmett, watching the crystal in his hands vibrate and shift around. She leapt away at the last moment as he flung it away from him just as it exploded into a million and one shards. Some of the larger ones embedded themselves into her arm, seeing as she was the one closest to the explosion. She barely registered the faint, brief sting of pain and pulled them out absentmindedly, her eyes on the clock that hung on the far wall of the warehouse. It had been stolen by a particularly stealthy teenager, nicked from a fairly wealthy house. She was visibly antsy, a foreign feeling of excitement settling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the hands of the clock move.

The excited feeling didn’t fade away even as she watched over the others. They had improved greatly in the span of several weeks, taking to their training better than Yuzuki had initially thought. Some, like Emmett, had even mastered their Fullbring. Emmett was no capable of igniting and exploding most things, though it depended on the size, density and the material. She could see the kid was going to be an asset in Seireitei and though it had seemed unlikely at first, Emmett had taken to Yuzuki as well. He obviously liked her more than the others, often staying up late to keep her company as she kept watch outside the warehouse. She liked the kid more than others too, being able to tolerate his chatter despite nearly having suffocated him when she’d first met him.

All too soon, the hour hand of the clock hit precisely three in the afternoon. Yuzuki felt her excitement and relief grow as she called the Fullbringers to her, motioning for them to stand together. “I need to leave for a while, possibly for a long time. I’m leaving you all in Emmett’s care until I find a competent replacement and until then, I expect you train diligently, like I never left because I might just come back for a surprise visit.” A few shuddered at the implications of that statement, the prospect of getting caught lazing around by Yuzuki not appealing in the least. Surprisingly, she hadn’t quite lost her temper with them yet and they didn’t want that to change anytime soon.

Half an hour of goodbyes from saddened humans later, Yuzuki ruffled Emmett’s messy black hair and said, “Take care of yourself and the group kid. I expect great things from you.” He smiled in response and opened his mouth to reply, but Yuzuki was gone.

She slowed down when she approached the open Senkaimon, eager to get out on the other side. There was nothing better than Seireitei, she decided, as she approached the two Shinigami stationed at both sides of the Senkaimon, third-seats if she wasn’t mistaken by the look of their uniforms. They both bowed deeply when they spotted her. “Welcome back, Lieutenant Ueshima.”

Yuzuki walked out through the other side, finding herself standing right on the edge of Sokyoku Hill. She took and deep breath and smiled, glad to be back home. Rarely had she ever felt so happy, so glad to be back home that it showed on her face. Every trace of unhappiness and resentment at having spent a hundred years in the human world was gone. In an impressive display of Shunpo, Yuzuki leapt off the Hill and hurtled down towards Seireitei, landing lightly on a rooftop and making her way towards her Division.

---

Little did she know that everyone already knew about her return. The opening of a Senkaimon required authorization from the Captain-Commander and a lot of paperwork to be done by Akimoto. The Shinigami in charge of passing on the paperwork to the Captain had noticed Yuzuki’s name on the paper and had nearly had a heart attack. The information spread like wildfire and whispers followed, the Shinigami quietly discussing Yuzuki’s return. Though no doubt most, if not all, in Seireitei knew of Yuzuki, only those that had been around in a hundred years ago had seen her alive, mostly the Fifth’s Shinigami. The rest undoubtedly hadn’t, seeing as she spent majority of her time in the Fifth Division. Nevertheless, her reputation was fearsome and the moment the information had got out, the Shinigami – even the ones not in the Fifth – had scrambled to put everything together to perfection, not wanting to be the recipient of Yuzuki’s wrath. It almost seemed as if they were getting ready for the apocalypse – the only difference was that no-one was running, as if accepting their fate and the inevitable storm to come.

The doors of the Fifth’s main barracks exploded outwards with all the force of a mighty hurricane assaulting the building. Shinigami in the immediate vicinity cowered, most of them unused to the temperamental storm that had now come back. When the dust finally settled, the doors were barely hanging on their hinges and the space within was devoid of any life. It was, however, a complete mess, as if the aforementioned hurricane had rampaged within before disappearing within sight. Papers were strewn on the floor, stacks of paperwork and filing cabinet had collapsed and spilled their contents onto the wooden planks. The desk was overturned and askew in a corner and the door hung only on a single hinge.

As the Fifth scrambled to get their bearings and piece the strange situation together, the sound of a crash behind the barracks was heard. A few Shinigami rushed towards the back, ready to diffuse any situation that got out of hand. They were met with the sight of the Sixth Seat on his back and the Fourth Seat standing over him, pissed and panicking.

“Why the hell did you do that?! I told you countless times before she arrived that we need to break it to her gently! You should’ve listened to me, I know what she’s like!” The Fourth Seat bellowed, his panic spurring him on. “She’s going to kill someone! Literally!” He knew the Sixth had underestimated Yuzuki’s legendary temper and had assumed all those rumors to be exaggerated. Well, the office’s state of complete disarray proved everything he’d doubted. “You’re cleaning up the office and fixing the goddamn doors now! Go!” He glared and the Sixth scrambled up, making his way towards the mangled office but not before shooting a glare towards the Fourth Seat.

The Fourth Seat didn’t even acknowledge the Sixth’s dirty looks. He was rubbing his temples in frustration, pacing around the open courtyard directly behind the main barracks, a look of immense worry on his face. There would be no stopping Yuzuki today, not at all. Something would be broken, something would die today.

---

Yuzuki had stormed out of the Fifth after a thorough look through stacks upon stacks of documents, some pulled out from the archives just for her. There was literally no way to explain her anger and its burning glare was focused on one thing and one person only. Iwakura Osamu. Yuzuki didn’t personally know the man, nor had she ever seen him but after looking through the documents, she certainly knew quite a bit about him. And that was exactly where Yuzuki’s rampage would be directed at: the 10th Division.

Arriving at the doors, the Shinigami standing guard could definitely tell something was up with Yuzuki. With her seething expression that was dripping with hate and anger, the Shinigami started sweating nervously, though it could also be attributed to her crushing reiatsu. It had been let out to its full potential as any control Yuzuki had had broken the moment she stormed through those doors.

“Where is your Captain?” She hissed.

“He is at the factories, Lieutenant.” The men said, after taking a look at the Lieutenant badge strapped to the sash around her waist. “What business do you have with him? We can leave him a message –“

Yuzuki abruptly cut him off. “My business with him concerns his face and my fist.” She could vaguely hear the Shinigami calling out after her as she whirled around and Flash Stepped towards the factories, going at unfathomable and unmatchable speeds that brought her in front of the factories in a matter of minutes. However, she was only met with a near-deserted battlefield with dead piled high along with several soldiers lingering, probably guarding the bodies. She barely batted an eye at the piles and turned to the nearest soldier. She had seen no man with a white coat and assumed the Captain was not here. “You! Where is your Captain?” The man flinched back, the fear growing in his eyes at the sight of the woman. He shakily pointed back towards Seireitei, indicating that Osamu had departed back towards his Division. Huffing in irritation, Yuzuki made a mental note to send a token of appreciation to those two Shinigami that had guided her in the wrong direction, to the factories for nothing. She swiftly Flash Stepped back towards the 10th, now angrier than ever, her haori-like coat flapping behind her.

She was just a hundred meters or so from the entrance to the 10th when she spotted a man with a white haori. She doubled her speed, approaching the form at a breakneck speed. She made out the number 10 on the back of his coat and she glared, almost willing a hole to burn through his head. She stopped right behind him and for a moment, she stopped, chest heaving, searching for the appropriate words to spew towards the man. What came next was typical Yuzuki-speech. “You stuck-up piece of shit. Who do you think you are?” Her words came out slightly quieter than she intended to but that only to serve to amplify the anger that laid underneath the words.

It was a busy but pleasant day for Osamu, he was still on his post battle high and NDV recruitment lines were so long even he was surprised. He was in the process of returning from an unscheduled trip to the factory, where he had checked that it would be able to cope with increased industrial demands. He had also annexed some near by residential areas in the recently reclaimed Western 22nd to be converted into workshops to deal with prestigious amount of material being generated by the hulking mass that was general known only as, the factory.

He was in the process of returning from this trip to his office in order to do some preparatory work for an upcoming conference when he felt the presence of something akin to a typhoon hurtling up behind him. He was not alone, he was never alone nower days, he was surrounded by his guard of eight loyal men that accompanied him not only into battle but any time he left the security of his division HQ. Something moving that fast that was this unexpected caused everyone to spin around and start to draw their swords. Things could have gotten exceptionally nasty exceptionally quickly had Osamu not recognised the face heading towards him. He had never seen it before in the flesh but he had seen the personnel file. He had heard Yuzuki was back in town so he had made it his business to do some research. Of course he only had paper records to go on but it had informed him that she was capable and fierce as well as giving him an ID photograph.

Before she had even finished moving up to him he had waved his guards down, instructing them to relax. He had opened his mouth to say hello when she cut him off and immediately launched into rude berating. But Osamu being who he was, was in no way phased by the display. He had his buttons and believe me you could push them, but just being rude to him wasn’t enough. If anything he found it a refreshing change from the smiles and kind words which masked sharp daggers that he usually had to work with.

Smiling, he just let her finish before saying.
“I think I am captain of the 10th division.” He said with a slightly amused air. “In fact no, I am quite sure of that one.” It was interesting he didn’t use his name quite yet. He wasn’t at the stage he could ask her to call him by his first name and he loathed being referred to by his family name. So for the moment, simply referring to him by rank would do. He continued to defuse the volatile situation in his own little way by continuing and saying. “As for the stuck up piece of shit, well I’ve been called worse. I suppose I have to work on my people skills really. Clearly I am very bad at impression management.” The man was still smiling, it was almost as if he enjoyed it. Certainly it did not bother him.

Yuzuki only barely managed to resist the urge to facepalm so hard she was sure she’d have broken her face. She gave Osamu a look – a rather strange combination of irritation and incredulity that surprisingly worked pretty well. “I know who you are, smartass. You apparently can’t comprehend a simple question, can you?” Her tone was cutting and mocking, letting him on to the fact that she was genuinely irritated by his response and was now convinced he was dumber than a door.

“No I can.” Was Osamu’s response to her accusation that he could not answer a simple question. “I just decided to toy with you a little bit as you decided to ask a stupid one. As for the smartarse thanks, normally people just call me an arse. Smartarse is an improvement.” He was enjoying all of this, it felt fresh. But it was becoming increasingly apparent Yuzuki did not feel the same way. She couldn’t step back and see the game of it all. Perhaps it was a bit too soon to expect that.

Putting both hands behind his back he took a few steps forward towards Yuzuki, calm, relaxed, contended, saying in pleasant tones.
“No need to introduce yourself by the way, I know you by reputation. Your personnel file makes for interesting reading. It’s good to have you back up here Lieutenant. I look forward to seeing you in action and the impact you have on this little theater of the war. But you aren’t here to exchange pleasantries, I have been told you almost never do that. So, how can I help you?” He appeared genuinely pleased to see her and certainly he wasn’t vexed by her. If she continued to verbally abuse him he might join in but it wouldn’t be in anger, more in a sense of play. Still, he was interested to see what she came out with next.

She levelled a scarily intense glare at his face, inwardly amused at her mental tirade as she mentally deconstructed Osamu’s appearance. He looked as if he’d never slept a day in his life, reminding Yuzuki of one of the human world’s creations, zombies. It was a very faint resemblance but Yuzuki still felt slightly alarmed at how much she left the human world impact her. However, no matter where she looked, her eyes were drawn back to his nose. No doubt he’d been the butt of one too many jokes and cruel taunts. That didn’t even make her feel bad as she only glared harder, almost tempted to lash out and simply break the thing. His uniform was also completely different, giving Yuzuki one or two things to think on; appearance and uniform always gave her the information necessary to deduct several traits of a person’s personality.

“Yeah, no shit, I don’t waste time on insects like you. And I reckon that you very well know what I want.” Her voice was raising now, her control slipping away little by little the more Osamu played dumb. She stepped closer to him, close enough that he could probably see the fire raging in her eyes. “Give me my job back. What the fuck am I supposed to do now that you’re playing overlord?” She spat, her words dripping in venom. Gods, she hated the man already. The fact that he was just standing there and smiling pissed her off more than anything. He was foolish.

Osamu kept on smiling as she continued to get wound up and seemingly ever more frustrated. Her accusation that he was an insect not worthy of her time struck him closer to home than he would have liked, but she would have to work that particular trigger a tad harder to get a real rise out of him. But he did loath people thinking of him like that and his reaction tended either to be to try and prove them wrong or obliterate them. But he already didn’t want to obliterate her. Her record on paper was too impressive. He wanted people of this skill running around, helping the war effort, the cause and him. Such a shame that she didn’t want to seem to play along.

His smile and slightly cheeky air dropped instantly, not as though he were upset but more like he was just taking off a mask. Instead a level and slightly worn expression emerged. There was a few seconds of silence before he waved away his escort.
“Wide perimeter boys. She isn’t going kill to me. Break my jaw perhaps, that’s about it.” He sounded almost disinterested, like this was some sort of casual affair. When his guards had retreated some distance Osamu smiled again, but it wasn’t a happy, cheeky mocking smile, not mocking her anyway. If anything you could tell he was mocking himself and the twists of providence that had brought them to this place. “Not one to play the game are you? A shame.” It wasn’t said as a put down, more a sad observation. “It usually ends up disarming most people. But you aren’t most people.” He gave an odd sad little sigh. He had hoped this would turn out better. He wanted her on his side. He wasn't phased by her rude words in themselves, rather by the fact that he could see himself loosing any chance of creating the right impression on this woman. He attempted to salvage the situation by changing tack radically.

“Maybe I’m not giving you enough credit. Your record didn’t list you as actively insane. If your this angry then you this angry for a reason. And yes, I do know why you are here. I just hoped I was wrong. It would have made things a lot easier.” He gave another little sigh before a slightly amused look found its way back on his face and he chuckled again ever so slightly. “You aren’t going to like hearing this. But you remind me of me.” He gave another tiny little chuckle before adding. “Or at least what I think most of the time but I learnt the value of holding my tongue long ago.”

Pausing for a few moments to gather himself he declared. “Okay, I’m going to be plain with you. I don’t like being jerked around when the stakes are high. I’ll extend you the same courtesy. Shortly after you left, this place fell into a state of total logistical and resource crisis. That would have happened whether you were here or not. The 5th however, was hit particularly badly. They had lost their crutch. But I cannot overstate the disaster that awaited the entire soul society.” His tone then perked up a tad as he engaged in a brief moment of high spirited flare to try and add some light to the gloomy conversation. “Into the breach stepped a young, fresh faced captain, yours truly. Ready to save civilization.” His tone was more mocking himself than anyone or anything else, he even indulged in a semi amused snort at his own expense before dropping to his previous tone and continuing. “In all seriousness though I am one of the biggest reasons there is still a soul society for you to come back to. This includes your division and indeed in your absence your division plummeted into disarray very quickly, a disarray I pulled it out from. A thank you would be nice.” That last sentence was said with just a tiny hint of venom to it, truth be told Osamu was tired of doing a stand up job but being treated like the whipping boy. Some gratitude would be welcome for a change.

But he didn’t let it bother him and he kept on going in matter of fact tone.
“The resource crisis has not lessened. Centralisation was, and continues to be, a vital part of saving us all. Having you do that job was inefficient at the best of times, no matter how skilful you may have been. But then we could afford it. It’s dangerous now. Why should I put others in jeopardy for you?” Osamu hoped that Yuzuki would at least consider the welfare of divisions other than her own. He wonder though if she would agree with his analysis or respect his rank, experience and obvious extraordinary efforts enough to take him on faith.

Yuzuki’s eyebrows automatically shot up at his statement, nearly disappearing into his hairline. Based on his previous claims, he regarded himself as the savior of Seireitei. If Yuzuki had been there when he’d emerged as a dictator, he wouldn’t have been standing right in front of her, and instead would’ve been lying under the ground in many tiny pieces. She smiled lightly at the thought of simply killing him and getting rid of his self-important presence via a particularly bloody method. Alas, that was illegal. Yuzuki didn’t doubt, however, that she’d have to fight for her place to be first in line. “Is that why the Fifth was declared the best Division around seven hundred years in a row? Is that why it was the most impeccable and organized Division around? Because I did a half-assed job? I know you might not want to admit it but I’ll lay out the facts for you. You’re scared. You don’t want another one of you around here, do you? After all, you said it yourself. We’re alike. I can beat your ass any day, not just combat-wise but I’d wager organization-wise. You’re just scared that someone as good as you and possibly better than you is back, aren’t you?” Her tone was perhaps the most cutting and humiliating part. Confident, cutting and mocking. She was inwardly making fun of him and it was apparent even to the smallest of children.

“Trust me when I say no-one would be in jeopardy because of me. You’ll probably have a hard believing it with your superiority complex and all, but Shinigami and even Captains came to me. You think that’s insufficient?” She shot back, eyes narrowing in distaste.

Yuzuki’s protest caused Osamu to laugh slightly, he was laughing at the situation but also at her. He stopped himself after a few moments though, he hated being laughed at when he wasn’t in on the joke and he suspected Yuzuki may feel the same way. Her fundamental misunderstanding of his words was amusing to Osamu but he did not want her more upset than she already was so he brought it under control.

“No I think you’re good, I think you are very, very good. The records certainly suggest as much. You ran the fifth fantastically. The accolades were well deserved. I would have loved to have you in my team. But you could have run it even better if you doing the same thing for all divisions simultaneously. The broader base of knowledge and information and the efficiencies of scale would have served you well. That’s what I have and what will be lost if the 5th goes independent. You should be justly proud of your achievements but they were made during a period of excess. A period long since passed. As for not wanting more of me around believe me there is nothing further from the truth. I want many more people like me around, like you. That’s one of the reasons I was so happy to learn of your return. There is real opportunity here but I need you to work with me, with us all. As for you thinking that you might actually be better at this than me? Some Captains may have come to you once but now they all come to me. I would gladly set up some sort challenge were it not for the fact that it would be a wasteful and frivolous use of time and resources during these tight times. But never think that I believe you are incompetent, things could just be better than they used to be.” Osamu’s last point was particularly heart felt, as he had said, she reminded him of himself and he hated people thinking he was in some way lesser, or unsuited to his task. He chose to exhibit a kindness to her by making it very clear he didn’t think poorly of her.

However, he wasn’t quite done with his key arguments. He could have elaborated the one already established but he didn’t feel the need to insult Yuzuki’s intelligence by drawing her attention to the details at this stage, though she seemed happy to insult his. Instead he would bring her attention to an altogether separate point. “By reducing your administrative burden, and I would point out reducing not entirely eliminating, I also allow you more time to do the things only people like you can do. Train you men, lead men and kill powerful foes. Every minute you spent filling in paper work was time you could have spent doing one of those three. During this time of civilization ending crisis we all need every person who is best suited to combat duties, performing those combat duties. A civilian who could not harm a hollow could do your paper work, but the reverse is not true. I have made the machine more efficient at a time when it desperately needed it. I can’t just throw that away! Please consider the bigger picture.”

“Fuck your bigger picture! I refuse to consider it if you're the central figure that takes up 95% of it! What do you think I’ve been doing all this time? There must be someone who manages the Division from the Division itself, someone who actually knows how the Division functions. If you want to run the Division into the ground, be my guest. But then you answer to the Captain-Commander and the Central 46.” It was fairly obvious how dissatisfied Yuzuki was, not only with Osamu’s ‘expertise’ but his attitude as well. He wouldn’t budge an inch, using half-thought out reasons to justify himself. She was close to simply face-palming and then in turn breaking his face and for a moment, her fist clenched in an attempt to stop herself.

Osamu didn’t rise to the claim that he took up 95% of the bigger picture. He wished it were that way but truth be told he was at a best a slightly larger than normal cog in a gigantic machine. He didn’t feel like he possessed any real significance or weight. He was just an unimportant part of a monolithic whole and all he could do was make it run a little smoother, he didn’t control the direction of the machine or what it produced. Perhaps that would come in time. Her decision to fuck the bigger picture though did prompt a response.
“None of us can say fuck the bigger picture now. Not now, we can’t run our own little fiefdoms anymore, we can’t be isolated. No one can be allowed to think small, everyone has to work for the bigger picture now. It’s the only way we will survive this.”

Her demand that someone from the division, who knew what the division needed should be involved in the process was far from foolish and it was a concern that Osamu was alive to. He had set up a system where the division told him what they needed, beyond what was covered in the standard needs assessment, he just made everything else happen. He had teams of men dedicated to each division and over the past 100 years they had grown to know each division quite well. It was a well-run system with plenty of receiver feedback. Osamu was going to explain this to her, even show her how it was done but in her current temper he doubted she would be amenable to either idea. Instead he cut to the point.
“Believe me those concerns are addressed. As for me running the division into the ground? When you left and the hollows came it started running itself into the ground all by itself. I picked it up, I rescued it, and I brought it back from the brink of oblivion. Not your own staff, not even your Captain. Me.”

He noticed her fist clench in rage, she seemed almost as angry as he had been when he was accused of treason, almost. Surely it couldn’t hurt her that much could it? He made a little mental note of this and it would factor into what he did next. Maybe this woman of steel was easier to hurt than he had realised.

Eventually, however, her hand shot out and she grasped at his scarf, drawing him closer and giving him a livid look. This was one of the many instances where her surprisingly monumental amount of physical strength came into play. He wouldn’t be able to break free simply by struggling or pulling, no matter how hard he tried. As he was taller than her, however, she dragged him lower to the point where she feared his posture would slip and he’d bend like a noodle. That was the least of her concerns, however. “Listen here and listen well. I’m not going to ask you again. Give me my job back or I swear to Kami himself you will not be able to walk upright for the next decade.” She hissed, eyes flaring so intensely she was sure he could see it.

Osamu was not as trapped by being grabbed by the scarf as some might think, a little tug or twist and the knot would come free and he could sail away harmlessly. Osamu was unsurprised when he was grabbed by the scarf and pulled down, his face showed it. He could see how angry she was, he knew how that felt. He felt that angry allot, almost all the time. He knew how it ate at you, particularly when you kept it bottled up and he knew she had less control than he did. Her outbursts had proved as much. But Osamu could be kind, very kind. Her clenched fist, her hot words. This violent outburst. It all made him feel a bit more charitable. So he was going to give her a gift.
“Oh I know this.” He said with a slightly sinister air. “I know this and so much more.” He added, sounding almost hungry now as well. “You need something else… Here is a gift for you.” Silently he raised his left hand up very gently and slowly bringing it up in front of her face. Then, after a tense pause he flicked her in between the eyes. “There you go.” He said with a smile. “Now you have self-defence.”

Perhaps Yuzuki could’ve been forgiven for the way she reacted. That one, single flick raised her anger to monumental levels reaching for the heaven before it simply… disappeared. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, Yuzuki had deflated, her eyes no longer reflecting the anger that she felt. She almost relaxed, and a light easy smile played on her lips. Until, of course, one realized rather too late that her wrath hadn’t been diffused. No, not at all. It had rather been concentrated into her palm, the said hand coming up and slapping Osamu squarely on the cheek, the smack resonating in the open area. As she drew her hand away, Yuzuki’s smile dropped and she realized that she wouldn’t really be surprised if she had broken something. Her hand certainly stung more than usual. In comparison, smashing an Adjuchas’ face in two with a single punch had hurt just slightly less than he hand did now. So there was no telling what damage she’d done but she sure as hell liked it.

"Touch me again and I'll break your face for real." Her words were ominously quiet, perhaps slightly more effective than simply screaming.

Osamu wasn’t fooled by her sudden expression of calm. He knew himself to well for that one and he believed her to be more like him than she would have liked. He knew she would only be angrier in the short term, that was his design. He wanted her to hit him. Furthermore, fake expressions to mislead an opponent? Please he used that trick as well. Furthermore, she was fast but so was he. He saw it coming. But despite all this he didn’t move. He sat there and he took it. He wanted to take it. It hurt but he wanted it to hurt. The sting of her palm on his face, the ringing sound, the heat of her anger in her skin. He felt like he had been hit with a concrete block and that was exactly what he was expecting. He was surprised blood didn’t seep from his mouth and there was certainly a raw red hand print on his face. Looking her in the eye he was silent as she warned him about touching her again. He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly as his eyes continued to burrow into her soul. Just a little bit more of a prod and she wouldn’t be able to stop herself. She would be forced to let it out, or so Osamu thought and that was what he wanted. He wanted to give her release. The running of the division hardly matters any more, and to just give her what she wanted after a solitary slap would make him seem week and pathetic. But there was something more important at play, the fire in a soul. He wanted to see it burn free, if only for a while. Let those frustrations in her out. After 100 years in the living world he wanted her to bear it down on him.

So. After a brief silence he leant forward and put his forehead on hers.
“Do it.” He said quietly, almost whispering into her ear. Before suddenly he was gone. She was left holding a scarf in her hands whilst Osamu stood some way down the street. At first it looked like he had his sword in his hand but this was not quite true. He was indeed holding his sword but the scabbard was still on, fixed there by a small clip he had sealed as he flew back. This way he could hit her and it would hurt but it wouldn’t take off any limbs.

“You can do better than that!” He called out across the distance between them. “You want to fight, fight! You’re angry at more than me but I am all that’s here! Go on then! Hurt me!” He was volunteering to be her punching bag, though a punching bag that fought back, to make it worth it, to really allow frustrations to be worked out. He could have done with a few of those, but it was too late for him on that front now, or so he thought. But he could provide that service to her. Taking it for her, that was his gift for the moment.

Yuzuki felt an immense surge of satisfaction run through her at the bright-red handprint that was slowly emerging on his face, a souvenir of their little ‘discussion’. She stared back at his defiantly, not fazed by his calculating eyes in the least. She could practically see the gears turning behind them, always formulating a plan. She was slightly curious – he wasn’t retaliating. What was he thinking? The silence stretched between them, tense and far from comfortable.

While her display of violence had calmed her some, by a tiny margin that could barely be counted as significant, Yuzuki’s anger immediately skyrocketed the moment his forehead made contact with hers. He was goading her, tempting her to do something she knew carried consequences. He was way too light-hearted about everything – there was surely something going on, some plan of sorts formulating in his head. However, those two words simply set off the explosion. Blood was pounding in her ears, urging her to follow after the man. She could clearly see his movements as she speculated she was on the same level of Shunpo as he; she followed after a moment’s notice.

She barely batted an eye at his drawn sword; her hands clenched themselves into fists instinctively as she quite literally materialized in front of him, lunging for him, one arm extended. The other was drawn behind her, out of his sight, clenched in a tight fist. She didn’t even need to pump reiatsu into her limbs, as that was only required for high-level Hollows with equally high levels of Hierro. She was certain she could literally break his face with a single punch. She felt the same surge of satisfaction go through her as she glimpsed the red mark on his face that stood out like a beacon, almost as red as the scarf she had tugged on.

“You’re doing something you’re going to regret but don’t blame me – you offered!” Yuzuki punctuated every word deliberately before disappearing and reappearing again, this time within striking range, her outstretched hand reaching out for his face.

Yes! Yes! Screamed a part of his brain as she came for him. Let it out! Hurt me! But he wouldn’t make it easy for her, that wouldn’t make it fun for her nor would it pleasant for him. If there was no challenge in it there was no point for either of them. He noted her speed with a pleasant satisfaction. Speed was the key to almost everything in the world of combat and he was happy that she had not only realised this but that here was someone he couldn’t lazily swat away or casually avoid. This was going to take effort. He liked effort and he guessed she did as well

As far as the fight was concerned it wasn’t the hand he could see that he was worried about, it was the hand behind her. Her left hand was outstretched to grab him, smash him in the face perhaps? That wasn’t important. He knew she was smart and he knew that she wouldn’t underestimate him that much. He believed she was operating on the assumption her left hand would fail, so he acted appropriately. With his sword raised he waited until the hand got just past the point of his guard before he brought his sword across to hit the outside of her left for arm in an effort to deflect it across her own body. This would mean that she would at best shoulder charge him but more importantly her concealed right hand would, hopefully, be brought of play. It wouldn’t be able to reach him by going round her back and if she were to swing it around in front of her it would have a very long way to go and come at an awkward angle.

But words were part of the pleasure of all of this as well. Whilst defending himself he called out to her.
“Regret it? You could break almost every bone in my body and I wouldn’t regret it. No one has managed to hurt me in a long time. I could do with a pulping.” He laughed slightly at that, smiling genuinely but also slightly manically. He was happy but it was a slightly scary kind of happy. Or at least it was for most. He wagered Yuzuki was not so easily unnerved.

But Osamu was not content just to defend. He knew the fun was in making her work for it, there would be even be fun for her if she was hurt a little bit, if she had to struggle. So he went on the offensive. He went to move past her on her left hand side, that arm having been deflected. Bending low slightly he span about as he went past her in an effort to slash her across the lower back. Of course with his scabbard on it was quite safe but it would be a fair old whack.

She knew that beating Osamu up would be hard, and she could admit it. Beating on a Captain was infinitely harder than reducing a 15th Seat to a broken mess. Nevertheless, that only set her blood pumping harder and she smirked to herself. He’d reacted just as she’d wanted him to, deflecting her left arm with the katana still sheathed in its scabbard. A laugh, somewhat condescending, rang across the street and she followed his movements closely as she spoke.

“You definitely have a few screws loose, man! Also, bad move.” Yuzuki whispered the last three words, the amusement in them clear as she allowed him to whack her lower back. Simultaneously, with her lips pulled in a rather menacing smirk, Yuzuki crashed her right elbow right behind her, right into Osamu’s face which was at most a dozen inches away from her. He’d lowered himself slightly, allowing her to reach him by angling her elbow slightly upwards, as if he hadn’t it would’ve been impossible. As she couldn’t accurately judge the distance behind her, she decided to go the safe route and swung her right side backward slightly, bringing her elbow back father with more force. Osamu’s hit had winded her slightly, yes, but it was far from fatal and she’d probably compensated his move equally well. Nevertheless, the challenge was welcome.

She whirled around right after that to face Osamu and her knee came flying up, right towards his chin. If she was lucky, she’d have the immense honor of dislocating his neck. The adrenaline was pumping in her veins, fueling her movements and increasing the force behind every hit, making her feel more alive than she'd ever had in the past 100 years.

This was why you get behind people. Because they can’t see what they are doing. They fight on guess work and drill. He was expecting a kick or for her left arm to come spinning around along with the rest of her body. A blind fire elbow to the face was unexpected but only because it struck him as a bad idea. He saw the arm go up ready to deliver the blow and he saw it start to come down. He was surprised at just how on target it was considering Yuzuki couldn’t actually see his face. But that just meant she wouldn’t be able to adjust her aim as he leant his head to the left without having to move the rest of his body. Her elbow only just missed him it came so fast, less than 5 centimetres off. But to people like Osamu and Yuzuki a centimetre may as well have been a mile such was their respective degrees of control and finesse.

His sword smacking into the small of her back forced him to smile slightly. If his blade had been properly drawn that would have killed her and boy was he going to rub that in her face. But before he had the opportunity to do so she seemed determined to plant her knee in his. He wouldn’t have time to get out of the way of this one, but thankfully his sword was in such a position as would aid him immensely. Simply by pulling the sword slightly closer towards him, but keeping it stretched out horizontally, right to left, her knee would connect with what would be the flat of his blade rather than him. He just jumped up about a centimeter off of the floor at the moment of impact but this meant there was almost no friction holding him in place and her blow was following through with his own momentum. He was sent hurtling back and his wrists and shoulders momentarily ached by absorbing what shock from the blow still went through. With most people he wouldn’t have felt that ache, none of the force would have gone through. But he felt it from her. He was not really hurt. His careful timing had meant she had merely pushed him a safe distance away. But part of him wanted to take that blow full on and not even try and stop it. He wanted to know what it felt like to be hit that hard by this woman. But he was determined to play with her a little longer.

He landed with cat like grace and instantly leapt back a single bound, just in case she was coming at him even as his body sailed away. When he believed he was safe he stood up tall and declared.
“And you lose!” They were words custom built to anger her but he said it with a slightly friendly tone, suggesting that it wasn’t really said out of hatred. “If I had my scabbard off your spine would currently be laid open and you would be a twitching mess on the floor. Point to me I’d say!” He smiled at her with a face that intentionally just said hit me! Osamu was keen on the counter attack, letting his foe commit to an offensive and then exploiting the gap. As such, he just stood there, guard raised and eyes sharp, waiting for her, goading her, to come at him again.

His words to Yuzuki were what gasoline was to fire. She flared up, her eyes burning and for a moment, she crouched there, the anger running through her veins. That foolish man, didn’t he realize that she had let him do it? She very well knew that it was a play-match of sorts, and had therefore decided to lay along with him. In reality, it’d have been different. Yet this man continued to be an insufferable ass. For a split second, she sat there, seething, a glare directed towards Osamu. And then, she simply disappeared. Nor did she reappear for a very long time and, as the seconds ticked away and melted into a minute, Yuzuki knew Osamu was probably feeling unnerved.

All of a sudden, she leapt out at him, aiming a kick right from above. She’d been perched on a nearby building nearly thirty meters away and a powerful leap had aided her aerial attack. Her leg came crashing down onto him, striking something that she wasn’t sure of. Was it metal or bone? Nevertheless, as she descended to his waist-level, she abruptly turned and, still airborne, aimed a powerful back-kick towards his ribs. All of this happened in a split second at blinding speed. She wanted to hit him, she wanted to draw blood, she wanted to feel bone breaking beneath her touch. Her previous hit, while successful, wasn’t satisfying. It wasn’t Osamu’s Zanpakuto that she wanted to break. It was him.

"I let you hit me, you ass." She retorted quietly, close enough to him that he'd be able to hear her whisper. "If you hadn't deflected with your sword, your head would've been rolling several meters away. And now, I'm going to fucking kill you."

When she vanished he immediately began expecting an attack from an unusual angle. Which one he couldn’t be sure but he was damn sure it wasn’t coming from the front. After a few moments he began turning around erratically on the spot, presenting no pattern to exploit. He occasionally checked the air above him and scanned the roofline, he even paid attention to any rumbles in the ground in case she was burrowing up from below, hollows had tired that one on him before. He was sure of one thing though, she had not gone off in a hissy fit. She was too determined and too strong for that. He could have run, he could be back in the safety of his division in a heartbeat but he didn’t want to be safe. He wanted this one to go, almost, all the way.

When the attack came he was not caught entirely unawares, though it was something of a surprise. Just as before he wanted to work on allowing your foe to commit and exploiting a gap. He was tempted to get out of the way of the first blow but she would be expecting that, plus he might not have enough time. Raising his zanpakuto up slightly above his head he used both hands to support it as he leg came down and hit it hard. So hard he was forced down on to one knee and bent almost double. So hard he gave out a little growl of pain as the shock went down through his arms, down his spine, legs and into the earth. But the growl flowed into an odd little chuckle. The blow hit so hard the scabbard cracked. It didn’t break but a very definite fault had split open. This was dangerous for Yuzuki. If she kept on hitting it that hard the scabbard would fall apart and she would be facing his real zanpakuto.

Thankfully for Osamu he was forced down so hard that the blow aimed for his ribs would sail harmlessly overhead. With a roar of effort he surged up, running his blade along the inside of the leg he had blocked and if Yuzuki did not do something to prevent it the blade would hit her hard right in between the legs. Not as bad for her as if it were a man but it would again be a solid blow if it connected. The effort was also aimed at throwing Yuzuki off balance and may send her cartwheeling onto her back. As he rose he declared.

“But I did deflect it and I did hit you! That’s what matters my dear! Your record tells me you are brilliant. Be brilliant!”

While she quickly figured out that her first kick had connected with Osamu, Yuzuki’s second kick obviously hadn’t struck anything and sadly, he was just as fast as her. His roar of effort should’ve alerted her and to an extent, it did. It was just entirely unexpected. She registered the feel of the scabbard running up her leg and the jagged edge where she’d cracked it left a myriad of rather painful scratches. However, the stinging sensation that was left behind was nothing compared to the following hit. Yuzuki was anything but a man and the pain wasn’t comparable to a man’s but boy did it hurt much more than she’d initially thought. The pain spread like wildfire in her general pelvic area and she let out a pained cry. Her foot landed lightly onto the ground and on instinct, she leapt up in a roundhouse kick before leaping away. The pain wasn’t debilitating but it made her double up slightly and cross her legs. She was used to pain, getting cut, hit, sliced, smacked, you name it, on her limbs and torso. But never had she been hit like that.

A moment’s worth of silence stretched out between them and she eventually looked up, her eyes burning and her face scarlet with embarrassment. “You’re sick! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Do you regularly hit women in such places?!” Her voice was beyond pissed, yet the embarrassment was detectable as she stumbled slightly over her words. She hated him. It would be one thing if it was just them – fine, she probably wouldn’t be able to look Osamu in the eye for the next decade. But with his guards standing around? The worst that could happen was rapidly becoming more and more likely.

“I sure as hell hope that hit broke your head! There’s brilliant for you, you creep!” She called back, still pissed and angry beyond belief.

Her roundhouse kick was something that he couldn’t really avoid. He was so close to her body and she moved so fast he was just going to have to take it. But again he could block it and soak up the majority of the damage with his zanpakuto. All it would take would be turning his weapon through 90 degrees after he landed his blow into her pelvis. So he did just that and again leapt up into the air ever so slightly, he even began to shunpo away as the blow landed so the momentum of the hit would be lessened. His scabbard cracked just a tiny bit more as he was blown to the side by the force of the impact. But streets were far narrower than they were long and even the reduced force of the blow sent him hurtling into the wall of a nearby building. The degree to which he had lessened the impact was demonstrated by the fact the wall merely cracked rather than out right shattered as he hit it.

A pained and slightly winded murmur of “Bloody hell.” Could be heard as Osamu swiftly righted himself. But he saw his opponent wounded, confused, uncomfortable and awkward. Again this was an opportunity and now he would attack. As he righted himself before the offensive he declared.

“I am sorry and no, I don’t usually hit people there. But you’re too good, and I respect you too much, to cut you slack. I’m going to strike you in the same places I would if I was trying to kill you and take advantage of the same opportunities. You are too good at this for me to go easy on you.” Thankfully the guards were sufficiently removed to effectively protect Yuzuki’s dignity and in Osamu’s mind Yuzuki had all the more dignity because he had been forced to hit her there. Now he came at her, declaring. “Now hit me hard! You want to now do it!”

His offensive seemed plain and simple, he charged straight at her, face locked in savage effort. He was holding his weapon with both hands in one of the stranger looking zanpakuto offensive stances. His hands were close to the left hand side of his head with the blade pointing straight forward at Yuzuki’s face. It looked like an awkward posture but to anyone who knew sword techniques they knew the thrust to the face was not what you had to be concerned about. This was one of the most adaptive charging postures possible. It could snap into thrusts, overhead blows, side swipes, leg sweeps and a similar array of blocks at a moment’s notice. Again this was feeding into Osamu’s general emerging tactic. Let your opponent commit themselves then move around them as appropriate.

The moment he started charging, Yuzuki felt her adrenaline surge higher than it’d previously been. The weapon in his hands was held strangely but Yuzuki had learned over the years not to underestimate unfamiliar positions – heck, it applied to Hakuda as well. The stranger stances were often deceptively powerful and were aimed to kill. Yuzuki simply stood there, legs still crossed and her posture slightly hunched. The pain had faded a bit but he didn’t know that as she continued to pretend she was still in a great amount of pain.

Just at the last moment, when she was sure the blade was about to go through her face and into her brain, Yuzuki ducked, half-crouching down on one leg with the other extended and her body aligned to the right. Her elbow immediately lashed out towards Osamu’s abdomen in an arc, a hit that usually delivered internal bleeding and was pretty powerful all on its own without the need for reiryoku. Wary of the blade still above her, Yuzuki immediately moved away a fraction of a second after her attempt on hitting him, shifting her weight onto her outstretched leg and quickly moving away from him. This time, positioned somewhere behind him, Yuzuki fully crouched down and swiftly swept her leg across the ground in an attempt to bring Osamu’s form down as her leg collided with his ankle.

“Apology not accepted. Do try to keep your Zanpakuto away. But you are faster than they give you credit for.” It was obvious as to who Yuzuki was referring to; ‘they’ being the Shinigami. Most she worked with on a daily basis and knew everything worth knowing in Seireitei and after a minute or so of colorful threats on Yuzuki’s part, they’d told her everything she’d needed to know. She’d have to correct some of their information, though – Osamu was just as fast as she was.

Osamu hoped she was in as much pain as she appeared to be, but he knew he couldn’t rely on it. It was an opportunity he had to exploit but he must not allow himself to be careless, she had faked a sensation once before today and she could do it again. He hoped she was enjoying the pain though, it added to the satisfaction of the fray. Perhaps that was just in his own mind and he was projecting too much of it on to her but he didn’t think so.

He knew she would do something as he came towards her, she certainly would not just stand there and take it, not after the blow he had so recently delivered. When she went down and began to deliver her savage blow to his gut he had two choices. Evade, or attack. Evasion would likely have allowed him to escape the blow unharmed but he would also forego any realistic chance of hitting her. Today was not about victory or skill. Today was about effort and pain as well as the pleasure that came with it. The release that came from unleashing anger and frustration on something that could make you work for it and the rising spirits and zeal that came from taking a good few blows yourself. More importantly, this was about her, not him. So he opted to take the hit, only minimising its impact a little, whilst also delivering her a solid blow of his own.

He did this by a deft flick of the wrist and a hard sweep down to his left, the point of his scabbard almost scraping the ground, to aid this he stepped hard to the right and put the weight of his whole body into it. As a result, so long as Yuzuki stood her ground and was determined to hit Osamu in the abdomen she would have to take a blow like a golf swing to her entire right hand side. Still, since his weapon was sheathed it would merely be a hard blunt force blow. And when it came to hard blunt force it seemed Yuzuki had the edge. By driving her elbow hard into his abdomen she hit his armour, made of the new spiritually resistant metal. But as tough as it was it was nothing compared to her. She hit him so hard the armoured plate buckled and he felt the concussive force rippled into his body. It hurt, it hurt a lot. It hurt like nothing had hurt him for over a century and he relished it. Still, it was a colossal pain that felt like someone had detonated a small explosive charge somewhere in his digestive system. The man gave a low but very definite.
“Arghh!” in pain but he didn’t let it stop him. As bad as it was, and as delicate as his digestive system may be for the next few days, he was not bleeding internally. He was a captain, he didn’t go down quite that easily. Though he had hit her with his own attack, just as she had landed a fine blow on him, she did not seem to be slowed overmuch by the effort and rapidly appeared behind him for a second attack. This one however, would not be so successful. Continuing the motion form his hard blow down Osamu span around on the spot, weapon still almost against the ground and connecting hard with Yuzuki’s ankle, knocking it aside before it could reach him.

Meanwhile the guttural noise of pain from her colossal blow had metamorphosed into an “ahh” of worrying satisfaction before he eventually dramatically and loudly declared.
“Yes!” He really dragged out the beginning of the word and he sounded far too happy about it. Especially since the aching after shock of the pain was still thumping throughout his lower torso. “That’s better! Again! More!” When he said the word more he almost bellowed it out at her, half cry of defiance, half order. "You know you want to." Osamu really was enjoying this a tad too much but truth be told he needed the pain. For him, even taking it was an odd relief in a manner that might have been of concern to Yuzuki. But he needed all the release he could get. Then again she was probably more concerned with smashing his mad eyed face in than worrying about his mental condition.

Osamu’s own counter offensive was just a tad tricky this time around. Moving his blade a centimetre or two down as he spoke, so it touched the ground, he then flicked his sheathed weapon up in a way that scattered dust and grit into Yuzuki’s face. She would have seen his weapon sailing in close behind but it was a faint, the moment he believed her vision would have been impaired he twisted his wrists to the right and arced the blade across in a way that would have connected with her waist from the left hand side if she did not somehow block or evade the blow. The stakes were getting higher now, we was moving faster, and more importantly, harder. But so was she. That was how it was meant to be and he would have it no other way.

Yuzuki smirked at his faint sound of pain, only to give one of her own when he clubbed her with his sheathed Zanpakuto, the katana colliding with part of her right side. It knocked the air out of her lungs and winded her pretty badly – at this point, she was sure her entire right side would be covered in bruises. Fortunately, she’d detected his movements about a fraction of a second prior to the hit and had arched her back slightly, putting a bit of her body out of reach of his Zanpakuto. As it was straight, it couldn’t effectively hit the entire right side of her body but it did hurt – it felt like he’d smashed into her with a hundred-kilogram pole. Winded, Yuzuki still crouched behind Osamu as he blocked her foot and aimed his Zanpakuto.

With a groan of effort, Yuzuki spun back up and barreled into him from behind, elbow pointed towards the exact center of her back. The minor movement of Osamu’s Zanpakuto had made her anticipate a potential attack and she instead decided to get out of its trajectory but not before her face was sprayed with a bit of dust. As she stood, however, she did manage to avoid the full brunt of the blow on her waist. Unfortunately, it had redirected the hit towards her thigh, the hard hit leaving a bright red mark that was probably not going to fade anytime soon. It soon started burning and she hissed in pain slightly, shifting her leg behind her a bit. Her eyes stung from the dust and she glared at his back, before that glare melted away into a smirk.

The pain had given her new life, all the more incentive to hit him and hit him hard. This was nothing like beating on a minor Hollow. This was different, something more rejuvenating and while it was considerably more dangerous, it felt better. They’d already dealt each other serious injuries but they were far from stopping. No, Yuzuki wouldn’t stop until he couldn’t move. Nor did she think he’d stop either – Osamu was a Captain, he could certainly stand his ground much longer than the other Lieutenants she’d bullied and provoked into a fight. This was much better, and it showed on her face as the bloodthirsty excitement took over.

Osamu was glad to feel the satisfying thunk of his blow landing home not one, but twice. He had not been counting on that kind of good fortune. He knew it hurt her, just like she hurt him. He could almost see the bruises in his mind’s eye and he could feel the ones on his own body. Though truth be told, the first one, that red raw slap across his face, was still his favourite. But every blow given and received was a little moment of twisted, guttural pleasure. But as tempting as it would have been for him to just sit there and continue to soak it up he had to make her work for it just that little bit more.

He had been expecting her to come at him, full force from the front, up through the dust and to bear down on him like a tiger. The tiger bit may have been accurate but she wasn’t coming hell for leather from the front. She simply wasn’t there. She had already come at him from above today and so that left the rear. Of course, above or behind, he would get out of it the same way. He wasn’t waiting to find out what was behind him, nor was he going to try and block it. Instead he ran forward as fast as he could, running away from her blow as it came at him, buying him a few precious moments. After he had travelled about three paces forward he rammed his sword into the ground and cartwheeled over it, pirouetting as he did so. His white captain’s robe fluttered hauntingly in the air and even an uneducated observer would have to admit he was, for a moment, a model of grace and poise.

In the moment he could see the face of Yuzuki coming at him, true he was upside down but he could still read her expression. Blood thirsty excitement. That was what he wanted to see. His own eyes were wild and hungry but for a moment there was a warm smile on his face. It juxtaposed strangely with his almost carnivorous eyes but it was there none the less. By the time he hit the ground though it had turned into a vicious smirk. Now the two were face to face and unless Yuzuki changed course she would be coming straight at him, full force. Osamu didn’t have a moment to loose, no sooner had his feet touched the ground than he leapt up like a coiled spring and pirouetted through 360 degrees in the air, his blade was outstretched and it was bearing down with almost all the force he could muster. He was spinning like a hurricane and gravity was on his side, it was a lot of force. If Yuzuki did nothing this blow would hit her diagonally hard from the left, impacting her shoulder. If she did get out of the way though she would be able to see, rather than feel, how hard Osamu was gunning for her. This blow was hard enough to crack the ground beneath them and whilst shinigami of their levels were tougher than the ground this was still a blow to be reckoned with.

But the mere fact he made an attack of this nature showed he was getting almost as swept up in things as she was. In true battle Osamu was careful, restrained and patient. But this was play time and he played rough! It was a big, bold and savage, he wouldn’t be able to pull out of it. All of this was showing on his face as well. The pleasure of his smile of a few moments ago was genuine but now he was grinning like a demon, mouth open and hungry, teeth bared in menacing joy and anticipation. He looked as though he were about to cast aside his sword and just start eating her and, truth be told, he was closer to that than she might have realised.

Watching him fly and pirouette over his Zanpakuto, Yuzuki was almost tempted to Shunpo over and kick the katana away from underneath him. It would certainly be easy enough – he was so busy showing off his agility that it would be child’s play to simply Shunpo over and deliver a well-placed kick. But she couldn’t deny the grace that Osamu possessed. At that moment, it occurred to Yuzuki that they were somewhat fundamentally different – while he relied on weaknesses and gaps that the opponent inevitably presented, Yuzuki simply used brute strength to annihilate whoever was in her way. And truthfully, after centuries of displaying her near-insurmountable amount of strength, not many dared to stand in her path anymore. That was mainly the reason she was often allowed to do whatever she wanted. It wasn’t something she entirely bothered with, however, so she didn’t meddle much and instead managed her Division in the absence of her Captain. But she knew Akimoto would never have allowed her to brawl like this with anyone. Luckily he wasn’t here to chastise her for her animalistic behavior but Yuzuki would bet her Zanpakuto on the fact that this fight would get out and spread among the Shinigami.

However, that wasn’t something she’d dwell on now – she could worry about the consequences later, now she had an attack to avoid. Her eyes surveyed Osamu’s form leaping towards her and she grinned to herself. Too simple. She could simply block the attack with reiryoku to minimize damage on her skin but where was the fun in that? Yuzuki twisted away at the last moment, once again getting hit on her leg, this time on her calf. She could nearly feel her bone shatter underneath the force but after the hiss of pain, she laughed. Perhaps this was why she was considered a demon.

But it was time to return the favor. Almost immediately after her struck her calf, she reappeared right in front of Osamu again and grabbed at his sheathed Zanpakuto with her left hand, holding it away from her with brute strength. She offered him a smile, a smile that was just as vicious as his. Her other hand Yuzuki placed on his shoulder to keep him in place just for a split second while her right knee came up and attempted to smash into his abdomen again.

Osamu was surprised when his blow landed home, even he could hear her bone crack under the sound of his own scabbard shattering just that little bit more from the force of the blow. A few more of those and she would be dealing with naked metal. It was too easy. But as surprised as he was he was also happy. That hiss of pain from her lips was wonderful but not as wonderful as the laugh afterwards. That was terrifyingly beautiful. He wanted to hear that one again and again. That laugh may fuel some nightmares but it made him happy in a way that would take him some time to explain to her but he hoped that she already instinctively understood.

When she grabbed his sheathed sword he knew she was cheating, pretending that thing wasn’t sharp was hardly playing along but he didn’t care. It was a different game now and he wanted to see how she was going to play it. He began to reposition, expecting to be set up for a savage attack but his own, furious offensive, had over committed him. He was unable to get away before her second hand seized his shoulder. Perhaps there was something he could have done at this stage to lessen, or avoid the blow but his brain didn’t even bother think of it. He saw it coming and he just looked Yuzuki in the eyes, staring deep, deep into those violet orbs that seem to burn like hell fire. He was, not at peace, but he was in the middle of a deeply satisfying burn when the blow hit. Again it struck his armour, but it was weakened from the previous attack and that area of his body was raw and sensitive.

For a moment it felt like a bear was in the pit of his stomach, roaring and slashing. There was a tremendous pressure followed by a very painful release. Something had ruptured, big or small Osamu couldn’t tell but something had spilled open inside him and was even now seeping vile and perhaps vital liquids into the gaps around his organs. But he didn’t care, he was burst inside, she was broken and it was good. He wasn’t scared of the demon, for now at least he liked the demon, he was almost feeding off of it! His smile grew larger as he felt the pain spread and radiate through his body, he didn’t even scream. He just let out a quiet little chuckle and enjoyed the moment. He almost didn’t want to move as they both just hung there for a few scant fractions of a second that seemed to last an eternity. But that wouldn’t be fun for her and it wouldn’t be fair to himself. Using the fact she had two, firm, points of contact on him he brought both his knees up to his chest before kicking out as hard as a horse, one foot to her face, the other to the wrist holding the sword whilst his sword arm sharply twisted in an effort to aid it’s escape. He used his free hand to stabilise himself whilst he did this but rather than grasp her shoulder like she did to him, he grasped her neck and squeezed hard.

If his effort was successful he would end the move with his left hand around her neck, both feet on the ground and his sword arm free to act. His vice like grip was not as firm as her would have been had she done the same but it was hard none the less, choking her, threatening to collapse the walls of the wind pipe, denying oxygen to the lungs and the brain as he squeezed and smiled. His sword arm came back for a huge blow. This wasn’t quick or subtle, like he would have been if he was using a point. A knick of a centimetre could kill a man but these were blunt blows and he needed big swings. The sword came down aiming to pummel her hard in her left kidney. He could have gone for the head but he didn’t dare hit it. It may have caused a concussion or other damage, combined with his chocking it may have even knocked her out and then the fight would have been over all too quickly. Hitting her in the kidney would hurt but she would still be awake, able to act and fight back. He wanted her to fight back. He couldn’t have it end now! Not now when it was so good! It had to go on!

Osamu’s sudden resistance to her grip on him wasn’t entirely surprising and she angled her head away at the last moment so that his boot only grazed her jaw. Nevertheless, it hurt and she glared, even as she failed to pry his hands away from her. Feeling Osamu’s hands close around her throat, Yuzuki’s grip on his sword arm momentarily loosened. Combined with the kick, she lost her grip on his hand and instead clawed at the hand around her throat, sinking her nails into his skin. She could almost feel his skin come away under her nails along with something wet running down his hand. She’d drawn blood, nearly mangling his hand in the process. Once she had dug her nails in enough, she dragged her hand down his hand, wrist and arm with ferocity, all the while sucking in what little air she could. Her suffocating state forced her to dig both hands into the hand holding her hostage and she momentarily stopped breathing for a couple of seconds as his Zanpakuto collided with her side and back. She struggled to breathe but it only fueled her anger.

Bringing both legs up in a sudden movement that took most of her current energy, she kicked both feet out and straight towards Osamu’s chest. This would be immensely effective because even if he decided to get out of the way, it would involve letting go of her throat and letting her roam free. If he didn’t move his chest would be very well sore for the next few weeks, his breastbone could possibly shatter along with it. Through all that, though, Yuzuki enjoyed it. Fighting was a way she often released much of her frustration and now that she had a competent opponent, Yuzuki was well inclined to simply fight till they both passed out. Even the sharp spike of pain that went up her leg as she moved was worth it; she never knew pain was so satisfying. All thoughts of strategy, tactics and playing it smart left her mind as she was determined to brutalize the man in front of her, even if it involved the most unlikely means she’d used. There was no time for planning anything out, there was no fun in that. It was the sound of bones breaking and skin tearing that was the best of it all.

Her efforts to prise free his hand only tightened his grip, like a man biting down in pain his grip only got harder the more it hurt. He could smell his blood seeping out just as he smelt the blood running down her leg from an earlier blow. The sharp pain of her nails going deep and the crush of her hand bruising his bone, but the grip just got tighter and tighter. Even when she ran her talon like grip down his arm he just kept squeezing, his own nails sinking in now, drawing blood but not penetrating so deep as to tear into her wind pipe. Yet.

The feel of his blow to her kidney landing home was also satisfying, she had burst something deep inside of him, now he was going to extract a similar price from her. He raised his sword arm again to bear down on her once more when she made her move, kicking against him almost like he had kicked against her. He was expecting this imitation but he knew her legs were more powerful that his. There were great industrial pistons, honed to near perfection and with a force to rend walls asunder. The potential damage to his lungs and heart was immense, if his breast bone shattered and cartwheeled into his organs that would be an end to it. But he didn’t want to let go, he wanted to throttle her, to choke her until the world went black and cold. Only then would he relent, at the brink of death. But his own survival reflexes were too strong. He relaxed his grip at the last possible moment and began to shunpo back.

Her kick still landed, hard. The low, loud and mistuned clang of armour could be heard as her feet made contact. The shock would soak through his bone and crack breast bone, but not outright shatter it. His organs cried out in pain and he flew back, swept away by the momentum of it all. He didn’t stop when he hit a nearby wall, nor did he stop when he hit the second. Only the third halted his flight. But when he walked out of the dust his body did not shake. Though his arm was torn and the blood gushed fourth he did not quiver. Though his breastbone threatened to collapse at any moment he did not fear. Instead he only laughed and smiled. It was the laugh of a man driven wild by the pain, the release of dealing it out and the beautiful agony of soaking it up. His arm and torso were screaming at him but it was the best he had felt in well over a century. This, this moment, might have been one of the most intense, base and guttural pleasures he had indulged in. His many achievements of the mind, his army, his career all were great pleasures in their own right. But this was different, this was primal and he wanted more. He was going to get it.

His legs were still in perfect working order, shunpo would serve him well. He was tempted to resort to kido but that would be deeply unsatisfying. Only the purity of physical combat, of aching muscle and wailing bone, would do now. He paused for a few seconds to look at her, hungrily, his breathing was raspy and almost inhuman and his eyes were mad! For a single, drawn out moment he licked his lips, and then charged!

He was moving forward at full tilt, raw physical power and shunpo at his back. He wagered he could out pace and out turn her now but he wanted to be sure. As such he fainted right at the last moment before hurtling left, coming at her from her right hand side. He didn’t need to get behind her now, he didn’t want to. His blade was held low, close to the floor, ready to sweep up in a vicious arc and smash her in the jaw with a force that could shatter bone. But, at the very last possible moment he ducked down low with his blade swiping horizontally. If he connected he would hit her shin in an effort to break her good leg. If he missed, he still had plenty of options.

Yuzuki felt all the air leave her airway for the last time and she gasped in pain, unable to get him to let go until her legs collided with his chest. Unfortunately he’d tried to Shunpo away – he hadn’t entirely gotten out of her trajectory and had therefore been hit in the chest, propelling him through two walls and cracking the third. However, Yuzuki didn’t have the time to savor her satisfaction at the damage she’d caused as she immediately collapsed, clutching at her throat and taking in deep breaths of air. It hurt to breathe at first, her airway burning in the attempt to suck in more oxygen but eventually it got used to it and the only source of pain was from the various scratches he’d left on her neck. As painful as they were, they were nothing compared to the near-crippling pain that ravaged her lower back.

She’d just stood up, slightly dizzy when his weapon once again collided with her leg, this time the good one. Yuzuki let out a scream of pain, louder than she’d had in the past hour. She cursed, feeling the bone crack and then completely shatter underneath her weight. “Fuck you,” She chanted again and again, unable to remain standing any longer. Under the pretense of collapsing from the pain and her broken legs, Yuzuki aimed a last punch towards his abdomen. The pain was excruciating, reverberating up her legs and all the way up her head, in tandem with the pulsing at her temple. Her breathing was uneven and blood was smeared across the ground, mostly from her legs, which were torn up pretty badly. One glance at them told her that her left was cut up so bad that there was a bit of bone protruding. Her right had the large scratch leading up to her upper thigh as well as several other long, deep cuts that continuously bled. It was bent at an awkward angle, tripling the pain when she attempted to move. Her world swam in front of her eyes, coming into focus then blurring away.

Osamu was quite literally nuts; that was what the fight had shown her. He wasn’t entirely okay but that was alright, so was she. Hearing him groan in pain was better than hearing him talk. She almost felt sorry she couldn’t extract more but she knew he was just as damaged as she was. In between uneven breaths, she uttered the one word she never thought she would say, especially to someone like him and in the aftermath of an intense fight. “Thanks.” She whispered, her voice unable to go any higher due to the damage her throat and voicebox had sustained. There wasn’t a part of her that didn’t ache, except for her arms, but her fists sure did hurt like she’d stuck them into the middle of a fire. But it was rejuvenating and liberating, a feeling she hadn’t felt for the past 100 years and she was thankful for it. Osamu instantly went higher up the worthwhile ladder in her eyes; he was a force to be reckoned with, someone Yuzuki could potentially get along with. But it always did depend on her temperament. Now, she only hoped she wouldn’t be berated too harshly for her misconduct.

Osamu looked at her as she fell, almost in slow motion. Her bruised and bloodied form still elegant and majestic as it fell. Her defiant, desperate cursing did not grate his ears. It was like watching a swan even now. Even in this desperate moment, as the world faded away for her she was still fighting and that please Osamu mightily. Here was a woman who would not go quietly into the night, just like him, and whilst they battled different enemies he could not only feel but understand that commonality. Perhaps it was because he was so busy thinking about that, perhaps it was because he was feeling charitable, perhaps it was because his own eyes strained and his bloody seemed sluggish. The world would never know, but for whatever reason he didn’t even move as her last great blow sailed towards his stomach.

Even now the armour barely even mattered, the tremendous force hammered into his abdomen one last time. The shock spread through his system, tearing wider the already open internal damage. The pain was already colossal but her blow was not finished yet. If it ended there he could have stood up, slowly and painfully but he could have stood. Victory would have been his. But the shock was just enough to shake free part of his shattered breast bone, sending it tumbling into one of his lungs. The collective result of all this was for Osamu to bellow out to the sky, inhuman, like the last great dying dinosaur crying for his race. He sank to his knees and as they hit the floor he was jolted into a huge, heavy, hacking cough. He spat forth some of his own blood, a dire sign of his dire situation. It hit the ground with a wet slap, some even landed on Yuzuki.

But that was as nothing compared to what would now land on her. Worn, battered and bloody, with the fight over, Osamu’s torso just gave up. He keeled forward heavily, like a tumbling tree and landed with a great thunk, atop Yuzuki. He lay across her at a right angle, his stomach atop hers, his face in the dirt. There was a heavy silence, their blood gently mixing, their bodies struggling to survive, the warped and faded world, a dull ringing in his ears. But through it all came that crystal clear word. “Thanks.” There was only one thing to say to that.
“Thank you to.” His voice was as weak and broken as her, struggling to overcome the blood in his throat. But despite the vast pain there was an odd comfort in him now, a satisfaction. He had always wanted to hold Yuzuki in high regard, now he had a reason. True she might be a problem again in the future but that didn’t matter to him now. For now there was just this pure, unadulterated moment. It was good, so good. He could have stayed like this for a very long time were it not for the knowledge that if he did he would die, and so would she. The damage to her legs had cut a major artery, she would bleed to death at this rate and he would drown in his own blood.

Somewhere at the back of her mind, Yuzuki could hear Osamu’s bellow of pain. The foreign blood now splattered across her skin wasn’t noticed, it was nothing compared to the weight of Osamu’s body on her stomach. As soon as he landed on top of her, all the air she’d managed to suck in left her body and she once again struggled to breathe. Weakly, she attempted to push him off but she didn’t have the strength anymore, her hand falling midway to Osamu’s side. Just then, he got up, somewhat lessening her burden but it didn’t change the fact that she had difficulty breathing. Her eyes wouldn’t focus – Osamu leaning down over her was a blur, a blur she struggled to make out even as she was tossed across his shoulder. The world was swimming, moving along in its own current and failing to take Yuzuki with it, leaving her behind.

It took her nearly half a minute to properly process his words and at first, she didn’t answer. What could she say? ‘You’re bleeding to death, let me walk by myself’? Yuzuki felt like her lower body was on fire, so excruciatingly painful that she couldn’t utter a word, nor could she move. “You… bleeding…don’t die,” She managed to finally say, almost to herself. The last thing she wanted was to drag the man to the brink of death along with her; while she’d enjoyed handing his ass back to him (and nearly getting killed in the process), Yuzuki didn’t see any upsides to Osamu potentially dying. He was someone that genuinely seemed to care, even intentionally provoking her into a fight just so she could let out some steam. Rarely had anyone ever done that for her, not even Akimoto.

He could not allow this to happen, the world needed him to live and he needed her to live. Thankfully his sword arm and legs were still in fine condition. Even now he gripped his trusty weapon like a vice. Twisting his hand slightly he used it as a stick to drag himself up and on to his feet. He almost fell over at once. But he just, just managed to stay upright. Pausing for a moment to cough very, very heavily, blood running from the corner of his mouth, he then turned to Yuzuki. Putting his sword away at his side once more he bent down with a hiss of pain, grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her up. He didn’t let her put any more weight on her legs, that could have been fatal, instead he almost threw her up onto his shoulder and held her there. Whilst he did this he explained.
“You can’t walk. I’m not letting you die. This is the fastest way to the hospital.” It was said as matter of fact statements, not an argument. She could have punched him away if she wanted but she wasn’t getting to the hospital any other way. As she landed on him he let out another desperate grunt of pain, but she was in place now and he could begin to move.

His shunpo was slightly sloppy, unfocused and desperate. Every now and again he was forced to come out of the technique, staggering from side to side and coughing violently. He was almost vomiting blood now instead of simply hacking it up. The man had minutes left, max. But her blood loss put her in the same position. During one particularly bad bout his guards closed in and tried to prize Yuzuki away but his reaction was surprising. With strength and vitriol he barked out.
“No! You aren’t part of this!” Before fading away and gently muttering. “It’s just us, it’s just us.” Like a mad man in the cold trying to stay warm with fevered imagination.

But eventually the duo arrived at the 4th division, whereupon worried, even panicked shinigami started seeing to them, putting them both up on beds and tending to their wounds with restorative spells, meanwhile higher seats were called in to render assistance. Doctor patient confidentiality meant they should tell no one but Osamu couldn’t be sure of that. However, he had more important things to worry about. There was a small piece of outstanding business that needed taking care of. He almost hated to bring it up but it needed to be said. He needed it settled now.

He knew Yuzuki was close, he didn’t quite have the strength to turn his head but he knew she was there, he could hear her breathing, feel her battered yet tremendous power. Reaching out with one hand he pawed at the air, looking for something to latch onto. A hand, a shoulder, an elbow, anything. It didn’t matter so long as it was her. Eventually he would latch onto something. When he did he would say.
“You can have your division.” There was a few moments of easy silence as he let it sink in, he was smiling. He couldn’t see her but he hoped she was as well. “You can have your division.” He said again, though there were of course caveats. “Image of control must be maintained. 10th division stamps and seals. Tell no one. Multi divisional projects, mine.” He was speaking in broken, bare bones sentences. It was all he could muster. Soon the 4th would work their magic and he would have some strength back but for now he was still weak, the blood not yet purged from his lungs. Short on breath, desperate for air he chose to repeat the most important words he could think of. “You can have your division…. Thank you.”

Upon arrival at the hospital, Yuzuki was disoriented by the bright lights and the multitude of voices spiraling around her, muddling her already slowing brain. She could see nothing, only the faintest of colors and nothing else. She vaguely felt herself being placed on a bed and the next time she managed to open her eyes, an ominously slow beeping of a heart monitor registered. It took her a while to figure out that it was hers, and that she was slowly dying. But what surprised her was that she had tried to look over to the neighbouring bed, looking for Osamu. The Healers reassured her that he was alright, before leaving Yuzuki to her thoughts again as her legs were attended to.

As if out of a haze, his words made their way across to Yuzuki and into her brain, where she lay for a while trying to make sense of it all. Eventually, she smiled. “You… thank you. Appreciated…” It did seem ironic that they’d had to resort to violence to sort this entire mess out, but it had been so worth it. The smile remained on her face, feeling his hand grip her upper arm, showing her that there was some kind of reality behind the mist that was her mind. The beeping next to her slowed even further, bringing in a dozen Healers who crowded round her and attempted to stabilize her. Nearby, Yuzuki had no doubt the same was going on with Osamu.

Four hours of tedious, non-stop work and Yuzuki was sufficiently healed to manage one night on her own. As night approached, a curtain was hastily erected between the two beds, allowing the nurses to strip Yuzuki of her bloodied uniform and take her to get cleaned up, before dressing her in a clean, loose hospital nightgown. She was more coherent by then and gave the nightgown a rather displeased look, disliking the millions of purple dots scattered across the white material. Honestly, it was ugly, even to Yuzuki who didn’t really have a taste for good colors anyway. Nevertheless, she knew she wasn’t getting out of that one as the curtain was pulled away. Turning her head with a bit of effort, Yuzuki glanced at Osamu’s bed, wondering if he was awake. “Hey. You up?” She spoke quietly, not keen on being heard by the nurses. She wondered whether the Captain had made it out alright, seeing as he’d carried her the entire way there, thereby risking his own life. That thought was enough to quieten Yuzuki a little; whether out of respect or not wanting to disturb him, she didn’t know.

Osamu underwent similar treatment to his new friend though he had to suffer the indignity of having various tubes inserted down his windpipe and throat to suck out the blood, bile and detritus that was a result of the internal damage Yuzuki had so ferociously dealt. Thankfully she was either unconscious or away undergoing her own treatment when he was in this particularly compromising condition. But, just as she was concerned with his wellbeing despite the dire situation, so to was he concerned for hers. For a few horrible moments, whilst they were apart, he thought he might have gone too far and finished her off. The mere idea sent him into a frenzied panic that, due to his weakened state, was thankfully pathetic. He was too beaten and damaged to express much verbally by that stage, just grunts, groans and gritted teeth. But his apprehension was obvious. He was too weak to be safely sedated and so he had to be restrained, tied down to his bed to stop him hurting himself or others in an effort to find Yuzuki and just see her heart monitor pulse.

Some time later, after his own intensive treatment, he was judged to be in a condition similar to Yuzuki. Not fit enough to leave but strong enough to spend a night with little to no supervision. His clothes were as torn, tattered and bloodied as hers and just like her he had to be stripped bear, cleaned and dressed in a gaudy hospital gown. Black, white, brown and red tended to be the colour of his wardrobe, hardly a man known for keeping up with trends and fashions. But he did always look smart. Unconventional yes, but smart with perfectly pressed clothes, boots shone to perfection and not a speck of dirt in sight. These spotty rags were an embarrassment to him, but he accepted their necessity and just kept quiet, occasionally grumbling to himself about it.

By the time the curtain was pulled back he was lying in bed, propped up against the head rest slightly, eyes closed and arms folded lazily across his stomach. When she spoke he was so happy and relieved. She was alive! But at first he didn't let it show, he just opened up the one eye closest to her and said in quiet, but matter of fact tones.
“I’m always up.” He was only speaking quietly because she was speaking quietly, instinctively imitating her even though it was obvious that she was awake and there was no one else in the room to bother. His face was level and humourless but only for a moment before he cracked a broad smile at her and the one eye she could see just lit up. His gladness and relief showing through.

With a grunt of effort, and an “oof” of mild pain when he finished, Osamu forced himself onto his side so he was facing Yuzuki. The man was grinning like a naughty school boy, he seemed genuinely happy. His trade mark sense of humour had survived the encounter unscathed but it seemed a tad brighter now.
“You will be pleased to learn a mere 65% of my body wants to die. The remaining 35% wants to sit in a corner and cry.” He chuckled slightly at the thought, laughing hurt but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. But after a moment humour was replaced by genuine concern.
“How about you, how are your legs?” Truth be told he was scared about those, his previous effort at humour had been an attempt to reassure Yuzuki and disguise his gnawing fear that he had done something permanent. If he had he would be unable to forgive himself, he couldn’t have broken something like her could he? Not something as robust and hardy as her?

Yuzuki regarded him with a tired look, much too exhausted to sit up. Instead, she lay on her bed in the exact same position she was already in and turned her head further towards him, trying to sort out the faint blurriness that remained. Eventually she made out Osamu’s form, dressed in a similarly hideous nightgown in the bed next to hers. She stifled a snort at the sight and smiled instead, feeling relieved at the fact that he was alright. The nurses hadn’t lied, he was very much alive and kicking next to her. Hearing his response, she exhaled a bit harder in way of laughter; she’d been forbidden from laughing and doing anything to strain her throat and breathing, if the breathing tube across her face was of any indication. She still had trouble breathing but in her personal opinion she’d rather have sounded like a dying whale than wear the tube.

Nevertheless, she smiled and spoke, “Sounds like you need a couple of painkillers.” She said, inwardly laughing to herself. Somehow, painkillers hadn’t been provided despite the both of them having been in immense pain when they’d arrived. Or perhaps Yuzuki had just been too faint to notice anything. She did hope Osamu wasn’t in as much pain as she was, because even someone with her high level of pain tolerance was nearly crippled. It was rare of her to feel concern for someone but the simple fact that Osamu had risked his life for her made her a bit more worried.

Osamu chuckled slightly at the mention of painkillers. Perhaps it might have been a good idea but he wouldn’t stand for it. So long as it wasn’t necessary to save his life the man rejected such things. Stomaching pain when it wasn’t necessary made you better prepared to deal with it when it was. Besides, pain built character, or so he told himself. As such, Osamu shook his head and said smiling. “No, let me feel it. It improves me.” He gave another, semi amused snort but the convulsive effort forced his chest into momentary spasm, causing him to cough and splutter desperately. It took a minute or two for him to gain control of his lungs again but, once he had mastery over his own organs once more, he just smiled at her.

When he asked about her legs, she glanced at them almost as if she didn’t entirely know herself. “They’re numb, I can’t feel anything.” One of the reasons she hadn’t moved was because she simply couldn’t; she was rooted to the spot in a rare show of vulnerability. If one of the nurses decided to kill her, that was it. If Osamu pushed her off the bed, she’d be unable to get up. It was frustrating, being in such a helpless state and it showed on her face as the look of concentration on her face increased, Yuzuki trying her hardest to get her legs to move, all to no avail.

Her confession that she could not feel her own legs however, panicked him. If he was still plugged into a heart monitor she would have seen it spike massively. Had he done something permanent? He hoped not but he couldn’t be sure. He suddenly felt cold and the room felt that much smaller. Surely he couldn’t have… could he? But he kept this bottled up, refusing to show the fear on his face. A good leader maintains a certain image for his men and he was putting this mask on now. Instead he just waved a dismissive hand and said.
“You will be fine. These chaps know what they are doing. You’ll be doing the can can in no time.” The adding in a slightly quieter mumble but intentional loud and clear enough for Yuzuki to hear. “Or kicking me in the jaw.” He cast a wry, lopsided smile at her, a little glint in one of his eyes.

Sighing, she turned back towards Osamu. “How long do we have to stay here for? I don’t like this room.” She was antsy and itching to get out of bed and back to her Division. If her assumptions were correct, Osamu would probably be too. She had studied his file and the man himself for a while, and had come to the conclusion that while their fighting styles were vastly different, their personalities were near identical, minus the poor temper Yuzuki had. So it wasn’t difficult to predict Osamu’s possible thoughts, yet she felt like talking to him rather than facing the long night ahead of them.

“How long are we going to be here?” He repeated with a shrug that made him wince slightly. “No idea. Certainly at least one day. Maybe two. Perhaps more. But as soon as I can leave without risk of permanent damage to myself I’m out of here. Doesn’t do for a Captain to be laid up that long, and I have work to do. Can’t do it all from a hospital bed.” The man gave a slight sigh and looked up towards the ceiling wistfully. “Thankfully I have built a machine that can cope without me. Run along efficiently. But when I am at the helm I can make her dance. Still, my attention is required on urgent matters elsewhere and I need to be there. It’s the sort of thing that requires a personal presence.” He didn’t make it overtly obvious but he was referring to his need to carefully manage the NDV at this important transitionary stage. “Doubtless you want to be out of here almost as much as me.” He smiled at her and sighed. “Do you have any more heads to crack open now you're back? Or was I the sum total of your list?”

Yuzuki gave him a blank look and said, "You're only at the beginning of a very, very long list. I don't remember my Division being so incompetent last time I was here but here they are, slacking off like the lazy bastards that they are. I can only hope I can beat it out of them." Their conversation continued in that vein before a nurse came in and adjusted Yuzuki's IV bag, adding in a new fluid that after a few minutes, sent Yuzuki straight to sleep.

Deep in the night even Osamu found sleep overtaking him. He loathed the necessity of sleep, like death, it put even great men on their backs. It was a waste of time, time he could better spend achieving something. But the calm before sleep brought his mind to a fervour. When he was busy it could be distracted, put to the task at hand. Inactivity was what let it run rampant and there was no inactivity greater than trying to sleep. It was here that he saw enemies come at him from every shadow, that he delved into the imagined minds of nobles and saw only murder and malice in their them. It was here that he heard dreaded voices from the past and feared voices from the future. Here his mind’s eye played out every nightmarish scenario. Unwilling to let Yuzuki gain any hint of his spinning mind he ensured he had his back turned to her as he tried to sleep, hiding his face and darting eyes. Part of him wanted to look upon her as they both tried to rest, to ensure her wellbeing but he could not let her know the state of his mind.

Unfortunately, he was to have little say in the matter. Exhausted from battle, drained by medical treatment and fatigued from his daily life Osamu fell prey to unconsciousness. There, whilst his mind lay truly open, he was vulnerable. What was about to occur did not always happen, but the threat was always there. If Yuzuki was conscious come the time she would see Osamu move uneasily in his bed, as time passed the movements would get frantic and desperate yet contained, as if fighting against imaginary constraints. He would make strange sounds, desperate and loud moans like a man trying to scream with his lips glued shut.

Eventually the effort would break him from his slumber and Osamu would awake, suddenly and with a quiet noise of horror and fear. Looking about him Osamu instinctively began reassuring himself that he was now in the real world. The unfamiliar surroundings made this a slower process than usual but he reached the conclusion eventually. The man was as white as a sheet, wide eyed and in a cold sweat, for a moment he was even shaking but he got control of himself eventually. Slowly, ever so slowly, as if trying to be as quiet as a mouse, Osamu turned. He aimed to see if Yuzuki was awake. If not he would remain quiet and hope the incident went unmentioned. If she was awake then he had better brace himself for questioning.

It had been a stressful day. Having ran here and there after every single patient, dealing with emergency situations and stabilizing critical conditions, Yue felt drained as she sat down on a chair outside the recuperating ward. She could feel the exhaustion settling heavily onto her body yet she still had work to do. She’d graciously accepted the fifteen minute break as soon as she made sure that every patient in her section wasn’t in dire need of healing and had settled down in the corner of the nursing station at the end of the ward’s hallway. For today she wasn’t directing assassinations or running reconnaissance missions – today, she had taken on the role of a healer. As the Fourth was quite short on healers with the influx of patients from the previous day’s battle, Yue had volunteered to help on her day off. Though she usually spent those days in her Division attending to matters, they could run smoothly for a day or two without her.

All too soon, her fifteen minutes were up. There would be no more interruptions in her shift for the night as she’d just come back from her house in the Yukihiro compound in-between shifts and there were no more nurses stationed on her section. Yue glanced at the list of patients in the register, inwardly sighing at the amount of patients she’d gotten. However, two names caught her eye. The first one stood out like a beacon yet it hardly surprised Yue. Ueshima Yuzuki, hardly an uncommon name in the register for the past few centuries, always in and out of the hospital, most often to apologize to the Shinigami she’d sent to the ICU. It was usually the other way round, though – it was the aforementioned Shinigami that spent their days recuperating, not Yuzuki herself. Nevertheless, Yue could easily find a reason – she’d picked a fight with one of the high-ranking Shinigami, possibly a Captain. She sighed to herself and smiled – the woman always did scare her quite a bit.

But the other name was quite surprising. How had Osamu managed to land himself in the hospital? In the same room as Yuzuki, no less. Yue felt a little bit of worry go through her – had he finally pissed off the wrong people and ended up in the hospital for good? She was brought out of her thoughts by a tap on her shoulder. Turning, she was greeted by the male nurse that had taken her shift while she had been on break.

“I’m leaving now, alright? Have a nice night.” The man said and waved before walking out the door, leaving Yue alone to watch the patients for the night. Half an hour in, Yue started doing her rounds, checking up on every patient’s room and monitoring their vitals, administering medicine and applying Kaido where necessary. Thankfully, most were fully healed by now and were just sent in to allow their bodies to get used to their new condition. By the time she reached the room at the end of the ward, Yue was in autopilot mode and entered the room, her eyes automatically flying to the heart monitor of one of the patients. It was steady, a good sign. After reading through the file left on the counter, Yue quietly rummaged through one of the drawers and pulled out two syringes with strong anesthesia. Just as she was administering both of them to Yuzuki’s legs, Yue heard a sound that sounded suspiciously like a muffled scream.

She stood rooted to the spot, watching the other patient in the bed next to Yuzuki, faintly recognizing some of the features. It was hard at first due to the hospital gown he wore. Though she could recognize Yuzuki anywhere, Osamu was a bit harder to make out beneath the faint shadows and the ghastly hospital gown but nevertheless, it was him. She watched him struggle for a while, feeling the urge to simply wrap her arms around him and end his misery. Yet, she didn’t – the fact that it was Osamu made her stand next to Yuzuki and avoid coming closer, trying to diffuse her internal battle between her personality and her logic. Absentmindedly, she wondered whether Yuzuki would wake up but the woman slept on peacefully, obviously tired from her physical exertion and intense treatment. The drugs she was on also kept her groggy most of the time, the IV dripping fluid that kept her knocked out for hours.

Eventually, however, it was too much to bear. Though his discomfort and writhing stopped, Yue found herself walking closer to him and she knew that her personality had won out. Careful not to startle him, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Normally, she wouldn’t have dared initiate physical contact like that but this was different – she had to be there for him and give him a little bit of comfort to calm him down, to show him that he was alright. Nevertheless, she didn’t move any further. He would come to her if he needed to, he just needed to know she was there. “Are you alright?” Yue asked in a soothing voice, her eyes softening. It wasn’t often that Osamu was so visibly shaken up, he always seemed strong and alert. But now, it was different.

When Yue placed her soothing hand on Osamu’s shoulder he tensed up and froze. Someone had seen him! Someone was here! Combine this with his half-awake state and his utter fear and he may as well have felt someone put a blade to his neck, the effect would have been the same. But that changed when he heard the voice behind the hand.

It was Yue, thank whatever providence there may be it was Yue! True he would have preferred if no one was there at all but since that was not the case this was the best possible outcome. He immediately felt safer and calmer, there was no threat here now. Just someone he emotionally trusted. But seeing her face, her soft eyes and concerned expression relieved his heart in a different way. The reason why would not be immediately clear to Yue, to know the answer to that she would have had to see his dream. But seeing her here was a huge and welcome relief. He was still shaken, he was still pale and cold but things were better now.

He managed to surprise even himself with what he did next though. Mustering what strength he could and ignoring the pain in his chest Osamu rose up and embraced Yue. Perhaps it was because his nightmare had forced him into a state of emotional extremes, perhaps it was because his mind was not yet fully awake, perhaps because he felt that vulnerable and could trust Yue that much, perhaps because he genuinely wanted to or perhaps because of all of these things, he put his arms around her.

It was not timid or cautious, there was no careful calculation going on in his mind about the likely impact, about whether it was wise or appropriate. This was instinctive, heartfelt and full. He embraced her and he did so hard. It was almost as if he was hugging her to make sure she was real and to make sure she was safe, it felt as protective as it was seeking help. Her question also provoked an odd response. With his mouth by her ear he whispered.
“No. I will be though, I will be.” He was still shaking, something had clearly rattled him very, very deeply. It was what he said next though that was truly strange. “But you are all right and that’s what matters. You’re going to stay all right!” He said that last sentence almost defiantly, as if daring the world to stand against him in this regard. He would keep on embracing her so long as she did not resist. “Thank goodness it was you.” He whispered again as he held her.

Yue’s concern grew at the feel of Osamu flinching away at her touch. What had happened that had rendered him so frightened? She truly couldn’t comprehend the reason for his fear; her calculating, sharp gaze had melted away into one of warmth. His cold and pale state worried her much more than it normally would’ve and she moved closer to him, intent on making sure he felt alright. So when he pulled her into a sudden embrace, Yue didn’t flinch away, nor did she show any sign of repulsion, because she didn’t feel any. Even if it had been a situation with weapons present, Yue wouldn’t have pulled away; she knew that Osamu felt shaken up and was in need of somebody there. The contact was slightly awkward and very unfamiliar to her but she eventually eased into it.

On instinct, Yue wrapped her arms around him in response, gently stroking his back to subtly tell him she was there. It brought out a rather unfamiliar side of her, even softer than what she usually portrayed but Yue couldn’t help it. She returned his embrace with warmth and comfort, glad to see that he was more awake now. She leaned down slightly, pushing him down ever so gently so that he didn’t hurt his healing breastbone or any of his internal organs, at the cost of additional strain on her back. But it was worth it. "You're alright now, you're safe and have nothing to worry about." Yue softly whispered to him.

At his words, Yue felt a little bit lost. She pulled away slightly, her blue-green eyes giving him a mildly questioning look. “What do you mean? Do you want to talk about it?” She was by no means forcing him to tell her yet she felt the tug of curiosity. It didn’t manage to outweigh her concern; no, not by far. She moved closer again, wrapping him in a soothing, comforting embrace that would hopefully do him some good, her hand gently stroking his back in an attempt to calm him down and warm him up from his cold temperature. “I’m here for you.” Yue said quietly, voice laden with conviction. There wasn’t anybody in Soul Society that didn’t deserve to at least be heard out; yet Osamu deserved so much more, something Yue was already leaning toward giving to him. He certainly did need it right now.

Yue did the best thing she could have possibly done in reaction to Osamu’s sudden and unexpected embrace. By returning it she garnered so much favour in his eyes that it was almost dangerous. He felt safer, he felt warmer, he felt validated, he felt that in some way he was cared for. Yue might one day live to regret showing such kindness but it would not be today. Her hand rubbing his back gently was so appreciated he couldn’t even try to describe it in words. Her gentle words of reassurance, though slightly misguided, were similarly valued for their intent. She was wide of the mark but she was trying and she cared and that meant everything. Her words “I’m here for you.” Would play in his head time and time again for a very long while. Their impact remained to be seen, both good and bad could come from them. But they were lodged in his head now. The significance of what Yue had done over the past few seconds would be hard to overstate.

After a few more moments of silent embrace Osamu backed away ever so slightly, hands now on the backs of her shoulders rather than locked in a full embrace. This also allowed him to settle into a less stressful position and would grant her the same luxury. He still wanted her close, he valued it hugely and he still wanted the reassuring contact. But by backing away slightly he was signalling that he was a little better now. Casting a brief glance at Yuzuki he asked quietly.
“Are we sure she is unconscious? She will stay that way?” Osamu had swiftly come to hold Yuzuki in high regard but this was not a conversation for her ears, not yet. This was only for Yue.

As soon as Osamu let go of her and laid down, Yue felt relief for both of them as the ache in her back slowly dulled. It eased the physical strain of the embrace and though his hands were still on her shoulders, Yue didn’t mind. It was comforting knowing that he was in a much better state, though Yue quickly called that into question in the following moments. He seemed tense and unsure, and Yue quickly resumed her gentle stroking on his shoulder this time. She followed his glance towards the sleeping woman and once again wondered what had caused Yuzuki so much damage. He had nothing to worry about, however. “The lower half of her body is under regional anesthesia and she’s on sleeping medication and other drugs that induce unconsciousness, including a muscle relaxant to get her to relax for tomorrow. I just administered them according to the Head Healers’ orders so she won’t be awake anytime soon.” True to her word, the said muscle relaxant was slowly seeping into Yuzuki’s system via the IV drip along with the sleeping medication Yue had administered through the syringe. Yuzuki was scheduled for a full-body check-up and last-minute work on her legs, which would require minor surgery so relaxation was a must. Any additional strain could’ve caused complications for the Healers that would’ve kept Yuzuki in here even longer. But she didn’t want to bore Osamu with the medical details so she kept it at that.

But it did make her concern and curiosity grow. What did Osamu have to say that he couldn’t in front of Yuzuki? Yue knew the woman was callous and at times unrefined but she tended to be understanding. Not as much as Yue but it was there, much to Yue’s initial surprise. Nevertheless, she stood by him, patiently waiting for him to continue.

Sighing Osamu looked down for a moment, deeply uncomfortable with things. He hoped Yue did not take offence at this, had it been anyone else other than her he would have been in an utter frenzied panic by this point. She really was the best possible thing that could have happened. But he could not tear his gaze away from her comforting, warm eyes for long. Those hues could be as sharp and deadly as knives. He had seen it first hand, their was a savage and keen mind back there but now there was such warmth and tenderness that he found himself soothed, enraptured and tormented at the same time. He wanted to talk about what had been bothering him but he was not sure how, nor was he sure she truly wanted to hear when she found out what it was.
“It’s not me that I was afraid for, well it was and it was her and the crushing crushing…..” He was getting mixed up, starting the next sentence before the first one had finished. His brain was skipping from idea to idea so fast that his lips couldn’t keep up. His breathing began to get out of control and he had to wrestle himself into line. It took him a few moments and he drifted close to Yue as he did so but eventually, he got himself in line.

He looked up at her. His mind was prone to exaggeration and extremes even at the most relaxed of times. When it committed to an idea, a thought or an emotion it committed fully and hard. Perhaps that explained the strength of his feeling. But she was so beautiful, when he thought that he didn’t think of her body or her mind, he thought of her soul, her nature. Perhaps he wasn’t thinking straight and he almost vocalised that thought. His lips began to move to say it and with only a little, even unintentional, emotional prodding he probably would. But instead he finished his previous sentence. He sounded vulnerable and afraid but so genuine and concerned at the same time.
“It’s you. I couldn’t stop it.”

As confused as Yue felt at his words, she sat down on the side of his bed, taking as little space as possible as she continued to run her hand over his shoulder comfortingly, encouraging him to relax. She leaned towards him slightly, worried at the mixture of words that seemed to flow from him but not making any sense. Stopping her movements, she placed both hands lightly on his shoulders with as much care as she could, as if comforting a frightened child. But he wasn’t like a child, he was so much more and Yue was slightly baffled as to how to properly calm him down so she did what came instinctively.

“Shh, it’s okay. We’re safe and alright, see?” She touched the side of his face lightly as if reaffirming their existence before returning her hands to his shoulder. Yue didn’t even have to put in any effort anymore, her comforting reaction came naturally. It hurt her slightly to see Osamu so shaken up over Yue herself, making her wonder exactly what he’d seen yet she did feel a twinge of affection. She was surprised at herself for feeling all these foreign and unexpected things – why did it matter whether he was in shock or not? Even now, her logic was screaming at her to abandon him and let him go through the spell himself yet there she remained, stubbornly ignoring it in favor of seeing him alright again. Granted, he did tend to irritate her a bit more than she’d have liked but that was just the political side of him. She’d been immensely fortunate to witness the personal side of him and Yue was glad to know he was a genuinely caring human being. Perhaps that was why she remained, why she felt the immense urge to help him out.

Yet his words had thrown her for a loop. Why had he clutched at her like that in the beginning as if she had been dead and come back to life? By all means, it was strange, and even his last words made her heart hurt, genuinely confused as to why she herself had caused him to become frightened and jittery. It made no sense; shouldn’t he have pushed her away if that was the case? But it only brought her relief to see that he had reacted positively, more than positively even. “What did you see? Why was I getting crushed?” She gently inquired.

“No you aren’t..” He began in an effort to explain what was going on in his mind but the chain of thought broke for a moment. Her tender attitude, her hands so recently on his face, the mere fact she was here. A moment of chilling calm came over him for a moment as he looked up into her eyes before saying gently, quietly and sadly. “You sweet, gentle, beautiful creature.” He sounded almost pained and sorrowful when he said that. But it was genuine, you could tell he meant every word of it and you could hear the affection in his voice, but something about how beautiful she was made him sad and slightly afraid. He wanted to just take her up in his arms and carry her away from the world right now but he knew he couldn’t. There was no running away from the world.

Straightening himself up in his bed he gently placed one of his own hands on her cheek and held it there tenderly for a few moments. “You are too good for this. I won’t let it happen.” He said quietly before repeating in a slightly more aggressive and defiant tone. “I won’t let it happen!” But he realised how crazy this must all seem to her. Gently taking his hand away from her face, though clearly regretting the necessity, he looked down for another brief moment and sighed.

His sadness seemed to have a mirroring effect on Yue and she surveyed him with a bit of sorrow, though her cheeks did color a little bit following his words. It was fairly unnoticeable in the dimness, though, so she’d gotten away unscathed. However, it did instill and even deeper sense of worry in her that was made apparent in her expression. Not even his own hand on her face made her worry die down, and though the contact did slightly startle her she only sent him a reassuring smile. “Let what happen? Tell me so that I can help you, please. I really want to help you; I don’t like seeing you like this…” Yue’s voice was tinged with a bit of sadness, yet she couldn’t keep her concern out of her voice.

After a while he resumed speaking, still looking down. His tone was shaken and weak once more, it was as if he was forcing himself to say every word, struggling against some great emotional weight that tried to force his words back down his throat. Even his reason was telling him to be quiet, that telling her anything was a bad plan, that even setting aside the fact she may one day use it against him it could force her away emotionally to, that if Osamu wanted her to keep caring she must never know. But there was another, greater need somewhere deep, deep down. Fuelled by a bizarre, incomprehensible and downright dangerous mix of emotions a great hand had emerged from his soul and it was desperately seeking something, something to grab onto and hold with a deep conviction. That something was Yue.
“You weren’t getting crushed… what’s crushing is the guilt. The crushing, crushing guilt and fear and pain and sorrow and rage. I would not describe in vivid detail what I saw.” At this point he looked up at her, he was on the brink of tears and his eyes spoke of such concern and affection it took even him a little by surprise. The great burning furnace that rumbled away behind his eyes seemed to have been replaced by a warm, nurturing hearth fire, eager to aid and comfort. “You are so pure I fear it would taint you, hurt you. I cannot allow that. I must preserve and protect you.”

Looking away again, as if in shame, he shook his head. He felt cold and alone once more and very suddenly, even with Yue here. Her warm embrace, gentle tone and soulful eyes rang hollow and mocking. He wanted them, needed them so desperately it hurt and it hurt all the more right now because a voice in his head told him they were just about to abandon him and walk away, to give him a taste of what could be and then leave, rendering him even worse than before. But whilst Osamu did not overcome his shame he did start to overcome his fear.
“You don’t know my family.” He said with a little shiver. “You don’t know the why… the why of me. To tell you all would be too long, too arduous for us both this night. Fitful nights such as this are more common than I would like, not all are the same but they are all on a theme. With layers of meaning, symbology and terrible knowledge…” His voice began to trail off again and he swallowed hard, steeling himself for the moment. He still feared she would leave but if that was the case he needed to look upon her and her tender, mild warmth whilst he still could.

Looking up at her he forced himself to put a brave face on things, and empty, sad smile appeared on his face but there was some joy in simply her. “What I saw was a variation on the very beginning. A glance into my past and your future. When you know the beginning you may begin to understand much about me. With that knowledge will come something dark and twisted. I fear you will leave, and I will not see this.” He gestured to her and he lingered on her kindly face. “Anymore. Nor will you wish to look upon me.”

When he started speaking, Yue tried her hardest to calm him down, gently running her hand over his shoulders. She already felt a bit of affection for him but the contact didn’t really seem as out-of-place as it probably was. True, it really wasn’t her place. Yue found herself thinking back to how inappropriate this was – she, an engaged woman comforting another man in the middle of the night, a man who’d gone against her only a week or so prior. But that didn’t even matter to her, not even a little bit much to her surprise as she gave Osamu a reassuring smile.

“Listen to me,” She spoke, placing a hand on the side of Osamu’s face. “I’m not going to leave no matter what it is, I promise you that.” The conviction was evident in her voice even as she looked on, her eyes softening once more. Osamu didn’t deserve it, not any of this. A twinge of guilt went through her at the thought of causing him his discomfort. That guilt drove her to sadden a little bit more, though she tried to smile and once again said, “I promise.” There wasn’t really anything that could drive her away at this point, unless he admitted that he’d somehow killed her entire family. And even then, she’d once forgiven a certain man for massacring over twenty Yukihiro in her presence. It was all about the intention, and Osamu’s at this point were all good and honorable, as was evident by his will to protect her from something she didn’t even know. It made her smile through her dejection, her respect for Osamu already growing. She didn’t blame people for thinking he was too ambitious and such, but it was their loss for not knowing what lay inside. And Yue liked it a lot, making her smile serenely once more. She leaned in slightly and locked eyes with him, hand still on his face. “We’ll see a lot of each other in the future, you’ll see. Don’t worry about it. Remember what I told you during our meeting? You can come to me if you want to talk about something and promised that I wouldn’t judge, nor will I judge now. Just let it out.” Her words were followed by a smile, a smile that promised everything she’d said. It did make her heart hurt even more and she inwardly berated herself for being too soft yet… it wasn’t going anywhere. As long as Osamu was still plagued by whatever he was suffering from, Yue would be there to help him out, just like he’d tried to lend a hand with her marriage issues. As much as his political side was despised, Yue would’ve bet quite a lot on the fact that if people witnessed his personal side, they’d change their minds just like how she’d changed hers that night.

In the short term Yue’s words of comfort and reassurance were the best possible thing she could have done. Osamu felt less afraid, though no less ashamed. Her voice, her tender voice carried through to him more than any other element of her gentle being. He latched onto it, that voice would be replayed in his head time and time again. In the long term Yue would likely regret her kindness though, or so Osamu thought. But that would be addressed latter. Her eyes locked on his gave him such comfort and he would not forget it. This was all a favour he was determined to return. He was not as good as her, he was irrevocably tainted or so he thought. But he would try to be as good and kind to her as he possibly could, in his own way. That could prove to be a blessing or a curse.

When he spoke it seemed he had wondered radically off point. He knew what he was about to say would sound crzy even before he said it. As such he gave an empty little chuckle and looked away before locking on to her eyes once more and staring, deep, deep into them. He seemed to be searching for something when he said quietly.
“You remind me of something I never knew.” He chuckled again slightly, aware of how that sounded but then he kept on speaking softly but slightly detached, as if his mind had partly divorced itself from proceedings as a way of protecting itself. “She was like you once, apparently. Warmth, tenderness and a near all-consuming kindness. Such a beautiful and wondrous soul. Before him. Before me.”

He rose up slightly, coming closer to her, their foreheads almost touching, his voice a near silent whisper but earnest and full of conviction. “You will not become like her, you shall not feel what she feels. You will not undergo what we did. You will not need to suffer one such as me.” But again, he was aware of how mad this sounded, it seemed unsettling even to him and he knew what he was referring to. Steeling himself for the inevitable he tried to make himself continue. The moment had arrived. He had wished it had never come, or at least not come so quickly. But from the moment she saw his tormented slumber it was inevitable. Her kindly nature meant she could not walk away and his gratitude and sympathy meant he could not spurn her kindness nor deny her curiosity.

His eyes grew slightly colder but also grew wider, as if he was staring through her and into some ghostly visage behind her eyes.
“It is more than just your nature that reminds me of what she was. Your situations are, hauntingly similar. She was to be sold as you are.” His state did not lend itself to him putting a diplomatic spin on words, he was saying what he thought, Yue’s arranged marriage was akin to slavery. Her parents were selling a human being to be used. “She was sold, to him. But she loved another.” He chuckled again slightly, but it was menacing now, dark and slightly evil as well as slightly broken with the mental strain. Whatever was going in his head was not making the right emotional connections but his brain had been so twisted over this that it was no surprise. But he was also chuckling at the cruel fates that had put Yue into much the same position as this mysterious woman.

While at first the pieces were scattered and made little to no sense, it suddenly became at least a little bit clearer. Yue could already guess why he’d seen her in the dream and while initially she couldn’t tell who the mystery woman was, her mind slowly connected the dots, slowly and sluggishly as if slowed down by something foreign to her. A woman who had been happy before Osamu, Osamu not wanting her to be cursed with someone like him… it was his mother, or another close relation. It made sense, though it didn’t bring any reassurance to Yue as it slowly became clearer and clearer. Her eyes stung a bit and Yue could suddenly see a way out – Osamu. But he cared so much, much more than Yue herself did as she’d given up hope a very long time ago. Seeing someone else willing to help hit something in her that made something in her chest twist and cause her as much elation as sadness.

But he continued his story, still staring through her eyes at something behind.
“She denied him. She did her duty by her family and married but she denied him the purpose of such a union. This angered him…. You do not anger him. For he will extract what he wants and he will charge you a high price for your resistance.” There was another pause as his skin grew colder, the images from his fevered dream were flashing across his eyes again now. Yue would likely detect a mixture of such negative emotions as it was a wonder he didn’t crumble then and there. “The woman respected the boundary of the hollow marriage. But her former love was still punished. He still died and he did not die well. But that was merely the interest on the payment, the capital sum still had to be paid. She was…” Osamu stopped the words jammed in his throat, he almost choked on them. He didn’t want to say them but he had to, he owed it to her and he had to say it to someone, someone. Who better than her? Who worse than her if this went wrong?

“Raped… again, and again, and again. The first time the head of her lover was mounted in front of her face. They say that if it happens in the confines of marriage it’s legal. Maybe. It’s still evil. It broke her soul, such a beautiful thing it was once. The wound could never heal, it was kept ripped open by the cruellest thing that could have been done to her. Crueller than anything that had yet happened. She was given an eternal reminder of the event in the place of the thing she should love most in this world and that should bring her the most joy.” He then became colder than ever, his skin was like death and eyes stared into an eternal abyss. “Nine months later the final mockery was delivered unto her. A creature made from such wickedness could never be good and pure and loved. Its skin was pale, like the dead flesh of that head in front of her eyes. It’s hair as black as the heart that had made it. Its eyes burning like hell and its nose twisted to hint at the warped nature of its creation and its soul. A trial it can never overcome. Every time she looked at it she saw that night and she saw evil no matter how hard she tried to do anything else.” Had Osamu been fully in the moment he would have been paying careful attention to Yue’s reactions as it became clear the spawn of which he spoke was none other than himself. But he was so drawn away he was barely even aware of the rest of the world. Just the cold and her eyes.

“The night of the creatures conception was what I saw, constructed from accounts and the knowledge of men’s souls, the knowledge of my soul. But it was not that woman who suffered, though the full strength of emotion associated with her was felt perhaps two fold. It was you who suffered. It was you and I couldn’t stop it.” His expression changed slightly and he looked at her with tenderness and sorrow. His mind was now half gone into the images again, unsure of what was quite real and what was imagined. “I’m sorry.” He whispered ever, ever so quietly.

By now, the stinging in her eyes had grown to such an extent that she’d had to squeeze her eyes shut, forcing the tears back. Yet, she didn’t grieve only for herself – for Osamu as well. She could very well tell it must’ve been absolutely horrendous living such a life and his unusual state of mind made more sense. Nevertheless, it only saddened her knowing he’d had to go through something like that. Of course people had their hardships but it didn’t matter, pain was pain. Inwardly, she chanted ‘Stop,’ several times, but it wasn’t because of Osamu’s words – no, it was the tears that were about to break through. It brought her back to the night it had been revealed to her but now was decidedly worse, with a double assault on her fragile emotions.

At the mention of rape, however, her throat felt constricted. Yue had been denying it for the longest time but she wasn’t stupid. It was obvious; if she didn’t consent, he could force her. It was legal by all means. And knowing he had seen her in the woman’s place made it ten times worse. Yue bit back a sob, feeling the emotional strain overtake her, being infinitely more than she could handle. It was horrific and now it was playing out in her head, over and over. Just as the first tear escaped, she said, “I’ll live.”

His look of tenderness made another tear follow but it only made her resume gently stroking his shoulder, trying to calm him down. “It’s alright, you have nothing to worry about.” It only amplified her sorrow yet through the entire haze of sadness and hopelessness she’d been feeling, a miniscule, tiny ray of hope emerged. He cared. Osamu cared, even when he didn’t have to. It didn’t directly concern him, but Yue would be damned if she ever let him down. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him into a tender embrace, mostly to mask her shaking voice as she said, “Don’t ever call yourself a creature again, u-understand? You’re not a creature, you don’t even deserve to be thought of as one. Promise me you won’t say that again. You’re not.” She repeated, though by now the third tear had fallen. She tried to regulate her shaky breaking and wiped her face with her yukata’s sleeve, not intent on Osamu seeing her cry. Yue had to be strong for him, she had to – he was the one suffering. But Yue couldn’t help it. He’d hit something most other’s didn’t even think was there, yet the mere fact that he did had made his go even higher in her eyes.

Though he was wrapped in her own emotions her sadness was not lost on him. It was so acute, even though she tried to mask it would be apparent to anyone but it was especially apparent to him. He cared about her. At first her sadness was dull and muted to him as his mind slipped away back into its dark visions. But it was so sharp and so acute to him specifically, that he could not help but feel it. Still, his reaction was delayed his mind was a jumbled mess and it would take some time for all the pieces to fall together. When she wrapped his arms around him though he instinctively reacted, rising up slightly he locked his arms around her as well and held her tight and held her close. Her comforting presence, her reassuring arms and her wavering voice that even now tried to sooth him were all welcome, appreciated and needed. At first he did not respond to her questions, he just held her close and seemed as if he would never let go.

Soon though her words began to filter through. Never call yourself a creature. The man had spent his whole life trying to be more than the circumstances of his birth had dictated. There were other elements at play there as well but now was not the time for that discussion. But he could never shake off the notion that there was something off about him on the inside, a thought that had been both intentionally and unintentionally reinforced by those around him. Centuries of programming were difficult to shake off, he even found it liberating in an odd kind of a way. Of course he shouldn’t have but his psyche had resorted to desperate means to preserve some kind of functioning consciousness. But here was a woman in his arms, embracing him and tearfully both begging and demanding that he no longer think of himself in such a way. He was not sure he could and this was the first time he could recall that this conception had been directly challenged. He could not just say okay and walk out of the door a new man. But equally he could not disappoint the beautiful woman before him who actually cared and deeply so. Holding her slightly closer to him he seemed to warm gently and he gently whispered.
“I can try.” He meant that when he said that, he would try, for her. But he was a man used to fighting the rest of the world, not himself. This would be a different kind of fight but he had Yue now for that, he had Yue and he would not let that go.

It pained him to see her this upset, though it was slightly gratifying and reassuring at the same time, to know someone cared enough to cry. Perhaps that was a selfish thought, a cruel one as well perhaps. But he could not help but think it. Still, he would rather see her happy and fulfilled than like this. It was at this point he had a delayed reaction to her earlier statement, something that had sailed past him at the time. The idea that she would live, that she would live through her marriage and the inevitable horror behind. This was unacceptable to Osamu. He sympathised with all women in her position, even more so since she was a figure worthy of respect and good treatment. But now, now that she had stood here and taken him into her arms despite his sinful creation, now that she had laid open her tender soul, now he would not abandon her to this fate.

Rising up so he was kneeling on the bed he held her closer still to him, any pain or discomfort inherent in the action was clean forgotten, it would have been as nothing to allowing her to continue to cry. Yue had done something very dangerous today. She had gotten Osamu to care about her, deeply. This could be a magnificent reward or a terrible curse, but it wouldn’t be mild. The fire in him began to stoke and rumble once more, the great pistons of his mind slowly began to scream and wail back into life. The machine was waking! He held now again as protective and comforting of her as she was of him. He held her so close it would have been impossible to cradle her more tightly to him without causing harm. But his comfort came less from emotional consoling, though that would always be on offer, but more through assurances of hard action. Placing one hand on the back of her head he rested his forehead on hers and titled her face up slightly whispering hardly.
“Look at me.” It was more of an order than a request. He would stay like this until she opened her eyes and he could stare into the wonder below, his own roaring eyes lending weight and conviction to what he said next.
“You are too good, beautiful and pure to just live. You are a great and noble woman and you are far too kind and warm to be abandoned to such a fate. I will not let a soul as wondrous as yours be cast aside. I will not permit it. You do not deserve to merely live, you deserve to thrive! To find happiness and joy as yet unimagined. You deserve a husband of your choosing, when you chose. You deserve to love your children like a mother should, to bring them joy and take such joy from them as can barely be described. I will not let this world or anyone in it take that away from you. I will deliver it into your hands. There is nothing that will stop me.” When he spoke he spoke with a fire in his words, it was almost as though he was trying to intimidate her into happiness, burning away the fear and worry inside of her through his conviction and intensity, perhaps even daring the rest of the world to stop him. But his words were kind as well, if they were a fire it was a fire that would warm and nurture her but burn away anything that tried to harm her. One thing was for sure, she had been too good to him for him not to return the favour in the only way he knew.

Osamu’s answer of “I’ll try” wasn’t entirely satisfying for Yue but she couldn’t have expected him to do a one-eighty in one night. It did somehow signify deeper psychological issue but in her current mental state Yue didn’t have neither the capacity nor willpower to deconstruct this particular issue. On top of that, it wasn’t even her business, though it did sadden her immensely that Osamu suffered like that. It struck something deep within her that inclined her to help however she could, though she didn’t believe she had the ability to do it. Nevertheless, there was always hope. And the eradication of that particular belief Osamu had of himself as a ‘creature’ would be a thing Yue would steadfastly hope for.

His embrace, however, was far different from what she’d have assumed it to be. Outwardly, Osamu didn’t seem as the type that appreciated or initiated physical contact yet here she was, proven wrong not once but twice. It was comforting, just like hers had been, making her relax a fair bit. Suddenly she wasn’t the one in control, the stronger one who’d extended a hand for Osamu to hold on to – now, it was somewhat reversed. Though Yue could tell she was still able to provide comfort, he did so too, much to her surprise. She sighed a bit, unhappy about the fact that she’d soaked a bit of his nightgown in tears. Hardly proper conduct as his nurse, yet she didn’t entirely care at that moment. The fact that the flow of tears was being stemmed by a single hug was what she focused on. His embrace somewhat reminded her of Kouta’s and the situation was eerily similar – both times she’d first had such contact, she’d been in tears. Yet, Osamu was different. Way more unfamiliar but it provided warmth and comfort, even a little hope but Yue couldn’t be sure it wasn’t all in her head. Nevertheless, Osamu had somehow stopped her from going into a full mental breakdown, which probably would’ve emerged later that night when she was alone.

Even at the additional contact which was far closer than she’d normally have liked, Yue didn’t find it entirely unsettling. She could feel the proximity even with her eyes closed yet she didn’t open them for several long moments despite his request. After pushing back more tears, Yue finally heeded his request and looked up at him, praying that she wouldn’t tear up again. But at his words, she did. It surprised her for it really shouldn’t have elicited such emotion but it did and Yue simply wrapped her arms around him again, speechless.

Eventually, she found her voice again and spoke, her voice quiet and somewhat shaking. “You have no idea how much this means to me. I…” She didn’t entirely understand the severity of her actions and how inappropriate they were but it had all flown out of her mind the moment all this started. Nor did she want to think about it just yet; she could deal with the consequences when they came. The words got stuck in her throat and refused to come out, making her contribution insignificant but her actions spoke better than words ever could’ve. There, perched on the side of his bed and embracing the one man she knew would do whatever he could, Yue made the promise to herself to break him out of that psychological issue. He wasn’t a creature and would never be. “I… You – thank you. If there’s anything… come to me.” It was almost too hard to formulate proper words but she managed it, somehow, while pushing him down gently onto the bed in order to lessen the strain on his body. This did put her in an uncomfortable not to mention inappropriate position so with a little bit of reluctance, Yue let go.

Her words, her actions, her intent. They had meant everything this night. Osamu would not leave this room a changed man, that could not happen so quickly, but the process of change had begun. But Osamu had another purpose now, not his greatest one, but one he felt with a keen and almost painful intensity. He must protect her, he must deliver her the opportunity for happiness. There was no foe too mighty, no methodology forbidden, every means could be used. But Osamu would not allow himself to fail in this mission. He was a man used to working on the macro scale, he had contented himself with working for the good of thousands, millions even. He had never committed so hard to anything quite so small, so singular. Even now he found the notion strange, but extremely compelling.

Osamu would rather this moment did not reach its inevitable conclusion. He wanted to remain here, like this, with Yue, for far longer. But time waited for no man and Yue may be missed elsewhere, indeed the risk of being discovered only increased as time went by. So, he reluctantly accepted the unavoidable end to all this as he was laid down gently and her warm, tender embrace slowly came to an end. He was tempted to resist, to gently hold her there, inappropriate or not he wanted to keep her close, but no. All things must end. Instead, as she pulled away he reached up and gently grabbed her hand before she could fully escape. He held it softly for a final, lingering moment, gently stroking the backs of her fingers with his thumb before finally letting go and settling back down into his bed for good. He was smiling tenderly at her, his eyes surprisingly soft. He did not speak, there was no further need for words right now. He would let her go silently.

Today had been a good day after all. When Yuzuki had presented herself it seemed everything would be ruined. But instead today had turned a tremendous profit. Yue had relieved his soul as he would relieve hers. She may even prove a closer ally on the grand stage. Similarly, Yuzuki’s appreciation and gratitude had been secured and who knows, perhaps she too may soon be as close to Osamu emotionally as the graceful Yue. At the cost of a few broken bones, slightly damaged organs and one bad dream he had come away with two women he would value highly. Osamu would look at Yue for so long as she remained, committing every split second to memory. If she departed he would roll onto his side and look with concern and contentment on Yuzuki. He would stay like this until eventually sleep overtook him once more. This time, he slept silently.

Yue couldn’t even identify the emotions running through her right at that moment, though she did try to rein them in. What had happened tonight was beyond any of her immediate comprehension yet she knew she had done the right thing by far. Though some of the details had been unsettling and worrisome, Yue didn’t care anymore. Osamu was alright, she had succeeded in her aim of calming him down. Yet it didn’t stop there. While at their initial meeting she’d sworn to keep a distance between them and had just barely considered him a ‘friend’, tonight had made a monumental difference. She’d instinctively allowed herself to be drawn closer and she’d allowed it yet now, as she stood over him with her hand in his, Yue didn’t regret it like she thought she would. The contact brought a soft, affectionate smile to her face and she wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her other hand, returning his smile. How she wished he was always like this.

However, duty called. It was nearly time for her hourly rounds and Yue had spent majority of the time she’d have spent behind the nursing station in here with Osamu. Yet there were other patients to attend to and Yue knew that so she made her way to the drawers at the end of the room, pulling open the one labeled ‘Bed #24’. Inside was all of the medication prescribed to Osamu, the ones used prior and for the future. After careful inspection of his file, Yue pulled out a small bottle of muscle-relaxant and an empty syringe, a syringe of local anesthesia, a bottle of airway-clearing fluid and another syringe of sleeping agents. She was mildly surprised at the damage he’d sustained and the amount of medication he had, it was almost as much as Yuzuki’s. Most other patients simply had a shot of anesthesia or sleeping pills and nothing else.

But there was more work to be done so Yue tried to get it done as quickly as possible in order to start her next rounds. She extracted the right dose out of the small bottle of muscle-relaxant and held up the bottle so that Osamu could see it, knowing how paranoid tended to be at times. “This is something that’s going to help you relax so that you can heal better, alright?” He was already sleepy so she injected him with the three syringes in the appropriate places and propped up his head a little bit so that he could drink the syrup. After she was done, Yue discarded the used equipment and turned for a final glance. A soft smile was sent his way and she left, back to inspecting the rest of the patients. Yue’s mind was everywhere all at once and unidentifiable emotions were running through her at an alarming pace, yet she knew she would rest easy tonight despite her heavy heart. What she’d witnessed tonight had been something that had brought Yue much closer to Osamu, yet she couldn’t deny the massive impact Osamu had had on her. Yet, it would be for the best, or so Yue hoped.