Muffled voices met my ears and I registered a cool, wet cloth was sitting against the burning flesh of my forehead. I tried to concentrate on what they were saying but found it difficult to do so. It sounded like arguing; three males and a female and as things became clearer I realized they were arguing over me.
I knew the voices well. Kyoraku, Ukitake, Nanao and…
My eyes slammed open as I caught the tale end of their conversation.
“She needs to go to the Forth, why are you being so stubborn?” Nanao huffed and had I not been about to go insane, I would have laughed. Leave it to Nanao to stand up to a demon warlord. Even though Sora may look a little on the feminine side, he was anything but.
“No offence,” Shunsui started. “But you’re no doctor and we really should make sure she’s alright.”
I could hear the grinding of his teeth and I was proud that he had held his tongue this long, my Lord had never done well when people tried to waver his already made up mind. “If something were wrong with her I would sense it.”
Sitting up I ignored the throbbing in my limbs as I crept to the shoji door on my hands and knees peeking through a small crack left open.
“How?” Ukitake pressed, clearly not impressed and it showed in his face.
The whole lot of them were gathered around a low table in what I considered to be a joining sitting room to the sleeping quarters I was in. Each wearing his or her own frown or furrowed brow. If the situation hadn’t been so serious I might have laughed at my old guardian who looked to be ill at being surrounded by so many pestering humans.
“This is ridiculous…” Ukitake wailed, throwing his hands in the air. “You don’t care at all, do you?” He asked in anger and I flew of my futon and was out the door before Sora could stand.
The air around him bled crimson as his spiritual pressure rose. “Not care?” He said rising and as he stood his pressure got more intense. “Not care!”
“Sora!” I gasped, throwing myself in front of Jyuu, my arms extended to show he was not to be harmed, at least without harming me first. When Sora made no move to attack the crushing weight of his spiritual pressure finally forced me to my knees. Jyuu caught me before I could ever hit the ground as I knew he would, “I’m fine…” I panted. Still wondering how Jyuu and Shun-kun were still able to stand. My own Reiatsu was at the ranking of a lower Taicho, I didn’t stand a chance. I gasped as the realization dawned on me that even as humans Jyuu and Shunsui were near at his power in human form.
Jyuu was still a mess when I turned to him, pressing my palm to his face in reassurance. “Jyuu, look at me.” He complied letting me look into his hazy pools of green. “I’m fine.” I told him once again and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him the best way I could from my position.
His breath was coming out in hard pants but I hardly thought it was due to spiritual pressure Sora had exuded, no, I think he was just really pissed off. I could feel every thump of his beating heart and he was practically vibrating in his skin. I had never seen Jyuu this way before and to tell the truth it was somewhat frightening. Even we had been defending me against the my moronic Fifth seat at the bar last night, he was always calm. He wasn’t now.
He took several breaths to steady himself before he regained his composure and set me on my feet, but he never let go fully and I couldn’t help but to relax in the familiar comfort of his presence.
He said nothing for a moment, just stared. “May I speak to you in private?” He asked coolly, raking his eyes over my new form and I couldn’t help but blush.
I nodded without hesitation and I felt Jyuu stiffen from behind me. “But why now?”
“I think I can answer your question, Nomi-chan.” A sultry voice called from behind me. I knew who it was immediately and I felt my temper rise. She knew? With that, I snapped.
~
Nanao
The elfin like ears of the man standing beside me twitched and though I heard nothing I knew that he did. Nomi was very detailed in her accounts of her time spent with this demon and one of the things we spoke most of was his incredible senses of sight, smell and hearing. From what she had explained this Lord Sora was a demon of wolf origins and it was easy to understand his heightened sense of things. But as his frowned deepened I found it hard to believe that anything he might of heard was anything but negative. In fact since the arrival of the former Captain and Commander of Squad Two the rooms already tense atmosphere tripled. It was easy enough to conclude that this was no happy reunion with Yoruichi but something more of a tryst I wanted no part of.
“Why?” Nomi asked pleadingly. She had moved to the window shortly after Jyuu set her on her feet and with her back still facing us her head cocked to the side, just enough to see the glimmering wetness that streamed down her face. I knew she was desperately trying to hold back the emotions she had been holding in for the last hundred years, she was much like myself in that respect, preferring to keep a tight hold of herself until in the privacy of her own home. “Why would you lie to me?”
I had never heard her so broken before, not even in our late night talks after she had suffered a particularly bad nightmare and sought out my comfort, not even then had I seen her in such a state. Ukitake-Taicho must have seen the same thing I had for in a swiftness he was moving to her side. It was Shunsui who stopped him using a strong hand to guide him back to were he was once standing just seconds ago. Ukitake’s eyes narrowed, upset his friend wouldn’t let him pass. He looked just as confused as I felt as the skin between his brows drew tighter.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kyoraku nod, his own way of telling me that he was on to something and honestly it did nothing to quell the uneasiness I felt stirring from beneath the surface. Others might be fool enough to actually believe my Taicho was nothing more than the lazy drunk he pretended to be. But those of us close enough to really understand him new the truth. Kyoraku was a highly intelligent man, who’s only problem with dealing with the mindless task of all Taicho’s of the Gotei 13 were just that, the paperwork, the training schedules, the monthly budget… it was all mindless, nothing challenging enough to actually stimulate his mind. When it came down to it Kyoraku was genius at problem solving and was incredibly aware of the goings on around him. I had no doubts what so ever that he knew something about what was happing here, I only wished I was privileged to the information pumping through his brain.
After a few moments Yoruichi took a hesitant step forward and to me she seemed almost wary of approaching her adoptive sibling. “I’m sorry-” She started only to be cut off by a low hiss.
“You’re sorry?” she scoffed sarcastically, shaking her head with a mechanical smile in place. To a blind eye she would seem to be amused, but through her ridged stance and her growing spiritual pressure I hardly thought she found any humor in the situation.
“Over a hundred years,” she whispered, a small sob catching in her throat and the former commander of the stealth squad stop dead in her tracks as Nomi’s voice grew sadder, colder. “But you knew, didn’t you?”
When Yoruichi made no reply Nomi gave a little laugh, raising her hand to wipe at her soaked cheeks and I found it almost frightening that she no longer seemed to care that she was crying. “How long?” she asked quietly, her voice rough from restraining her sobs.
“What?”
“How long?” She growled, evidently upset with having to repeat herself. “How long has he been in the Soul Society? How many nights have you let me agonize over his face, his face that haunted me knowing I was my fault he died, because I was weak and once again he had to save me?” Her voice grew in volume as she spoke and I saw the demon next to me stiffen as the air around us started to crack and sizzle with her demonic aura. “How many nights did you hear me scream for him in my sleep, begging for his forgiveness while you did nothing to ease my pain?” She was screaming by time she finished her tirade and as she did her eyes began to bleed red.
I held in a gasp of my own. Even with all she had told me, us… all of us, I didn’t know he was executed for her. I didn’t even know such a thing was possible. Admittedly after becoming friends with Nomi. I did a little research of my own, if for nothing else then to just understand her better. It was a sketchy process as most of her origins were rooted in Folk lore but I did find out a few things, most trivial, but I did see something about the binding of human and demon souls. It was reckless, dangerous and most of all… forbidden.
“No answers now?” She sniffled, drying her eyes with her palms as she still tried to hide her tears from the rest of the room.
Throwing a hand on my hip I turned to face the noble lady myself, waiting for her to respond, I too would love an explanation for this. I may have not known Nomi for years like Yoruichi but I was her friend and I knew by first hand account how much pain she was in. Apparently I wasn’t the only one feeling protective at the moment nor was I the only one waiting for an answer. Kyoraku and Ukitake held the same angry stare as they too waited, but I was surprised to see that Inu no Tashio, didn’t. My heart sank to my stomach praying the demon next to me was just being stoic, it would kill Nomi if he had been here for so long with knowledge of her and never so much as sent her word.
Kyoraku, myself and Ukitake have all had to deal with the aftermath of one of Nomi’s night terrors at one point or another, however, if you were to ask Jyuu he would tell you that they were a blessing in disguise for it brought Nomi closer to him. Many nights she had come to us, either at the Eight or the Thirteenth tear streaked and disheveled hair, claiming one excuse or another before she settled in next to Jyuu or Kyoraku and dozed off again, more often than not it was in Jyuu’s arms when she wanted to be comforted. But I dreaded the aftermath of this if Nomi’s demon simply didn’t care, if he had been aware and just left her to suffer. I feared it would finally break my strong friend.
My mind sidetracked for a moment as an unsettled feeling seeped into the very marrow of my bones. It tore at my heart, thinking of what all this, the return of Sora and what it could do to Jyuu and Nomi’s slowly building relationship. It was a sad twist of fate, much like the girls life had already been. It had finally brought her demon Lord back to her but at a time when she was so clearly starting to warm to the idea of her and Jyuu together as more than just companions.
What would happen now that he had returned? She had said earlier in this morning that it wouldn’t matter if he was still alive, that her demon Lord had never returned her feeling for him. But to be honest I wasn’t so sure. Just by what she’s told me alone was enough to make even the most dense person see that the man/demon at least cared deeply for her.
I’ve never felt more torn in my life than I did right now. I knew that one man loved her without a doubt and the other was yet to be seen but it was ultimately her decision and no matter how much I wished that she’d pick Jyuu, I would remain by her side. I knew that Kyoraku felt the same way as much as it pained him to see his long time friend hurt, I knew he would never turn his back on her. As I also knew that even if she didn’t pick Jyuu he would always remain close to her, whether it was in hopes of a different future or just because he was just that dedicated to her as a person, Jyuu would always be there.
Bringing myself back to the present I noticed my mind had returned just in time to see Yoruichi hand her head in shame as she whispered. “Eighty years,”
“What?” I gasped, balking at her answer, my eyes wide as a glow of golden kido started to manifest itself around Nomi.
“Eighty years I’ve known of Sora’s existence here-”
“Why!” Nomi snapped suddenly, spinning around to give us a full picture of her red and swollen face, she had been crying and quite hard, I startled from the outburst. It was expected for her to be so angry but it still spooked me. Her face was wet and raw as she screamed incoherent things at her mentor, things I halfway expected to be a demon language. “Why would you let me think him dead! Why let me think that he suffered in the Hell fires. TELL ME!”
Yoruichi startled and for the first time today I didn’t think her the villain. She looked just as heartbroken as Nomi and I briefly wondered if all the deceit was for a good cause, if neither demon could have handled it when Nomi first arrived here, if she couldn’t handle it now.
Feeling an uncontrollable urge to comfort her I took a brazen step forward, only to have my movements thwarted by a clawed left hand. I knew who it belonged to before ever having to look up. The demon who had until this point remained aloof and silent had now intervened, touched me even and I already knew about his aversion to humans. While his face remained a hard, stoic mask I craned my neck upwards in hopes of obtaining some answers. “She would never forgive me… if you were to get hurt.”
It was a strange answer to come from a man such as him, but I nodded and complied anyway. Whatever I thought he might have said, that certainly was not what I was expecting. He moved slowly towards her, his eyes never reveling his plans, but as he reached for her, the tense nature of the room dissipated as she slumped deeper into his bleached robes, taking comfort in his scent, or so I would guess.
I could faintly hear Kyoraku praising Ukitake for his patience and understanding as the demon Lord swooped Nomi into his arms, she laid there lifeless as a rag doll as he carried her to the low table we had been sitting at previous to Yourichi’s arrival. Usually it was Ukitake-Taicho who would usually coddle my Taicho after he had done something stupid or was just generally upset and it was slightly odd to see the dynamic reversed, but I figured with everything going on Jyuu most likely really needed it. I couldn’t tell if the man wanted to fight or cry, it was possible that he wanted to do both and I couldn’t blame him for it.
As Nomi settled down the Demon Taicho turned to Jyuu and asked more politely than I would have thought him capable asked for some tea to be brought in. “It will calm her further.” He told us by way of explanation when we all lifted a brow in his direction. Jyuu sighed but did as the Demon asked of him and within a few minutes a few servants arrived with a tray of tea and sweet cakes.
Nomi
I felt foolish, childish and incredibly weak as I sat in his lap soaking up his woodland scent of pine and persimmons, taking any and all comfort he would afford me with. Had the day not worn on me so I would have felt worse about it, but as I was mentally and physically exhausted I didn’t care if the Captain-Commander himself were to bear witness to this. I was simply too exhausted to move.
“Perhaps you should start from the beginning, Lady Yoruichi.” Sora suggested, the vibration of his words rumbled through his chest and onto my scantily clad back. It was then that I remembered how much of my flesh he had seen today. It was also then that I noticed that I was covered his signature Kosode; white silk trimmed at the left shoulder with the red chrysanthemum and the half crested moon. My cheeks flamed hot under the skin and I wondered minutely if he could tell. Of course he can, you idiot. I thought to myself, wishing the earth would open up and swallow me before I embarrassed myself further in his presence.
 |
| Childish Fantasies |
My eyes had to have widened to the size of dinner plates when the light bulb clicked on. All this time… Jyuu. My eyes shot to his, disappointed that his were downcast and his face turned away from mine. I wanted to see those deep pools of green, I wanted to…
“Are you alright?” Sora rumbled in my ear, and though I could tell he was serious in his questioning I could also detect a slight hint of amusement coloring his tone.
“Yes,” I snapped, sliding from Sora's lap and onto my own pillow. He just harrumphed and turned back to Yoruichi. I decided from that point on I would pay attention to the conversation and hand and simply ignore him and his teasing question.
“It’s a simple explanation,” she started, holding us in rapt attention as she sipped from her tea. “Nomi wasn’t here when you arrived more than five hundred years ago.”
I gasped. “Five hundred years?” I questioned, though it was not meant to be audible.
“Yes,” he answered me anyways. “I’ve been in service to the Spirit King for nearly that long, a penance for past sins, if you will.”
“Hold on,” Jyuu interrupted, and I almost wanted to warn him not to do so often, Sora might have had a change of heart where humans were concerned but disrespect was something I don’t ever think he’d be able to tolerate and right now I don’t think I could stand to see them come to blows. “you bought your way into the Seireitei?”
I know Jyuu didn’t mean for his question to come out as accusing as it did but I still couldn’t help but worry for him when Sora tensed up beside me.
“Yes,” he replied easily. “it was the only way.”
His answer was vague at best but I understood it with perfect clarity. Sora, despite all the good he had done before he died, before that he was a ruthless killer and cut down countless innocence before I found him as a child.
Jyuu looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. “That makes no sense, if that were the only way for a demon to gain entrance to the Soul Society, Nomi would have had to have done the same.”
“I don’t presume anything.” Jyuu spit back. “I don’t need too, what you are is as apparent to me as my squad motto.”
“Jyuu,” Kyoraku jumped in, sensing the powerful aura radiating with destructive anger behind me. “There no need to be hostile…
I tuned them out as Kyoraku and Ukitake started arguing amongst each other but I could tell every time Jyuu made a slanderous remark about Sora for his claws would bite into my skin hard than before, and it was becoming something of a difficult task not to openly show my reaction to it.
My aunt’s lips turned upwards then, lighting the room with her brilliant smile as she pegged me with a knowing look. “If were all done with the pissing match I’d like to continue before we waist the entire day in here.”
When no one disputed her face turned serious as she spoke directly to me. “When I found you in Zaraki, you were nothing but a small child but even so I could tell your soul was not what your body suggested and after hearing your story of how you lived and died in Feudal Japan I knew something was amiss.I turned to Kisuke for guidance when I had exhausted all other options and as always he seemed to have a better understanding than I did.”
Her eyes softened as she held my gaze and I could see the heartbreak cloud her features. “You were once what we in the Soul Society call Buranku or Blanks.”
“What is this Buranku?” I asked shivering slightly, wishing for the warm arms of the man sitting across from me.
“Lost souls.” Jyuu supplied without looking at me and I wondered what I had done to make him so angry with me.
“But the Shinenju didn’t appear till just recently, just before Nomi became a lieutenant?” Nanao piped in, her question brilliant as always.
“That’s true but I don’t think Senna was the first one, after all the Dark Ones lived in the Dangai for a 1000 years and in that time Kisuke and I think they might have preformed trials on blanks during that time. Around the same time Nomi came to the Soul Society there was a large influx of souls that arrived seemingly at the same time. Whether their experiment failed or the Shinenju released the memories of the souls it carried, for whatever reason Nomi spirit was released and sent to the Soul Society.”
I could feel the throbbing of a headache coming on as the detailed explanation of my missing years swarmed my mind. How could I have gotten lost? But more importantly…
“You still have not answered my question, Aunt Yoruichi.” I stated, giving her hard glare as some of my anger returned. “Why did you lie to me about Sora?”
“I believe that is my question to answer, Nomi.” Said the demon of topic, and I could feel an instant wetness dripping down the white silk of his haori. He knew as well…
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