Warnings Of What Is To Come [Closed/Yuki]

Once more Yuki stepped forth within the grand estate of the ancient Hatayama Clan. She had expected to bring Zenji back to her estate at least once before returning here, to repay his kindness for allowing her access to the library, but it appeared as though he'd desired a meeting. Perhaps it was concerning the recent battle she'd been engaged in? After all it had been no secret. Someone else had to pick her up after her humiliating defeat.

Draw.

Defeat.

I wasn't defeated. If she had defeated me then I would be dead. Nor did I see her corpse anywhere. Clearly we both survived the ordeal.

You didn't kill her. Still a defeat.

As she was led through the estate Yuki moved at a slower pace than she normally would, left arm held close to her body, settled against her hip. In her right hand she held a small basket of strawberries covered with a cotton cloth. On the surface everything would appear to be fine. She had a new uniform. It concealed any damage done to her. But bandages covered her torso, covered her left arm, and extra wrappings secured the horrific wounds she'd suffered from her foe. She was lucky to be alive.

I need to return to her. We need to speak. Did she spare me after all of that? Or did someone else come to our aid? Why am I still alive?

The question gnawed at her mind. But hopefully she could focus it on another topic. Perhaps they might discuss kido? Or tea? Maybe she could invite him out for drinks? That had been a pleasant way of securing friendships, as she had recently come to discover.

Drinks. Food. Bath. Yeah.

Upon arriving at Zenji's door a servant knocked a couple of times and announced her arrival. Then after waiting for the all clear Yuki entered the room, lowering her head towards Zenji. "Hello again Zenji. It is nice to see you again. I brought a gift. Strawberries from my garden. How are you doing today?"

What.

That would explain the unusual meeting venue. For a moment I thought he was going to propose. Or worse.

Yuki's gaze lingered upon the missing hand, although she did move forward to the man's bedside. The basket was settled upon the closest table before she settled in to her seat. As sweets and tea were delivered she lowered her head in gratitude to the maids. Then she set about pouring them each a cup of tea.

"Yes. It appears we have both sustained some injuries as of late. Mine are not so obvious unless I remove my top, if you'd like to share wounds. I was nearly killed. I do not know how my opponent ended up, nor who might have spared me. There are many questions to be answered. But I'll have them when I next visit Earth."

With her right hand she lifted her cup of tea, sipping at it. Drinking alcohol was nice, but so too was tea. Sweets were also always a nice touch. She would have to wait on those though. Right now she really didn't want to use her left hand.

"Miss Nao? That is good. She seemed like a good person. Also I suppose I should send some congratulations to Watari. Perhaps I have become a little complacent with my own position."

She had. This was evidence of it. Already people around her were making their moves. But this business on Earth could come first. After all, if she couldn't handle one Human in a fight then how could she expect to challenge the captain of the fifth? Or even the lieutenant?

I need to get stronger.

Speaking of the Human, there were some peculiarities about her. Perhaps Zenji might have some answers? "The Human who nearly killed me. I do not feel any ill will towards her. I believe our fight might have been a mistake. Maybe. I hope to find out for myself. But regardless of that, something unusual occurred. A Hollow was slain at her hands, but nothing remained of it. Have you heard of such things? Is that even possible? Or was my mind playing tricks upon me?"

In all honesty she really had hoped that it was the case. Maybe she had overreacted. Maybe the woman hadn't slain a soul. Maybe the entire fight was her fault for it, but then she would be willing to accept that.

Mortals? I wonder.

They have been quite troublesome lately, haven't they?

Her gaze briefly turned towards Zenji's stump. A slightly sickening feeling crept into her gut. Had it been the same person? No. There were plenty of Humans with strange abilities.

She nodded along with Zenji's retelling of events, sipping her tea all the while. Of course he was right. Karakura Town had become a hotbed of activity recently. Perhaps it was all leading into something more horrific. But, if so, what? Some sort of Hollow invasion? Or perhaps a new threat entirely?

Yuki paused. Her entire body tensed up, pupil constricted, and tail froze behind her. The power to destroy souls? There were two that she'd met with the same abilities. Well, three counting the old crone she'd slain, and even then she didn't know whether or not the souls were actually destroyed. But those other two had imparted a sickening feeling upon her before.

A man? Wait. I didn't encounter a man with those abilities.

It was only when Zenji mentioned a woman that things really began to click. A woman who removed his hand with an unusual sword. A woman who apparently worked with the same person who could eliminate souls. A woman that she had potentially failed to stop.

"Red hair? Pretty? Glowing blue sword?" she mumbled softly, mostly to herself as she didn't want to interrupt. Zenji might have slain her. Maybe. But even he had his doubts about it.

He was right. These sorts of mortals were dangerous. They knew not what they did to the cycle. Or perhaps they did? She hadn't managed to get an answer to that. It would be important to do so before she made any final decisions about how to handle them in the future. But then Zenji continued on about history. Some ancient purge she only faintly remembered from her academy classes.

Quincy?

You need to kill them.

Why?

It is in your blood.

What?

That didn't really make any sense to her, however the word was something she remembered hearing, and not just from her classes. Her by now emptied cup was set aside. "Quincy" she repeatedly quietly. "Father once said something to me about them, that our clan was somehow involved with them in the past. He never did elaborate any further."

So these creatures had a name? They were Human. Was that unusual scent she caught not just something she could chalk up to different people being unique? It certainly warranted further investigation. But more importantly, and more worrying, there were more running around than she'd initially thought.

"The woman who I fought. Could it be the same one? If so then I must apologize for not finishing the fight. Also, potentially, for accidentally starting it."

She attacked you first.

It might have been a mistake. A misunderstanding, perhaps.

"I had hoped to find her again, to speak with her. Ask her why we ended up fighting. More importantly, I had hoped to determine whether she knew how terrible her actions were. However at the time I didn't have the chance to speak with her and, more importantly, I didn't even know whether or not souls could be destroyed in that manner."

Yes. It was probably her. Damnit.

Next time we finish the fight.

Zenji's anger did not go unnoticed. He hated these people. Loathed them. And yes, he had lost a hand to one of them, but that was no reason to despise an entire race of beings. No, this was something else. This was hate on another level. She didn't like where this was going.

He called them Demons. Obviously they were Humans. A little different perhaps but they were certainly not spirits. Did Demons even exist? Of course it was possible that they did wear the fleshy disguise of a Human, but she doubted that. After all she had potentially met one before and they had left on friendlier terms.

Still, the danger they posed was real. She could understand the man's concerns. Completely eradicating souls would throw off the balance of their society. But did they know that? And if they didn't would knowing that change how they conducted themselves? Those were the important questions to ask.

He did have a point about other Shinigami. Many were too lazy, corrupt, or simply undeserving of their position. Change was needed. It was why she supported Watari's plan, even if she did not support his method of carrying out that plan. He promised to change all that. Change for the better.

You cannot still believe in that lie.

If he is lying then he already knows of the consequences.

The man's question was an important one. She didn't really wish to upset him, but she wasn't going to lie either. No, complete honesty would be the only way forward. Besides, she was already pretty set on her path forward.

"I do not know enough about them" she began, setting down her cup as she finished her tea. "Have we tried speaking to them? Do they know of the consequences of their actions? Do they know of the balance they disrupt? Do they know why we hunt them? A purge was mentioned. Despite my years I know little about such history. Imagine yourself in their shoes. A frail Human with a short lifespan. Do they know of the history?"

Yuki sat up straight, tail curling around into her lap. "This is why I wish to speak with them. I must know the answers to these questions. If they do not know then perhaps simply informing them might change their ways. If we can avoid unnecessary casualties then we should. On both sides, especially considering what their weapons might do to us. I am willing to take that risk."

She paused. Unfortunately that was the good scenario. He did ask for her advice. It was only fair that she answer fully. "If they do know and they wish not to change their ways then, at that point, we might need to consider them our enemy. If that becomes the case then I would include their numbers in our hunts. Give each of them a chance to give up their practices, of course. Those who disobey, who fight back, they would need to be slain."

Still, this left another question in the air. "Would their souls pass on as a normal Human's does? That is also important to determine. I do not know enough about them to say for certain whether or not they do."

Of course she did have a feeling that Zenji might know. But then that was why she was here, wasn't it? To get answers? On that note there was another question. "Do you have records of the clans here? My father said something about them in passing. Said our clan was tied to them."

So the Quincy had been informed in the past. Yes, she'd already figured that to be the case. However he had avoided answering her actual question. Had they been asked recently? She knew they were strong, yes, but they still inhabited mortal forms. They lived much shorter lives. The chances that they lost this information was incredibly likely.

On that note, if they knew not about the balance then could they really be faulted for disrupting it? That wasn't fair. If it was true then they were not standing on an equal footing. Blame could not be leveled upon them, but it could be leveled upon those within their own society. Well, partly. For all they knew the Quincy had been wiped out. But now that they did know they had no excuses.

Nor did she agree with him that speaking to them might make things worse. They had done battle twice. It was still possible that their opponents lived. In that case it was likely that this information had already spread. Inaction would bring more disaster for everyone involved. She did agree that they had to be careful with their interactions, yes. However she doubted that the Quincy were, as a whole, stronger than they were. Or rather she hoped this to be the case.

They didn't know what might happen to the Quincy when they were slain, but he was also right that they could not really find out that information for themselves. At least not that she knew of. But the risk of them not passing on to the next life outweighed the risk of allowing them to continue as they were. She had to agree to that.

Unfortunately he didn't seem to have any specific information readily on hand about her family. Perhaps she could investigate that on her own time later. However he trusted and respected her enough to give her all of this information willingly. Hopefully he would understand her decision.

"On most things it appears as though we agree" she began, having only spoken up once Zenji appeared to be finished with his responses. "You are my friend. Even if you were not, I would still speak honestly to you, for I do not lie. You probably will not enjoy everything that I have to say, but I ask that you hear me out completely."

"I did not have a chance to ask them about their knowledge of the past. Nor, it seems, did you. They are dangerous. Yes. Perhaps the greatest danger we know of. But they are still living beings. Humans. Creatures we have sworn to protect. The balance exists for this reason. To slay every Quincy simply because of what they are or the danger they might pose is wrong. I think my reason for standing against such a decision is plainly obvious." On that point she briefly raised her right hand to point at her ears.

"They deserve the chance to learn the truth, to decide for themselves whether they will continue to act against the balance, or join us in upholding it. I can see a place for them in the world. Instead of finishing off the Hollow they could protect civilians until we arrived, provided we gave them the ability to contact us in times of need. We do not need to be enemies simply because we were in the past. Those who would not follow this would, of course, need to be dealt with one way or another. But perhaps the Quincy could enforce this on their own." Unlikely, but she was willing to give it a shot.

She paused for a moment, allowing the information to sink in. More importantly it allowed her to judge the man's facial expressions, his heart beat, really everything in order to gather an informed opinion about his thoughts to her ideas. "I think we are already on the verge of a coming war. However I also believe that there is still time to avoid this. If we wait then more mistakes will occur. More people will be attacked on both sides. It will become unavoidable in that case."

Her hand was raised again, waving towards Zenji's stump. "What they did to you must be repaid. Nor can I speak to what you might desire as recompense. But I have already forgiven the woman for attacking me. At least until I know more information. I do not expect the same of you, but I do ask that you reflect upon your encounter, to determine for yourself who it was that started the fight and, more importantly, for what reason."

Yuki was giving the Quincy plenty of leeway right now. That was true. But control was very important to her, especially control over her emotions. Right now was not the time to make decisions based upon such things. She could temper her frustrations long enough to figure out whether what happened was her fault or the Quincy's.

"I do plan on becoming the captain of the Fifth, for they have become too complacent. But I refuse to rush blindly into a war, not out of fear but because it is wasteful. Peace must first be attempted. I will approach them and I will request answers to my questions. It is not something I would ask of anyone else, for I do understand the dangers of such actions. If they should attack me again? So be it. But I must ask that you trust in my abilities should things go poorly. If they attack me I will be ready this time. If they attack me I can force them back. If they attack me then I will have my answer and you will have my sword in this coming war, but if they respond positively then we might be able to avoid the war altogether."

This was her answer. Her decision was final. She was, after all, very stubborn. But she felt that it was in the best interests of their people. There was no way that she was going to ignore an option which might ultimately save her friends from harm, even if it meant putting herself into a very dangerous situation. She had already lost enough people in her life.

In any case she had said what she'd hope to say, and so she waved a hand in Zenji's direction. Hopefully he would take her words well. She didn't expect him to, given his hate for the Quincy. But she could hope.

She was halfway out the back door leading to the Senkaimon when Nao did an abrupt about face and rushed off for Zenji’s estate. It was a horrible flashback to the time he had lost his hand that triggered the reaction, and it took her a re-reading of the message for it to sink in. Zenji hadn’t gone out to kill more Quincy. He was safe, or at least as safe as he could be in his own walls. Pushing off and using her flash step to hasten her arrival, Nao cursed under her breath at how stupid she had been.

She was slightly out of breath by the time she arrived at the Hatayama grounds, stepping in and talking to the staff with polite requests for the whereabouts of Zenji. It took some time, but she eventually landed on one of the servants who remembered her from the night she’d spent at the estate after their secret clandestine meeting. A few moments later and she was outside of a door, thanking the servant and rolling her sleeves up.

Once she was set to deal with whatever this medical emergency was, she stepped into the room, immediately looking around for signs of battle. Finding only a passed out Yuki and Zenji, she cocked her head to the side and made her way over. ”What’s the matter, Zenji? What happened to Lady Kameko? It wasn’t poison, was it? Are you okay?” she asked, settling in and examining the unconscious girl first before looking up from the ground at him questioningly.

”You did what?” Nao asked incredulously, staring at Zenji in disbelief. She remained in quiet thought for a moment, mulling over the unconscious Shinigami in front of her with a scowl on her face. It was ridiculously irresponsible what he’d done, and the revelation that he was willing to go this far on Yuki of all people caused a momentary flare-up of legitimate irritation to break through her demeanor.

”You would do something like this to Lady Kameko,” she said, indignantly gesturing at the girl before extending her legs and resting Yuki’s head on her lap, ”But you wouldn’t do the same with Lord Suzumei? Zenji, really. Between the two of them, you left the dangerous one with his memories intact.”

With a shake of her head, she set to work on healing the damage Zenji had done. Green healing energies spread outward from her palms as she gently rested her hands on the side of Yuki’s head, her wrists awkwardly touching the girl’s slightly droopy ears.

It was a relief to work her Kaido on a target that wasn’t at risk of bleeding out or being permanently disfigured, even if it was an inherently more complex thing in that she was healing damage done to Yuki’s very mind. One errant twitch and she could easily flip something in the more combative part of her patient’s brain, and that was not something she wanted to test with someone of Lady Kameko’s physical prowess.

Nao took several measured breaths, massaging the sides of Yuki’s head and eventually bringing them to rest on her temple. The green light plusing around her head condensed into separate slowly swirling vortexes as Nao drew her hands back and gently pressed in on the sides of her patient’s skull, forcing the healing energies deeper until she saw the girl’s eyes flit open.

”Are you well, Lady Kameko?” she asked, her hands still in place as they repaired the last remnants of Zenji’s knockout as well as some minor lingering issues she was finding in her dual-purpose healing and diagnostic Kaido. She couldn’t make the mistake of repairing the memory loss caused by Zenji’s quick action, but she could feel her efforts running into the telltale resistance that accompanied concussions and the other sorts of damage far too commonly untreated by members of the combat vanguard. ”Lord Hatayama called me over when you passed out. You really need to pace your training and get in for more regular checkups. These sorts of head injuries can be dangerous if you let them go untreated. A few moments more and you should be able to stand,” she explained. Lying to the woman about the cause of her loss of consciousness felt wrong to Nao, but it was aided by actually finding real problems beneath the surface. Half-truths were so much easier to tell, and someone of Lady Kameko’s position really ought to be more careful.

Their eyes met. Was that sadness? Why was he sad? How was what she had said sad in any way?

"Zenji? Something-"

Already the room was darkening. Everything went dark. Her words, already whispered as the kido took over, were cut short as the spell went into full effect. She didn't even feel herself hit the ground.

Not everything was black. She could see something. A figure within the darkness. Or figures. Only one seemed to move. Wait, another. What was happening? Where was she?

What is this?

You need to wake up.

Am I asleep?

You need to wake up now.

Where am I?

You are not ready. Wake up.

Her eye opened, allowing the light in. Slowly her vision returned. A ceiling. There was a familiar face too. Certainly not an unpleasant thing to wake up to.

Wake up? What? Am I well?

For the moment she remained as she was. Laying down with her head in the woman's lap reminded her of something from her past. Sometimes her mother did this sort of thing with her. Brushed her hair. Massaged her head. It felt a little rude to remain as such without permission and perhaps it was taking advantage of the situation just a little bit, but she longed for this sort of contact, this sort of nostalgia.

Then she remembered.

"Zenji?"

A hand braced against the floor. Slowly she started to sit up, not wishing to bump her head against the poor woman's, or to risk passing out again. Did she pass out? "Is he okay? Are you okay?"

Wait, no. They were worried about her. Was she okay? She didn't really feel any pain or anything. No lingering sickness. As she finally did sit up she briefly patted herself down. Everything seemed to be in the right place. No blood.

"I think I am okay."

Her gaze shifted between Nao and Zenji when she noticed him. A soft, audible sigh of relief was freed from her lungs. Zenji was fine. Nao was fine. She was probably fine. But perhaps Nao was right. Perhaps she needed to relax for awhile. Not too long, as she still had questions to ask the Quincy.

We were talking about the Quincy. Right.

Carefully she shifted herself, settling onto her knees once more. "I apologize for worrying the both of you. You are right. I should rest."

Wait. Nao was here. She hadn't had a chance to speak with her since they last met up. Still, she could be busy. Yuki didn't want to take up too much of her time.

"Also I must apologize. I have not had a chance to congradulate you on your success Nao. You deserve higher, but still it is a step up. Yuki is fine, by the way."

A checkup was a good idea. She hadn't had one in a long, long time. Also she had attained many injuries since then. "I shall take you up on the checkup offer sometime, if that is okay. Ah, speaking of which, how have you been?"

Am I really well?

Nao let the wolf girl get up, confident that she’d restored enough function in the girl’s head that there wouldn’t be any lingering issues. The last thing she expected to come from her mouth was an apology, though. It felt completely foreign to Nao for someone to apologize to her instead of the other way around, and she immediately blushed and looked down to her hands to straighten her sleeves back out at the kind gesture.

Her gaze was brought back as Yuki offered her congratulations, the added surprise actually managing to hold her mouth slightly open for a moment. A quick head shake and smile did away with her silly look easily enough, thankfully. ”No need to apologize La-“ she began, quickly correcting herself and forcing the use of her first name, ”Yuki. I’ve been well. I must say, forms process meetings are far more challenging when you are the decision-maker as opposed to the person making the suggestions. Not nearly as glamorous as what you get up to in Fifth, I’m sure, but it is not an exercise without merit.”

She was sure to leave out her other recent activities that would have been far more interesting to both of her companions. She still hadn’t told Zenji about having captured a live Quincy for fear of what he might do to the poor cursed man, and from the limited information he had told her about Yuki, she knew not to bring that up.

”Speaking of exercise, you should be careful for a few days. I detected some severe signs of fatigue, too. If you need a break, I can send some members of First over to cover for you for a few days so you can get some rest. They could certainly use the training time, possibly more than you could use the time away,” Nao offered, coming up with a convenient solution to help Yuki’s mind relax and let Zenji’s erasure set in all while training some of her more lackluster subordinates.

\\THREAD EXIT

When Yuki awoke Zenji’s expression was a mixture of tiredness and annoyance. He was displeased with how this had all gone down. Frustrated at Yuki’s inability to serve her proper role as ordained by the privileged place she’d been given in the Soul Society. Irritated that he’d been forced to call Nao here to discuss his failure at recruiting her and making his friend deceive another close acquaintance. Then on top of that his stump was beginning to hurt as well which only aggravated the negativity filling his heart.

“Use your emotions. They can help.” Binbōgami advised him, guiding her partner in the art of deception as usual. Strangely the more he listened the better he got, not just in the way one got from a few whispered pieces of advice but as if it became more naturally part of his behaviour. He sometimes wondered if the Zanpakuto had greater influence over him than he’d expected.

Instead of hiding his frustration, and likely failing, he just acted as if it were in another direction. “Yuki you need to take care of yourself!” he snapped in the tone of a concerned friend pushed into anger by worry. Taking a deep breath he smiled and shook his head. “Sorry but you really worried us Yuki, you need to let yourself relax. Please do as Nao advises and take a few days off.” he half-begged. In every way Zenji seemed genuinely concerned that his friend had suddenly collapsed.

A sharp whistle echoed in the dark recesses of his mind. “Fuck me you’re getting good at his.” she said in a tone of approval. Once the approval would have made Zenji feel sick but he was past that now. He needed her and she needed him. If he had to use her disgusting teachings to succeed then he would.

Zenji wasn’t worried about the memories, for all intents and purposes the ones he needed to hide were deleted. He was a master of the Demon Arts and had no fear that his spellwork would fail nor did he believe any healer in the Soul Society could undo his handiwork now.

Smiling at the question about Nao Zenji raised his stump and chuckled. “Our friend has been very busy. Practically running the First Division these days and, lets not forget, healing up careless friends.” he noted with a gesture of his wounded and hurting limb, it was Nao who had saved him after all.

A knock on the door caught his attention and Zenji called out for them to come in. A servant stepped in holding a small bowl and she bowed slightly in their direction before approaching and offering the bowl to Yuki.

Smiling Zenji added. “These are some Biwa Tea leaves, they’re said to have medicinal properties especially for fatigue I asked our servant to retrieve. Please take them, hopefully they can help a little.”

//THREAD EXIT

The wolf's tail wagged just a little when Nao acknowledged her name, as opposed to her noble title. Well. Lady Kameko was still her name. But it also always sounded too formal for her. In any case, friends used informal names.

"I can only imagine. I'll admit to not knowing much about the various processes for the various forms, but it is none the less an important job. Perhaps more important than fighting. Anyone can learn to do that."

Would she ever desire a position in the First Division? Absolutely not. It just wasn't for her. But every division was important. None of them deserved any less respect than the others.

Zenji's sudden outburst forced Yuki's ears flat against her head. In fact she recoiled slightly at the stern tone! It was immediately followed up with guilt. Here she was getting her friends worried. Her inability to finish the fight had directly led to Zenji's getting hurt as well. She had plenty to be guilty about.

"I'm sorry" she whispered, lowering her head. "I will try to be more careful and I will take some time off to rest. Having members from the fifth take over would be appreciated. Thank you."

Of course she didn't notice the gesture Zenji made, but it fit none the less. She had been a little careless. She was being a burden right now. She needed to do as they asked, for their sake if not her own. Isn't that what friends did for each other?

When the scent of tea hit her nose Yuki looked over. The bowl was accepted and her head briefly lowered in gratitude before she sipped at the drink. It burned a little, but she suffered through it to finish her beverage in one long gulp. The bowl was set aside and a sleeve wiped at her lips. Then she slowly stood herself up to her feet and bowed towards Zenji and Nao.

"I should let you rest now. Thank you both for your assistance and your care. Please feel free to visit my home, or to seek me out if you need anything. And thank you for the tea. Take care both of you."

With that she turned to take her leave. She had bothered Zenji long enough. He was probably tired. Tired and in pain. But her carelessness wasn't helping matters either. He had enough to worry about. And, to be honest, she was worried about straining their friendship. It was so new to her! She needed to protect that.

Rest. Rest a few days. Then I can seek one out.


// Exit Thread!