Chapter 6: Woes of Love
She extricated herself from the deep comforts of slumber and slit out of Hisayuki's embrace with familiar grace unrusted by the passage of time… Careful, Hisayuki showed no signs of noticing her absence, his breathing still calm and regulated and tranquil, though she knew her motions were felt even with the lack of exterior indications.
It bothered her somewhat, the loss of the warmth provided by his proximity and contact, though she didn't let the sense linger long.
She was happy...relaxed, more so from the lecherous reunion than the rest that came after. Yoruichi would be lying if she said she hadn't looked forward to it…or thought and reminisced about Hisayuki after her desertion.
Her heart still throbbed for him… Perhaps even more now after the long absence.
Stretching her limbs, and undoing the pops and cracks that had settled during their sensual passion, a blush, albeit a fleeting one, touched her cheeks a tad, reminding her of all the promises that had been uttered mid-coitus.
They wouldn't be kept, she knew. For all his loyalty, Hisayuki hadn't once hinted on a want to commit to her.
Yoruichi shook her head in an attempt to discard herself of such solemn thoughts, she wasn't the first person to fall for someone not completely sure about their romantic path.
'Rather busk in the wonder of the fulfilled than lament over the unrealised expectations.'
Covering herself with his gilded haori — she was curious of how he came about this sense of fashion — despite the lack of need to, she settled down into a muktasana position and spread her senses into the wider world and analysed the conditions of her charges. Hisayuki hadn't been exaggerating in his promise to borrow a few hours of her time, and in that long moment of ravenous passion, she had forgotten to monitor the children as per her intent.
That brought her no small amount of shame, the Seireitei was a danger unlike non other, and the gotei, especially the Onmitsukidō were callous with death, perhaps more so than any of the other divisions. She hoped that their break-in didn't warrant their attention…
She would have much rather preferred their infiltration been silent and swift, unfortunately, reality was never kind or understanding to expectations, forever unfeeling in its actions.
…though she did content herself with the subjugation of Hisayuki, and limiting his focus to her and her alone.
Though that was more because of her desire and miss than the want to shroud them from his mischief.
Naturally, her senses picked up on old bonds first — finding truth in the Extra Seat's words — before settling on recent acquaintances. To her surprise, Ichigo was the first to register on her senses, his power having grown a leap since their arrival. He was grievously wounded, she felt, though it seemed he was rapidly recovering from the suffered injuries via the aid of Kaidō.
'That's strange?' She thought, not recalling Ganju ever displaying the capability and proficiency to utilise the complexity that was the Kaidō art. Further concentration gave her information to that mystery. An unfamiliar signature…one that was clearly a pure Shinigami was providing aid to the boy, and from the looks of things, it seemed the act wasn't born from coercion.
That…was good, she supposed, though she wondered how this come about came to be. They weren't in a holding cell, that she knew, and they weren't captured by the Gotei… They were hidden in the underground passages frequently used by the 4th Division under Unohana—
"Oh!"
She couldn't help but exclaim as the dots connected in her mind.
Going back to her inspection, she elected focus on the boy's Reiatsu.
Ichigo's Reiryoku had grown, approaching the cusp of captain even, though unable to tip over. Kisuke had been right about the boy's potential, the growth he had displayed thus far was nothing short of astounding, even for a substitute Shinigami…
But his proficiency and familiarity with his strength left much to be desired. It disappointed her somewhat when she remembered the lack of connect between he and his zanpakuto to the point where his zanpakuto was constantly stuck in its Shikai state.
Really, she wished that Kisuke would have taught him the fundamentals, or at least hinted at the resonance and relationship between Shinigami and Zanpakuto.
Sighing, she scanned over Ganju, who was next to Ichigo. Surprisingly, the Shiba had nothing in the way of injury aside from a few cuts and bruises. It was yet another shame that someone of his calibre hadn't become a Shinigami, the boy had talent in spades, as per the Shiba bloodline, and he had an impressive amount of Reiatsu…enough to match some of the seated officers even.
Squandering it the way he did was a true disappointment, especially since the path was born out of anger and spite rather than true desire.
"I'll have to come into contact with Shiro-kun to inquire how their fall came to be."
Annoying as he might be, she still missed her younger brother aplenty. Hopefully, the passage of time had tempered his rambunctious tendencies and left him calm, as it was proper of a clan head.
Snickering, she thanked her past self for deserting once more, the responsibilities of clan head were just too tiresome and stiff for someone like her.
And the elders' breathing on her neck about her lack of marriage and the lack of heirs. Had she wanted, she would have guilted Hisayuki into inseminating her, or at least commissioned some drugs from Kisuke that would have helped her extract his seed while he was none the wiser.
But such convolution wasn't her cup of tea, despite the butterflies that filled her stomach at the thought of carrying kids born from such a union…
She let out a sigh marred with weariness, her hand tracing down her stomach below her womb where the expelled potency of Hisayuki's passion laid dormant, awaiting fertilisation that would never come, as per Hisayuki's custom Hakudo #28.
She hoped her brother would not, was not suffering from such pressures, and hadn't fallen capture to the bitter warmth of love not fully reciprocated.
Drawing back attention, she moved her focus to her other charges, this time noticing Ūryu and Orihime. They too were fine. Though she did notice that the Quincy's reiatsu had undergone a metamorphosis once more.
"Is the soul society changing him?"
It felt like many of the Quincy they had purged two centuries ago, dense but malleable. She had been sceptical about allowing him entry into the Seireitei, the new generation might not be familiar with the true history of Quincy and Shinigami, but the old bloods would grow wary and more hostile towards them.
While Ichigo might have high potential and Reiryoku, the Quincy was more dangerous in this environment filled with Reishi…their adroitness with manifesting spiritual projectiles augmented to ridiculous levels.
Scratching her head, she hoped that wasn't the case and that she was just over thinking things. Perhaps it wouldn't have hurt to inquire more information about both Ūryu and Ichigo. Especially the latter, since she remembered Kisuke saying he helped him regain his Shinigami powers.
Something that should have been impossible,especially since he was just a substitute…
She chuckled a bit at that, just a substitute. If that was the case then he wouldn't have a striking resemblance to the members of the Shiba clan, or have a similar Reiatsu signature to them.
Oh, she and Kisuke were going to have a long talk about who the boy really was.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Hisayuki's shifts on the futon, his presence an eerie blank in the midst of sleep, if her instincts weren't as honed as they were, she would have mistaken his current state to one of peace and defencelessness.
Yet it was anything but!
Lesser than the former pair, Orihime and Sado have seen little in the way of progress aside from spiritual reinforcement! The two were still sufficiently strong, enough for the common Shinigami to see challenge in their defeat, but the seated ranks would not find difficulty in their dispatch.
"Had time been plenty, I would have seen to their survival being a certainty even without my looming protection."
She murmured, careful and low and concentrated. With her spiritual sense, she captured full view of her students' reishi, the familiarity of it not drowned by the high ambient reishi of the soul-world.
Humans, for all their fragility, had souls blessed with rapid growth, especially for the spiritually aware and gifted.
This was more true for Orihime, than Sado. The girl, despite her incredible ability — even Yoruichi understood little in how they worked — she lacked the necessary intent to inflict substantial harm unto her opponents.
She had the potential for power that would have been unique even within the ranks of the Gotei had she been a Shinigami, but her personality was a blind to its complete realisation.
'Hopefully the current dangers within the Seireitei would discard those childish intents.' She thought, though she placed little trust in those hopes.
With the inspection done, she stood and readied for the siphoning of the Sōkyoku. Despite the little she would take from the artefact, it would deplete her reserves thrice over…
She once again spared a glance to the barely covered form of Hisayuki, conditioned muscles toned and alluring. He had told her not to place much hope in the trial's schedule, for it was bound to flicker once more with the recent commotion.
So although she would— they would have wished for more time together, she couldn't afford for the Kuchiki girl to suffer oblivion…or the continued existence of the Sōkyoku, lest another soul find themselves in its destructive path.
===========Author's Notes==========
The Saint: Nothing much to say on this one. We see the relationship of the MC and Yoruichi and other things. Tell me what it is you want to see, fights, interactions, reactions or just blatant smut without rhyme or reason?
Anyway, criticism and feedback is highly encouraged and welcome.
And if you're feeling particularly generous and eager, I have advance chapters on my pa-atreon . com / BoombaTheSaint
Bye bye!
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