I slumped disappointedly into my chair. Sato sat across from me, shoulders slouched. He gave me a sad smile, and I struggled to return it. He had found nothing new about the black Emyr. The numerous scrolls and books Rangiku and I had brought from the old Rukongai library yielded no new insights either.
"Akari, we need to be more cautious. You must have wondered why I was often not to be found here."
My hands clenched in my lap. I tried to keep my expression controlled and unaffected, but suspicion had already been awakened within me.
A few weeks ago, I had decided to trust Sato, but his recent absence had made me wary.
"What happened?"
"Shinigami have been snooping around here. It could be pure coincidence, but if not..." He left the sentence unfinished, shrugging.
"If not, it's probably Aizen spying on us and planning his next move soon," I muttered softly. Sato grimaced and emptied his glass.
"You have to be careful. Maybe you should lay low for a while."
I smiled at Sato, and we bid farewell.
I heeded Sato's advice and returned directly to my family's house. I was alone that day. Shin, Byakuya, and Rangiku had taken turns supporting me in my research, but Shin and Byakuya, as captains, had too many duties to be absent constantly.
Yawning, I walked through the hallway and pushed open the door to our kitchen when something caught my eye. I froze. An icy feeling gripped me, and I had to swallow a lump in my throat.
With slow steps, I moved away from the kitchen and turned to the door that I always kept closed. I hadn't opened it in years, yet a tiny gap now allowed the light from the hallway to seep into the room. With trembling fingers, I pushed the door open.
The room remained exactly as it had years ago. The bed was neatly made, documents on the desk were alphabetically arranged, and on the wardrobe hung my brother's dark going-out robe on a hanger. Yamachi's room.
Since the day of his death, I had not changed anything in there. I wanted to leave it as it was, to be able to remember him, to feel close to him when I needed to. But most of the time, I avoided it, avoiding the pain of loss that I still hadn't overcome.
I stared into the room for a while, then sighed, and the tension left me. Everything was just as I had left it. Perhaps Byakuya had taken a look in here for old times' sake; I would ask him about it.
I turned around when it hit me like a lightning bolt.
With bated breath, I approached the desk. My trembling hands reached for the picture frame that had always displayed a photo of Yamachi, our mother, and me.
It was empty.
Dizziness overwhelmed me. I gasped for air and couldn't hold back the tears that welled up in my eyes, hot and streaming down my cheeks. They dripped onto the desk, onto my brother's well-sorted documents, warping the paper.
I put the picture frame back, pulled the chair back, and sat down. The tracks on my cheeks, still wet from tears, felt cool and damp. I swallowed, wiped my cheeks, and reached for a piece of paper and a pen.
With a shake, I tried to rid my hand of its trembling before delicately writing "#3?" on the small piece of paper and wedging it into the picture frame. If Yamachi were truly still alive and had been in this room, he would understand the message. I lingered at my brother's desk for a long time, and it was well past midnight before I fell into my bed and into an uneasy sleep.
Weary and unfocused, I embarked on the next day. My thoughts were consumed by Yamachi, and the idea that he might be alive, hidden from everyone, gave me no peace. I toyed with the notion of leaving my estate, simply to afford him the chance to revisit his old room and see the message on his desk. However, I couldn't shake Sato's words from my mind—that Aizen's people might have already discovered me. As long as they believed I was hiding in my old house because I didn't know where else to go, Aizen might leave me in peace.
Roaming through Seireitei, on the other hand, could provoke him to take action again. At the moment, I could do nothing against him, and I wasn't particularly keen on a confrontation. On this day, I received no support from my friends, as a case in the world of the living kept them all occupied. Apparently, many Shinigami were on a mission in the other world, leaving few behind to handle the pending tasks in Seireitei.
After a lavish lunch, I barely noticed how I dozed off over my current book, the "Collection of Ancient Spells." My senses jerked me out of sleep. Faster than I could comprehend, I stood in my living room with my sword in hand. No one was in sight, but I sensed a Reiatsu, extremely powerful, not too far away.
I took a deep breath to overcome my initial shock and calm my mind. Returning my sword to its sheath, I slipped out of my house with the hood pulled low over my face. Erasing my Reiatsu, I crept through the city to the gates of Seireitei.
My breath caught. Not far from the city's border, a battle raged. A Hollow, the size of a small house, attacked the residents of Rukongai. Some Shinigami had already arrived and were battling the creature.
I approached cautiously and observed for a moment. "What is that thing?" shouted a young Shinigami I didn't recognize. His colleagues agreed, and together, they circled the creature, which seemed to pay little attention to them.
I froze. Memories of a day many years ago flashed before me. Rukongai. The Hollow. The Cero. Not only did it look similar to the creature that had attacked me so many years ago, but it also had a very similar Reiatsu. My hand gripped the handle of my sword. I continued to watch the young Shinigami's fight from the safety of a house corner. "What do we have here?"
I sighed in relief. Shin had joined the fray and was being briefed by the younger ones. His sword was already in hand as he joined his colleagues. Just as I was about to turn away, intending to leave Shin to handle the situation, I noticed something that made my blood run cold. The Hollow's mask had a peculiar shape, with strange protrusions on one side resembling those of a Kenseikan. Similar to the one Byakuya wore, but subtly different. I swallowed hard. Yamachi had acquired one just like it when he assumed the role of the family head.
My grip on the sword tightened. Heat surged through my entire body, rising to my head and seemingly scorching my senses. "It's just a trick," I told myself. My gaze fixed on the Kenseikan, I had often mocked as hairpins. A lump formed in my throat. The tattered clothing still clinging to the Hollow's body was dark, fine fabrics typical of high-born nobles. Yet what drew my attention was the deep violet, where the seams stood out and formed a gentle pattern on the edge of the fabric. Undoubtedly, it was Yamachi's attire.
I was consumed by ice-cold fury. I felt the vibration of my bracelets and pulled at the hilt of my sword. A cool hand gripped mine and pressed my Zanpakuto back into its sheath. "Don't, Akari! Dim your aura!" I was so shocked that I followed Sato's instructions. However, the anger immediately returned, and the roar of the monster behind me made me spin around.
"I have to stop them; they'll kill him!" I shouted, but Sato pulled me back, pressing me against the wall of the house. "No, that's exactly what he wants!" His gaze fixed so firmly on mine that I couldn't easily ignore him.
"But that's my brother they're fighting against!" I, on the other hand, battled with tears. The feeling of an endless fall seized me. Losing Yamachi, only to then have the hope that he was still alive, and now potentially losing him again— I couldn't bear it.
Sato's grip around my arms tightened. "He's not your brother, please trust me. You have to get out of here immediately, or he'll find out!"
"Sato, you don't know what he's capable of, what he's done! He's hollowfied people, and that Hollow is wearing Yamachi's clothes. I need to stop Shin, I need to-"
"He's not your brother, please trust me!"
"How can I? I barely know who you are!"
In Sato's eyes, I saw a hint of disappointment, and his gaze grew more intense. In that exact moment, he flinched. A glow emanated from the neckline of his kimono top. "Damn it, cursed!"
I was curious, but Yamachi was more important. With a quick motion, I tried to twist out of his grip, but Sato anticipated me. He tripped me, and faster than I could realize, he struck me in the stomach. I wasn't prepared for it, and the pain made me dizzy.
When did I become so weak?
I could only watch as Sato tossed me over his shoulder and fled from the scene. I regained my composure, struggled, attempting to break free from his grasp, but his blow had left me disoriented, more than it should have been. There had to be some form of special Kido in that strike; otherwise, I couldn't explain it. Fear for Yamachi mingled with a hint of panic for myself. Who was Sato? What did he want with me?
Before I knew it, he set me down on the ground. To my surprise, we were in my garden. Sato cursed again and pulled a pendant from around his neck, still brightly glowing.
"Sato, I trusted you," I uttered with anguish, and Sato gave me a sad smile. He leaned down towards me.
"I know, and you won't regret it, I promise. But now you must trust me again and come with me."
I shook my head, though I had no idea what he was talking about. "Yamachi," I managed between sobs. Never in my entire life had I felt so helpless.
"That wasn't your brother, please believe me!"
"How do you know that?"
"Because I know where your brother is."
I choked back my words, staring expressionlessly at Sato. "Who the hell are you? What do you know about Yamachi, and why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Sato concealed the glowing pendant in his hand, but I felt a faint pulsation emanating from it. Almost as if it possessed its own Reiatsu. His expression darkened, and he leaned down towards me.
"If I show you where Yamachi is, will you promise to trust me once again and accompany me afterwards?"
"Where to?"
"I can't tell you."
I pondered, but Sato didn't wait for my answer. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, which were gradually regaining function. "Come."
Despite my dizziness, I managed to keep pace with him. Sato led me through half of Seireitei, and I felt the slight pulsation of his pendant intensify. It swelled, quickened, giving me an uneasy feeling.
Abruptly, he stopped. We were crouched on a roof, and it took a moment for me to regain my bearings.
We were in the Eleventh Company. I had no idea what Sato wanted here, and if I had been in full possession of my powers, I would have surely lost patience.
Sato pulled me down from the roof, and we landed in front of a door slightly ajar. We entered the building and traversed several rooms. In one, we surprised a Shinigami, but before he could turn towards us, Sato had rendered him unconscious with a skillful blow to the neck. Finally, he stopped.
He pulled something from his pocket, opened a door, and blew into it. Before the two Shinigami could comprehend what was happening, they lay unconscious on the floor.
"Why are you doing this?" I managed to ask Sato.
"No one can see us here," he explained, pulling me into the room. He closed the door behind us. Besides the two unfamiliar Shinigami, there was no one else there.
"What are we doing here?"
"Look closely, Akari. I need to concentrate."
Sato was now gripping the pendant in his hand with great effort, sweat beading on his forehead. I observed him for a brief moment, but I detected no hostility in his gaze. What was happening here?
"Hurry, we have little time," Sato said through clenched teeth.
I turned around and observed the Shinigami lying on the floor. He was tall, muscular, with a prominent jawbone, and his bald head gleamed in the room's light. I shifted my gaze to the other one. My breath caught.
"He looks like my brother, but his Reiatsu... it's different," I whispered, too frightened to approach the young man whose dark hair formed a shiny halo around his head on the floor.
"Fascinating techniques your mother taught you."
My heart skipped a beat. What did Sato know about the techniques my mother had taught me? I glanced at him and marveled as I recognized the sorrow in his eyes. My mind began to race.
I had to try.
Abruptly, I turned, leaned down to the young man, and focused my senses. Behind the Shinigami's Reiatsu, I discerned another, pure Reiatsu. Soul energy concealed in a cloak of other energies. I opened my eyes and finally dared to look him in the face. The long nose, the high cheekbones. Carefully, I plucked off the bright false eyelashes he had glued on, probably to conceal his appearance, just like his Reiatsu.
Yamachi.
How could it be that he worked as a Shinigami? How was it possible that I hadn't noticed? And Byakuya too?
I stroked my brother's face and glanced at Sato. "I want to talk to him."
"Unfortunately, that's not possible."
"Why?"
"I'll explain everything once we're away from here, I promise, Akari."
I turned again to my unconscious brother and reached into the inner pocket of his top. Yamachi had always carried dental floss and a piece of gum in his inner pocket since childhood. Tears streamed down my face again when I could feel both. And something else.
A sob escaped my mouth. It was the photo from his desk. It was really him. My brother was alive. I had no idea how he managed to escape Aizen and infiltrate Seireitei undetected, but the most important thing was that he was alive.
Hastily, I grabbed a pen lying on the floor next to me. Yamachi must have dropped it when he lost consciousness.
"What are you doing?" Sato asked strenuously, now kneeling. "Akari, I can't hold it much longer, I need you!"
"A message so he knows I'm okay."
I wrote the same message on the back of the photo as the one I had left on the picture frame, only this time with an exclamation mark. #3!
The third rule, our mother's guidelines for missions: When you have to go into hiding, do it completely and utterly. Not even those closest to you should know where you are or what you're doing, for it endangers not only you but also them. If you know that someone close to you has gone into hiding, do not seek them out if they do not wish to be found, as you would be putting both them and yourself in danger.
Yamachi would understand what was meant. He wouldn't look for me. With relief, I returned the photo to his inner pocket, stroked his face, and pressed a kiss to his forehead, tasting the salt of my own tears. I jumped up and returned to Sato's side, who was trembling all over.
"All right, I'll come with you, Sato. But tell me, how do you plan to go anywhere in your condition? And what is this thing?"
"It's a transmitter, and we're going to the Soul King's palace. Hurry, or I'll disappear there alone in a few seconds."
I reached for his hand, but my mind was blank. The Soul King's palace? Could it really be?
Heat surged through my entire body, burning on my skin, and within a heartbeat, the world around me vanished.