What Once Was: Chapter 3
Previous Chapter
The announcement that Kuchiki Rukia was to be executed came as a shock to many. Some didn't even know her, but the name 'Kuchiki' was not a name to be taken lightly. But the idea that a noble girl, even a girl from a powerful family like that, couldn't get any leniency with the law didn't bode well for those of common blood. Others knew her only in passing, but had been very surprised to find out that she had broken the rules to such an extent. But only those who knew her personally had the bravery to stand up against the Council's judgment.
Renji, though he was in fact the one who captured her, had secret plans set in motion to free her. One of them involving defeating Kurosaki Ichigo and gaining back his wounded pride (nearly being beaten by some amateur human brat was humiliating!). And another involved completing his bankai training and fighting his own captain to save her.
Sadly, neither of these exploits turned out the way he had intended. But he rose from each battle stronger and more determined than before.
Tatsu's influence in the matter was subtle and not easily noticed, but that was how she wanted it.
Her protests against the execution rang through the ears of many high ranking officials, including Yamamoto-soutaichou and Kuchiki Byakuya. But due to her recent assignment as Soi Fon’s personal bodyguard she could not interfere directly. A fact that was both a relief and an irritation. The choice of whether to try and save Rukia had been taken away from her, and, in a way, that made it easier for her to ignore the bond she’d once shared with the smaller girl. But the entire event, from the execution date getting moved up to the invasion of the Seireitei by the ryoka, brought back troubling memories and internal arguments Tatsu had thought were long forgotten.
//
There was a time, she recalled, when she’d thought of betraying her captain and rescuing Rukia from her impending death. But, after all the work that she’d put into her squad, that Soi Fon had put in her... Her mind had spun out of control, weighing pros and cons, thinking one thing one second and something completely different the next. After all, Rukia wasn’t her friend anymore, so why would she care? And yet, Rukia had been her very first friend, the only person who was kind to her through that awkward and shy stage of her life. How could she just ignore what was happening?
Tatsu sighed then, walking into the shower adjacent to her room. Due to her new bodyguard duties, her room was now connected to her Commander’s and she had a private shower instead of using the communal showers as the rest of the squad did. She turned on the water to near blistering hot and stood naked under the spray. She let the steaming water pour over her, skin flushing red with heat and revealing the faint crisscross of scars across her back and shoulders.
She’d worked hard for her position, had trained to the point of exhaustion under the watchful eyes of her captain. To throw away everything that she had earned, everything that she had bled for, for someone who might not even remember her... Could she do that? All for the sake of a bond that had been broken years ago? Was it really worth it? She wasn’t sure.
She was so lost in the pumping heat of the spray and her own troubled thoughts that she didn’t hear when the shower room door opened and another figure entered. But she was quick to turn when the shower curtain shifted, a small kunai she’d placed on one of the shelves in her hand. Her body was tensed in preparation for attack but in a moment her body relaxed and she set down the weapon.
“Taichou, forgive my overreaction.” She said politely, smiling softly at her sleep-ruffled captain.
The black haired woman blinked sleepily at her and scowled. “How is it that you are so very... perky in the morning?” she asked venomously, stepping into the spray with a hiss. “And why the hell is it so goddamn hot!?” The petite captain snarled, though she didn’t move to lower the temperature.
Tatsu had to hold back a chuckle; her commander was even more vicious and grumpy in the mornings. “Forgive me, taichou. I will work harder.” She stated formally, bowing to Soi Fon, though the space in the shower was a little cramped for such things, so it was more of a nod.
Soi Fon glared at her from under the now wet fringe of her hair, “Don’t get smart with me, Tatsu...”
“I wouldn’t think of it.” Tatsu replied easily, reaching for the shampoo. “Shall I wash your hair for you, taichou?” She asked, her voice sounding almost innocent, though her eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Humph...” Soi Fon snorted, “Do so, 3rd Seat.”
Both women were surprisingly comfortable in their nudity, not bothering with modesty as they cleansed and scrubbed, the shower soon filling with the floral, citrusy scents of body wash and shampoo. The heat and scent soon woke up their still foggy senses and Tatsu couldn’t help but notice her taichou’s all-too-alert gaze on her body as the minutes wore on. And while that normally would have amused her, her mood was dampened by her conflicting feelings of guilt and frustration.
Soi Fon frowned at the taller woman, her face softening into a tender expression that very few were lucky enough to see. She could see that her guard was upset by something.
“Tatsu?”
The blonde turned to her, face contorted in a hurt expression of turmoil and confusion, but she schooled her features a moment later, carefully blank. “Yes, taichou?”
“Hana-chan...” Soi Fon’s voice was low and sweet, the sound loving and affectionate. “My poor little flower... What is troubling you?” she asked quietly. There was no subtle pretence here, no more rank or formality to hide the fact that this captain was far closer to her subordinate than one first might think.
Tatsu’s stoic expression melted under the use of her nickname, eyes going misty with repressed emotion. “Soi-chan...” she whimpered, voice cracking around the tear-filled lump in her throat. “Soi-chan, I don’t know what to do...”
Soi Fon looked sad, standing up on her tiptoes to hug the taller girl around the shoulders. “This is about the Kuchiki girl?” It was really only half a question, she knew that the idea of Rukia’s execution was a source of great conflict for her bodyguard.
Tatsu sighed, leaning into the comforting touch, “Yes... It’s just...It’s not right. The girl I knew wouldn’t have done anything to deserve this. But, at the same time...”
“You are no longer the same girl you once were. So she may have changed as well.” Soi Fon finished for her.
“Right...” Tatsu bit down on her bottom lip, eyes still uncertain. “She was... very important to me once. I hate to abandon someone who was once a friend...”
Soi Fon sighed, pressing her lips to Tatsu’s shoulder in an intimate gesture. “It is your decision, Hana-koi... You already know that I won’t betray Seireitei.”
“I know. And should I decide to do so you won’t hesitate to stop me.” Tatsu turned in her captain’s arms so they were facing each other. “I wouldn’t want it any other way...” She cupped Soi’s cheek in her hand tenderly. “I just feel so... Torn. My pride makes me want to stay by your side and protect the position I fought for. But then my guilt makes me want to save her, even if it is just for old times’ sake. I feel sad and nervous and agitated and confused! My brain is about to burst with all this excess emotion! And still I don’t know what to do!”
“Shh... You’re thinking too much.” The older woman chastised, running a soothing hand through Tatsu’s wet locks. “Just trust your instincts. Forget the emotion and the memories and focus on your gut. What is it telling you? “
Tatsu took a deep breath and closed her eyes, sifting through the scattered thoughts and fragments of emotion, until finally she was calm enough to listen to the little voice inside that knew what she needed to do.
Soi Fon watched with no little fascination as her subordinate quelled the jagged aura of confusion around her. Soon the turbulent reiatsu that had been flicking through the isolated shower stall like stinging licks of flame was smoothed into a composed quiet. Tatsu opened her eyes slowly, the confusion lost, and an icy will emanating from her dark jade eyes.
A smirk traced itself across plump, succulent lips, “I don’t have anything to worry about...”
“Oh?” Soi Fon asked lightly. “And why is that?”
Tatsu’s smug gaze scanned over the other woman’s lean, wiry frame. “Because, Rukia’s execution will be stopped, just not by me.”
The brunette captain raised an eyebrow at her, “What makes you think that?”
Her smirk deepened. “My gut.”
In one swift movement a pale back was pushed harshly against steam-fogged tiles while a blonde covered head buried itself into a slender neck to bite and suck. Soi Fon yelped in surprise before sighing contentedly and tangling her fingers in thick golden silk.
Contrary to what people thought of the serious, no-nonsense Captain of 2nd Bantai, Soi Fon was a surprisingly gentle lover, a fact that Tatsu was well aware of. Tatsu, however, was not. And that was a fact that Soi Fon appreciated immensely.
It was never about love with them, there was no tenderness in the way they held eachother. There was affection, yes, but not love, never love. Only need, deep burning need to escape the cloying hands of the reality they face.
Soi Fon held huge responsibilities on her shoulders, she craved the rare luxury of letting some one else take the reigns, of not being in control. So long ago she'd been content by the side of the only person she'd ever loved, working under their orders. But Shihouin Yoruichi had broken her heart without realizinng, had left a wound so deep that all that remained was a calloused and bitter scar. She told herself she hated the woman who'd once been her mentor, but there was still a tiny part of her that was painfully, brutally honest, and that part knew that she would never stop loving her 'Yoruichi-sama'. Not for as long as she lived.
Tatsu provided her that sweet loss of control. The girl had been walked on her whole life, simply allowing others to do as they pleased with her. That meek and submissive side to her was long gone now, and she liked the heady rush of dominance. She hated that old feeling of being overpowered, and she promised herself that she would never ever allow anyone that power over her again.
It wasn't about love, only desperation.
~//~
When the ryoka Kurosaki Ichigo finally rescued Rukia and the choatic breakdown caused by Aizen's betrayal was completely revealed Seireitei was in shambles.
Soi Fon, had been reunited with her beloved Yoruichi and had, with encouragement from Tatsu, had finally confessed her feelings of love and devotion. It was fortunate for her that Yoruichi felt the same way.
The new lovers supported one another through the times afterward. The Bounto coming and the preparations needed for the upcoming battle against Aizen's troops.
Renji had his friends to help him through that rough patch of time, worrying over Hinamori and Kira, hoping that one day their emotional wounds would heal. He still smiled, still acted like a goofball when the occasion suited him. Still worked hard for his captain despte the battle that had gone on between them. Argued with Ichigo, fought with Rukia, he basically took each day at face value and didn't worry about Aizen or war or the murky future.
Tatsu had no such luck. With her captain occupied by her new lover Tatsu had no one to turn to. She'd curl up in a frightened ball on her bed, where no one could see.
She was afraid. Afraid of war, and of losing everyone that she cared about in a single devastating blow by the hammer of war.
But she immersed herself in her work, taking assignment after assignment until she'd fall asleep dreamlessy. Her captain and Yoruichi would look worriedly on as their 'hana', their flower, worked herself unto the brink of complete exhaistion each and every night. But there as nothing to be done, busy as they were, and it wasn't until Aizen's arrancar began attacking Karakura town that Tatsu seemed to stop worrying and start preparing herself.
Soi Fon, seeing the damage being done, even with Hitsugaya's team in the human world, could not stand idly by. It was Tatsu and her team that the gruff captain sent into the human world, to be her eyes and ears amidst all the chaos. She knew of no one better to send, and felt confident in her recruits. Though a small nagging worry overcame her when she saw Tatsu's retreating back through the Senkai Gate.
An instinct of what lay in the future...
~//~
Tatsu arrived, her team in tow, into a swirl of blood and darkness.
It was the day that Inoue Orihime had been captured, the battle between shinigami and arrancar was bloody and wicked. And the shinigami were only just holding their own.
But the Covert Agents had their on problems... A small group of low-level Arracar had been waiting for them on the other side of the gate and they were thrust unexpectedly into heated combat with opponents far stronger than themselves.
“No! Shiki!” Tatsu's voice cut like a sharpened zanpakuto through the air as the first of her men fell under the assault of hollow claws. She fought with all the more ferousity as she watched her team get torn apart by grinning Arrancar with twisted, ugly faces. She screamed in indignant defiance as the team of Aizen's men crowded around her and forced her into submission. But not before she took two of them down with her...
Eventualy they managed to subdue her, knocking her out with a single rough blow and lifting up her limp body like a trophy for their efforts. They grinned down at her unconscious body as they opened a Garganta portal and dragged the 3rd Seat into the darkness beyond.
~//~
“What?! How is this possible!? My team could not have simply gone missing!” Soi Fon's face was red with rage as she glared at the messenger that had brought her the news.
“Forgive me, Soi Fon-taichou, but no trace of them can be found. And they did arrive in the human world in the midst of a battle between Hitsugaya-taichou's team and the Arrancar invaders...”
“...So my team is most likely dead...” It took considerable effort to hold back the tears that wanted to fill her eyes. “Very well, you are dismissed. Get out of my sight!” she ordered, snarling.
The messenger left in a rush, orders from Soi Fon were not to be taken lightly, and the small-stature taichou buried her face in her hands. “Tatsu... My hana-chan... I sent you to your death...”
Yoruichi, in her cat form, curled up in her lover's lap and nuzzled the captain's shoulder. “Hush, my little bee. There is still a chance that she is alive.” she purred in the deep baritone her voice held as a cat.
“Yoruichi-kun...” Soi Fon sobbed, hugging the feline close to her chest and stroking the soft fur. “I hope you are right... I so hope that you are right...”
“I do too, my bee. I hope so too...”
~//~
Tatsu awoke with a groan of pain on a cold stone floor. It was dark, but she could see that the walls of the room where she lay were a stark, unforgiving white. Her head throbbed with a deep ache and she grunted as dots of colour swam in her vision. She could remember the battle, remember losing her men. She could even vaguely recall the crash of impact as the Arrancar with the bull horns had knocked her out. Considering that she figured she most likely didn't have any brain damage. But that didn't explain why she was still alive. Or where the Arrancar had taken her...
She breathed in slowly, waiting for the headache to ease itself before she stood up carefully and looked around. There was a door across from her, with a light behind it, but when she moved to go to it she finally noticed the binding chains that were restraining her ankles and her shoulders. She wriggled in their grasp, noting her missing zanpakuto, and tried to summon up the energy to cast a kido spell.
Only to find that she couldn't.
Lethality stone... She thought with disgust, tugging uselessly at her binds. The power-blocking material preventing her from escaping.
She was still struggling with the chains when the door in front of her opened. She immediately stopped her fighting, glaring with narrowed eyes at the shadowy figure in the entryway.
“It's good to see that you are awake, Aoki-san...” The figure said, stepping into the room.
Despite years of training, despite constant discipline and a pristine record of not showing her emotions, Tatsu could not hold back a gasp. Standing before her, smiling like a friendly older brother, was none other than that bastard, that traitor...
None other than Aizen Sousuke...
Next Story - Crimson and Ebony