Break Bee
Break Bee
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!
Part: 6 of ?
Word Count: 4870
"You went to see mummy!" cried Rangiku when Soifon had explained where she had found Shunsui, "Why didn't you take me with you?" she demanded, "I would have liked to have gone to see her too!"
"Shunsui," said Kyoraku, looking rather grave and serious, "When I said you can't go to the cemetery by yourself, I did mean you can't go to the cemetery without another shinigami present. Another adult shinigami. There are certain spots in Soul Society that are especially easy for hollows to open their Garganta, the cemetery is one such location. That is why it is always patrolled, especially at night."
"I am sorry daddy," said Shunsui, not meeting his father's eyes, "I just... I just really wanted to see mummy."
"I understand," said Kyoraku, "But next time, ask me or Nanao-chan." Shunsui nodded, Kyoraku finally smiled, "Now come on! Let's go have dinner. Nanao-chan's been waiting. Will you join us, Soifon?"
Soifon shook her head, "I should be getting back home. Goodnight Captain-commander, goodnight Shunsui, Rangiku."
"Goodnight!" the children cried in unison.
When Soifon returned home, she found Kira waiting for her in the front garden. "You took your time," said Kira with a smile, getting up to greet her with a hug, "I was beginning to get worried. Wondering how much dirt had accumulated on my parents grave in the last week."
"I found Shunsui in the cemetery," replied Soifon, pressing herself against Kira, "He had gone to visit Matsumoto's grave alone. I couldn't very well let him return home alone."
"Was he alright?" asked Kira, getting worried, "He's not allowed to got to the cemetery alone and I can't imagine he couldn't find someone to go with him. Nanao-san, Orihime-san, Yarchiru... surely someone would find the time to go with him."
"He just wanted to be alone," whispered Soifon, not wanting to tell Kira that she had found Shunsui crying at Rangiku's grave over Ichimaru Gin, "Do you..." she paused, "Do you still regret... not getting the kids?" she wondered, "Would you have come after me if you had gotten little Rangiku and little Shunsui?"
"Regret?" wondered Kira, "That's not the right word. Captain-Commander Kyoraku is a great father and in Nanao-san they have a loving maternal figure. Still... I do wonder what life would be like if I had been allowed to have my Captain's children, if I had not failed my captain."
"You didn't fail Ichimaru," said Soifon, pulling back somewhat to look Kira in the eyes, "Ichimaru didn't expect..."
"No he did," Kira cut across, "There is no other explanation for the Will he left behind. He left me everything that was his. I am certain that included his children. But..." Kira sighed, "He must have known what Nanao-san would do. He must have known that Nanao-san would never let me have Matsumoto-san's children. He must have known that they would all work together to shut me out. Perhaps," Kira whispered, sounding broken, "Perhaps his last will and testament was another of his riddles. Perhaps he was simply toying with me."
"You don't believe that, surely," wondered Soifon.
"With Captain Ichimaru, its hard to know what to believe," said Kira, "But I wanted those children even before I found out about his Will. I wanted them for the selfish reason that I didn't want to be alone any more. I wanted to love and be loved. Not to mention have a piece of my captain always with me. I love those children. I would die for them as surely I would have died for my captain."
Soifon sighed and looked away before asking, "You haven't answered my other question. Would you have still chased after me? Would you have tried to win me over, even when you already had someone to love."
"I honestly don't know the answer to that question," confessed Kira, "I mean, I don't even know if I would have remained in the Gotei 13 had I gotten the children. I certainly would not have used bankai training to fill the gaping void in my heart and life. No bankai, no captaincy. No captaincy, no you."
Soifon turned back to him startled, "I am not with you because you are a captain!"
"No, but if I wasn't a captain, I would not have gone after you," said Kira, "Like I told you the day we first got together, I have had a strong affection for you for a very long time. But while you were Captain Soifon and I just Vice-captain Kira Izuru, the thought of chasing after you would be incomprehensible and if I had left the Gotei 13 to devote myself to the children... well, you wouldn't even look at me. So the point would be mute."
Soifon could not deny that. She returned to resting her head against Kira's chest, "I am glad then," she said, "That you didn't get the children." Kira didn't answer, just hugged her closer. Soifon could not misinterpret his silence. She resolved to go see her mother the very next day.
"Time to go to bed children," called Nanao.
"Yay!" cried Rangiku, "It's daddy's turn to read to me!" she said as she bounced over to her father, "Let's go! Let's go, daddy! I want you to read me your novel, the The Rose-Coloured Path!"
"O no you don't!" said Nanao firmly, "That is not appropriate reading material for children. In fact, that is not appropriate reading material for anyone!"
"Then how about, daddy's autobiography My Kittens Are So Shy?" wondered little Rangiku.
"That's even worse!" cried Nanao, "Here! You two can read this," she said as she handed them a book.
"Sougyo Refuses!" Rangiku read out the title, "Is this the newest edition of Ukitake-san's book! Wow! This is great! I am going to be the envy of every child in Seireitei when I tell them I got to read it before it was officially release!"
Kyoraku laughed and picked her up, "You better not spoil the story for your little friends," he commented as he began to walk away with her, "That wouldn't be very nice."
Rangiku giggled, "I wouldn't do that! That's what'll make it twice as fun! They'll be all, Rangiku tell us what happens and I will be all like, no, no you have to wait! It'll be great!"
"Don't just put her to bed," Nanao called after them, "Make sure she brushes her teeth," there were faint noises that sounded like a yes but Nanao made mental note to double check before Rangiku fell asleep. Sighing she turned to Shunsui, "Come on, we better get you to bed."
"What are you going to read to me, Nanao-san?" wondered Shunsui, as he took her hand and allowed her to lead him to the wing of the house that contained the bedrooms.
"I was hoping you could tell me why you suddenly decided that you had to go see Rangiku and couldn't wait for either me or your father to take you," replied Nanao.
"I just wanted to talk to her," said Shunsui, "I have been stuck on the latest chapter for my manga, so I thought being a bit closer to Haineko would help inspire me!"
"Shunsui, if you don't want to tell me it's fine," said Nanao a little sadly, "But please don't lie to me."
Detecting the sad note in her voice, Shunsui became really upset, "Please don't be sad, Nanao-san! I don't want you to be sad," he cried.
"I am only sad because you seem to be," said Nanao, "What happened?" she prompted, Shunsui said nothing. Pausing for a moment Nanao evaluated her options but decided to push ahead with her recent discovery, "Shunsui, some of the Shinigami from our squad noticed that you have been visiting squad three a lot. Since when have you become such a friend of Captain Kira?" she wondered.
"I just like to hide when Yachiru-chan and Rukia-chan are after me," said the boy, smiling up at her, hoping and praying she fell for the lie this time.
She didn't, "What did I say about lying to me?" she asked quietly.
Shunsui let the smile drop, "Sorry Nanao-san," he fell silent.
That was enough to confirm Nanao's worst suspicions. So when they reached Shunsui's room, she let him go about getting ready for bed while she herself silently strived to bring her anger under control. Damn you Kira Izuru, she found herself thinking, If you told my son about Ichimaru then, captain or not, I will have your hearts blood.
Shunsui climbed into his futon and settled himself in, hugging his stuffed silver snake doll to him. the silver snake that used to belong to Matsumoto Rangiku, the snake that she had named Ichimaru. "Nanao-san," he said, clutching his doll for strength, "Please don't be angry with Captain Kira. He... he didn't do anything."
"What makes you think I think he did something?" wondered Nanao, she was standing a bit in the shadows and her her back turned to Shunsui. As a result he couldn't see her face but he saw her hand move to her glasses, a sure sign that she was intensely angry, "Indeed, what do you think he could do that would make me angry with him?"
Shunsui sighed, there was no avoiding it now, "He didn't tell me... he didn't tell me about Ichimaru Gin," he forced out, "I... I figured it out myself. It wasn't hard. I didn't say anything because I figured it's not something people wanted to talk about. Then one day I was hiding from Yachiru-chan and Rukia-chan in Kira-san's room and... that's when I found the book. It had a picture of him on it. He looked like me, I figured he would and... that was it! Kira-san didn't show me the book, he just forgot to put it away! Once I explained that I knew and how I figure it out, I asked him to tell me about him. So he did and we have been going through the book together."
"What book..." but the answer came to her as a dim memory sparked, "Rangiku's scrap book. I never did find it," there was something in her voice that made Shunsui think she was on the verge of tears.
Jumping out of bed, he ran to her and wrapped himself around her legs, "Don't cry!" he said, "Please don't cry! I don't want you to cry! Don't be sad, I am... I am glad mummy left the scrap book with Kira-san. I mean, after I first figured it all out I wondered how mummy got pregnant with us in the first place. We were born after the war. I thought... I thought some horrible things and became really sad but after I found the book and talked to Kira-san, I realised they loved each other. Because Ichimaru loved her he didn't want her to be alone, that's what he wrote in the book and it was nice. I mean, daddy's still daddy and you are still you but it was nice to know, I wasn't born of something horrible."
Nanao knelt down and caught the boy in a hug, "I am sorry," she whispered as she showered his cheeks and head with kisses, "I didn't think... I never wanted you to think that! Not even for a moment did I want you to believe you were a product of anything but love. Warpped, twisted and painful to receive as it was, Ichimaru did love Rangiku. I just... I just..." she couldn't help it, she couldn't help her tears, "I just didn't want you hurt. Ichimaru had a way of inflicting pain and misery on everyone around him. He was so cruel, his intentions unreadable, with his constantly distant demeanour he always spoke in riddles. He was an enigma, a creepy, sadistic enigma... and I... I didn't want you and Rangiku to ever be touched by the shadow of that damned smile of his."
"Please don't cry any more Nanao-san, I don't like it when you cry. I'll be all right and Rangiku doesn't know anything, so she'll be fine," he gently whiped away her tears as he said, "I don't want you to ever cry!"
"I'll try my hardest not to," whispered Nanao, forcing a smile on her face, "Come on, time to go to sleep."
"Stay with me tonight?" asked the boy.
"I will," Nanao promised as she hugged her little boy tightly.
"So you have finally decided to come pay your old mother a visit, Shaolin. How good of you!" said Soifon's mother.
"Forgive me, mother," replied Soifon, keeping her head bowed low, "I have been busy."
"Yes, yes, being a Gotei 13 Captain, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō would keep you busy," agreed the woman, "But you should still find time to visit your dear mother."
"My deepest apologies," Soifon said formally, "I will strive to do my duty by you better."
"That's the kind of thing I like to hear," said her mother, "You can start by leaving Captain Kira. You had your fun but there is no point in remaining in a relationship that's not going anywhere."
Soifon stiffened, "Forgive me," she said, "But I have no plans to leave Izuru. I love him and would like to spend the rest of my life with him."
"How foolish," replied her mother, "But I suppose given your accomplishments I can't chastise you too much for it. Besides, if you are able to make him join our clan it will certainly be something. With two captains the status of the Fon clan will certainly rise."
"He is the head of the Kira clan, he can't leave it without destroying the entire clan," Soifon pointed out.
"Feh, the Kira clan is nothing. It has never been anything and it will never amount to anything and it will die with him. After all, if you won't leave him then he will never have children to carry on his clan," said the stern woman, "Do not forget, Shaolin, any children you have will belong to the Fon clan and must be given over to me as soon as they are weaned. So that they may be raise in the prescribed manner to be true members of Fon clan and serve with honour within the Onmitsukido."
"Is... is there no way around that?" wondered Soifon, her mother narrowed her eyes dangerously. Forcing Soifon to back peddle, "I mean, I have every intention of raising my children to be honourable members of the Onmitsukido and make the Fon clan proud. But... I would like to raise my own children. That's all that Izuru want's too!"
"Unacceptable," declared her mother, "You have gone soft and Kira Izuru has always been soft. You would only succeed in raising soft children that hollows will easily squish. Besides you know our rules and according to our rules your children, like those of other members of the Fon family, must be given to me to be raised. You should just be thankful that your children will be raised by their grandmother as lovingly as you were raised," Soifon wondered if the note of sarcasm was actually there or if she just imagined it because her mother was one of the coldest persons she knew, a person also not normally associated with 'loving care'.
"Why the question, Shaolin?" her mother asked after a moment, "Is there something you wish to share with your mother?"
Soifon shook her head, "I am not with child," she said, "I have no plans to be either. I was simply wondering."
"Feh, what a waste," said her mother, "This is why I said for you to leave him and find someone else and let him find someone else too. Both of you need to start thinking more of your clans and less about yourselves. How I have managed to give birth to such a selfish daughter is beyond me."
Soifon chose to ignore that and continued, "If we adopt, then the rules of clan doesn't apply right?"
"Why? Did Ichimaru leave more bastards behind him?"
"Mother!"
The woman laughed, "Calm down Shaolin, it was just a little joke. Besides there is nothing wrong with being Ichimaru's bastard. I have heard some truly terrifying rumours about that boy's zanpakuto. I heard it can seal away a shinigami's power."
"It can seal a shinigmai's zanpakuto," corrected Soifon, "In it's shikai Shunsui's zanpakuto takes the form of a Chakram that Shunsui can fling around and guide with the hilt of his sword, though the chakram itself is unattached to the hilt. One of the chakrams ability is to seal away, so to speak, a shinigami's zanpakuto but when this ability is activated the chakram remains stationary emitting a green light. It is in short, a double edged weapon because the enemy loses their zanpakuto but Shunsui too cannot continue using his zanpakuto for battle and both are forced to rely on kido, hoho and hakuda."
"And the boy of course is an expert in all three," stated the elder Fon, Soifon nodded, "As I said," the woman continued, "There is nothing wrong with being the bastard son of Ichimaru Gin."
"Please stop it, Mother," said Soifon, "If you continue to use that offensive term in reference to the son of my Captain-commander, I will have to stop you by force."
"Of course, of course, where are my manners," the woman conceded, "Getting back to your question, no the rules would not apply to any children Captain Kira might adopt jointly with you. However, that just proves what I was saying earlier Shaolin, you are being extremely selfish. Our clan needs strong members to survive. If Kira Izuru will not have children with you then leave him. I will find you a man more suitable for the purposes of our clan."
"You mean a man who will just shut-up and impregnate me and not raise any objection when the clan just takes the children," came Soifon's acrid response.
"Exactly," replied her mother with a completely straight face, "That's how dutiful members of the Fon clan are suppose to behave," Soifon closed her eyes in resignation and fought the urge to breakdown and cry. There really was no getting around it, no argument she could offer. Her clans rules were absolute. If she remained a member, she would have to obey and she had been raised to obey.
Nanao stood outside Kira's house feeling strange but after the conversation with Shunsui last night it was painfully obvious to her that she couldn't just let Kira handle the Ichimaru situation. She just couldn't, if only because Kira had been doing such a terrible job of it. Straightening her glasses she marched inside. He was in his garden drinking a glass of gin and watching the butterflies play among the flowers.
"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" wondered Nanao as she was shown into the garden by the housekeeper.
Kira blinked, "Nanao-san, welcome. Yes I suppose it is a bit early to start drinking," he admitted, "But I just felt like having some gin."
"Missing Gin," it was a statement not a question.
"Always," replied Kira, "But what brings you here, Nanao-san. Is there something I can help you with?"
Nanao decided that there wasn't any point in beating around the bush, "I am here for Rangiku's scrapbook."
Kira dropped the glass, it hit the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces, "Please don't," he whispered, "I am sorry that Shunsui found it but he knows now. So nothing good can come of you trying to hide things. So please, please, please don't destroy it! It's all I have left of the captain! Please!"
"You are jumping to conclusions," said Nanao, "I am not going to destroy it. I have simply decided to keep the book at our house. From now on, I will go through that book with Shunsui."
"But... but you don't know anything about the Captain!" protested Kira, "To you he was just a cold, heartless traitor! That's not the Ichimaru Gin Matsumoto-san wanted her children to know through the book."
"Children? Let's get something straight. Rangiku does not know that Ichimaru Gin was her father and it has been decided that no one is going to tell her. While I would have preferred Shunsui never finding out about Ichimaru, he has figured it out and has suffered because of it. Did Captain Soifon happen to tell you that she found Shunsui in the cemetery yesterday? Crying at his mother's grave because he was upset and confused about something he read in the book?"
"Wha... what?" whispered Kira, confused and horrified.
"Yes, we had a long conversation last night and he told me everything," replied Nanao, "I made a mistake in thinking I could keep something like this from Shunsui, especially when he looks so much like Ichimaru. However, now that he knows. I want to oversee his..." Nanao couldn't find the right words, "I should be the one to go through the book with him. Not you," she declared with finality in her voice.
"That's not fair and that's not right," cried Kira, "I know the captain. I know more facets about him then you could possibly know. In the last year of his life, I pieced together the story of his life. Besides which, there was a reason Matsumoto-san gave me the book and not you."
"I doubt the reason was so that you could go through the book with her son," replied Nanao, "I certainly doubt she wanted you to traumatise her son with it."
"I didn't traumatise him!" protested Kira, "I would never do something like that!"
"Perhaps you should talk to your wife about the state she found Shunsui in," offered Nanao, "O wait, Soifon isn't your wife because you lack the spine to stand-up to her clan!"
That was a low blow and they both knew it, Kira was seething but he brought his temper under control, "Vice-captain Ise, I can't tell you how to raise Shunsui but I am under no obligation to turn that book over to you. Matsumoto-san gave it to me for safe keeping and I'll keep it safe. If you don't want Shunsui to go through that book with me, well that's between you and Shunsui. But I am not giving that book to you."
Nanao's hand went to her glasses, a sign that she was intensely angry, "You should have learnt by now, Captain Kira, that going up against me is futile. But if you wish to play, we'll play. You aren't going to win. You know that don't you," with that she turned and started walking away. Kira said nothing, just went inside to find that bottle of gin. He really needed a drink after that.
"Must you always be such a bitch," whispered Soifon, as Nanao passed her, she had been standing pressed against the side of the building, unseen by the two of them. Having returned shortly after Nanao arrived.
"You're one to talk," countered Nanao, "Beside, I worry about your spine sometimes too."
"My spine is fine thank you," replied Soifon, "Besides which, it's not something you have to worry about. I would also like you to leave Izuru alone this once."
"If he had just quietly handed Rangiku's scrapbook over, it would have been good," said Nanao, "I would have preferred not to involve Shunsui in this."
Soifon was shocked, "You wouldn't!"
"Don't make it sound like I am about to commit child abuse," Nanao said quietly, "I am merely going to suggest to my son that it would be better if he and I started going through that scrapbook together. That could be our activity on the nights I tuck him into bed. I think Shunsui will be excited at the prospective, don't you?"
"This is cruel and you know it," said Soifon, "You are trying to cut Izuru out of Shunsui's life again. Why?"
"He upsets my son, that's reason enough," replied Nanao.
"Now you are just twisting things," said Soifon.
"Well the two of you could just have kids and then Shunsui and Rangiku could come play with them. But of course, both your spines of jelly are a hindrance to that isn't it?" said Nanao, her tone calculated to provoke.
"You really are striking below the belt today," said Soifon, refusing to take the bait and let her anger get the better of her, "Were you that upset at finding out Shunsui found out about Ichimaru? Or were you just upset that he had learnt about Ichimaru from Izuru and so doesn't hate him?"
"You are wrong, I don't want Shunsui to hate Ichimaru. Nor do I have any objections to Captain Kira spending time with Shunsui and talking about Ichimaru. What offended me was that Captain Kira did this behind my back! He should have told me that Shunsui found out about Ichimaru. He should have come clean about the scrapbook. If he wanted to spend time with Shunsui, he should have asked my permission first and not enticed the boy to pay him secret visits to his barrack like some sick pervert," declared Nanao.
"You make it sound as if Izuru didn't have a reason to believe your reaction to the discovery wouldn't have included the summary destruction of the scrapbook and wiping Shunsui's mind of the knowledge," Soifon pointed out.
Nanao couldn't respond to that, "Be that as it may, Captain Kira's options now are simply these - he can hand over the scrapbook quietly or I can take it from him through manipulations. It would be in his best interest to not force me to do the latter," with that she gave a Soifon a slight bow of the head and said, "Now if you'll excuse me, Captain Soifon," and she was gone.
Soifon signed and went to find Kira. In the short time she had been talking to Nanao, he had finished the entire bottle of gin and started on a second, "She going to win again isn't she," he said to no one in particular, "Once again, she's going to leave me with nothing. Nothing of my captain, nothing at all! Why? Why did you help her?" he demanded turning to Soifon, "Back then, why did you help her in her cruel plan?"
"I am sorry," replied Soifon as she hugged him, pulling his face into her chest. A feat only possible because she was standing and he was sitting, "But perhaps we can get the book duplicated?" suggested Soifon, "Let's go to the living world and have it duplicated! We'll go right away!"
"That's a great idea," said Kira cheering-up a bit. As he got to his feet somewhat unsteadily he couldn't help but ask another pressing question that was weighing on his mind since the conversation with Nanao, "Are you going to leave me?" he asked all of a sudden, "Because of... well because of everything. Are you going to leave me?"
Soifon laced their hands together and whispered, "I won't leave you and you should stop worrying about it. I don't want to wreck my combat ready body by having children anyway. So it doesn't matter, nothing matters." Kira had never wanted to believe anything more in his entire life.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!
Part: 6 of ?
Word Count: 4870
"You went to see mummy!" cried Rangiku when Soifon had explained where she had found Shunsui, "Why didn't you take me with you?" she demanded, "I would have liked to have gone to see her too!"
"Shunsui," said Kyoraku, looking rather grave and serious, "When I said you can't go to the cemetery by yourself, I did mean you can't go to the cemetery without another shinigami present. Another adult shinigami. There are certain spots in Soul Society that are especially easy for hollows to open their Garganta, the cemetery is one such location. That is why it is always patrolled, especially at night."
"I am sorry daddy," said Shunsui, not meeting his father's eyes, "I just... I just really wanted to see mummy."
"I understand," said Kyoraku, "But next time, ask me or Nanao-chan." Shunsui nodded, Kyoraku finally smiled, "Now come on! Let's go have dinner. Nanao-chan's been waiting. Will you join us, Soifon?"
Soifon shook her head, "I should be getting back home. Goodnight Captain-commander, goodnight Shunsui, Rangiku."
"Goodnight!" the children cried in unison.
When Soifon returned home, she found Kira waiting for her in the front garden. "You took your time," said Kira with a smile, getting up to greet her with a hug, "I was beginning to get worried. Wondering how much dirt had accumulated on my parents grave in the last week."
"I found Shunsui in the cemetery," replied Soifon, pressing herself against Kira, "He had gone to visit Matsumoto's grave alone. I couldn't very well let him return home alone."
"Was he alright?" asked Kira, getting worried, "He's not allowed to got to the cemetery alone and I can't imagine he couldn't find someone to go with him. Nanao-san, Orihime-san, Yarchiru... surely someone would find the time to go with him."
"He just wanted to be alone," whispered Soifon, not wanting to tell Kira that she had found Shunsui crying at Rangiku's grave over Ichimaru Gin, "Do you..." she paused, "Do you still regret... not getting the kids?" she wondered, "Would you have come after me if you had gotten little Rangiku and little Shunsui?"
"Regret?" wondered Kira, "That's not the right word. Captain-Commander Kyoraku is a great father and in Nanao-san they have a loving maternal figure. Still... I do wonder what life would be like if I had been allowed to have my Captain's children, if I had not failed my captain."
"You didn't fail Ichimaru," said Soifon, pulling back somewhat to look Kira in the eyes, "Ichimaru didn't expect..."
"No he did," Kira cut across, "There is no other explanation for the Will he left behind. He left me everything that was his. I am certain that included his children. But..." Kira sighed, "He must have known what Nanao-san would do. He must have known that Nanao-san would never let me have Matsumoto-san's children. He must have known that they would all work together to shut me out. Perhaps," Kira whispered, sounding broken, "Perhaps his last will and testament was another of his riddles. Perhaps he was simply toying with me."
"You don't believe that, surely," wondered Soifon.
"With Captain Ichimaru, its hard to know what to believe," said Kira, "But I wanted those children even before I found out about his Will. I wanted them for the selfish reason that I didn't want to be alone any more. I wanted to love and be loved. Not to mention have a piece of my captain always with me. I love those children. I would die for them as surely I would have died for my captain."
Soifon sighed and looked away before asking, "You haven't answered my other question. Would you have still chased after me? Would you have tried to win me over, even when you already had someone to love."
"I honestly don't know the answer to that question," confessed Kira, "I mean, I don't even know if I would have remained in the Gotei 13 had I gotten the children. I certainly would not have used bankai training to fill the gaping void in my heart and life. No bankai, no captaincy. No captaincy, no you."
Soifon turned back to him startled, "I am not with you because you are a captain!"
"No, but if I wasn't a captain, I would not have gone after you," said Kira, "Like I told you the day we first got together, I have had a strong affection for you for a very long time. But while you were Captain Soifon and I just Vice-captain Kira Izuru, the thought of chasing after you would be incomprehensible and if I had left the Gotei 13 to devote myself to the children... well, you wouldn't even look at me. So the point would be mute."
Soifon could not deny that. She returned to resting her head against Kira's chest, "I am glad then," she said, "That you didn't get the children." Kira didn't answer, just hugged her closer. Soifon could not misinterpret his silence. She resolved to go see her mother the very next day.
"Time to go to bed children," called Nanao.
"Yay!" cried Rangiku, "It's daddy's turn to read to me!" she said as she bounced over to her father, "Let's go! Let's go, daddy! I want you to read me your novel, the The Rose-Coloured Path!"
"O no you don't!" said Nanao firmly, "That is not appropriate reading material for children. In fact, that is not appropriate reading material for anyone!"
"Then how about, daddy's autobiography My Kittens Are So Shy?" wondered little Rangiku.
"That's even worse!" cried Nanao, "Here! You two can read this," she said as she handed them a book.
"Sougyo Refuses!" Rangiku read out the title, "Is this the newest edition of Ukitake-san's book! Wow! This is great! I am going to be the envy of every child in Seireitei when I tell them I got to read it before it was officially release!"
Kyoraku laughed and picked her up, "You better not spoil the story for your little friends," he commented as he began to walk away with her, "That wouldn't be very nice."
Rangiku giggled, "I wouldn't do that! That's what'll make it twice as fun! They'll be all, Rangiku tell us what happens and I will be all like, no, no you have to wait! It'll be great!"
"Don't just put her to bed," Nanao called after them, "Make sure she brushes her teeth," there were faint noises that sounded like a yes but Nanao made mental note to double check before Rangiku fell asleep. Sighing she turned to Shunsui, "Come on, we better get you to bed."
"What are you going to read to me, Nanao-san?" wondered Shunsui, as he took her hand and allowed her to lead him to the wing of the house that contained the bedrooms.
"I was hoping you could tell me why you suddenly decided that you had to go see Rangiku and couldn't wait for either me or your father to take you," replied Nanao.
"I just wanted to talk to her," said Shunsui, "I have been stuck on the latest chapter for my manga, so I thought being a bit closer to Haineko would help inspire me!"
"Shunsui, if you don't want to tell me it's fine," said Nanao a little sadly, "But please don't lie to me."
Detecting the sad note in her voice, Shunsui became really upset, "Please don't be sad, Nanao-san! I don't want you to be sad," he cried.
"I am only sad because you seem to be," said Nanao, "What happened?" she prompted, Shunsui said nothing. Pausing for a moment Nanao evaluated her options but decided to push ahead with her recent discovery, "Shunsui, some of the Shinigami from our squad noticed that you have been visiting squad three a lot. Since when have you become such a friend of Captain Kira?" she wondered.
"I just like to hide when Yachiru-chan and Rukia-chan are after me," said the boy, smiling up at her, hoping and praying she fell for the lie this time.
She didn't, "What did I say about lying to me?" she asked quietly.
Shunsui let the smile drop, "Sorry Nanao-san," he fell silent.
That was enough to confirm Nanao's worst suspicions. So when they reached Shunsui's room, she let him go about getting ready for bed while she herself silently strived to bring her anger under control. Damn you Kira Izuru, she found herself thinking, If you told my son about Ichimaru then, captain or not, I will have your hearts blood.
Shunsui climbed into his futon and settled himself in, hugging his stuffed silver snake doll to him. the silver snake that used to belong to Matsumoto Rangiku, the snake that she had named Ichimaru. "Nanao-san," he said, clutching his doll for strength, "Please don't be angry with Captain Kira. He... he didn't do anything."
"What makes you think I think he did something?" wondered Nanao, she was standing a bit in the shadows and her her back turned to Shunsui. As a result he couldn't see her face but he saw her hand move to her glasses, a sure sign that she was intensely angry, "Indeed, what do you think he could do that would make me angry with him?"
Shunsui sighed, there was no avoiding it now, "He didn't tell me... he didn't tell me about Ichimaru Gin," he forced out, "I... I figured it out myself. It wasn't hard. I didn't say anything because I figured it's not something people wanted to talk about. Then one day I was hiding from Yachiru-chan and Rukia-chan in Kira-san's room and... that's when I found the book. It had a picture of him on it. He looked like me, I figured he would and... that was it! Kira-san didn't show me the book, he just forgot to put it away! Once I explained that I knew and how I figure it out, I asked him to tell me about him. So he did and we have been going through the book together."
"What book..." but the answer came to her as a dim memory sparked, "Rangiku's scrap book. I never did find it," there was something in her voice that made Shunsui think she was on the verge of tears.
Jumping out of bed, he ran to her and wrapped himself around her legs, "Don't cry!" he said, "Please don't cry! I don't want you to cry! Don't be sad, I am... I am glad mummy left the scrap book with Kira-san. I mean, after I first figured it all out I wondered how mummy got pregnant with us in the first place. We were born after the war. I thought... I thought some horrible things and became really sad but after I found the book and talked to Kira-san, I realised they loved each other. Because Ichimaru loved her he didn't want her to be alone, that's what he wrote in the book and it was nice. I mean, daddy's still daddy and you are still you but it was nice to know, I wasn't born of something horrible."
Nanao knelt down and caught the boy in a hug, "I am sorry," she whispered as she showered his cheeks and head with kisses, "I didn't think... I never wanted you to think that! Not even for a moment did I want you to believe you were a product of anything but love. Warpped, twisted and painful to receive as it was, Ichimaru did love Rangiku. I just... I just..." she couldn't help it, she couldn't help her tears, "I just didn't want you hurt. Ichimaru had a way of inflicting pain and misery on everyone around him. He was so cruel, his intentions unreadable, with his constantly distant demeanour he always spoke in riddles. He was an enigma, a creepy, sadistic enigma... and I... I didn't want you and Rangiku to ever be touched by the shadow of that damned smile of his."
"Please don't cry any more Nanao-san, I don't like it when you cry. I'll be all right and Rangiku doesn't know anything, so she'll be fine," he gently whiped away her tears as he said, "I don't want you to ever cry!"
"I'll try my hardest not to," whispered Nanao, forcing a smile on her face, "Come on, time to go to sleep."
"Stay with me tonight?" asked the boy.
"I will," Nanao promised as she hugged her little boy tightly.
"So you have finally decided to come pay your old mother a visit, Shaolin. How good of you!" said Soifon's mother.
"Forgive me, mother," replied Soifon, keeping her head bowed low, "I have been busy."
"Yes, yes, being a Gotei 13 Captain, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō would keep you busy," agreed the woman, "But you should still find time to visit your dear mother."
"My deepest apologies," Soifon said formally, "I will strive to do my duty by you better."
"That's the kind of thing I like to hear," said her mother, "You can start by leaving Captain Kira. You had your fun but there is no point in remaining in a relationship that's not going anywhere."
Soifon stiffened, "Forgive me," she said, "But I have no plans to leave Izuru. I love him and would like to spend the rest of my life with him."
"How foolish," replied her mother, "But I suppose given your accomplishments I can't chastise you too much for it. Besides, if you are able to make him join our clan it will certainly be something. With two captains the status of the Fon clan will certainly rise."
"He is the head of the Kira clan, he can't leave it without destroying the entire clan," Soifon pointed out.
"Feh, the Kira clan is nothing. It has never been anything and it will never amount to anything and it will die with him. After all, if you won't leave him then he will never have children to carry on his clan," said the stern woman, "Do not forget, Shaolin, any children you have will belong to the Fon clan and must be given over to me as soon as they are weaned. So that they may be raise in the prescribed manner to be true members of Fon clan and serve with honour within the Onmitsukido."
"Is... is there no way around that?" wondered Soifon, her mother narrowed her eyes dangerously. Forcing Soifon to back peddle, "I mean, I have every intention of raising my children to be honourable members of the Onmitsukido and make the Fon clan proud. But... I would like to raise my own children. That's all that Izuru want's too!"
"Unacceptable," declared her mother, "You have gone soft and Kira Izuru has always been soft. You would only succeed in raising soft children that hollows will easily squish. Besides you know our rules and according to our rules your children, like those of other members of the Fon family, must be given to me to be raised. You should just be thankful that your children will be raised by their grandmother as lovingly as you were raised," Soifon wondered if the note of sarcasm was actually there or if she just imagined it because her mother was one of the coldest persons she knew, a person also not normally associated with 'loving care'.
"Why the question, Shaolin?" her mother asked after a moment, "Is there something you wish to share with your mother?"
Soifon shook her head, "I am not with child," she said, "I have no plans to be either. I was simply wondering."
"Feh, what a waste," said her mother, "This is why I said for you to leave him and find someone else and let him find someone else too. Both of you need to start thinking more of your clans and less about yourselves. How I have managed to give birth to such a selfish daughter is beyond me."
Soifon chose to ignore that and continued, "If we adopt, then the rules of clan doesn't apply right?"
"Why? Did Ichimaru leave more bastards behind him?"
"Mother!"
The woman laughed, "Calm down Shaolin, it was just a little joke. Besides there is nothing wrong with being Ichimaru's bastard. I have heard some truly terrifying rumours about that boy's zanpakuto. I heard it can seal away a shinigami's power."
"It can seal a shinigmai's zanpakuto," corrected Soifon, "In it's shikai Shunsui's zanpakuto takes the form of a Chakram that Shunsui can fling around and guide with the hilt of his sword, though the chakram itself is unattached to the hilt. One of the chakrams ability is to seal away, so to speak, a shinigami's zanpakuto but when this ability is activated the chakram remains stationary emitting a green light. It is in short, a double edged weapon because the enemy loses their zanpakuto but Shunsui too cannot continue using his zanpakuto for battle and both are forced to rely on kido, hoho and hakuda."
"And the boy of course is an expert in all three," stated the elder Fon, Soifon nodded, "As I said," the woman continued, "There is nothing wrong with being the bastard son of Ichimaru Gin."
"Please stop it, Mother," said Soifon, "If you continue to use that offensive term in reference to the son of my Captain-commander, I will have to stop you by force."
"Of course, of course, where are my manners," the woman conceded, "Getting back to your question, no the rules would not apply to any children Captain Kira might adopt jointly with you. However, that just proves what I was saying earlier Shaolin, you are being extremely selfish. Our clan needs strong members to survive. If Kira Izuru will not have children with you then leave him. I will find you a man more suitable for the purposes of our clan."
"You mean a man who will just shut-up and impregnate me and not raise any objection when the clan just takes the children," came Soifon's acrid response.
"Exactly," replied her mother with a completely straight face, "That's how dutiful members of the Fon clan are suppose to behave," Soifon closed her eyes in resignation and fought the urge to breakdown and cry. There really was no getting around it, no argument she could offer. Her clans rules were absolute. If she remained a member, she would have to obey and she had been raised to obey.
Nanao stood outside Kira's house feeling strange but after the conversation with Shunsui last night it was painfully obvious to her that she couldn't just let Kira handle the Ichimaru situation. She just couldn't, if only because Kira had been doing such a terrible job of it. Straightening her glasses she marched inside. He was in his garden drinking a glass of gin and watching the butterflies play among the flowers.
"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" wondered Nanao as she was shown into the garden by the housekeeper.
Kira blinked, "Nanao-san, welcome. Yes I suppose it is a bit early to start drinking," he admitted, "But I just felt like having some gin."
"Missing Gin," it was a statement not a question.
"Always," replied Kira, "But what brings you here, Nanao-san. Is there something I can help you with?"
Nanao decided that there wasn't any point in beating around the bush, "I am here for Rangiku's scrapbook."
Kira dropped the glass, it hit the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces, "Please don't," he whispered, "I am sorry that Shunsui found it but he knows now. So nothing good can come of you trying to hide things. So please, please, please don't destroy it! It's all I have left of the captain! Please!"
"You are jumping to conclusions," said Nanao, "I am not going to destroy it. I have simply decided to keep the book at our house. From now on, I will go through that book with Shunsui."
"But... but you don't know anything about the Captain!" protested Kira, "To you he was just a cold, heartless traitor! That's not the Ichimaru Gin Matsumoto-san wanted her children to know through the book."
"Children? Let's get something straight. Rangiku does not know that Ichimaru Gin was her father and it has been decided that no one is going to tell her. While I would have preferred Shunsui never finding out about Ichimaru, he has figured it out and has suffered because of it. Did Captain Soifon happen to tell you that she found Shunsui in the cemetery yesterday? Crying at his mother's grave because he was upset and confused about something he read in the book?"
"Wha... what?" whispered Kira, confused and horrified.
"Yes, we had a long conversation last night and he told me everything," replied Nanao, "I made a mistake in thinking I could keep something like this from Shunsui, especially when he looks so much like Ichimaru. However, now that he knows. I want to oversee his..." Nanao couldn't find the right words, "I should be the one to go through the book with him. Not you," she declared with finality in her voice.
"That's not fair and that's not right," cried Kira, "I know the captain. I know more facets about him then you could possibly know. In the last year of his life, I pieced together the story of his life. Besides which, there was a reason Matsumoto-san gave me the book and not you."
"I doubt the reason was so that you could go through the book with her son," replied Nanao, "I certainly doubt she wanted you to traumatise her son with it."
"I didn't traumatise him!" protested Kira, "I would never do something like that!"
"Perhaps you should talk to your wife about the state she found Shunsui in," offered Nanao, "O wait, Soifon isn't your wife because you lack the spine to stand-up to her clan!"
That was a low blow and they both knew it, Kira was seething but he brought his temper under control, "Vice-captain Ise, I can't tell you how to raise Shunsui but I am under no obligation to turn that book over to you. Matsumoto-san gave it to me for safe keeping and I'll keep it safe. If you don't want Shunsui to go through that book with me, well that's between you and Shunsui. But I am not giving that book to you."
Nanao's hand went to her glasses, a sign that she was intensely angry, "You should have learnt by now, Captain Kira, that going up against me is futile. But if you wish to play, we'll play. You aren't going to win. You know that don't you," with that she turned and started walking away. Kira said nothing, just went inside to find that bottle of gin. He really needed a drink after that.
"Must you always be such a bitch," whispered Soifon, as Nanao passed her, she had been standing pressed against the side of the building, unseen by the two of them. Having returned shortly after Nanao arrived.
"You're one to talk," countered Nanao, "Beside, I worry about your spine sometimes too."
"My spine is fine thank you," replied Soifon, "Besides which, it's not something you have to worry about. I would also like you to leave Izuru alone this once."
"If he had just quietly handed Rangiku's scrapbook over, it would have been good," said Nanao, "I would have preferred not to involve Shunsui in this."
Soifon was shocked, "You wouldn't!"
"Don't make it sound like I am about to commit child abuse," Nanao said quietly, "I am merely going to suggest to my son that it would be better if he and I started going through that scrapbook together. That could be our activity on the nights I tuck him into bed. I think Shunsui will be excited at the prospective, don't you?"
"This is cruel and you know it," said Soifon, "You are trying to cut Izuru out of Shunsui's life again. Why?"
"He upsets my son, that's reason enough," replied Nanao.
"Now you are just twisting things," said Soifon.
"Well the two of you could just have kids and then Shunsui and Rangiku could come play with them. But of course, both your spines of jelly are a hindrance to that isn't it?" said Nanao, her tone calculated to provoke.
"You really are striking below the belt today," said Soifon, refusing to take the bait and let her anger get the better of her, "Were you that upset at finding out Shunsui found out about Ichimaru? Or were you just upset that he had learnt about Ichimaru from Izuru and so doesn't hate him?"
"You are wrong, I don't want Shunsui to hate Ichimaru. Nor do I have any objections to Captain Kira spending time with Shunsui and talking about Ichimaru. What offended me was that Captain Kira did this behind my back! He should have told me that Shunsui found out about Ichimaru. He should have come clean about the scrapbook. If he wanted to spend time with Shunsui, he should have asked my permission first and not enticed the boy to pay him secret visits to his barrack like some sick pervert," declared Nanao.
"You make it sound as if Izuru didn't have a reason to believe your reaction to the discovery wouldn't have included the summary destruction of the scrapbook and wiping Shunsui's mind of the knowledge," Soifon pointed out.
Nanao couldn't respond to that, "Be that as it may, Captain Kira's options now are simply these - he can hand over the scrapbook quietly or I can take it from him through manipulations. It would be in his best interest to not force me to do the latter," with that she gave a Soifon a slight bow of the head and said, "Now if you'll excuse me, Captain Soifon," and she was gone.
Soifon signed and went to find Kira. In the short time she had been talking to Nanao, he had finished the entire bottle of gin and started on a second, "She going to win again isn't she," he said to no one in particular, "Once again, she's going to leave me with nothing. Nothing of my captain, nothing at all! Why? Why did you help her?" he demanded turning to Soifon, "Back then, why did you help her in her cruel plan?"
"I am sorry," replied Soifon as she hugged him, pulling his face into her chest. A feat only possible because she was standing and he was sitting, "But perhaps we can get the book duplicated?" suggested Soifon, "Let's go to the living world and have it duplicated! We'll go right away!"
"That's a great idea," said Kira cheering-up a bit. As he got to his feet somewhat unsteadily he couldn't help but ask another pressing question that was weighing on his mind since the conversation with Nanao, "Are you going to leave me?" he asked all of a sudden, "Because of... well because of everything. Are you going to leave me?"
Soifon laced their hands together and whispered, "I won't leave you and you should stop worrying about it. I don't want to wreck my combat ready body by having children anyway. So it doesn't matter, nothing matters." Kira had never wanted to believe anything more in his entire life.