Northeast Seireitei

[Hyoroshi Iwamura]

Iwamura's gaze lingered from Kazuki onto his entering Lieutenant. The way he cast his sideways glance, the one visible end of his lip tilted down ever so slightly--Iwamura had noticed the disdain in Oyuki's Reiatsu almost immediately, and it was as if his orange eye was pressing a silent plea for grace. He knew Oyuki perhaps more than most; his Lieutenant was an ice cube, but it was precisely how he needed to be. The only way he could continue to be, with what he and Iwamura had faced.

Yet where it concerned the incident at the Tenth, in the back of his mind, Hyoroshi found himself in stark disagreement. He knew that he could have done more for Kazuki at the time--if not with his wounds from Kisho, then at least in defusing the tension--were it not for Shizukana's situation.

These thoughts lasted for a mere second. Hyoroshi's attention was squarely upon Shizukana as he slid his report upon her desk with his palm.

"In that report is everything I've been able to gather on the Karakura and Naruki incursions, Captain." His slight frown returned. "Allow me to be frank. While the shortcomings of the Tenth and Thirteenth are the most visible, it is us that allowed the situation in our own Division to spiral. It is precisely from this failure that the Hollows were free to scheme and strengthen themselves virtually unopposed."

Briefly, Iwamura's head lowered. His voice had flattened; his eyes were all but obscured from shadow. "Once a modicum of peace returns, we must make sure a mutiny of this kind never happens again within our ranks."

Iwamura eased a sigh out of his nostrils and lifted his head. "With that being said, there's something else. According to eyewitness accounts, multiple humans were captured by the Hollows and brought back to Hueco Mundo. What we do know of those humans are detailed in the report, but from what I've seen, there's next to nothing to explain why they would be taken in the first place. More is needed to be learned on that front."

Hyoroshi fell quiet for a moment, but before anyone else could pick the discussion back up, one more concern flashed in Iwamura's head. He hated the idea of having to be blunt with it, particularly with who it concerned, but the words were already tumbling out on their own.

"There's also the matter of you, Captain, and the coma that incapacitated you. As your subordinate--" Iwamura stamped out the urge to mention their personal connection in a professional setting, "--I'm grateful and thankful that it wasn't from anything you or we could have contracted in Hueco Mundo. But to know that it was your own Zanpakuto that took you out of commission for two years concerns me. If your blade was able to do that to you once, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that it could do it again, and potentially for even longer?"

Iwamura crossed his arms. His expression was blank, for at that moment he found himself more concerned with Shizukana's well-being than the threat of the Arrancars he was consciously attempting to decipher.​

 

[Nobody]

The man has been silent for quite some time. His shifting from the woman, to the girl, then back to the woman. A dull look in his eyes, almost dismissive. To some, it is a level of patience not expected by one called a Tyrant, an assumption supported by both his behavior and his actions ten days prior.

The girl's feelings fan out and roar like an inferno. As the kinder of the two, Yūgure lends a soft ear. She relates to the child in ways Kuwashii would perhaps not yet understand, while Kishō could never and would never be able to relate or empathize with what either is going through. He stands there, ignorant of the emotions being shared, detached from the situation other than being present.
​

“You hear her, Date? She doesn’t want your mercy. She wants your blade. And I think…I think she deserves a chance. Don’t you think?”​

The conversation shifts towards him, now truly bringing him into it. Kishō, who had taken the role of bystander during their talk, looks towards Yūgure then towards Kuwashii.

"You don't wish to be handled like a child, yet here you are behaving like one."

Rather than responding to Yūgure, he instead addresses Kuwashii. His voice calm, yet cold despite the heat he exudes. He speaks with an uncaring yet matter of fact tone.

"You loathe that they handle you delicately? With kid gloves, have you tried to kill them? Drawn your blade and swung as though they were truly an enemy, seeking to take them down with everything you have? All of your soul? Something that would force them to respond in kind?"

He is unaware of what efforts the girl has put forth while training against her fellow squad mates, nor does he care. "No, I doubt it. Otherwise you would not be here, wasting my time and testing my patience. He doesn't bother letting the girl get a word in, in response to his question, simply assuming that the answer to his question was no, and that by virtue then all her would be efforts before have been halfhearted.

"Flow, and ruin...Mōshoishi."

His already hot and volatile reiatsu is amplified by many folds, the blade that was in his hand replaced with dull looking spear who's head appear chipped, cracked an weathered. The cracks within the spearhead glow on and off, mirroring the glow that took place in the cracks in the ground from his steps. With one hand he casually twirls and spins the spear, eyes shifting towards the Shihoin as he finally addresses her.

"No, I do not believe she deserves a chance."
Thud

The head of the spear slams against the ground. "What she deserves, is discipline." An orange circle glows for the briefest of moments directly above Kuwashii, its diameter ensuring that it covered the entirety of her frame like an umbrella before flicking out of existence almost the instant it had shown. A flow of tightly compacted lava punches through the air and into the ground where the girl stands, its force rocking the ground in the area they stood, the violent hot molten liquid leaving a gaping tunnel in the very ground, the depths it reached unknown and unimportant in comparison to what just happened.

To Kishō, Kuwashii's behavior was a reflection on what was going on at the Tenth Division, further painting a picture as to why they failed so miserably when faced with the Arrancar in the world of the living. They were unprepared and apparently were doing nothing to properly prepare their soldiers for the enemies they were meant to be facing. It seemed he would have to correct that error starting with the girl before him. Afterwards, he would need to move onto each and every one of the members of the Tenth Division before finally holding their failure of a Captain responsible for this weakness.

 

[Elk]

“Get back to training.”

“Got a lil' venom with those words, don’t you, Suzuu?”

A laugh could be heard from a distance, Hideo’s back slumped against a tree that was nearby the training grounds, with both his arms lowered and that signature smile, as his golden eye stared at Suzume—before his hand pressed against the tree, easing him forward.

“How are things over here? I trust you’ve kept MY division in order for the past 10 days?”

Both hands moved behind him as he continued his steps forward, each one delivering a crunch as he walked past the white sand of the training grounds. His eyes closed as he slowly began to hum a small tune.

“So I may have found a lead, after the lead you gave me. You’re one hell of an investigator, and I don’t think I want to know how you got that information on that meeting.”

“By the way, Lieutenants Kuchiki and Munetoshi were there. The Kuchiki has a real stick up his ass—though that seems to be a thing with the Kuchiki family. Least the ones I met.”

His shoulders lifted up into the air as his palms raised upward, his tongue stuck out for a moment as he slowly turned toward Suzume. His eyes shifted to the side at that small moment—looking down at the sand beneath their feet? Or was it his cheek? Who knows—he certainly did. Then, he looked down at Suzume, his lips curling and his eyes closing.

“Anyways… I don’t think it looked good with three noble families going out to suppress a rebellion before it even started. We should send out some supplies over there.”

“The standard stuff—food, water, some sweets. Oh, and quite a bit of rice and grain seeds. I’ll have some of the most loyal to me take care of it.”

Two figures slipped through the edges of the training grounds—silent, swift, and gone before their footsteps ever registered in the sand. Then a clap echoed for a moment as Hideo’s eyes opened, that smile still present across his face.

“What do you think?”

​

 

[Adonai]

"You loathe that they handle you delicately? With kid gloves, have you tried to kill them? Drawn your blade and swung as though they were truly an enemy, seeking to take them down with everything you have? All of your soul? Something that would force them to respond in kind? No, I doubt it. Otherwise you would not be here, wasting my time and testing my patience."

Finding Resolve

Kuwashii says nothing but his words are going into her ears and she is holding onto them, trying to absorb the information and digest them in a way suitable to her. He calls out his Shikai and she takes note of its appearance, though it is a spear the bladed part of it reminded her of Zougeiro. Both are chipped and burnt due to the heat they radiate, seeing this made her all the more certain that he is the one that must train her, to break her out of the mold she seems to be stuck in. But she is not so awestruck that she has forgotten that she is in a fight, no not one bit. Those cracks that continue to spread out like spiderwebs have her leaping back bit by bit out of fear of stepping on them. When he slams his blade down the temperature above her head becomes apparent, being mid leap she cannot form a Reishi platform to leap back with Shunpo so she uses ingenuity instead.

”Shiroi Gekiryū!”
(白い激流; White Torrent)

Flame expels itself from the tip of the blade and using the force of it she rockets herself backwards to avoid the circle that had formed above her head. She watches how the lava flows from it and punches through the ground where she once stood. She lands on a rooftop, eyes still on Kisho and the cracks that are forming and claiming the land around him. She recognizes that if she were to step on one of those cracks or even the ground they have covered he could erupt it all or just in her location.

”No, I have not thought of doing that! I am not you, I will not kill my allies for such a thing. But I understand what you are saying. Attack them with all my being, show them that I am not some child that can be ordered around and ignored. That my blade is sharp if not sharper than theirs. Forgive me for wasting your time but also thank you for showing me your Shikai! Our blades match!”

She says with a cheeky grin, although she is not entirely relaxed in this situation she just couldn’t help but pointing it out. She used the chilling aura of Oyuki to cool her burning mind, setting it to zero and now she is using the rumbling heat of Kisho to reignite and reforge herself anew. This method of training is brash and dangerous but she would have it no other way. She has to close the distance and attack, she has no good meaningful attacks that could land at this range. The cracks on the ground are an issue but not so big of one that she cannot find a way around them. She jumps off the rooftop, blade on her shoulder as her left hand is outstretched.

”Hadō #12. Fushibi!”
(伏火, Ambush Flare; Viz "Hidden Fire")

A Kido net sprawls out and up to Kisho giving her some footing to land on just above the ground. The net seems flimsy at best, perhaps a sign of her poor Kido knowledge but it is strong enough to support her light frame. She knows the spear is dug into the ground, it would take no effort to swing it upward and cut her but she takes this potential gambit and swings her blade at him with both hands. The flames roar, threatening to ignite as they had just done so earlier when she escaped his magma attack. The blade threatens to fall on his left shoulder and given the amount of force behind it the attack could potentially cut Kisho in two from shoulder to waist. Knowing this Kuwashii does not hesitate, does not hold back her strength one bit. She believes Kisho to be strong, strong enough to defend, counter, or evade this strike. Through that she has to show him that she has the willingness to kill another if need be, especially if they are trying to kill her. Mid-swing she does wonder, where that Lava had gone, surely it didn't just burrow into the ground and turn to obsidian. She is observant enough not to let that attack take a backseat in her memory, she remembers it well enough to anticipate its return. Her heart burns with excitement and joy, to fight full force against another at long last.

 

[GhoulBunny]

Yūgure Shihōin remained perched atop the rooftop, her silhouette a lone figure above the chaos unraveling below. The rooftop tiles beneath her feet were warm, absorbing the heat rising from the battlefield where fire and lava warred in spirals of violent energy. She stood motionless, arms crossed, golden eyes tracking every detail—every flicker of flame, every spark, every movement etched in that clash of will and power below her.

Because what was happening down there was no simple spar.

Kishō had unleashed Mōshoishi.

Yūgure had only seen it a handful of times but now, watching the dull, cracked head of the molten spear slam into the ground, she knew. Knew from the way the air shimmered violently around it. From the hiss that followed the impact as lava burst from above Kuwashii in a column of punishment, aimed to consume her completely.


But Kuwashii wasn’t just some reckless girl throwing a tantrum anymore. Yūgure saw it in the way she moved—saw the moment her instincts kicked in, how she ignited her blade with a roar and shouted, “Shiroi Gekiryū!” Using the combustion from her Zanpakutō to launch herself away from the molten death that tore through the ground behind her. The flames screamed as they clashed, white and orange battling across the battlefield like two rival suns fighting for dominance.

Kuwashii didn’t hesitate. She adjusted.

Landing on a rooftop across the way, she was already calculating again—her mind racing even as the heat threatened to peel the skin from her bones. Smart, Yūgure thought. The girl may have thrown herself into this confrontation like a firework with no fuse, but she wasn’t stupid. She was learning. Watching. Reacting.

And now she was pressing forward.

With a shout, Kuwashii extended her hand, casting a Kido net—“Hadō #12. Fushibi!”—a desperate move, flimsy, imperfect, but enough to buy her footing. Enough to give her a platform. Enough to let her charge.

And charge she did.

Yūgure’s eyes narrowed as she watched the girl’s flaming Zanpakutō come down in a wide arc toward Kishō, white flames rippling up the massive blade like a tidal wave of heat. It was reckless, full of fury and purpose. Kuwashii was swinging with every ounce of strength she had, like she meant to split the Ninth Division in half if it stood in her way. A strike with intent to kill.

That was what Kishō had wanted to see. What he demanded. And Kuwashii was giving it to him.

Yūgure stood still above them all, caught in a strange storm of thought. She hadn’t moved. Hadn’t interrupted. Not this time.

Because she understood.

Instead, she whispered to herself, watching the sparks and embers fly like stars in battle, “Do or die, huh? Damn, kid… I hope you make it through this.”​

 

[TherosAestas]

Suzume’s eyes lazily drift in Hideo’s direction, unfazed by his jab about venom in her words. His cheeky jabs never once got to her in all the centuries they’d known each other. Before she could open her mouth to respond, he spoke again.

“How are things over here? I trust you’ve kept MY division in order for the past 10 days?”

The disinterest on her face twisted into something darker, and her hands curled into fists. ”I kept OUR division running just fine on my own.” Her fists slowly unfurled as his gentle humming drifted on the air. A soft sigh escaped her lips and she merely listened as he spoke of the lieutenants Kuchiki and Munetoshi. Her hand raised to her face, her chin between her thumb and forefinger as she mulled over his words. It certainly wasn’t a good look for three noble families to quash a rebellion before it had even started, but they hadn’t really been left with many options. Her attention perked up as he mentioned sending out supplies to those in need.

“What do you think?”

”Is it really wise to have the Shihoin name tied to the supplies? It could inspire some to destroy them, it could also be portrayed as you trying to garner favor with the people.” Her eyes flicked ever so momentarily in the direction of the two skirting the edges of the training grounds swift as the wind itself. Before anyone could register what happened, Suzume had withdrawn one of her hairpins and flung it at the two, sticking one of the figures in the arm. ”On second thought though, it could be seen as an act of good faith.” The more she pondered the matter, the more she thought it might actually be a decent idea. Her eyes kept track of the two figures as they disappeared.

”Perhaps we should send one of your people and one of my own. Oh, and add some textiles to the supplies.” As she spoke, she twirled her second hairpin between her fingers. Placing the pin between her lips, she tied Jigitarisu to her waist. ”Let’s go have a drink in your office and you can give me all of the details of what you’ve been up to these past ten days.” She looked up at him through her lashes, her lips pulling into a sardonic smile.

Before he could answer, she turned on her heels and strode toward his office. The rest of the division had already dispersed when Hideo had arrived, giving them privacy to discuss whatever they wanted. However, Suzume preferred the extra privacy his office afforded them. Pushing the door open, she speared her hairpin back into the golden ornament that adorned her braid.

”After you.”

​

 

[Nobody]

​

"Forgive me for wasting your time but also thank you for showing me your Shikai! Our blades match!”​

As expected, much of what the girl said was lost to Kishō, who cared little about what she had to say in response to his words. He showed no surprise when the girl propelled herself away from the sudden eruption above her. Having taken to the rooftops, it seemed she was avoiding a ground battle. Instead, a net of kidō casts itself out in the air above the grounds turned battlefield. Using her new foothold her feet carry her swiftly along the flimsy net. Her blade soars through the air, descending like a white hot flaming guillotine towards Kishō.

It is an act that allows the girl to see not one but a multitude of spears thrusting at her from below. As a master of zanjutsu, Kishō was above all else a spearman. The deft handling of his shikai on full display, the repeated thrusts from below obscuring Kuwashii's vision of him given her position above. There were multiple 'popping' sounds that accompanied the wave of thrusts. Had they been inside, the roof would be riddled with multiple holes, the flimsy kido net certain to suffer the consequences of existing above him in the spear's path as well.

The woman had already displayed to be a quick thinker, showing a cleverness in her shikai's usage that perhaps placed her above other shinigami with more time and experience. So, what strategy would she now employ, especially given the various orange rings of reishi that appeared above, and beneath her, some formed at a angle. Like before, their appearance was incredibly brief, so much so that most would question if they had even truly appeared, and like before lava erupted from those points. Some of these eruptions covered only the scope and diameter of his spear's tip, while others equaled the woman's head in scope.

Each eruption was assured to punch through her, cauterizing any wounds in the process. "For one so brazen, you are surprisingly cautious." His voice was absent of any anger, perhaps a modicum of surprise, or..perhaps confusion. "If you're worried about the cracks, you needn't be. They are not a result of Mōshoishi, but rather my own reiatsu."

The man had picked up on what the girl was doing. She had just witnessed that an eruption happened above her head, which meant she didn't believe he could only cause them from the ground. So, what reason would she have to go such a round about way to attack him from above, doing everything she could to avoid touching the ground? A quick scan of their surroundings and the only thing that he notices is the glowing cracks, the ones that arose as a result of him exerting his reiatsu.

Her reasoning was sound, yet what was perhaps odd to those who didn't know him was the fact that he didn't play on her assumptions of what was going on. Those who did know the man understood that his honesty was a result of his confidence. He was not one to go out of his way to hide what his abilities were, and would correct those who misassessed them. In his mind, only weaklings needed trickery and lies to come out on top.

Sandwiched between the flurry of spear thrusts and bursts of lava that sought to punch through her every being as well, Kuwashii found herself behind a rock and a hot place.

 

[Adonai]

Rising Stakes

Kisho picks up on Kuwashii’s sense of caution despite her actions and mannerisms. This is something she has learned to become while on the field combating Hollows. Every Hollow has their own unique abilities, unique enough to slay even veteran Shinigami if they aren’t careful enough, hence why they are most often dispatched before they can even fight back. Kuwashii understands that much, she follows the same method of killing them before they can become a threat but there are times where that is not an option and so caution must be taken. A chance to observe and learn what the opponent is capable of, what their abilities are and how she can counter them with her own skill set. This Date is one such man who caution must be used against since he is not someone she can fell in one swift blow, if he was she wouldn’t have sought him out. This sense of caution now reveals itself in full for the Date to see.

Hadō #12. Fushibi creates a net of Kido that can span as far as the user needs it to, however, for some reason Kuwashii’s was flimsy, this was by design. This girl only uses two Kido spells, Hadō #31. Shakkahō, and Fushibi and that is because they are both fire based spells that she can cast at her current level of Kido. She understands Fushibi well enough to know that the moment it is ignited it will explode and this is the true reason for its poor structure. Once Kisho begins his barrage he strikes the net, igniting it and causing it to explode which sends Kuwashii flying back and away from his repeated strikes, though she is struck multiple times they do not penetrate too deep or in a way to immobilize her for good. This was part of her plan to send herself skyward though she did not anticipate the creation of more of these strange lava rings that Kisho is able to create with his Zanpakuto. This too is fine as she follows through with the rotation of her swing, boosting it with her Shiroi Gekiryū Zanpakuto ability, but instead of having flames erupt from the tip it erupts from the back of the blade to drastically enhance the speed and rotation of her attack.

This technique was prepped in advance as it was to be used to speed up her strike to hit Kisho. She was planning to trade blows with him at most using this but had not expected such a brutal response of rapid thrusting attacks, which she assumes to be Onibi. With Shiroi Gekiryū in use she turns herself into a spinning blade of fire that flies in a singular path towards one of the bursts of lava threatening to punch through her. She cuts through with her blade while rapidly spinning and breaks out of the “barrier” of raining lava and continues to spin into the air. Since those bursts of lava were focused on where she was originally and not where she was pushed to via the explosion and the accelerated speed given to her by said explosion it let her out pace the other incoming lava strikes causing them to meet in the middle where she was originally. Two arcs of fire fly off into the sky as she is spinning rapidly then she curves mid air and instead of attacking Kisho she lands 5 meters behind him after putting a deep gouge into the cracked ground and landing on the middle of said gouge with embers rising from it.

She is on a knee, her giant Shikai blade embedded in the ground. She is covered in wounds that have been seared shut by either Kisho’s blade or her own Reiatsu. She pulls her blade from the ground and it is noticeably dimmer than before, the charred blade is seen a bit more clearly now that it is not engulfed in as much fire as before. She takes another Kendo stance and holds her ground, steadying her breathing as she frowns at Kisho, not out of contempt but focus.

”I’ll take your first statement as praise, sir. If I wasn’t cautious the Hollows of the living world would have killed me by now. Also, how do you weave your heat into your Zanjutsu? Is it a matter of control over your Reiatsu, focusing it on your blade or is it just the nature of your Zanpakuto that allows it?”

Kuwashii has a blend of emotions swirling within the core of her being right now. She is ecstatic that she has survived for this long against Kisho and that she is able to fight so wildly like this. It's like she finally has room to swing her blade without being in a claustrophobic environment where there is no room for her blade or flames. She is happy that Kisho is taking notice of her actions, so happy that she could cry, even going as far as to tell her that the cracks are from his Reiatsu. Perhaps she is misunderstanding the reasoning behind his words, as many often do with the Date it seems, but she is interpreting it as him at least giving her a chance. But above all that emotion she knows that she is here to learn, not just fight for the sake of fighting. She is watching his response to her actions and in turn it is making her respond in unique ways as well. There are some things that cannot be learned from visual observation alone which is why she posed a verbal question to him about the heat and his blade. If she could learn how to control her flames even better she could extend it to more than just her Zanpakuto but her body as well. A heat based Hakuda style that could blow limbs off with but a punch, what a horrifically powerful style of Hakuda that would be.

 

[GhoulBunny]

The heat from their clash had thickened the very air. Reiatsu flared like flint and tinder meeting dry kindling, combusting into something volatile—tangible. From her rooftop perch, Yūgure watched it all with an unreadable expression, arms folded beneath the billow of her sleeves, golden eyes sharp as the flames below.

Kishō’s Shikai had turned the ground into a battlefield of molten chaos—lava bursting from conjured rings, each eruption precise and punishing. Kuwashii’s flames met them in kind, her blade a white-hot guillotine, fire erupting from her weapon like the breath of a dragon. The girl adapted with grit and calculation—using the instability of a flaming kido net to launch herself away from a lethal thrust, countering with her own blade propelled midair, spiraling through the haze of heat like a comet reborn.

Yūgure narrowed her eyes.

The spear—Mōshoishi—was merciless in Kishō’s grip. Even from here, the number of spears he conjured and thrust into the sky was dizzying. The net exploded, Kuwashii was struck but not felled, and in the brief moment of her retreat, lava sang through the sky in rings. Some missed, others scorched.

Still, Kuwashii came back. Kneeling, burned but unbroken. Her blade now dimmer, her breathing heavier. But her spirit—burning.

Yūgure exhaled quietly. This was a gamble Kuwashii had chosen. One she understood more than she cared to admit. There had been a time when Yūgure would’ve gladly hurled herself into flame for the sake of something greater. For honor. For change. For her family.

No.

There still was.

Yūgure’s eyes softened, just slightly. She wouldn’t interfere. Not unless she had to.

That was when she felt it.

A presence at her side—one no one else could sense. One only she would acknowledge. The voice whispered in her ear, barely louder than the crackle of heat down below. Whatever was said wasn’t shared—but the effect was instant.

She blinked once. A sigh slipped past her lips, quiet and tired. She cast a final glance to the rooftop, to the battle still burning beneath her.

And then the rooftop was empty, a gust of wind blowing by as the fight bellowed below.​

 

[GhoulBunny]

A breeze drifted lazily across the grounds, rustling the leaves in half-whispers, dragging the scent of sun-warmed sand and polished steel. Members of the Eighth moved quietly, respectfully—training in hushed tones or not at all. The atmosphere had a pulse, slow and rhythmic, as if the division itself had paused to breathe.

Near the edge of the grounds, beneath the welcome shade of a tree, Hideo Shihōin leaned back, one foot crossed over the other, arms lowered at his sides. His golden eye shimmered in the light, a smile playing at the edges of his lips.
​

“Got a lil’ venom with those words, don’t you, Suzuu?”
​

His laugh danced through the air like smoke—amused, teasing, Suzume Feng stood nearby, her ruby-red hair braided neatly, face unreadable but sharp. She had heard it all before, no doubt. Centuries of proximity to Hideo had made her immune to his brand of mischief.
​

“I trust you’ve kept MY division in order for the past ten days?”​

​

“I kept OUR division running just fine on my own.”​

The jab struck, subtle as a pinprick. The hum between them was one only long-familiar allies could maintain—woven from loyalty, banter, and shared burdens. Talk shifted quickly to meetings with the other noble houses, murmurs of rebellion, politics dressed up as charity. Names like Kuchiki and Munetoshi were tossed around with a dismissive shrug. Suzume’s thoughts seemed more focused, her hand drifting near her braid, plucking a single hairpin and launching it in a flash of silver at a shadow on the outskirts. She didn’t even blink.

Two figures had skirted the edges of the grounds—swift, silent, nearly imperceptible. Someone without a well-trained eye would have missed them entirely.

And Hideo, still smiling, clapped his hands together, speaking as if nothing unusual had happened at all.
​

“What do you think?”​

Suzume offered a measured answer. Logistics. Appearances. Risks. Her mind worked like a ledger, balancing benefits and consequences in the span of a breath. Then, finally, she shifted. Her voice softened—just a shade—and with a sardonic twist of her lips, she turned toward the office.

“Let’s go have a drink in your office and you can give me all of the details of what you’ve been up to these past ten days.” She strode forward, calm and certain. As the door creaked open, she glanced back, flicking her eyes toward Hideo with casual invitation. “After you.”

A beat passed.

And then—

“Long time no see, cousin.”

The voice came from behind them, airy and pleasant—playful, almost.

Yūgure Shihōin stood there, arms folded, posture elegant as ever. She wore a calm smile, golden eyes bright beneath her lashes. No one had seen her approach. There was no gust of wind to mark her arrival, no spiritual pressure to precede her. She had simply… appeared.

Her gaze lingered a moment on Suzume, Offering her a quick smile before turning to Hideo, Her cousin. Her rival. The line of succession had split the clan like a blade through silk, and while no blood had been spilled, the weight of legacy rested on all of them. Still, her smile held no hostility.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” she said lightly. “I simply heard tea was being served… and thought I might invite myself.”
​