"Things like protecting the world are no more than moral reasons that sound good." — Soi Fon.
°
°
°
°
°°°°°°°°°
Itachi sat on a bed in one of the more private wards in the 4th Division with his hair let loose while his right held a cup of herbal tea.
His left arm was bandaged up with medical binds that increased the effects of Kaidō on Reiatsu-intense individuals like him. As a Captain, he was harder to heal due to the density of his Reiryoku which meant that the people who could attend to him outside surface injuries were either Unohana or her Lieutenant, Isane. Unohana looked pleasantly surprised that he was the one who needed healing this time and not his subordinates.
His injuries were hardly debilitating as it was mostly his skin and an inch of the flesh underneath that was burnt away in the split second that he had to deploy both the Susano'o and the Yata Mirror.
"It's not everyday I get you as a patient," Unohana walked into the room and observed his arm, before nodding to herself, pleased. "It is quite pleasant."
Itachi gave her a raised brow at how she structured her words. "Pleasant? That I got hurt?"
She waved away his question noncommittally. "It's a personal peeve, don't worry about it."
She asked if he wanted more tea and refilled his cup when he nodded. She pulled a chair to the front of his bed and sat demurely on it with a smile on her face, but Itachi was certain he could see the faint glint in the depth of her eyes.
"So what happened? From what I'm hearing… and what I'm seeing, it was quite the close call. How did that happen?"
She picked up the teapot from the stool beside Itachi's headboard and poured herself a decent cup while Itachi gathered his thoughts.
"Retsu, from your detached point of view, how frequently do splinter groups form from within the Principal Clans?"
Unohana tilted her head in surprised confusion. "'Detached?'…. That is such a harsh word, Itachi. Is that how you see me? I will be truly offended if that is so."
The two of them looked at each other but it didn't last long as Itachi smartly retraced his steps with an apology and refurbishing his words.
"Sorry, I meant it in a broader sense. Your general observation will be appreciated."
Unohana sighed before smiling kindly at him. "No need to revert back to being formal. If other people saw this they would think you are afraid of me." She paused and looked at him curiously, "you are not, are you?"
"Fear is also a form of respect… but no, I don't necessarily fear you." He said slowly and sighed internally when he saw her pleased nod.
He more or less had figured her out, or at least had built up a somewhat accurate profile of her, from Yoruichi's behavior towards her and Zaraki's offhanded comments about her. But like he said, respect came in different forms and he held it at a high degree towards her.
"How's the tea? One of my nurses brought them from the South."
Itachi looked down at the cup and brought it to his lips and took a commiserate sip with a slight nod. "Hard leaves. It's a bit more prominent than yours, but I don't think I like it more."
She nodded as if his response was expected but did not comment on it as she set down the cup on the tray.
"The last century or so has been chaotic, that's for sure. I can say for certain that the Noble Families have been involved in more scandals in such a short period of time than most, but I'll also point out that it's not the worst they've tried to do."
She folded her hands on her lap and looked up at the ceiling, slowly forming her thoughts while Itachi patiently waited as he took slow measured sips of his tea.
"They have been rather ambitious as of late, yes, but that should be expected given their history and the power that rests on their lineage. If you were to ask, I would say that while the last hundred years have been eventful, it is still not the worst they can bring to bear. It is concerning how frequently rebellions break out from within the Noble Families, but unfortunately it is something that is rooted in as deep as their history."
She smiled wryly, seeing as his frown lies had deepened.
"I'm sorry if it wasn't exactly insightful. I truly cannot see what it is that you are looking for."
Itachi shook his head. "It's alright, Retsu. Thank you for humoring me."
"There you go again with being overly polite." She looked at his wrapped arm and became inquisitive. "What exactly is it that you're looking for, Itachi?"
"I don't know," Itachi responded despondently. He ran his free hand through his head as he felt that frustrating itch in his head. "I feel like something is happening around us and I'm too blind to see it. I don't know how to explain it or even rationalize it, but it feels like we're losing a battle we never fought."
She looked concerned at the way he slumped and asked tentatively. "And how much of that is because of how ragged you're running yourself, your mind."
"…. I'm not too sure." She pushed him back until his back accepted the bed. Itachi could only sigh, whether because of the incoming rest or because he was fed up.
"Try to get at least 10 hours of sleep."
Itachi shook his head even as his eyes closed and responded decisively. "Four hours. Wake me up when the anaesthetic fades, Retsu."
She shrugged. "I will. Five hours."
.
.....
[POV: With Yoruichi Shihōin]
Yoruichi sat sprawled on the floor of her office with scattered papers around her. Her hair that was let loose allowed the beautiful purple waterfall to frame her face, while her golden eyes scanned the report scattered about with intense scrutiny.
She was used to dealing with upstart rebels from the Noble Families and their sudden bout of competence and this latest event was not entirely different.
What was different however was that they never tried running away but instead used the guise of running away to lead them to a laid down trap.
Even if Itachi had not been there, she wouldn't have escaped unscathed and Soi Fon would have surely died.
Itachi's timely save was the only thing that kept her and Soi Fon unharmed and the only exchange was a slightly burnt arm.
She did not like that. And for a good number of reasons.
Someone was targeting them specifically, either her or Itachi or the both of them together, and she would not allow herself a moment of respite unless she found a lead.
This Yoruichi, the serious goal-bound woman behind the flamboyant act, was a part of her that only one person, Kisuke Urahara, had seen and only for a scarce few times.
She'd taken Itachi's mutterings – he rarely mutters – of someone prodding them under advisement on a basis of healthy paranoia, but it no longer seemed like paranoia.
Whoever was behind this was not just trying to shake things up but was actively attacking them. This changed everything. With the recent fiasco with Hell and the Togabito, and now this, she couldn't help but frown at the grim image being sketched up in her head.
And worse of it all was that the other Noble Families were behaving even more like assholes and outright rejecting any form of cooperation while also demanding that they resolve the situation as soon as possible.
'Those bastards.' She cursed them in her head as picked up a paper and scanned through every bit of data written in it before throwing it away to land on a growing pile of 'slightly unusable pieces of information'.
They were making her the workaholic and paranoid one and for that they better pray that she would not be the one called to handle their execution.
"Lady Yoruichi…"
Soi Fon cautiously stepped into the room and stood at the edge of the sprawled papers.
Yoruichi paid her no mind so she braced herself and gave the report she came to give. Even she was unsettled by Yoruichi's current demeanor.
"The Captain has been discharged but he went back to the site." Yoruichi paused for a split second when she heard the second part of the sentence but said nothing and continued in her focused work.
"The Tsunayashiro Clan Head requested your presence, Lady Yoruichi. Yours and that of the Captain."
That got her to stop.
Yoruichi raised her head and met Soi Fon's eyes as the younger woman kept staring at her with an impassive mask. She smiled, a crease in her eyes and an amused stretch of her lips, but Soi Fon did not feel like Yoruichi was smiling. It was lacking something.
"You should have led with that." She chided jokingly and stretched languidly with an exaggerated yawn. "Get Mr. Broody for me, will you? He couldn't just take the chance to sleep the day off, unbelievable. Ha, couldn't be me~"
Soi Fon left without another word, ignoring Yoruichi's mumblings about what set of knives she could hide in her clothes for the meeting.
––––––
Patreøn*com/QuackVader
––––––