Being Human

by Pearlglimmer

Summary:

She had fought Death, defied Death, and even went to school with Death. But nobody told her what death actually felt like.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Aigis thought she had gotten over death after Makoto.

She did not realise how wrong she was.

For several years after the Dark Hour ended in 2010, she enjoyed her life with the Shadow Operatives, working together with Mitsuru and the Shadow Operatives to solve supernatural cases around Japan, and sometimes even overseas. Aigis could not ask for more. After all, it was a rare chance to work with so many people that she had closely bonded with over the years. They even expanded their task force, welcoming new people into the Shadow Operatives, and to Aigis, everything was perfect.

That fantasy shattered soon enough, though.

---

 

The first death Aigis experienced was Koromaru’s.

He had just returned from a mission with Ken in tow, walking slowly like the old dog he was, but still with a strength in each of his steps. When Ken collapsed in Mitsuru’s office couch from exhaustion, Koromaru joined his master on his lap, and growled in contentment when Aigis petted him without waking Ken up. After a couple of minutes though, the growls stopped, but it was when he stopped breathing that Aigis realized Koromaru had just passed away in his sleep.

Ken was inconsolable for two weeks (“He was right there on my lap, and I didn’t notice anything until Aigis told me!”), but eventually picked himself up. Koromaru was buried next to Makoto and Shinjiro, his collar Evoker buried with him. Ken kept the little wing ornaments as a memoir, displayed on his work desk in the Shadow Operatives office.

Akihiko died around twenty years into his marriage with Mitsuru.

He was head of a police raid group to take down a drug cartel that was circulating similar drugs that Shinjiro had taken when he was alive, causing a breakout of Shadow-related incidents. At some point during the raid, a Persona belonging to a lackey had gone out of control, incinerating the whole forest and triggering the carefully-set traps the police had planted beforehand. Akihiko had been an unfortunate victim, caught up in the shrapnel of a bomb near him. He spent several days in the hospital while the Kirijo doctors tried to save him, but in the end, it was not enough. Mitsuru, Aigis and Junpei were all by his side when he took his last breaths, until the monitor beeped out a flat line.

Mitsuru mourned, but did not let it affect her work. She put on that queenly mask she was so well known for, and kept the Kirijo Group running as if her husband was still around. Still, Aigis could hear sobs in her room late into the night, when all the other workers had left for the evening. She knew better than to interrupt Mitsuru during those moments, but always left something out in the doorway, whether it was a blanket, or a cup of her favourite tea.

Mitsuru herself only outlived Akihiko by fifteen years.

“Overwork,” the doctors said, and Aigis could clearly see it. There were heavy eyebags under Mitsuru’s eyes, only covered up by her thick layers of makeup, and her skin was gaunt with stress. By then, she had cleaned up most of the remnants left by her grandfather’s research, and the Kirijo Group was expanding overseas rapidly. Yet, even with all the extra work piled up on her desk, Mitsuru had refused to hire anymore help apart from Aigis and Kikuno as full timers, only allowing Sakura Futaba and Fuuka to occasionally help out and organize the massive amounts of data that she received everyday, since their main jobs were elsewhere. When Aigis asked about the reason, she simply said that she “did not trust anyone else.”

It was a sad reality, because the Kirijo Group still had enemies in the world.

At this point, Aigis realized that she might be the only person to witness Makoto coming back, out of their original team as S.E.E.S. If he came back, that is. She did not know where Elizabeth was, or what she was doing after all.

The company was handed down to Mitsuru and Akihiko’s son, according to her will. It took some time and coaching, but Mitsuru had prepared him well to take over the company. Slowly, he ironed out the kinks in his management, and kept the Kirijo Group running.

Aigis found herself as the head of the Shadow Operatives as the most senior member, but at least that transition was smooth, plus probably permanent for a long time. It did not feel the same without Mitsuru though, and even the experienced reserve members – the Investigation Team and the Phantom Thieves (that they finally managed to find, after several months of playing cat-and-mouse with them) agreed.

The next two deaths happened so quickly, Aigis hardly had time to process them.

Yukari had been down with a minor cold that somehow blew up to the point that she was hospitalized on a very short notice. When Aigis visited her, she had looked fine. After ten minutes of talking, doctors were rushing into her room to try and figure out why all of her vitals were dropping.

Aigis did not even have time to say goodbye before Yukari flatlined.

Then, Aigis did not even get to witness the next death.

The next month, while Aigis was numbly working off the pain in her heart through paperwork, she received a call from Junpei’s wife Chidori, informing her that he had passed away in his sleep. It had taken a moment for Aigis to process Chidori’s words, then it was only through locking down on her limbs that Aigis was barely able to keep a grip on her phone. Mechanically, she consoled Chidori over the phone, just like how she would console family members of deceased Shadow Operatives, then helped her arrange his funeral.

From then on, Aigis drowned herself in work.

Even after seventy years, she still clearly remembered the scene on the Gekkoukan High school rooftop, with his head on her lap, her caressing his hair, and promising him that she would protect him forever. If that meant not thinking about death, even when it was clearly affecting her, just so that his burden as the Seal would be lessened slightly, then she would not give herself time to think about it.

Labrys became concerned about the amount of work Aigis was doing as her second-in-command (and was that odd, two robots leading the most secretive branch of the Japanese police force), but Aigis waved her off, thanking her for her concern.

She later poured out all her bottled-up feelings to Labrys, when she finally stopped piling work on herself and having her machinery replaced four times in six months due to overheating. Her sister lent a listening ear, and that was enough for Aigis to calm down and re-evaluate her rather unhealthy habits of coping, as much as it was unhealthy for a robot. It was just like how she handled Makoto’s death all over again.

Death was inevitable after all, but it should not be thoughtlessly rejected.

Ken died in a car accident.

The hurtful thing was, he had just came out of a reunion with Aigis, old bones creaking as he shuffled back to his home. Aigis had barely turned her back to him before she heard an alarming screech of tires on asphalt, and the next thing she was aware of was screaming. She pushed herself through the crowd, not wanting to believe what her robotic senses were telling her, but the truth could not be denied. At some point, someone had called an ambulance. Ken was pronounced dead on the spot.

Aigis attended his funeral along with Labrys. Hardly anyone remembered Ken at the Shadow Operatives office anymore, considering that he had retired for quite some years, and those who did were still rookies when Ken was around, so they hardly got to know him as his rank was so much higher than the others. The same stabbing grief raked at Aigis, but this time, she maintained work as usual, and was not overworking herself again. Regular talking, or rather, venting, sessions with Labrys helped, combined with her reminding Aigis that there were still new people to bond with. She still had her bouts of busying herself to forget about how almost everyone close to her had passed away, but somehow, someone in the office would always remind Aigis to take a break, robot or not.

It was no good to hold onto past ties, denying the fact that they were gone, physically at the very least.

Fuuka was the last to go, perhaps owing to the fact that she never really battled at the front lines, so she never was in much danger unlike everyone else.

Aigis never quite knew what possessed Fuuka to call her and ask for a visit half an hour before she died, closing her eyes as if she was just going to take a nap. Perhaps it was Juno, informing herself that her time was up. But that was the exact situation Aigis found herself in: watching someone slowly taking their last breaths on a sunny porch, having just made small talk for the last fifteen minutes, as if Fuuka wanted to create one last pleasant memory for her to take to the afterlife. Honestly, Aigis did not mind.

When everyone had left after Fuuka’s funeral, Aigis stayed back, her eyes gazing over the freshly-dug grave. Then, she cried for the first time since the day Makoto died, oily tears flowing uncontrollably out of her eye sockets.

“Please rest well, everyone. I promise I will live, for your sakes.”

She wiped her tears, and turned her back. She has years to sort out her grief.

---

 

More than two hundred years later, Aigis was still active in the field.

The Kirijo conglomerate had gone through numerous shifts in size but was eventually unable to keep operating in the scale they had before. At that point, Public Security decided to step in, officially making the Shadow Operatives a part of the police force, though they were still as secretive as before. The heads had the shock of their lives when Aigis introduced herself as the head of the Operatives, even more so when she revealed herself as a robot. One of them passed out on the spot, unable to process the fact that a robot had been leading one of the most efficient squads of the police force for the past two hundred years. Nevertheless, she somehow managed to hammer out a decent working relationship, even if she had to compromise by having to report to someone else after every mission, that “someone else” changed way too often for her liking, and the vast majority of them treated her like a robot, expecting her to follow all orders as programmed. Unfortunately for them, Aigis was way past that stage.

Both Aigis and Labrys had their parts upgraded over the years, while they were still part of the Kirijo company, and afterwards as part of the government. Weapons were updated, machinery was replaced. It culminated in some very realistic-looking skin covers for their metallic bodies so that it was easier for them to blend in as a human, even if science had developed to the point that humanoid robots were widely accepted as part of daily life. There was still no way for scientists to duplicate the level of human emotions that the anti-Shadow weapons had though, partially because they did not know how to create a Plume of Dusk or where to find them after the Kirijo Group dissolved, and partially because there was no way Aigis was going to let herself or her sister become an experiment for possibly amoral scientists and engineers to operate on, no matter how they phrased it. When the government threatened to forcibly deconstruct Aigis and Labrys to find out how they can reverse-engineer the technology used, Aigis turned it right back at them by threatening to dissolve the Shadow Operatives, and her friends – the new Persona users that she had found and sheltered over the years, rallied behind her. The government was not idiotic enough to risk losing the only branch of police who could deal with the supernatural world – that, surprisingly, was growing in frequency, so they eventually relented.

Yes, Shadows still existed after two hundred years, coming through different dimensions and realities. They were still a threat to humanity, though no incident had quite ballooned to the likes of the Dark Hour and Nyx. At one point though, they started receiving reports of Shadows manifesting in the real world, raising alarms in Aigis’s head about the Fall.

However, no such thing happened. The strange new Shadows were regularly exterminated, and life went on. Eventually, they cropped up so much that it just became part of a daily patrol routine for them.

Even then, Aigis knew. She knew she was not infallible, that she would either retire, run out of power, or be destroyed at some point.

That was exactly what happened, after an unfortunate encounter with a god in a Shadow filled verse. One wrong jump, and she found her chassis torn open by a long, clawed hand, her Papillon Heart exposed.

The next, it was crushed.

Before her sensors stopped, the last thing Aigis remembered was Labrys desperately calling for her name, the other Persona users trying to run to her aid. There were no outward expressions on Aigis’s vacant face, but deep down, she was satisfied.

“Have I lived well enough, Makoto…?”

---

 

There was no funeral for Aigis, just her parts being recycled for scrap. Still, in the Shadow Operatives office, one small plaque was erected, right below the names of the original S.E.E.S. members.

“In memory of Aigis, the most humane of us.”

Notes:

Next update may be around mid-May to early June, because I am in the middle of my finals (what am I even thinking, writing fanfiction at this time?!)

Chapter 2: Brand New Days -The Beginning-

Aigis thought she would never wake up again.

Apparently, that was wrong.

She first became aware of soft music flowing into her ears, which made her curious. She was dead, as far as her memories could tell her, so she had assumed that she would just cease to exist. If she was hearing something, then that theory would be wrong.

She decided to open her eyes.

Then promptly did a double take.

After all, Aigis had not accessed the Velvet Room in more than a hundred years.

It had once again taken up the shape of an elevator, the form she was most familiar with. As far as she could tell, it was parked. Aigis herself was seated on a plush, velvet chair as usual, with Igor grinning at her with his trademark creepy smile, seated at his usual desk. Behind him, the iron gates of the elevator marked the edge of the room, with only darkness as far as the eye could see beyond that. The clock on the iron gate was spinning, for some reason. Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen, nor any of the other attendants.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” Igor’s smooth voice interrupted Aigis’s thought process. “I believe it has been a while, my dear guest. How curious to see you here.”

“I thought…I was dead.” Aigis replied.

“Yes indeed,” Igor said nonchalantly, “but fate seems to have other plans for you.”

Before Aigis could interrupt him, he continued.

“It seems that a new journey awaits you. You will not require our services – your bonds are more than sufficient to help you along.” Here, Igor finally paused, waiting for Aigis’s reaction.

“I understand.”

Igor’s smile grew marginally wider.

“I cannot wait to see what you will do,” he said. “As a parting gift, let me read one last fortune for you.”

At Aigis’s nod, he took out a deck of tarot cards and laid them on the table. With one hand, he spread them out in a circle, much like how he usually fused different Personas together. Then, he gently flipped one card over, his hand not touching the deck the whole time.

The card flipped over was the upright Hierophant.

“Ah yes,” Igor mused, “your past will be important in your upcoming tasks. How you will handle it – “ he waved his hand and the cards disappeared into puffs of blue smoke, “is up to you.”

Cryptic as usual, Aigis thought. She straightened her back as indication that she heard him.

“I should not be keeping you here any longer,” he finally said, as black mist creeped up the edges of Aigis’s vision. “Well then, I wish you the best of luck.”

The Velvet Room faded completely from her consciousness.

---

 

Aigis became aware of herself and her surroundings when she felt a gentle breeze brush past her face. Slowly, she realized she could smell something around her. She recognized it too. It was the smell of grass.

She decided to open her eyes.

Then promptly squeezed them shut.

Sunlight had almost blinded her…!

She hastily threw an arm over her eyes to block out the sun. After the dizzying dots of light finally cleared from her eyes, Aigis opened her eyes, more cautiously this time.

Her guess was right. She was indeed laid down in a clearing, heavily forested on all sides. As far as she could see, there was no end to the forest beyond the clearing, and from the position of the sun, it was probably sometime late morning. She sat up from her position, wanting a better look at the surroundings.

She then remembered something that she neglected when she tried to block the sun with her arm. Her arm felt warm. If her arm was that warm, it usually meant she was overheating. However, she had not done anything except waking up, and she heavily doubted that someone had programmed her to do something while she was unconscious. The remote control for her system had been thrown away a long time ago.

At that thought, she realized something critical.

She could not tell the state of her body.

There was always a small display in the corner of her vision whenever she was active, showing the status of her body, where it was working normally, where it was damaged, or where it was overheating. However, she found no such display in her vision, which was odd.

Aigis finally looked down at her body.

She was somehow clothed in a pale blue kimono, which reminded her of the dress that she had worn on the pier in Yakushima, where she first met Makoto. That was not the important part. The important part was that her feet had changed.

She never remembered straw sandals actually fitting over her feet, nor getting an upgrade to have toes on them.

The unexpected addition to her body was soon ignored in favour of realizing that she was somehow sensing everything wrong. Everything was more vivid than when she was alive, with her acutely sensing changes in wind direction and temperature. Instead of it being merely units of data, it felt as if everything was real in a way she had never experienced before. A hypothesis slowly formed in her mind, Aigis finally realizing that she might have been slightly slow on the uptake.

Just to confirm her theory, she pinched herself.

What felt like electricity jolted through her senses from where she had pinched herself, startling her. More astonishingly, she felt flesh.

For one reason or another, Aigis had turned human.

No machinery inside her body.

No finger guns when she tried to activate them.

No weapons coming out of her back.

No disks representing her ears.

Well, no wonder she got toes. Tentatively, she tried to move them, just to see if she could control each individual toe.

They did not budge.

Oh, of course. Aigis did not know which muscles pulled the toes. Theoretically, she knew, but she had no experience controlling them as a robot with a stub for a foot. To remedy that, she bent over to gingerly touch them with her hand.

Another jolt of electricity passed through her body when her hand made contact with her foot, in a place where Aigis felt it was absolutely weird. It was as if the toe existed entirely outside of her system, like unexpectedly touching something invisible. Except it was connected to herself. She gently bended each toe with her finger, familiarizing herself with the motor control of her toes.

After a few minutes, Aigis decided to try standing up.

She knew how to move her body, but the unexpected appendage at the end of her leg proved to be getting in the way, and it felt woefully weak, unlike the rest of her body which felt closer to the kind of strength that she had as a robot. Not quite as strong as back she was alive, but close to a well-trained Persona user. With great effort and a boost from her hand still on the grass, she finally stood up on shaky legs.

That had taken much more of her energy than she had anticipated. Still, it felt easier the longer she remained standing, so she decided to take a step when she felt her balance was good enough.

That was a mistake.

The moment Aigis lifted her left leg up, her left foot caught the back of her right leg, shifting her center of balance and sending her toppling back into the grass, face first. The same jolt that she felt when she pinched herself exploded all over her front side, though not quite as strongly as before. Belatedly, she realized that that was probably how humans felt pain.

It felt tempting to keep laying down on the ground, but Aigis was stubborn. She slowly regained control of her motor functions, and pulled herself back up. Standing up did not feel like such a chore, now that she went through the motions of it again.

She took a step, this time more carefully than before. Her right foot brushed against her left leg, but otherwise she managed to take one small, wobbly step. That was progress.

Five unstable steps later, another step almost tripped her over, but she braced her body against a tree before she could fall again into the grass. Using the chance to take a break, Aigis looked over her surroundings again.

The forest still stretched out as far as her eyes could see, and she still did not know where she was. However, upon closer inspection, the forest was not as dense as she had initially assumed, with sunlight filtering through the leaves in intermittent patches on the grass. There was enough light to see where she was going, at the very least. From the light green colour of the trees, she assumed that the date roughly coincided with her death, in March. Strangely though, she did not see any sort of wildlife from when she woke up.

That was cause for concern, but Aigis was not going to make any progress in investigating her situation if she stayed here. She pushed herself off the tree trunk, and kept walking.

Morning turned to dusk, but Aigis still had not found any civilization. Nothing else had happened on her journey either, save for sparse roars coming from different directions. They sounded eerily like the sounds that Shadows manifesting in the real world would make, so Aigis steered clear of them. She did not want to get in a fight while she was so weak and out of control of her motor functions, plus she did not know if, as a human, she would now need an Evoker to summon a Persona. She did not want to risk it.

There was no way she was going to give up her new, puzzling life so easily.

Dusk turned to night, and the roars became more frequent, forcing Aigis to divert further from her original calculated path. It was hard to see in the dark, the moon providing much less light than the sun would have. She had tried to turn on her night vision mode for her eyes, but it was only after a few tries to activate them before Aigis remembered that humans did not have this function. It made navigating the forest all that much harder, and she crashed into tree trunks several times, though at that point she was slowly getting used to the feeling of pain. The air still felt warm enough, but her feet were getting heavier and stiffer for some reason, and they felt strangely hot. A soft, gurgling sound, coupled with a strange, bubbly feeling around the area of her abdomen slowly increased in frequency the longer she walked. Her throat slowly started to feel like sandpaper.

She ignored them.

Night turned to dawn, the first rays of orange peeking through the treetops. Aigis had kept walking all this time, avoiding what she assumed were Shadows, occasionally stumbling into a tree or tripping over undergrowth. The strange, bubbly feeling in her abdomen was gone, replaced by something like a miniature storm cloud, small jolts of pain constantly stabbing through the area. Her throat was now positively raking against her senses. Her steps had become slow and sluggish. With more light to see her surroundings, Aigis found that she was still deep within the forest, but then she noticed something out of the ordinary.

There was a hut, half hidden by the trees between them.

Ah, so there was civilization here.

She hastened her steps to the hut, willing her legs to take her as fast as they could move. Half hobbling, half running, she reached out her hand –

Her sensors suddenly shut down, leaving Aigis in complete darkness. A second later, her awareness shut down.

Later that morning, a man walked out of his hut, and nearly tripped over something right in front of his doorway.

“Great, another lost traveler?”

---

 

Aigis woke up to the sound of something knocking against each other. As her senses recovered, she realized it was the sound of wood knocking against metal. Judging it to be dark enough, she opened her eyes.

She was in a small structure, probably the hut that she saw before she lost consciousness, laying down on a futon, a think blanket spread out over her body. To her left, a pile of chopped wood was stacked haphazardly against a mud-covered wall with a large axe leaning against them; to her right, a low, wooden table was laid out, the kind that Aigis would often see at traditional Japanese homes. Straight in front of her was a doorway that led to outside, with orange sunlight filtering through the doorway. It seems like she had slept through the whole day and woke up at dusk. Off to the side, someone had his back turned to her, appearing to cook something on top of a fire stove. He appeared to be rather stocky and average in height, meaning that he was somewhat taller than Aigis. His hair was roughly cropped, and there were some silver strands showing against his black hair. He wore a dull grey yukata, and a pair of straw sandals just like her own.

Aigis tried to sit up, but found that she had no strength to do so. Additionally, her legs felt like they were on fire, though she was sure they were not, otherwise she knew she would have burned away her futon a long time ago. They were also quite locked in place, feeling like someone had weighed her legs down with lead. Her throat still felt like sandpaper rubbing against the inside of her neck.

Her struggles did not go unheard though, as the man in the hut had somehow heard her shift in her blanket over the din of his cooking, and he turned around to look.

“Oh, seems like the little princess is finally awake!” He said. When Aigis did not react with anything other than a questioning look, he sighed and continued. “How do you feel?”

I seem to be unable to move my body, was what she wanted to say, but it only came out as a hoarse whisper. The man looked somewhat startled, then a resigned look crept onto his face.

“Do you want some water first?” He asked.

Aigis nodded. She would take what she could for now and pay him back later. She knew that water was essential for humans to live, but seemed to have forgotten that while she was travelling yesterday.

The man came back with a wooden bowl, filled with clear water. He propped Aigis up a little using his free arm, grunting as he did so, and tipped the bowl slightly towards Aigis’s mouth, guiding her to swallow it.

Once the first drops of water touched her throat, it felt as if it was smoothing over. Her neck no longer felt uncomfortable, but it was not enough. She kept on drinking until the bowl was empty, then let out a long, satisfied sigh.

So that was what thirst felt like. Aigis made a mental note to remember the feeling, and not neglect what her body is telling her, now that she did not have an automated system to give her updates. She did not need her body breaking down, and if it did, it would take far too much effort to fix her body, unlike how broken machine parts could be easily replaced.

“Need some more?” The man asked.

“Yes please,” she replied, “and thank you.”

At least her voice came out just like she had remembered, with the same general tonality.

“No need to thank me,” he said gruffly as he went to fill the bowl with water, “though I would appreciate travelers like you to stop appearing in front of my home out of nowhere. I know it’s tough to survive, but it’s a strain on me too.” He came back, then handed the bowl to Aigis, who was now sitting upright on the futon. She accepted it with slightly shaking hands, and demurely took sips from it. The man sat down next to the table, crossing his legs over each other.

While drinking the water, Aigis took her first good look at her rescuer.

He was quite rugged in a world-weary way, as if he had seen quite a bit of life. The crinkles around his eyes and mouth indicated that he appeared to be around his late forties to fifties, and his face reminded her of a gorilla, with small, beady eyes and a mouth that seemed to be out of proportion to the rest of his face. Lingering stubble stuck out around his chin.

When Aigis finished her next bowl of water, he stood up and walked over to the stove.

“Guess the porridge should be ready,” he mumbled. Then louder, “Did you know how loudly your stomach growled when you were asleep? I had to specifically go out to gather food for you, you know.”

Was it really that loud? Normally, Aigis guessed that she should have been surprised or embarrassed. Yukari certainly did that. However, her lack of energy discouraged her from doing anything other than stare blankly at his back.

He came back from the stove with one steaming pile of mush. It did not look appetizing, but she knew that she had no choice but to accept, for her own survival.

“I am sorry to have troubled you, sir.” Aigis apologized while eating the porridge with a spoon that he passed to her. The man gave a grunt from his position at the table. From what he said earlier, she concluded that the growling in her abdomen from last night was probably her body telling her that she was hungry. It seemed to be true too, as the pain in her stomach slowly lessened the more she ate. That was another point to take note of, if she wanted to survive and find out what Igor meant.

The food was practically tasteless, with the barest hint of grass, and the texture was like stone mixed with pulp. Still, it was edible, so she ate it without a complaint.

“Don’t ‘sir’ me, girl,” he said with some annoyance in his tone, as if he was not used to being called that. “If you need to, call me Morioka-san. Morioka Kaneto’s my name.”

Aigis did a small bow, as much as she could manage while sitting in a futon with a bowl of porridge. “Aigis. It’s nice to meet you, Morioka-san.”

“Keh,” Morioka grunted. “A foreigner? Don’t see many of them around.”

She made no discernible reaction. He was the first person that she met after waking up here, and since he spoke Japanese to her, she assumed that she was somewhere with a large Japanese population.

“If I may ask, where is this place?” Aigis asked in the middle of her meal. The man raised one bushy eyebrow at her, seemingly finding the question rather incredulous.

“It’s the forest outside the thirty-fifth district in South Rukongai, missy,” he replied offhandedly. “This place is some pretty ways out from the nearest town. How did you even get here?”

Aigis stopped the spoon that was halfway to her mouth. “Rukon…gai?”

Morioka’s other eyebrow joined his first. “You…” he began, then understanding came over his face. “Oh. So you’re a new soul.”

This was getting stranger by the minute. “A new soul?” Aigis asked. That was a strange way to reference her.

“You just died, didn’t you?” The frank way he said that aloud threw her off balance, and she could only mutely nod to the question. He took it as permission to continue.

“This whole place, we call it Soul Society,” Morioka explained while Aigis resumed eating. “It’s where souls of the dead come to live. The place we’re in, Rukongai, is the residential district of Soul Society.”

Aigis could see how the name fit the purpose. It was indeed a place for wandering souls.

“Are there other districts?” she asked in between bites.

“Just one more. We call it Seireitei,” he replied. “It’s where the Shinigami live, and is in the center of Soul Society.”

Shinigami?

At Aigis’s puzzled look, Morioka sighed.

“You seriously don’t know anything do you?

“…No. I woke up yesterday.”

He seemed about ready to tear his hair out.

“Fine. Were you guided here by a person wearing a black kimono, wielding a sword?”

“No.”

Aigis neglected to mention that she had seen who he was referring to, when she went hunting for Shadows in the real world. They never seemed to notice her, and both parties kept a wide berth between them.

“Well, they’re the Shinigami. They basically act as the police, doing patrols, guiding souls to the afterlife, killing Hollows and all.”

Aigis felt bad about getting him to explain so many things, but something in that sentence caught her ears.

“Hollows?”

“Monsters.” His reply was curt. “Deranged souls with bone masks and a hole somewhere on their body. Eats souls as their meals.”

She nodded at his explanation with a neutral expression, but inwardly she was frowning. That sounded uncomfortably similar to the Shadows she had to fight in the real world, especially because she remembered some of them trying to eat some of her operatives. Nobody actually got eaten, but it was close.

His explanation on Shinigami done, he went on to the next topic.

“Souls here don’t age quickly.” Morioka thumped his chest. “Been here over a hundred years, and all that changed was a couple more white hairs. Most of us don’t get hungry, and we only need to drink food to survive.”

“How did I get hungry then?” His explanation did not make sense to Aigis.

“Exceptions.” He replied. “People with reiryoku get hungry.”

Another new term.

“Reiryoku?”

“Spiritual energy, in other words. Kinda like magic. Soul Society is basically made of this stuff, but most people only have a little and can live off the land. Most of the powerful people end up as Shinigami because they get a better life there than us folks here.”

Ah. So that was why he had to go out to gather food for her. Judging from the way he talked and how sparse his hut was, Aigis assumed that Morioka did not have much reiryoku. She also had a good guess to where her own reiryoku came from.

There was a lull in the conversation, during which Aigis ate more of her porridge.

“If possible,” she began, after finishing her food, “could you take me to the nearest town?”

Morioka looked contemplative for a moment, then nodded. “I’m going to town in two days to drop off the lumber there,” his head jerked to the pile of wood next to her futon, “so you can come with me. I don’t mind you staying here for one more day, but after we go to the town, shoo!”

Aigis nodded in understanding. He had not seemed unkind, but she suspected that Morioka only took care of her out of a sense of duty, or pity. It was true that she would be a burden to him if he had to take care of her, purely because she needed to eat. For him, it would be easier if he was alone.

It was now dark outside. Morioka lit an oil lamp on the wall, and went about cleaning the dishes that she had been using. Aigis herself kept trying to move her legs. They felt cooler and more relaxed compared to when she had first woken up, but they were still quite numb. She had also noted that her sandals were next to her futon – Morioka probably took them off when he put her to bed, though he had the decency to keep her clothes on.

With nothing else to do, she mentally reviewed what she learnt the past two days.

Aigis had somehow ended up in Soul Society, essentially the afterlife. Her body was completely human, despite the fact that she was a robot while alive. It may have been because she always regarded herself as a human, regardless of her robotic appearance, so that was why whatever governed the flow of souls recognized her as a human, and her body reflected that. Everything she sensed was no longer converted into data bits to be fed to her computer brain, now relying much on her previous knowledge and intuition. While her memories were mostly preserved, some knowledge was lost, particularly those that were fed into her as data. She could no longer recall some of the minor bits of information that scientists had uploaded into her computer system before Mitsuru started taking care of her. It also meant that she had needs, including food, water, sleep, and probably the need to go to the toilet too, even if it hasn’t happened yet. The numb feeling from her legs was most likely caused by walking for too long, resulting in them tiring out.

Of course, Aigis knew what “tired” felt like. However, as a robot, her fatigue was mainly mental, usually when she went without a power recharge for a long time, or when she summoned her Persona too many times. Theoretically, she could go on forever. However, physical fatigue was a new sensation to her, and it was only now that she realized why humans needed to sleep.

It seemed that the human body was indeed quite fragile.

She pulled her consciousness inward to check on her Personas. They were still there, in the deep recesses of her soul, a gentle, comforting presence in this new reality of hers. However, with how unresponsive they were, Aigis suspected that she would not be able to summon them for a long time.

She refocused on her surroundings when Morioka sat down at the table with a loud thump, and then slumped over it. Noticing what he was going to do, Aigis tried to scramble out of her futon, only for her to get tangled in the sheets.

“Keep quiet or else I can’t sleep!” Morioka groaned at the sound of loud shuffling. “I’m not cruel enough to make you sleep on the dust floor when you haven’t even recovered yet!”

“I have been sleeping in it long enough.” Aigis said. “You should take it.”

“Just keep it until you leave!”

“No. You must take care of your own health too.”

“Who are you, my mother? Besides, you should mind your own health first!”

In the end, she was forced back into the futon, and Morioka passed out on the table.

Notes:

I actually finished this 4 days after the first chapter was posted on FFN.net, but I was still figuring out the story and there were several uncertain things that I wanted to address before posting, hence the delay. I'm not exactly happy with this chapter, but it's necessary world-building stuff that needed to get out of the way. Hopefully I can come back later to edit it, but for now it will stay as it is.

I planned out more of the story, so now I have an endgame in mind, but the first few chapters will stay as one-shots before the plot finally kicks off.

Next chapter: A familiar character finally makes an appearance!

Chapter 3: Peace

Aigis woke up first the next morning. Her legs had recovered, and she felt refreshingly good, as if she could run the whole day with no problems. She probably shouldn’t try it in case she got tired again, but there should be something that she could do.

Quietly, she got out of her futon and folded it up neatly on the floor. She put on her sandals, then tiptoed out of the hut.

It was early morning, and sunlight was just beginning to spread past the treetops. The forest was quiet, and Aigis noticed that she still could not see or hear any animals in the area. From Morioka’s explanation last night, they were probably scared away by the Sha– Hollows in the area.

She walked around the perimeter of the hut, noticing that there was a small stream behind the hut. That might be where Morioka got his water from. Aigis walked towards it, and got to take her first good look at her own face in the reflection of the water.

She looked almost identical to when she was alive, with short, cropped blond hair, bright blue eyes and a sharp chin that gave her a youthful look. The only difference was that there was some grime on her cheeks and nose, and the absence of her hairband. Her ears were normal, human ears too, not like the red disks that she used to have.

It almost felt like a dream come true, considering how much she wanted to be seen as human when she was alive. There was some irony in the situation too, how she actually became one by dying when she assumed that she would cease to exist.

The somewhat muted shock was still there, and Aigis was not sure how to feel about the whole absurd situation. She felt excited, happy, nervous, and as uncharacteristic of her as it was, scared.

Because, being human came along with a whole host of more practical problems.

She was so prone to getting injuries that this was the most vulnerable she had ever felt, along with the fact that it sealed her off from her most familiar weapons – her finger guns. Without a means to defend herself, Aigis felt exposed.

Every instinct of hers told her to run, hide, defend and arm herself, but she forcibly tamped them down. There was no need to fight anyone in Soul Society. Yet.

Although, she should not mention being a robot before she died.

Aigis splashed some water onto her face to wash off the grime, and noted how refreshing it was. Akihiko had that habit too, especially when he just woke up. He had explained how it felt to him before, but it was only now that she was able to appreciate what he had meant. Completely awake, she contemplated waking her rescuer up.

The rickety door creaked open just as she reached the entrance, revealing tousled hair, and face of Morioka. He yawned widely when he saw Aigis, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. One side of his cheek was red, from his uncomfortable sleeping position last night. He rolled his shoulder, bones creaking as he did so, then blinked and finally focused on her.

“Didn’t think you were an early riser.” he said. In the sunlight, she noticed that he was rather tanned.

“I did sleep most of the day away yesterday.” Aigis said lightly.

“I suppose you did.” Morioka opened the door fully, revealing that he had a water bottle attached to the sash on his waist, with the axe over his shoulder. “Feel free to stay around here, but don’t go too far. Don’t want the Hollows to eat you when you’ve barely been here. I need to chop some more wood for the town, otherwise they won’t pay me.”

Aigis nodded. “Stay safe.” She said simply.

He grunted, then walked out to the forest. Aigis turned her attention back to the hut. It looked awfully dusty in the morning sunlight, motes dancing around the room whenever she moved. Morioka probably had not cleaned it in a while, even though there were some rags and a rudimentary broom in the corner, right next to the stove.

Well, she had worked as a pseudo maid before to the Kirijo Group heads. She still needed to repay him back for his kindness, after all.

---

 

That evening, Aigis cooked her own meal for the first time in her life. Or death.

She had gone out to gather food, then came across Morioka on the way back, and helped him out in chopping wood. His jaw almost dropped to the ground when he saw her lift the heavy axe without much of a sweat – there was no axe that really could top Labrys’s in weight, after all, and had gone chopping at the trees in a speed that he could never hope to match in his life (“I thought you were a frail little flower!”). They ended up taking turns chopping trees, resulting in a rather large pile of wood that they carried back to the hut, where Morioka dropped his jaw for the second time in a day at the sparkling clean hut. She only hoped that she had repaid him back well enough.

To Aigis, it seemed that the afterlife was no different from the living, after all. She idly wondered if she would be able to find her friends in Soul Society, but from what she had gathered in her small talk with Morioka throughout the day, Soul Society was huge. The chances of that happening was close to zero.

Her heart fell when she understood that. She desperately wanted to reunite with her friends, because she was practically lost without them. She missed SEES. She missed the Investigation Team. She missed all the other Shadow Operatives. She yearned to apologise to those who lost their lives fighting for them.

Most importantly, she missed Labrys.

She was the only companion who constantly stayed with Aigis throughout her three-hundred-year lifespan, the one who comforted her during all the dark moments, the one who lent a listening ear to her troubles, the one who was her sounding board.

However, there was no use moping around bygones, even if Igor had said that her past would be important. She needed to move on.

She needed to make new bonds.

When Morioka insisted on her taking the futon again, Aigis decided that she had enough and bodily forced the wood cutter into the futon instead, with her taking up a corner in the now-clean hut.

The next morning made her realize why humans slept on futons in the first place. Her joints were creaky and stiff from sleeping on the hard floor the whole night, and her arm was numb from being a makeshift cushion. Still, they passed quickly enough, and she got up to prepare herself for a long trip.

Morioka had woken up almost at the same time as her, and while Aigis cooked her breakfast – some wild vegetable soup – he bundled up the logs stashed in the hut, tying them up with thick rattan rope. When she asked if he had some mode of transportation to help him move the large stack of wood, he shrugged, saying that there were no roads this deep in the forest. His body language however, betrayed his light words. He was already huffing slightly when the pile of wood was secured on his bent back, and walked much more slowly than before as he tread heavily through the grass.

Aigis ended up taking half of the wood from his back, carrying it the whole four-hour walk. Morioka had stopped thinking of her as a pampered princess by then despite her delicate features, and just wordlessly accepted her help.

---

 

The town turned out to resemble something straight out of feudal Japan, which surprised Aigis. A sprawling area of mud and wood houses dotted the landscape, broken up by the dust roads and fields that connected each house together. Most of the buildings had thatched roofs, though some of the bigger ones had tiles as roofing instead.

Having been used to massive glass and steel buildings her whole life, she could only stare at the almost fairytale-like scene in front of her. Morioka paid no heed to it, trudging along on the dust road and dropping off small stacks of logs at different households, and exchanging them for water, money and clothes. Most of the people living in the town had some basic supplies at home, so Aigis concluded that the area must be well governed.

The last household they visited, however, was somewhat different.

For starters, it was very loud.

Even before they reached the low mud house at the end of the road, a din could be heard from the inside, mostly children yelling and laughing. A large field stretched out behind the structure, which looked like it was freshly plowed. There were also a few children right in front of the doorway, appearing to play tag with each other. When one of them, a boy who looked to be around twelve, spotted Aigis and Morioka, he hurried back into the house, yelling for someone.

Ten seconds later, Aigis’s battle instincts kicked in before she even realized what was happening.

She slid in front of Morioka, then raised her arms in a guarding position.

“YOU’RE LA—” The shout was abruptly cut off when Aigis neatly blocked the flying kick that came from inside the house, one hand holding onto the offending foot. Its owner pushed herself off Aigis’s arms and landed heavily on the ground.

The woman who flew out of the house had an imposing aura around her. She was quite tall for a Japanese, with a curvaceous body and fair skin, and straight black hair that reached her upper back, tied together with a hairband. She wore a purple kimono, with the sleeves rolled up, and the front seemed to be covered in dust. Her brown eyes were currently wide open with surprise, which Aigis could relate to.

She herself had not expected to be greeted by a flying kick.

“Thanks for that, Aigis-chan,” Morioka was the first to recover as he patted Aigis’s shoulder. “You saved me from a painful stomachache.”

The casual, almost joking manner in which he said that meant that there was no danger. Aigis allowed her arms to relax and fall back to her sides.

“It’s no problem, Morioka-san,” she replied, “It will not do for you to walk back to your home with any kind of harm on your body.”

“Since when did you pick up a bodyguard?” the woman asked pointedly at Morioka, crossing her arms over her ample chest.

“She’s not my bodyguard!” he retorted, slinging his stack of wood off his back. “She collapsed in front of my home two days ago. She just arrived in Soul Society.”

“Oh? A new arrival?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could take care of her.”

Aigis blinked. She had expected to have to fend for herself, even though she had no plan, but being pushed to another home was unexpected, though welcome. It would save Aigis a lot of effort in the long run, if she was going to live in Soul Society as long as she guessed – a few hundred years.

“You didn’t have to do so, Morioka-san.” Aigis tried to say.

“You’re alright,” he said, cutting her off from anymore arguments. “You actually helped me out more than I helped you out. The least I can do is arrange a more permanent place for you to stay.” He then looked at the woman. “She’s powerful. At least you can take care of her better than I can.”

She sighed after a small pause. Her face softened considerably from the frown that she displayed before. “I suppose we have space for one more. Aigis-chan, huh?”

Aigis bowed. “I will be in your care then, ma’am,” she said. She then turned back to Morioka and bowed, more deeply this time. “Thank you for everything until now.”

“Just don’t cause trouble for her. Doubt you would though.” Morioka replied.

The woman grinned at her, all hostility gone from her face.

“Ooh, you have good manners!” She put one arm on Aigis’s back, herding her into the house while carrying the stack of wood over her shoulder. “I’m Unagiya Ikumi. Just call me Ikumi-neesan!”

“Okay then, Unagiya-san.” Aigis replied. Using polite speech, unfortunately, was ingrained in her system, and kicking the habit proved to be hard. She had only called her close friends by their first names, and Labrys was the only one she called without any honorifics in her whole life.

Unagiya gave a long sigh as she opened the door. “Fine then. At your own pace.” At least she did not seem offended.

The house was much larger than Morioka’s hut. It was also much messier. Clothes were strewn haphazardly on the mud floor, and there were several hammocks hanging from the ceiling. A few futons were laid out on the ground at the far end of the house, all put together as if trying to save space. There was a sizeable kitchen off to the side, with pots and pans laid over the stove inside. A tall stack of bowls was placed next to it, looking as if it was going to topple over any moment. Unagiya led Aigis to the back of the house, where a small wooden door opened to what seemed like a storage room. Picks, farming scythes and hoes lined the walls, and a small stack of wood was placed in the corner. Unagiya dropped her stack off there, and Aigis followed suit.

“Wait here for a bit.” Unagiya instructed as she walked out of the storage room. She picked up a few coins from a table in the large living area, then hurried outside, dropping them in Morioka’s palm and waved goodbye to him.

By now, the children in the house were all curiously staring at Aigis, and she was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. She was by no means bad with children, but she did not have much experience interacting with them. Ken was an exception, but it was so long ago, she had mostly forgot how it was like.

“Um –” she began. That was apparently the signal for the children to speak.

“You were so cool, nee-san!” One of them piped up, the same black-haired boy who had called for Unagiya. “You blocked Ikumi-san’s kick like it was nothing!” The other children also started speaking over each other, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Alright, alright, stop harassing her.” Unagiya’s voice cut through the din, making everyone turn around to her. “Go out and play, you guys, and don’t crowd around her!” The children scattered out of the house, leaving her and Aigis in a considerably emptier room.

“Let’s see, the extra bedding should be here…” Unagiya mumbled to herself while she rummaged through a closet in the corner. A moment later, she triumphantly pulled out a futon with an “aha!”, and then took out a blanket and pillow, laying them out next to the rest. “It’s a bit cramped here, but this should be enough space for you to sleep.”

Aigis nodded in thanks, then started asking something that she had meant to ask for a while. “Why do you have so many children here?”

Unagiya smiled, the kind that only a mother could make. “They’re all orphans, so somebody’s got to take care of them. In this town, that’s me,” she explained, gazing fondly at the playing children outside. “Some of them also have a little power, so I need to feed them as well instead of just giving them water. I myself have a little. It’s the reason why we have a field here, and how I earn my money. None of them are as strong as you though.”

Aigis could not sense what Unagiya had meant when she mentioned “power”, but she nodded in understanding anyway. “I see.”

“Well, it’s been a long time since anyone managed to block one of my attacks!” Unagiya said cheerfully. “You’ll do just fine here. I’ll let you live here as long as you help me out.”

That was easy. “I understand.” Aigis replied.

“Loosen up!” Unagiya hit her back with the force of a bear, though it did not faze Aigis. “Soul Society is so big, hardly anyone finds their families from when they’re alive. So, we make do, and form new families. Now that you’re here, you’re one of us, got it?” Her voice softened considerably towards the end, as if sensing the lingering hesitation in Aigis.

“Thank you.” She said.

“Now that’s done, help me out in the kitchen, will you?”

---

 

Dinner turned out to be a rambunctious affair. The children – all eight of them, mostly appearing to be around four to fourteen, gathered around the only large table in the house, jostling against each other as they fought over the dishes laid out. The food was simple, just rice porridge, corn, and pickles, but it was much better than what Aigis had to eat while living at Morioka’s hut. The children had quickly introduced themselves, barely giving Aigis time to introduce herself, before launching into a thousand questions about her. She hardly managed to catch their names, but she smiled and answered their questions as much as she could. Unagiya occasionally cut in, making sure all of the children had enough to eat, and giving Aigis some space.

After dinner was over and the dishes cleared, Unagiya herded the children to another room in the house, which turned out to be the bathroom. Aigis raised an eyebrow at the huge wooden tub in the middle of the room, but then reminded herself that Soul Society had the technological advancement of feudal Japan. She helped to heat up the bath water in the tub, then stayed outside while Unagiya struggled with the children (“It’s crowded enough in here, we don’t need another person taking up space!”). When the children were done washing themselves, Aigis went in to wash herself.

She was aware of a faint smell lingering around herself ever since the day before, and realized that she had not taken a bath ever since she arrived. She had not even taken off her kimono. Of course she would stink.

As Aigis looked down at her naked body while soaked in the hot bath, she appreciated how she and Labrys got realistic skin covers for their bodies, because it helped to cushion the impact of having a human body. It looked just like she remembered, with the right curves and tone. She could get used to this.

---

 

Aigis woke up at dawn again. Perhaps it was a carry-over from the time she was a robot, but she found that she usually did not need much sleep to function well. Everyone in the room was still asleep, their snores filling the room with white noise. Quietly getting out of bed, she folded her futon, then picked her way around the sleeping children to the doorway. There was something she wanted to try.

While alive, there was no need for practicing her combat moves. They were programmed into her body, and if she needed to practice, Labrys was always available for a spar. Here, though, there were no people who could possibly spar with her, and Aigis knew that if she did not train, her skills would deteriorate. It was not a necessary skill, but there was no telling what would happen in the future.

There was just one little problem.

She did not know how to practice alone.

She felt a little stupid, standing alone in the courtyard staring at her hands, wondering how to move them to practice combat. Perhaps she should test the limits of her body first?

Several tumbles into the ground later, both of Aigis’s knees were scraped, a burning sensation spreading out from the wounds. Her feet were still getting in the way whenever she ran, tripping her up at unexpected moments. Her jumps were also much weaker than she had remembered, barely jumping a quarter of what she used to do. The strength was there in her legs, but it did not translate to her feet. Her kimono was also getting in the way, restricting the movement of her legs. The only upside was that her punches were as strong as she had remembered.

She looked ruefully at her own feet.

I suppose I will have to train them, Aigis thought.

Thankfully, no one was around to witness her embarrassing mishaps.

---

 

Unagiya watched Aigis stumble around from inside the house, looking as if she was trying to train, but also failing rather spectacularly at it. How did she stumble over herself so many times while running around? It contrasted heavily with the strength that she showed yesterday when she blocked the kick. The frankly worrying display of subservience she showed throughout the day yesterday was strange too.

Put together, it created a picture that made no sense.

Aigis was an enigma.

However, it also wasn’t Unagiya’s right to probe into her past.

She looked one last time at Aigis, doing what looked like shadow boxing, then moved away from the window, preparing breakfast for everyone.

---

 

As it turned out, there was much work to be done around the house.

Since she was the oldest appearance-wise, Aigis was put to work on the fields. The time was just right to start planting the crops, so that was what she did all day, scattering seeds in the plowed fields. It was hard work in a whole other category than what she was used to, and by the end of the day her back was having trouble trying to straighten up.

Somehow, the two children who scattered seeds with her – a girl named Megumi who looked around thirteen but was kindly informed by her that she was actually almost a hundred years old, and the twelve-year-old boy (who was actually seventy) called Kuro – looked fine, and were even energetically playing with the younger kids in the house right before dinnertime.

It made Aigis feel old. She probably was, compared to everyone else in the house.

---

 

Kuro joined Aigis the next day during her morning routine, despite her best attempts at being discreet while practicing.

“I want to learn these moves!” he exclaimed, wide black eyes glittering with excitement.

Aigis’s first instinct was to deny him, because she herself did not have all her abilities under control, and she had no idea how to train a complete novice in combat. She was programmed with it, and all the other Persona users had experience with combat, so she did not have to train them, only guide them. But those puppy eyes were very hard to resist.

She highly suspected that there was no form to Kuro’s combat style, if he even had one, but Aigis asked anyway: “Can you show me what you can do?”

“Sure, Aigis-neesan!” Kuro replied eagerly, then started punching the air from where he was standing – sloppily, before launching into a high kick. He ended up overbalancing, and his eyes widened considerably before slowly falling backwards to the dusty ground. Aigis scrambled to catch him, only to trip over her own feet and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. At least her hand had caught Kuro’s head, so he was spared from a concussion.

She let out a little sigh of relief, but the boy needed to learn his lesson.

“Don’t do anything that’s beyond your limits, Kuro-kun.” She reprimanded him gently.

His response was a pout right in her face, cheeks puffing up in indignance. “But you did it so easily just now!”

“I had practice.”

“How long?”

The question caught Aigis off guard. How should she answer him?

“…A long time.” She finally said after a pregnant pause.

“Then if I practice for a long time I should be able to do it too right?” Kuro pressed.

Aigis had no comeback to that.

She picked herself off the ground, brushing dust off her kimono. “Fine. But we start with the basics first.”

Kuro started complaining loudly while still on the ground. “Why can’t we do all the cool moves first?” he whined, kicking up a cloud of dust from his sitting position, covering his buzzcut with flecks of sand.

“I did say that it is beyond your limits,” Aigis replied, as collected as before, “so you need to practice the basics before you try to do something more difficult.” She extended a hand to pull Kuro up to a standing position. “I’m doing the basics too, before I start doing anything harder.”

Kuro looked decidedly unhappy with her insistence on basics first, but before he could complain further, Aigis broke off into a run around the house, leaving him to catch up with her. He yelled after her, then took off at his fastest speed before finally running with her, shoulder to shoulder. Aigis slowed down so that they could both maintain a steady speed.

“Hey, Aigis-neesan,” Kuro said between pants, “why do you run like that?”

It took a little while for Aigis to notice what he had meant, during which they ran half a circle around the house. She was still running like she had before she died, which meant that her arms were extended behind her as she ran, unlike how most ran while swinging their arms on their sides, which Kuro was doing.

“It makes me run faster.” Aigis replied when she found the appropriate words to say, rather than something like it was programmed into me.

“Why?”

“Because my body is more streamlined, and that means there is less air drag when I run, so there is less resistance against my body and I can run faster while expending less energy.”

Kuro’s eyebrows knitted together at that explanation, mouth twitching to a slanted line, and stared at her to continue.

Oh, right. Aigis had to remember that she was talking to a child that barely knew anything about physics. How should she explain it?

She stopped running and he almost crashed into her. Looking around, Aigis eventually picked up a branch and started sketching on the ground, drawing diagrams that she hoped would clear up whatever questions Kuro had in his mind. “See, this happens when you run…”

The lesson lasted well over an hour, destroying her plans for training that day. But Kuro seemed so much happier when he went back into the house for breakfast, sweating all over and excitedly announcing what he learnt from Aigis that morning.

Her plans for training had just been shot to hell for the foreseeable future, hadn’t it?

Notes:

When I said familiar character, how many of you guessed Unagiya Ikumi, Ichigo's old boss?

I struggled a little with this chapter, writing myself into a corner at one point. I ended up taking a break from the story, then came back with something that could be used to progress the scenes, and wrote out a little more about Aigis's character development. I hope I do this right, because to me, Aigis already had plenty of development - how do you go further from there?

Also, I'm completely out of plot point ideas. Send me some random scenes you want Aigis in, and maybe I'll just put them into the story!

Many thanks to my beta TheMaybellTree, who pointed me in the right direction for writing and helped spot my worst mistakes!

As always, please review! I would love to hear your opinions, whether good or bad!

Chapter 4: When the Moon Reaches for the Stars

Notes:

This chapter is NOT beta'd. Expect writing errors (and I would love it if someone can point them out for me!)

Two months later, Aigis was holding daily education and training sessions every morning before breakfast, so much so that Unagiya rearranged their whole schedule to accommodate the lessons that all the children were eager to attend (and Aigis had found out that Unagiya was aware of her training sessions since the first morning, which embarrassed her because that had been the clumsiest training she had ever done for herself).

"Most of them died when they were toddlers, and there's practically no concept of school here." Unagiya had said, when Aigis asked about their levels of education, too unsure of the children's reactions if she had asked them. "So I'm glad you're teaching them, because I'm no teacher myself, and I beat up everyone when I get frustrated."

Unagiya's beatdowns were explosive, a complete contrast to Mitsuru's ice-cold "executions", but no less terrifying. She still could feel the phantom pain of the poor group of men who had dared to pour sake – and a really low-quality one at that – in front of their house one early morning, waking up the whole household with their drunken shouts and slurs.

Unagiya had screamed at the men, then when they had the audacity to try and hit on her, she snapped.

Two minutes later, all of the men were moaning in pain, while Unagiya patted down her kimono nonchalantly, showing no sign that she had just singlehandedly beat four grown men with just her fists. Aigis was too kindhearted to add on to their pain.

She suspected that the only reason nobody had accused Unagiya for abuse was because her genuine love for children was equally apparent – most of her rage was directed elsewhere.

And because the Shinigami apparently did not police things like abuse. Or police the districts much at all.

When Aigis inquired about the lack of Shinigami in the area, Unagiya said that they only came if a distress signal for a Hollow was sent, and even then, they did not always come on time. Apparently, there had been townspeople eaten by Hollows in the past, and the thought made Aigis grimace.

Morioka came by every week to drop off wood. Unagiya had attempted to kick him in the stomach multiple times, but Aigis blocked almost every one of them. The one that she did not block was because one of the children – a literal eight-year-old boy named Yuuta – tried to block Unagiya's flying kick with the same movements that Aigis had used during their first meeting. She shoved him aside at the last second (there was no way a child would be able to handle the power in Unagiya's legs), and instead got kicked in the stomach herself.

Unagiya thoroughly apologized for that, let her off work for the next few days, then stopped attempting flying kicks to Morioka.

Aigis felt a certain bond with the man who rescued her, and was unwilling to let him go with any kind of injuries, whether being late was his fault or not.

In fact, the constant interaction was somewhat suffocating.

She did like the children – the way they curiously asked her questions, treated her like an invincible big sister despite her repeated insistence that she was not because she did die. Their energy was infectious, and Aigis found herself enjoying the new life here, simply teaching, coaching, and making some sort of a living for those that she cared about. But they were also overwhelming, dictating almost all the spare time and energy that she had, not giving her any room to think about the new life that was suddenly shoved onto her. Even though she was getting used to it, a part of her was still very confused. Was she Aigis, the Anti-Shadow weapon, or Aigis, the simple farmgirl for the next hundred years or so?

When Unagiya allowed Aigis to take a break one night after dinner, Aigis took the chance to flee the house for some private time. There was a spot that she liked in the village – an outcrop of rocks that was accessible by a tiny dirt path some ways out in their field. Without light pollution, it was the perfect place to watch the stars.

It reminded her of the Sea of Souls, where Makoto is still guarding the Seal.

She idly recorded the different constellations in her mind, while reflecting on the past two months. There was no sense of purpose – all she had to do was survive, and it was getting easier by the day as she got used to the jobs that she was tasked with. Back when she was alive, Aigis was so busy with work that she often collapsed in her own office from mental exhaustion, but being the leader of the Shadow Operatives was fulfilling – rescuing people, fighting off supernatural threats that all could potentially end the world. Here in Soul Society, without any regular threat (Hollows did not count because of how rare they appeared), it felt empty, as though she was just going through the motions of living, despite her teaching and coaching the kids.

Still, that emptiness was welcoming, in a strange way. Aigis never quite experienced peace in her life, but here, she could relax, not constantly making decisions that may affect the fate of the whole world.

Even at this age, she was still rediscovering herself.

Aigis thought back to Igor – his last tarot card reading for her. Since arriving in Soul Society, Aigis did not have anymore dreams about the Velvet Room, but Igor's words to her are still fresh in her mind.

He said that her past would be important, and that her bonds is enough to overcome her upcoming trials, but so far she had not seen a single hint about that "trial" he had mentioned. Usually, they came quickly.

Unless he referred to living in Soul Society, but that seemed unlikely. Or perhaps joining the Shinigami would give her more resources to work with, as Unagiya had mentioned once ("They act like snobs because they became powerful and wealthy enough to own good stuff."), but there were a few factors that prevented it – mainly because the central governing body of the Shinigami sounded uncomfortably like the politicians that she had to deal with after the Shadow Operatives officially merged with the government. Politics was not Aigis's strong suit, and she was not going to do something that she disliked in the afterlife.

A crunch of shifting gravel startled Aigis, but it turned out to be Unagiya, walking along the same gravel path Aigis was walking on before. Unagiya raised a hand in a friendly wave, then sat down beside Aigis. The forest green kimono Unagiya was wearing made her almost invisible in the night, and Aigis wished that she at least retained some of her robotic functions, such as night vision. She stared a little, then recovered.

"What are the children doing?" Aigis asked.

Unagiya waved a hand dismissively. "I put them to bed. Don't worry, the town's pretty safe. Nothing's gonna happen to them."

Aigis gave a relieved nod, then went back to stargazing.

"I didn't know you liked watching the stars." Unagiya said.

"I didn't know before either." Aigis replied. The intense light pollution of the cities that she was used to meant that she hardly saw stars in her free time, and whenever she ended up somewhere outside the city, it was for work, so there was no time to appreciate them.

"Was the house too much for you?" Unagiya then asked. "The kids love climbing all over you, even though you look like you really want to get away from them."

"…Was it really that obvious?" Aigis asked back, ducking her head a little.

Unagiya gave a chuckle at her reaction. "Your face never really shows anything, but it's pretty obvious from your body language. You tend to lean away from them."

Aigis's face heated up from how easily she was figured out.

"It's fine if you feel that way though." Unagiya patted Aigis's back. "The kids don't really have a sense of personal space, but to them, you're family."

"Did the children remember their own families before they died?" Aigis asked.

Unagiya gave a thoughtful hum, before replying. "None of them really do – they were either too young, or have damaged memories."

"Damaged memories?"

"Some souls come here with a large chunk of their memories missing. I don't really know why, but they adapt."

"How do you deal with…" Aigis waved her hand towards the house, "all this? The children and the farmwork?"

Unagiya's endurance was amazing, showering each child with the same amount of affection and care that Aigis was struggling to keep up with, showing a gentle side that was never shown to adults.

"I had a son when I was alive, y'know." Unagiya smiled at a ghost memory. "And lots of teenagers to take care of when they worked with me."

"Teenagers?"

"Part-timers. I ran an odd-jobs shop."

Aigis's eyes widened slightly. Odd-jobs shops were pretty much extinct when she died. The last time she had seen one was around two hundred years ago. It meant that Unagiya was at least that old, or probably even older.

Unagiya noticed it. "What? Surprised?" she asked with something that looked like a Cheshire cat grin, one that promised pain if Aigis answered it wrongly.

She ignored it.

"I did not know you were that old." Aigis said.

A fist moved towards her eye at lightning speeds, but she instinctively leaned backwards, letting the fist shoot harmlessly past her nose with millimeters to spare. One hand moved back to brace herself, while the other swung outwards in a chopping motion, stopping just before it reached Unagiya's neck. They held their position.

"Did you just call me old?" Unagiya bared her teeth.

"Perhaps not in looks," Aigis replied with the same neutral expression that was usually plastered on her face, "but definitely in mind." She hoped the slight twitching in the corner of her mouth did not give it away.

Unagiya slumped, sighing in defeat.

"You're pretty brutal, you know that?" she said, returning her fist to where it was before at her side.

"So I've been told." Aigis replied, also moving back to her original seated position.

"So how about you?" Unagiya asked, shifting back to their original topic. "Did you have any memories of your family?"

Aigis was very reluctant on revealing any information about her past, but she figured that Unagiya earned it.

"…I have a sister," she began slowly, going over her memories, "And a very close group of friends that I consider as family, though they passed away long before I did."

Unagiya's face softened into a smile.

"So your sister is still alive?" she asked.

Was she? Aigis had no way of being sure, but her instincts told her that Labrys was probably still alive.

"I think so." She finally said.

She really hoped so too.

When Unagiya failed to reply, Aigis turned to look at her face. Unagiya was still gazing at the stars, but her eyes were far away, reminiscing about something in the past.

"You remind me of someone I knew back when I was alive." She finally said. "He had a sister as well – two of them actually, they were twins – and he doted on them even more than their own dad did. He also had a group of friends so close to him, you would be forgiven if you thought they were family."

It did indeed sound like the Shadow Operatives.

"How was he himself like?" Aigis found herself asking, curious to know about the man that seemed so similar to her – and to many of the Wild Cards she met over the years too.

Unagiya's face soured immediately.

"The worst worker I've ever seen!" she ranted, "Sloppy, cancels on a moment's notice, and even tried to run away from me a few times! You're an angel compared to him!" She continued her rant, peppered with the occasional expletive that Aigis was sure Unagiya would never say in front of the children.

Aigis cracked a grin at the description. Definitely not like any Shadow Operative member. Anyone who attempted that got Mitsuru's full wrath, Bufudyne and all.

"But he also seemed like he was under a lot of pressure for a while. He came to me for advice a few times, even though I think it should be his father doing it, and he acts like a punk, but is a good boy deep down." Unagiya calmed down and continued, looking much more thoughtful, "He mellowed out over the years, you know. Last I remember of him, he was doing fine as a doctor."

"What happened?" Aigis asked. The story sounded incomplete.

"Oh, I died." Unagiya said lightly. "Lost track of him."

That explained the abrupt ending.

Aigis finally had the chance of asking something that she caught earlier. "Did he work with you before?"

"He was a part-timer at my shop."

That statement was surprisingly common amongst Wild Card users. Almost every single Wild Card she met had worked part-time before. The range of jobs they took on was staggeringly wide, but they all did mundane work, mostly to help their team afford the weapons and armor they used to fight Shadows. The exceptions all had very good reasons for not working, herself included.

"Would you want to meet him here then, in Soul Society?" she asked.

That seemed to give Unagiya pause, as she mulled over the question, her face contorting into a surprising variety of knotted eyebrows, flared nostrils, and twitching lips. She finally settled on a frown.

"I wouldn't," she replied, looking thoughtfully at the stars, "but I would wish him well. He was like an annoying, but endearing little brother to me."

Whoever this mystery person was, he would have been a great Wild Card, Aigis decided.

A chilly gust of wind blew across the cliff they were sitting on, alerting them to the late night. Aigis involuntarily shivered a little in her thin striped kimono, hugging herself tighter in an attempt to retain her body heat.

She never had that problem while she was a robot, though she recalled a few times when her joints froze from lack of cold resistance. It happened in Antarctica, and she ended up having to replace some parts to continue her mission.

"Guess it's late, huh?" Unagiya said cheerily, stretching out her legs that had been folded beneath her before standing up and offering a helping hand to Aigis. "Let's go back and sleep. Long day tomorrow."

Even though every day was the same, in Aigis's opinion.

Still, she accepted the outstretched hand, and wrapped her kimono closer to her, trudging down the gravel path.

---

"Mine's bigger!"

"No, mine's bigger!"

"Liar!"

"You're the one who's blind!"

"What's going on here?" Aigis asked, drawn out by the arguing noises of the two children out of the front door. She was sleepier than usual after the talk with Unagiya last night, and she rubbed her eyes before squinting against the morning sunshine streaming into the house. Both of them turned to look at her the same time.

Hiroki was a wiry little boy who appeared to be around ten, but was actually twenty. He had shaggy brown hair that almost covered his eyes, but was loud and fierce, being one of the kids that Unagiya had the most trouble controlling. His rival Ryou was around the same age, but he looked completely different, with his spiky, dirty blond hair that glinted in the morning sunshine. When Aigis looked closer, she saw each of them holding what appeared to be a floating, glowing blue ball, but the angle of the sunlight was making it difficult to make out exactly what it was.

"Aigis-neesan!" they both cried out at the same time, "Mine's bigger, isn't it?"

Even their tones were the same. Aigis squinted at the balls, trying to make out what it was.

"Um, before I start comparing," she began, holding her hands up to stop the boys from cornering her against the house walls, "what is that in your hands?"

Hiroki answered first before Ryou could open his mouth. "It's our reiryoku!"

"Your reiryoku?" Aigis's eyes widened. She did remember multiple people commenting on her power, and Unagiya mentioning that everyone living in the house has some power, but she never knew that it could be manifested. "You can actually make it appear?"

"Ikumi-san taught us how to!" Ryou piped up, effectively cutting Hiroki off from talking. He shoved the hand with the glowing ball of energy right in Aigis's face, causing her to lean back. "See? Mine's bigger, right?"

Aigis took both of their wrists with a firm but gentle hold, then lowered their hands away from her face before she got blinded by the light. She crouched down to the same level as their eyesight, before scrutinizing the glowing balls of energy that they each held. "Well, let's see…"

Apart from becoming human after arriving at Soul Society, Aigis had not felt that this world was any different from the living world. However, with the two balls of energy so close to her, Aigis felt something within her for the first time since her arrival – something that felt vaguely like the power emitted by a Persona. It was just a faint buzz beneath her skin, a slight discomfort from their direction, but she finally started to understand what the residents here referred to as power. However, the power felt incomplete, as if someone had summoned a Persona, but kept it from materializing. The energy was weak, but it had the potential to become anything.

As the seconds ticked by, the boys started to fidget, their expectant eyes boring into Aigis. She caught a glance, then quickly went back to assessing the size of their energy. Both of them were about the same size as a ping pong ball, and the wispy edges make it difficult to tell which one was actually bigger.

"Does a bigger glowing ball mean that you have more reiryoku?" Aigis asked, just for confirmation.

"That's what Ikumi-san told me!" Ryou said proudly as Aigis stared at his ball of energy, though at the same time she noticed that her hands were starting to feel wet, despite the somewhat chilly atmosphere. Did the reiryoku ball emit heat?

One look into the boys' faces informed Aigis of the actual situation. Both of them still kept their fierce grins as they tried to one-up each other, but the grin was a touch too tight at the edges, the temperature of their body was steadily rising, and sweat was starting to form at their hairlines, though it was less obvious with Hiroki since his hair covered up most of it. Despite their body temperatures rising, they were shivering and starting to breathe in small gasps, even though they both were trying to maintain a normal breathing pattern.

Did they expend too much energy trying to maintain the reiryoku ball?

"Okay boys, stop." Aigis commanded, letting go of their wrists. Both dismissed their balls of reiryoku and dropped their arms to their sides, taking deep breaths of air as if they just narrowly escaped drowning in water.

"To answer your question," she began, "your reiryoku balls are pretty much the same size."

The boys started groaning loudly, but Aigis carried on regardless of their protests. "However, what makes someone strong does not come from their raw power. It depends on what they can do with the power that they have."

It was universally agreed on that the Wild Cards were the strongest combatants when it came to exterminating Shadows, but if they were restricted to just one Persona, they were about as strong as any of their teammates. Even robots like her, with her overwhelming firepower and Persona abilities, were just about equal in combat to any other experienced Persona user, aside from being a little tougher than usual, not that Shadows usually cared. Fuuka was considered one of the most resilient Persona users when she was alive despite the fact that her Persona was not even combat related, because she owned one of the few Personas with strong navigating abilities. Without people like her around, Aigis may have died a long time ago.

The best Persona users were not those who had the most raw power, but those who used their power to the fullest.

Both boys watched Aigis with wide, wondrous eyes, trying to process what she had said. Their mouths were slightly open, and she felt a tinge of regret for suddenly springing something heavy on them, before their morning classes had even started.

Before their childhood was even over.

Well, they had plenty of time to figure it out.

"You do not have to worry about it right now." Aigis smiled reassuringly, ruffling their hair with both of her hands affectionately. "It's something that even adults like me forget about. So just think it over, and let me know whenever you understand, alright?"

Hiroki and Ryou nodded, relaxing their faces into a grin.

Hopefully that sentence would stay in their hearts for a long time to come.

"Now go and eat breakfast." Aigis herded them into the house. "We can't have lessons on an empty stomach."

---

Aigis took the chance to ask Unagiya about reiryoku when they were washing the dishes after breakfast. "How do you materialize reiryoku?" she asked, passing a freshly-scrubbed bowl to Unagiya.

Unagiya raised an eyebrow at the sudden question, but accepted the bowl without missing a beat. "Where did you hear about that?" she asked.

"Hiroki-kun and Ryou-kun told me that you taught them how to." Aigis replied.

"Ah yeah," Unagiya mumbled thoughtfully as she put the bowl away, "I learnt it from a Shinigami who was visiting the town once. He was here for a minor Hollow extermination after it ate one of the townsfolk."

Aigis grimaced. Monsters eating humans alive was still an uncomfortable topic for her, mainly because even the worst Shadows did not eat humans alive and leave a mess afterwards. The graphic image was something that she preferred not to store in her memory.

"Do the other children know how to do it?" she asked.

"Most of them do. Some can do it better than others though."

Aigis nodded at that. Her lesson plans are going to change today.

---

 

When the children filed out of the house for their morning lessons, instead of being greeted by the sight of Aigis doing her daily warm-ups, they saw her seated on the ground, watching them expectantly. She patted the ground around her, inviting them to sit down, and they did, jostling around each other until they were seated in a rough circle. They were confused – Aigis was someone who stuck to a routine, so to break that was unusual for her. The children stared at her with their eyebrows raised, though Hiroki and Ryou seemed to be more interested in staring daggers at each other rather. Kuro was fidgeting in his crossed-leg position, his fingers fiddling with the dust on the ground absentmindedly.

Aigis pondered on how to start. It had been a long time since she learned something new – there was always something to discover during the first hundred and fifty years or so of her life, but after that she began to form algorithms on human development, and with almost nobody treating her like a human anymore, all new information was directly downloaded into her.

She did not consider that as "learning", despite what the researchers said. She considered it as "upgrading".

Humans did not do anything perfectly on the first try. They needed to experience it repeatedly, constantly refining their methods until they found out what worked best for them. That was what Aigis considered as "learning".

Her body was almost humming with energy, at the excitement of finally learning something new after so long, though Aigis did not show it. She pondered a little more on how to breach the topic, while Megumi's lips trembled a little and her hands clenched a little tighter on her kimono, before forcibly loosening it. Yuuta's foot was twitching underneath his cross-legged position.

Well, subtlety was never Aigis's strength anyway. Might as well go straight to the main topic.

"Can you all teach me how to manifest reiatsu?"

The children all blinked at the same time, to Aigis's amusement, before their faces seemed to illuminate the shadows of the house covering them, as their eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Yay! We get to be teachers!" Megumi squealed as she relaxed her hold on her kimono, all traces of nervousness gone.

The children began talking over one another, excitedly going through the steps to manifest reiatsu in a jumbled mess, though Aigis did not catch any information whatsoever through the din. She held her hands out to stop them before they got into a shouting match.

"Alright, stop, stop!" she yelled over the children as loudly as she could. The voices died out in an instant, and Aigis could hear the songbirds in the early morning town again. "Back up. Who's the best at reiatsu manifestation?"

The children looked amongst themselves uncomfortably, though Megumi was the first to act. She quietly pointed at the girl behind her, hidden away in the shadows and her black hair. One by one, the other children slowly pointed to her, some with disgruntled faces indicating that they were clearly unhappy with their choice.

Hitomi was quiet, unassuming. She was perhaps the shyest person Aigis had ever met, clinging onto Unagiya's kimono for her dear life and hiding behind her larger figure the first time Aigis met Hitomi. She was the only one to not join in every lesson that Aigis taught, and Hitomi only joined in after Aigis noticed her intense interest in her diagrams after lessons. One day, Aigis caught Hitomi drawing an impressive sketch of the field with only a tree branch and the dusty ground behind their home, finally allowing Aigis to coax her into coming for lessons, for her own education.

She turned out to be an attentive listener even when she was doodling on the ground, answering questions with a tiny, meek whisper. Aigis made sure to praise Hitomi whenever she answered a question currently, and gently correct her when she was wrong, to try and break her out of her shell. It's been working…somewhat, because now she was answering questions louder, but still tended to cower behind the other children.

Aigis quirked an eyebrow at Hitomi, but soon pushed that eyebrow down. "Hitomi," she smiled, careful to not get too close lest she decided to run away, "can you teach me?"

Hitomi looked absolutely terrified, her black eyes widening, letting out a high-pitched squeak before shuffling even closer to Megumi's back.

Perhaps asking her to suddenly teach was a little too much? Aigis tried to keep the disappointed and slightly guilty frown off her face, keeping it at the neutral slight smile that she had before.

Megumi was gently patting Hitomi on her back, trying to coax her out. "Come on," she murmured, "it's going to be alright. Nobody is going to make fun of you, and it's fine if you make a mistake."

Hitomi only buried herself further in Megumi's kimono, her hands clenched so firmly onto the light yellow fabric that it threatened to tear. Megumi looked a little concerned for her clothes, but she kept consoling the younger girl.

"It's alright, Megumi-chan," Aigis said when it became clear that Hitomi was not moving from her position, "I do not think that she is quite ready yet." Megumi kept patting Hitomi's back, but her focus was on Aigis as she haltingly started her explanation.

"Reikyoku is the amount of spiritual energy in one, while reiatsu is the energy that is being used." Megumi began. "To form a ball of reiatsu, you just have to force it out from within." She held out her hand, where a pinprick ball of light began forming above her palms, illuminating her face in a pale blue light.

Aigis frowned a little at the vague instructions. Did every child here learn how to do that with these directions? She had to hand it to them if they did, because it did not give her a place to start.

Still, it was worth a try. She held out her palm face up and closed her eyes, imagining energy flowing from her core – a rather robotic one that looked suspiciously like her Papillon Heart, she noted with some amusement – to her palm. It felt rather different from a Persona summoning, because there was no sense of urgency, no sense of 'fight or flight' that accompanied every time she summoned Pallas Athena. This was just an exercise.

Aigis snapped her eyes open when someone – it turned out to be Kuro – shrieked and scrambled away from their makeshift circle as fast as his legs would allow. The others were also edging away slowly from her, and one look told her why.

The reiatsu formed, all right, but it was formless and spreading out quickly. Her first instinct was to exert control over it, but that just caused the reiatsu to go wild, shooting out in all directions. Her breaths became short and chopped as she hurriedly imagined shutting her valves, and the blobs of reiatsu exploded in a shower of blue sparks.

Disaster averted, Aigis forced her breathing to slow down to normal, as the children recovered from their shock and slowly crawled back to their makeshift circle. She offered a sheepish smile in apology. "I guess I need to work on this." She said, taking a deep breath and preparing to try again.

"Wrong image." A whisper interrupted Aigis's attempt as she looked around to spot who had said that. Megumi's kimono ruffled as Hitomi timidly crawled out from behind.

"Wrong image?" Aigis questioned, watching Hitomi with a small measure of amazement, even though she was still clinging onto Megumi's sleeve. Hitomi shifted to sit seiza style, stretching out her free palm.

"There's a trick to it." She mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper so Aigis had to strain to hear what she was saying. "You imagine a space, then a circle within that space, filled with the darkest colour you can think of." Pressure started to slowly build up around her, though it was weak enough that it did not crush anyone. "Then imagine throwing yourself in."

Her palm lit up in a brilliant blue as a football-sized sphere of reiatsu formed, held steady by her will.

The circle was silent. A few seconds later, Hitomi was cowering behind Megumi again after she realized that everyone was staring at her, dismissing her reiatsu with a whimper.

"Amazing…" Yuuta breathed, still mesmerized. Aigis privately agreed.

"Thank you, Hitomi-chan." Aigis smiled warmly. "That was a great explanation." She closed her eyes and lifted her palm again for another attempt.

An empty space. She imagined a blank wall, painted pure white.

A circle. She imagined a circle that would comfortably fit her body, coloured in the deep black of the Shadows that she had fought.

One deep breath.

She threw herself in.

Light through her eyelids and soft gasps prompted Aigis to open her eyes again, before immediately squinting from the brightness.

The reiatsu ball she had formed was almost twice the size of her head, glowing with a gentle pulse that followed her heartbeat. In their little corner, it was even brighter than the sun.

"Ooh!" Aigis turned around to see Unagiya's grinning face sticking out of a window, observing their class. She struck a thumbs-up. "That's the biggest one I've ever seen!"

"I knew it," Kuro pumped his fist up into the air, "Aigis-neesan is the strongest!"

That elicited a laugh from the other children, while they enthusiastically agreed with the statement. Aigis wanted to correct them, say that she definitely was not the strongest, but held her tongue. The children were way too cute as they laughed and joked around, each holding out their own little spheres of reiatsu and playing around with them.

Hitomi was still holding onto Megumi's kimono, but hesitantly looked up as Aigis approached her. She crouched down and gently put a hand on Hitomi's head.

"Thank you for teaching me, Hitomi-chan." Aigis said, smiling as she ruffled Hitomi's soft hair.

The hesitant, but radiant smile that she got in return was Aigis's best reward.

Notes:

Before I start, well uh...

Sorry?

I had a really bad case of writer's block (this chapter was fighting me 75% of the way), then school happened. I'm halfway through the semester now, and the workload is also getting worse, but hey, at least I'm enjoying my classes!

In other news, I'm looking for a new beta. I need someone who can spot my writing mistakes and have a good grasp of the personalities of characters from both the Persona series and Bleach. Most importantly, I need someone whom I can bounce off plot ideas with, because that's my biggest obstacle right now.

The next chapter will be the last slice-of-life chapter before the first "arc" kicks off! The plot is still a little iffy at the moment, but I'm working on the details.

Chapter 5: This Strange Feeling

The first winter passed by peacefully.

The second winter, not so much. Because Aigis got sick.

Ikumi sighed internally as she pressed another wet towel against Aigis’s forehead. She thought that the Shinigami who brought her to Soul Society said something like “you won’t get sick here”, but obviously that was untrue, wasn’t it?

Just one more reason to not trust them.

From what Ikumi understood after Aigis came back one late autumn evening with Yuuta and Kuro under her arms, all of them looking like soaked birds, the boys had gone into the forest to play and accidentally fell into the freezing river. If Aigis had not found them while helping Morioka out, they may have drowned.

After giving all three of them spare clothes and dry towels to wrap themselves with, Ikumi had given the boys a stern lecture on safety while playing around, peppered with a few explosive shouts and rants. By the time she was done, Aigis had already finished cooking dinner.

The next day, she insisted on working, even though Ikumi had given all three of them a day off to recover. Ikumi couldn’t say no, not before those determined eyes, and she did need the help – winter was rolling in and there were still some crops to be harvested. The boys guiltily helped around the house to make up for their foolishness.

The day after, Aigis didn’t get out of bed.

Or rather, she couldn’t.

Hiroki, who had been sleeping closest to Aigis that night, told Ikumi in a moment of uncharacteristic panic that Aigis was running a high fever, which prompted Ikumi to drop everything she was doing to check. Aigis was barely conscious, muttering about work, her cheeks flushed with heat.

Ikumi needed to get farmwork done, so she instead asked Touma to take care of Aigis in the meantime. She trusted Touma, because he had stayed with her the longest – the first child to come in when she was living by herself, asking for a share of food in the freezing winter. She took pity on him, letting him stay as long as he helped around the house. He was down to earth, acting as a big brother for all the other children that came after, which suited his fluffy light brown hair and warm brown eyes. When Ikumi was done with her work, she took over to care for Aigis, feeding her hot water and porridge in the rare moments that she was lucid.

This continued for two weeks.

Aigis’s fever only started coming down two days ago, her cheeks flushed a perpetual pink hue. She tossed and turned in her sleep, disturbing anyone who slept near her that night – except when she had nightmares.

Ikumi didn’t even know that Aigis had nightmares at first, until she stumbled out to teach on some mornings with heavier steps than usual and the faintest eyebags under her eyes, visible only under the early morning sun. She jumped at surprises, and seemed to view the children with an air of melancholy that was hardly present in her usual self. It was a mystery at first – it wasn’t like Aigis was lacking sleep since she went to bed at very reasonable times – but Ikumi had a faint moment of horror when she was about to sleep one night next to Aigis and instead found the poor girl completely still and not breathing.

Ikumi didn’t remember anything for the rest of the night, until sunlight peeked through the closed windows and she found herself nursing a nasty bruise on her stomach. She only pieced together what happened when Aigis looked uncharacteristically bashful and nervous around her that day, then gave a sincere apology later that evening. Ikumi waved it off, but made a mental note to run whenever she has to wake Aigis up again from her nightmares.

With her ill and bedridden, Aigis barely had the energy to do more than jerk violently when Ikumi woke Aigis up from her nightmares, and before she could say anything, Ikumi shoved water or porridge down her throat. She already knew what Aigis would say – an apology of some sort, for troubling her. Ikumi didn’t want to hear that, not after Aigis had already stayed with them for over two years.

It was times like this that she missed the conveniences that she had while alive – access to medicine and professional care. Whenever Kaoru was injured or sick, she could just barge her way into the Kurosaki clinic to get a checkup or medicine, and he would get better within a few days. In Soul Society, modern medicine simply did not exist. There were no facilities to make them, and since Ikumi had never seen anyone fall sick until Aigis came along, there was no need for it either. Ikumi didn’t trust her own knowledge of herbs to help, so all she could do was hope that Aigis would get well soon.

“Mama?”

A tug on her sleeve startled Ikumi out of her musings, and she turned to see Kousuke holding onto the brown fabric. In the candlelight, his red hair looked like fire, while his brown eyes almost glowed yellow. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, before holding out his arms.

Ikumi was fairly sure that it was way past Kousuke’s bedtime. In fact, she clearly remembered putting him to bed two hours ago. Still, she smiled and picked his tiny figure up, before depositing him gently in her lap. He squirmed a little to make himself comfortable, then settled down to watch Aigis.

Kousuke was their newest addition to the household before Aigis came. As the youngest child physically, he waddled around and tripped adorably in the most random of places, and also needed the most care. He immediately latched onto Ikumi as a mother, a role that she accepted without question since she was already considered the kids’ mother. Out of concern for his physical development, Kousuke was the only child that Ikumi did not assign farmwork to, but he picked it up after a year of observing the others anyway. Even then, she never let him work alone, always asking either Touma or Megumi to watch over him, working on the easier jobs, such as sowing seeds.

“Is Aigis-neechan going to be okay?” Kousuke asked, face scrunched up in a worried frown.

Ikumi didn’t know.

“Don’t worry about it.” She said anyway, wrapping him closer to her so he wouldn’t feel the slight traces of winter in their otherwise warm home. “Aigis will be get better soon.”

“I want her to teach me again…” Kousuke said, hints of a whine on his lips, but too worried to say it.

“I do too.” Ikumi replied softly, a forlorn look in her eyes.

It was jarring, how empty the days became after Aigis fell sick. Her morning lessons were routine for over two years, so having them disrupted so suddenly was problematic for everyone. The children were restless, hungering for that seemingly bottomless pit of knowledge that she possessed and of the friendly little spars that kept them pleasantly alert for farmwork. Even the girls had joined in on them, though Megumi is the only one who participated regularly. Hitomi formed a weird teacher-student dynamic with Aigis, with the former occasionally teaching the latter how to control her reiatsu when it threatened to crush everyone in the house, and Aigis returned the favour by teaching Hitomi everything under the sun, from literature to advanced physics.

Aigis had taken special care with Kousuke, putting together a specialised curriculum to account for his younger age. It was endearing, watching her fumble around trying to shelter him from the crueler aspects of life (not that she didn’t do it for the older kids – she just dropped more life lessons for those older eyes that were at odds with their physical age), while giving him the tools to survive – knowledge to defend himself.

Aigis really knew how to guide and teach people, but there was a certain kind of awkwardness, a slight stiltedness as she taught, like she knew what the steps of teaching was, but the audience was different. She had to stop and rewind herself several times when she first started, when she went off on tangents about theories too advanced for the children to follow, as if she expected them to follow her thoughts. The same went for combat training, which resulted in several bruises and cuts before she learned to rein in her strength.

Other than that though, combat training was fascinating to watch, because of how paradoxical Aigis’s style was. Her style emphasised efficiency – for someone so mild-mannered, she was ruthless. She used everything around her – leaves, dust, buttons, pebbles to teach the children on what to expect in a fight. Yet, even within her otherwise minimal movement, there were some weirdly useless moves. She still recalled one early spar where she had raised her hands at Kuro, fingers trained at his chest, while she flipped in the air with the grace of a dolphin. After she landed, the hands quickly retreated to her sides, and the spar continued without incident.

Ikumi often wondered what kind of life Aigis led in her previous life. She obviously was familiar with combat, fighting in life-or-death situations instead of treating it as a sport, because her strikes were a little too fast, a little too deadly to be used for something harmless. There was something deep in those aquamarine blue eyes, a tiredness that Ikumi was sure no teenage girl should have.

“Aigis-neechan?” Kousuke’s small voice broke Ikumi out of her musings – she was that close to falling asleep – and focused on Aigis instead.

Oh.

Ikumi was sure Aigis was lightly snoring just a moment ago, but now there was no noise in the environment save for the rustle of fabric from a fidgeting Kousuke. Ikumi moved him out of her lap as gently as possible, then shook Aigis awake.

The sudden jerk was expected, but it was Kousuke’s first time seeing it, and he scrambled back in shock. The towel on her forehead fell onto the futon, soaking it with cold water. Ikumi quickly picked it up before it could soak the futon more, then dunked it into the bowl of cold water. One blue eye opened blearily, the pupil constricting and dilating rapidly for a few seconds before it settled down.

“There’s no monsters here.” Ikumi smiled.

Aigis opened her mouth to say something, but thought better and closed it again, instead just snuggling deeper into her own blanket.

“Do you want some water?” Ikumi asked, hoping to occupy Aigis’s mouth with something before she put herself down again. She nodded.

Ikumi came back to Kousuke attempting to climb over Aigis, while she weathered it as much as she could. She sat up when she noticed Ikumi, and murmured a hoarse “thanks” after taking the cup of hot water. Her eyes were downcast, not meeting any of their gazes.

“Aigis-neechan,” Kousuke said, still perched on Aigis’s legs. She jolted slightly at his voice, body tense and muscles locked for a split second before she relaxed them again. “When can you teach us again?”

“As soon as I get better.” She replied, ruffling Kousuke’s hair. Him sitting on her legs didn’t seem to bother her, but Ikumi dragged him to her side anyway after Aigis paused to take a sip of her water. “It won’t be long now.”

“But it’s been two weeks.” Kousuke whined.

“It will be fine.” Aigis smiled. “I’m already feeling better.”

The smile looked brittle, and it was so obvious when her voice came out in a rough rasp rather than the usual smooth melody, but Ikumi held out her hope that Aigis will get well enough soon. At least she was getting better – she was moving, even if she was only sitting upright in her futon without support.

Aigis drained her cup and set it aside. “Kousuke, you should be sleeping.” She chided gently.

Kousuke made a face that seemed like a cross between guilt and pout, so Ikumi tucked him back into his futon before he made a scene. “Aigis is right.” She said gently. She couldn’t blame him for being worried about Aigis, but disrupting her rest was not the right way to help. “You want her to get better soon, so you should let her rest, okay?”

“Okay…” This time, the pout was quite evident. Still, he was snoring within two minutes.

“You should go and sleep too, Unagiya-san.” Aigis said as she laid down again to curl inside her futon. “You still have work to do tomorrow, correct? I will be alright. I don’t think I will have any more nightmares tonight.”

It didn’t reassure Ikumi.

She idly wondered how Aigis dealt with them before Ikumi found out – how she must have suffered silently. More importantly, she wondered what the nightmares were about. The few times she tried to coax the information out of Aigis were slammed down rather swiftly, because she distracted Ikumi with work, or dodged the question entirely. It wasn’t subtle – Aigis must have gone through something traumatic for her to have frequent nightmares, and Ikumi hated herself for not realizing it sooner, for not being able to help.

For being absolutely useless.

And now Aigis was trying to reassure Ikumi. It was supposed to be the other way around.

“I’ll be fine.” Was all she could manage.

Ikumi only slept after hearing Aigis’s soft snores. It took two hours.

---

 

Aigis woke up to someone clinking ceramic bowls near her.

It was almost impossible to wake up naturally in the household, because even when the children tried to be quiet, someone would inevitably bang into something or the old floorboards will creak, making a noise that was loud enough for her to wake up to. She was either the first one awake, or someone would make enough noise to stir her. She found out a year after staying in the house that she was a light sleeper – because sleep felt markedly different as a human, compared to when she was a robot. She only woke up when someone hit the emergency alarms installed in her, or when she wanted to. Now, every little noise felt like the emergency alarm. It grated her nerves, but she also knew that it was not any of the children’s fault.

So she weathered it as much as she could.

It was not that bad when she was healthy and usually the first one up in the household, but it made sleeping in impossible even if others wanted her to.

Aigis found the source of clinking ceramic bowls to come from Touma, who was sitting next to her, stirring his breakfast. His eyes lit up when she finally focused on him as she blinked the weariness away as much as she could.

“Ah, Nee-san, you’re awake!” Touma smiled, radiant from the faint winter sunlight shining through the window. “Do you want some porridge?”

“Thanks, Touma-kun.” Aigis said. “Where are the others?”

The house was unusually empty, and she marveled a little at how the rowdy children could sneak outside without her waking up at some point.

“It snowed this morning, so Kousuke, Ryou, Hiroki and Kuro are out playing. Hitomi, Yuuta and Megumi went with Ikumi-san to the town square to run some errands.” Touma replied, listing off each child with his fingers.

Aigis looked outside. The ground was indeed covered in a soft blanket of the white fluff.

Touma handed her a bowl of steaming porridge from the kitchen, complete with a few kernels of corn on top. She gave her thanks again, then slowly sipped the porridge, savouring the slight sweetness of the rice. Touma himself took out a sewing set and some torn clothes – she remembered Hiroki tearing them a few days ago – and started to work on mending the holes. Touma worked swiftly, weaving his needle through the fabric and binding the hole together, until the hole looked like it was never torn to begin with.

There was something fascinating about the art of sewing, how Touma made it look effortless, almost into an art form. Aigis supposed that maybe Pallas Athena was influencing her subtly – there was the story about her and Arachne after all. She never had the time to learn delicate arts like that when she was alive, with every waking moment filled with paperwork and missions. Back then, she also tore through her clothes on a monthly basis, because almost none of them were meant to withstand Orgia Mode.

It was a little embarrassing, how she requested new suits from Kanji every month to the point that he expected it.

 “When did you learn how to sew?”

Touma looked up, a needle half sticking out of the fabric. “Ikumi-san taught me, when I first tore my clothes and she saw my terrible job of covering it up. I dug out a large needle and some thread while she was out and tried to sew the tear together.” Touma replied, smiling at the memory. He traced a finger over the tear of the kimono that he was currently working on in a large zigzag pattern, carefully avoiding the needle tip. “My stitch literally looked like that. She laughed really hard then tore the stitches apart, and taught me how to stich it together properly.”

He resumed his sewing, wrapping the thread around the tear, and finishing it off with a knot and a snip from a pair of steel scissors. Aigis finished her porridge, then tried to get out of bed to wash the dishes. Touma pressed her down back into her futon.

“Please leave the dishes to me, Nee-san.” He said hastily, grabbing the bowl without much care. “You should be resting in bed, not taking care of all of us!”

“You have been taking care of me plenty for the past two weeks.” She retorted weakly. Her throat felt better than last night, but it was still somewhat raw.

“Yes, and you’ve been taking care of us for the past two years.” He snapped back playfully. “That was my job, you know.”

Only Touma could manage that delicate balance between resentfulness and playfulness, guilt-tripping her back to her futon.

“If I can’t get out of bed, then can you at least teach me how to sew?” Aigis pleaded.

Touma blinked.

 “I don’t know how to do everything in the world, Touma-kun.” She emphasised.

“Well…let me wash the bowl first.”

---

 

“I can’t believe this…” Touma heaved a sigh, looking at the admittedly decent sewing job that Aigis managed. There were a few uneven patches, a spot with too much thread wound in the hole, but for a first try, it was surprisingly good. Then he turned his focus to the actual problem. “How did you prick yourself so many times and not notice?”

She shrugged nonchalantly. The first prick had been a mild shock, when her attention wavered from a cough and the needle did not move the way she wanted. It felt like a tiny jab of static electricity – sharp, but not serious enough to warrant attention. She continued sewing and dealing with the occasional jabs with her usual stoic face.

Then again, something that warranted enough attention for her, as a robot, was usually broken limbs.

“It did not feel like anything serious.” Aigis replied.

“What do you mean ‘not serious’?! You poked your finger through with the needle!”

“It didn’t hurt.”

“What?”

A teen boy should not be able to pitch his voice higher than a girl, but Touma managed it.

Really, the only thing Aigis was embarrassed about right now was how she stained the yukata she was fixing with a little blood. It would wash out, but they did not have the liberty of washing their clothes frequently right now. She hoped Kuro would not mind.

“You’re not going to touch anything.” Touma said darkly, his voice still straining a little from unintentionally going into the soprano range. “Just…don’t move.” He scampered off to the cabinets in the kitchen, and returned with clean bandages and a small bowl of warm water.

“Normally, anyone who pricked themselves would at least flinch, Nee-san.” He said, scrubbing her fingers gently to get rid of the residue flakes of blood. “I cried the first time I did that.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” Aigis replied. “I guess I just have a higher pain tolerance.”

“From all the training?”

She gave a non-committal hum.

“Really, what did you do when you were alive?” He asked as he started winding bandages around her fingertips.

“Would you know of the job anyway?” Aigis asked back. Touma was easily over a hundred years old – a lot of new jobs were created since he died.

Touma paused wrapping the bandages. “You can describe it for me. I always understood your classes.”

Before she could answer, he jumped as the front door banged open.

“We’re back! Oh Aigis-chan, you’re up! And what’s going on here?” Unagiya cheerfully announced her presence with gusto, saving Aigis from having to come up with excuses to cover up her job before she died. Megumi walked into the house with a smile, while Hitomi noticeably perked up when she saw Aigis, giving her a wave from behind Unagiya. Yuuta was as loud as ever, but he quietened down when Megumi hastily waved at him. The hems of their kimono were wet with melted snow, and their breaths came out in short, white puffs.

“Nee-san poked her finger through with a needle.” Touma deadpanned.

Aigis cupped her free hand over her ear to muffle a nearly identical, high-pitched screech. It did not help much.

“Yeah, that was my reaction too.” Touma continued. He finished wrapping the bandage, tying it up with a tight knot that squeezed Aigis’s finger.

“What did you do?” Unagiya continued screeching, even as Hitomi, Yuuta and Megumi started to dry themselves off.

“I wanted to learn how to sew,” Aigis answered bluntly, “since Touma forced me to stay in bed.”

“Young lady,” Unagiya growled – and it took a moment for Aigis to register that ‘young lady’ referred to herself – “you’re supposed to be resting, not working!”

“It was a perfect learning opportunity.”

“Learning opportunity my ass! Students don’t go to school when they’re sick!”

“I think I am well enough to do something like this.”

“No, you’re not. You’re hereby banned from doing any work until you are fully recovered!”

“But–“

“You. Need. Rest.”

Aigis admitted defeat.

---

 

Aigis was finally allowed to work again after three days of absolute rest, enforced by Unagiya, Megumi and Touma.

It was an agonising three days.

What was the term called again? Aigis idly wondered the first night she was allowed to help around the house. It was something that Yusuke had mentioned once after Mitsuru’s funeral, about the trend of overwork.

Oh right, it was called ‘karoshi’!

Notes:

Note: Karoshi (過労死): death from overwork.

--

Happy New Year, everyone!

A late chapter as usual, and it's not beta'd either (I haven't found a satisfactory beta yet). That said, I'm not giving up on this story even if it updates once in a blue moon, because I've grown...a little attached to it.

I've been asked multiple times exactly when the story takes place, so here's your answer: around 300 years after Persona 3 and Bleach (which I assume takes place around the mid-2000s). It is not an AU, so all canon events do happen in both series. Why 300 years, you ask? Nothing much to be honest, I just thought that it sounded about right for the lifespan of a robot like Aigis.

In other news, I'm starting to work as a writer (on top of being an artist) in another fan project, and it's going to take some time away from writing this. On the other hand, I'm on my last semester of university and only have two classes to take next semester. I should still find some time to write!

Next chapter will be the start of the first "arc", which I estimate will last about 3 to 4 chapters. It's going to come out somewhat late, because I want to make sure I got my details ironed out before posting anything, so please bear with me.

As always, please review and point out any writing mistakes that I made!

Chapter 6: That Which Comes From The Darkness

“Come on boys, we need to get moving!”

“Okay, Aigis-neesan!” “Coming!”

Aigis shouldered her two baskets filled with grain while she waited for Kuro and Yuuta to change into clean clothes after their morning lessons. It had rained recently, making the ground muddy, so their daily lessons became messier than usual. Still, she continued the usual tosses and throws into the ground (with Unagiya’s permission, because Aigis did not want to risk her wrath of having to do more laundry than usual), because the children needed to learn how to move in different kinds of terrain, not only when the weather was fair.

Kuro and Yuuta ran out of the house two minutes later with uneven footsteps, each carrying one basket of grains – their extra crops from the harvest that survived the winter. The whole town consolidated their extra resources every year so that they could survive through harsher seasons. It had worked, so far. Water was still the most important resource considering that most people did not need to eat, but Shinigami who came through after long missions sometimes bought grains from the town when their own reserves were not enough. It meant that the Unagiya household was exempt from other forms of taxes, which was nice, even though the system was archaic in Aigis’s eyes.

She set off at an easy pace as the boys followed her.

“Aigis-neesan, how do you never seem to get dirty from practice?” Kuro asked, a little short on breath as he adjusted his own basket of grains. “It’s been eight years, and I’ve never seen you change out of your clothes after it!”

She gave an easy smile as she helped to balance the baskets on Yuuta’s back. “I don’t really care about dirty clothes.” She said. “Besides, I know how to control my strength so that dirt does not come flying my way.”

“Isn’t that like magic, Aigis-neechan?” Yuuta asked. He pranced around Kuro and Aigis excitedly, entirely disregarding the substantial weight on his back.

“Well, you all can use reiatsu right?” she replied with a laugh. “That’s basically magic, isn’t it?”

“But you aren’t using reiatsu!” Kuro retorted.

“You can start predicting your environment once you have enough experience.” She said patiently.

“How long did that take for you?” Yuuta asked excitedly.

Aigis flicked him on the forehead. “That’s like asking a girl how old she is, Yuuta.” She chided playfully. “Gentlemen don’t ask that question.”

Their banter rang loud through the muddy roads, until they reached wet pavement, with a large brick house dominating their path. This was their destination – the village elder’s house.

“It sounds…pretty noisy today, doesn’t it?” Kuro frowned at the closed wooden door.

Satou Daiki, the village elder, lived by himself. He usually either rested in his own home, or went out to inspect the town. He was a friendly old man who had apparently kept the town running for the past three hundred years. So it was fairly unusual for the house to sound like a party was going on inside unless there was a festival going on. Unless Aigis’s memory was bad, there should be no festival today.

“Stay here.” She instructed the boys, then walked up and rapped loudly on the wooden door.

“Satou-san? It’s the Unagiya household!” Aigis called over the din.

There was some shuffling of feet and cloth, before she heard the distinctly slow taps of the elder walking up to the door. It opened up wide, revealing his smiling face and a whole group of strangers that she was sure did not live in the town.

“Oh my, I forgot you were coming over, Aigis-chan!” Satou apologized. His fine white beard flailed in the wind, and his bald forehead somehow managed to catch sunshine when there was barely any. He shuffled to the side, leaving the door open. “Please come on in. I’m sure you had a long journey.”

“Thank you Satou-san,” she smiled, picking up her own baskets of food. “But like I’ve said before, it only takes half an hour to walk here, so it’s all right.”

“Would you care to stay for some tea and snacks?” He asked.

“No, really, it’s all right…” Aigis’s voice trailed off.

There were many more people in the room than she had thought. She counted about twenty people crammed into the room, all wearing dirty rags of sorts that looked too thin to provide adequate warmth in the still chilly spring. They were obviously from the lower districts, and she saw a wide range of ages within the people, from young children to people who look even older than Satou. The exception to that was one man wearing a much thicker, cleaner dark blue kimono. He was a tall, wiry man, with piercing eyes and long black hair that he tied back. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, while he sat casually on one of the few available chairs, his katana hanging loosely from his waist. Everyone in the room were staring at them.

Being the center of attention was awkward enough, but at the same time Aigis felt a strange shiver go through her entire body. It was not from coldness – she was dressed warmly enough – but her skin felt weird, with bumps forming along the few bared areas she left uncovered. She glanced briefly at Kuro and Yuuta, who seemed much more interested in the snacks that Satou was offering.

Something triggered her defenses. Her instincts told her to run.

“…you seem busy.” Aigis finished lamely.

Satou laughed, a hearty, throaty sound that was always pleasant to hear, and patted her back. “It’s never trouble to thank you kids! Come on, you all need some food to sustain yourselves, right?”

Before Aigis could refuse, Kuro and Yuuta had already surged forward, surrounding Satou and begging for snacks. He laughed again and led all three to the back of his house to store their grains and get food. They came out munching on crackers.

“Huh, you guys have reiatsu?”

Aigis looked over. It was the man with the katana who spoke.

“Yes, we do.” She said, voice carefully neutral. “Everyone who lives in our household does.”

He made a thoughtful, low hum. “I was wondering where all the stocks of food came from, considering that most people living in Rukongai don’t have reiatsu.”

“Shinigami sometimes pass through the area, so we sell the food to them.” Aigis replied. “Though I have to wonder, how did you get here?”

“We walked.”

She was momentarily thrown off by the casual remark, then rephrased her question. “Sorry, that was not what I meant. Why did you come here? The road is dangerous with stray Hollows and bandits, so I thought most people would stay within their own towns.”

He nodded in understanding. “Ah, that. Well you see…we were ostracized.”

Aigis frowned. It could not be due to racism or the likes of something as petty as that due to the wide variety of people in the group, so what caused it?

“Religious reasons.” He elaborated.

She did not even know that there were different religions here!

“What kind of religion do you believe in?” Kuro piped up, mouth caked with crumbs from the cracker he was eating.

“A goddess to deliver us to salvation, dear.” An old lady said. Her face was full of wrinkles, but she kept up a friendly smile. “Namba-sama guides us on our journey.” She nodded towards the man in the blue kimono.

“Just protecting them to the best of my ability.” Namba explained. He shifted his legs to a more comfortable position. “I’m a retired Shinigami. My captain said I needed a break, but I couldn’t sit still, so here I am.”

That explained why he was carrying a katana with him.

“Can I see your sword? Please?” Yuuta stared up at Namba with his best puppy eyes, but Aigis was not getting a child hurt on her watch.

“You’re crowding him, Yuuta.” Aigis chided as she gently lifted her up by the collar of his kimono and deposited him near the entrance. She bowed slightly towards the large group of people. “Sorry about that. We should really be leaving now, so I hope you all have a good day. Also Satou-san, thank you for the crackers.”

They stepped out into sunlight filtering through clouds, and her defenses settled down, skin back to normal. It felt strange, because it was the first time her instincts screamed danger since she arrived at the Unagiya household – there simply were not many threats around here.

She had never felt unsafe within Satou’s house, so the logical conclusion was that there was something wrong with the group of refugees. However, their expressions looked far too honest. Aigis considered herself good at judging people – it came with the territory of being a Fool – so the contrasting signals that the refugees sent to her made her head ache.

“Be careful around those people.” She warned in a low voice, once they were back on the muddy paths leading back home.

“But they seemed like nice people…” Kuro whined as he wiped stray crumbs off his mouth.

“Trust your big sister on this one, okay?” Aigis pleaded.

Both boys looked rather confused as they nodded, but Aigis smiled to reassure them as much as she could.

---

 

“Outsiders?” Unagiya frowned at Aigis, long after the children went to bed.

“I think they’re dangerous.” She confirmed.

They were seated at the dining table, lit by a single candlelight. The swaying flame cast flickering shadows on the wall, and Unagiya’s frown was more prominent than usual with the strong shadows. She shifted slightly from her cross-legged position on the floor, while Aigis sat still seiza style.

“What makes you think so?” Unagiya asked, cradling her slowly cooling tea in her hands.

“A hunch.” Aigis replied.

Unagiya crossed her arms in frustration. “That vagueness isn’t helping, Aigis.” She chided. “Satou-san has kept the peace of this village for three hundred years. His judgement is pretty good, you know.”

“I trust his judgement, Unagiya-san.” Aigis said firmly. “But something about them feels…wrong. Like they’re hiding something dangerous.”

“I really doubt a group of refugees can be dangerous.” Unagiya said.

“I agree with you,” Aigis hesitated on her words. “Just…I kind of wonder where they came from.”

“Now that you mention it, they didn’t tell you?”

“No, it never came up. All I know is that most of them are from the lower districts.”

“Most?”

“Well, there’s one man who claims to be a retired Shinigami.”

Unagiya paused, humming thoughtfully to herself. “From what I heard, retiring is a pretty new thing in Seireitei. They only let off people who can’t fight anymore, or people who asked for it and had a good track record to prove their worth, or those who they don’t want…to deal…with…” Her voice trailed off.

For a minute, the night was silent.

“How did you know all that information?” Aigis asked.

“You won’t believe how much Shinigami gossip when they think their superiors aren’t around.” Unagiya muttered.

“He’s probably dangerous then.” Aigis concluded. “No visible injuries, claimed that he couldn’t sit still – this does not sound like a man who willingly retired.”

Unagiya leaned back and huffed, then pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine then. I’ll avoid them.”

“Just keep an eye out, Unagiya-san.” Aigis advised. “Try not to act too differently.”

“I’m not a spy, Aigis.” Unagiya groused while sipping her tea. “I can’t act.”

“Trust me,” Aigis laughed a little, some of the tension lost. “I can’t act either.”

---

 

A month passed awkwardly, as the town adjusted to more people living there, even temporarily. Water almost ran out at one point, until Satou reduced the daily allowance for each household so the town could tide over the minor drought.

The refugees helped out with the daily running of chores and occasionally helped out at the farm. At night, they stayed in Satou’s house. Aigis did not know how they all fit in there, but she did not want to find out. They were mostly friendly people, but conversation with them were short and clipped. They did their work quietly and spent their free time huddled together, as if they were conspiring some sort of unsavoury plan. It was unnerving and prevented the refugees from fully integrating into the town community.

Unagiya and Aigis made sure that at least one of them was in the house at any time to protect the children in case something happened. The children noticed, but Aigis never managed to come up with a good enough excuse on why they could not go out and play as they liked, or stay in the house unsupervised like before.

It felt horrible, to limit what the children could do. The town was supposed to be safe.

Something tugged at the hem of her kimono, snapping Aigis out of her thoughts. Hitomi looked up at her with slightly squinting eyes, shielding them from the glare of the morning sun. It was a fine day for work in the fields.

Unagiya had taken the chance to run some errands within the town, so Aigis stayed behind to look after the children, and keep an eye on whenever any of the refugees came over to help. They have not tried anything overt yet, but considering how badly the refugees were integrating into the community, she worried. She also tried to coax information out of them about their “goddess”, but she never managed to find out much, not even the goddess’s name.

She pushed her thoughts aside again, and turned her attention to Hitomi.

“Is something wrong, Hitomi?” Aigis asked gently.

Hitomi did not say anything, simply staring straight ahead at the dusty road leading to the town. Aigis followed her gaze.

An old woman walked alone towards their house, still covered in the rags that she arrived with a month ago. Aigis smiled in welcome, while Hitomi darted behind her and hid herself in the larger shadow that Aigis cast, away from the gaze of the old woman. Strands of short, silver hair drifted in the wind, while her gnarled hands barely kept her cloak together. The town had offered the refugees proper clothes at one point, but they refused, stating that their rags were enough. It was a strange thing to reject, considering that they were steadily depleting the water supply and grain stocks of the town.

“Good to see you again, Yoshida-san.” Aigis greeted the lady. “How was your trip?”

“As peaceful as ever, dear.” Yoshida replied. “It almost feels unreal, like a god had blessed this land.”

“I do not think a god had blessed this land.” Aigis said respectfully. “It simply is the result of hard work and careful management.”

“All the same, you created a masterful piece of work worthy of the gods.” Yoshida smiled. It was crooked and full of wrinkles, but the smile felt genuine.

Something about that smile still felt off to Aigis, which unsettled her.

“I never was a part of this.” She said. “I only maintained what was already here.”

“You give yourself too little credit, dear.” Yoshida replied. She then directed a smile and a wave at Hitomi. “And a good day to you too, dear Hitomi-chan.”

Aigis barely managed to hear the greeting that Hitomi mumbled out.

“Please forgive her.” Aigis placed a hand around Hitomi’s back, then faced Yoshida. “She’s painfully shy, and it might still be a while before she warms up to you.”

“That’s fine, Aigis-chan.” Yoshida smiled again. “So, is there anything you need help with today?”

“I believe that the weeds need pulling in the fields.” Aigis replied. “Do you require a shovel?”

“Thank you for the concern, dear, but this back is still good for a few hours of bending.” Yoshida laughed, a high-pitched sound that resembled a screech more than a proper laugh.

Aigis laughed awkwardly with Yoshida, but inwardly she frowned. Yoshida’s back was bent enough to show her age. Aigis did not see any possible way for her back to survive pulling weeds for six hours.

Out of concern, she still took out a shovel from their storage, with Hitomi clinging to her kimono the entire time. “Please use this. I would prefer you to not injure yourself unnecessarily.”

“You’re too kind, dear.” Yoshida took the shovel and bowed in thanks, then hobbled away to the fields.

“Come on, Unagiya-san asked you to help out in the fields too, right?” Aigis said as she gently pried Hitomi away from her kimono. “If anything is wrong just come back okay?”

Hitomi looked hesitantly at Yoshida’s back, then gave a tiny nod. She took a shovel herself, then walked to the field where Touma and Ryou were working.

There was simply too much to do around the house, and Aigis could not keep an eye on the children all the time. She did however trust Touma to take care of anything minor, and go to her if anything happened.

It was late afternoon when Yoshida hobbled back from the fields with the children in tow. Hitomi was clinging onto Touma, which was to be expected, but the silence between the boys were not.

“Well then, I’ll be going on first.” Yoshida said cheerfully before Aigis opened her mouth. “I’ll see you another day, my dears.” She lightly patted the childrens’ heads.

Aigis barely restrained herself from slapping the hand away, and even the children seemed to inch away from the old lady. Hitomi outright hid herself behind Aigis, shielding her face with her black bangs.

It did not seem to dampen Yoshida’s cheer, and soon enough she was on her way back to town. Aigis rounded on the children once Yoshida’s hobbling figure was out of sight.

“Did something happen?” she asked urgently.

The boys looked at each other hesitantly, frowning at the fields and looking everywhere but Hitomi. “I’m…not sure what happened.” Touma finally said.

“What do you mean?” Aigis pressed.

“Well…that old hag came to us while we were working.” Ryou began slowly.

“I would normally object to the use of the word ‘old hag’ but continue please.” Aigis said.

“She was just rambling about her goddess, you know?” Ryou continued after a brief, fierce frown. “Then Hitomi saw a tattoo on her shoulder while she was talking to us, and she just freaked out and had basically been clinging onto Touma-niichan ever since then.”

It was a bare-bones explanation with too many parts missing, but Aigis would have to make do. She bent down and gently swept the bangs out of Hitomi’s eyes.

Aigis had not noticed it before, but Hitomi’s breaths were coming in short, shallow gasps. Her pupils were dilated, rimmed with tears, and she was shivering all over despite wearing adequately warm clothing.

Without a word, Aigis wrapped Hitomi into a firm hug, gently patting her down her back.

“You are safe here, Hitomi-chan.” Aigis tried to use her best soothing voice, hoping that she could calm the girl down before she hurt herself. “I will never let anyone harm you.”

The boys looked on with slowly dawning understanding, and they joined in to huddle Hitomi, giving her warmth and soft reassurances until she fell asleep, still clinging onto Aigis’s kimono.

“Hey kids! I’m ba- what’s going on?” Unagiya’s loud greeting was swiftly silenced by the collective glares of Aigis, Ryou and Touma. Megumi and Hiroki both looked perplexed at the odd positions everyone was caught in, while Unagiya’s look of confusion was immediately replaced by lines of worry when she spotted Hitomi in the center of their group.

“I’ll explain later.” Aigis said softly. She lifted Hitomi up into her arms and laid her down in her futon. “Something came up while Yoshida-san was around.”

It was after dinner when there was finally enough time to sit down and explain what happened. By the end of it, Unagiya looked about as confused as Aigis when she first saw the boys that afternoon.

“That doesn’t explain anything!” Unagiya moaned.

“I don’t think we should push Hitomi into explaining what she saw though.” Aigis reasoned. “It shook her bad enough to have a panic attack. That is not something you see in children.”

“Yeah, I know, but…” Unagiya trailed off, before heaving a loud sigh. “The boys didn’t see anything, so what was going on?” She looked ready to slam the dining table.

Touma and Ryou both hung their heads in shame, the shadows of the dimly lit house covering their expressions.

“Uh, not your fault boys.” Unagiya placated them when she saw their expression. “You guys did well in the circumstances allowed.” She tried for a smile, but it looked strained and a little creepy in the candlelight.

“Food…”

Everyone at the table turned around to the source of the noise. Hitomi walked unsteadily to them, rubbing her eyes. Megumi silently got up from the table and poured a bowl of hot porridge, then laid it down in front of Hitomi when she sat down at her usual seat. The household watched her eat, though she seemed unusually oblivious.

Finally, when the bowl was empty, Unagiya broke the silence. “Are you all right, Hitomi?”

The dam broke.

Hitomi threw herself upon Unagiya, who looked surprised for all of half a second before she hauled the tiny girl into her lap, rubbing her back in much the same way Aigis did that afternoon. The muffled wails and hiccups rang through the house.

“I don’t wanna go back to them! Please!” Hitomi cried, her voice high-pitched and broken in a way that hurt to hear.

“Shhh,” Unagiya cooed as she continued petting her. “We won’t let anyone come and take you away. Don’t worry about it. This is your home.”

Megumi quietly took the dishes away and washed them, while everyone else silently watched Hitomi cry for the next ten minutes, until she calmed down enough to just sniffle every few seconds. Even Kousuke was quiet, until he tried to help Unagiya by petting Hitomi on her back. She stiffened for a second, but relaxed after she saw who it was. Unagiya released Hitomi gently after she stopped crying, ignoring the large wet stain down the front of her kimono. She kept a hand around Hitomi to support her.

“Did you know these people?” Unagiya asked gently.

Hitomi nodded numbly, still rubbing at her now swollen eyes.

“How did you know them?” Unagiya pressed.

Hitomi sniffled a little, then spoke in her usual soft voice, broken by sniffles and hiccups. “One of them took me in when I was still in the lower districts. He seemed like a nice person, and said he wanted to train my power to be used for good.”

Aigis blinked. She did not know that Hitomi had lived with other people before she arrived at the Unagiya household.

“He taught me how to use reiatsu.” She continued. “He treated me like his own daughter. But he wouldn’t let me do things by myself, and hit me when I tried to sneak out. He didn’t let me meet anyone else.”

Hitomi was shaking again, and Unagiya brought her closer to her own warmth.

“After a long time, he took me out, saying that he wanted me to meet new people. He took me to a place far away, in a forest. There was a house there, with lots of people inside.” Hitomi said. “There was one drawing all over the walls, and the people there had it on their bodies too. They were hitting each other, and there was so much blood. They were laughing, screaming about the world ending, and how they would…” She trailed off, looking smaller and more scared than ever.

“He said he wanted me to be like that. But I didn’t want to, so I ran.” Hitomi mumbled the last part. “I think the people were crazy enough to not find me even though I heard them looking for me the whole night. I ended up in another district before I came here.”

Kousuke was the first to comfort Hitomi after she finished her story, then the other children joined in slowly, all huddled around her to ward off her dark past.

Aigis felt terrible for breaking the moment, but she had to ask. “Was the drawing you saw on Yoshida-san the same one on the walls?”

Hitomi nodded.

“Can you show me? We can do it outside, on the ground.”

Normally Aigis would never trust a child to have good enough drawing skills to show what she saw, but Hitomi was gifted in the arts. Aigis was sure that she would be able to make out what Hitomi drew.

Hitomi nodded again silently, and Unagiya hurriedly took a blanket from a futon and wrapped it around Hitomi before she stepped out into the cool night. With a single lantern to light the ground that Aigis held, Hitomi traced out the drawing from her mind with her fingertips.

“It looked like this.” She said softly, then withdrew back into her blanket.

Aigis dropped her lantern right on top of the drawing. The candlelight was snuffed out, plunging the immediate surrounding to darkness, but she was too shocked at what she just saw.

It was simple, as far as drawings went. It showed a grinning triangle mask, with two holes and a slit in place of eyes and mouth. The mask was topped with a crown that was twice as big, extending out from a tiny base to a large bowl.

“Wait, Aigis-chan…” Unagiya rounded to her. “Did you recognise the drawing too?”

Aigis barely managed a tiny, jerky nod.

It had been four hundred years since she saw that mask, but that was a memory which could never be deleted.

After all, Nyx took her beloved Makoto.

Notes:

I'm alive! 7 chapters in 1 year is pretty bad, but I'm still around! Thank you to everyone who had favourited and followed this story over the year, even though updates are so bad and the chapters aren't long at all...

This chapter fought me most of the way (as expected), especially when I had trouble deciding on where to end this particular chapter. I ended up with what I had above. Next chapter...well, I think you can expect what to happen. As usual, it may take a while, but since the outline of this arc has been mostly set, hopefully it won't take months to finish writing it...

A little update on what I had been doing between the last chapter and now - I attended two anime cons and went cosplaying for the first time! If you saw someone cosplaying as Mash from F/GO at Katsucon or Tora-Con who gave out little postcards, that's me :D I also have another cosplay on the way, but my next con will most likely be in London due to my studies.

As always, I live off comments and constructive criticism, so keep them coming! I especially want to hear about this curve ball that I threw at you guys :3

Chapter 7: Danger Zone

"So," Unagiya began, "how did you know about that symbol?"

She and Aigis were seated back in the warmth of the house, each nursing a cup of tea. After the uproar from the children over the symbol that Hitomi drew, both women silently decided that the children had enough excitement for one night and corralled them to sleep. The serious talk could come later.

'Later' turned out to be an hour after the children went to bed, which was not nearly enough time for Aigis to decide if she wanted to tell Unagiya the truth. Even within the vaguely magical setting of Soul Society, a story about averting an apocalypse seemed improbable at best, and impossible at worst. To Aigis, Unagiya was a practical person, unlikely to believe a story like the Dark Hour. If her work did not involve Shadows and world-ending events regularly, maybe Aigis would dismiss it as a fantasy too.

More importantly, she felt it was dangerous for Unagiya to know exactly what happened. Yu would get on her case about keeping people ignorant, as he had done so a few times in the past, but…

Unagiya was important to Aigis. She did not want to see her guardian hurt because of what she knew, even if it would cost her their bond.

She made her decision.

"I used to work in the government," she said, her eyes still trained on the faint ripples of her cooling tea. "Part of Public Security."

Unagiya took a sip of her tea, brown eyes scritinising Aigis's face.

"We were investigating a death cult," she continued. "They believed that their goddess wished for death, and encouraged their members to pray to their goddess."

"Sounds relatively harmless so far, to be honest." Unagiya commented.

"Their core members also took assassination requests."

"Oh." Unagiya set her tea down on the table, looking a little pale.

Aigis finally took a sip of her own tea, musing over the story she spun so far. "We finally caught the core members one day, but in the process…" she trailed off.

Unagiya was ignoring her tea now, staring intently at Aigis. She did not dare to meet her eyes.

"Someone I was close to sacrificed himself to save us." Aigis finished after a pregnant pause. She set her tea down on the table, and very carefully tried to keep her hands steady.

Makoto's passing had dulled to an ache over the centuries, but she still remembered the open sorrow from the other members of S.E.E.S. from back then, along with her own quiet sadness. His funeral had ended up being an unexpectedly major affair, as people from all walks of life came to pay their respects. If her memory was correct, there was even a television businessman who came to the funeral.

They eventually moved on, but they never forgot.

Unagiya's eyes softened. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Does that death cult have anything to do with the symbol Hitomi drew earlier?"

Aigis managed a nod. "That symbol was their goddess's face," she explained. "A harbinger of death named Nyx."

Unagiya frowned at the foreign word, but didn't say anything else, silently waiting for more information. Aigis appreciated the patience, but she wasn't sure where to go from there. Going into detail on what exactly Nyx was would only invite more questions that she felt she was not ready to answer just yet. Maybe it would be prudent to focus on the future.

"I can only speculate on what they're doing here," she rubbed her hands over the now cold cup. "It's possible they don't mean any direct harm, but with Hitomi's account and my own history with them, I think the chances are slim."

Aigis mulled over the information in her head. The conversation had dragged out memories she hadn't even considered for decades, and it was taking more effort than expected to remember details from events that happened over three hundred years ago. She instead decided to focus on the present.

A community of tight-knit people from all ages. Their inability, or possibly reluctance to integrate themselves into the town. That uneasiness that even the children picked up on as time went on. The group's refusal to take anything as charity or payment for their work in the town. Their (presumably) shared Nyx tattoo. Hitomi's account that their members possibly forbade mingling with people who aren't part of the community, yet they still voluntarily helped out around town. The possibility that they engaged in self-harm. That their apparent leader is a former shinigami. Aigis's mind began running calculations and simulations, drawn from her centuries of experience leading the Shadow Operatives.

Palladion stirred.

"You look like you have ideas." Unagiya commented, one hand cupping her chin and her elbow resting on the table as she watched her charge with interest.

Aigis jolted out of her musings. She hasn't realised how much time passed since she started going over possible scenarios and how to mitigate the damage caused from them.

"I need to make a few enquiries tomorrow," she said firmly. "I just hope I'm not too late."

Unagiya's eyes widened in understanding. "You don't think– but how?"

"Most Rukongai citizens will not be able to stand up to a shinigami, retired or not." Aigis said. "Based on what we know so far, it's a possibility. And he has backup." She had long stopped underestimating her opponents based on appearance. The people around Namba may look frail with their ragged appearance, but there was no telling on what their actual abilities are. It was entirely possible that they were able to kill easily, considering who they were worshiping.

"It's dangerous." Unagiya said.

"I'm used to it." Aigis replied.

They stared each other down across the table. After almost a minute, Unagiya slumped over the table in defeat.

"Fine," she grumbled out. "But don't you dare get yourself hurt, alright? And if you run into issues, let me know." There was particular emphasis on the last part.

Aigis was highly reluctant to drag Unagiya into this particular issue and had every intention of solving it herself, but she appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

"I will." Aigis said.

It took another twenty minutes of fussing from Unagiya before she was satisfied, so Aigis went to bed later than expected. But even then, her mind was running with plans and possibilities for the next day, as she mentally reviewed the hasty checklist of information she wanted.

She had grown fond of the town in the eight years since she started living here. She did not want her past to destroy it.

---

Namba Touji raised an eyebrow when he saw who was approaching Satou's house in the middle of the town one sunny day. Aigis stood out with her foreign name and features that he rarely saw even in shinigami. However, her mannerisms were clearly Japanese, and she seemed to have honed them to a fine point. His attempts at gathering information about the town through her had been rebuffed previously, with her politely dodging his questions and using her manners as a shield that did not change even when he sent his believers after her to gather intel. Fortunately, the other townspeople were more forthcoming.

So it was a little surprising to see one of the most skittish people he had met willingly approach him.

"How unusual to see you here, Aigis-chan." Touji greeted the girl. "Do you have business with the chief today?"

There was a flash of something across Aigis's face, but she wiped it off so quickly Touji almost thought he was imagining it. "There were some concerns from the Unagiya household about supplies within the town." Aigis replied, her voice light and even. "I was hoping to talk to Satou-san about it. Is he around?"

"Sorry, you just missed him." Touji sighed and ran a hand through his unkempt ponytail. "He should be back soon though, if you're willing to wait."

Aigis nodded her thanks and went to sit on the stairs to the house, clearly uncaring of the dirt on her kimono. For a while, they waited in companionable silence, one guarding the door, one resting.

"Forgive me for asking a potentially sensitive question," Aigis asked suddenly. Touji's head snapped to her. "Why did you become a shinigami?"

Touji gave her a wry grin. "Interested in becoming one?"

"Possibly." she hummed noncommittally.

Touji looked up to the blue sky. Clouds scattered across the blue expanse, a welcome relief from the glare of the sun.

"I just did it because I had the potential," he admitted. "Then again, I did like the work."

It was true, at least until Touji realised how little he changed the world around him, or rather, how little he could change. The outer districts of Rukongai were still a lawless mess, people still suffered unknowingly, and Seireitei was still unwilling to make any major changes to their existing structure. Despite the numerous scars he received as payment for his decades of service to Seireitei, hoping to create a better world for souls to live in, there were no improvements. He scowled at nothing in particular.

Aigis looked politely confused for a moment. "What kind of work did you do as a shinigami?" she continued.

"Oh, just the usual — patrols, Hollow hunting, stuff like that." Touji replied easily. "I did go to the Living World a few times for long term assignments though."

He saw Aigis's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the apparent news that he had gone to the Living World before. Touji did hear from the chief that she was a relatively recent arrival, having lived in Soul Society for only eight years. Perhaps she still missed her friends and family back in the Living World?

"What were they like?" she asked.

"Mostly Hollow hunting and patrols as well. But also some konso, helping spirits move on to Soul Society." He turned from his standing position near the doorway to fully face Aigis.

Her face had smoothed out again, back into the placid stare that she carried when she first arrived. However, it was clear that her full attention was focused on Touji.

"Do you miss your family?" Touji asked.

Aigis blinked, then looked away. "...I think I do," she mumbled into her kimono.

"I hear that a lot with new souls," Touji sighed. "Can't really say I know the feeling myself, but I understand. Losing your family is tough."

"Do you not remember your time as a human?" she asked curiously, head tilted to one side.

"Nope," he answered easily. "Didn't remember, don't feel like remembering either. They weren't important." At the very least, not as important as what he is doing now.

"I see."

Her reaction gave Touji pause. It was stated as a matter of fact, yet there was also a hint of pity in her voice.

In his opinion, Aigis was the one who deserved the pity, for being separated from her family.

"Can you tell me about your family?" he asked.

Aigis gave him a wary side eye. Touji made a visible effort to relax even further and tucked his hands into his kimono sleeves. He made sure Aigis saw his zanpakuto and that he was cutting himself off from reaching for it too quickly.

After a tense moment, she turned back to staring at the ground. "I had a sister," she said, not looking at Touji. "We were inseparable."

She did not elaborate further, but the pain etched on her face was clear.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

The silence stretched on.

"This would be a lot easier if traveling between the worlds wasn't so restricted." Touji said, trying to keep the conversation going.

"I'm sorry?" There was a hint of incredulity in her voice.

Well. That caught her attention.

"You heard me," he continued. "What if going to see family who lives in a different world is as easy as walking?"

"There would be chaos." Her tone was full of certainty.

"Would you want to see your sister again?" Touji asked.

"No." The response came surprisingly quick. "I made peace with my mistakes and death. She would have done the same."

It was an unexpectedly mature outlook that he could appreciate, yet also spoke volumes about the trust she had in her sister.

Time to change tactics.

"Do you know where souls go when they die here?" Touji tried.

Aigis was now openly staring, sapphire eyes scowling at him. "Not that I know of." she replied after a pause. Was that wariness in her voice?

"The lie they sell at Seireitei is that the souls break down into ambient reishi," he answered, carefully considering his next words. "The truth is nobody knows. Souls breaking down simply was the most convenient excuse they could come up with, and it stuck."

Her gaze turned thoughtful as she looked away, head tilted to one side. Her left hand rested on her chest.

"What does that have to do with traveling between worlds?" she asked after an extended pause.

She caught on quickly. "Not much," Touji agreed. He felt a grin creep into his face. "But what if you didn't have to travel between worlds just to see a familiar face? Merge all three worlds into one, have all the souls mingle together. Let the world be reborn into something new. Nobody has to separate from their loved ones through death."

Aigis went still. "That's what your religion is about, isn't it?" she whispered. From Touji's angle her cropped bangs covered her eyes, so he couldn't get a good read on her expression. He appreciated the discretion though.

"You're smart," he said. He meant it too. "Shinigami don't have the power, or rather, some of them do have the raw power to remake the world, but don't want to change the status quo. Then what's the point of all that power when it just perpetuates more misery? We can't rely on them for anything!" He stopped himself before he could go further on the rant. That was not what Aigis needed to hear right now.

"What gave you the idea that a higher power could solve that issue?" she asked.

"Why, a divine messenger of our goddess, of course!" Touji couldn't help his smile. He spread his arms, basking in the daylight as if it was the sacred moonlight that he adored. "He sadly passed away before he could spread his wonderful ideology further, but he had revolutionary ideas! If the powerful will not change, all we need to do is topple them! Death to the world, so it may be born anew!"

He still remembered the moment he met the gaunt man who became his saviour, who led him on the path of enlightenment. Even though he died too quickly to forces outside of even his control, Touji was determined to keep his ideology alive.

In the heat of the moment, he momentarily forgot his audience. He quickly realised his error though. Aigis was a potential recruit, not a believer just yet. Touji coughed to cover up his overexcitement.

"Sorry about that," he sheepishly went back to leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed against his chest. "But think about it. You'll have a community of people who understand your deepest desires, and we can help you with controlling your reiatsu too. I got to be a pretty good teacher over the years." He gave a lopsided grin that would hopefully reassure the girl. She frowned instead.

"Oya? It's rare to see you here alone, Aigis-chan!"

Both people whipped their heads to the source of the cheerful voice. Satou had both hands nestled in his yukata, a friendly smile permanently etched onto his face. He walked up to the doorway between Touji and Aigis, oblivious to the conversation they had earlier.

"Come on in, I have senbei!" Satou urged.

Aigis smoothed out her features as she followed after the old man, thanking him throughout. Meanwhile, Touji did not move from his spot. There was an unspoken agreement between the two that meant he became Satou's unofficial door guard in exchange for allowing his believers to lodge in his house. It was mundane, boring work, but still work that Touji was willing to do. He managed to hear snitches of Satou's conversation with Aigis behind the closed wooden doors, something about needing to reserve more water for the Unagiya household. It took about ten minutes for the conversation to die down, and Aigis stepped out again shortly afterwards.

Their eyes met.

"Still interested in the offer?" he asked, voice low enough to make sure Satou wouldn't overhear.

"Let me consider it," she replied. "I do have my duties at the Unagiya household." She turned away and continued her short descent down the stairs.

"And what have they done for you apart from piling on more work?" Touji pressed on.

Aigis stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"They're holding you back," he continued. "You're clearly much better than all of them combined. Join us. You'll be free of your shackles. You don't have to give an answer now, but I'd prefer one in a week."

She was no use to him dead, after all. His goddess needed sacrifices to manifest, and he'd rather have her not be one of them.

She half turned back so one blue eye was facing him. In the clouding sky, it looked paler than usual. The scrutiny was still there, yet beneath that, something else was lurking.

The air was still somewhat frigid, but Touji felt a chill down his spine for an entirely different reason.

Without a word, Aigis walked away.

---

"You look more tired than usual, Aigis." Unagiya observed at dinner. "Something happened?"

Aigis blinked up from her bowl of rice, surfacing from her memories of the events that occurred earlier today. "Something like that," she admitted. Then she shifted uneasily in her seat. Her mind was running a hundred scenarios a minute, yet none of them helped when all she knew was that something would happen within a week that would involve the cultists. She desperately needed more information, but asking Namba directly about it without any intention to join in was going to be a futile endeavour, and she suspected that she had acquired as much information as possible without raising any suspicions today. Asking the cultists themselves was possible, but there were enough of them spread out around the town that it would take time for her to track them down, then ask the right questions without them becoming suspicious. And then there was the fact that they would almost definitely tell Namba, which would make herself, and by extension, the rest of the Unagiya household a target.

So, Aigis herself was not an ideal choice for asking questions. Maybe she would need Unagiya's help after all.

"Actually, maybe now would be a good time to talk about it." Aigis shifted into a more comfortable position. She launched into an explanation of the conversation she had with Namba earlier in between bites of her meal, along with his offer.

For the first time since she started living here, dinner time was silent. Even the youngest children understood, apart from possibly Kousuke. Aigis suspected that he was merely imitating the others.

"I do not plan on accepting his offer, by the way," she clarified. "But I do wonder why he specifically said one week."

"The obvious answer would be that he's planning for something to happen in one week." Unagiya said. "Or he's leaving, which is also possible, but I think he would leave you with a method of contacting him if that's the case, rather than a hard deadline."

Aigis nodded. "That's what I think too," she agreed. "The issue is that it is difficult to plan for it when I don't know exactly what's happening."

"So ask for help." Unagiya reached across the dining table and flicked Aigis's forehead, earning a surprised yelp.

Unagiya's flicks were surprisingly painful. Aigis rubbed her forehead with one hand as she surveyed the table. Unagiya's eyes were warm, but hard. Touma and Megumi looked like they were steeling themselves for what comes next, and Megumi in particular kept one eye on Hitomi, likely worried about her mental state. Hitomi herself had curled into a ball – Aigis made a mental note to keep her close. Hiroki, Yuuta, Kuro and Ryou unfortunately looked too excited at the prospect of helping Aigis. Kousuke bounced on his seat.

Aigis sighed. They really were good children.

She wanted to keep them away from the dangers of her previous life, but perhaps, they also needed to learn to face those dangers too.

So what can they do, while out of danger? The townsfolk are friendly enough for the most part, and the children know to stay away from the occasional drunk. They have lived here long enough to memorise the roads and alleyways that snaked through the town, and Aigis made sure that they were physically fit enough to run away if threatened. They are also small enough to fit into holes most adults will not be able to crawl through. The older children can do just fine on their own, but the younger ones may need chaperones, especially to make sure they would not blurt anything that will compromise their efforts to the wrong people. Hitomi needs to stay away from any cultists, but is also the most skilled at using reiatsu. Unagiya can brawl as well as any drunk man in town, but can't quite stand up to magic. Her mere presence is a good way to intimidate people though.

An idea slowly coalesced in her mind. There were still too many holes in it, but maybe some of it can be organised into a more coherent plan later.

She cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention, then put on her best child-friendly commander voice. "Okay, this is what I'm planning…"

---

Aigis had not given a reply on his offer, and it was the last day. Touji sighed from his usual position. He did have high hopes for the girl to join him, especially with her sharp wits and raw reiatsu. It was barely trained, yet somehow refined. She would be a wonderful addition to his believers. With time, he believed that she would even rise up to the highest ranks of the group.

Touji left his post to look for her. His believers knew what they needed to do, and according to Yoshida two days ago, everything was in place. They would be fine without his guidance for a while.

He meandered through the town, greeting the sparse locals in his usual friendly tone. The people here are full of life – a suitable sacrifice for the strengthening of their goddess. Touji mentally apologised to the townsfolk, but they would find solace in their goddess's embrace. The air was cold, but dry — an unfortunate consequence of the untimely drought that swept through the area.

It was perfect for his plans.

His footsteps brought him to the edge of the town, where the orphanage was located. The household matriarch was outside the entrance of the modestly sized cottage, hanging bunches of grains out to dry. She stopped when she noticed Touji, but he also stopped a respectable distance from the entrance.

"Good morning, Unagiya-san," he called from his position. "Do you happen to know where Aigis is?"

"Nope, she went out on errands and won't be back for a long while." From this distance, it was somewhat difficult to see Unagiya's face, but her voice sounded normal enough when she yelled back. "Want me to let her know that you're looking for her?"

"That's quite alright," Touji replied politely. "I'll look for her elsewhere!"

He ambled away from the residence, unaware of the suspicious look that Unagiya cast on his back.

---

It took hours for Touji to give up looking for the girl after he checked various neighbourhoods within the town. Not for the first time in his life, he silently cursed his poor ability to sense individual reiatsu. All he could tell was the gentle blanket of elevated reiatsu that permeated the town, and that the only place with significantly stronger reiatsu was at the orphanage, which made sense considering its residents.

The skies were turning into twilight when he made his way back to the chief's home. He looked over the town, cast aglow in the last embers of the sun for the day. The crescent moon was already overhead – small, yet sacred. The town's darkened windows cut out the majority of the light pollution, which allowed Touji to enjoy the emerging stars.

His brain caught up.

The town was never dark.

Now that he finally started paying attention to his surroundings, there were many, many more oddities. There was always a low din within the town as people milled about at all hours of the day, yet now the silence was deafening. As it appeared, there were no people within his vision, which just raised more alarm bells.

Touji felt his heartbeat quicken. Where are his believers? What about his plans? The paranoia made him move quicker than intended as he slipped into shunpo without meaning to, checking the little reishi device he personally hid in a thatched roof, one designed to violently explode into flames on his signal. It was soon after he arrived when he spotted the potential hiding spot, and he had gone there in the dead of the night to place the device. Nobody ever noticed.

The device was gone, with nary a sign it was ever there.

He moved as quickly as he could to the next hiding spot he knew of, below the foundations of a slightly rickety house. That one was gone as well, and even the foundations were somehow fixed without him knowing. It looked like a slap-dash job, considering the rough structure, but it would've held the house up for years more than if it wasn't fixed at all.

One by one, he checked the hiding spots that he knew of, and found every single one gone. Even worse, he did not see a single soul on the way. It was as if the town ghosted during the day, which made for a bad joke.

He stopped back where he began, in front of the chief's house. Touji was now panting heavily from the exertion and nerves, while the cold night breeze cut through his kimono layers. He surveyed his surroundings again, trying to piece together what happened and mentally berating himself for letting the situation spiral out of control.

"Are you looking for something?"

Touji whirled around, one hand automatically reaching for his zanpakutou and dropping to a battle ready stance. He looked up for the source of the voice.

Her short hair glinted silver under the moonlight. She stood on the rooftop of Satou's house, with a glowing red orb – the exact same device he had been looking for – held in her hands. She tossed it up once, let it fall back into her hand, then crushed it.

Aigis looked down on him, her blue eyes glowing in the dark and a displeased frown displayed on her face.

Notes:

So first off, uh...

I'm sorry for letting this hang for 4 years?

Life had been a bit of a whirlwind since the last chapter, and yes I know I published another half done story in the meantime, but still. Not an excuse. As for what happened, I moved across the ocean (again), did my masters, got a job, and now I'm about to move into a new apartment. Throughout all this I tried to get some stable additional income (opened up a Redbubble shop which is doing pretty nicely for all that I have on there), and I'm also looking for a new job. Work visas are a bitch.

Back to this story. I genuinely wrote myself into a corner years back, where I had the cool crisis but no idea on how to resolve the crisis. I finally wrote myself out of the corner. Time will tell if it's a good resolution or not, but I think I have a slightly...less messed up timeline compared to last time. Updates on this story will still be very sporadic and really just depends on when inspiration hits me, so I have no ETA on when the next chapter will be out. I have been writing snippets of it on my phone during my work commute though. It's a good distraction. Oh, and if you spot any mistakes let me know. This chapter was not beta-ed.

So please review, and again, I'm sorry for the 4 year radio silence.

Chapter 8: Crisis

That was the last of the devices.

Aigis did not dare to move from her perch just yet as she watched her target reach for his sword. She was sure that the sword's reach was too short, but he acted as if distance did not matter. That worried her.

"I should've known that it would be a risk to try and recruit you." Namba growled, still in his battle stance. "I truly hoped that you would join us."

She failed to suppress her open disgust. "Join you?" she choked. "You insult the people who took care of me for the past eight years and then dare to ask me to join you?"

A sigh escaped from Namba's lips. "I suppose I can only blame my poor choice of words, but if you refuse to join…" he warned.

Pinpricks formed on Aigis's back.

"Flay, Seiden!"

She barely dodged the first strike, the smell of ozone still fresh in her nose. Her footing lost on the clay tiles, she righted herself after an unsteady hop, and landed on the ground to the side of Satou's house. She felt her hair frizz from the close brush to the attack.

Aigis steadied herself, directing her focus to the katana in Namba's hand. Only it was not a katana anymore, but what seemed to be a coil of crackling electricity that extended from the tsuba.

She internally grimaced. Electricity was a longstanding weakness she suffered from.

Part of her thoughts wondered how the katana had transformed, because she was quite sure a sword was not supposed to spontaneously turn into a whip, especially one that looked like it was a traditionally made katana. Perhaps it was something all shinigami can do, or just something unique to Namba. With the way that he called for the katana to transform, it also reminded her of a Persona. With that logic, maybe each shinigami has a unique sword? Aigis filed those thoughts to the back of her mind before she got distracted.

"I'm quite impressed you managed to figure out what I was planning." Namba said casually, as if he did not attempt to murder Aigis just a moment ago. "Especially with such a tight deadline."

"You left too many clues," she tried to keep her tone casual, not betraying the growing worry in her heart. "Considering everything I've seen, you were very sloppy."

"So it seems. I'll have to keep my mouth shut next time." Namba agreed.

His stance was casual, apart from the hilt still tightly gripped in his hand. But it was balanced, allowing him flexibility on where he would need to turn and move. At the very least, he was not lying about his combat experience. He held up his whip to his face, the yellow glow of the electricity illuminating his eyes.

Almost like a Shadow.

His arm twitched. Her eyes darted to the whip, which obediently moved with the jerk of his movement. Aigis twisted out of the way from the incoming attack, landing hard on her back foot. Her sandals skidded a short distance before she steadied herself again.

"Consider this a warning shot." Namba threatened. "Next time, I won't miss."

An idea came to her.

"Really?" she asked. "You don't seem to be capable of hitting me."

There was barely any warning before the coil snapped out again, aiming for her chest. She spent the next minute dodging electric arcs and debris as Namba chased after her, destroying chunks of the ground and surrounding houses.

"Stand still!" Namba roared. Aigis rolled behind a house just as another whip strike landed on the ground she was standing in a second ago, leaving a small burn mark behind. She did not wait for him to appear around the corner before she put her arms behind her and sped off into the dark alleyways of the town, a telltale shadow appearing on the ground before her being the only warning she had before she ducked another attack aimed at her head, then made a hard turn into another alley.

Between attacks, she observed what she could. Namba used an aggressive combat style, his strikes all aimed at critical points – her head and her heart. He certainly was skilled, with how the whip snaked around on his command, but fortunately for Aigis, she was familiar with the weapon. Ann had managed to translate her Metaverse whip skills into the real world eventually, after all.

Aigis jumped over another attack, the whip barely missing her sandals and destroying a chunk of the fence next to her. She mentally apologised to the people whose homes she was planning to ruin, but the safety of the townspeople were her priority.

She dashed out into the open street, leading her pursuer back to the Satou house. The houses surrounding her were now peppered with holes, allowing a view of their empty interiors.

Her instincts warned her first before she careened to a stop – too late, as Aigis found out, when electricity arched up her left arm out of nowhere. She bit back a scream and almost backed up before she remembered her pursuer, then leapt sideways to dodge another attack. Her left hand brushed the whip, and she failed to suppress her pained grunt.

"Huh." There was grudging respect in Namba's voice. "For a Rukongai brat, you've got some pretty good reflexes. Didn't expect you to dodge that little trap of mine."

"Trap?" Aigis questioned. She risked a glance at her injured arm, but kept an eye on Namba.

Her skin looked more pink than usual under the faint yellow light that emanated from his whip, and she hissed in pain when she tried to flex her fingers. It may have been her imagination, but she thought that her arm looked like it was lightly smoking. It certainly smelled like lightly charred flesh.

"My zanpakutou keeps its memory of where it's been," he answered.

He's being intentionally obtuse, Aigis noted to herself, and filed away the strange name for his katana away at the back of her mind. However, that hint was enough for her. She recalled the route she took earlier, and where the whip had struck. Her mind quickly calculated the patterns she had observed so far.

Well, when that came together, she realised that her plan suddenly seemed much more risky than expected. But it was the best plan she could come up at the moment, and she was nothing if not adaptable. That was how she survived for almost three centuries as the director of the Shadow Operatives.

"Stand down," Namba continued. "You put up a good fight, but you don't stand a chance against me. I quite prefer to solve things peacefully, you know."

Aigis decided that he was asking to be defeated.

One deep breath, to calm her nerves. Another, to bring up the well of energy, or reiatsu, inside her.

Her arm still stung, but she was ready.

She dashed again – straight at Namba.

The sudden movement caused him to falter, before he attempted to retaliate with his whip. Now armed with a rough understanding of how his powers worked, she ducked neatly under the wild strike, instantly reaching inside his guard.

Aigis imagined her hand as a knife, one that would disable her opponent.

Her thrust to his jugular missed when he managed to jerk out of the way, and then she had to roll forward with her momentum to dodge the rapidly retreating whip. It barely missed her hair, leaving a few singed ends on her head. She came out of her roll into a three-point stance, low on the ground.

They spent the next several seconds trying to strike each other, with neither side managing to score a substantial hit. Namba's whip was versatile in movement, and it was only thanks to Aigis's own superior agility that she was able to keep up at all.

She missed her bullets.

Aigis saw her chance when he overreached, perspiration on both of their foreheads. She ducked low, put as much power as she could muster into her fist, and sent a straight punch to Namba's gut. With an orange flash, he flew back into a building already pockmarked with holes, and the wall collapsed on top of him.

Akihiko would be quite proud of that punch.

Aigis took the momentary lull to catch her breath and survey her surroundings.

The damage to the neighbourhood had been kept rather controlled, considering the amount of destruction she usually saw in a fight. Multiple buildings had fist sized holes in them, and the ground was littered with black scorch marks, but other than the building that she knocked Namba into, none of them seemed to be on the verge of collapsing, though the darkness prevented her from fully analysing their structural integrity.

There was something nagging at her, something that screamed for attention. She took a closer look at the scorch marks.

Electrical burns dotted the ground around her. She also noticed both her and Namba's sandal prints over some of them, indicating that she had definitely crossed over them at some point after the whip had passed through the space.

Warning bells blared in her mind.

She pushed her body as fast as possible, praying for her agility to keep up with her mind. Electric tendrils shot up from the scorch marks just as she jumped outside of the ring around her, barely escaping the lightning trap she almost found herself in.

Apparently Namba can control when his sword's special ability activates, and can command it even when incapacitated. It seemed incredibly useful, but right now it was a hindrance. She eyed him, still buried under a small mountain of bricks. The telltale yellow glow of his whip was half covered by dust and debris, and the light wavered slightly.

Just to be safe, she picked up a nearby brick, then threw it at what she assumed was his hand. She heard a pained yelp, then the yellow glow rolled some distance away and faded.

Aigis approached the man carefully, with half of her attention on their surroundings, wary of more traps. Fortunately no attacks came, and she stopped a few metres before him.

The house looked dangerously close to collapsing entirely as it swayed slightly in the night breeze. Namba had managed to knock a large hole into the wall from slamming into it, and he still looked slightly dazed, half struggling to get up from his position on the ground and failing to do so, pinned by the debris that fell on top of him. A trickle of blood dribbled down his mouth. His dominant hand bent at an unnatural angle. His whip had turned back into a sword, and laid some distance away. She walked over and kicked it further into the house.

"Who knew—" Namba coughed from the dust, "that you can actually use your reiatsu? Man, I should've found you much earlier."

Aigis frowned slightly at that. She was fairly sure she had used her natural strength, not her reiatsu, considering that she only knew how to barely control it, not how to utilise it.

"What do you mean?" she asked warily.

Namba laughed, then it turned into a cough halfway through. "You mean you didn't know? I don't know if you're foolish or just suicidal for taking on a shinigami then."

There was, perhaps, a touch of foolishness in taking on a trained soldier directly, but Aigis had faith in her own skills. And she's intimately familiar with magic.

He sighed again, the sound raspy. "All this power, and you don't even know how to use it," he lamented. "Why wouldn't you use it to change the world to your liking? Why wouldn't you use it to defy death?"

"Because I know what that entails." Aigis replied darkly, her hands moving to a battle stance. "Because, despite its flaws, there are many things in this world still worth protecting."

Namba barked out a sardonic laugh. "So it was useless from the beginning huh? Me trying to recruit you."

She struck his neck, knocking him out.

---

Aigis trudged her way back to the Unagiya household after disarming and tying up Namba, reflecting on what she could have done better. A solo post-operation debrief felt odd, since she had always done them with the entire team if possible, or at least with Labyrs, but she had to make do. And there's always room for improvement.

The children worked surprisingly fast once Aigis explained the outline of her plan. They practically jumped over themselves volunteering to help, and it had taken almost half an hour for her and Unagiya to wrangle them into settling down and planning out the details.

It took a lot out of Aigis to decide on exactly what they could do. She was used to having a group of competent, experienced adults assisting her plans, friends who will listen and make their own judgement depending on the situation and adapt quickly. Expecting the same out of children who had never been in a real battle was asking too much.

Still, they exceeded her expectations with aplomb.

Unagiya, Touma and Megumi led small groups every day asking the townspeople their opinions of the cultists – they were the ones who gave the information needed to allow Aigis to conclude that Namba was planning to burn the town down. The troublemaker boys scoured the town looking for incendiaries as they created quiet mayhem and even helped the townspeople with minor construction troubles. Even Hitomi pitched in when they found one of the little red orbs, poking around until it unexpectedly blew up in her face.

Thankfully no lasting harm was done.

It was significantly more difficult to convince the townspeople to quietly move out for the week without letting the cultists know, Satou most of all. A few families needed candy bribes to make them move (and wasn't that weird, that candy was such a coveted commodity in Rukongai, perhaps even more than money), and many of them only agreed to temporarily relocate after Aigis emphasised that the consequences of not moving would be worse than being eaten by a Hollow. Thankfully, Morioka agreed to help pitch some tents in the forest for the townspeople to temporarily stay in.

She still have not seen a Hollow in person yet. She wondered how similar they are to Shadows.

Ironically, the most difficult part of the plan was convincing Unagiya to let Aigis confront Namba alone. She won by pointing out that it would be too easy for Namba to take any of them hostage, and Aigis could not risk that. In the end, she still had to give Unagiya and the children the task to rout the cultists and trap them elsewhere, to minimise the chance of them coming across the fight and helping their leader. The plan was terrifyingly simple — a trapdoor pit trap near the fields where the cultists frequently worked, but still far enough from the orphanage, with the children (sans Hitomi) as bait.

They didn't dare to implement the plan too soon in case Namba noticed the missing cultists, but they hit a lucky break when they found out that many of the cultists stayed in the townspeoples' homes during a job. Perhaps they were looking for new recruits, similar to how Namba had tried to recruit Aigis herself, and needed some time to convince the residents. They did a poor job of trying to integrate into the community though.

So over the course of a few days, they managed to trap all the cultists, with Namba none the wiser. The children did keep the cultists fed though – they were not heartless enough to leave them to starve.

Overall, the plan was a decent success. Damage to the town had been within expectations, Namba was subdued and unable to retaliate, and there were no casualties. Considering that he had no reinforcements through the fight, she figured that the plan to trap the cultists elsewhere succeeded too.

Yet Aigis felt that there were better ways to handle the situation. Solutions that did not involve violence in the first place. Maybe if she was better at persuasion, she would be able to convert Namba. Maybe if she used her resources more efficiently, the townspeople wouldn't need to be evacuated in the first place. Maybe if she decided to trust her instincts earlier, the children wouldn't need to risk themselves to help her.

So many maybes, but the results were already decided. Not much point in dwelling on them. She would do better next time.

Aigis stopped in front of the orphanage. She took a deep breath, then opened the door.

"I'm back."

---

The town was odd, but quaint, he decided. A smattering of brick buildings with shingle rooftops mixed with the largely straw rooftops, the town looked peaceful on the surface, as is typical of Rukongai towns. However as he walked closer to the centre, he started noticing the telltale signs of recent fixings — an oddly coloured brick here, patches of fresh mortar there, an unblemished roof tile on top. One entire house seemed to have collapsed on itself, and he greeted the workers still dismantling the building. He received a lukewarm welcome in return.

When he first received the report, he was mildly surprised. Namba Touji was a fugitive that Seireitei had been trying to track down for some time ever since the first reported instance of arson all the way in the 72nd district came about that was traced back to him. The man was elusive, almost constantly on the move, which made finding him all that more difficult. The fact that a random citizen of Rukongai managed to beat a shinigami was partly surprising, and partly worrying. It either meant that the citizen was incredibly lucky or skilled, or their shinigami were lacking training.

Both prospects were somewhat unbelievable.

So, his captain gave him two missions to fulfil on this trip: arrest the fugitive and his cultists and bring him to Seireitei, and find the individual who defeated him to convince him or her to join the shinigami ranks.

Finding the fugitive and his cultists was easy enough. The townspeople tied them up, threw them into an abandoned shed and left a rough rotation of guards outside the door. The former shinigami's been so thoroughly beaten, his wounds had barely begun to heal three days after the incident. Apart from that though, he looked fine, physically. At the very least, not in danger of death. The cultists didn't have any injuries on them, but were very tightly tied up. So he left his two subordinates there to deal with the logistics of transporting the fugitive and his cultists back for judgement and went to look for his other target by himself.

Finding the fugitive's assailant was slightly more difficult.

Not that she (the townspeople told him it was a young woman who subdued the fugitive) was hard to find. The townspeople gave the information willingly enough when he put on his charming public persona. It just turned out that where she lived was right at the very edge of the town.

Two hours of searching later, he found himself at the town orphanage. It had taken longer than he'd expected, mostly because he did not expect the entire town to be blanketed with a layer of reiatsu – clear evidence that someone, or many someones, lived here and possessed reiatsu. But upon reaching the orphanage, it became evident that this was the place where people with higher than average levels of reiatsu lived, with its clearly elevated levels of reiatsu surrounding it.

The building brought back unpleasant memories of his own childhood. Not the ones of his time spent in Soul Society – he'd been practically an adult when he first arrived all those centuries ago, but rather, of his memories from when he was still alive. It was rare for shinigami to remember their past from when they were alive, as he found out from his time in Shin'ou Academy, and he suspected that he only remembered because of his…colourful life and death. Even then, the passage of time was slowly blurring his memories.

He clamped them down — no need to get lost in his own past.

He stopped a little before what he estimated was the boundaries of the orphanage. "Excuse me!" he called out over the low din of the house. "I'm here on behalf of Seireitei! May I see the owner?"

The din stopped. A minute later, a middle-aged woman in a green kimono stepped out of the rickety wood door.

She was most definitely not his target, but he felt that she was probably someone who knew the assailant well, assuming that they lived here together. Her features looked fine enough, but they were marred by wrinkles and a light tan. Her hands looked calloused. Despite everything, she carried herself tall and proud.

"You're late, shinigami." she ground out.

He chose to put on his usual winning smile. "I assure you, I rushed here as soon as possible, my lady," he replied easily, accompanied by a light, sweeping bow.

"You still took three days." she replied, still hostile. "Did you know how difficult it is to make sure Namba didn't run away? We even had to restrain the cultists and we had nowhere to put them. You could've at least come in a day to take them off our hands. And don't try that smile on me, I know it's fake."

In any other circumstance, he might've praised her for her sharp deductions and insight. But he just wanted to get this mission done. His expression flattened out. "Ma'am, with all due respect, we did indeed get here as fast as possible. I hope you understand that messages take a while to reach the authorities from the further districts." he explained. "May I see the woman who defeated Namba?"

"For what?" she narrowed her eyes.

"I'd like to ask her some questions, if possible," he kept his tone genial. "I promise that she is in no trouble, and she will be able to return any time she likes."

He hoped that the olive branch would be accepted. However, the woman looked about ready to leap at him.

"I will not agree to an interrogation! If you ever do any–"

"Unagiya-san, it's fine."

The soft, melodic voice cut through the rant that was increasing in volume. Another woman emerged from the door, this one looking a lot younger than who he identified now as the main caretaker of the orphanage. She put a hand on Unagiya's shoulder, a clear sign to calm down.

The first thing that he thought was: what's a foreigner doing here?

Her features were clearly of foreign origin — natural blond hair, roughly cropped short, and sapphire blue eyes. However, her mannerisms were quite Japanese, and she carried herself with a gentle grace. She wore a sky blue kimono, but her unusually delicate look was broken by a few bandage patches around her neck and face, along with her left arm wrapped in them. She released the hand on her caretaker's shoulder, then stepped in front of her.

"Are you here because of Namba-san?" the blond woman asked. Her voice was soft, but firm. Welcoming, but still slightly wary and ready to defend herself.

Dangerously experienced with conflict, apparently.

"Yes," he agreed before any hesitation was shown. "Are you the one who defeated him?" He'd been momentarily thrown off by the abrupt change in mood, but he soldiered on.

The young woman gave a curt nod. "Let's continue this discussion elsewhere."

"But—" Unagiya tried to stop the woman.

"I'll be fine, Unagiya-san." The woman in question walked across the empty courtyard. Her steps were light and confident. "I'll be back later."

"I swear that I will bring her back safe and sound." He tried to sound as solemn as possible. He did have every intention of doing just that, but the older woman seemed unusually distrustful of shinigami.

Unagiya seemed barely mollified, but she cast one last look at her charge, then went back into the orphanage.

With her gone, his focus went back to the target.

She definitely has a decent amount of reiatsu. It was untrained, like most Rukongai citizens, but her reiatsu coated her like a blanket, not leaking outwards like most. Interesting, but not something to focus on right now. What is concerning is the way she carried herself, in a manner distinctly familiar with combat. She seemed unguarded, but her measured movements meant that it would be easy for her to spring into action whenever needed.

She stopped before him.

"I don't think I have introduced myself yet." she said. "Aigis. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended one hand out in greeting, but her expression remained flat. The name sounded starkly foreign, but he put it to the back of his mind for now.

He extended his own hand out to shake her's, along with his usual charming smile. "The pleasure is all mine." he said pleasantly. "Akechi Goro, at your service."

Notes:

Notes: Seiden - 静電 - lit. "static electricity"

It's been a while everyone! I didn't quite expect to get this chapter out this quick, but having a lot of flights in the last couple of days meant that I had some extra time to write down my ideas and organise them into a coherent chunk. The fight took the longest to nail down - I changed a lot of the scenes here and there to keep it relatively short and sweet, so some of the funnier ideas I had will have to wait for the next couple of fights in the story. Hopefully I still remember them then.

Akechi was always planned to be in the story, but his role isn't quite fixed yet. For the purposes of this story, assume he died at Shido's Palace. Did Royal's third semester happen? Yes, but assume that is a cognitive of Akechi that Maruki conjured up.

I plan on playing through P5R at some point (the game is just a tad bit too expensive for me at the moment on Steam, and I need to buy a controller), and I haven't watched a playthrough of the third semester yet, so unfortunately my Akechi voice may be somewhat lacking. Please bear with me.

As usual, this isn't beta'd, so please let me know if there are any mistakes!

Chapter 9: Beneath the Mask

It took until the shinigami introduced himself that Aigis finally realised why he seemed so familiar. She may not have met the man himself while he was alive, but there were plenty of discussions about the second coming of the Detective Prince with Naoto (who complained that he was on television more than he was actually working), and with Ren after the Phantom Thieves and the Shadow Operatives started working together (who mostly just lamented that he was unable to save Akechi's life in Shido's Palace).

He looked older than when he died, like he was in his early to mid-twenties. His hair was still long, with the tips sitting on his shoulders. His features were sharper. He had a friendly smile on his face that looked a little too wide, but there was a hint of a hard glint in his red eyes. He wore a standard shinigami shihakusho matched with a pair of plain black gloves, along with a katana that was looped on the right of his belt.

She has no strong opinions on Akechi, as she made a habit of withholding her judgement of people she never met, but Aigis wondered what the other Phantom Thieves would think of their traitor here as a shinigami. In a way, the work fit him — it was the closest he could get to work for the government again. Maybe this time, for a non-corrupt individual too.

Maybe this is his second chance?

Aigis led Akechi to the little outcrop overlooking the orphanage, her usual stargazing spot. The sun was still high in the sky, but this was the best place for her to keep an eye on the orphanage in case anything happened while she was away.

"Is there anything you would like to know?" She kept her tone carefully neutral. She knew this would be some form of interrogation about her own abilities, her fight, or the cult. There was no point in delaying.

Akechi caught on quickly. "I see you have an idea of what this is then," he replied. "I'll be direct — how did you beat Namba?"

She pondered on how best to answer the question. "Can you explain a little more on what you mean by that?" she asked, buying some time for herself.

Akechi blinked, but then turned thoughtful. "I don't think I need to tell you this, but most Rukongai citizens can't — shouldn't be able to — beat a shinigami unless they were trained as one or were former nobles," he explained. "And I know for a fact that you weren't trained as a shinigami, and you most definitely aren't a noble. So I hope you understand that my captain is quite concerned by the fact that you managed to beat one, even if you did us a favour."

So he wants to assess if I am a danger to Soul Society.

Perhaps as much of the truth as she can divulge without mentioning anything Persona or Shadow related then. Or mentioning the fact that she recognised him.

Aigis felt that she would lose her credibility if she tried to tell Akechi that she knew of him before he died.

"I was experienced in combat in life," she started. "I simply translated my skills here, though I agree there was some luck involved in that fight."

He nodded along with her explanation. "Were you in the army then?" Akechi mused. "No, perhaps a special organisation. You defused your caretaker easily, and you have the confidence of someone who's experienced enough to lead in combat. While it's possible that you defeated Namba and his cultists by yourself, the townspeople maintained that you only defeated Namba himself. I don't see any reason why they'd lie, so that means you worked in a team, most likely with the orphanage."

Aigis resisted the urge to open her mouth in shock.

Despite the fact that Akechi may have been somewhat of a phony detective, his deduction skills were apparently legitimate.

"I believe you were the leader, or at least, the person who came up with the plan to defeat Namba. Unagiya-san is too short-tempered for this, and the rest are children. Am I correct so far?" He looked at Aigis for confirmation.

"…Yes. You are quite spot on," she admitted. "I worked for Public Security when I was still alive."

"I don't recall Public Security had people as well-trained as you, though."

"I worked for a special branch. But yes, I was the one who came up with the overall plan to defeat Namba. By the time I had enough evidence of his plot, it was too late for me to do everything alone, so I enlisted the help of the orphanage." Aigis moved the topic back on track before Akechi could deduce too much, and hoped that he would not notice. "I punched him into a house that collapsed on itself to trap him, then I disabled his sword hand."

"Ah yes, I did see the house on my way here. And your account matches the injuries on Namba." Akechi agreed. He looked like he was trying to hold back his own surprise, but disguised it as thoughtfulness.

"When did you arrive in Soul Society?" he asked. "Situations like what you experienced are rare I admit, but your reiatsu is so high it should've attracted the attention of the Gotei rather quickly."

"Eight years ago." Aigis answered easily. She had been keeping track of time, a habit that was difficult to lose. "I've stayed with Unagiya-san all this time."

Akechi turned away and muttered something that suspiciously sounded like needing more patrols, before his expression smoothed out. "I see. Relatively speaking, you'd be considered a rather young soul. Of course, that does not take into account your age when you died, but most residents won't care about that."

"Does this have something to do with how some residents do not remember their time from when they were alive?"

"Yes." Akechi folded his arms across his chest. "For shinigami, it's incredibly rare that anyone remembers their previous lives. It's not completely unheard of, but much rarer than residents in Rukongai."

"What about you?" Aigis asked.

"Hm?"

"Do you remember anything from when you were alive?" she clarified.

"Aigis-san, I've lived in Soul Society for three hundred years now," he replied pleasantly. "I'm practically a native at this point."

She chose not to mention that Akechi did not answer her question.

"Out of curiosity," she began, "are there any theories on why more shinigami can't remember their pasts compared to Rukongai citizens?"

He looked at her sideways with interest. "Hmm, I've been curious about it too." he shrugged. "However, I've only heard of vague guesses. No concrete theories so far, I'm afraid."

Disappointing, and rather odd, especially if this phenomenon had been widely accepted as fact. It was…somewhat indicative of what she guessed the Gotei, as his organisation is apparently called, is like, on a government level.

Akechi turned to fully face Aigis. "What prompted you to attack Namba?" he asked. "I understand that he tried to burn the town down, but it seems like a rather drastic action to take, compared to the many other options that you could've tried."

Aigis gazed out to the fields that the orphanage tended, still brown from fallowing. Now that he pointed it out, she realised that she could have simply routed him to another place, maybe another town. However, her long years of being the director of the Shadow Operatives made her forget any other pathway unless the problem was solved at its root.

As the saying goes, old habits die hard.

"If I didn't stop him here, he would've gone on to destroy other towns. Already had done so, multiple times in the past." she said at last. "Someone had to stop him, and I would rather that burden fall on me."

Akechi went quiet.

Amidst the peaceful chirping of birds and the gentle spring breeze, the silence stretched on.

"You remind me of someone I once knew," he said at last. His gaze drifted to her bandaged arm. "The same sense of responsibility, even at the cost to themselves. Just so they can protect their loved ones."

She smiled warmly. Aigis knew exactly who he was talking about, though she didn't think she and Ren had all that many similarities apart from their Wild Card abilities.

"In some ways, maybe." she replied. "But I think we're quite different people."

Ren was boisterous, spontaneous and wild in a way many Wild Card users were not in combat, but outside of that, there was a quieter, deep seated sense of justice for the people he cared about, which was partially why it was difficult to convince the Phantom Thieves to cooperate with the Operatives — Mitsuru was a little too authoritative and intimidating, and Ren did not want to subject the Thieves to a working environment where they would not be treated fairly.

A combination of Fuuka and Yukari demonstrating what the Operatives actually did, and a transparent explanation of their methods finally allowed them to meet the rest of the Thieves. The rest, as they say, is history.

Akechi looked up at the sky. "While I admire your sense of responsibility, I can't say I approve." he decided. "Hurting yourself for the sake of others with no guarantee of reciprocation…it seems stupid to me."

"Is that how you see it?" Aigis asked, trying to sound as non-judgemental as she could.

"Connections like that just hold people back." he sighed. "Relying on something as fickle as human emotional connection never worked out for me."

This was unsurprising, considering his past, but it still stung.

"What about your…" she struggled to find the right word, then gave up, "…the people you work with at Seireitei? Do you not rely on them for missions like this?"

A grimace flashed across his face just as quickly as it was replaced with an impassive mask. "My 'colleagues' are just that, nothing more. We work together, but we don't have a connection." Akechi said matter-of-factly. Aigis detected the barest hint of resentment. "My captain prioritises individual ability, and missions involving group work are rare."

"What about the one you are on right now?" she pressed.

"I left my subordinates to deal with Namba." He gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Then are you not relying on them to complete their part of the mission right now?"

"You call that a connection?"

"Yes."

"I barely know their names." Akechi sighed again. "They're just unseated officers, subordinates that happened to me. I didn't pick them, and I will part ways with them once this mission is complete. Would you still call that a connection?"

"Perhaps not a long-lasting one. But I still consider it a connection nonetheless." Aigis replied. "They don't need to last forever. But as long as they influenced you in any way, that is what I would call a connection."

"That's a very broad definition of connection you have there." His voice was dry.

"That's what leads to bonds in my opinion." She did not relent.

Akechi paused.

"My belief is that bonds are an important part of me." Aigis continued. She leaned back on a tree. "They…are my source of strength. I don't think I would've been able to do anything I achieved without them."

The quiet returned to the area.

"…I envy you," he said at last. "For having people you can trust as such. It's…difficult for me to wholeheartedly trust anyone."

"It's never too late to try." Aigis replied.

"Are you offering?"

"If you would like that." She did not hesitate. Aigis turned around from her position to directly look at him.

Akechi was openly gaping, his mouth forming shapes but unable to make a sound. Eventually, he settled on a laugh.

"That was the best joke I've ever heard in a long time!" he wheezed. "Oh, I needed that!"

Aigis smiled faintly as she waited for him to calm down. She was not joking, but perhaps he was not quite ready for that right now, and she had no intention of pushing. After a few giggles, he smoothed his expression out.

It looked much more relaxed than what she saw in Akechi earlier at the household. The small, genuine smile he now had on him suited his face better than the celebrity smile.

"I think you'd do well in the Gotei Thirteen, Aigis-san." His tone turned back to the serious one he used earlier. "Do you want to join the shinigami?"

She blinked.

"You have the right mindset for it," he continued. "You have a strong sense of responsibility. Your reiatsu level is easily high enough for a seated position. You have plenty of combat experience, enough to beat a shinigami—"

"That involved a good amount of luck." she interrupted.

"Doesn't matter. You still beat one." He barrelled on. "The truth is, you're more than qualified. And the Gotei always have a need for soldiers like you."

Somehow, the way Akechi said 'soldiers' made her uncomfortable. Almost as if…they were disposable.

"I'm not sure." Aigis replied after a moment of hesitation. "The Gotei does not sound like the type of organisation that I would want to work with."

Akechi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What made you think so?"

"When was the Gotei established?" she asked.

Akechi frowned, one gloved hand on his chin. "The records go all the way back to around two thousand and four hundred years ago, and that is generally agreed to be when the Gotei, along with Seireitei was first established. Unfortunately the founder died about three hundred years ago." He shifted. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"I have some reservations." Aigis replied. She held one hand over her chest, deep in thought. "If the Gotei has existed since the B.C. era, why is the development of this world seemingly stuck in the Japanese feudal era? It sounds like either they are hoarding all technological development for themselves, or the rate of development is incredibly slow compared to the Living World. Neither option makes the Gotei the kind of organisation I expect out of what should be Soul Society's police force."

Akechi's face was set in a serious scowl, the kind that she wasn't sure if it was annoyance, or grudging respect. Possibly a mixture of both.

"I can see where the confusion comes from," he said neutrally. "For most Rukongai residents, us shinigami are most visible when we're apprehending criminals or protecting souls from Hollows. However, that is only a small part of what we do. Foremost of which, we're charged with the protection of the balance of souls."

Aigis honed in on the phrase.

"Which means, ferrying souls still in the Living World to Soul Society," Akechi continued, unaware of her increased focus, "making sure no realm has an imbalance of souls, whether it's too many or too little, and protecting living people from Hollows as well. All of this does generate a large amount of paperwork, so at least half of our work is just filling in that too."

She was not surprised, but kept silent.

"To handle that amount of work, we split into thirteen divisions, with some in charge of different aspects of our work," he explained. "For example, I'm part of the Second division, and we handle apprehending criminals and assassinations."

Aigis frowned. "Assassinations?"

"The Gotei has its share of enemies, both inside it and outside." he said. "Though, I don't think we've needed to assassinate anyone in over two hundred years, so it's relatively uncommon."

She hummed. "That aside, I didn't know that the Gotei has divisions."

"Yes, well, this isn't exactly common knowledge in the further districts." Akechi looked sheepish. "It's also common for shinigami to move between divisions if the need arises, so your role isn't fixed."

She mulled over the information. "What do the other divisions do then?" she asked. "I guess that each division has a specific role to perform."

"Not all of them. Some divisions aren't specialised in any kind of work, so they can support other divisions if need be." He started counting fingers off his hand. "First division is also the division where the central command is, considering that its captain is also the captain-commander of the Gotei Thirteen, so they're in charge of overall coordination between divisions. Fourth division specialises in healing, so they also run the general hospital within Seireitei. Seventh handles major threats within the Living World and has the most number of connections to people living there. Ninth handles Seireitei's internal affairs and runs the Seireitei newspapers and magazines—"

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes, us shinigami need some form of entertainment, after all." Akechi continued blithely. "Eleventh is where the…ah, battle-happy shinigami go. Overall, they're the strongest division in terms of combat prowess. Lastly, Twelfth is where the research labs are stationed, so they're in charge of monitoring Hollow activity and scientific research."

Aigis filed the knowledge away for later. "And all of them are supposed to work towards the goal of preserving the balance of souls?"

"That's the general idea, yes."

She briefly wondered how their understanding of souls would support, or contradict, her understanding of the Sea of Souls. However, she knew her own knowledge was lacking too, considering that she only knew about the basics of the place because Elizabeth made a point to crash into her life, quite literally, every now and then. Apart from her and the other Velvet Room attendants, maybe only Igor would know more about the true nature of souls.

Aigis recalled the first time she saw the Sea of Souls, when she and SEES fought Erebus. It seemed more like a snapshot of the universe itself, each star representing a tiny speck of humanity. The souls in Soul Society were solid humans, a reflection of their life from when they were alive.

Both were beautiful, in their own ways.

A sigh to her side snapped her out of her thoughts.

"You don't have to make a decision now, but please consider it." Akechi said. "If you don't like the system, or don't consider the Gotei as an organisation that you'd like to work with right now, you can instead join and make a difference within."

The thought was tempting to Aigis. Then she remembered that there are thirteen different divisions, and if a military organisation can afford to split into this many divisions, there are at least a few thousand people — shinigami — within the Gotei.

There was no way she would be able to do this alone.

However, if Akechi is a shinigami, there was a decent chance that other Persona users became shinigami too, and she had faith that they would be willing to help.

"It would be much easier than trying to fight it from the outside." Akechi added. "I'll even write a recommendation letter for you if you wish."

"…Huh?" The banality of the statement caught her off guard.

"Well, I think you've earned yourself one." He shrugged, then pushed himself off the tree he was leaning on. "You need to pass an exam before you can enter Shin'ou Academy, which is the school that trains shinigami, but the letter will let you skip it. Of course you can still get expelled from the academy if your scores are too low or you did something that pissed off the faculty, but at least you don't have to worry about passing the exam to even step foot in the academy."

Akechi gestured to himself with a flourish. "I'm the fourth seat for Second division, so my word carries quite a bit of weight. I can guarantee entry easily."

"I don't think I have to worry about an exam either way," Aigis stated. "But, thank you for the offer regardless."

Akechi flashed a picture-perfect smile and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by shouts from below.

"Sir! Hollow attack!" The yell bordered a screech, causing both Aigis and Akechi to whip around in alarm. A mousy man with dishevelled red hair ran up the dust path to their position, with various cuts and bruises dotting his body. Aigis noted his odd attire, different from the shihakuso that Akechi and other shinigami she saw before. The man was dressed from head to toe in tight fitting black cloth reminiscent of a stereotypical ninja, along with a black face mask covering most of his facial features.

"What's going on?" Akechi almost barked out. "Where's the attack at?"

The man supported himself on his knees, panting heavily. "We were about to ready the kido to secure the prisoners for transport but a Garganta opened up right above us and we now have ten Hollows attacking the townspeople!" He almost tumbled out the entire sentence, his voice still rather highly pitched for a man.

"What about Mutsu?" Akechi continued asking, tone slipping into a harsh, authoritative voice.

"Guarding the prisoners and fending off the Hollows, but I don't think he can do it by himself!" The mousy man replied in a hurry.

She heard Akechi curse to himself, then turned to Aigis. "Stay inside your house." he ordered. "I need to get back—"

"Where is Namba-san?" she interrupted before Akechi could finish.

"They're still at the warehouse, ma'am." The mousy man said.

Akechi did not look happy, but kept quiet.

"Let me guide you." Aigis continued. "You're not going to get to the warehouse using the main roads on time otherwise."

Akechi almost looked like he wanted to argue, but gave up after a second. "Just to be clear, I will not be able to protect you when we get there, so get out of the way and protect yourself." He grumbled.

Aigis gave a muted nod, then waved her hand in a 'follow me' gesture. She did not wait for the shinigami to acknowledge it, instead opting to jump off the outcrop to the fields below. The surprised yelp she heard behind her was the only indicator that the shinigami were at least aware of where she was, so without looking back, she extended her arms behind and took off, alternating between small alleyways and the rooftops.

She did not mention that she wanted to see Hollows for the first time herself.

They heard sounds of fighting in fifteen minutes, and saw the extent of the battlefield in another three. Then she saw the Hollows, and her first thought was: giant Shadows?

That was what they looked like to Aigis at first glance. They were all bipedal, about two or three stories tall, their skin in various shades of ashen. Almost all of them had thick, bone white armour covering various parts of their body, but by far their most prominent features were their similarly white masks covering their face, and a giant, perfectly round hole in the middle of their body, where a heart would normally be.

That was probably where they got their name from.

The bone white masks bore quite the similarity to Shadow masks at first glance, along with the glowing yellow eyes, but then she realised that the mask connected to their jaw and opened like giant maws.

Not so similar to Shadows then.

They acted more like wild beasts, swatting and smashing a small figure darting nimbly around them, whom Aigis recognised as probably Mutsu, since he was dressed similarly as his mousy counterpart. Namba and his cultists were some distance away, within sight of Mutsu but also far enough from the action. As she slowed down, she saw a Hollow graze the shinigami with a punch, and he spun into the warehouse that originally housed the cultists.

The situation, put simply, did not look good.

---

The situation was not going well, Goro decided.

They somehow had to arrive right as Mutsu went down, so now it was two shinigami against ten Hollows. Credit to where it was due though, Mutsu at least managed to keep the prisoners relatively unharmed.

They can't stand trial if they're dead, after all.

So he unsheathed his zanpakutou along with Akai beside him, slipping into shunpo to give himself a speed boost. He'd almost used it earlier following Aigis, because she was unusually fast and the way she vaulted over obstacles made her difficult to track. Multiple times he thought he saw a green glow around her feet, but then another blink and it was gone. In the end, he decided he wanted to save as much energy as possible for the fight.

It turned out to be the correct decision, as the battlefield quickly devolved into a chaotic mess of blades and limbs. Out of the corner of the eye, he saw Aigis settle at a vantage point a few houses away, a perfect place to keep an eye on both the prisoners and the battle, yet keep herself safe from any stray attacks.

Goro turned his attention back to the Hollows. They were infuriatingly tough, their carapace acting as armour that even his released zanpakutou could not cut, and there were very few things that Robin Hood could not.

At least the ray sword functioned just fine as a flashbang, even in broad daylight. Incredibly handy for dazzling anyone and setting up sneak attacks. But it still wasn't enough to kill the Hollows, and Goro was starting to lose his patience.

Akai was having even worse luck, as his tanto functioned more like an ineffective needle against the Hollows. Goro watched him resort to a hastily chanted kido, pulling a Hollow off balance with Hainawa. It barely missed the Hollow next to him, and the Hollow tripped into the ground. When it came up again, the side of its mask was cracked.

Well, that was an idea.

"Kougaon!" Goro fired a ray of light from his sword straight at the eye socket of the nearest Hollow. It howled in pain, clutching its eyes. With the distraction set up, he jumped up to a nearby rooftop and took aim.

"Bakudo sixty three: Sajo Sabaku!"

A snake of yellow chains extended out of his right hand, snagging the blinded Hollow by the leg. He gave the chain a good pull, and the Hollow toppled along with it, crushing another Hollow below its bulk.

One Hollow down, nine more to go. Unfortunately, the rest immediately wisened up, spreading further away from each other.

Closer to Aigis's position.

Goro swore under his breath. Akai was too busy trying to not get killed and keep collateral damage to a minimum. He was trained as an assassin, not as a Hollow hunter. So Goro left Akai to his devices, and moved towards where Aigis was, dodging stray debris along the way.

She looked grim. Her eyes darted between the lumbering Hollow and the prisoners, and she was crouched on the rooftop, ready to spring into action.

Goro mentally reviewed his options. He still had enough energy for a few more kido spells, but that won't be enough to take all of the Hollows down. His zanpakutou was near useless, except as a distraction. Aigis, the only one who looked like she still had energy to spare, wouldn't be helpful in a fight like this.

There is an option that he can take, but it wasn't something he wanted to use in front of other people.

A loud crack startled him out of his thoughts, and he instinctively raised his sword to defend himself. Goro's initial reaction faltered when he saw what caused the sound though.

Aigis had swung her leg directly at the arm of one of the Hollows lumbering her way. It wasn't fazed in the slightest, but there was a hairline crack on its gauntlet. She pushed herself off the arm, landing on a nearby rooftop, her leg coated in a faint swirl of orange and purple reiatsu. Her face was an impassive mask, devoid of her thoughts.

Something stirred in the back of his mind.

Goro's eyes widened. She had given the last bit of confirmation he needed of her strength — there are few shinigami who are able to hurt a Hollow with such thick armour using simple punches and kicks, and Aigis managed that feat without formal training.

He really needed to recruit her to the Gotei.

"Aim for the mask! Break that and you can kill it!" Goro yelled over the din of battle. The shout seemed to trigger something in Aigis, as she narrowed her eyes and lowered her body to a ready position. She flawlessly took advantage of the distraction that the sound caused in the Hollow, and launched herself up into the air, far above the monster. With an elegant twist, she fell, her leg positioned in a perfect axe kick.

A streak of orange light impacted the Hollow, fracturing its mask in half. Aigis landed heavily next to Goro, skidding a few metres back. As he watched, the Hollow disintegrated without much fanfare.

"Okay, eight more to go!" He instructed.

"I…don't think I can do that again." Aigis's voice came out in a slight waver.

Goro turned to her in alarm. He hadn't noticed it before, but her kimono was torn on the side, and her leg — the one she used to smash the Hollow, was swollen in an ugly tapestry of purple and blue. She swayed slightly on her feet.

"I had to put all my power into breaking the mask, so I couldn't protect my leg as much as I wanted to." she stated.

"Oh for–" His curse was cut short when another Hollow attempted to smash them where they stood. Goro scooped up Aigis in a rough carry and shunpoed to another rooftop just before they were smashed into pancakes, then dumped her on the thatched hay.

"Thank you." she said simply.

"You're welcome." he replied, an eye still on the Hollow trying to find them. Aigis's gaze followed his.

The sudden spike of reiatsu from her had attracted all remaining Hollows to their area, away from Akai and Mutsu (who was still out cold). They at least have some breathing room now, but the grim situation hasn't changed.

"Akechi-san."

Goro glanced distractedly towards Aigis. She sat on the rooftop, leaving her injured, possibly broken leg stretched straight. "Do you still have Loki?" she asked casually.

His mind screeched to a halt.

"Your sword's name was Robin Hood, correct? That was one of your Persona's name."

It was a statement, not a question.

"Back when you were alive, you committed your crimes by using Loki's ability to induce psychotic breakdowns in people's Shadows." she continued. "I don't think Robin Hood is the only side of your abilities. Can you still invoke Loki's power to cause psychotic breakdowns in the Hollows and make them attack each other?"

Goro finally realised what was nagging at him ever since he saw Aigis in combat.

The different colours of her reiatsu wrapped around her were the same shade as the spells he used for enhancement as a Persona user.

He felt his throat constrict.

Aigis is a Persona user that knows his past.

Notes:

Mweeheehee :3

Have a long chapter everyone! This was already cut down a little from the original draft, and I heavily thought about splitting this into 2 chapters instead, but there was no good place to end the chapter that way. I had already finished the draft last weekend, but I wanted to give it some polish, so I delayed uploading this till today.

In other news, Steam is having their summer sale, so I took the chance to get Persona 5 Royal, Strikers and Stray! I'm currently at the start of Kaneshiro's arc, and it's been a blast playing the game so far (major headache to actually level up Personas unlike P3P or P4G though). Of course, please don't spoil anyone here - yeah I know all the plot points, but not everyone does. On the other hand, you WILL get majorly spoiled if you read this fic anyway, so if you're here you either don't care about them or already know them anyway.

Like usual, this is not beta'd. Let me know if there are any mistakes and I'll correct them ASAP!

Chapter 10: Changing Seasons

She expected a strong reaction from Akechi after she asked that question, but Aigis was still mildly surprised by the forceful pull from him after she voiced her suggestion. He grabbed her by her kimono collar, yanking himself close to her face. Mercifully, he did not put any pressure on her injured leg.

“How,” he hissed, low and rough, “did you know about that?”

Aigis levelled a steady gaze at his wild glare, his reddish-brown eyes shrunken into pinpricks and almost glowing in the shadow of the overhead sun. “I worked with the Phantom Thieves before.” Her tone slipped back into the monotone she often used during missions, meant to keep her team emotionally stable. “Of course, that happened after you died.”

“And how did you get your Persona?!” Akechi’s voice was louder now, but still soft enough that nobody else in the vicinity could overhear. “Don’t hide the fact that you have one, otherwise you couldn’t have casted your enhancement spells.”

Aigis’s eyebrows momentarily knitted in confusion, because she did not remember casting any sort of spell, apart from willing her reiatsu to follow general commands such as moving to specific parts of her body to protect or enhance its power or…

Oh.

She understood now.

“I do have a Persona,” she stated. “I haven’t been able to summon it since I arrived though.”

It would have made defeating Namba and his cultists far simpler, especially if she could’ve accessed her Wild Card powers.

“As for when I received one,” Aigis continued, unfazed by the hostility emanating from Akechi, “I was born with it.”

She almost blurted out 1999, but then thought better and went for a technical truth instead.

“Born with one?” Akechi asked, still scowling fiercely. “I thought that’s impossible.”

“Not quite.” she replied. She shifted around Akechi to take a look at her surroundings. “I think you should concentrate on the Hollows for now?”

He pursed his lips, but loosened his hold on her kimono and turned around. 

The Hollows had closed in on their position while they were distracted. All eight Hollows had surrounded the rooftop they landed on, prowling around like predators. On other rooftops around them, she spotted the other shinigami catching their breath.

“Aaargh!” Akechi growled, running a hand through his dishevelled hair. “Fine, I’ll do it. But don’t blame me if you get caught in the middle!”

He held out his sword in front of him, tip pointing down. 

Aigis felt the pressure around her rise, as Akechi’s reiatsu became visible, a swirl of indigo and black.

“Tear, Loki!” 

The ray sword morphed, its blade turning from a yellow-tinged lightsaber to a serrated, blood red edge. With a savage war cry, he leapt into the midst of the monsters surrounding them, a blur of black and red amongst the ashen and white. He zipped through the small mob, nicking each monster with a small cut that festered with the same indigo and black reiatsu covering Akechi.

He landed on the ground, his sandals digging grooves into the dirt path. The Hollows’s gaze followed him as they turned their focus to Akechi.

He twirled his sword with a flourish, the blade glowing brightly even in the afternoon sun. The Hollows jerked to a stop, then one by one, started roaring at each other, setting their sights on their own instead of the shinigami and cultists. They tore into each other, easily biting and punching through the hardened carapace that the shinigami could not pierce earlier.

With how close they were, Aigis decided to slip off the rooftop. She was not sure if her injured leg was broken, but it certainly felt numb and ached with every movement. Slowly, she shifted her weight around to the edge of the thatch, then slid off, landing on her good leg. The jolt through her body still hurt her leg despite her best efforts, and she bit back a wince.

One glance informed her that the cultists were still a safe distance away from the Hollows, shielded by both ninja shinigami (Mutsu had apparently woken up at some point when she was not paying attention) with a variety of colourful spells. Akechi was panting heavily, still rooted in the same spot and using his sword as a crutch.

Aigis hobbled her way to him, using the walls of the surrounding houses as support. The Hollows paid her no mind. By the time she reached his position, half of the Hollows were dead, and the other half were heavily damaged, with missing pieces of carapace and bloody tears in their limbs.

“Are you quite alright, Akechi-san?” she asked.

“No thanks to you.” His voice was rough. “Loki takes out a lot in me when I need to get so many of them berserk.”

Her eyes fell. “My apologies.” she replied, head lowered.

Akechi sighed, a heavy sound that permeated its surroundings despite the noisy cannibalism of the Hollows nearby. He waved her off. “For what it’s worth, this was really the only way to kill all of them, and if it was up to me, I would’ve delayed it a lot longer, and possibly caused more property destruction and unnecessary lives lost,” he grunted. “You just gave me a kick to do it earlier.”

There were only two Hollows left. “Get ready,” he growled. “Once it’s down to the last one, we’re gonna have a fight.”

As he said that, one Hollow smashed the other’s head into the ground, cracking a deep hole in the dirt. The Hollow in the ground dissolved into dust in the other’s hand, and the remaining one roared into the sky. Then it looked around, and spotted the cultists and shinigami, who looked worn out from sustaining the shields.

“Listen,” Akechi pulled Aigis close. “You might not be able to summon your Persona here, but it’s all visualisation. Know what you need to cast, go through the motions, and if you have enough reiatsu left, you can use it.”

She stared.

“What?” he scowled. “I had three hundred years to figure this out. You’re the only one here with any shred of reiatsu left to deal with it right now. Yes, it’s going to be stronger than it was before, but it’s also easy to bait now. I know you have a broken leg, but one good hit will take it down. Can you do it?”

She ran her mental calculations out of habit.

One enraged, three story tall Hollow capable of killing her in one blow. More than a dozen restrained, injured or exhausted people who needed protection. One civilian with a heavily injured leg, but with a little energy to spare. Multiple potholes in the ground from the Hollows killing each other moments ago. Abandoned buildings, now half reduced to rubble, were strewn around the area.

Aigis closed her eyes. 

A plan formed in her mind, with the required steps.

Estimate: 58.2% chance of success.

Estimate is within acceptable range.

“Can you manage one more spell?” she asked Akechi in a low voice. “Just to hold the Hollow still.”

He was still trying to catch his breath, but gave a shaky nod.

Aigis nodded back. “Please wait for my signal,” she said.

She moved slowly to the side of a mostly intact building, keeping her weight off her injured leg as much as she could. Aigis stopped at a suitable spot, with her back to the dark shadows and within view of Akechi. She picked up a piece of rubble, slightly bigger than the average brick, and threw it at the Hollow currently bearing down on the shinigami. It bounced off harmlessly against its back, but the rubble served its purpose to attract the Hollow’s attention.

Raising her own reiatsu so that she could keep its focus on her, Aigis concentrated the flow of her power into her arm.

Visualise.

She did not have the energy for incredibly strong attacks like God’s Hand, so she hoped that her weaker spells would be strong enough for the task.

She saw the visage of her Persona, with Palladion’s head raised high. Her initial Persona was highly mechanical, lacking movable limbs, but she raised her right arm all the same, fist clenched.

The Hollow barreled towards Aigis at speeds faster than she expected, yet she stood her ground, her uninjured leg tense with anticipation. At the last second, she jumped, sailing over the fist that threatened to pound her into paste. She was not able to leap as high as she wanted due to putting all her strength in one leg, but it was enough. Too fast to stop itself, the Hollow stumbled into one of the many potholes in the ground that she hid with the shadows and her own body. Predictably, it lost its footing.

She twisted in the air, so she was at the perfect angle to strike from behind, where the carapace had fallen off in large chunks from the earlier altercation. “Akechi-san!” she yelled.

He had his left hand held out in front of him, palm facing the Hollow.

“ Bakudo number nine: Geki!”

A red glow outlined the Hollow, freezing it in place. 

Perfect for her next attack. 

Time slowed down.

Visualise.

Aigis concentrated her reiatsu into her hand, imagining it as the spearhead of her Persona. She cocked it back.

Visualise.

Her reiatsu glowed white. She let herself fall, aiming her hand straight at the exposed head.

Summoning.

“ Kill Rush!”

Three hits all hit their bullseye. A bright flash, even brighter than the afternoon sun, blinded all in range. Aigis landed in a graceless tumble on the dirt, owing to her injured leg. She grit through the stinging pain and turned around to look at the aftermath.

In addition to the hole in its chest, the Hollow now sported a new one through its face. The three strikes had punched through the carapace to the other side, which was much more than what she had expected out of the attack. The Hollow moaned one last time, despite its mouth now missing, and dissolved into black dust.

Aigis allowed herself to collapse. 

She heard heavy footsteps somewhere to her right, but there was no hostility. A shadow fell over her, covering the glare of the sun.

"Good job, Aigis-san.” Akechi’s face appeared over her. “Need a hand?”

Perhaps recovering while lying face up in the dirt is not a good method. “Thank you,” she said, taking the offered hand. He was deceptively strong, more than his lithe frame and shaky breaths suggested, and his gloved hand gripped hers firmly as he pulled her up to a sitting position.

She ran a quick check over herself. Her leg was still somewhat swollen, still coloured a patchwork of greens, purples and reds. However, she could move it with great effort. She had a series of minor scrapes on her exposed skin, which just aggravated the stinging pain from her still recovering wounds from Namba. The hand she used to kill the last Hollow looked red, but there was merely a dull, throbbing ache, which was not particularly painful. Probably not an issue.

Unagiya was not going to be happy.

“Let me take a look at that leg.” Akechi commanded, and Aigis found herself obediently stretching her injured leg out for inspection. He looked over the bruises, then the various cuts around her body.

“Your leg is…probably not broken,” he decided, raising both hands over the injured leg. “But I think it’s going to break if you put any more stress on it, so let me do some first aid.”

His hands glowed green, with the light washing over her injuries. It stung like antiseptic applied directly on her wounds, but relieving all the same.

“Is this a type of shinigami magic?” Aigis asked curiously. 

“Kido.” Akechi corrected her. “It is, but anyone with enough reiatsu can learn it. Healing variants are called kaido.” 

As she watched, the swelling reduced and the bruises faded halfway through, so it only looked like an odd patchwork of red and purple, instead of the ballooned leg from before. The pain did not completely subside, but her leg did not feel like it was about to burst anymore.

Aigis was not sure if limbs could burst from pressure just like that, and she did not want to find out.

Akechi moved on to her other scrapes, closing the wounds partway. Then he produced a roll of bandages from his sleeve. “Hold still,” he instructed. He wrapped her wounds tightly with practiced hands, then moved on to her leg. 

It was somewhat embarrassing to be wrapped like a mummy.

Once he was finished with the leg, Akechi looked around. Rubble was strewn around the area, so he dug around until he came back with two pieces of wood board, the right size for a makeshift splint. “Just in case,” he said, as he tied them tightly around her leg. He went straight to the cultists after he was done without a word.

Aigis watched him go to the other shinigami, where they had a hushed, but hurried conversation. She only caught snippets of it, mostly about asking the Gotei for backup, their dwindling resources, Akechi’s abilities (which the other shinigami did not know about apparently), and more transport logistics. A few minutes later, he approached her again.

“Seems like we’ll be staying in town for a few days while we wait for backup,” he relayed. He did not show any sign of tiredness he had displayed earlier, though she was not sure if he had already recovered, or was just adept at hiding it.

She had a sneaking suspicion that it was the latter.

“Care to recommend an inn?” Akechi asked.

“The only one is near the town square.” Aigis replied automatically. “What about Namba-san and the others?” 

“Akai and Mutsu can take turns watching over them for now.” Akechi waved a gloved hand in their general direction. “It’s only a few days, so this will be easy for them. I don’t expect another Hollow attack soon, and even the one we just had was unusual enough.” His left hand went up to his chin, while his right rested on his hip. “Speaking of unusual, maybe I should report this to my captain…”

He went silent.

“Why is it unusual?” Aigis asked, which startled Akechi out of his musings.

“Most Hollows don’t hunt in packs, especially a pack that big,” he half explained, half mumbled to himself, still in the same pose. “By nature, they’re selfish, solitary creatures. There is also a wide variety of Hollows and abilities, so having multiple Hollows with almost identical traits and abilities at the same place seems to be too much of a coincidence.”

Aigis could only nod along. 

Akechi finally looked her in the eye. “Have there been any Hollow sightings lately?” he asked, his gaze suddenly intensifying.

“No,” she replied. “None within the town or the surrounding area.”

Morioka would be the first to know if there was a Hollow around, since he was the one who lived outside the town limits, but he never mentioned anything in his years of supplying wood for the Unagiya household.

Akechi’s scowl deepened. “With how much reiatsu there is around here, there should be at least more sightings, maybe a few Hollow attacks here and there,” he snapped, almost to himself. “Hollows consume souls for reiatsu, and this entire town would look like a very tasty snack for them. So why…?”

Aigis recognised the expression on his face well enough. Naoto often had the same one on her face whenever she was trying to puzzle out a particularly suspicious piece of evidence in a case. Just as Aigis was about to say something, he shook himself out of his thoughts. 

“Sorry, this isn’t the place for this.” Akechi almost sounded genuinely apologetic, if it was not for the hint of distraction she heard in his voice. He extended a hand out to her. “Here. Let me help you get back to the orphanage.”

She accepted the hand. “Thank you,” she said.

“It’s the least I can do.” Akechi replied. “You did contribute to the fight, and for that, you deserve my thanks.” 

He slung Aigis’s arm over his shoulder. “Can you walk?” he asked. She gave a small nod. The pain had dulled to an awkward ache, where she was not sure if it was more painful or just annoying. She decided on the latter.

They limped their way back to the orphanage, taking the main roads instead of the back alleys.

---

“What happened to the Phantom Thieves after I died?” Akechi asked suddenly. “I…did not leave them on the best of terms.”

Aigis turned to look at him. “You still saved them.” she said firmly. “I can only give you a second hand account, but they were quite regretful they were not able to save your life.”

“Why would they bother to save a murderer?” His head was lowered, focused on the unsteady steps and the gravel of the path. His long bangs hung in messy chunks, covering most of his eyes from her view. “I killed the parents of two of the members. I know they hate me, deep down.”

“Yes, I’m sure that is the case.” Aigis agreed. She kept her eye on the road, making sure that they were going in the right direction. “But in the end, you were a victim of a cruel society too, and they recognise that.”

Akechi grunted.

“Shido went to jail for his crimes,” she continued when he did not elaborate on his response. “And the Phantom Thieves shot the god responsible for the entire situation in the face on Christmas Eve.”

That caught his attention. “A god…orchestrated everything?” he asked incredulously.

“For most Shadow incidents, there is a god behind it.” Aigis explained. “They are formed from the collective unconscious, and emerge when the masses unconsciously call out for them. It may be for salvation, or maybe destruction, but the gods largely have a limited view on humanity. Whenever they try to grant the wishes of the masses, it inevitably twists into a perversion of what we truly need.”

She debated on whether or not to talk about the entire situation with Maruki.

“It’s not just gods though, humans make the same mistakes,” she continued. “Shortly after you died, there was…someone who tried to bring salvation to the people in Tokyo by removing their pain. To help Ren-san, he…brought you back to life as a cognition.”

“ What?” 

The guttural growl of shock made Aigis jump a little, agitating her injured leg. She suppressed a wince. “Whoever that man is, he’s dead the moment I see him!” Akechi gritted out.

She suppressed the desire to remind him that they were already dead, and instead focused on putting as little pressure as she could on her injured leg.

He took a shaky breath. “Apologies, not the place for this.” Akechi said as he went back to looking at the road ahead. “We’re almost there, aren’t we?”

“Yes.” Aigis confirmed, her eyes set on the familiar dirt path.

As they walked closer, they started hearing the loud din of the cottage, of children playing around happily. As if she knew, Unagiya walked out of the doorway right as Aigis and Akechi reached the perimeter. Unagiya saw them from afar, then froze.

“Um.” Aigis wondered what was the best way to explain her injuries without blaming Akechi.

She did not get a chance.

“ What did you do to my daughter?!”

---

It took an hour to calm down Unagiya, during which Akechi spent much of the time bowing in apology for dragging Aigis into the mess, though he also kept praising her combat prowess throughout as well, which unfortunately only served to make things worse.

After he left, Unagiya fussed over Aigis, checking over her old and new wounds, telling her that she was absolutely forbidden from doing any kind of work for the next week, then prepared a meal for her. 

The children, on the other hand, viewed her hurts as trophies, proof that their “big sister” is as strong as a hundred Hollows, which was just as awkward as Unagiya fussing over Aigis, not to mention the scolding they received for not taking the very real risk of death seriously.

It reminded her fondly of days past, when the people at Iwatodai dorm lived together trying to end the Dark Hour. A family not of blood, but of bonds. The dynamics were different, but the feelings were still similar.

---

“Daughter?” Aigis asked Unagiya, after the children went to bed. They were seated at their usual positions around the table, each nursing a cup of tea.

“Do you have any issues about that?” The words that came out of Unagiya’s mouth were harsh, but the tone was soft and comforting.

“No.” Aigis replied. “Just…a little surprised.”

Unagiya laid a warm, calloused hand on Aigis’s. “You don’t have to consider me as your mother,” she said softly. “But know that I consider you my daughter, and worry for you. No matter what, you will always be welcome here.” She gave a reassuring smile.

A jumble of feelings knotted in Aigis’s stomach. Warmth, uncertainty, hesitation conflated together into feelings that she was unsure how to describe with, a confusing series of thoughts flashing through her mind. 

She never really knew a mother’s love, but maybe it was something like this. Tough, but warm. Harsh, but soft. Someone wanting the best for whom they cared for, but also resisting the urge to hold their hand and guide them, lest they fall into worse pits when they inevitably have to let go.

Aigis met Unagiya’s eyes.

“Thank you for caring for me.”

---

Akechi visited the house a few days later. This time Unagiya did not raise a fuss.

“Thanks for your help with the Hollows again,” he said. “Here, some gifts for you and your family.” He bashfully held out a neatly wrapped package. Aigis opened it carefully, which turned out to be a delicately packed box of dango. She gave a small smile.

“Thank you for the gift, Akechi-san.” She bowed respectfully. “Would you like to stay for some tea?”

Akechi shook his head. “No, I need to leave for Seireitei soon,” he explained. “The backup we requested arrived, so I thought I’d visit you one last time before I leave.”

He seemed to have more energy than the last time she saw him. The majority of his scrapes faded into slightly discoloured patches, and he had his pleasant smile plastered on his face again.

“And,” he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small envelope, “this is your recommendation letter.”

Aigis did not know whether to stare at the letter in his hands or at Akechi’s face. His pleasant smile faded a little.

“I was serious when I said that you’ll fit in the Gotei.” Akechi said, his tone turning heavy. “You have the right skills, and more importantly, you have the right mentality for the job. Please think about it.”

“…I’ll consider it.” Aigis replied stiffly. “Thank you for the letter.”

He let out a hint of a genuine smile through his polite expression. “Well, I should get going. Stay safe, Aigis-san.”

“You too, Akechi-san.”

---

“That shinigami gave you a recommendation letter?!” Unagiya exclaimed in a voice reminiscent of a screech.

“Please don’t wake up the children.” Aigis replied, her own voice low.

They were outside the house, with the orphans asleep inside. Aigis secretly was glad she made the decision to have this conversation outside, because that screech would have definitely woken up the children. The night was warmer than usual, which made standing in the open more comfortable than expected.

With everything that happened over the past month, Aigis and Unagiya were having a lot more conversations like this, outside of the earshot of innocent children. There was a part of them that wanted to protect the orphans from the harsh realities of life in Soul Society, because they were not ready for that yet, no matter what Aigis taught them.

“I’m…considering it.” Aigis admitted.

Unagiya pursed her lips. For a long time, neither of them said anything, until she broke the silence with a sigh.

“I don’t have the right to stop you, Aigis.” Unagiya said. “You’re free to go if you want to.”

The truth was, the invitation was tempting. It was a chance to have Aigis’s questions about the afterlife answered, help the people, and possibly reunite with the Persona users she knew in life. 

It was everything she wanted to do.

Yet she also knew about how Unagiya never seemed to trust the shinigami all that much, where she was more likely to deck a shinigami than listen to them.

“Why…” Aigis tried to condense the multitude of questions in her mind into one. “Why do you dislike the shinigami?”

Unagiya leaned back on the walls of their home, her arms crossed. “You weren’t brought here by a shinigami, so you wouldn’t know,” she began, “but when they send you here, they’d always say that Soul Society is a place of rest, a land of happiness where you would never go hungry or get sick. And then I arrived here, and realised that it’s a load of bullshit. They’re liars, Aigis — a systemic group of liars.”

Aigis patiently waited.

“But I know they’re essential for this world too.” Unagiya continued. “We’d all be Hollow food if it wasn’t for them. So I can’t bring myself to completely hate them. I just wish their system was better.”

A cool breeze ruffled their hair. Unagiya’s observations were valid, Aigis noted to herself. Most of it was made from a desire to protect the children at the orphanage, but to Aigis, there were definitely more facets to the area known as Seireitei.

“I want to find out more about them.” Aigis said. “And if I can, I’d like to improve the system too.”

Unagiya smiled, and reached out with one hand to ruffle Aigis’s hair. “Knock ‘em dead, Aigis.”

She returned the smile.

---

“Aigis-neechan is leaving?” 

As expected, the children kicked up a fuss when she broke the news the next morning. Unagiya had questioned if it was too early — the next entrance period for Shin’ou Academy was in half a year after all, but Aigis said it was better for them to be mentally prepared, rather than be surprised when she left.

So she spent the rest of her time at the orphanage teaching the children everything she knew, from numbers to writing to science, answering every question they had. They, in turn, stuck to Aigis like glue, refusing to leave her side even when Unagiya scolded them for doing so.

Thus, on a chilly spring morning, Aigis left her home of nine years to join the Gotei.

Notes:

And that's a wrap for the first arc! Next chapter will begin a new arc, along with many more familiar characters appearing soon!

On another note, I have a beta now (thank you GarbageboyStinkman for volunteering)! I spent much of my time while writing this chapter figuring out the character list, positions, and future arc story points, so about 50% of the story is planned out (but not written). It means I am...probably less likely to go on break because I wrote myself into a corner.

Anyway, enjoy, review, and let me know if there are any mistakes so I can fix them ASAP!

Chapter 11: Sakura Biyori

The journey to Seireitei took a month.

Aigis was glad she had expected a long trip, and packed accordingly. Unagiya let her take all the coin she wanted from the orphanage's coffer, but she only dared to take a little less than half. It was still enough for staying at the various inns along the trip, coupled with some outdoor camping whenever she was between towns.

She found herself enjoying the scenery on the way, with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, and the architecture changed from simple to sturdy.

With how traditional Soul Society looked, she found herself surprised when she finally arrived at the gate to Seireitei, as she was greeted with what looked like an attempt to mimic modern skyscrapers using traditional Japanese architecture. Tall white towers stretched into the sky in the middle of the city, surrounded by lower buildings with red clay roof tiles and tall white walls. The roads were incredibly wide, enough to fit multiple cars side by side, yet there were no signs of any vehicles. Shinigami milled about the streets, chatting with others or rushing to different locations. Different from Rukongai, there was much less greenery scattered about.

It seemed exactly what she imagined a bustling city to be like in the Edo era.

The giant gatekeeper (Jidanbo, she learned) kindly pointed her towards the direction of Shin'ou Academy, and after some walking, she arrived at a large building with a smaller stone gate at the front. The entire area was fenced off with a tall concrete wall, but the greenery and buildings beyond were clearly visible. A shinigami was outside the gate, directing throngs of prospective and current students around. With no other visible entrance, she approached the crowd.

"Are you here to take the exam?" the shinigami asked. Aigis stopped to take a better look at him in the morning sun. He was tall and lanky, dressed in the typical shihakusho. His platinum blond hair covered one of his eyes.

She realised with a start that he was the first person who looked vaguely like a foreigner, but he somehow still fit in just fine.

Aigis gave a polite bow. "I am here to attend the Academy," she said. "Here is a letter of recommendation." She produced the envelope, slightly crumpled from the long journey, from her kimono sleeve.

The shinigami raised an eyebrow. "Please let me take a look at it," he said. He scanned the letter, his eyebrows creeping further up his face. "Well, it seems like Akechi-kun was very impressed with you."

She did read the contents of the letter on the way. Her deeds were exaggerated, she had decided.

The shinigami folded the letter up neatly and handed it back to her. "I'll let you skip the normal exams," he said neutrally, "but if you don't mind, I'd like you to take the exams for accelerated students, so that the school can have an idea of how well you can handle yourself."

Aigis nodded. "I don't mind," she replied. "Where do I take them?"

His directions led her to the back of the main building, where she spotted a smaller building surrounded by a carefully manicured Japanese garden. There were less people here compared to the entrance, but there was a steady stream of prospective students entering and exiting the smaller building. Oddly enough, there was a man standing outside the entrance directing each person through. Different from the other shinigami she had seen before, he wore a white kosode with blue accents, along with a pair of deep blue hakama.

"If you're taking the accelerated placement exams, please line up in a single file!" He yelled over the low din of the crowd. People shuffled around, along with plenty of pushing, but they organised themselves into a rough line after a minute. Aigis settled down near the end of the line, where she took the chance to observe those around her.

A few people were dressed in what almost looked like rags, and many had patches of cloth sewn over their clothes. A fair number of them however were dressed in clearly new or well-maintained kimonos, with some looking like they were made from high quality silk.

Even here, the divide between the privileged and the poor was clear. People congregated around those similar to themselves, creating a noticeable split in status within the queue.

"Hey."

Aigis snapped out of her observations, towards the person in front of her. It was a man who looked like he was in his late teens, wearing a plain green kimono. He was rather stocky, but barely taller than herself. Despite the relatively humble appearance, she spotted a pair of gold earrings hidden under his hair.

"What do you think the exam is gonna be?" He asked in an excited stage whisper. "Some people think it's just a reiatsu test, and there's some who think it's an obstacle course or something."

"Why an obstacle course?" She asked curiously.

"Because this building is the training hall, duh." He jerked a thumb to the entrance. "I heard from my cousins that it's big enough to fit all the students inside!"

As he said so, another person walked out of the building, head hung in dejection. The line moved forward.

"I'm not sure yet." Aigis replied. "It's difficult to hear anything from within the training hall, so it either has excellent soundproofing or the test itself is quiet. It might be a combination of different tests."

"Must be pretty hard if so many people are failing huh?" The man noted, as another person walked out, looking rather defeated. "I'm Ebina Noboru, by the way." He held a hand out.

"Aigis." She reached out for a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ebina-san."

"As you should be," Ebina said, a hint of arrogance in his voice. "Since I'm a noble."

She blinked, her hand frozen in place.

It had slipped her mind that with such an archaic appearance, Soul Society would follow an archaic system like noble families, where some are naturally born into high status, and able to use that as a crutch to succeed.

Not to say that the Living World did not have a similar system either, but there were ways for commoners to climb the proverbial ladder to reach such a status, if they were shrewd enough. As she recalled, it was much more difficult in feudal Japan.

"I do not see any reason to treat anyone differently because of status." Aigis said, retracting her hand. "With an exam like this, it ensures everyone in a class is at a similar level, correct?"

"Sure, but there's no way a country bumpkin like you can match up with a noble like me." Ebina waved a hand dismissively. "I've been here an hour, and I've only seen three people pass. There's been over fifty people who took the exam already, you know? But anyway, no shame in being in the regular class either. You just have a less likely chance of becoming an officer, so you'll spend most of your time out and about, instead of staying in the offices."

Something snapped in her.

"By all means, prove your superiority," she replied. "It should be your turn to take the exam, correct?"

He entered the building, laughing all the way.

He exited five minutes later, looking thoroughly downtrodden. She heard mutterings of how unfair the exam was, but before Aigis could deduce more, she was ushered into the building.

Ebina was right, the training hall was massive. The interior was built much like an oversized gymnasium hall in the Living World, with a massive court, multiple windows and shoji door openings to the outside, and a balcony on the second floor overlooking the court. It was currently covered in a thick layer of black cloth, cushioning the sounds emanating from the hall.

No wonder she could barely hear anything from the outside.

A severe, bald man sat in the middle of the hall, though he gave a single nod when she stepped in and dropped her belongings in a corner. He wore the standard shihakusho, but even under the loose cloth she could tell that the man was muscular from long hours of training.

"My name is Onabara Gengoro." The shinigami introduced himself. His voice was, as expected, incredibly deep. "May I have your name please, miss?"

She sketched a polite, shallow bow. "Aigis, sir," she replied. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

He nodded in approval. "I am the primary instructor for the advanced placement classes, and I will be your examiner today." He rose from his position.

She waited.

"Your task today," he began, "is to touch me in a game of tag."

Tag.

A common game she used in her own training for the Shadow Operatives. It taught decision making skills, speed, flexibility, and creative solutions where violence was not permitted. For all its simplicity, it was deceptively good at developing the skills needed for an accomplished Operative. She had used this tactic at the orphanage too, training the children in a safe manner so they could survive.

She approved of the exam.

With a small push of her reiatsu to her feet, Aigis rushed towards Onabara. She noticed his eyes widen a fraction, before he smoothly sidestepped out of the charge.

"The exam will end when you touch me, or when three minutes have passed," he continued leisurely, his hands placed casually behind his back. "Normally, this is when I'd say start, but you may continue."

With a turn of her heel (and almost slipping on the crumpled cloth surface), she moved towards her examiner again, this time moving in a zig-zag pattern (and most definitely not because of her near-slip). Onabara easily kept up with the misdirection, once again slipping right past her extended hand.

She followed through the motion, somersaulting to a stop some distance away from him, then took a moment to analyse her opponent.

Even boosted by Sukukaja, she was having trouble trying to touch Onabara. He was excellent at reading her body language and cues, which meant that he was able to partially predict where she would strike. On the other hand, him keeping his arms behind him made his body smaller, which coupled with the loose garments that seemed to blend into the ground and his minimal movement, made him difficult for Aigis to predict.

It was probably intentional, she decided. He was experienced, possibly even more than herself, which was such a rarity, she had almost forgotten how that felt.

The thick layers of cloth shifted under her movement as she considered her next step. It was almost impossible to feel the floor beneath, and lumps appeared in odd areas where the cloth gathered.

The cloth. Which was loosely laid on the floor.

It was a juvenile tactic, but if the large hall gave Onabara an unobstructed view from every angle, all she had to do was block it.

Aigis quickly glanced around for the edges of the cloth, which was much more difficult to spot than what she had hoped for. Out of ideas, she began pushing the older shinigami towards the walls, keeping the pressure up with bursts of Sukukaja. As expected, he moved closer towards the sides under the onslaught, still just as light on his feet.

One intentionally overstretched attempt at touching him later, Aigis had her back to the wall. She discreetly slid her foot under the black cloth, keeping her eyes on Onabara.

He still looked as relaxed as he was when the exam began.

She kicked the cloth up as high as she could.

In the instant before the flying cloth obscured her vision, she saw her examiner's eyes narrow ever so slightly.

The black material peeled off the floor as a long sheet, leaving both sides and the top open for Aigis to take advantage of. It only took a moment for her to make her decision, as she readied another burst of Sukukaja under her feet.

Onabara barely had time to turn around before she landed behind him, having flipped over the advancing wall of cloth. She laid one hand on his back.

"I believe this concludes the exam." Aigis commented lightly.

There was a moment of silence as the cloth fluttered down to a heap.

He clapped.

"Bravo." Onabara turned around to grin at her. "You're the first examinee this year to legitimately pass the exam."

"I think the skill level expected of students to pass this exam is rather high," she replied. "Unless you're looking at the potential of prospective students, not at the results."

"Correct." He nodded. "I think you understand the purpose of this test well."

He produced a piece of paper and brush from his sleeve and held it out towards Aigis. "Please fill in your name on this form, and I will let you collect your uniform. Your dorm assignment will be given to you later, after you have your uniform," he instructed.

She held the paper in her left hand, but held the brush gingerly in her right. She of course knew how to write, but she had never used a brush. They were obsolete as writing instruments when she died, and she had never quite managed to understand the subtleties of art.

Nevertheless, she had to try. It took her much longer than usual to paint out her name, and her writing left a blotchy mess on the paper in sharp contrast to the relatively neat script of the ten names above her.

Perhaps it is time to take some calligraphy lessons, she decided.

Aigis handed over the writing instruments back to Onabara. "I hope this will suffice."

He took a look at the paper. "No last name?" he asked.

"I never had one," she replied.

He hummed. "You can create one here, if you like," he stated. "Many people from Rukongai create their own surname by taking the name of the people who took them in, or which district they're from. Of course, this is entirely optional. There have been a few shinigami who never took on a surname, so you won't be alone if you decide to do so."

Aigis put one hand over her chest and pondered. She had never thought about taking on a surname before. It sounded as if Onabara was trying to extend an olive branch to her, for her to better blend into shinigami society, though he was also kind enough to state that it was not mandatory.

"Thank you for the kind offer," she politely bowed, "but I think I'll decline. I am satisfied with my name as is."

He nodded. "That's fine then. The student at the entrance will show you where to collect your uniform."

She bowed again, then collected her meagre belongings tossed at the corner of the hall, and exited the building.

"Congrats on passing the exam!" The male student she saw earlier exclaimed in lieu of a greeting. "Onabara-sensei has incredibly high standards, so good job on meeting them. Oh right, you need to go get your uniform right? Just go to the main building and then go to your left, there will be a room for you to get your uniform there!"

He spoke so quickly Aigis could not get in a word edgewise, so she settled for nodding along the instructions, then left before he ushered in the next examinee.

---

The uniforms turned out to be managed by a diminutive shinigami who had her hair gathered in a bun. "Here for a uniform?" she asked kindly.

"Yes." Aigis answered. "Is there anything I need to do?"

"Just stand there for a bit, please." The shinigami replied. She examined Aigis from head to toe for a moment, then walked to the back. She came out a few moments later with her arms full of the same uniform she saw the student wear earlier, except it was red rather than blue. "I think this should fit you just fine. Welcome to Shin'ou Academy!"

Aigis awkwardly received the armful of uniforms. "Thank you," she said. "Um, is there anywhere for me to put everything down? I was told to wait for my dorm assignment."

"The dining hall is open, if you'd like to get something to eat." The shinigami waved a hand down the opposite corridor. "Come back here in about…oh, one hour, and we should have your room assignment ready. Don't worry about money, the food here is free for staff and students."

Aigis bowed her thanks, then hurried to the dining hall. She did not realise that she was hungry until the shinigami mentioned it, and now all she wanted was a hot bowl of food to eat.

She was starting to understand why food was considered a comfort for many people.

Some minutes later, she was settled at a bench with a large bento, her belongings at her side. The food was much more luxurious than the grain she usually ate while she lived with Unagiya, with plenty of vegetables, miso soup, a few pieces of fruit and mackerel. Aigis wolfed down the first few bites, before she forced herself to slow down and savour the food better. It was not gourmet food, but it certainly was much better than what she was used to.

An hour later, she returned to the shinigami who gave her uniform for her dorm assignment. Aigis's room turned out to be a tiny closet with barely enough space for a futon, a desk, and a cabinet for personal belongings, with the futon rolled up at the far end of the room.

It was perfect for the amount of items she had for herself.

"Classes begin in two days!" The shinigami had cheerfully informed her. "Feel free to take the time to settle down for now!"

So Aigis spent the next day wandering the campus, and thoroughly cleaning her room so it almost sparkled. She almost accidentally stepped into another examination centre, admired the gardens and cherry blossoms outside the main building, and took a peek at the classrooms, which consisted of low desks and cushions in lieu of chairs, along with a lecturer's podium at the front. The campus was evocative of feudal Japanese buildings, yet there were some odd additions of technology from three hundred years ago — she spotted a whiteboard and a set of erasable markers in one of the classrooms, and a desk projector in another.

It was a strange mix of technologies, and she idly wondered if there was someone who had introduced such things to Soul Society.

---

The class was, as expected for an accelerated program, small. Aigis counted twenty students, apart from herself. They had gathered in one of the older classrooms for their first lesson, and everyone sat seiza-style at their desk. Many maintained perfect posture, though she noticed a few students who were clearly struggling with the extended period of sitting. Onabara stood at the front as he went through roll call. She did her best to memorise the names of her classmates, but it was a struggle.

"Listen up!" Onabara called. "You will receive your asauchi next week, so for this week, you will be training your basics. That means zanjutsu, writing, hakuda, hohou and kido. Don't think you can relax, because if your basics are lacking you won't even be able to hold a sword!"

A murmur of comments rippled through the class.

"Everyone, to the training hall!" Onabara bellowed again. "Your first class today will be hakuda!"

Aigis briefly massaged her legs, before she rose and headed towards the training hall with her classmates.

---

It turned out that their class was not the only one there, as another class had occupied half of the hall, separated by dark netting. The wooden floor was covered in cushioned mats, instead of the thick layers of cloth from her exam.

Another shinigami leaned languidly near the doorframe to the entrance. She had striking golden blonde hair that flowed in waves down to her back, and her shihakusho was modified to somehow reveal much more skin than others, yet keep her assets where they belonged. In addition, she wore a pink shawl around herself. There was a prominent mole under her pouty lips.

"Let me introduce you to your hakuda teacher: Matsumoto Rangiku." Onabara announced.

Aigis couldn't help but blink. There were a few low "ooh"s that came from the students.

She smiled like it was the most natural reaction. "Hi everyone!" Her voice was a mix between singsong and sultry, as if she wanted to be casual and charm the students at the same time. "Just call me Rangiku! I will be your hakuda teacher during your time here, so I hope we get along!"

With the greetings out of the way, Onabara left the class to Matsumoto. She snapped her fingers, and a shimmering wall rose up from the netting, cutting the hall in half and separating the loud practice sounds from the other side.

"So!" Matsumoto clapped her hands, grabbing everyone's attention. "Hakuda is what you might call hand-to-hand combat. It's your most basic weapon, and the one to fall back to if for some reason you don't have reiatsu or your zanpakutou. That's why it's important to be good at it, because it forms the foundation of your fighting style."

In contrast to the easygoing aura she gave off, her words were serious.

"To start off…hm," she scanned the class. "Any volunteers for a short spar?"

A multitude of hands shot up from the crowd. Matsumoto picked a burly man, and they stood opposite each other. One glance at his expression informed Aigis that he was hoping for much more than a spar. Meanwhile, Matsumoto kept her easygoing smile.

The student's expression was wiped off his face in five seconds flat, when his back hit the mat from Matsumoto tripping him. Her smile had not wavered one bit.

"Mmm, too short. Any other volunteers?" Matsumoto called out.

There was a pregnant pause.

"I'd like to try." Aigis moved to the front of the class.

"Oh, good initiative!" Matsumoto praised. They took their positions at the front of the class, with Matsumoto taking a loose, relaxed stance, her legs apart and arms in front of her.

It seemed like a loose interpretation of a more rigid stance, which spoke volumes about her experience.

Aigis instead shifted into her favoured stance, with one foot in front of the other, her body tilted away from Matsumoto. One arm was placed in front, while the other was kept back. She ignored the low murmur from the students.

"Come to think of it, you're that student who passed Onabara-san's exam legitimately this year aren't you?" Matsumoto asked.

"Yes." Aigis gave a nod.

"He spoke rather highly of you," Matsumoto continued. "So I'm excited to see what you're capable of!"

She moved.

It did not look like there was any power behind the strike, but Aigis barely managed to parry the hand that reached for her jugular. She readjusted her footing, lashing out with her free hand towards Matsumoto's other arm that was coming in for another strike. There was an audible smack as flesh met palm, neither budging one bit in the contest of strength. A moment later, they disengaged, but Aigis used the backwards momentum as a spring, crouching then releasing her body and shooting towards Matsumoto.

This time, Aigis aimed for the jugular. It was blocked by a raised arm. Her teacher now had her fists balled, and went in for a punch to Aigis's gut, which she blocked with her free hand. She closed her hand on the fist, holding Matsumoto still, then dropped for a leg sweep. The shinigami twisted her fist out of the hold, jumping to avoid tripping herself. Aigis took advantage of the momentum to twist again, kicking higher into her instructor's position, which she responded with a kick from herself.

It was a spirited exchange that continued for almost five minutes, enrapturing the class with its flurry of strikes. The pace gradually hastened, from easily tracked movements to a blur of limbs as the two combatants went all out.

Aigis saw her opportunity when Matsumoto stumbled on her footing, causing her fist to miss its mark. Aigis grabbed the outstretched arm, then with a grunt, pulled Matsumoto to the ground.

The hall was silent.

Then applause erupted.

Aigis extended a hand out to her opponent. "Are you all right, Matsumoto-sensei?"

"I might've sprained something," Matsumoto joked. She gratefully accepted the outstretched hand and pulled herself up. "Okay class, you don't need to be as good as Aigis-chan here, but if you're even half as good you're good in my book! Now pair up! Find someone your size and start hitting each other! If you pick on someone smaller than you I'll make sure you eat the mat!"

The students scrambled to find partners and space for practice, and Aigis was about to join them until Matsumoto tapped her shoulder.

"Been a while since a student beat me at hakuda on the first day." The shinigami said in a lower voice. "From next week onwards I'd like you to help instruct hakuda for your class, but for today, I'd like you to try sparring with someone else."

"May I ask why?" Aigis asked.

"Call it a bit of personal curiosity." Matsumoto winked. "Don't tell Onabara, okay? She's also someone whose hakuda ability far outstrips everyone else in her cohort, and she's on track to graduate early. I'm curious on who's stronger between the two of you."

Aigis gave a bewildered stare at Matsumoto's back as she skipped out of the hall. A few minutes later, she returned with another student in the standard Academy uniform.

Her eyes widened.

Brown hair, cropped neatly above her shoulders. It was adorned with a braided headband that was the same colour as her hair. Her maroon eyes were just as wide as Aigis.

"…Niijima-san?"

"How did you end up here?" Niijima Makoto blurted.

Notes:

This chapter was finished two weeks before, but I was busy with some personal stuff and didn't have time to edit until last week. Gave me a chance to edit some stuff so it lined up with later chapters though (next chapter is 90% done).

We finally have more Bleach characters appearing! And a Persona character! Of course, more will appear over the course of this arc, but it is meant to be a relatively low-stakes part before the truly dangerous problems start happening. Can't always throw Aigis to the deep end every time, after all.

Anyway, this chapter was beta'd, but let me know if there are any problems!

Chapter 12: The Whims of Fate

"Oh, you guys know each other?" Matsumoto asked coyly.

Her eager expression reminded Aigis uncomfortably of gossipy high school girls.

"We used to work together every now and then." Niijima answered. "I didn't expect to see Aigis-san here though."

"Gotcha." Matsumoto nodded. "Well, I'll let you guys catch up then, while I go and make sure the class doesn't injure themselves. Ah, I still want that bout though!"

Niijima sighed.

Matsumoto cheerfully turned her attention to the class in the midst of stumbling over themselves. "Hey! What in the world are you doing like that? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Her shouts faded into the background of squeaky feet and smacks.

Aigis took a better look at Niijima. She appeared to be barely in her twenties, a marked contrast from when Aigis last saw her when she was in her seventies. "You look well." Aigis commented.

"Yes well, I didn't expect to arrive in Soul Society looking like this either." Niijima replied, fidgeting with her hakama. "It took some time to adjust."

"I can imagine." Aigis agreed.

The loud grunts filled the hall with ambient noise, affording them some privacy to talk.

"I'm curious though, how did you end up here?" Niijima asked.

"I died."

Niijima opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to form a coherent reply to the blunt response. "I-I thought that it's not really possible for um…"

"A robot to end up in the afterlife?" Aigis finished for her. "I'm trying to figure it out too."

"…yes." Niijima looked sheepish.

Aigis rubbed her arms. It had been a long time since she thought about her unique situation, of a robot turning into a rather human girl in composition. At some point, she had simply become accustomed to the change and stopped thinking about it.

"My best guess is that I was considered human enough to end up here." Aigis said after a while. "I think…it's a second chance at life."

The more she thought about it, the more Aigis realised that it was true. Many of the hardships that existed in the Living World were here in Soul Society too, with the rampant poverty, inequality, and safety concerns. Yet, the people were still largely kind and willing to help their fellows, forming tight-knit communities like the town she lived in. It was a chance for people who had regrets to start over, without their background affecting their opportunities. For some, it is enough.

Niijima smiled warmly as she pulled a stray strand of hair behind her ears. "In any case, I'm glad to see you again, Aigis-san," she said.

"Me too." Aigis agreed.

They looked over at the hakuda class still in session, where Matsumoto seemed to be correcting the posture for one of the students. When she caught the pair's gaze on her, she gave a wink in response, and mimed a few punches in the air.

"Matsumoto-sensei is…quite the character, isn't she?" Aigis commented with a wan smile.

"She's a little too easygoing for my comfort." Niijima sighed again as she moved to stand opposite Aigis. "But she's good at what she teaches, and I heard she used to be a lieutenant. I wonder how her captain kept her in line."

"They must be very strict then, I think." Aigis replied. She moved into her usual stance, as Niijima dropped low for her own preparation.

She used a modified aikido stance, with her legs far apart, and her centre low to the ground for balance. One of her fists was cocked back close to her body, while the other hung in front, protecting her vitals. It was incredibly difficult to knock her off balance because of that, and in the numerous practice spars they had while they were alive, Aigis learned to never attempt tripping Niijima.

They nodded at each other, and began their spar.

Niijima went for a punch straight to Aigis's gut, which she sidestepped, and countered with a chop to the side. It was blocked by a forearm, along with a sweeping kick that had just enough clearance to reach Aigis's chin. She leaned back just enough to miss the foot by millimetres, then had to quickly disengage to avoid the leg continuing towards her arm.

She was just as good as Aigis remembered her as. Niijima's skill as an aikido practitioner had served her well throughout her career in the police force, but it shone when she battled Shadows, where she did not have to hold back. There was a deceptive amount of power behind the seemingly slow strikes. It had seemed like annoyances back when Aigis was a robot.

She suspected they would be much more painful now.

Niijima wound up her next attack, another straight punch to Aigis's chest. With too little time to avoid the attack, she instead opted to block it with both hands, catching the fist with her palm, then bit back a wince from the sting. Niijima brought her other hand forward for another punch, and for a minute, Aigis parried or sidestepped the flurry of punches that came her way, before she noticed Niijima's legs tensing up, and her arm cocked back.

She dashed. Aigis jumped.

She flipped over the strike, then had to immediately parry a flying leg to her general position.

They fell into a routine, a spar that was somewhat serious, but never dangerous. Through the series of strikes, blocks and parries, they found time to chat.

"I'm guessing you're a first year, if Rangiku-sensei found you just today." Niijima commented.

A strike to her left, which she blocked with a raised arm.

"Yes." Aigis confirmed. "What about you?"

A high kick, easily avoided.

"Just entered third." Niijima replied. "I'll graduate after my fourth year."

"Matsumoto-sensei did say that you're on track to graduate early." Aigis said, as she avoided another strike. "Did she drag you out of class to spar with me?"

A fist blocked with one hand, and another out for a counter strike.

"No, I was studying in the library." Niijima answered. "I sometimes help out with the hakuda class, but I've been given permission to skip it."

Aigis nodded, neatly dodging an overhead strike. "Is that why you're graduating early?"

"Mostly yes." Niijima said, going for a low sweeping kick. "The only area I'm lacking in is zanjutsu, but Onabara-sensei states that it's still good enough to graduate."

Aigis lightly hopped over the leg. "Ah, so that's what he teaches," she commented.

"That, and writing." Niijima added. "It's basically how to fill in forms for reports. Quite similar to the Living World, actually."

Of course she would know, considering that she was the police commissioner for a long time. Aigis was no slouch either, as she had her share of forms to fill after the Shadow Operatives officially became a branch of the government. Internally, they kept no records. She and Labrys were enough to serve as records, though now that it's only Labrys left, the Operatives might start keeping records just in case something happened to her.

"Can you recommend any calligraphy classes then?" It was Aigis's turn to look sheepish, as she sent a spinning kick towards Niijima. "I don't know how to write with a brush."

"I don't think the Academy has any, apart from the occasional times captains will come and host a class." Niijima frowned. She caught the leg in her palm. "I'm sorry, my handwriting isn't great either."

Aigis sighed as she twisted her leg free and landed lightly on the mat. "I suppose I will have to practice on my own, then," she said glumly as she parried a fist. "Why did you decide to enter the Academy? I think it suits you, but I wanted to ask anyway."

"I thought I had enough of a break." Niijima replied, as she struck at various parts of Aigis's body, trying to find a weak spot. "A hundred years doesn't feel like much when you spend them here without physically changing, but I couldn't sit still."

Aigis's defence faltered, earning her a painful punch in the arm. "I thought it's been over two hundred years since you died."

"Wha- I thought it's been a hundred?" Niijima's assault slowed.

"No, I can confirm it's over two hundred." Aigis stated definitively.

Then she realised the hall was too quiet. She blinked, finally noticing the awed stares from her classmates and her teacher's appreciative gaze.

Apparently, she and Niijima accidentally enraptured the entire class with their spar.

"Let's continue this conversation later." Niijima muttered, hopefully too low for anyone else to hear. "Six at the cafeteria?"

Aigis gave a minute nod. "Sorry Matsumoto-sensei, I think we both had enough," she called out.

Matsumoto shrugged. "Well, that was enough for the class anyway." She turned towards the class. "Use this demonstration as your goal! Aim high so you can at least reach even half of this potential!"

"Yes sensei!" The chorus rang out.

"Class dismissed!" Matsumoto barked. The students scrambled out of the training hall, with Aigis in the centre of it all, clapped constantly on the back for her performance, though she also spotted a few jealous looks. Not that it bothered her much — they were nothing compared to the contempt she had to endure back when she was the director of the Shadow Operatives, and she had learned to simply ignore them.

---

Next class turned out to be writing, taught by Onabara. Apparently, it was also mixed with many other topics, such as shinigami history (fascinating, though she also idly wondered about the formation of Soul Society in general), the basic anatomy of a Hollow (apparently split into four types depending on power, and as Akechi had said, their masks were their weak point). He lectured on the foundations of how Seireitei was founded, the structure of the Gotei Thirteen, and the characteristics of most typical Hollows. It went by uneventfully, except when Aigis handed up her mock sheet and Onabara had to squint to make out the characters she was writing.

She was not sure why a writing instrument of all things would be the bane of her existence in Shin'ou.

"Do you know how to write with a brush?" He asked bluntly.

"No, sensei." Aigis replied honestly. "I am literate, though I have never written with a brush before I entered the Academy."

He made a thoughtful hum. "I can see that," he stated, stroking his chin. "Your report is immaculate, but your handwriting is frankly atrocious. Until it is legible, in addition to homework, I'd like you to submit a sheet of calligraphy of hiragana every lesson."

That was reasonable. "Yes, sensei." Aigis bowed.

Onabara dismissed her.

---

"Extra homework, huh?" Niijima commented between bites of salad. "Is it really that bad? I didn't have to do that."

As arranged, they had both shown up at the cafeteria at six, after classes were finished for the day. It was noisy enough that it would be difficult to overhear their conversation, but Aigis had already spotted students pointing and whispering towards their direction.

Not for the first time, she internally lamented the speed of rumour mills in schools.

Aigis fiddled with her tonkatsu bowl. "I think it is pretty terrible," she said. "And it's not an unreasonable amount of extra homework, so I'm fine with it."

Granted, she never went to school again after she graduated Gekkoukan High, but having extra homework was not on her list of incidents she expected when she joined Shin'ou Academy.

"Well, if you say so." Niijima replied. She continued in a lower voice. "Any idea why there seems to be a hundred years' worth of difference in time we experienced?"

Aigis shook her head glumly. "I only know that my timeline should at least be close to correct, as far as I'm aware."

"Why?" Niijima asked.

"Because Akechi-san's experiences line up with mine, unless we are both missing a similar number of years."

"You met Akechi-kun?!" Niijima had enough awareness to not yell in the cafeteria unlike her teammate Ryuji, but her voice came out in a strained hiss that bordered a screech. "How?"

"He came to my town to arrest some Nyx cultists that I beat. He wrote my recommendation letter." Aigis added. She finally took a bite of her meal, then winced. "Sorry, I should have told you that earlier."

"Nyx? That goddess sealed on the moon?"

Aigis nodded.

Niijima abandoned pretending to eat her meal.

"How did you even run into them?" There was a hint of awe and pity in her voice.

For the next five minutes, Aigis recounted the incident that spurred her into joining the Gotei, starting with when the cultists first arrived in town. She did not omit anything. When the story was finished, Niijima did not look satisfied.

"Was it wise for him to know about…you know?" she pressed.

Aigis being a Persona user, she meant.

"Yes." Aigis nodded. "I didn't see an issue with letting him know, and I think he wanted some closure with what happened too."

Niijima deflated. "I still remember," she reminiscenced. "We didn't know if he was alive or not for the longest time, and after years of not hearing a peep about him, we had to believe he was dead. Seems like he did die back then, in the engine room."

Aigis took another bite of her food. It tasted a little better, being with a friend and catching up with each other, as if a burden was taken off her shoulders.

"Back to topic," Niijima continued, seemingly energised. "The hundred year gap?"

"Any idea what year it is now?" Aigis asked back.

"No." Niijima replied glumly. "People don't really keep track of years here, at least in Rukongai."

"We could ask one of the instructors," Aigis suggested.

"I'll do that." Niijima volunteered. "I have writing class tomorrow and I think Onabara-sensei is most likely to know."

Aigis nodded, and finished up the last bite of her meal. "Do you want to meet here again tomorrow, same time?"

"Yes, let's do that." Niijima agreed. She packed up her half eaten bento, and they both left the cafeteria.

---

The diminutive shinigami who gave Aigis her uniform turned out to be her kido instructor. Hinamori Momo was seemingly dwarfed by Aigis's class as she gave her lecture at the practice grounds, which looked rather like an archery range — high brick walls surrounded the green, and seven target boards were placed at the far end of the courtyard. A veranda shielded the class from the bright sun.

Hinamori was calmer than Matsumoto, but she was no less commanding of attention. She seemed rather friendly too, constantly smiling as she cheerfully answered various questions from the students.

"Okay everyone, I will be splitting you into groups of seven to use the target boards. Observe and learn from your classmates!" Hinamori called out.

Aigis was assigned into the second group, and she watched her classmates attentively.

"Kido is split into three broad types: bakudo, which are supportive spells and binds, hado, which are destructive spells, and kaido, which are healing spells." Hinamori said as the students moved into their positions. "For your first lesson, I'd like you to try Hado number one: Sho."

She casually pointed a finger at one of the target boards, and a bright light, akin to a bullet, shot out of it, hitting the bullseye and leaving a slight burn mark. A chorus of "ooh"s was heard as the students observed the clean execution of the spell.

"Of course, you will be doing this with the full incantation, unless you want your spell to explode in your face." Hinamori cheerfully continued. "Trust me, it's not worth showing off."

The students laughed, and Aigis gave a giggle as well, because the way Hinamori stated that was as if she had personally witnessed the exact same incident happen before.

She led the class with the chant, going phrase by phrase, until the students could memorise it without issue. The seven students already at the target board pointed their fingers forward, their free arm supporting the other.

With a signal, they all fired their spells. They largely fell short of the board itself, leaving pockmarks in the grass. Some were so off course they were closer to another board than the student's assigned target.

"Normal for a first try." Hinamori commented. "Keep your reiatsu output steady when chanting, and keep your arm steady when you fire the spell. It's normal to feel a little recoil, but by the time you graduate this should not be an issue." She went by each student, correcting their posture until she was satisfied, and instructed them to fire again.

The spells largely still did not reach the board itself, but their trajectory improved.

"That's enough for now. Second group!" Hinamori called.

Aigis moved to the furthest available position, pointing her index finger at the target, her body tilted, much like how she would shoot her finger guns. The other students had all kept their body straight, directly facing the target. She pushed reiatsu into her hand.

"Go!"

A short incantation, and a white ball of light shot out of her fingertip but it fizzled out before it reached the board. She barely felt the recoil.

The other students did not fare much better, with all of their shots going wide in some form.

Aigis frowned.

"I don't think you're putting enough power into the spell, Aigis-san." Hinamori came over to check. "Your aim is excellent though. If that spell lasted long enough, it would've hit the target."

As her instructor went to check on the other students, Aigis recalled the little lesson that Hitomi gave her when she first learned to control her reiatsu.

You imagine a space, then a circle within that space, filled with the darkest colour you can think of, Hitomi had said.

Aigis imagined a blank void, with a black hole.

Hinamori finished her inspections, and geared up for another round of firing.

Then imagine throwing yourself in.

Aigis narrowed her eyes.

"Go!"

A much bigger bullet exploded from her fingertip, streaking towards the target board. The unexpected recoil made Aigis flinch, and it managed to clip one side, burning a fist sized mark into the brick wall.

Oh, so that was why the area was fenced off with brick, instead of a weaker material like wood.

"That's a little too much power." Hinamori gently reprimanded. "But again, your aim is excellent. If the recoil was smaller, I think you would've hit bullseye."

"I'm…usually better at handling recoil than this." Aigis replied awkwardly. "I think I'm out of practice."

No guns existed in Rukongai, after all. Or rather, she never found any hints of weaponry from the twentieth century onwards in Soul Society at all. She used to be perfectly calibrated to handle any kind of recoil from any gun, even her gigantic Heritage Liberator Palladion (though to be fair, that one was formed from her Persona).

It shamed her to realise that she would have to recalibrate herself for recoil.

"That's what this school is for, Aigis-san." Hinamori replied. "You're doing well for your first try."

"Thank you, sensei." Aigis bowed.

She moved into the shade of the veranda as the next group stepped up. Much of the same results, though one student somehow managed to have his spell hit the board then bounce off, earning another round of giggles from the class.

So the three groups rotated throughout the lesson, ending only when all of the students could hit some part of the board with their spell at a reasonable power level. It took many more attempts for Aigis to find the right amount of reiatsu to successfully fire the spell without wrecking something else, but she managed.

---

A rushed lunch later, she had her first hohou class. It was the first class that she had no idea what it would entail, so it was a mild surprise when they were ushered back into the training hall, except they had the whole place to themselves. Like before, the floor was covered in thick mats for protection.

"Hohou, in essence, is the skill of instant movement," her instructor, Kira Izuru, began. "It is an essential part of shinigami combat, and your greatest tool for avoiding death."

Aigis recognised the man as the shinigami who first looked at her recommendation letter almost a week ago. He was thin and lithe in a way that reminded her of a cheetah, and spoke with almost a flat, serious monotone that might put anyone else to sleep, but she forced herself to pay attention.

"For most shinigami," he continued, "mastery of hohou manifests in shunpo — high speed movement. It emphasises footwork and a strong foundation in reiatsu control."

He faced away from the class, towards the far end of the hall.

Aigis blinked. Then her eyes turned wide.

In the moment it took her to blink, Kira had moved from near the class all the way to the other end of the hall, easily fifty metres in length. Her classmates were similarly gobsmacked.

Her teacher turned back, and with only a slight forward movement as preparation, he was back at the students' side again. She recognised the ability as what Akechi used to help her escape the Hollow trying to smash them back then.

So it was not unique to Akechi then.

The hall was large enough for all students to stand in a row as directed by Kira, while still giving everyone enough space to not crash into each other.

"Push your reiatsu into your feet," he instructed. "Imagine it as air pushing you along."

It sounded almost similar to how Aigis casted Sukukaja, though it also had the additional effect of increasing reaction speed, but the speed boost paled in comparison to shunpo.

"Solidify the image in your mind first, then move." Kira continued. "Don't rush, and don't let your classmates distract you."

She imagined a jet on her heels. Aigis dimly heard her classmates attempt shunpo, with varying levels of success.

She moved.

The world blurred around her, and she was unable to steady herself before she felt a downward force. By the time she found her bearings, she had face planted into the mats halfway across the breath of the hall.

Aigis scrambled upright, valiantly keeping a disgusting, sour liquid down in her stomach.

(She realised it was nausea, and now she understood why people did not gorge on food before intense physical activities).

Her classmates did not fare much better, either outright failing to activate shunpo, crash somewhere along the way, vomit, or a combination of the three.

It was going to take some work to deal with her own issues with shunpo.

"Motion sickness is normal when you first try shunpo." Kira noted, his hands glowing green as he used kaido on a vomiting student. "However, that reaction should disappear within the day. Once you feel that you're fine, try again."

It seemed a little harsh to Aigis. There were no tricks given to reduce the nausea, just a blunt "get used to it". Nevertheless, she did as she was instructed, sitting down on the mats to get her stomach under control. Some students were already trying again, determination etched on their faces. Aigis instead opted to take it slowly.

Her second try did not go much better.

On her fifth try however, she managed to move four metres from her starting position with only a stumble.

Oddly, Kira was not lying when he said that shunpo did not take much to get used to. By the end of class, Aigis only stumbled through shunpo half of the time, and the other half she landed steadily. The nauseous reaction was still there, but it was as an afterthought, rather than at the forefront. Some students fared better, but at least everyone was able to perform shunpo to some extent.

She considered it a win.

---

"You were right." Niijima said in lieu of a greeting when they met up in the cafeteria that night, putting down her tray of chiraishi don and tonjiru soup. "It has been two hundred years since I died."

"Did you ask Onabara-sensei about it?" Aigis asked, her chopsticks halfway to her yakiniku.

"He said the library keeps a log of major events that happen in Soul Society, which has the dates on them." Niijima continued. "We can check there."

"Sure." Aigis agreed. "Tomorrow night?" She had homework to complete, after all.

"Let's do that."

Notes:

Y'all, I changed my commute just to get extra writing time (I write during my commute since it's one hour each way). Would you believe that I finished this chapter literally the day after I published the last one? Kept it back so that I could build up a backlog for chapters in case something happened though, and also because I wanted to make sure all the info and events lined up.

I think part of the reason why I'm writing faster now, apart from the long commute is that I am actually writing the parts I'm excited about. Before my hiatus, I was trying to do some worldbuilding, but with a limited number of canon characters and my unwillingness to create too many OCs, it was just...really slow. Now that I have more characters to play with though, it's a lot of fun extrapolating the possible lives that each canon character can have.

Next chapter is actually already finished, but again, trying to build up a backlog here. I might publish it in 2-3 weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter :D

Chapter 13: Burden of the Past

This does not suit me, Aigis could not help but think as Onabara corrected her position gripping the bokken.

Zanjutsu class was held in the training hall, and started with Onabara demonstrating his skill using a straw dummy and his own sword, strapped to his obi. With only a quick, light draw of his sword, he cleaved the dummy diagonally in half, without a single straw out of place.

"That is your goal by the time you graduate." Onabara said, sheathing his katana. "Shinigami use specialised swords known as zanpakutou for combat. They are born from a shinigami bonding with an asauchi — a blank sword that you can slowly pour your own soul into, so every zanpakutou is different. It can take many years for a zanpakutou to manifest, so your foundations are especially important when you cannot rely on the special abilities of your zanpakutou!"

Zanjutsu was odd in that the class did not teach any particular style of sword play, instead just drilling the basics of how to hold and swing a sword, and letting the student develop from there. Upon further consideration, hakuda was similar, since Matsumoto basically just let students beat each other up until they knew how to defend themselves.

Aigis was slightly disappointed that she would not get to learn a swordplay style, like kendo, if only because she could get to feel a fraction of how Makoto led his life.

It was…difficult to not think about him, how everything that she did was only possible because of him. He was, bar none, the most influential person in her life, the one who helped her realise her own potential, even after he passed away. Despite her friendly relationship with the Phantom Thieves, enough that she called everyone by their first name, she could not bring herself to do the same to Niijima. In her heart, she knew how unfair that was, because they were completely different people, and their names were not even spelled with the same kanji.

But not now. Not yet.

"Something on your mind, Aigis?" Onabara rumbled.

She blinked. At some point she had apparently stopped swinging her sword, and now her instructor was looking at her with an odd side eye.

"My apologies, sensei." Aigis replied hurriedly, going back into position for her practice. "It's nothing."

Onabara was a strict taskmaster, demanding perfection in form from every student in the training hall. Despite her best efforts, Aigis barely fared better than the average classmate, as she had plenty of experience watching other Persona users using their katanas (it seemed to be a favoured weapon in general), and had the barebones idea on how to effectively swing a sword.

Some seemed to be doing well, only needing minor corrections in form. Others, however, seemed to be using their sword like a club.

They earned a harsh scolding for that.

It did not take much for her to notice that those who did well were also those who were able to sit still seiza style. Most likely nobles then, she decided.

Still, Onabara forced them to swing their bokken until their arms were sore and their brows were dripping with sweat before letting them go.

---

Afternoon class turned out to be kido again, this time with a focus on bakudo.

"Bakudo is a test of your endurance." Hinamori lectured under the veranda. "Unlike hado which is dependent on your firepower, high level bakudo needs reiatsu channelled into the spell as long as it lasts. It tests your control of your own power. Those who are able to sustainably maintain their reiatsu are those who are able to effectively use bakudo."

"Sensei!" One student raised his hand. If her memory was correct, his name was Fukumatsu. "Does it mean bakudo is less powerful than hado?"

"Good question." Hinamori nodded. "That is not the case. It is a matter of using the right tool at the right time. For example, shooting a fireball at a Hollow can do just as much damage as using a rope to trip the Hollow up and let it smash into an environmental hazard."

From a hidden shed, she brought out a life-sized dummy, except Aigis detected the barest hint of reiatsu from it. Odd.

"This is a specialised gigai, a human body shinigami use for certain missions into the Living World." Hinamori explained, letting it hang from its metal frame so it stood upright. "It will react in the same way as other souls when a spell is cast against it, so this will be your target for today."

She raised one hand, her index finger pointing at the gigai.

"Bakudo number one: Sai!"

The dummy, previously relaxed, suddenly jerked both of its hands behind its back, as if its wrists were tied together. They remained bound until Hinamori snapped her fingers, and the gigai's hands fell back to its sides.

"That is a basic binding spell." She explained. "Your goal for today will be to successfully cast this spell, again, with full incantation."

She brought out six more dummies and placed them in the green as the students tried to memorise the chant. "Split into groups of seven, please!" Hinamori called out.

Three minutes later, seven students had in order: managed to set the dummy on fire, bind the wrong target, make the dummy's wrist explode, failed to do anything, twist the leg of the dummy into a pretzel, bind the correct target only for the spell to fail immediately after, and have the spell explode in her face (she was thankfully unharmed).

A round of chuckles later, Hinamori snapped her fingers and fixed the gigai. "This is why it's not wise to practice on living targets." Hinamori explained, as the second group of students stepped forward. "You do not want to push as much reiryoku as you can into the spell — you're more likely to cause it to explode in some form. Slowly release a steady stream of power, then channel it into the spell."

The second group fared marginally better, after listening to the explanation. There were a few successful binds for a few seconds before they all invariably failed in some form or another, but the students were starting to understand.

Aigis's first attempt resulted in the dummy's hands exploding.

Hitomi's explanation for channelling reiatsu was not suitable for spells that needed too little reiryoku.

Instead, she took inspiration from her set of Persona buff spells. It felt more like a gentle push of energy out of her body, instead of the explosive force of her spells.

This time, the spell worked. Aigis held it in place for a few seconds, then released her control. The spell came undone with a cracking sound, and the wrists flopped.

"Well done, Aigis-san." Hinamori clapped. "Your release still needs work, as you don't want to break your target's wrist if possible, but that was fine spellcasting."

Aigis breathed out a sigh. "Thank you, Hinamori-sensei." She bowed politely.

Strangely, bakudo was easier for her compared to hado. Maybe it was her natural affinity for support spells, but they took less effort for her to learn, where in contrast hado took numerous attempts for her to successfully cast one.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. For now, her focus should be on the lesson.

---

"There seem to be more people interested in us today." Aigis commented to Niijima, slurping up her ramen.

There would be a group of students staring at them every meal, though she supposed that for them, it would be strange to see two students in different years being such close friends. It was just that there were more than usual today, as their table was given a wide berth, yet the tables surrounding the invisible line were fully occupied with people trying to discreetly eavesdrop on them.

"I beat my entire class at hakuda today." Niijima sighed, adding more toppings to her chazuke.

Aigis tilted her head.

"At the same time." Niijima clarified.

"Oh."

"Rangiku-sensei asked for it," Niijima grumbled, "said it was a 'good demonstration' for how fighting multiple opponents would look like."

"So they're all your classmates?" Aigis asked.

"More like they're all from my year."

Aigis took a bite of her egg, then scowled when she realised it was hard boiled for some reason. "Does Matsumoto-sensei keep pushing demonstrations to students?"

"Just sometimes." Niijima replied, which did not reassure Aigis. "Anyway, here's hoping we have access to the information we want at the library."

"It should not be an issue." Aigis confirmed. "Not allowing students to view a general history of where they live seems a little ridiculous to me."

"Seireitei thrives on bureaucracy." Niijima countered. "There are a lot of books restricted there."

"That is true for every government, Niijima-san."

They both looked at their bowls of food in disappointment, a fleeting moment of solidarity over the unnecessary amount of paperwork they had to go through in their lives.

---

They found out that there was practically only one book they were allowed to borrow to view the history of Soul Society.

The library, as expected of a building that existed for over two thousand years, was massive. Dim lights cast a soft orange glow throughout the interior, and the floor to ceiling shelves were crammed with various bound books, Edo style. Aigis spotted a few colourful hardcovers, mostly foreign language books, and some that seemed to be more modern in construction (there were paperback books scattered throughout). The books were largely handwritten, so she guessed that printing technology was probably not used widely in Seireitei.

Niijima and Aigis settled at a table in a quiet corner of the library, away from prying eyes. The tome they borrowed was heavy and dusty, its pages yellowed with age. Niijima gingerly flipped open the first page, which listed an index of years, sorted by the century.

At least it was listed in the Gregorian calendar format.

With some trepidation in her movements, Niijima flipped through the book.

They largely listed events that happened after Seireitei was formed, with only vague timelines for incidents that happened in Soul Society before that. It recorded the dates of the founding of the Gotei, the Academy, and when each new captain succeeded its predecessor.

"There's time periods where there was no captain in certain divisions." Niijima noted.

Aigis nodded. So it seemed that a captain was not strictly needed for a division. Many of them served for multiple centuries before they were replaced, though the reason was never given.

It was largely unremarkable, apart from one note from over a millennium ago about a war with the Quincies.

"Any idea what they are?" Aigis asked.

"They teach about them briefly in class." Niijima replied. "Quincies were apparently regular humans who developed their own method to kill Hollows, but they came into conflict with Soul Society because their method destroys the soul, instead of cleansing it like shinigami. They primarily used a bow and arrows made out of their reiatsu."

Aigis frowned minutely. "'Were'?"

"They're extinct…supposedly." Niijima pushed her hair behind her ears.

Aigis's frown deepened.

"There was another war with them about three hundred years ago." Niijima said when she saw Aigis's skeptical expression. "I think Seireitei lost track of the surviving Quincies since the Gotei killed their leader."

"I can't tell if that is irresponsible, or merciful." Aigis shook her head. "Let's continue."

The next few centuries were peppered with seemingly minor fights with Hollows, more changes in captaincy, until about four hundred years ago when multiple captains went missing at the same time.

Niijima shrugged, when Aigis asked.

The rest of the entries for that century went by unremarkably, until they realised that the next century had the longest chapter dedicated to it.

"What happened?" Aigis mumbled, almost to herself.

"Lots of things." Niijima replied, her voice almost a grumble. "It's the hardest part of the exam every time, just because of the sheer number of incidents that happened then."

Aigis stared at Niijima.

She pointed at an entry, early into the century. "A shinigami gave her powers to a human." Niijima said in a tone that sounded remarkably like Onabara's lectures. "That was in itself taboo at the time, but then the human broke into Seireitei to rescue her when she was arrested."

"That almost sounds like suicide." Aigis commented.

"The thing is, he succeeded." Niijima continued. "It just so happened that it was all part of a plan made by three shinigami captains, who turned traitor to the Gotei and sided with Hollows."

"Wait." Aigis stopped Niijima before she went further. "You said shinigami giving their powers to a human was taboo?"

She looked away sheepishly. "I got curious about the laws of Soul Society, so I looked them up." She moved another stray strand of hair behind her ears. "There are still a lot of restrictions on who you can give your power to, and for how long, but it is no longer outright taboo."

She flipped to the next page. "Anyway, it was called the Winter War. The Gotei eventually killed the traitorous captains and many of the highly ranked Hollows, half a year later."

The page was filled with short notes on actions taken during the war, culminating in one sentence: Kurosaki Ichigo defeats Aizen Sosuke.

There was a two year gap during which nothing of note happened other than changes in captaincy, though Aigis noted to herself that the three vacancies from the war were all filled then. Curiously enough, all were filled by captains who were among those that had disappeared a century prior. Then another large chunk of text greeted her eyes.

"This was the second Quincy War." Niijima said. "Pretty much all the captains now are veterans of that war."

Like the Winter War, it was filled with a copious amount of notes, with the last note being that they managed to kill the leader of the Quincies and protect the Soul King.

"There's a king in Soul Society?" Aigis questioned.

"He's more of a figurehead." Niijima replied, still scanning past the pages. "Most people will go through their whole lives without seeing him once, and the majority of the governing is done through the Gotei and the Central 46."

"I saw that term show up earlier too, in the Winter War section." Aigis commented. "Are they the central government of Soul Society?"

Niijima nodded, flipping the page past the Quincy War section. "They're comprised of nobles from Seireitei, and decide on the policies of Soul Society and the shinigami. They also create the laws."

Her description did not sit right with Aigis. How would nobles, who largely lived in comfort, know about the plight of those in the outer districts?

The next few decades were peaceful, until a short note about twelve years after the Quincy War stated a "cleansing" of Hell was carried out.

"What was that about?" Aigis was starting to feel bad for Niijima for asking so many questions, but she seemed just as mystified.

"No idea," she said, her eyebrows knitted. "It wasn't taught in class, at the very least. But Hell is where those who committed grave sins in life go, instead of Soul Society."

The next few decades went by unremarkably, only listing captaincy changes and status of noble houses.

"An invasion of Hollows into the Living World?" Niijima questioned, pointing to an entry listed some hundred years after.

"I remember that year." Aigis recalled. "That was the first time I saw shinigami in the real world, and we didn't know who or what they were. There was a Shadow incident that year too."

"You think the incidents might be linked?"

Aigis shrugged. "Not sure. The Operatives observed the shinigami for a while, or at least we tried to, decided that they were not a threat and not here to meddle in our affairs, so we left them alone."

"Probably a good thing." Niijima replied, as she flipped to the next page. "I can't imagine what kind of chaos has to arise in the Living World to prompt the shinigami to intervene. Their general solution to those kinds of issues is to kill the offender with extreme prejudice."

"Something obviously world-ending would probably warrant it?"

"That's almost every Shadow incident, Aigis-san."

They looked through the next few entries in silence. The latest entry was dated a few years before Aigis died, another update for a noble house.

"It's really true." Niijima leaned back in her seat. "I'm either bad at keeping track of time, or there's a period of a hundred years where I don't know what in the world was happening to my soul."

Aigis patted Niijima's shoulder. "Whatever happened, you're here, and whole," she said gently, but still firmly. "We can take our time to look for the reason why you lost a hundred years. Maybe we can even enlist people to help, once we join a division in the Gotei."

Niijima nodded. "Thanks, Aigis-san."

"No need for thanks." Aigis smiled back. "I'm happy to help."

They sat in companionable silence, the flickering light casting mesmerising shadows over their faces.

A sigh escaped Niijima's lips. "I guess we should return this book," she said finally.

"For what it was worth, it was quite informative." Aigis commented. "Even if it seemed like it was missing a large amount of information."

"It only listed what Seireitei considered to be major events after all." Niijima agreed, carefully closing the book. "There can be any number of important events that were omitted."

The rest of the walk back to the dorms was filled with idle speculation on the events that could have happened, with no serious thought behind them. For some reason, Aigis considered it strangely relaxing.

---

Onabara frowned at the sheet of calligraphy that Aigis handed up. Rows of blotchy hiragana, surprisingly written with the same baseline and with even spacing, but the characters themselves were so saturated with ink it was difficult to make out which character was written.

"Another page for the next lesson." Onabara ordered.

"Yes sir." Aigis nodded.

The writing lesson today started with an exercise on filling in reports, then turned into a history lesson on the Quincies. As Niijima said the day before, they were regular humans who developed their own method to exterminate Hollows, since their elevated reiatsu attracted the monstrosities. However, their method completely destroyed the soul, instead of cleansing them and sending them to Soul Society, like what the shinigami could do with their zanpakutou.

"They did not stop in their methods, even after repeated warnings." Onabara lectured at the front of the class. "Thus, the shinigami at the time had no choice but to exterminate them to preserve the balance of souls."

"Onabara-sensei." Aigis raised her hand.

"Speak."

"Why is it so important to preserve the balance of souls?" she asked. "What happens when the balance tips?"

"Balancing the souls is the only method that can keep the three realms apart." Onabara explained. "If one realm has too many souls, it risks the realms breaking apart and merging together into the primordial whirlpool it was at the beginning of time. As the number of Quincies grew, they were actively decreasing the number of souls through their methods. Thus, there was no choice but for the shinigami to intervene, before the realms break apart."

It sounded logical. It even seemed that the shinigami were gracious enough to give warnings to the Quincies. Yet Aigis could not help but think there were better ways to handle the situation.

Or maybe the shinigami wanted to rid themselves of their perceived competition and came up with a plausible reason to exterminate them. History is written by the winners, as they say.

Onabara continued his lecture, going through their basic weapons and methods, but Aigis's brain was abuzz with what he had said earlier.

How did it reflect on the Gotei if this was their reaction to others who could kill Hollows?

---

The rest of the week passed by uneventfully. Aigis was allowed to skip the next hakuda lesson (Matsumoto had dismissed her with a cheerful wave, saying something along the lines of telling Aigis to preserve her looks), so she spent the time flipping through the books available in the library. The majority of them were on combat and kido, and she briefly perused the combat books, which were largely about the correct method to hold a sword, much like what her zanjutsu classes taught.

The kido books, on the other hand, were more interesting. In particular, she marvelled at the wide application of kido, from pure offense to binds, seals, communication tools and more.

Aigis made it a personal goal to master kido by the time she graduated.

---

The next zanjutsu class was held at the start of the new week, occupying half of the training hall. Unlike the previous classes held at the venue, there was nothing covering the bare floorboards of the hall this time, revealing the pale wooden grain of the floor. Onabara brought out a box of plain katanas, one for each student.

"These are asauchi," he lectured, "empty swords devoid of a soul. From now on, you will each carry the sword with you as much as you can, slowly pouring part of your soul into the sword."

He brought out his own zanpakutou, its hilt coloured a dark blue in contrast to the plain black that the asauchi have. There were more differences — his sword was slightly longer than the asauchi, probably to match his height, and the guard on his zanpakutou was shaped like a rounded square with intricate carvings, instead of the undecorated oval metal piece that the asauchi had.

"Each zanpakutou has two releases – shikai, your 'initial release', and bankai, your 'final release'," he rumbled on. "For most shinigami, shikai is all you will ever achieve, a surface description of the true power of your sword. However, those who are truly exceptional can reach bankai, where they are able to unlock the full potential of their zanpakutou. It is also the core requirement for becoming a captain in the Gotei.

"You will spend this time to commune with your asauchi." Onabara continued, allowing the students to observe his sword. "Think of it as your other half — your subconscious. If you manage to unlock your sword's name, it becomes a zanpakutou. It embodies what you value the most, manifested in the form of a power suited to you.

"You may not like your zanpakutou, but remember that it is still a part of you, a part you may not be aware of." Onabara's eyes sharpened. "Being able to self reflect is the best ability to quickly unlock your zanpakutou."

She already had an inkling when she saw Akechi in action, but Aigis was fairly sure of what her own sword — her zanpakutou would turn into.

"Line up single file!" Onabara bellowed to the class. "You will receive your asauchi one by one. Once you receive it, find a comfortable position to sit down."

Aigis chose to go to the end of the line, receiving her asauchi last while the rest of the class shuffled into position and Onabara started handing out the swords. Some received it with an unusual amount of reverence, cupping it with both hands, holding it as if it would shatter if they loosened their grip. Others treated the asauchi as if it was just another disposable sword, carelessly holding it with one hand.

It was interesting. She wondered what their actions spoke of about their eventual relationship with their sword.

A few minutes later, it was Aigis's turn.

"Here," Onabara held out the last asauchi in the box, "the last one for you. Treasure it well."

"I will, sensei." Aigis promised, reaching out to hold the sword by its scabbard. She pushed down her trepidation and hint of excitement of what would happen.

The moment her hand touched the katana, a bright glow radiated out, blinding the entire room. Aigis raised her free hand to shield her eyes, but a voice rang out in her head.

I am thou, thou art I.

The voice sounded achingly familiar, a melancholic, nostalgic tone that she was sure she had heard somewhere before. Moments later, her Persona's presence surged to the forefront of her mind.

When the glow died down, the katana had changed shape. What was a plain sword had changed into something between a wakizashi and a tanto — a short sword with a hexagonal steel guard, white hilt, and a steel grey scabbard.

"Well now." Onabara marvelled, his hand still on the sword. "You're quite self-assured, aren't you?"

"I've known myself for a long time." Aigis smiled.

Onabara removed his hand from the sword. "From now on, this zanpakutou is yours," he said. "Treasure it well."

Aigis bowed. "I will."

She ignored the mixture of adoring and jealous gazes from her classmates, settling herself in a corner of the room. It was only now, when she felt truly whole did she realise how badly she missed the calming presence of her Persona. She cradled her sword.

"Welcome home, Palladion."

Notes:

Not much to say, other than the fact that I really should not be up right now and I should be sleeping because I am about to table at a convention for the first time in my life. Wish me luck :D

As usual, this was beta'd, but let me know if there are any errors/issues! Or just leave a review in general, I like reading all of them (even the deranged ones).

Chapter 14: Want to be Close

Aigis soon realised why the floor of the training hall was bare for today's lesson — because there was no fighting involved.

"Jinzen, in essence, is meditation." Onabara lectured, once the initial shock of Aigis immediately obtaining a zanpakutou wore off and the class settled down. "For shinigami, this is the most common way to commune with your zanpakutou spirit, who resides in your inner world."

"Sensei!" A student's hand shot up. "What is an inner world?"

"The inner world reflects how each shinigami perceives themselves in relation to the world surrounding them." Onabara explained, pacing at the front of the class. "Like how each zanpakutou is unique, each inner world is unique too."

He sat down cross-legged on the ground, his sword laid horizontally over his lap. "Focus on your sword. For today's lesson, your goal is to hear your zanpakutou's voice. Except Aigis," Onabara levelled a look at her, "your goal is to enter your inner world and commune with your spirit."

Aigis nodded. She laid her sword across her lap, then closed her eyes.

She never had the need for meditation before. It was a tool to help one calm down, but she usually slept whenever she needed to regulate her emotions, or when she needed to run checks on her own systems. Managing the collective subconscious could be considered part of her job, considering the work that the Shadow Operatives did, but she never dared to mess with her own subconscious too much, lest she broke a critical part of her system somewhere.

It was a novel experience, actively engaging in her subconscious. Aigis took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

By instinct, she honed in on the presence that was her Persona — a comforting warmth in her chest, despite Palladion's cold metal exterior. In her mind, the image of Palladion stood out in stark contrast with the dark surroundings, a small but steady light in the void. The Persona flickered, as if tickled, then moved away.

Aigis went after Palladion, until a misstep sent her tumbling into the darkness.

"Still sleeping?"

The voice jolted her out of the fall, and Aigis woke with a start, hurriedly examining her surroundings.

Except this was clearly not the training hall.

Dim green light illuminated her surroundings. The room she found herself in was small, though still somewhat bigger than the dorm room she used at the Academy. Directly in front of her, she spotted a dark door, numerous boxes of ordinance and bullets, a small, ancient refrigerator, and a sink. To her left, she spotted a closet and even more boxes of ordinance, the type that Aigis used over two hundred years ago. A variety of machinery was connected to the pod she was sleeping in, which was where the light came from. It outlined the silhouette of a person, standing by the control panel. A glance down at herself confirmed that she was still in her academy uniform, now seated on the leather seat of the very familiar pod.

Aigis's eyes widened. She had not been there for three hundred years by now, but this was clearly her dorm room in the Iwatodai dorm, back when she attended Gekkoukan High.

"Where—" she began.

"Your inner world." The voice interrupted her smoothly. "Congratulations, you got here in one go." There was no sarcasm in those words, yet there was a lingering sense of pain.

Aigis squinted at the silhouette. It was clearly feminine, with a slim, hourglass build. Her body's dark colouration blended into the darkness, only broken by dim dots of red light glowing around her body, outlining her ears, waist, and face in an incredibly familiar butterfly pattern.

"You're…"

"Long time no see, Sister." The silhouette walked into the light of the pod.

"...Metis?"

---

With the strict mental requirements for jinzen, and how many students were hot-headed blockheads, Gengoro was not surprised when almost nobody seemed to be truly meditating even after five minutes of silence in the training hall.

Almost, except Aigis, who was now so still she could be a statue. When he tried snapping his fingers in front of her a few minutes after the exercise started, he was surprised to see the young girl fail to react to the sound – a promising sign of a successful dive into the inner world.

She was an enigma. Gengoro of course heard about how she beat up her instructor on the first day of hakuda (no small feat, since Matsumoto was a former lieutenant with serious skill in hand to hand combat) and fight the star student in hakuda to a draw (not that Matsumoto could hide it from him for long) then somehow immediately became fast friends with her, how Aigis had impeccable aim during her first kido class and quickly grasped its fundamentals, how she was one of the first in her class to successfully attempt shunpo, and how she consistently delivered clear and concise reports for her writing homework. Yet her handwriting was a mess, she seemed to be struggling in zanjutsu itself, but was so sure of herself that she managed to immediately turn her asauchi into a zanpakutou regardless.

Not that it hasn't happened before, and each person who managed that feat were geniuses in their own right. He supposed that Aigis now belonged in that category too.

Then there was her performance during the placement exam. Kira had let her go straight to the advanced placement exam, which in hindsight was an excellent decision considering that she already possessed advanced combat skills, along with an aptitude for teaching (nobody else this year figured out the true purpose of the test this year, after all).

None of this would be possible if she did not have an education before. The issue was, who taught her?

She may be still lacking in a few subjects, but perhaps it was time to consider an alternate curriculum for Aigis…

---

"That was my name once." Metis said, her robotic body leaning against the control panel of the pod and her red butterfly visor flipped up, revealing her pale face. "But you know what I truly am, right?"

Aigis recalled the events from three hundred years ago, when the Abyss of Time appeared in the dorm. When Metis appeared, how she disappeared, what Aigis's own mental state was like back then.

She had a nagging feeling back then, but she'd pushed it to the back of the mind when the incident was resolved. Now it surged forward again, threatening to overwhelm her senses.

Instead of denying or ignoring them, as she had done so all those years ago, she accepted them.

"You're my Shadow." Aigis stated, finally peeling herself off the pod chair. "You are my feelings, my emotions. You're me. And you are my Persona. You're Palladion."

Metis smiled. Her image flickered, glitching between Palladion and herself, before it settled down again as Metis. "Full marks, Sister," she nodded approvingly. "I'm glad to see you so well."

Aigis scrutinised the room. It was left the way she remembered back when the Dark Hour was still active, with her tools of the trade haphazardly scattered about the boxes of ordinance. Many of them showed significant signs of wear and tear. "I hope my inner world is not just this," she observed. "It feels…a little cramped."

Not that her office in the Shadow Operatives headquarters was much bigger, but she had used that room longer than her dorm room.

Come to think of it, why did her inner world manifest as her dorm room?

"This is where it all started, isn't it?" Metis replied, as if she read Aigis's mind.

She probably did.

"This is where you developed your personality. This is where you developed a true ego."

It was her interactions with SEES that allowed Aigis to develop beyond her rudimentary programming, to the point that she could function perfectly fine even when key components of her robotic body were damaged.

"To answer your previous question," Metis continued, gesturing towards the door, "why don't you go outside and see what your world is like?"

Aigis accepted the invitation.

She had an inkling on what her inner world looked like, but the sight still took her breath away.

A cloudless, moonlit night. The smell of the sea as it was typical of coastal cities. A few lights glowed dimly in the distance. The stillness of a city asleep.

She had opened the door straight to the outside of the dorm, into the city of Iwatodai as it was when she still battled the Dark Hour.

It was quite the trip down memory lane.

"Nostalgic, isn't it?" Metis said, stepping up beside Aigis.

"Yes," Aigis nodded. "It's been a long time since I saw this view."

Iwatodai expanded over the course of her lifetime, becoming more than just the former base of operations for the Kirijo group. Gekkoukan was eventually renamed and moved locations, many of the buildings were demolished and rebuilt, and the roads were changed.

It was not bad, but in some corner of Aigis's repressed feelings, she missed the old Iwatodai. She supposed that the city was an apt way to describe her inner world — she accepted change, but there was always that little bit of herself that wished she could go back to the past, to better cherish what she had.

Perhaps it was a part of her that she would never be able to shake off. Though she supposed that there was no rush either.

Strangely, she found herself reminiscing about her life more after she arrived at Soul Society. When she was alive, there was always something to solve — a new Shadow incident to resolve, a new person to report to, a new person to train. Aigis had hurtled towards her future, never having the time to look back to her past. Only when it was all over, when she had to abruptly let go of her duties, that she finally had time to breathe and reflect.

Even then, she unconsciously kept a tight grasp on what she expected that she should be doing. Training the orphans, helping around the orphanage, culminating in the chain of events that carried her into Seireitei…

When was the last time she stopped and simply…enjoyed life?

"In the course of a life, we gain some, and lose some." Metis reflected, not looking at Aigis, but still clear enough for her to hear. "Our priorities change."

"Not always for the better." Aigis replied dejectedly.

"No." Metis agreed. "But there is no way to take back the past. You know that full well."

"Only a promise and an effort to do better in the future." Aigis continued.

"And that's enough." Metis concluded. "You might take a misstep somewhere along the way, but as long as you don't lose sight of it, that's enough. Come what may, you never lost sight of what you treasured."

Aigis turned around and stared at Metis.

"What, you didn't think I'd be watching over you?" Metis looked rather offended. "I do pay attention, you know."

"No, it's not that." Aigis hurriedly said. "Just…thank you."

"You're quite welcome." Metis replied, her head turned towards the Moonlight Bridge that loomed in the distance. "As nice as this talk was, I think your class is almost over."

"It is?" Aigis looked at her sister in alarm. "But I thought it had only been ten minutes?"

"Time runs differently in different places." Metis replied, turning around and walking back into the dorm, her robotic soles clacking on the pavement. "Especially in a place like your inner world."

"So how do I leave?" Aigis asked after Metis.

She stopped halfway up the stairs, her head cocked back like someone asked her a painfully oblivious question. "This is your world, Sister." Metis slowly answered, as if trying to explain a concept to a toddler. "You decide what you want to do."

As if on cue, the edges of Aigis's vision fizzled out, and static crept over her eyes.

"Aigis."

Her eyes flew open and she immediately took a deep breath, akin to finally inhaling oxygen after an extended dive. Onabara towered over her, his face creased in a frown.

"Is something the matter, Onabara-sensei?" Aigis asked.

"It is almost the end of class," he stated, nodding towards the rest of the class who were collecting their belongings, mostly their asauchi. "Did you commune with your spirit?"

"Yes, sensei," she replied, without giving more details.

There was an almost imperceptible smile on his face. "Good. Keep up your efforts."

"Yes, sensei."

Aigis tried to move from her seated position, but almost fell when her legs failed to hold her weight. It was then she realised she could barely feel her legs.

She forced herself to calm down, recognising the signs of a cramp from sitting in the same position for too long. It took a few minutes, but she massaged her legs back into feeling, and was finally able to leave the classroom.

---

Come dinner time, Aigis found herself the centre of attention of a large cohort of first year students, a startling parallel to what Makoto had experienced the previous week.

She said a silent prayer for Aigis to survive through this.

"What did you do?" Makoto asked between bites of hamburger steak.

"Awakened to a zanpakutou." Aigis replied matter of factly, stabbing her fork into her bowl of salad. One of her hands unconsciously moved to her sword, now looped behind her back at her waist. Makoto's gaze followed the hand.

"I see," she smiled. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank you." Aigis replied. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"How long did it take for you to awaken your zanpakutou?" Aigis clarified.

Makoto recalled her first year at Shin'ou. It was a year with an unusually small number of students, so rumours travelled fast. The classes were easy enough, but dealing with her fellow classmates had been a headache and a half.

Thankfully, nothing was as bad as her time in Shujin.

"I awakened to mine the day I got my asauchi." Makoto replied. "I had to commune with her first."

Johanna was not happy about her power being repressed for over a century.

Aigis's fork stopped. "You had to commune first?" she asked. "My asauchi changed the moment I touched it."

"Huh?" Makoto's chopsticks stopped too. "That quickly?"

She took a quick glance around the cafeteria. The large crowd of students around their table studiously looked at their half eaten plates, desperately looking like they were not eavesdropping.

Makoto internally sighed at the amateurish attempt.

"Let's take this conversation somewhere else," she suggested, taking her tray of food along with her.

Aigis blinked, then nodded and took her bowl of salad along.

The pair walked out of the cafeteria at a brisk pace, though Makoto surreptitiously extended her senses. Thankfully, their crowd of onlookers were too intimidated to follow.

Well, they were both in leadership positions when they were alive, after all. Perhaps the confidence gained from holding their own against misogynist superiors carried over, even if Makoto was now back in the body of her teenage self.

They had a strange friendship back when they were alive. Aigis was someone Makoto frequently saw due to the nature of their jobs, someone who she greatly respected, even more so after she took over Mitsuru's position of director of the Shadow Operatives. There was always a hint of that respectfulness through their interactions, which, in hindsight, may have explained why Aigis still felt just a little too distant, even after decades of friendship.

The former director was not one to share her feelings easily. She had a hard mask worn whenever she interacted with her fellow Operatives, and though her interactions were always warm and full of humanity, she never shared her inner thoughts that Makoto could barely see, hidden beneath layers of politeness, platitudes, and exhaustion.

Under the light, slightly aloof exterior that Aigis projected, Makoto noticed the stress of leadership that weighed her friend down, of someone who still had trouble understanding the meaning of 'relaxation'.

Not that Makoto herself was any better. In life, she was almost as bad as her sister when it came to being a workaholic.

She brought Aigis to a secluded spot next to the academy garden, a small corner beneath the dormitory that was shaded by budding trees and a veranda, but with a wide enough angle that it was easy to spot anyone who came in their direction.

Aigis looked around approvingly. "This is a nice spot," she said, sitting down to enjoy her dinner.

"I come here when I want some peace and quiet," Makoto explained as she set her tray down. "The cafeteria gets loud at times."

They ate their meals in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"So," Makoto broke the silence when she finished her rice, "I'm guessing your zanpakutou is Palladion?"

Aigis nodded. "I guess yours is Johanna?"

Makoto nodded back. "It makes sense. Zanpakutou are supposed to represent yourself, and we've had our Personae to represent our other half all this time."

She watched Aigis run a finger along the white hilt of her sword. "I'm a Wild Card though, I have many Personae representing myself."

"But Palladion was your initial Persona, correct?" Makoto countered. "I think she represents your core."

"Yes." Aigis gave a small smile. "I think so."

"Have you tried releasing your zanpakutou yet?" Makoto asked curiously, internally noting how oddly short Aigis's sword was.

Aigis blinked in response, momentarily lost for words, as if the thought had not even occurred to her. "No, I just thought it would be somewhat similar to what I used back when I was alive, and I did not have the chance to do so during class today."

"Why don't you do it now?" Makoto encouraged. "Nobody's around, and it's always good to know what your zanpakutou's abilities are."

Aigis hesitated, but quickly gathered herself. She set her bowl to the side, then stood up and pulled out her sword in an odd reverse grip.

She took a breath.

The chilly breeze responded, gently ruffling the leaves of the shrubs nearby.

A moment of anticipation.

"Shoot, Palladion."

White reiatsu snaked through the blade, covering Aigis's sword and her forearm. When the light died down, it had turned into a dull steel gauntlet that covered her forearm and fingers, with joints that allowed for flexible movement. At the tip of each finger, a ring of steel protected the nails, shaped much like the barrels of the gun fingers that Aigis had in life.

"Oh," she marvelled at her shikai. "This is…nostalgic."

"It looks like a slimmer version of your robot gauntlet." Makoto observed. This one almost adhered entirely to Aigis' skin, the joints silent as she experimented with moving her fingers and wrist. "It really suits you."

A small smile blossomed on Aigis' face. "I wonder if it can turn into anything else?" she wondered aloud. "Maybe a cannon or something."

"Like your old attachments?" Makoto asked.

Aigis nodded. "But this is still versatile," she continued, turning her shikai around and observing all the little details. "My hand is protected for hakuda, I don't have to carry anything, and I have a ranged option. That's all I need."

Incredibly practical, just like its owner.

With an unspoken command, the gauntlet reverted back to a wakizashi. Aigis sheathed it carefully back into her scabbard. Then she turned around, cocking her head at Makoto's waist. "Where is your zanpakutou?" she asked.

"I usually don't carry mine if I don't need to." Makoto replied, suddenly self conscious of her absent katana. "Do you want to see my shikai?"

Aigis gave a single nod, almost shy, but full of curiosity.

"Wait here, my room is above us." Makoto said.

That was another reason why she liked this spot. If she wanted to, she could escape into her room at any time.

She used a burst of shunpo to boost herself to her room's window a few stories above, which she usually kept unlocked for situations like this. There was not much point in stealing between fellow students, and it was difficult for outsiders to enter the academy, so she never worried about any of her personal belongings going missing, not that she had much to begin with.

Her room was a shoebox, with just enough space for a futon, desk, and chest for personal belongings. It was cramped and had poor ventilation, but, well, Makoto could deal with it for four years, because at the end of the day, it was not too different from university dormitories.

Sword in hand, she climbed out to the ledge of her window and jumped down, landing lightly in front of Aigis. Makoto's zanpakutou was a standard length katana, with a white sheath, deep blue hilt, and a round, hollow guard that had spokes radiating out from the blade. She unsheathed her sword, her left hand still holding the scabbard.

"Flare out, Johanna!"

Both the katana and scabbard glowed neon blue and melted into light. When it faded, she was holding two familiar silver tekko, its spikes glinting dangerously under the soft amber light.

"I remember you used these as a Phantom Thief." Aigis recalled, her neck craned around the shikai but her hands held behind her back.

Makoto nodded. "Couldn't use them as a police officer though," she lamented. "Too dangerous as a weapon."

Not that she wanted to kill anyone, and even her firearm was only loaded with non-lethal rubber bullets. Then she had to give up her weapons entirely when she became police commissioner, so the only time she got to use them was when she went on Operatives business. As much as it was for official work, she rather enjoyed the exercise that fighting Shadows gave her, though it was largely for destressing.

Perhaps a little of Haru rubbed off on her through their friendship.

She sighed and turned her tekko back into a single sword. "I think we should return our plates," she gestured to the empty trays and bowls. "It's bad manners to leave them out here."

"Yes, you're right." Aigis agreed.

---

A month after the new school year started, Onabara held a staff meeting for Shin'ou.

"Well, what are they gonna talk about? The students?" Rangiku complained in the staff room, lounging on the sole sofa. "It's not like I have to attend, right Izuru?"

"You know we have to report on the progress of the students we are teaching, Rangiku-san." Izuru pleaded, trying to grab the sake bottle out of her hand. She simply waved it erratically.

"There's nothing to report for me~" Rangiku continued, dragging out her words. "None of my students are good or anything."

"All because you let your star students skip class." Izuru's voice almost took on a scolding tone. "How many times have Niijima and Aigis attended your class this year?"

The alcohol in her system was starting to take effect. "Hmm…can't remember, don't care."

"Rangiku-san!"

"Yeah yeah, I got it~" She finally heaved herself off her comfortable lounge, still a little woozy from the alcohol. "I'll go to the meeting~"

She ignored the string of protests that trailed behind her, walking at a lazy pace to the meeting room.

"Oh, are we the last ones?" Rangiku asked when she opened the door and found all the other teachers present.

"Just you." Onabara grumbled. "We had to send Kira to get you."

"Aw." Rangiku pouted, but obediently shuffled to her position at the table next to Hinamori.

Onabara cleared his throat, which caught everyone's attention. "Teachers, please report on any outstanding cases from your students."

The staff meeting went by normally, though Rangiku tuned it out one minute in. It was only when her name was called multiple times that she realised that she had to report something.

"Makoto-chan is still too strong for her cohort and doesn't quite know how to hold back." Rangiku said blithely as she picked dirt out of her manicured nails. "And Aigis-chan is better as a teacher, really. She definitely knows how to adapt to each person's fighting style, so her class is actually doing better overall compared to everyone else."

A hushed silence fell over the meeting as the teachers tried to process the comment.

"Her, a teacher?" Onabara questioned.

"Not like I can make a tailor-made program for every single student," Rangiku waved her hand dismissively. "But since she's only helping to tutor her own class, she can."

"Aigis seems to have a good grasp of the fundamentals of kido too." Hinamori spoke up. "She has a large reserve of reiatsu so she has some trouble trying to control it, but she has been making steady progress."

"She seems eager to learn hohou." Izuru continued. "She is already naturally fast, so her skill in that regard is above average in her class. Though…sometimes I think she mistakenly activates another skill similar to shunpo."

Onabara considered all the comments with a thoughtful hum. "So the only areas she has trouble in are my classes."

"Compatibility, maybe?" Hinamori suggested. "I don't think it's a problem, since she doesn't need to be proficient in all forms of combat to graduate. Her skill in hakuda alone is enough for her to graduate when the time comes."

"At the very least, I don't think it's for a lack of trying." Onabara concluded. "Is everyone in favour of allowing her to graduate early?"

About time, Rangiku thought. Nobody argued.

Onabara straightened his notes on the table with a loud thud. "Alright. Staff, you are dismissed."

---

Aigis realised with a start that it was her first time being called to Onabara's office. It was after classes were finished for the day, so she passed a message to Niijima that she would be late, and hurried to his office.

It was decorated simply, apart from the ceiling height shelves crammed full of scrolls, books, and loose paper. A low table was placed in the middle of the room, along with a cushion, which Onabara was sitting on.

"Is there something you wanted to discuss with me?" Aigis asked.

"It regards your studies." Onabara replied. "Let me be straight – you have been an excellent student so far, so we have decided to allow you to graduate early."

Aigis blinked. This was not what she had expected. Though to be frank, the thought of staying at the academy for six years might have been a bit too much for Aigis to handle.

"May I ask when?" she inquired.

"Two years."

She almost stumbled.

"Of course, we will modify your curriculum to support it, and we as teachers will do everything we can to make sure you finish it." Onabara continued, uncaring of her surprise. "However, as part of that, I'd like you to tutor a failing student from your cohort."

Out of everything Onabara had just revealed, this was the part that Aigis found easiest to accept. She had mentored plenty of Persona users before, after all.

"Yes, sensei," she bowed lightly. "Who is the student that I will be tutoring?"

For a moment, Aigis thought that his eyes widened a fraction, but it was quickly wiped off his face. Instead of answering her, Onabara simply turned to the office door. "Come in."

She followed her teacher's gaze.

The man at the doorway scowled at her, distrust evident in his eyes. The strange thing was, Aigis recognised the man.

"Ebina-san?"

Notes:

I caught a cold D: Currently suffering through it alone, hoping that it will go away soon. Thankfully it's not COVID.

This chapter took a bit more work, but it's the later chapters that are definitely fighting me, so updates may be a bit slower. I already had a very solid image of what Aigis's inner world would look like when I first worked on the concept for this story, but her actual zanpakutou was harder to finalise. Still, I'm pretty happy with it.

Anyway, leave a comment if you want, I read all of them even if I don't reply, and sometimes if the headcanons are good enough they might get incorporated into the story :3 (there was someone who got VERY close to a later revelation, you know who you are).

Chapter 15: Phenomena

To say that Ebina was not happy with the arrangement was putting it lightly.

After settling on a schedule for tuition (he needed help on hakuda and writing), he showed up half an hour late on the first day, two weeks after Onabara told Aigis about the extra credit work.

"May I ask why you're late today, Ebina-san?" Aigis asked, her arms crossed. Onabara had helped her rent out a smaller training room in the training hall, where she was waiting.

Ebina had his hands in his pockets and shrugged nonchalantly.

Aigis sighed. "Do some warmup. I will be extending your lesson today by half an hour."

At the very least, he did his warmups properly.

It took less than five minutes to realise where his issues were, when Aigis easily batted away Ebina's obviously telegraphed punch. He did not put any weight into his strikes, and his exaggerated movements wasted too much energy. Within those same five minutes, he was panting.

"Let's take a break," she announced, as Ebina collapsed on the ground. "It's quite clear where your issues are."

He scowled in response, but did not say anything.

"You don't know anything about fighting in the first place, do you?" She cut straight to the point.

"That's what the Academy is supposed to teach, isn't it?" Ebina shot back.

"Yes, they are." Aigis agreed. "But it's been a month, and you still fight like a novice. My classmates are starting to develop battle instincts and their own preferences for combat, and I've heard from Matsumoto-sensei that those from the normal classes are starting to be able to at least react appropriately to danger. You, on the other hand, still fight like you're a three year old."

Ebina's eye twitched.

"You have no sense of danger," she continued, "and all you know is to charge ahead like a bull. Anyone, Hollow or not, will be able to predict your movements half a minute in advance, and you'll be gutted when that happens."

"I'll be fine." Ebina muttered.

"You'll be Hollow food." Aigis retorted. "Why are you even here if you're going to be this stubborn about it?"

He opened his mouth to argue, but she raised her hand. "As a noble, you don't have to do this," she reasoned. "You can stay safe in your own estate, manage your family's internal affairs, or even become part of the Central 46. You don't have to put your life on the line. I am not asking for an answer right now, but I want you to think about why you're attending Shin'ou Academy."

Aigis took a breath. It has been a while since she was this harsh, mostly when dealing with young Operatives recruits who were an active danger to themselves, their allies, or both. At this point, Ebina was a danger to himself.

"Get up," she commanded. "Break time is over."

---

"Not all nobles are like that," Niijima argued.

They were outside the school today, on a trip to the markets. Aigis had spent the entire semester up until a few hours ago within the school compounds, and she felt a desperate need to do something new. Niijima came along as a guide, and spent the entire two hours lending an ear to Aigis's frustrations.

"I know," she almost grumbled. "I don't want to put a label on all of them just because my first encounter with one was Ebina-san."

"That being said," Niijima continued, "I don't think his viewpoint is uncommon either. From what I know of the Gotei, many of their seated officers are either nobles or have some relationship with them, so it can be seen that being a noble would afford one a better position as a shinigami."

Aigis browsed the rows of trinkets and street food. "As far as I see though, its system of meritocracy is still working well," she observed absentmindedly, "otherwise the advanced placement exams would not be as difficult as they are."

"That's true too." Niijima agreed. She joined Aigis at admiring a delicate hairpin. "But for those with enough influence and money, there are always workarounds."

Aigis moved on to the next stall, which displayed hand carved wooden trinkets. "Do nobles receive additional benefits for becoming shinigami?" she asked.

"Prestige, for the most part." Niijima said. "One can increase their family's social standing by becoming a seated officer, plus the wages are quite high."

"Is that a good enough reason to join the Gotei, even if they make substandard shinigami?"

"Apparently good enough for them."

Aigis sighed. "Their ranks will be filled with people barely better than civilians at this rate."

"I don't think it's our place to criticise them yet." Niijima reminded her. "There are still many areas where I don't think we have a clear enough picture to understand their reasoning for their actions."

"You're right," she exhaled. "My apologies, I let my frustration get the better of me."

"Don't worry," Niijima placated. "It's perfectly understandable."

Aigis was about to move on from the stall she was barely browsing, but she found her friend mesmerised by a candy stall, with an astounding variety of designs.

She joined Niijima, curious about what caught her attention. In the midst of glittering sugar crystals, Aigis found her target.

"A panda-shaped lollipop?" she asked.

Niijima squeaked adorably. "U-um…I think it looks cute?"

"It is cute." Aigis agreed. With its small, scrunched up features, round ears, and light dusting of sugar, it was every part the ideal of a young girl.

"Why don't you buy it?" she continued. "There's no harm in treating yourself every now and then."

Niijima looked at the meagre coins in her hand, her face marred by a small frown.

"Oh miss, you don't have to worry about the money!"

They looked up from the wares.

Somehow, Aigis never quite registered that he was there until he spoke up, especially with the ridiculous outfit he was dressed in. The shopkeeper was flaxen haired, wore a dark green jinbei, and had a green and white bucket hat on top of his hair, which conveniently also shaded his eyes from view.

How did she miss him?

"What do you mean by that?" Niijima asked.

"Just this once, you can pick any candy you want, free of charge!" The shopkeeper cheerfully explained.

"Um, isn't that bad for business?" she eyed him skeptically.

The shopkeeper produced a fan out of nowhere, in the same colouration as his hat, and waved it in front of his face. "Please, it's quite obvious that you're students from Shin'ou, so I know you can't always spare the money," he laughed, his mouth covered by the open fan. "But it's absolutely worth it to me to make the day for you lovely ladies."

Niijima considered it, her hand cradling her chin. "I'll take the panda candy then, thank you very much."

"No problem!" The shopkeeper chirped as he handed the candy to her. "Please come again!"

"That was very kind of him." Aigis commented as they walked away.

"Yes," Niijima agreed, her eyes fixated on the lollipop in her hand and mouth half open.

Aigis almost giggled at the sight. "Maybe you should put it away, if you want to resist eating it for a while."

Niijima's face reddened for an instant, before she turned away and carefully tucked the sweet into her sleeve.

"Is there anything you want to buy, Aigis-san?" She deflected her embarrassment.

"Not yet." Aigis replied. "At the very least, I have not seen anything that I would like to have yet."

"What about that hairband?" Niijima pointed to a stall further down the road, selling a colourful variety of hair decorations. Aigis followed her gaze.

Displayed prominently at the front of the stall was an almost exact replica of the hairband that was part of Aigis's robotic body — a thick black hairband, rimmed with gold lines. They formed a triangular pattern along its length.

"Your hair has grown somewhat since you entered the Academy." Niijima continued. "A hairband will help keep it out of your face."

Aigis considered it. She did not require one, in her opinion, despite what Niijima had said. She was doing perfectly well in her physical classes, and with how she cropped her hair short, she barely felt its existence.

But nostalgia was a powerful feeling. No wonder her inner world manifested as Iwatodai from three hundred years ago.

She examined the hairband closer. It was made of velvet, and the gold decorations were sewn on using gold ribbons. It looked simple, yet delicate at the same time, a testament to the skill of its artist. The price was reasonable as well, which just made it more tempting.

"I don't require a hairband, though." Aigis protested out loud.

Niijima giggled. "Your eyes say otherwise."

So much for lightly teasing Niijima earlier. Karma struck fast.

"I guess I'll get one after all…" Aigis sighed defeatedly.

There were no stall owner surprises this time around, though the seller did try to hassle her to buy more than just the hairband. Aigis stood her ground.

It was just a hairband, but it made her feel more like herself, rather than a role — the director of the Shadow Operatives, a loving sister to the orphans, a star student at Shin'ou. It felt like she reclaimed a little part of herself that had no obligations, only to protect those she loved.

---

The second tuition session was barely better than the first one, as Aigis worked Ebina to the bone in an attempt to drill some sense of danger into his instincts. So instead of pushing him physically for the next session, she decided to push him mentally.

Onabara did keep his promise of supporting Aigis whenever possible by providing mock papers for her tuition sessions, which saved her quite some effort. Despite his gruff exterior, he took his job of teaching seriously, which Aigis appreciated. She brought some fresh fruit from the market as thanks.

The first thing that stood out to her when she saw Ebina's attempt at writing a report was his incredibly neat calligraphy, a sharp contrast to her own still terrible handwriting.

"You have excellent calligraphy skills." Aigis complimented him, for which he gave a rare, small smile as he stood and stretched his legs.

Though the less said about the contents of the report, the better.

"Is that how you write your report?" She continued sternly, a small frown on her face as she reviewed the sparse words on the paper.

The smile was wiped off immediately.

"They just need to know the conclusion right?" Ebina challenged. "It's not like the things in the middle will matter in the long run."

"The process is the most important part." Aigis countered. "What a person will choose to do in a particular situation, and why they do so is important for people in the future to review, so we can learn from them."

"Will anyone even read them?" Ebina sighed exasperatedly. "They're boring."

"I am reading your report right now, am I not?"

"You're only doing it because you're my tutor right now."

It was easy to hear the resentment in the words that he almost spat out.

"A few hundred years in the future, someone will want to know what happened on that particular patrol, especially if they want to look for specific patterns." Ebina was difficult to sway through logic, but Aigis decided to give it one last try. "A report with only the conclusion but not the process will be practically useless to them."

"So?"

"Do you want to be remembered as a useless person, for being unable to even write a simple report?"

He stilled.

"Your handwriting is excellent," she reiterated. "Much better than mine, in fact. You have talents. I am sure that you can develop them further, even acquire new skills, but you need to work for it."

For the first time since they interacted, Aigis saw a crack in his emotional walls.

"Come and sit down," she continued. "I will explain every part of a standard report to you."

Ebina obediently sat down opposite Aigis at the low table, the light of the candle illuminating the room casting a hard shadow on his face.

"Always begin your report with the date and time of the incident," she began as she picked up her brush to write. However, she only managed a few words in before Ebina stopped her.

"Aigis, your handwriting is shit, and I can't read it."

She blinked.

"Teach me, then," she replied.

It was Ebina's turn to blink. "Huh?"

"This is currently my weakness after all." Aigis shrugged. "I have been trying, but I have not made much progress yet."

He still looked dumbfounded, but found his words after a minute. "You're supposed to be teaching me, not the other way around."

"You can learn from anyone," she countered. "I learned the basics of controlling my reiatsu from a child."

Ebina had no words to refute that.

"Correct me as I write then," Aigis continued.

She barely touched the paper with her brush before she was interrupted again.

"How in the name of the Soul King are you holding your brush?!" Ebina shrieked, roughly yanking the brush out of her hands.

"Hm?"

"Why do you have so much ink on the brush?! Your brush should be straight!" he exclaimed, furiously dabbing the ink away at the ink stone and holding the brush at a perfect ninety degree angle to the table. "Your fingers should barely touch the lower half of the brush! Keep your wrist and elbow off the table!"

Aigis blinked. The contrast between the rebellious young man and the passionate calligrapher was…striking.

"Can you give me a demonstration on how you would write like that?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. "Or better yet: listen to what I say, and write it down. This way we can both learn."

That seemed to shock Ebina out of his outburst, and he looked awkwardly at the brush in his hand. After a moment of hesitation, he mutely nodded.

"Okay, so this is how you would write a report…"

As she talked, Aigis observed her tutee. He seemed to be only half listening to what she was saying, and there were plenty of parts where he misheard or just skipped over what she had said. However, they were making slow but steady progress, even through the incessant, slightly condescending questions, and Aigis's curiosity in just how his arm was cooperating to write the characters.

Then again, her only frame of reference before Ebina on how to hold a paintbrush was Yusuke, and he held it like a normal pencil. Perhaps it was different for calligraphy.

At the very least, she can definitely say she's starting to make progress in his tuition.

---

"Your handwriting has improved, if ever so slightly." Onabara commented one week after Aigis began tutoring Ebina. It was the end of the school day, and she had stayed behind to hand up her sheet of calligraphy.

"Ebina-san gave me some pointers on calligraphy, sensei," she replied. "While he was learning how to write reports, he was also helping me with my handwriting."

Onabara raised an eyebrow at that. "And here I was worrying about if I had to personally tutor you on that," he mused. "You have done well."

She bowed lightly. "Your materials have also helped me immensely, sensei. They are the only reason I can be an effective tutor."

"Materials only help so much, Aigis," he refuted. "It is your ability to communicate and nurture that completes the tutoring. You may be trying to be humble, but you need to be proud and own your accomplishments, otherwise you spit on the efforts of everyone else that tries to emulate you."

"I also believe in acknowledging everyone who has helped me along the way in some form." Aigis simply stated.

Onabara opened his mouth to say something, paused, then sighed and shook his head. "Well, putting that aside, how have your studies been progressing?"

"They are going well," she replied. "Hinamori-sensei and Kira-sensei have been very patient with me."

It was more work than she had expected as she attended remedial classes to help her make up the difference in experience between Aigis and her seniors, but she was also allowed to attend classes for years above her level, which meant that half of the time, she was not even taking classes with her fellow first years anymore.

The only area she was struggling to some degree with was zanjutsu, but she had a feeling that Onabara was only teaching her the basics of how to wield a sword, and had entirely given up on teaching her more advanced techniques. Though, considering that she did not need to be proficient in all forms to graduate, this might be deliberate to lessen the pressure on her.

The condensed curriculum was a fun challenge, but she was in so many classes that the faces and names were blurring together. She was immensely thankful for the steady companionship that Niijima provided.

Her teacher observed her face. "It seems to be the case," he agreed, seemingly satisfied. "Keep up the good work." He got up to leave, but Aigis stopped him.

"Sensei, may I inquire about Ebina-san's background?"

Onabara was halfway out of the classroom, but he turned back. "For what reason?"

"While I can get the basics of his past, I'd like to know more about his family." Aigis stated. "If possible, I'd like to know about what his family does."

He levelled Aigis with a searching look. "I can only give you knowledge that is publicly available," he replied. "I hope you understand that we do have to keep the affairs of the noble houses private."

She nodded in reply.

"As far as I know, the Ebinas are a small branch of the Kuchiki family." Onabara began. "They're not very powerful politically, which makes them similar to the Rukongai citizens in the inner districts, and are known for sending all of their children to be shinigami for at least some period of time, though from what I understand, none of them ever reached a high seated officer position."

Aigis mused over the information. It was not much, but it was a hint towards why Ebina was behaving the way he was.

"Thank you, sensei." Aigis bowed.

Onabara grunted in response, and left the classroom.

---

Aigis greeted her tutee with only multiple pieces of paper and two sets of brushes and ink the next session.

"Aren't we writing mock reports today?" Ebina huffed.

"You deserve a break," she replied. "You have been working hard the past week, so it's about time I work hard too."

"On what? Why does a prodigy like you need to work hard?"

"I worked long and hard for my so-called 'prodigy' status." Aigis narrowed her eyes. "Anyone can become one with enough experience and practice."

Ebina scoffed at that. "I'm not talented in any stretch of the word."

"What about your calligraphy skills?"

"That was after a decade of practice!"

Aigis closed her eyes in satisfaction. "So practising diligently got you that far."

Realising that he was caught, Ebina grumpily went to his seat, opposite Aigis on the low table.

"I'd like you to properly teach me calligraphy today," she said, placing a brush and paper in front of him. "Guide me through every step of the way."

Ebina narrowed his eyes, his mouth set in a straight line, rather than his usual scowl.

"Let's start with your hand then," he began. "Don't dip your brush in ink, just hold it upright." He held his brush out as reference. Aigis tried her best to hold the brush in the same position, though her's was noticeably tense in comparison.

"Why are your fingers crimping like that?!" Ebina growled. "Relax your hold!"

She knitted her eyebrows. "I'm afraid if I loosen my hold I will not have enough strength to keep it in place."

"That's because you're using the wrong part of your fingertip! Closer to the tip, not to your joint!"

Aigis used her off hand to hold her brush up as she adjusted her fingers. When she let go, her brush stayed in place, and her hand did not feel like it was about to cramp at any moment.

Ebina squinted at her hand. "Well, good enough for now I suppose."

He dipped his brush into the ink, coating it evenly with black liquid, then dabbed it off at the edge and held it up for Aigis.

"You should have enough ink on your brush to last a while." Ebina lectured further, his brush perfectly coated yet not dripping any ink onto the paper.

She followed his instructions. Her movements dabbing the ink off were shaky, but she managed to keep her grip on the brush.

Ebina nodded once. "Each stroke has different ways of finishing," he continued, quickly writing some kanji on his sheet of paper. "Dots are finished with a round end, straight strokes are finished with a blunt end, and others should be finished with a flourish off the paper."

He put down his brush and held up his piece of paper, which helpfully demonstrated each stroke type.

"Write this."

Aigis followed suit.

Her attempt was…lacking.

"Did you just forget to consider that a brush can produce different thicknesses?!" Ebina yelled, almost spraying spittle at the paper. "Your characters look like they were written with a twig!"

"When am I supposed to press down on the brush then?" Aigis asked back, heedless of the insults thrown her way.

"Middle of the stroke, duh! Again!"

Her second attempt at the same kanji looked oddly like a bloated version of kawaiiko handwriting.

She was quite certain that she never even attempted that style of handwriting before when she was alive.

"I think you just invented a new, terrible handwriting style." Ebina groaned. "I do not want to see that ever again."

"How did you hide where your brush started in your own handwriting?" Aigis asked back.

"Brushed over it, of course." Ebina replied, then demonstrated a lightning quick, but perfect stroke.

Her third attempt resulted in the brush going out of control, splashing ink all over the paper. The characters were slowly starting to take shape though.

"I will absolutely blame you if you ruin my yukata." Ebina growled murderously.

She was almost embarrassed to admit it, but he probably gave Aigis the most intense workout ever, just from his insults and sheer audible frustration.

"Can you break down how you write each stroke into small steps?" she asked instead.

"How small do your steps need to be if you can't even figure out a single stroke for yourself?"

Oh.

She hit eureka.

"From every movement of the hand — every direction where the brush is supposed to go." Aigis stated.

"Are you stupid?!"

Aigis swore that if he got more vocally frustrated, steam would float out of his ears. She put down her brush.

"And there is the core issue why your reports are lacking, Ebina-san," she stated.

The non-sequitur temporarily stunned him, but she did not give him a moment to refute.

"In essence, whenever you consider anything, you consider it from your own point of view." Aigis said seriously. "However, remember that those who read your report are not you, they cannot divine the multiple steps you considered to arrive at your conclusion. So you need to consider the lowest denominator whenever you record anything down. Perhaps it's a fact for the majority of nobles, perhaps it's just you, but you lack empathy."

She never intended for this lesson to be purely a class on calligraphy for herself, after all. It took some consideration and suggestions from Niijima, but she eventually settled on using calligraphy as a method to help Ebina be in a more comfortable position, perceived power wise.

He sputtered at her words, but could not come up with a counter.

"It is true that you will never be able to completely understand someone else." Aigis continued. "But if you want to be better – to be someone that others can respect, you must put effort into respecting other people as individuals with their own feelings, rather than an extension of oneself. That means understanding the background they came from. I want to understand you, so I can be a better tutor and understand areas that need improvement. I hope that you can do the same."

She extended her hand for a handshake.

This time, Ebina took it.

Notes:

The little cameo in this chapter was a bit of a "throw it in" moment, because I had started writing about candy and decided he would be a great person to act as the shopkeeper there. Don't worry, he's not important to plot yet.

Another cool fact: I based a lot of the calligraphy stuff here based on Chinese calligraphy lessons I had before. My parents thought I'd like it, and even though I am good at art and appreciate good calligraphy, it wasn't something I wanted to learn for myself, so I never stuck to it for long.

I consider a lot of what I write here as something that I feel I need to listen to, which I hope will resonate with you. Societal problems don't go away overnight even with a radical change, especially in somewhere as stubbornly traditional as Soul Society. It's something that Aigis will keep on dealing with throughout. However, it also made this chapter especially hard to write, which was why these last few updates have been a bit slower than usual. I've hit my stride again lately though, so I will go back to the rougly one chapter every 2 weeks schedule I had before.

In the meantime, enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 16: Tender Feeling

"You look like the dead, Aigis-san."

Aigis looked up tiredly from her udon at Niijima. They were seated in the cafeteria, the throngs of students chattering away around them. Some gave the pair odd glances, but mercifully most left them alone.

"I may have worked myself a little too hard." Aigis suppressed a yawn.

"Even though you don't have to write pages of calligraphy anymore?" Niijima asked back.

Thanks to Ebina's (rather impatient) tutoring, Onabara deemed Aigis's handwriting to be legible enough that she could stop writing sheets of hiragana for every writing class, four months into the semester.

Then the curriculum intensified, leaving Aigis almost no time for herself.

"Well, the classes are fine," she mumbled. "It's the students that are giving me a difficult time."

Not even in terms of bullying — one burly fifth-year tried to provoke her into a fight and instead got kicked into the ceiling. News spread fast, and the rest of the students stopped trying.

Rather, it was how the students treated her either with too much reverence or too much jealousy. There was almost no middle ground.

She tried to not let it bother her, but it was tiring.

Niijima shrugged. "We're considered different from them," she commented. "And Seireitei is not fond of people who are different from them."

"As any society does." Aigis mumbled.

"Still doesn't make it right." Niijima replied.

"No," Aigis agreed. "But right now, what can I do?"

"Take a break."

Aigis sat a little straighter. "How?"

"Ebina-san's been improving lately right?" Niijima said. "Take a week's break from tutoring him. I think you've both earned it."

Aigis considered it.

"I'm afraid he will regress, though," she replied. "He is the sort of person who needs constant practice to keep his skills sharp."

"Assign him some homework then." Niijima suggested.

Aigis nodded. "I suppose that's the best way."

---

Two days into the little break she gave herself, Aigis realised that she was sleeping better than ever, despite the restlessness of her body trying to keep herself busy doing something during the day.

So she decided to go to the kido training grounds for some solo practice, to burn off some of the restlessness before it started affecting her sleep quality.

The field was deserted, with half broken targets still strewn across the grass. The summer heat cooled in the evening, which made practice bearable as the occasional cool breeze served to refresh herself.

Aigis was halfway through practising the different bakudo spells when she heard slow footsteps behind her. She did not sense any hostility, so she chose to ignore whoever it was and focus on her own training.

"Are you a workaholic or something?"

Her spell misfired into the brick wall. Aigis turned back to see Matsumoto leaning languidly against the veranda, a hand supporting a plate of fruit and the other holding a sake bottle.

"Most students won't even think of practising after class, but you've been tutoring, and when I finally see you take a break you end up practising by yourself? Man, you're a hard worker!" Matsumoto grinned. It was a friendly one, mixed with some other emotion that Aigis could not quite tell in the darkness.

"Where did you even hear about me taking a break?" she asked.

"Who else, Makoto-chan of course." Matsumoto shrugged.

"Did you suggest to her to convince me to take a break?"

Her hakuda teacher stuck her tongue out playfully. "Aw, you caught me!"

"Why not just tell me directly?" Aigis pressed.

"Because it's easier to listen to feedback from your peers than your instructors." Matsumoto answered easily, without a hint of guilt. She sat down at the edge of the veranda and set out the plate of cut watermelon, then patted the empty space next to her. "Come on, I have snacks!"

Aigis hesitated a moment, before she uncomfortably sat down next to Matsumoto and took a piece of fruit for herself.

It was unbelievably sweet.

"Really, you need to learn how to completely relax at some point, Aigis-chan." Matsumoto lectured, biting into her slice of watermelon. "Constant practice is good and all, but you're going to burn yourself out sooner or later, and as a teacher, I can't let that happen to one of my favourite students. Want some alcohol?"

"Um, no thanks. I was feeling…" Aigis searched for a word to describe the trapped energy in her, "restless."

Matsumoto hummed in leisurely consideration, taking a sip from her bottle. "Couldn't sit still, huh?"

"I usually have trouble doing that."

Matsumoto gave Aigis a side eye. "Why? You're not like that boy you're tutoring who's having trouble keeping up — you're so far ahead of your cohort it's not even funny."

Aigis nibbled her piece of watermelon. Indeed, why was she pushing herself so hard?

Her instructor took another swig from her bottle. "I watched people close to me push themselves through the toughest situations." Matsumoto looked unusually sombre. "Not all of them returned alive. The one time I did it, my life expectancy was cut short."

"What happened?" Aigis could not keep her curiosity in check, even when she knew logically that it was incredibly rude of her to ask the question.

Unexpectedly, Matsumoto snorted. "Took on a few Quincies," she stated. "That was back during the second Quincy war. Long story short, I almost died, and the method used to cure me cut my life expectancy by a couple centuries."

Aigis remembered the abridged version of the war that Niijima told her months ago. She was not aware that Matsumoto was on the front lines, however.

"Is that why you decided to become a teacher instead?" she asked.

"Might've had something to do with it." Matsumoto agreed. "But mostly…it was watching everyone around me continue as if nothing happened, as if they never quite learnt their lesson. I don't want future shinigami making the same mistakes we did before, so I signed up to be an instructor here instead."

For such an airhead, Matsumoto was frighteningly perceptive when she wanted to be.

"So no matter how good your reasons are," she reached over and gave Aigis a firm poke in the forehead, "never push yourself so hard that you regret it later in life. You don't get to save others when you're dead, after all."

Aigis sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I…don't think I've taken a break at all these years," she admitted. "But work is all that I know. I always feel as if I should be doing something when I'm not doing anything, and it is…difficult, for me to settle down otherwise."

"Oh honey," Matsumoto locked her arms around Aigis before she realised what was happening, and her head hit the ample, almost exposed bosom. The older shinigami's breath smelled strongly of sake, steaming Aigis's face. "You don't have to be able to do it immediately, but learn how to relax, okay? You don't have to carry everything by yourself. Share some of that burden with your friends, or if you have trouble, come to any of the teachers and we'd happily help you out in a pinch. We aren't cruel enough to force students to do everything by themselves."

Aigis squirmed her way out of the drunken chokehold and smoothed down her uniform. "Thank you, sensei," she said.

She was not sure if she wanted to take on that offer, but she filed it away at the back of her mind anyway.

"Anyway, enough about the depressing stuff!" Matsumoto cheered, throwing her hands up and almost spilling alcohol out of the bottle. She turned to Aigis with a devious smile. "So, anyone you like?"

"In what way?" Aigis asked with a straight face.

"Oh c'mon, you know, like that?" Matsumoto winked. In the dim orange light, Aigis noticed that she seemed a little flushed.

"No," Aigis denied without changing her expression. "The people here are not my type."

"Oh, so you have a type!" Matsumoto crowed, giving a giddy little laugh. "So what, is it Makoto-chan?"

Aigis blinked, temporarily at a loss for words.

"Didn't think you'd swing that way, Aigis-chan!" Matsumoto continued, a little unsteady in her speech as she took another swig from her bottle.

Aigis finally pinched her brow, as she felt a headache similar to the kind that she felt when she fell sick during her first few years of living at the orphanage. "For the last time, sensei, we are just long-time friends, and we do not have feelings for each other beyond friendship. Are you trying to find a boyfriend for yourself?"

Matsumoto waved a hand around unsteadily. "Gave up on marriage. Pretty sure I'm not gonna find a man I like again."

"'Again'?" Aigis repeated.

For a normally rambunctious person, it seemed concerning whenever Matsumoto stopped talking, and that turned worrisome when Aigis saw the telltale signs of moisture around her eyes.

"Matsumoto-sensei?" Aigis coaxed gently.

The shinigami blinked, and in an instant, she was almost back to her old self. "Ahahahaha, don't worry about it! Just some guy who broke my heart centuries ago. Really, the nerve of him!"

The quiet crunch of fruit was the only noise that filled the air for a moment.

"I didn't take you for that type of person, sensei." Aigis said finally as she tossed the rind of her watermelon slice back onto the plate.

"Hm?" Matsumoto turned to Aigis, her half full sake bottle hanging off her fingertips. "What type of person?"

"Someone who can love one person with all their being."

The courtyard fell quiet.

"Aigis-chan, has anyone ever told you that you're shockingly sharp?" Matsumoto murmured.

She was starting to slur, Aigis noted to herself.

"I had to be," she replied simply. Centuries of dealing with workplace politics gave her plenty of experience in managing people, though she was also acutely aware that she still often fell behind her younger colleagues when social graces were involved, especially when it came to changing trends over the years.

Matsumoto put down her bottle and gazed at the night sky, a forlorn look in her eyes. "I was from Rukongai," she began. "A boy rescued me from the brink of starvation, and we entered the Academy together."

Aigis kept quiet.

"He was a genius — graduated in two years and quickly became a seated officer. But a century later, he gave up everything to get his revenge on a man who hurt me before he even met me."

"It seems to me that he truly loved you, if he went that far." Aigis said carefully.

"I didn't need him to go that far." Matsumoto almost moaned, her legs drawn up to her body, looking alarmingly small. "I didn't care about revenge – I just wanted him to be around. And now he can't anymore."

Aigis picked up the subtext, loud and clear. She did her best to ignore the soft hitches from the folds of the shihakusho.

"I lost someone dear to me, too," she said in a gentle, soothing tone, blending her voice into the ambience of the night. "He…helped me become who I am today. I would never have survived this long if it was not for him."

It was the first time Aigis ever mentioned Makoto to anyone who was not aware of her previous occupation. But even if it was in a drunken fit, she figured that Matsumoto deserved to hear it after she told her tale.

"He sacrificed himself to save the world. And every day, I regret not being there with him when- when he did so." Aigis turned her gaze upwards, towards the moon that was barely peeking out from behind the clouds. "But the least I can do is to live the life that he would have wanted me to live."

Matsumoto still had her face buried into her uniform, but the hitches stopped.

"Didn't think we'd be alike in that aspect." There was a watery gurgle in Matsumoto's words, but the amusement still shone through. She relaxed, uncurled her body and raised her bottle to the sky. "To lost lenores, I suppose."

She downed the rest of her bottle in one go, then promptly fell asleep.

There was a brief moment of panic when Aigis's mind ran through several scenarios on what she should do in such a situation, but she was saved from having to take action when she heard Kira's voice over the breeze.

"Rangiku-san, where are you? You still have homework to mark!"

"Over here, Kira-sensei." Aigis stood up, directing her voice towards where she estimated her hohou teacher to be, based on his heavy, muted reiatsu.

When she first discovered proper reiatsu sensing, a skill that Hinamori taught her over the course of a few lessons, Aigis realised that it must have been quite similar to how navigational Personae functioned, not that she had any experience with that herself.

Well, it had been the only skill that she was missing, considering her other Personae, so she was immensely grateful for the lessons.

"Oh, hello, Aigis." Kira's words stuttered out in bits and pieces, his eyes darting between the bottle, the half-eaten plate of watermelon slices, Matsumoto's prone body, and Aigis herself. "Di-did something happen here?"

"I think Matsumoto-sensei drank a little too much sake." Aigis replied curtly. She respected her teacher's privacy enough to keep mum about what they talked about tonight.

Especially after that outburst.

Kira sighed, a long suffering look that spoke volumes on how well he knew his fellow instructor. "Get some rest, Aigis." He scooped up Matsumoto in a bridal carry, the sake bottle and plate hanging precariously between his fingers. "I'll make sure she gets to bed."

Before Aigis asked if he wanted some extra help, he disappeared in a flurry of shunpo.

Aigis gazed at the spot where Kira disappeared for a long time. Then she shook herself out of her stupor, and looked again at the sky.

The summer moon hung high in the night sky, dotted with faint twinkles of distant stars. It meant that it was late, so she decided to call it a day and turn in for the night.

For the next few days, Aigis tried to take Matsumoto's advice about rest, and instead of fretting over her lacking subjects, she decided to just do the work she was tasked with, and relaxed the rest of the time.

By the time the week was over, she was almost dreading going back into tutoring.

---

Five months into tuition, Ebina still maintained an air of not wanting to do anything with Aigis, a scowl firmly fixed on his face. Yet there was an imperceptible change in his demeanour — a few less arguments, a little more willingness to understand why Aigis was pushing him as hard as she could.

"Break time!"

Ebina flopped onto the padded floor of the little training room she rented. Aigis sat down next to him, facing the same direction.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Does it matter?" Ebina snapped.

"Yes, it does." Aigis nodded seriously.

There was silence for half a minute.

"…frustrated," he mumbled, almost too quiet for Aigis to hear.

"At what?" she pressed gently.

"Everything."

It was an answer, at least, even if it was incredibly vague. Aigis could understand some part of that frustration though.

"What was your life like before you attended the Academy?" she asked instead.

Ebina did not look like he prepared for that question as his scowl faltered. "…I have two older sisters and a younger brother," he began hesitantly, his eyes far away. "My sisters were expected to become shinigami, and they took pride in that."

Aigis was starting to see why he attended Shin'ou.

"My brother is the baby of the family," he continued, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Everyone loves him, but my parents also coddle him a lot. Meanwhile, they barely acknowledged my existence. I was given the lessons expected of a noble, of course — things like kendo, tea ceremony, and calligraphy, but beyond that they didn't do anything for me. They just let me do whatever I wanted to do. All they want out of me is that I don't embarrass the family."

"What would consist of 'embarrassing the family'?" Aigis asked curiously.

He shot a disbelieving look. "Anything that would debase us." Ebina replied, his smile gone and replaced by something deeper than a scowl. "Anything that would make us seem lesser than someone from Rukongai, even if they are shinigami."

She mused over the information.

"Did you join Shin'ou and attempt the advanced placement exams just so that you can make your parents notice you?" Aigis blurted.

He looked away.

Aigis exhaled, organising the information in her mind. Years of neglect coupled with a vague expectation to constantly be the best was…not the best combination when a child was intelligent enough to subconsciously understand their own flaws. Beneath the haughty bluster, it was easy to see the self-doubt that plagued Ebina, from his still hesitant movements during hakuda, to his combative attitude.

"Did you believe you could pass that exam at the time?" Aigis asked.

"Why does it matter?" Ebina mumbled, still not looking at her. "I failed it."

"Humour me, please?"

"…I thought Onabara-sensei might take pity on me." It was softly spoken, his voice full of shame. "That he would see that I'm a noble, and let me into the class based on that."

"Well, I see why he would reject you from the class now." Aigis nodded to herself.

"Because I'm not good enough?" Ebina rounded on her, his bulk covering the dim light of the training room.

"Because you have no confidence in yourself." Aigis did not budge. "You never received the support you needed, and nobody gave you the validation that you wanted. So you act like a schoolyard bully, thinking that kind of power will help you receive the attention you want."

Ebina sat back down.

"For what it's worth, it is not entirely your fault," she continued. "Your upbringing does contribute to your current situation."

"Then—"

"You are still responsible for the life that you lead." Aigis raised a hand to stave off the argument. "A less than ideal upbringing does not excuse you from your actions. Instead of thinking how the world owes you and wishing that someone will help you through everything, think about what you can do for others and how you can help yourself. You cannot expect someone else to solve all of your problems for you."

Ebina was quiet for a long while.

"Do you think I can do it?" He finally asked meekly, so unlike the little ball of rage from before.

She did not need to ask for clarification.

"You have potential," she stated firmly. "Otherwise I would have asked you to leave the Academy a long time ago. You have been steadily improving throughout these months, and you also completed the homework I set out for you last month in a satisfactory manner despite me not being there to guide you. What is holding you back, however, is your defeatist attitude. Do not do everything worrying about how you will definitely mess up, because that is how you will be unable to improve. Instead, do everything with the mindset of 'I will finish it at a level that I can be happy with'. The mistakes can come later."

Aigis took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. She was sorely under-equipped for motivational speeches, because no Shadow Operative ever lacked motivation, given the nature of their occupation. Many of them did have mental issues that came from the job, for which Aigis always referred them to an appropriate psychologist or person who would be able to help (that person usually was a Persona user). Someone like Ebina would usually have been rejected from the job outright.

However, now there was a tiny spark that was not there before in his eyes. "You…think I can do it? Be as good as those in the accelerated program?"

She met his gaze. "As you are right now, you will still be beaten by anyone from my class," she said, not bothering to sugarcoat her words. "But you are improving faster than them. If you keep up the effort, you will be equal to my classmates at the end of the year."

She meant it.

For the first time since Aigis met him, Ebina looked like he had genuine hope.

She pushed herself off the ground. "Five more sets of exercises," she stated, her hands on her hips. "Finish them and you can go back to your room."

"Okay, Aigis-san."

She almost whirled around in surprise, but tried not to comment on it. His constant scowl changed into something more than just general frustration, into a determination to be better than before.

Well, the rest is up to him now, she supposed.

---

"That was quite ingenious of you," Niijima said one evening, a little after her talk with Ebina. She had shown no remorse about her part in convincing Aigis to take a break, though she was not that annoyed in the first place, so it was quickly ignored in favour of her more pressing needs of education.

They were in the secluded corner of the garden, enjoying their servings of cold soba, a welcome reprieve from the humid summer. The cafeteria was unusually hot with all the students gathered there for mealtimes, so the pair made a habit of moving to the garden for their meals to escape the heat and the crowd.

The hairband Aigis bought unexpectedly came in handy for keeping her hair in place, so her wet hair would not cover her face all the time.

"It seemed like the most logical conclusion," she replied as she dipped her noodles into the sauce. "Problems at home can often spill into professional settings."

"You would've sent Ebina out of the door at the first opportunity if you were still the director of the Shadow Operatives." Niijima pointed out. "You wouldn't have accepted that kind of attitude back then, no matter the reason."

"I still wouldn't." Aigis stated. "But it seems that the Gotei has lower standards compared to mine, so I am training him as per their standards. I am not the director of the Operatives anymore."

Her incredibly high standards meant that the Shadow Operatives remained a small organisation throughout her lifetime, where even at their biggest, they never exceeded fifty members. Of course, that did not include the large number of auxiliary members that helped them during certain missions (almost all of them Persona users), however even then they never quite exceeded a hundred people.

Aigis understood why the Gotei needed so many shinigami — between patrolling Rukongai, the Living World, and stopping Hollows from eating too many human souls (or Wholes, as she learned in class), even a few thousand shinigami seemed barely enough to handle all the tasks required. It was quite natural that they would require quantity over quality, yet she could never quite shake off the feeling that the education system was just teaching the bare minimum required. If it was not for the fact that she was compressing six years of education into two, she was sure that she would have found the curriculum boring.

Niijima nodded in agreement. She took a bite of chicken meat that was part of her serving of noodles. "I wonder how strong the captains are. The students here aren't enough of a challenge for me anymore."

"Why not start with the lieutenants?" Aigis asked. "Going from fellow students to a captain seems like a rather large jump in ability."

"Well, we have our teachers right?" Niijima shrugged. "They're apparently former lieutenants, and they're decently strong, I suppose. I guess what I'm saying is that…I want to try sparring someone new."

"You haven't seen any captains yet?" Aigis asked.

"Captains don't generally visit Shin'ou." Niijima explained. "Some do open special classes here, but that's considered rare. And there hasn't been any in the past few years."

"That is a shame." Aigis dipped her noodles into the sauce provided. "I would love to meet them before I need to pick a division."

"Oh about that," Niijima raised her chopsticks to interject, "There's a tour of the divisions for graduating students the year they graduate, so you can visit their barracks and get a feel for each division before you make your decision. Since you're graduating next year, it means that we can go together."

"Just one chance to make an impression, huh." Aigis considered it. It was a chance for students to make an impression of themselves for the captains of divisions that they fancy, however it was also close to the only chance for each division to make a good impression of themselves for the students too, especially if they wanted to attract the best students.

"It sounds interesting," she concluded. "I hope there will be a division there that can align with my interests."

"I think even before that, every division will want you as part of their ranks." Niijima sighed. "Apparently, geniuses tend to receive a lot of attention."

"Who told you that?"

"Rangiku-sensei, who else?"

That made a disturbing amount of sense, considering that she was personally acquainted with a genius at one point.

"Maybe I should go ask her for information, since she seems to know everything." Aigis mused.

"Make sure to prepare yourself for an hours-long lecture then." Niijima replied flatly. "She can and will talk anyone's ears off."

They shared a little laugh together, at the expense of their hakuda instructor.

---

Somewhere on the other side of the Academy campus, Rangiku sneezed.

"Getting cold in this kind of weather?" Izuru questioned, still marking his share of essays.

"Nah," she rubbed her nose with her free hand, glaring hatefully at the stack of homework she still had to go through. "Someone must be talking about me."

"Probably about your gossipy habits." Izuru levelled a flat look.

"Whaaaat?" Rangiku almost wailed. "I'm not that bad!"

Izuru pinched his brow, furrowing them even deeper than usual.

And so, the night passed peacefully.

Notes:

More hard-earned wisdom from Aigis (and really, advice I should be taking for myself). The bit with Rangiku spiralled out of my control once I introduced her to the scene and the topic changed to love, oops. But I like it. Their similarities were not something I had planned when I set out to write this story. Writing about feelings is rather difficult for me, or at least, more difficult than action scenes, but I'm going to try my best to make it feel natural (and Persona-like. Let's face it, Bleach was never excellent at writing about the complications of relationships between people).

So anyway, review! Let me know if there are any other interactions you'd like to see and I'll see if I can fit in them anywhere!

Chapter 17: A Way of Life

Autumn and winter passed by peacefully.

Aigis spent her New Year's holiday (the only holiday that lasted longer than two days at Shin'ou) at Niijima's residence, out in the sixth district. She was adopted by an old couple soon after she arrived, and Niijima was close enough to them to call them Grandma and Grandpa. They wanted to adopt Aigis on the spot too, until she said that she was unofficially adopted by an orphanage director.

If possible, Aigis wanted to spend her New Year's with Unagiya and the orphans, but one week was simply not enough time to reach the thirty-fifth district and then go back to the Academy.

It was the first New Year's that she spent away from them. She suspected there will be many more in the future.

Shortly after her second year at Shin'ou began, Onabara informed her of a training trip to the Living World, a mandatory lesson for all students in their last year.

"You will be getting hands-on experience with moving about in the Living World, along with some Hollow slaying practice." Onabara said to a small assembly of students, all in their last year at the Academy.

He went on to explain the parameters of the exercise: to complete a small patrol route in the area, guide any Wholes encountered along the way to Soul Society, and cleanse any Hollows encountered.

"Us teachers will be on standby in case anything unexpected happens. I will now split all of you into small teams, so familiarise yourself with your teammates!" Onabara bellowed.

Aigis and Niijima were split into separate teams, which she suspected was intentional. Nevertheless, she knew that was to be expected, so she took the development in stride, and went to meet her new teammates for the trip next week.

Her group had been talking animatedly to each other, but fell quiet when she approached them, watching her movements with a mixture of awe and…mistrust, she decided, when she saw their eyes that darted around her body.

"Hello." Aigis said simply.

There was a moment of hesitation between her three new teammates, but they returned similar greetings soon enough. The team was evenly split with two women and two men, though that seemed to be just a coincidence as she saw other teams with uneven gender splits. Niijima in particular seemed to be trying her best to corral her three male teammates into taking the exercise seriously.

One of Aigis's teammates looked powerfully built, with his arm muscles visible even under the loose hakama and a messy mop of deep green hair. His friend, a young woman, had her long teal hair tied up in a high ponytail, but was of average height and build. The last man next to them was a wiry brunet who looked worryingly thin.

"Is there anything we need to do before next week?" The brunet (Sakiya, if she remembered correctly) asked. "Just pack some essentials?"

"Let's meet up sometime when we're free." Aigis suggested. "I'd like to gauge everyone's strengths and weaknesses before we start patrolling."

"Who made you leader?" The other man on the team snapped.

"Now now," their last teammate placated, placing herself between Aigis and the man. "Hoshiku-kun, Aigis-san has a point. It is a good idea for us to know what we're all good at before we patrol. How about in two day's time?"

Aigis nodded her agreement. Hoshiku turned away with a click of his tongue, but did not object further. Sakiya shrugged and nodded along.

"That's great!" The young lady (Izukino) clapped her hands together. "We can borrow one of the classrooms after class then."

Onabara's lecture had taken up most of the class time, leaving the students with no time to properly talk to their teammates. Aigis left the class, already starting to see potential problems in their little group.

---

They were lucky to find a classroom with a whiteboard when they met up again. Hoshiku and Izukino both looked sweaty, and Sakiya's eyes seemed to involuntarily close every now and then before he shook himself awake.

"So!" Izukino cheerfully started. "Is there anything you'd like to ask about us?"

Aigis put her hand to her chest. She had thought about the questions that she wanted answers to the day before, but what was the politest way to open with it?

"Maybe…everyone's strengths and weaknesses first?" She asked tentatively, eyeing the group. "Try to be honest about it — we're not here to judge you." She turned to the board and wrote everyone's names down in a row, with space left underneath for bullet points.

Izukino piped up first. "I'm pretty good at zanjutsu! And hakuda too, actually. Oh but I'm terrible at sensing reiatsu, and my kido skills are just so-so."

Aigis dutifully jotted them down.

Sakiya raised his hand as if he was in class. "I'm pretty fast, and I'm okay at zanjutsu and kido, but it's not as good as hohou or hakuda," he said in a flat monotone. She decided he must be pretty tired if his voice was even flatter than Kira's. Nevertheless, she wrote down what he said on the whiteboard.

She waited half a minute after she finished writing for Hoshiku's self analysis, but he was brooding in a corner, so instead Aigis started on her own strengths and weaknesses.

"I am excellent at hakuda," she began, writing down what she was saying. "And I'm decent at hohou and kido. However, I'm relatively weak at zanjutsu. I do not care at which range I fight my enemy, but I prefer to be able to have the flexibility to control my range if possible."

"Hmm…" Izukino regarded the whiteboard thoughtfully. "If you say that, put me as a close range fighter."

All eyes turned to Hoshiku, the only one who had not said anything yet. He frowned briefly, then thought better and smoothed his expression out.

"I'm very good at kido and I have good eyesight, but that's about it," he said.

"Aw, you're underselling yourself!" Izukino playfully slapped his back, which made him flinch. "This guy here can cast spells in the eighties range!"

Aigis's eyes widened. Most of the students she met were only able to cast kido up to the late fifties or sixties range, which was the graduation requirement. She herself was barely able to cast up to the early sixties, which was already an incredible achievement (according to Hinamori) considering that she only took a year to get to that point. A student being able to cast spells up to the eighties was practically unheard of.

"Asking for our strengths and weaknesses is all well and good," Izukino pointed out, "but what are you going to do with the information? We're just going out to patrol and do some konso, right?"

"It is still a venture into unknown territory to any of us." Aigis replied. Though technically she has seen all of Japan by this point and would be able to adapt to any place that they end up, Onabara did not specifically say where they would be sent to for the exercise, so many of the details were still unknown to her. "I would prefer for us to be prepared for any situation that arises, and to know what I can expect out of all of us."

"That's…a little overkill, isn't it?" Sakiya asked hesitantly through his sleepiness.

"How many students have died on such a trip?" Aigis shot back.

"Hasn't happened since four hundred years ago." Hoshiku unexpectedly spoke up. All eyes instantly snapped to him. "Heard that captains had to be involved to save everyone left." He looked slightly uncomfortable at the attention.

Aigis hummed thoughtfully. She had not expected to be validated — the most she had expected were serious injuries. But it did sober up the group.

"…Let's make sure we don't die." Izukino muttered.

Everyone agreed with a slight shudder.

"Anything else we need to discuss?" Sakiya asked, looking as if he wanted to be in bed already.

"Formations." Aigis answered as she regained her momentum. "A formation for us to patrol in that's convenient for all of us."

She was met with three blank stares, then belatedly remembered that the Academy did not teach strategy.

Which was a massive oversight, in her opinion.

"Ideally, those who are less mobile should stay in the middle." Aigis drew some dots on the whiteboard, ruminating on possible formations while she gave a very brief lesson on formations. "Assuming that our enemy will be in front of us, you would want any close ranged combatants at the front. There should also be someone strong protecting the back line if we get ambushed, so the formation does not fall apart. It is, however, a relatively loose guide. The absolute minimum is to not drift too far apart from each other."

She settled on two possible formations. "There are only four of us, so I think either a diamond formation or a reverse Y-formation will work for us," she said, circling two groups of dots. "Hoshiku-san, how good are you at sensing reiatsu?"

There was a brief pause as the man in question realised he was being asked directly, but he shrugged. "Pretty good, why?"

"Are you willing to be our primary lookout for the exercise?" Aigis suggested. "Essentially keeping your senses open the entire time we patrol, so we can minimise ambushes from Hollows."

"Sounds manageable," Hoshiku nodded his agreement.

"What's the difference between the two formations?" Izukino asked. "Apart from the positions, that is."

"The diamond formation is pretty standard," Aigis began. "It allows each member to take a vantage point relative to the team, which ensures that there are no blind spots. However, it also assumes similar abilities for each member in the team, which is evidently not the case with us."

She turned her attention to the other formation. "The reverse Y-formation is less used, as it means the person in the middle has to watch for two sides simultaneously, but it also makes it easier to protect the person in the middle, and with two people at the back it decreases the likelihood of ambushes. We can also modify it to have each person on the outside rotate positions every now and then to ensure that we can cover every weak spot."

She gave everyone a moment to digest the information.

"I vote for the second formation." Izukino said. "Sounds like a better fit for us."

Hoshiku shrugged, not giving his own opinion.

"I want the first one."

All eyes turned to Sakiya. When he failed to elaborate, Aigis tried to use her gentlest tone so as to not sound accusatory. "May I ask your reasoning?"

"It's less pressure on everyone involved," he reasoned, "with everyone being responsible for one direction at any point of time. And we can also modify that so we can rotate around every now and then, same as the other formation."

He picked that up fast, Aigis noted to herself.

"What would you personally suggest, Aigis-san?" Izukino asked. "You're the one with the most experience out of us."

Aigis reread the table of strengths and weaknesses that she compiled earlier, and considered everything carefully.

"I would go for the reverse Y-formation," she eventually decided. "We can have Hoshiku-san be in the middle, Izukino-san at the front, and Sakiya-san and me at the back. We are both relatively more flexible with range, while Izukino-san is a close-range fighter and Hoshiku-san is definitely a long-ranged fighter."

Sakiya shrugged. "If that's what you decide, I'm not gonna argue then. Hoshiku-kun?"

"Doesn't matter to me." Hoshiku grunted. "I'll only be casting kido most of the time anyways, so I don't want to move much at all."

"It depends, actually." Aigis corrected. "If you act as a sniper, it is best to move every time you fire a kido at long range, so enemies cannot pinpoint your position."

"I don't have kido with that much range," he snapped back. "I'll just be a turret."

She chose to not comment on that opinion.

"I think that's everything?" Izukino moved on. "Anything else we need to discuss or know before we head to the Living World?"

Aigis reviewed her mental checklist. "That should be all that we need to discuss," she agreed. "I will take notes of everything we talked about today." She brought out a portable brush set and a notepad.

It amazed her that Soul Society had developed technology for a portable brush set of all things, yet never seemed to come across the science behind a pencil or pen. She had instantly bought it upon laying her eyes on one, when she went out to the market by herself a few months prior.

Though if pens and pencils were practically non-existent here, how did Shin'ou Academy come to be equipped with whiteboards and projectors?

---

It was fortunate that the Academy provided everything needed for the exercise, in the form of a fanny pack that the teachers handed out to every single student. It had some dried foods, a first aid kit, and handily enough, a small communication earpiece. They had gathered at a gate some distance away from the Academy grounds, with a large courtyard before it. The gate had the outline of a torii gate, but its pillars were white instead of red, and there was a giant pair of red doors that blocked off the entranceway.

"Your earphones are connected to the teachers." Onabara instructed, tapping his own earpiece. "You can use it to call us if you run into any trouble."

He continued gesturing to the giant gate that spanned before the assembled group of students. "This is a Senkaimon. It connects Soul Society to the Living World, and you need a Hell Butterfly to pass through safely," he said, raising his hand where a small, black butterfly rested on his fingers. "Line up single file with your group members. Once I open the gate, move in until you reach the other side, where we will give you your patrol routes."

With a heavy groan, the doors opened, sending white light streaming through the area. Some students covered their eyes, though others looked barely fazed. One by one, the seventy-odd students stepped into the gate, disappearing into the glow. Aigis stepped in right after Niijima, followed by the rest of her own group.

When she stepped out of the other side of the gate, it was dusk, the scenery below awash in a soft orange glow. They had arrived at the outskirts of a large city, on top of a hill surrounding the area. Its centre was dominated by tall glass buildings, along with an almost dizzying network of roads that spanned a kilometre above ground. It stood in stark contrast to the suburbs, where low houses with tiled roofs dotted the narrow streets and alleyways, reminiscent of the homes that Aigis would see in the inner districts of Rukongai.

"Any idea where we are?" Sakiya asked once he got his bearings.

She did recognise the city.

"This is Kyoto." Aigis marvelled. "As expected of a traditional city, it has not changed much since the last time I visited."

'The last time' was a few years before her death. It was for a minor Shadow incident that was resolved in a single day, though she was not able to stay long beyond that.

The sound of clapping snapped her out of her memories.

"Have one person from each group come forward to take your patrol route." Onabara called, holding up a small stack of papers. "Your goal is to finish the patrol before midnight, and return here with all group members. Do not try to cheat, because your earpieces will also record your position, so we will know if you did not complete your patrol."

She heard some low grumbling within the students. Hoshiku, being the student closest to the teachers, was volunteered by Izukino to take the map, where afterwards Hinamori pointed out their starting point. Their route meandered through the Kyoto suburbs, never quite reaching into the city itself, with the start of their route at a large building.

It turned out to be a very familiar ryokan.

"Do all cities look like this?" Hoshiku asked, his sandalled feet pattering along the rooftops. They had originally wanted to walk on the roads, but Aigis pushed back, pointing out that it would be awkward if they ran into traffic, which then spiralled out into another conversation on how modern transport worked (yes, flying cars were a thing, but suburban Kyoto had a ban on them since a century ago to prevent pollutants from damaging the traditional buildings, so most transport still used roads from two or three hundred years ago outside of the city centre).

"Kyoto is fairly unique, actually." Aigis explained patiently. "Most cities in Japan have many more high-rise buildings made out of carbon fibre and glass."

"You sure know a lot about the Living World." Sakiya said, walking next to Aigis while he kept a lazy eye out for anything supernatural. "Where did you learn all this? I don't think the library has all that information."

She briefly contemplated whether or not to tell the truth, then decided that there was no harm in telling some of it.

"I died ten years ago." Aigis replied, her eyes fixed on the twilight sky above. "So I still have most of my memories from when I was still alive."

There was a moment of silence.

"Sorry, that was rude of me." Sakiya apologised. "I was born in Soul Society, so I never knew what the Living World looked like."

"All my memories are of my time in Soul Society," Izukino added as she skipped to another rooftop, still following the same formation they had discussed a few days prior. "I might as well be a native."

"Forgot most of mine," Hoshiku continued as he jumped behind Izukino. "I only have vague impressions now."

"The modern Living World is constantly changing," Aigis said. They stopped for a short while on a concrete rooftop with a view of the surrounding area. "Many buildings and roads can change in the span of a single year."

Sakiya gave a low whistle, impressed at the speed. "Soul Society barely changes. I would never get used to so much change."

Aigis shrugged in response. "It is a survival tactic for adapting to different needs that arise over time. I would say it is essential in modern society."

Her group stared at her.

"That sounds like a nightmare." Izukino seemed to voice everyone's concern. "One day you have a dirt path, the next day an entire road. You can never settle down because you need to constantly keep up with new things."

Aigis raised an eyebrow. "I find Soul Society to be incredibly slow," she pointed out. "What we have there are technology and items that were used in the Living World more than four hundred years ago. For me, it was…outdated, and inefficient."

It was now less of a patrol, and more of an intellectual discussion while following a path.

"But the system has been around for over two thousand years." Hoshiku argued. "It's worked for us, so why change?"

"Because everything can be improved." Aigis countered. "Perfection is not possible. To take an example, I never knew how to write with a brush in my lifetime, because when I was alive, people used a tool called a pen, which has a hard nib and its own supply of ink, so I never had to bring along separate ink blocks, or worry about how pressure would affect my strokes. It was smaller and easier to store than a brush too. However, even that is uncommon now, since paper has been largely eliminated as a necessity and regular people usually store their information digitally."

"What's 'digitally?'" Sakiya asked curiously.

So for the next twenty minutes, she found herself explaining the basic workings of modern computers and digital information, all the while they poked and needled her logic good-naturedly. Even Hoshiku, who was prickly during their first interaction, softened and slowly joined in the unconventional discussion topic. Aigis realised that rather than rejecting it, her group mates were fascinated by modern technology, except the concept was so alien they could not see how they could make use of it.

"So you're saying that anyone can find any information they want just by thinking about it, and a machine will magically give out the correct answer?" Izukino asked, landing lightly on a balcony. "And it's instant?"

Aigis nodded. "Modern technology is generally connected to the mind, so they are also able to predict a person's needs to an extent," she explained. "There is a choice to disconnect from your device if need be, though that is usually only enforced for people whose jobs cannot allow such devices."

"Why not?" Sakiya followed up.

"Because everyone is connected to the internet, it is possible for those skilled enough to follow that network, hack into your device and steal information." Aigis replied. "Nowadays, information is the most precious resource of any company, and for those with especially sensitive information, they cannot allow the risk of someone outside of it acquiring the information for unsavoury purposes."

Hoshiku hummed his acknowledgement. "It's night time now, right? Why is it still so bright out?"

The sky was indeed dark, and the area they were at was only lit by dim street lights. Aigis pointed to the side, towards the city centre. "What you're seeing is the light from the city centre over there."

Despite the dark evening, it was lit with a colourful array of neon lights, a bright beacon that washed its light over the city. She was sure that if she was in the city centre at that time, the place would still feel like daytime.

"That's much brighter than Soul Society ever is…" Izukino breathed. "Man, human technology is amazing!"

"Well of course it is – those lights were designed to last for fifty years without needing maintenance, you know?"

"You don't even need to maintain it and it's this bright? That's awesome!" Izukino's eyes glittered for a moment, then she paused, and the group collectively jerked their heads towards the source of the voice.

Because none of them had spoke just now.

There, on a balcony across the road, was an old lady reclining in a rocking chair. She had carefully maintained curly hair, comfortable woollen clothes, and a pair of fluffy slippers. The most prominent feature about her however was the short length of chain that dangled from a hole in front of her chest.

She was told what a Whole looked like, of course, but this was the first time Aigis saw a ghost — a Whole — herself. The old lady gave a feeble but friendly wave.

"What's a group of delinquents like you doing up there on the rooftop?" she asked.

"Wha- delinquents?!" Sakiya exclaimed, looking rather scandalised. Aigis was inclined to agree.

"We're on patrol!" Izukino cheerfully announced, blowing right past the delinquent accusations. "Obaa-san, you died not too long ago right?"

There was zero subtlety, but at least she managed to manhandle the conversation back to a relatively normal topic, or as normal as it could get when it involved ghosts.

Aigis idly wondered how Niijima fared. If she recalled correctly, wasn't she afraid of ghosts…?

---

About two kilometres away, Makoto shrieked when a Whole suddenly appeared behind her, startling her teammates.

"Didn't think the hardass honours student was afraid of ghosts…" one of them muttered under his breath, too afraid of the potential repercussions to voice them out loud.

---

"We're here to send you to the afterlife." Hoshiku answered the old lady's question. "If you stay here too long, you will turn into a monster."

"Been here six months, and I've seen no monsters, boy." The lady was somewhat defensive. "Mind just letting me enjoy this view a little more? I should be fine for a while more."

"I am sorry, but I do not think you have much time left." Aigis pointed out. "Your Chain of Fate is rather short, which means that you will likely turn within the next day, if not within the night."

"And what gives you the right to send me to the afterlife, you whippersnapper?" The lady rebuked.

Aigis did her best to not let the comment affect her, but being called a delinquent and a whippersnapper in short order was…not what she had expected from this exercise. Behind her, she heard a few snickers escape from Izukino. "We are shinigami, obaa-san," Aigis replied, trying to keep her voice even. "We are those to guide souls into the afterlife."

"Oh, so that's why you can see me!" The lady laughed, slapping her hand on her knee. "Been rambling to myself all this time cause I didn't think anyone could see or hear me, turns out I just wasn't seen by the right people!"

Despite everything, she seemed friendly, jovial even. There were no regrets in her words. "Would you allow us to send you on?" Sakiya asked, unsheathing his sword and holding it in a relaxed position. "Don't worry, this doesn't hurt."

"Before you go do that," the lady began, "how is the afterlife?"

"It is a peaceful place," he replied with a gentle voice. "You will not go hungry, and you will be safe to rest."

It was the standard reply for any souls asking what Soul Society was like, an answer to soothe over any lingering concerns and ease the transition.

It was also, in Aigis's opinion, a disgusting lie.

Logically, it was better for everyone involved to send souls to Soul Society before they turn into Hollows and become a danger to those around them, but it felt…wrong, to lie to someone for such an important journey. So before Sakiya could tap the lady with his pommel, she grabbed his arm.

"Soul Society is much like the Living World." Aigis informed the lady. "It is true that you will likely feel no hunger, but poverty is rampant, and your life may still be difficult."

"Aigis!" Hoshiku grabbed her shoulder, trying to pull her away.

"However, if you stay here, you will be a danger to yourself and those around you," she continued, heedless of the pressure. "Knowing all this, will you still go?"

There was a moment of silence, before it was broken by high-pitched laughter.

"Hahaha, finally an honest one!" The lady wheezed. "Thank you, girl, for telling me the truth. I will go — I'm not selfish enough to be stubborn about it."

Aigis nodded once, satisfied with the answer, and released her grip on Sakiya's arm. The man hesitated a moment, before he brought up his pommel again.

"Have a safe journey, obaa-san," he murmured.

The pommel gently touched the lady's forehead, leaving a glowing blue seal. She looked at peace as she sank into the ground, and from where she used to be, a Hell Butterfly flew out towards the sky, quickly fluttering out of view.

"Did you really have to tell her that?" Izukino asked softly. "Isn't it better for her to have something to look forward to when she arrives?"

"Not for this." Aigis argued back morosely. "Not for a place where you potentially spend the next few hundred years in."

Before anyone could argue further, a roar in the distance cut through the night.

Without a word, they agreed to keep the argument for another time, and set off towards the source of the sound. Two minutes later, and somewhat off their patrol route, they found the source.

Over an empty car park, a horizontal tear in the sky loomed, with the inside an inky black. It was her first time seeing one, but the foul reiatsu emanating from the portal was unmistakable.

What they had assumed would be a single Hollow turned out to be an entire Garganta, with dozens of Hollows pouring out at an alarming rate.

Izukino took one look at the scene, and summed up their reaction.

"Well, drat."

Notes:

If there's anything I got wrong for the formations part, I apologise. I tried looking online for information on them and all I got was football formations -.-

It's Aigis's first trip into the Living World! Nothing much happening here, I promise :3 I tried to do some extrapolation on what technology can be like in 300 years, so a lot of what I'm describing here is based off my imagination. As for the ryokan that Aigis's group started at, it's the one Gekkoukan High went to for their Kyoto trip. I have a rough subplot planned for the next couple chapters, but I need to add some scenes with a particular character to properly set it up...

Anyway, if you like this story, please review! I may not reply to all of them, but I always appreciate them!

Chapter 18: Mass Destruction

"I'm calling our instructors." Aigis said firmly.

Nobody objected. She fingered her earpiece, and a moment later a connection was established.

"Sensei, we found a Garganta with many Hollows coming out of it," she reported, not caring who was on the other end of the line.

There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end, before Kira's voice came through. "A Garganta?! Where?"

"One kilometre to the west of the library along our patrol route." Aigis replied, her voice clipped. "The Garganta is fifteen metres off the ground, over a car park." She continued to give a summary of the characteristics of the Hollows that poured out of the gate, though she slowly faltered.

"What's wrong, Aigis?" Kira asked urgently.

"The gate is closing," she reported, as she watched the portal slowly shrink until it blinked out of existence. "And the Hollows that came out of it all look rather similar."

Lanky, with sharp stings in lieu of hands, jointed limbs, and all of them bore an insectoid mask. Their size varied, but it seemed as if they all had similar abilities, much like her first encounter with Hollows, when Akechi visited her town.

"Hold your position, we'll come— sorry, scratch that." There was some scuffling on the other end of the line, before Kira's voice came in again. "We have Hollows here too! We will try our best to come to your position, but it might take a while, so move to somewhere safe if you need to!" The line cut off.

Aigis turned to her teammates. They all heard the conversation.

"I guess we're on our own." Sakiya said grimly as they watched the Hollows disperse into the night sky. None came for them yet, but it was only a matter of time before the monsters started indiscriminately attacking anyone with a shred of reiatsu.

"Come on," Aigis turned on her heel and headed in the direction where she saw a few Hollows move to. "Let's get moving."

"Didn't Kira-sensei tell us to stay put?" Hoshiku questioned.

"Yes, but do you want to get surrounded by Hollows?" Aigis argued. "I understand why Kira-sensei gave the order, but we have no way of knowing how long it will take the teachers to come here to rescue us, nor do we know if the other groups are similarly trapped. The best we can do right now is to thin out the Hollows before they eat more souls here."

"That doesn't mean fighting to your death!" Sakiya said. "We can't possibly fight them with just the four of us!"

"We were trained for this." Aigis stated calmly, undercut by a sliver of impatience. "If you're not going to do it now, when will you do it? Besides, I think we have a reasonable chance of staying alive."

The group quieted down.

"We stick to the formation." Aigis outlined. "Keep your reiatsu output low so we don't attract too many Hollows. We stick to the rooftops so we have an easy way to retreat if we need to. We can try to meet up with other groups along the way, but we should primarily make our way back to the meeting point."

Said meeting point was over an hour away if they kept up their leisurely patrol pace, though if they hurried they could make it in around half an hour. However, she had no idea how many Hollows they would have to contend with along the way, so she prepared herself for a long trip.

The group nodded grimly, and they set off.

---

They encountered their first Hollow two minutes in, when Izukino almost barrelled straight into the mouth of one in her hurry to reach the meeting point before Hoshiku could call out a warning. Fortunately, Sakiya was quick enough to shoot a Shakkaho into the side of its face, blasting it off course. It was then swiftly dispatched by a very angry slice straight through its mask, courtesy of Izukino.

"Huh, they're not very strong," she commented, sheathing her zanpakutou. "Maybe we can really do this."

"Do not let your guard down." Aigis commanded, her eyes still trained on her surroundings. "We can relax after we reach the meeting point."

They moved away from the dissolving corpse.

Another Hollow soon emerged, cut down by Aigis slicing through its joints and a kick to the mask. Within five minutes, they were swarmed by a small mob of Hollows, a new one replacing every monster the group managed to cut down.

"This is a lot to manage!" Hoshiku called out through the din of battle. "Any ideas?"

Aigis glanced around desperately. "There!" She pointed towards an abandoned building. "Let's take shelter in there for now!"

"Bakudo number twenty-one: Sekienton!" Hoshiku threw up a red smokescreen to cover them.

A quick shunpo later, they dashed through a broken window and hid behind a concrete wall to recuperate, all of them slightly winded. The Hollows roared outside, disoriented and circling the building, but they made no attempt to break in.

"Did we get half of the Hollows in this city after us or something?" Izukino panted. She was covered in shallow cuts and pricks along her arms and legs — it seemed that the stingers the Hollows had were not just for show.

"I don't know." Aigis replied. "Let me wrap that arm, Sakiya-san."

"Oh, thanks." There was no emotion in his voice as he held out his arm, stained bloody red by an unfortunate slice from the Hollows.

The first aid kit provided was indeed useful.

"We were swarmed once we killed the first one." Izukino said, nibbling on a piece of dried fruit. "It wasn't for long, but before that I think the Hollows mostly ignored us."

Aigis pondered over the facts. "If that is the case, I think we can safely conclude that they are unusually sensitive to reiatsu, or possibly each other's status," she said, keeping her voice low. "If we try to use any reiatsu or kill one, they'll definitely come after us."

She unfolded the map that was given of their patrol route. It was slightly crumpled from the bumpy ride in her fanny pack, but still legible. "According to the path we took, we are currently here," she pointed to a small building some few hundred metres off their route.

"I'm amazed you remember where we went through all that mess." Sakiya marvelled, his now bandaged arm resting gingerly on his lap. "Still not much closer to the meeting point though."

"It cannot be helped." Aigis replied, musing over the information they have. "It is not easy trying to navigate a city through so many Hollows."

They were in a fairly abandoned area of the city, one that she knew for sure was used for small factories many years ago. Sadly the decline in demand for handmade goods forced many of those companies to either downsize or close down altogether, leading to their current situation. The good news, however, was that they did not have to worry too much about property damage if fighting broke out here. The surrounding buildings were similar to the one they were in right now – a mix of abandoned concrete or brick buildings, with tiny alleyways between them for utilities.

Hoshiku took a peek out of their hiding place, careful to not reveal himself too much. "They aren't going anywhere though," he reported, munching on the snacks inside their packs for energy. "Staying here isn't the solution."

"I know," she said, still poring over the map.

"Are we gonna die here?"

It was Sakiya, still aching over his injured arm, who voiced that thought. The group turned towards him, and for the first time Aigis could clearly see how they were all breathing a little too fast despite the brief rest, how their bodies were tense and curled into themselves, how Izukino twitched minutely to any sudden noise that came from the outside. The fear and uncertainty of their situation was clear in their slightly dilated eyes.

Normally, Aigis would have a little speech ready to encourage anyone feeling that way in her own (admittedly awkward) way, as she had sometimes back when she was the director for the Shadow Operatives. They listened to her, because she had the proven rank and experience to lend weight to her words. But in this new society, where nobody - save Niijima - knew what she was like before, if she tried that, she would come across as condescending. So she turned back to the map.

"If that is what you wish, then feel free to do nothing," she said. "However, I do not wish to die here, so I will do everything in my power to ensure that I leave this exercise – alive."

She did not blame Sakiya for saying it out loud, because in any normal circumstance, it was indeed a scary situation – to be surrounded on all sides by bloodthirsty monsters, with the only protection being a thin concrete wall. Aigis realised with a start that perhaps it was time to check on her own mental state, if she was barely unfazed by such overwhelming odds.

Does Soul Society have therapists?

Her thought process was broken when the intensity of roars and howls suddenly increased outside, along with the distinctive clang of steel. Heedless of the danger, she strained to look at the situation outside.

Neon blue explosions and balls of fire blew holes through the ranks of Hollows, though they were quickly filled with even more Hollows before they could take advantage of the openings. Through the brief gaps, she spied a head of familiar brown hair.

"Niijima-san! Over here!" Aigis shouted, disregarding the danger of being heard by the Hollows and instead banking on the chaos that her friend caused. She won, as she saw Niijima's head jerk up to her position, and her gesticulating to her teammates to run for cover. Half a minute later, the four newcomers were panting heavily on the concrete floor, a sprinkling of grazes and cuts on their bodies. Taking a page out of Hoshiku's strategy, Aigis had also covered their escape with a well-timed Sekienton, leaving the Hollows outside the window disoriented.

"How did you also end up here?" Aigis demanded.

Niijima took a few more breaths to anchor herself. "We saw the giant mob of Hollows here and thought they might've been chasing after something," she explained, expertly dressing her own light wounds using the first aid kit. "Didn't think it would be you though."

Well, with everything that happened, Aigis was glad her friend was here. "Have the teachers contacted you yet?" she asked.

One of the burly men in Niijima's team shook his head. "Last I heard, they were still in the middle of fighting their way to our general position," he said, slumped against the concrete. "I think there are probably quite a few groups along the way, so they'll have to help them out first, too."

Aigis turned her attention back to the map as her team members welcomed the new group. Niijima joined her once she finished treating her wounds.

"I would suggest killing them all in one flashy attack," she commented, seemingly reading her mind. Not surprising, considering how closely their organisations worked while they were both alive. "We can take some pressure off others and alert our teachers of our position."

"I need exact numbers." Aigis muttered back. "And a suitable place of attack."

"No civilian deaths, right?"

"Minimal property damage too. I have no idea if these buildings are actually abandoned or not."

"Maybe if we bring the battle into the air?"

"Possible, but the space is too open, and they have the advantage in numbers."

"Best to box them in an alleyway of sorts– or not, there's too many. A bigger square then."

"Nothing that completely tires us out too, I want to be prepared for more unneeded surprises. At most probably one or two strong spells."

"The definition of 'tired' is very different for each person. Account for the lowest denominator."

They naturally fell into a rapid-fire exchange of plans and ideas, reminiscent of their past collaborations. Many things had changed since they last did something similar, but it almost felt as if nothing had changed.

---

Some distance away from the two strategists currently deep in a discussion of what their upper limits are, the six students strained to listen in on their plans.

"Maybe we can–"

"Yeah, but what if–"

"Make that there–"

"Even better–"

"Too risky–"

Their ideas seemed to clamour over each other, building a complex web of ideas that the rest struggled to detangle. Ten minutes in, amidst the slowly fading roars of the monsters outside, they finally gave up trying to understand the conversation and accepted the fact that the two ladies were probably their best chance of escaping this mess alive.

---

"How are you feeling right now?" Aigis asked out of the blue to the assembled students. As one, they blinked up blearily at Niijima and her, the adrenaline of the situation wearing off during their break and exhaustion setting in.

"A little sleepy," someone mumbled. Aigis was not sure who it was from, but at least they acknowledged their current problem.

"Get some energy from your rations," she instructed them all. "We have a plan for escaping here. Hoshiku-san, can you conjure a big shield for protection from spells?"

"Yeah, but why?" Hoshiku asked back while everyone else reached into their packs for food.

"This is what we have to do…" The strategists sat down, unfurled their map, and began explaining their plan.

---

"Aigis here. Is everyone in their positions?" She had one hand on her communicator, currently linked to everyone in Niijima's and her group.

Various sounds of acknowledgement crackled through the earpiece.

"Okay," she took a deep breath. "Operation start!"

She reached out with her reiatsu and sensed the two different teams move in different directions, a zig-zag pattern across the rooftops of the district they were in.

"So I know that you said you'd help with corralling those Hollows…" Hoshiku began next to Aigis, his fingers twitching in anxiety. "But how are you going to reach those groups out there when you're here protecting me?"

They had split into three teams, with two teams of three clearing out the Hollows surrounding the building (ninety percent of the Hollows had lost interest and wandered off while they were discussing strategy, but they decided to continue the plan anyway to protect other souls in the vicinity) and one team of two sneaking out from a rooftop exit. Niijima moved with her original team while one member from her team moved to Sakiya and Izukino's team, with their role to be the bait for Hollows to follow after them on a wild chase through the district. Aigis was part of the team of two, her duties twofold – provide suppressing fire to the other two groups so they did not get overwhelmed, and protect Hoshiku from any stray Hollows that came after them, because he was the lynchpin of their plan.

In response to his question, she unsheathed her zanpakutou, holding it in a reverse grip.

"With this." Aigis answered. "Shoot, Palladion!"

Her blade morphed into its familiar gauntlet form, but Hoshiku eyed it skeptically. "Right, forgot you have a shikai," he mumbled. "They still seem to be rather far away though."

Indeed, they were over two hundred metres away.

That was not an issue for her.

Aigis gave a wordless command, and her gauntlet morphed, the rings around her fingertips disappearing and melding into a sniper rifle mounted on top of her gauntlet. "This should work."

"Uh, what's that?" he asked.

"Sniper rifle." Aigis explained briefly. "It is used in the Living World for killing animals or people from over a kilometre away."

Hoshiku did not have further complaints.

She laid down on their vantage point, an apartment block she was all too aware that had occupants living inside them, but it was the best vantage point they could find that was close to the abandoned building they were trapped in earlier. At least their plans did not involve any damage to the apartments.

"Firing," Aigis muttered to herself, taking aim at a Hollow in the middle of the pack chasing after Sakiya's team. Her shot hit true, the mask of the Hollow exploding like a mini firework from the bullet made out of her own compressed reiatsu. It was the main advantage of her zanpakutou over her original, mechanical body – as long as she had reiatsu, she could theoretically fire an infinite amount of bullets. Coupled with her excellent aiming skills (and having adjusted for recoil since her first kido class), it did not take much energy for her to defeat large groups of Hollows.

She barely watched the Hollow dissolve into black mist as the group fell into chaos from the sniper shot. She could vaguely see more Hollows dying, probably the group taking advantage of the confusion to thin out their ranks before resuming their chase. Satisfied with her handiwork, Aigis turned her attention to the other group, which seemed to be doing fairly well by itself, judging from the occasional blast of neon energy emanating from the pack.

She had enhanced them all with Masukukaja before they left. They should have no problem dodging the Hollows while her spell was up. But she also made sure to not provide too much firing support, because she did not want to draw attention to her position.

"Who's firing that blue magic?" Hoshiku asked. "I don't think there's any kido that matches that colour."

"It's Niijima-san." Aigis answered. "Her zanpakutou allows her to manipulate nuclear energy. Downside is, it makes the area somewhat radioactive if she uses the ability for too long."

Hoshiku tilted his head in question. "Nuclear energy? Radioactive?"

Right. Soul Society probably ran more on reishi rather than nuclear energy, as is the standard nowadays. "Nuclear energy is how the Living World largely gets its energy from nowadays," she explained, half keeping an eye out on the two teams. "It is similar to how reishi is used in every aspect of life in Soul Society. However, the byproduct of nuclear energy can mutate cells in living bodies, killing them in the process."

"Isn't it dangerous for her to fight in a group like that then?" Hoshiku questioned, looking slightly green. "Or in a human settlement, for that matter?"

"Souls are more resilient than human bodies." Aigis replied. With how they bled, it was easy to forget that technically, they were souls, not humans. And technically, she was never human. "So it takes a while before the side effects start appearing. In a situation like this, it's perfectly fine. And her particular brand of nuclear energy is contained to where the explosions were, so as long as no human touches it, it will be fine. It will dissipate in a week or so."

It was not a problem that Niijima encountered back when she was alive, and only accidentally discovered when one day Hinamori had pulled her aside to ask about the haze of poisonous reiatsu hanging around her.

Aigis only heard about the aftermath, but it resulted in some severe limits on how long Niijima could release her zanpakutou for. Thankfully, they were lifted for this particular exercise.

They settled down to watch as both groups noisily raced across the district, attracting as many Hollows as they could, broken by the occasional pot shots Aigis took at the Hollows. By the time they converged towards their agreed meeting spot ten minutes later, they managed to pick up some forty-odd Hollows of varying sizes, all with long insectoid appendages and masks.

"Time to move." Aigis instructed. Hoshiku nodded, wordlessly following her off their perch towards a warehouse that they had earlier reasoned to be probably abandoned. It was situated at a dead end, a somewhat small loading bay that was overgrown with weeds that grew through the cracked asphalt, but more importantly, was surrounded on three sides by tall concrete structures, and a wired fence at its only entry. Aigis instructed Hoshiku to hide in the shadows, while she opened the bolted gate with a shot from her zanpakutou at its chain, now back to its usual gauntlet form.

"Get ready for phase two," she commanded through their communicator. Normally she would have turned it off in between phases, but with the group being so small, she saw no need to turn communications off, in case a part of the plan failed in any way and she needed to provide backup. It meant that she had to deal with the occasional chanting, grunts and chatter between teammates, though this was still on a bearable level. She turned it off once her other teammates were close enough to be in shouting range.

"Incoming!"

Niijima rushed through the open gate, followed by her two teammates and a group of tightly packed Hollows. She stopped in the loading bay and raised her reiatsu – a clear taunt to the monsters as her reiryoku wrapped her in a glowing neon blue blanket. It had the intended effect, as the Hollows dove at her position, crashing into a pile against the buildings.

Aigis felt a rush of wind brush past as Niijima appeared beside her, who had swiftly cut off her reiatsu output and used shunpo to escape. Her teammates had similarly escaped to the rooftops surrounding the bay.

"Good job, Niijima-san." Aigis complimented.

Before her friend could reply, the second group appeared around the bend, screaming their lungs out from either fear or excitement. Aigis was not sure which one was more accurate, but it did a fine job of keeping the Hollows' attention, if how they crashed into their brethren was any indication.

Having sufficiently flattened the first group, and squeezed the tangle of limbs from the second group of Hollows into the tiny space, Aigis shut the wire gate with a quick cast of Hainawa, then carried out the next part of her plan.

"Hoshiku-san, barrier!" Aigis yelled.

"Bakudo number eighty-one: Danku!"

Hoshiku had informed the team that he needed time to chant the higher levelled kido spells, so besides keeping him safe in the shadows, Aigis had also instructed him to start chanting as soon as they landed near the loading bay, so he could release the spell right as she needed it. He had pulled it off flawlessly, sealing the only ground exit with a tall, transparent wall. The wire fence served as a temporary defence against physical attacks, as long as he stood far enough for the stingers to not scratch him. It only lasted for a few dozen seconds, but that was all they needed. Each student took up position along the rooftops surrounding the loading bay, far away from any thrashing limbs. As one, they raised their hands, palm facing the Hollows, and began to chant. Aigis prepared herself for a spell too, but she had something else in mind for herself.

She reached out to her reserve Personae.

It was something she had never attempted before, but she needed elemental firepower that Palladion and Pallas Athena simply could not provide. She reached deeper, past the cool, comforting presence of her initial Persona, into the depths of her soul where her other stocked Personae resided ever since she arrived at Soul Society.

You're relying too much on the natural abilities you had when you were alive, Metis said during one of their jinzen sessions. Just because you know you can use them doesn't mean you should solely rely on them. Use your other bonds a little.

She was right, because those were the abilities Aigis were most comfortable with – the ones that she knew she could reliably use without questions. But here, it was time to break those self-made boundaries.

"Surt."

The Norse god responded with a flickering flame, hot and wrathful. That was good.

She changed stances, from an open palm to her barrels locked on the Hollows. She imagined the Persona feeding fire to her finger guns.

"Hado number thirty-one: Shakkaho!"

"Hado number fifty-eight: Tenran!"

"Agidyne!"

The combined mass of spells flew towards the Hollows trying to extricate themselves from the pile, exploding into a giant firestorm in the loading bay that curled upwards as it fried the monsters to cinders. The force of the spells whipped through their uniform, dirty from the night exercise, each flaw highlighted by the intense orange glow of the bonfire. Hoshiku's barrier worked wonders to keep the explosion contained where they wanted it to be – the force of their combined spells would not have been nearly as strong if any of the energy had escaped.

"Sure hope that is enough of a beacon for the instructors," Niijima muttered. Aigis was inclined to agree.

The flames died down after a minute, revealing the burnt bodies of Hollows that slowly dissolved into black mist amidst the remaining embers, the asphalt charred a similar shade of black.

"Did we do it?" Izukino asked.

She asked too early.

Aigis and Niijima had not accounted for Hollows that were as tough as cockroaches.

Quite literally too, as the few remaining Hollows at the bottom of the pile were thoroughly scorched, but not dead. Their previously white, almost cockroach-like carapaces had turned black, but it had largely protected them from the worst of the fire, if their angry roars were any indication. Then one of them pierced another with its stinger.

And started absorbing its reiatsu.

"Wh– oh no, stop it!" Niijima's shout snapped everyone out of the gruesome scene as they collectively realised that they really did not need to have an overpowered Hollow running rampant.

Aigis fired a cluster of bullets at its head, but they pinged off harmlessly. The rest of the group drew their swords and joined the fight, but their zanpakutou were similarly ineffective against its carapace, futilely scratching at the shell. Even Niijima with her nuclear blasts barely caught its attention, as he stabbed stinger after stinger into the surviving Hollows, leeching their reiatsu.

They needed something with much more piercing power.

This was the reason why Aigis kept to relatively low-energy spells, in case something went south and they needed intense firepower immediately.

"Distract it for ten seconds!" Aigis shouted. She was greeted with a collective of shouts, indicating that the rest of the group had heard her.

She used the technique every now and then, whenever she encountered a Shadow that she could snipe from afar. It was something reserved for Palladion too, so even though she had never attempted to use it after she arrived at Soul Society, she was confident that she could pull it off.

Palladion stirred in anticipation.

Aigis raised her reiatsu.

Her figure cloaked in a white glow, she took aim at the head of the Hollow, currently still gorging on its feast.

The gauntlet morphed, adding a massive, steel coloured cannon to its side. It whirled into life, her reiatsu condensed into a ball of lightning energy at its barrel.

"Palladion number, set."

The Hollow finally deigned to raise its head up to Aigis's perch, the face covered by a round insectoid mask decorated with two horns.

"Maximum charge."

"Get clear!" Niijima roared as the students scrambled to run from the area. The Hollow, realising that it was in danger, leapt upwards at Aigis.

"Heritage Liberator Palladion!"

Notes:

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, imagining the various ways this fight could've gone. It's Aigis's first real fight against Hollows, but honestly, she treats them more like Shadows. The next couple chapters have been kicking my ass, so I'm taking my sweet time with it. This means the next chapter may be slightly delayed depending on how quickly I get through my block, but should come out within a month.

Anyone saw the P3R trailers? I won't be getting the game day 1 probably, but I will definitely be watching playthroughs, and seeing if I can incorporate any new lore into the story :3

Chapter 19: Soul Phrase

When the instructors arrived at the scene, slightly scraped and very much out of breath, they were greeted with eight exhausted students, a blackened loading bay, and a fifty centimetre hole melted into the asphalt.

"What happened here?" Onabara asked as he marvelled at the destruction wrought.

"Lu- lured a bunch of Hollows here," Izukino spoke first, trying her best to regulate her breathing, though it was also broken by the daredevil grin she produced. "Killed them all."

She looked inordinately proud of herself. Aigis supposed that she deserved it.

"And that hole in the ground?" Hinamori asked, sliding a finger against the melted edges of the asphalt. "Was it a Hollow?"

"My zanpakutou, actually." Aigis replied, her back against one of the abandoned buildings surrounding the loading bay. She had overheated and ran out of reiatsu after that attack, which translated to her being barely able to sit against support, with steam still wafting off her skin despite the chilly weather. "Some of the Hollows who survived the firestorm tried to merge together, so I killed it before it was complete."

"So…" Kira looked around at the students. "Exactly how many Hollows did you all kill?"

For some reason, all eyes turned to Hoshiku.

"Uh…" he hesitated, looked at the midnight sky, then back to his hands and tried to count off his fingers. "Probably around fifty?"

The teachers looked suitably impressed. Matsumoto even gave a whistle. "That's pretty good for your first proper battle," she praised. "Who came up with this plan? Killing fifty Hollows while you're still students is quite the achievement."

All eyes swivelled around to Niijima and Aigis. The teachers followed their gaze.

"Well, that explains a lot." Onabara said dryly.

Niijima bashfully pushed some stray hair out of her face. Aigis was too busy trying to regulate her internal body temperature to care.

"Have you found all the other students yet?" Niijima asked.

"You're the last group," Hinamori replied as she heaved Sakiya off the ground. His cut on the arm had reopened during the fight, and she applied some emergency kaido on the wound. "Thank you for the beacon by the way, it helped us find you."

Niijima sighed in response, too drained after the adrenaline high died down. As each teacher coaxed the students into standing and limping back to their meeting point, Kira approached Aigis.

"I thought I told you to stay put," he said matter-of-factly. For a small mercy, he seemed merely curious, not accusatory. "And what happened to you? You're almost completely out of reiatsu."

Aigis took a deep breath, the cool air helping to regulate her internal body temperature. "If we stayed put, we would have died," she explained. "The Hollows may have ignored us at first, but I did not want to push my luck and have them surround us later in such an open area. As for what happened, my shikai does this whenever I use my strongest ability. It will pass with time."

It seemed like the unfortunate downside of Heritage Liberator Palladion — the fact that it overheated her machinery every time she used it — carried over into her new body. She made a mental note to use it as a last resort, or when she was sure she would be safe afterwards.

Kira gave a low whistle. "It must be quite the ability then, if it carries such a downside." He extended a hand out. "And just this time, I'm going to ignore the fact that you disobeyed my orders, because in this situation, you made the correct choice. Come on, let's get you back to Soul Society." His expression did not change much from his usual dour look, but she noticed the slightest quirk of his eyebrow, a hint of curiosity behind the stoic facade.

She took the hand.

---

"So I heard you single-handedly slayed a hundred Hollows during your trip to the Living World, Aigis-san?" Ebina stage-whispered, two weeks after the excursion.

Aigis flattened him with an unimpressed look.

Tuition sessions were decreased to once a week as Ebina started overtaking his classmates in his lessons, per Onabara's orders. She supposed that he was trying to be considerate of her workload now that she was about to graduate, though she found no issues balancing tutoring and her course load once she got used to it. Along with his improving grades, Ebina had relaxed a touch, in that he did not seem to be picking a fight with every single person he talked to anymore.

The downside was that he became a gossip.

He was not as bad as some others she knew (nobody could top Matsumoto and her delight in riling up the entire school population after all, not even Rise), but him slowly becoming more receptive to new ideas meant that the students in his cohort were more open to sharing rumours and unusual ideas with him, sometimes blown wildly out of proportion.

"We are in a private training room, Ebina-san," Aigis replied. "Why did you feel the need to whisper?"

"Because you never know if anyone is outside listening!" He did not seem to be listening much, half focused on his report and half lost in a wild fantasy.

She sighed. The other downside of his improving mental health was a slight…she supposed "loss of inhibition" was the correct term for it. Ebina lowered his guard around people, which revealed a rather childish side prone to flights of fancy, though Aigis did make it clear that as long as it was not rude or inappropriate, she would let it go. It was better for him to have some outlet for stress rather than none, and if it was not inconveniencing anyone else, who was she to complain?

In hindsight, that may have fuelled rumours about how the Shadow Operatives contained the weirdest members back when she was alive, but in her defence, being an Operative was a stressful job, and there was merit to finding relief in odd quirks as long as it was not negatively affecting anyone else.

"I told you before, it was a group effort," she emphasised. "And it was only around fifty. What did you even hear from the other students anyway?"

"Some said you defeated a Gillian-class Hollow, but even I think that one was a little too out there." Ebina shrugged. "Others said you blew up an entire block in the Living World."

Aigis idly wondered how many of these rumours were perpetuated by Matsumoto.

"I did not blow up anything," she stated firmly. "Only the Hollows, and it was contained in a loading bay."

Ebina drooped. "That's a shame, it would've been cool if you were able to blow up something."

"I am not blowing anything up without permission from its owners." Aigis frowned.

"Even when you absolutely need to?"

"You do not need to blow up anything to kill fifty Hollows in one go." She put down her brush. "Collateral damage is something to be avoided as much as possible."

"But what if it is for a good cause?" Ebina asked back, his report similarly forgotten.

Aigis sighed. "Is your 'good cause' their cause too?" She retorted. "I have said this before, but each person is different. You cannot apply the same standards and ideals to every person you meet. You could have destroyed someone's livelihood if you blew up a building, for example. Or someone's home. How would you feel if your home suddenly exploded with no explanation?"

"…I'd be annoyed." Ebina muttered, his eyes downcast.

"Exactly," she nodded, satisfied that she conveyed her point. "Unless you have permission from the owner, please do not go around blowing up buildings."

"I suddenly feel very sorry for people with destructive zanpakutous…" he looked thoughtful. "I've heard of bankai that can easily level a mountain, or reshape landscapes. How do you think they kept collateral damage down?"

"There are many ways to do so." Aigis said. She held up her hand, counting down the fingers. "They might have fought in open or abandoned areas where collateral damage would not have been an issue. They might have stuck to less destructive abilities, or forwent using them. Or perhaps they did cause massive collateral damage and simply did not care because the government covered for them."

"Wait." Ebina held out his own hand to stop her, his face scrunched up. "Back up. Would Central 46 do that?"

"All governments do that." Aigis grumbled. "I would be incredibly surprised if Central did not do that at any point in their history. Yes, it could be for benevolent purposes, but it could just as easily be done with malicious intent."

His face scrunched further.

"Governments are not the model pillars of society like you might imagine them as." Aigis went back to her own homework. "There will, of course, be upstanding members of society that genuinely want to improve the country and its people, but many government members are just there for the power that being an official has. There are multiple instances of nepotism-backed promotions and backstabbing. It does not mean that they are useless, because for the most part, having a government is better than not having one, or that a government overall is made up of incompetent people, because being selfish does not necessarily mean being bad at the job. But do not place blind faith in them."

Ebina glumly picked up his brush again.

"Or in anything, in general," she added.

"Yes, Aigis-san…"

They worked in silence for a few minutes, before it was broken again.

"Do you think you can get your bankai before you graduate?" Ebina asked.

"Where did that question come from?" Aigis asked back.

"Well I did mention destructive bankai earlier, and it got me thinking, and besides, you immediately got your shikai too, so maybe…" he started rambling.

Bankai, huh.

It was something to consider.

She had learned about the power of a bankai during class, through the history of wars that Seireitei had participated in. A single bankai could turn the tide of an entire battle, with most of them having fantastical abilities.

Aigis never thought about wielding that kind of power for herself, because she was too used to working with all sorts of restrictions. She did miss her Personae a great deal, though having Palladion around mitigated much of the loneliness. But, well…

She could theoretically attempt to reach it.

"I might ask Onabara-sensei about it," she said finally.

"You'll probably set a record for the shortest time taken to reach bankai, if you get it." Ebina's eyes glittered with excitement.

"Frankly, I do not care." Aigis sighed. "It was never my intention to set records."

Ebina pestered her throughout the rest of the session about her plans, even though she barely had any. Her original goal had been to find out more about the state of Seireitei, and to find any other Persona users she knew of, and while her first goal was still some ways off, the second goal was already partially fulfilled. At this point, it mattered little which division she ended up in after graduation, though perhaps it was time to start narrowing her choices down…

---

Aigis approached Onabara one day after writing class.

"Can you tell me the requirements for reaching bankai?"

Onabara stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Why the sudden interest?"

"I thought that it was about time for me to try and be better." Aigis replied.

Well, the real reason was that she was hoping for better access to her old abilities back when she was alive. Casting Agidyne during the excursion used up an uncomfortable amount of reiryoku, which indicated that her connection to any Persona not named Palladion or Pallas Athena was imperfect. It was a long shot, but with no other ideas at the moment, perhaps bankai, or the process of reaching bankai would help.

Onabara kept up the frown for a moment more, before he straightened up. "How is your communication with your zanpakutou these days?"

"It is going well, sensei." Aigis replied succinctly.

Class-mandated jinzen sessions meant that she had a few more chances to speak with Metis after their first time last year. Half of the time, it consisted of her scolding Aigis for her lack of imagination for her zanpakutou, while the other half was spent discussing the past and her own fluctuating mental health.

She was a little miffed that the best therapist she could find in Soul Society right now was herself.

But progress was made in terms of her abilities — it was Metis's scolding that made Aigis realise she was neglecting her reserve Personae, though the excursion was the first time she could test it out. And she had thought that her finger guns were her only ranged option until Metis explicitly pointed out the scattered weaponry in her inner world, asking when the hell are you going to use them?

Onabara eyed her over critically, but relented. "Generally you'll need a certain level of reiatsu first, but you've already reached that. The next step would be to manifest your zanpakutou spirit in reality then," he said. "It represents your trust in each other — that your spirit approves of you. Afterwards, it's dependent on the spirit. Some may ask to battle you. Some may instead ask to do other activities with you. Whatever it is, if you can continue to train and bond with your spirit, they may grant you your bankai's name."

"'May'?" Aigis questioned.

"You need to reach their lofty standards after all," he answered. "If you did not, you would not be able to release their full potential. But even after you achieve bankai, it takes a minimum of ten years to master it, so it will very likely not be fit for battle at first. The training is up to you, of course."

For such a powerful upgrade, the process sounded deceptively simple, though Aigis knew from experience that nothing ever is what it seems on the surface. She put a hand over her chest, considering the steps and requirements for each of them.

If she was correct, she could summon her spirit already. If the progression of bankai was as she had suspected, she would know her bankai's name already too. The issue was — was she correct?

Niijima would probably want to hear about this.

"Thank you, sensei." Aigis bowed politely.

Onabara crossed his arms. "I would advise you to start your training only after you graduate. Trying to achieve bankai without any guidance is futile. There has only been one person who achieved bankai while still in the Academy, and there were extenuating circumstances for him."

That caught her attention. "Who was it?" Aigis asked, her head tilted.

"One of the current captains — Hitsugaya Toshiro," he explained. "He was Matsumoto-sensei's superior, so even if she hasn't achieved it, she did witness his training, so I suggest you ask her for further advice."

Aigis had almost hoped for Onabara to name one of the Persona users she knew, but when he instead stated an unfamiliar name, she did her best to not let her disappointment show on her face, though the fact that Matsumoto witnessed bankai training was a piece of unexpected, but useful information. For all her faults, she really was an accomplished shinigami.

"Thank you, sensei." Aigis bowed again, grateful for the information.

"You're welcome." Onabara nodded. "Like I said, do not attempt bankai training until after you graduate."

"Yes, sensei," she answered, fully intending to ignore it.

---

Aigis roped Niijima into cornering Matsumoto a few days later, during a lull in their hakuda lesson. Aigis had told Niijima about her conversation with Onabara right afterwards, about how she felt it was about time for her to attempt bankai, and the basic requirements for it, because no normal shinigami would even attempt bankai normally until at least a few decades after they reached shikai, and even reaching that was not guaranteed for rank-and-file shinigami. It was a good thing that Niijima felt ready for it too, because additional support for Aigis's arguments was always appreciated.

"Well now, it's rare that you both come looking for me." Matsumoto commented, her hands on her hips and an amused glint in her eye. "Out with it, what do you want?"

"Bankai," Niijima blurted out. "We heard that you witnessed Captain Hitsugaya's bankai training, and we'd like some tips, if you have any."

Matsumoto raised an eyebrow in surprise. "This early?"

"There is not much point in delaying." Aigis replied. "I believe we are ready to start training for it."

"Hmm." Just like Onabara, Matsumoto gave both of them a critical look from head to toe. "I suppose you are," she nodded approvingly. "Well, if you're insistent, I can tell you what I've seen. Look for me after class today at my office, okay?"

The Persona users nodded.

So this was how they found themselves at the teacher's lounge, after class finished for the day. It was lucky that Aigis did not have tutoring to conduct on the day, so there was no need to reschedule anything. The other teachers were suspiciously out of the office too, so the three of them had the space to themselves.

"Where to start…" Matsumoto murmured, splayed out on the sofa while Aigis and Niijima each took a wooden chair. "Guess it began when I first found Captain in Rukongai."

Matsumoto recounted her story, about how she found a bullied boy in one of the inner districts, with reiatsu too great for him to control. How she encouraged him to become a shinigami, only to see him graduate from Shin'ou in a single year, enter the Gotei, and work his way up to captain within a few short decades.

"I only saw part of his bankai training, where he was trying to master it," she continued. "Technically it wasn't very usable for the first few decades, but he was forced to use its incomplete form for much of the Winter War and the Vandereich invasion. What I can tell you is that mastering his bankai involved a lot of jinzen, and a couple destroyed training halls."

"Have you ever attempted to reach bankai yourself, sensei?" Niijima asked.

"Well, yeah, I wasn't going to get shown up by a brat." Matsumoto said flippantly. "But Haineko was too temperamental and lazy to attempt it. So it's a shame, but I wasn't able to reach bankai at all."

Aigis briefly wondered how her teacher was so blind to her own glaringly obvious flaws. She squashed the thought down before she could voice it, though the polite mum look on Niijima's face meant that she was probably thinking something similar.

"So, is communication with your zanpakutou spirit key to unlocking bankai?" Aigis asked.

"You've got to work with it." Matsumoto answered, her posture straighter now. "It is a representation of yourself, even if you might not like it. Learn to accept yourself as you are, and your spirit will answer in kind."

Why did it sound so much like a Persona awakening?

Niijima looked contemplative, her hand on her chin and her legs crossed on the seat. "Accepting yourself, huh…"

"Well, don't overthink it too much!" Matsumoto patted both of them. "Getting bankai is a process, and it will take a long time. There's no need to rush!"

They were not attempting to rush, but Aigis could not discard the nagging feeling that she should be able to reach bankai by now, but something was preventing her from doing so. While Matsumoto's stories were somewhat useful, they did not bring her much closer to the answer Aigis was seeking. She was better suited to working with logic, not emotions.

It was ironic. Wild Cards were all excellent at reading and regulating the moods of other people. Aigis tried her best, but she felt that she never could quite keep up with the other guests of the Velvet Room, despite her experience. Her attempts often fell flat compared to others in the same situation. She theorised that it might have been related to how she got her Wild Card power — "borrowed" from Makoto when he became the Great Seal, considering that she could not access the Persona Compendium, but the few times she asked Elizabeth about the topic, she just smiled evasively, patted Aigis's shoulder and told her that one day, she would be able to call that power her own.

It had been almost three hundred years since she first asked, and Aigis still had no answers.

---

"It's useful that you can rent a training room without raising any suspicion, Aigis-san." Makoto said, admiring the simple, but sturdy beams of the room. She had never gone in here before, having found no use for the private training rooms, but apparently, this was where Aigis usually conducted her tuition sessions.

"Tutoring paid off in unexpected ways." Aigis agreed as she pushed the scant furniture of the room to the sides. "Though is all this secrecy necessary?"

"Do you want to give Rangiku-sensei more fuel for gossip?"

Aigis had the decency to stop and consider the statement for a moment. "No," she decided. "But I think we gave her enough already."

Well, that was true. "Maybe we can blackmail her, if we want her to keep quiet about us attempting bankai." Makoto suggested.

She was not sure where she could find the material, but surely some of the students must have something?

Unexpectedly, Aigis looked away, her hand on her chest and face dusted pink.

"Wait, don't tell me you have actual blackmail material?" Makoto asked incredulously.

"…maybe?" Aigis's voice came out in an uncharacteristic mumble. "She told me a little about her love life when she was drunk once. But it's pretty private information, and I'd feel bad if I used it as blackmail."

"She had an actual love life?" Makoto pressed. "I just thought she was a flirt to everyone! Sure she's competent at her job but I didn't think she could actually fall in love with anyone!"

"It apparently did not go anywhere, and he's been dead for a while. He tried to take revenge on someone on Matsumoto-sensei's behalf and died for it." Aigis elaborated.

That was…much more depressing than what Makoto had expected. She wondered if her teacher's flirtatious ways were done to fill the hole in her heart.

Makoto sighed. "Let's use it as a last resort then."

They both brought their zanpakutou for this attempt at bankai. With the furniture out of the way, they sat down in the middle of the room, legs crossed and swords on their laps. Makoto took a deep breath, then honed in on Johanna.

The world slowed. A gentle rumble emerged from within, the soft purr of an engine.

Are you ready?

Another purr, low and steady.

Judging by the slowly rising levels of reiatsu from Aigis, she was close to ready too.

Manifesting her spirit should be simple. Makoto had done this plenty of times before, though always through a medium. She did not have her iron mask anymore, but it was easy to imagine its familiar weight on her face, the side of her that she showed to the world to protect herself.

Her fingers grasped the phantom edges of her mask.

"Persona!"

Twin cries rang throughout the room, echoing off the bare walls. Johanna rested in front of her, a sleek, silver motorcycle still burning with embers of blue flame from the summoning.

"It's good to see you again, Johanna." Makoto smiled.

"And I am glad to see you in good health, my lady." Johanna did not speak, because her mask at the front of the motorcycle was incapable of moving, but the voice seemed to reverberate through the chassis, coming out as a gentle rumble. Makoto felt the pride and relief from her all the same.

She looked across to her friend, and it was only then that Makoto realised Aigis had summoned something that was decidedly not her Persona.

The newcomer looked like an inverted palette of Aigis's robot body, with black hair, metallic black exoskeleton, a red butterfly visor, and blood red eyes. A frown marred her porcelain face.

"That's…not Palladion." Makoto stated.

"No, she is Palladion." Aigis disagreed. She carried a similar frown on her face as her doppelgänger. "What I do not understand is how my Shadow came to be summoned."

"That's your Shadow?!" Makoto exclaimed.

She knew that Shadows and Personae were two sides of the same coin — a tamed Shadow of a specific person was essentially a Persona. She had witnessed it early on in her career as a Phantom Thief, but it was only after she met the Investigation Team that she realised Futaba's awakening was the clearest indicator of the relationship. The fact that Aigis's Shadow appeared when she had by all means been trying to invoke her own Persona was a worrying indicator of her mental health.

The black robot folded her arms together. "I've been talking to you in this appearance all this time, haven't I?" she snapped. "It is unlike you to be blind to all the signs, Sister."

Makoto gaped. Johanna's engine purr was almost silent.

The Shadow turned towards the pair and did a shallow courtesy. "I do not believe we have met. My name is Metis. Please don't mind us as I correct my sister, Makoto."

Notes:

Mweeheehee :3

Happy holidays everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a happy New Year! Consider this chapter my belated Christmas present - I haven't had as much time to write lately, between work from home, improving my art, playing through P5R, and looking for a new job, I haven't had the energy to write as much. But this chapter has been finished for a couple weeks now, and I still have 1 more chapter in the backlog, so I'll be fine for a while.

Gonna open this up for guesses on the name of the next chapter. If you've paid attention to how I name mine, you should have a decent idea. First one who gets it correct gets a little cookie?

Chapter 20: Heartful Cry

Summoning her Persona in Soul Society should have been a joyous occasion, a mark of her growth.

Aigis only felt dread.

Metis all but bodily dragged her to a corner of the training room, away from Niijima and Johanna, and pinned Aigis down with her blood red eyes.

"Still denying yourself?" Metis asked harshly.

"What do you mean?" Aigis asked back.

"It's not like you to play dumb." Metis frowned deeper. She casually extended a hand out to her side, where a golden glow gathered, then burst into a familiar weapon.

Aigis's first thought was how did she have Pallas Athena's spear?

Followed by where did her hammer go?

Metis gave her new weapon a twirl, then pointed it at Aigis's chest. "Maybe you'd like me to beat it in?"

Her survival instincts finally kicked in, and Aigis rolled out of the way of the spear as it buried itself into the floorboards where she once stood. Metis quickly dove after the spear, causing an even bigger hole to appear where the floorboards were, and splinters to fly everywhere. Some nicked Aigis's skin, though the majority were thankfully blocked by her uniform.

"Shoot, Palladion!"

It was a minor blessing that her shikai still worked as intended.

"Hmph, so quick to rely on your shikai, sister." Metis scoffed.

Aigis declined to entertain that comment with a response, and instead raised her armoured arm up to block the next strike, a spinning overhead smash that had no business being executed by a spear. Still, Metis was physically strong, and she forced Aigis on the back foot as she pushed down on the spear. A moment later, Aigis shoved the trajectory of the attack to the side, and disengaged.

There was a single advantage that Aigis had over her sister, and that was range. She raised her hand, pointing the barrels at her own Shadow, and fired.

The reishi bullets pinged harmlessly off the spear as Metis twirled it around, deflecting them all with a shower of sparks. She dashed towards Aigis, the spear thrust forward to stab her somewhere around the abdomen, though Aigis shot another round of bullets that forced Metis to slow down and deflect them all, buying Aigis some time to leap back. When Metis straightened out in annoyance, Aigis had a cannon aimed at her.

"Firing!"

The cannon almost deliberately missed its mark, exploding in a fiery ball of energy behind Metis. Aigis was immensely grateful that the training room was sufficiently reinforced to withstand assaults of that calibre, though she could see burn marks and splinters of wood from where the reishi cannonball detonated. In the back of her mind, she decided that she would need to control her firepower if she wanted the training room to remain standing at the end of the night. She did not want to find out the punishment for destroying a training room, intentional or not.

Metis narrowed her eyes, which was the only warning for Aigis as her doppelgänger blurred towards her with a wild slash of the spear that she twisted out of range for, then reflexively retaliated with a kick to the head. Metis raised an arm to block, though that gave Aigis leverage to push down the trajectory of the spear, burying it in a new hole in the floorboards.

"Why are you doing this, Sister?" Aigis pleaded, still locked in position to keep them from harming themselves further. "Can't we talk this out?"

"Are you even willing to listen?" Metis snapped back. "We've been talking for a year and you never realised that you had a Shadow in your mental landscape?"

"Are you not just another form of Palladion?" Aigis asked desperately, her arm and leg aching from the effort of holding Metis back. "Whenever I'm in my inner world, there you are. And whenever I'm out of it, it's always been Palladion."

"And you didn't find that weird that your own zanpakutou — your Persona, can switch forms like this?" Metis almost snarled, finally pushing Aigis's leg away and yanking the spear out with both hands.

With her balance lost, Aigis flipped back a few times on a wobbly trajectory, skidding to a crouched halt on the floorboards. It afforded her some precious time to think through the initial shock.

She barely noticed her head band slipping from her hair, nor the soft clang on the floorboards when it completely fell out of her hair.

Palladion's silence whenever Aigis was not in her inner world, but also the comforting presence whenever she felt like she needed a breather. Her steadfast initial Persona, born of a Kirijo experiment that she only later found out was inhumane.

Metis and her sharp tongue, always challenging Aigis in her views, yet also supportive of the path that she took to reach this point in her own way with backhanded compliments and advice. Her regrets and desire to go back to an emotionless machine, born in the wake of Makoto's sacrifice.

It almost seemed as if her inner consciousness was warring between two states.

"Who are you really?" Metis asked, her voice dangerously low.

Aigis snapped out of her thoughts, only to stare blankly at Metis for the question. "I thought it should be obvious," she replied cautiously.

"Who. Are. You." Metis continued, enunciating every word, making it clear that she was not leaving without an answer. Her spear was pointed at Aigis's chest.

"I am Aigis," she began. "The fifth-generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. Former director of the Shadow Operatives. Now a shinigami in training."

"That's what you are." Metis corrected. "But who are you?"

Aigis almost repeated what she said before, but then stopped as she opened her mouth.

It should be an easy question. She had always been sure of her role. So…

Why is it so hard to answer?

---

It was blatantly obvious that Aigis's situation was not going well.

Makoto and Johanna cleared the area where Aigis and Metis clashed once they started fighting, opting to go to the opposite corner of the room instead. There was not enough space between the two groups in her opinion, but they had to make do for now.

There was a quiet, dreadful fascination in the clash, as the mask of a stable, if overworked Aigis slowly fell apart, revealing the lost, vulnerable girl buried deep underneath. Even now, with her Shadow out in the open, Aigis was still valiantly holding onto a shred of her public dignity, fighting back with words and bullets. Back when they were alive, the only time Makoto ever saw Aigis as anything other than "steadily soldiering on" was during Yukari's funeral, when she saw the still new-to-her-duties Aigis shake in her sharp, buttoned coat, in a manner incredibly reminiscent of hitched sobbing.

It was almost sobering to watch.

"Her problem is not for you to solve." Johanna reminded Makoto. Her engine rumble was low, almost soothing, but with an undercurrent of danger.

"Maybe not," Makoto said, her hands balled tight. "But I refuse to stand by and just watch."

A louder rumble was the only warning she got before Johanna zoomed in front of her, cutting her off. Despite her being unable to move her head in any meaningful way, Makoto got the distinct impression that her spirit was shaking her head.

"This is something she will have to work through herself." Johanna warned. "Your meddling will make it worse."

Makoto wanted to run up to Aigis, hug her, tell her that everything will be fine, that she was fine the way she was — her levelheaded performance during their training exercise in the Living World proved that in spades.

But she would be doing Aigis a disservice. The quietly confident leader and kind friend with a slightly quirky sense of humour that Makoto knew was Aigis's public mask, one she put on in her daily life to support those around her, never dropping even within the close knit circle of friends they shared. In a way, Makoto never quite got to know Aigis's true self. Now, she needed to confront her true self, if Metis was an accurate representation of that.

There was no denying the fact that Metis represented some part of Aigis that she would normally suppress in public, but Makoto highly doubted that that was everything Metis was.

Shadows have a tendency to exaggerate, after all.

Makoto took a deep, shaky breath, then turned away. "You're right," she admitted. "As much as I want to help, this isn't something for me to do."

The shadows of one's heart could never be forcibly suppressed for long, nor could it be solved by an outside party. At the end of the day, the only real method was for Aigis to accept herself, though she seemed to be teetering on the edge, unsure if she should, or could, accept herself yet.

"Always keep that compassion in your heart." Johanna urged, pleased that her other self saw reason. "It will guide you true."

"So," Makoto looked at Johanna, "is there anything I need to do to get bankai?"

There was a beat of silence, broken only by the clash happening behind them.

"Recall the moment you obtained your power." Johanna rumbled.

The moment…

Makoto had done something incredibly reckless and dangerous in order to become Kaneshiro's "customer" and gain access to his Palace. Then when his disgusting Shadow started threatening her sister, she lost her shit.

The explosion of revulsion, disgust, and hatred at the power that they held over innocent people's heads, along with a sprinkling of the stress involved in being Principal Kobayakawa's extension outside of school grounds became the catalyst for her own awakening.

It had been so long, Makoto had almost forgotten that she was not born with her powers. She'd gained them when her frustration at the state of the world reached its peak, and decided to rebel against the injustice.

"That time in the Bank," she said, her sentence coming out in short gasps as she rubbed her arms. "When Shadow Kaneshiro decided to threaten Onee-chan's career."

Even after all those centuries, she easily recalled the catalyst that awakened her spirit of rebellion – that worthless piece of human garbage who tried to ruin the lives of those she cared about.

"And what is your state of mind now?" Johanna continued.

Her state of mind…now?

Makoto wanted rest after her career in law enforcement. She'd done all she could to improve the lot for common citizens, was recognised for it, and died without regrets. That rest continued for a hundred years, until she got restless and decided to do some good with her powers.

That was four years ago.

She'd kept her head down, learned all she could about the state of Seireitei, tried her best to blend in despite her own quirks. Made a few friends, though none of them were all that close until she met Aigis again. Makoto knew that Seireitei had its own problems — it was abundantly clear even in the relative comfort of the sixth district. But the red tape and bureaucracy involved to even start solving them put her off, along with her own awareness that she was very much not seeing the whole picture as a mere citizen.

More support, she told herself. She would start making a dent when she has more support.

Except the more she repeated that, the more it started sounding like an excuse. When was enough support? When would she feel comfortable to start rebelling – start pushing for real change against the archaic systems of Soul Society?

When would she be sure that her actions would not cause undue harm to the innocent as she continued her rebellion?

"What…happened?" Makoto asked herself, her hands still on her arms.

"Your rest had made you slothful." Johanna chided. She circled Makoto slowly, the wheels silent on the floorboards. "You lost your simmering sense of righteousness. I cannot allow you in good conscience to wield the power of bankai as you are right now.

"If you find it again, I will consider it." Johanna's words were final, but there was a kindling of hope.

So her spirit had not completely given up yet.

"Find my spirit of rebellion…" Makoto put a hand on her chin, considering her zanpakutou's words. She has a point, but how should Makoto go about looking for it again, when she hadn't needed to do so for centuries?

---

"You're lost." Metis spat as she looked down at a prone Aigis, who barely supported herself with one hand on the ground behind her back. There was heat in Metis's words, but not much anger. "You've defined yourself by your surroundings for so long, adapted yourself to your environment so well that you forgot your core. You don't know who you are beyond your role. You're simply a satellite character, forever a support to someone else's story." The spear in her hands poked at Aigis's uniform, right at her heart.

She wanted to deny the accusations, say that they were a lie and that she knew perfectly well where she stood, but Aigis could not muster the energy. Metis's words cut deep, for being accurate, instead of the baseless accusations that were so frequently thrown Aigis's way both when she was alive and dead, and were easy to ignore when her heart knew the truth.

There was real danger in denying herself, or rather, her weakness — almost every member of the Investigation Team (plus Labrys) had first-hand experience with that, so Aigis clamped down the urge to refute everything that Metis had said.

"I had to." Aigis hung her head, her eyes vaguely trained at the spear aimed at her heart. "After Mitsuru passed away, I had to keep the Operatives going, so her good work did not become meaningless in the future. So that Persona users have a safe haven to come back to."

"Your environment does not excuse your actions." Metis snarled, before jerking her spear back and instead hauling Aigis up to her knees by her uniform collar, forcing her to look directly at her Shadow's blood red eyes through the tousled strands of blonde hair. "You could've made time for yourself. Gone for therapy. I'm not going to say that you didn't, because you tried at first after Fuuka died, but you never kept up with it. You fell back into bad habits. That was all on you."

How ironic, that her reflection would turn the very words she said to Ebina right back at her.

"…you're right." Aigis admitted. "My grief affected me more than I expected. And I ignored it in favour of work, because that was what was expected of me, and it helped to dull the pain if I did not have to think about those we lost."

"It's been over two hundred years now." Metis's voice softened, her grip slackened. "You're still grieving."

Aigis's mind went to Niijima, her steadfast friend in the Academy.

Niijima, who introduced so much of shinigami society to her. Who had given advice whenever Aigis needed it, urged her to develop better habits, who was the only person she was comfortable enough with to drop a sliver of her public mask.

By all accounts of Japanese societal standards, they were close friends. Yet she never called Niijima by her first name, as one might expect.

Aigis knew exactly why — but trying to overcome that shadow in her heart was difficult, even after centuries. Her relatively long life in comparison to the average human, not to mention the dangerous work of the Operatives, was a constant reminder of their fragility, but also a wound that would not heal.

"Maybe I still am." Aigis agreed half heartedly. "I miss them so much, Metis."

"You must move on," her other half said, her eyes uncharacteristically sad as she held Aigis's collar, as if Metis was trying to prevent Aigis from falling to the ground. "You're trying, but if you want your bankai, you need to move on from your past. There's nothing wrong with missing them, but that can't be all you are. You're so much more than that. You need to find yourself again. Who are you, without everything in your past holding you down?"

"How do I do that?" Aigis asked, her voice soft and lost.

"That's up to you." Metis pushed her back to the ground, and Aigis landed with a heavy thump. "I can't possibly guide you for this, because you won't learn anything this way."

That was how Aigis led the Shadow Operatives. She provided training and resources, but never gave them a strict guide. The screening process to join in the first place was a good enough filter to reject those without the necessary aptitude. Once again, she was reminded that however different Metis was compared to herself, the spirit was still a part of Aigis.

By the time she looked up again, Metis was gone.

---

With the summer months came the time for requests from the Gotei Thirteen.

"Niijima and Aigis, a word please." Hinamori called, after a rare lesson where they were in the same class.

They watched the other students leave the terrace where they usually conducted their kido lessons, then approached Hinamori with some trepidation.

Aigis and Niijima did not talk much about their shared failure to achieve bankai after that day. It was a painful emotional lesson that no matter how experienced, how mature they thought they were, there was still much to learn about themselves. Neither had made much progress in that area, despite the long month since.

It was fortunate that Aigis was able to explain away the pockmarks in the training room to the caretaker as a "somewhat overly intense spar" (and pick up her dropped head band in the meantime). The caretaker had only raised a single eyebrow, before turning away to clean the room.

"Is something the matter?" Niijima asked Hinamori, brushing away stray strands of her hair.

Hinamori blinked, then shook her head with a gentle laugh. "You're not in trouble, if that's what you think," she explained kindly. "Rather, there's a request for both of you from the Gotei."

"A…request?" Aigis questioned. Why would the Gotei ask for two shinigami in training, rather than spare any of their existing force?

"Think of it as an internship trip." Hinamori explained. "We share information with the Gotei on exemplary students, and they will send requests for specific students to accompany them on shinigami missions."

At the uneasy glance shared between the students, she hurriedly continued. "They're not really dangerous, so you don't have to worry about that." Hinamori reassured them. "It's a chance for the shinigami to assess your skills, and it's your chance to appeal to them too, if you like the division. If you leave a good impression, they might give you an invitation to join their division when you graduate, so you're guaranteed a spot."

Aigis was not even aware that the shinigami knew about the idea of "internships".

"How long will this trip take?" Niijima asked.

"Generally, a few days." Hinamori answered. "It won't last longer than a week unless something goes catastrophically wrong, and we haven't had that happen in two hundred years. You're exempt from any classes during this period. Of course, you're also free to decline the request for any reason, but that usually does not reflect well on yourself, so my suggestion is to accept any that comes your way. Plus, you can earn some extra coin — those internships are paid."

"Can we have more information on the nature of the request?" Aigis asked.

"Of course!" Hinamori said. She pulled out a slip of paper from her sleeve, which looked too small for a formal request, so Aigis decided that it was probably a simple list of the mission details. "The request came from the Second division, though this particular mission doesn't really deal with their specialty of assassination and spying."

Aigis frowned at that statement, though she did not voice her thoughts. Niijima, meanwhile, looked politely confused.

"Rather, the request asked for you to accompany a shinigami on a patrol around East Rukongai, in the sixty-third district." Hinamori continued. "There's also a note that you need to be prepared for any kind of combat."

"That seems like…an odd note to include." Niijima frowned. "Is combat not expected on patrols?"

Hinamori had also trailed off as she scrutinised the slip of paper. "Perhaps for emphasis," she decided, though it was clear to all that she did not believe it. "But anyway, that's the gist of the request. What do you say?"

Aigis and Niijima glanced at each other, the only communication they needed.

"We accept." Aigis replied confidently.

Hinamori clapped her hands together cheerfully. "That's great! The officer who requested you two will be here tomorrow morning, so both of you are exempt from classes for the next few days. Make sure to pack your essentials, you most likely won't get much during patrol!"

Aigis blinked. Giving just one day's notice for a mission to students seemed rather rushed, but she did as she was told, eating a rushed dinner before she went back to her room for packing, which consisted of throwing a change of clothes, some bandages, a water bottle, and snacks into a rucksack for the trip. It was strikingly similar to what the fanny packs that the teachers gave for their excursion in the Living World contained. Then she turned in early for the night.

It was her routine to double, triple check her supplies and mission details every time before she set out on a mission. She and Niijima had not received any written instructions for the mission though, so Aigis had to settle for merely reviewing the details in her mind.

Even Hinamori had implied that the nature of the mission was somewhat unusual for Second division, one that specialised in spying, information gathering, high level crime and assassination. On the surface, it did not seem significant – patrols seemed like the most basic job of any military organisation, efficient at deterring would-be criminals and spotting potential issues early. However, with the seeming hyperfocus on its specialisation, it made asking anyone from Second division to go on patrol much like asking a Shadow Operative to be a neighbourhood volunteer. There were areas where the work overlapped, but barely so.

Come to think of it, she belatedly remembered that Akechi was part of the Second division. She hoped that he was not the officer that sent the request, even if it would make a worrying amount of sense – he seemed to be at a rank that he would have been privy to the information that Shin'ou Academy shared with the Gotei, and the one who most likely knew close to the full capabilities of both Niijima and Aigis.

She was not yet ready for Niijima to meet Akechi, considering their past history.

With those unsettling thoughts in her mind, Aigis drifted off to restless sleep.

---

Aigis got out of bed two hours earlier than usual.

Hinamori had told them, as a sort of addendum, that they had to start the day early in order to finish the mission in a reasonable amount of time. One last check of her supplies and a quick breakfast in the cafeteria later, Hinamori led Aigis and Niijima to the main gate of Shin'ou Academy to wait for their chaperone. When Aigis saw the person casually leaning against the gate, their arms folded over their chest, there was a silent sigh of relief at the fact that it was not Akechi, then frowned.

Because the person also wore a wooden plate on their left arm, signifying their rank.

From the distance, it was impossible to tell their gender, with the last dredges of the early morning fog still hanging in the air. As they walked closer, Aigis noticed that the person had very dark skin, reminiscent of those from African countries – an oddity in Soul Society in general, where most sported relatively pale complexions. Their hair was choppy and tied up in a rough ponytail, fixed in place with a piece of pink ribbon, which complemented their deep purple hair well. Unlike most shinigami, they wore a heavily modified shihakusho, with their arms and back exposed that showed off their lithe muscles, which reminded Aigis of a panther in waiting. They wore a pair of black hakama tied near the ankle with bandages. Instead of the standard straw sandals, they wore a pair of black cloth flats. A wakizashi was tied to their waist at the back, exactly where Aigis also kept her zanpakuto.

It was quite obvious that this was a uniform meant to cater to the needs of hakuda. She was not even aware that it was possible to modify the standard shinigami uniform to this extent.

"Seems like the one who sent the request is already here." Hinamori said as she waved towards the figure. "Be on your best behaviour, okay?" She gently pushed the pair towards their chaperone.

The person finally spotted them, and in an instant, the mysterious aura around the newcomer was blown away.

"Hiiii! It's so nice to meet you two, Aigis and Niijima! I'm Shihouin Yushiro, lieutenant of the Second division, and I will be your chaperone for the next few days!"

Notes:

You thought it would be this easy to get bankai? Think again!

I admittedly originally planned for them to get bankai with no issues, but as I continued writing this story, it started to make more sense for them to work out other issues first before actually getting it. So instead, this part is getting dragged out. Props to the people who managed to guess the name of the 2 chapters related to bankai training, you get a cookie from me!

My pace of writing has slowed considerably as I shifted my focus to art and finding a new job, plus we switched to WFH at my current job so I don't have the long commute as an excuse to write anymore. I'm also stuck on my current chapter, so the next one will probably come out a little later than usual. Still, I have some exciting plans for future arcs, and I can't wait to get there!

In other news, Persona 3 Reload is being released in 1 week! I already have art prepared to celebrate the release of the game (I'm waiting for a sale before I buy the game myself), and if there is any new information in there I will most likely incorporate it into this story.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time.

Chapter 21: Disquiet

The lieutenant of the Second division being an overly hyper young man was not something that Aigis had guessed.

In addition, he was the head of the Shihouin House, one of the Five Great Noble Houses in Seireitei. Aigis was not sure what she was expecting out of them, but it was most definitely not this.

A carriage at the gate of Seireitei took them partway through their journey to the sixty-third district, then they shunpo-ed the rest of the way. He was the fastest person Aigis had met in Seireitei by far, zipping through the streets and rooftops with the ease of an average person going for a stroll, and she was almost tempted to resort to Sukukaja to help her keep up with the breakneck pace, though in the end she decided to conserve her reiatsu for the moment. Worse still, he was asking questions at that same pace.

"Where're you guys from?"

"That's kinda far away! Still not as far as where we're going though. Any family?"

"That's so cool that they all have reiatsu! How do you find the classes at Shin'ou?"

"Well, as expected of the gifted students I heard so much about! Was it true that you led a group of students and beat back a giant pack of Hollows?"

"What? Information is part of Second division's specialty, so of course I'd be interested!"

"How did you meet Akechi?"

Aigis heard a loud crash behind her, and she stumbled to a stop on top of a tree branch. Shihouin also stopped ahead, turning back in surprise.

Niijima had landed on the ground far below them, a tangle of leaves and branches sticking out from her clothes. There was a second of awkward silence, before she hurriedly sat up and smoothed her clothes down as best as she could.

"Sorry about that," she apologised, still panting from the exertion. "Tripped mid-shunpo. I'll be more careful."

Shihouin looked on for a second more, then he shrugged and pulled Niijima up before either of them realised that he had moved. "Don't worry about it!" he replied cheerfully. "There's a supply point about five minutes away from here. We've covered a good deal of distance, so let's take a break there."

The students nodded, and he set off again at the same breakneck speed, leaving them scrambling to catch up.

Five minutes later, Shihouin was casually lounging near the entrance of the shed that served as a supply point, while Aigis and Niijima were still trying to massage some feeling into their sore legs. Aigis carefully dabbed some disinfectant that she found in the shed over Niijima's superficial scrapes that she acquired in the tumble earlier. It was all too easy to just leave them alone, but Aigis did not want to take chances if this mission was going to take a few days.

It was a good thing Niijima did not break any bones — Aigis did not trust her own kaido ability enough to fix such serious wounds, and Shihouin seemed disinclined to help, which could be taken to mean that he was testing their abilities, or just did not know how to use kaido. Either way, Aigis did not have any intention to rely on their chaperone at this point yet.

"Good job keeping up with me, by the way," he said once their breathing evened out. "Most don't even last halfway before they collapse."

"I…do believe this is the most strenuous exercise I've had since joining Shin'ou Academy, sir." Niijima said, giving herself one last look over for more stray scrapes. "I have never seen someone move as efficiently, or as fast as you."

Aigis had to agree. He seemed to move like a still frame — one moment, he was here, and the next, over there. There was barely a flicker of wasted movement in between, as if he glided through space.

Shihouin laughed, a youthful, hearty laugh that perfectly suited his personality. "Me? I'm good, but I'm not naive enough to think that I'm the best one out there. It is true that the Shihouin family specialises in speed, but plenty of captains are just as fast, or faster." he replied, though there was a tint of bashfulness in his voice. "And stop it with the 'sir', just call me Shihouin."

"T-there's no way we can do that!" Niijima waved her hands in front of her face, and Aigis nodded along enthusiastically, her face impassive. Shihouin just laughed in response.

"Well, whatever floats your boat then." Shihouin grinned. "As long as it's not 'sir'. Makes me feel old."

Aigis suspected that he was not that old in the first place, but age was difficult to tell in Soul Society, unlike the Living World. A person with a youthful appearance could be hundreds of years old, yet someone else with a wizened visage could be barely a hundred. She noticed that it depended partially on reiatsu level — those with higher reiatsu tended to age slower, and whether or not the person was born in Soul Society.

The idea that someone could be born in Soul Society, which by all means was the afterlife, sounded strange to Aigis's ears. But that was how the Five Great Noble Houses came about, and they generally did not practise adoption. She mentally shook her head, willing herself to stay focused on her current task rather than wonder about the workings of Soul Society.

"We were given rather sparse details about this mission." Aigis said once the laughter died down. "All we were told was that we were to patrol this district, but I suspect that there is something more, if you are the one who raised the request. May we know the full details of this mission, Lieutenant Shihouin?"

He shuddered despite the warm summer weather, cringing. "That's a mouthful and a half, but at least it's better than 'sir'." Shihouin commented. He smirked, making him look more like a panther on a hunt for his prey. "But you're sharp. You're right — there is more to this mission than just a patrol. Truth is, this originally started as a solo mission, but I needed some extra legs on the ground to make this work."

At the narrowed eyes from Aigis and Niijima, he sighed, losing his earlier smirk. "Don't worry. This mission is actually pretty safe for students like you who've survived through worse," he explained. "I'm trying to track down a bandit group around here."

"Why not ask any of the other shinigami in your division?" Niijima asked. "I'm sure they're far more qualified than us."

"We're short staffed." Shihouin spread his arms and shrugged nonchalantly. "There's simply not enough people to go around for everything we're handling right now. And you two came highly recommended."

Probably Matsumoto's fault, Aigis decided. She tried not to let her annoyance show on her face.

"Plus, it was one of us that recommended you to Shin'ou, wasn't it, Aigis?" He added cheerfully. "Akechi seconded the recommendation."

It was Niijima's turn to wear an impassive mask, her thoughts unreadable behind the pursed lips.

"Is there more information we have on the bandits?" Aigis asked before the awkward silence continued for too long. "Numbers, common activities, known sightings and such."

Bandits in the most traditional sense did not exist in the Living World anymore, but criminal and terrorist groups still operated in the shadows of society. Aigis distinctively recalled one Shadow incident that began when a terrorist group caught some delusions of grandeur by using the power of Shadows to become a god.

Not a single person survived — all absorbed or killed by the powers that they tried to abuse.

And then there was Strega, who used the power of Persona to become hired murderers. Aigis felt sorry for what they suffered through before they started killing people, but that did not excuse their actions.

"Let's see…" Shihouin put a finger to his chin and looked up at the sky. "As far as I know, they have around seven to eight people. We can confirm two women and four men, but there have been conflicting reports on the last members. None of them have enough reiatsu worth considering, but they are all armed with weapons, so it's beyond the average soul's capacity to fight back. They generally just go about threatening people to give them candy and water, and hoard resources from settlements."

"It doesn't sound like a group that should pose any trouble normally." Niijima pointed out. "Why did they send for you, a lieutenant?"

"'Cause they can't find their damn base." Shihouin grouched. "Every single shinigami that we sent came back empty handed. Worse still, extortions happened while they were in the village, but by the time the shinigami got there they would have disappeared. It's like they're taunting us. So, being one of the best spies in Soul Society, this mission got dropped on me."

Niijima put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "So it's a game of cat and mouse."

"Yup," he nodded. "Though this mouse is more like a slippery worm."

An entire group that managed to evade the shinigami long enough to make them lose face was not quite what Aigis had anticipated, but it spoke highly of the bandits' skill. Despite everything, she had to give them credit.

"Have they only been terrorising this nearby village lately?" Aigis asked. "Or have they gone to other settlements as well?"

"As far as we can tell, they came from further settlements, but lately have only been seen around this area." Shihouin replied, a finger fidgeting along his thigh. "So it's safe to assume that we will find their current base somewhere nearby."

"Do you have a plan for capturing them?" Niijima questioned.

His face split into a predatory grin, toothy and wide. "Care to be bait?"

---

Yushiro crouched on a branch, reiatsu suppressed and body hidden amongst the thick summer foliage, as he watched Aigis and Niijima walk brazenly amongst the villagers below. They had changed out of their student uniform to the standard black shinigami shihakusho, to better disguise themselves as average unseated shinigami. He, on the other hand, stayed hidden in the treetops, flitting here and there, scouting possible routes and hidden bandit bases.

The village sprawled haphazardly across the arid land, with uneven buildings and dirt covered roads snaking through the shacks. The area was ten minutes away from the supply point, which was why Yushiro had Aigis and Niijima rest there before they started the mission. In the early afternoon light, they kicked up shimmering clouds of dust as they walked.

The girls were professional — far more than he expected out of the average student, as if they had spent a lifetime training for such events, rather than just the few scant years in Shin'ou. They asked appropriate questions about the mission and had even packed their own supplies. Not enough to burden them, but good for emergency treatments. It was not enough, but Yushiro had to give them props for even thinking about packing, when most students he led before had come empty handed to missions (not that that was an issue, since he was usually supplying provisions for the entire team). Hell, Aigis and Niijima were more professional than some of his own Onmitsukido.

He already wanted them for his own division.

When Yushiro first received the quarterly report from Shin'ou Academy, he'd almost dismissed them entirely until he saw that one of his own had recommended a student to the accelerated course. Fourth Seat Akechi Goro was a loner, someone who vastly preferred working by himself and found working as a team a chore. But he always completed his missions adequately, so Soi Fon did not find cause to force him to work in a group if he did not need to. More importantly, he was reliable, which was much better than some other shinigami Yushiro could name.

Unexpectedly, when he mentioned the name in front of the girls, it was Niijima who had a stronger reaction than Aigis, the person that Akechi had recommended. Niijima did an admirable job of hiding her emotions, and Yushiro almost dismissed her fall earlier in the day as a genuine accident, until he mentioned Akechi again at the supply point, whereas a lightning quick flicker of emotion crossed her expression before she schooled her face into an unreadable mask, while Aigis merely looked on blankly.

Or rather, she had stolen surreptitious glances at her friend, as if she was worried about her reaction, which was an odd reaction in and of itself.

As far as Yushiro knew, Akechi and Niijima did not have any history with each other. Clearly, that was not true anymore, and Aigis might've known of the circumstances. The issue was, what kind of history did they have with each other?

He continued watching the girls question a villager, a poor man dressed in a ragged yukata, but surprisingly, they offered him a few pieces of dried raisins that they carried as part of their rations, before they moved on to the next household.

A useless piece of generosity in Yushiro's opinion, but he decided to withhold his judgement for now.

The plan was for the girls to act as bait — unseated officers asking after the bandits. For them to avoid the shinigami this long, they must have a robust information network that would inform them whenever officers were around, and it was Yushiro's job to identify that information network, and perhaps use it to his advantage to flush the group out.

Honestly, he'd rather have that network for himself. Up to date information on the outer districts was rare to come by, after all. If these bandits were open to reason, he might actually offer them a job as informants. He pinched himself to focus on the mission, before his thoughts jumped too far ahead.

The girls moved on to the next street, chatting away without a care. It was causing enough disruption to the village that its residents have begun peeking out of their shacks, ogling the unusual sight. In the deep shadows of a mud house, Yushiro spotted a dark figure darting away from the pair.

Yushiro gritted his teeth. He dearly wanted to follow after that figure, because that behaviour was clearly not normal within the village, but he also could not chase after it without exposing himself. So instead he burned the slender figure of the shadow into his eyes, and followed it as far as he could with his eyes, until he lost track of it behind another shack.

---

"Good work, girls!" Shihouin cheered, raising a canteen of water.

Aigis and Niijima each nursed their own cup of cool water, sitting seiza style around a flickering lantern in the supply shed. The cool night air offered some relief from their activities during the day, but it was still uncomfortably warm.

"We didn't find any useful information after all…" Niijima lamented. She chewed on a piece of raisin, musing over their efforts during the day.

It began with asking the residents of the village how their living situation was like lately, which Aigis immediately regretted. The thirty-fifth district was by no means wealthy, but its residents were still able to afford a basic level of living standards, which included sturdy housing, clean water, clothes, and the ability to grow their own crops for food.

The residents here did not have even half of that.

The vast majority of villagers she encountered today did not have shoes, many of them wore stained and threadbare clothes that stank of body fluids, and there was an unhealthy pallor to their skin. They lived in houses that were better described as shacks, filled with leaky holes that barely protected them from the elements.

In the end, Niijima and Aigis gave away their sweet provisions as much as they could, though both knew that it was a band-aid solution at best.

"Are the outer districts all like this?" Aigis asked in between bites of her onigiri.

"Like what?" Shihouin asked back as he took a big bite of meat jerky.

She waved her onigiri towards the entrance to the shed. "Poor, with substandard living conditions. Not much hope for them by staying."

What haunted Aigis to the core was how hopeless the people looked. They never spoke of the future, only of the past, and what could solve their immediate problems. There were no plans for what might come.

They barely looked better than those suffering from Apathy Syndrome.

Shihouin sighed. "That's just how it is," he said sadly. "We simply don't have the means to improve their conditions besides helping them solve their immediate issues."

"Don't have, or aren't willing?"

Shihouin and Aigis's eyes snapped to Niijima. Her maroon eyes were lidded, but the candlelight from the lantern seemed to add a dangerous red glow to her pupils.

"It took us half a day to reach here." Her words were quiet and weary, but with a tinge of steel. "If it was by carriage, it would be around a day, two maybe. That's all the time you need to transport resources here, discounting other parts of logistics. I know the inner districts produce enough food to feed both Seireitei and themselves with excess left over. Is it this hard to redistribute the resources so those in the outer districts can have a better life?"

"What would they need food for?" Shihouin drawled dismissively. "They don't have all that much reiatsu, so they don't need food to live. And there's enough fresh water surrounding the area, if we take care of the bandits hoarding them."

"What about the shacks and rags that they're using?" Niijima argued back.

"Their fault that they can't build anything better." Shihouin shrugged.

"Nobody even came to teach the residents at all?"

"What is there to teach?" Shihouin snapped, his food forgotten. "All we owe them is a safe enough environment that they do not become Hollow food. That is the sole objective of the Gotei Thirteen."

"So what about the bandits?" Aigis cut between them before they came to physical blows, asking in a way that hopefully emphasised her neutrality (at the moment). "If the sole objective of the Gotei Thirteen is to keep Soul Society and the Living World safe from Hollows, why are we trying to track down bandits? If we follow your logic, Lieutenant, I do not think that any of us will be on this mission."

Shihouin sat back down with a huff. "We just have too many requests about the same issue to ignore it."

"All you would have to do is to claim that the Gotei are too busy to attend to requests of this nature, if you did not want to deal with it." Aigis pointed out. "You would still not be technically violating the objective of the Gotei. The fact that we are here attending to their problem implies that you see protecting the people from themselves as part of the duty of being a shinigami, or at the very least, that you have no strong adverse reaction to doing this kind of work. From my perspective, that means that you care for the citizens on some level, at the very least, beyond the strict limits of what is needed for survival, and I believe that extends to the Gotei as a whole too. Perhaps it may be in service to allowing a safe enough environment, but I fail to see why the wrong reason cannot give rise to a positive outcome."

Aigis took a deep breath, then sat back down again. She had spoken much more than she intended, but she did not want to see Niijima suffer a bad review because of her outburst.

Shihouin sighed again. "I'm not saying that you're wrong exactly, Niijima," he began as he leaned back, staring at the ceiling of the shed. "But this is the way it's always been. The inner districts are better protected because it's easy for shinigami to get there. We only go to the outer districts for problems serious enough to need shinigami intervention. What do you think you can do about it, when we haven't been able to do anything in the past two thousand and three hundred years?"

"So, learned helplessness?" Niijima mused. "They don't have any independence, which is the most important issue here. If they don't have money, they can do barter trading instead for goods and services that they need, and all they really need to do is to learn a trade for themselves, whether it's farming, or lumbering, or something else. Perhaps having craftsmen stationed here for a bit to train some people might be good? Would they need sufficient incentive to do this though?"

The more she muttered to herself, the softer her voice trailed off, but it was clear that she had ideas. Shihouin instead just raised an eyebrow, before scooting closer to Aigis. "Is she always like that?"

"Rather, I would say that she has a soft spot for people in need." Aigis smiled. "But she prefers a long-term solution than any immediate aid, unless someone's life is in danger."

"Huh." He looked on at the scene, where Niijima had stopped muttering entirely and just fell into deep contemplation. "She looks and acts so much like a teacher's pet that I didn't think she had it in her."

"In her to what?" Aigis asked.

"Question her superiors."

"She follows rules whenever possible." Aigis said as she finished the last bite of her food. "She understands that they are there for a reason. But she is also perfectly willing to bend or break them if she felt that they were in any way unfair."

According to Ren, Niijima had come a long way from the stiff student council president back then. Aigis admired that aspect of her, where she was not afraid to question the situation or judgement of her betters, if she disagreed with their verdict. Somehow, Niijima was almost always able to get away with it.

"How long have you known each other? You seem to understand her very well." Shihouin asked. There was a hint of something in his voice — a mixture of admiration and curiosity perhaps.

"For most of our lives." Aigis answered simply. It was easier to blend in if she did not reveal that they kept their memories of when they were alive, so she gave a technically correct answer.

"And how about Akechi?" Shihouin pressed.

And there was the trap.

She had noticed his fixation on their reaction after he had casually brought up his name earlier in the day. Apparently, despite Niijima's best efforts, she failed to direct his attention away from the thorny topic.

"Huh?" Her contemplation was broken by the mention of the name.

A catlike smile formed on Shihouin's face. "Come on, something happened between you two before for you to react like that," he reasoned, his posture loose and relaxed. "Care to tell me about it? Don't worry, I won't let anyone else know."

"You mean you'll determine if the information will be an issue for Seireitei in the future, correct?" Niijima deadpanned.

He managed an awkward laugh.

She sighed, then ruminated on it for a while before she opened her mouth. "Akechi-kun was an acquaintance of mine a long time ago. He pretended to be an ally, but secretly tried to kill a dear friend of mine."

That was…a story with many missing parts, but Aigis hoped that Shihouin would not question it too deeply. His eyes were narrowed into slits, but eventually he relaxed.

"Got it." He blew out of his mouth. "Do you want revenge on him?"

"What?" Niijima looked briefly offended, but toned down her voice a moment later, hugging her legs close to her chest. "No, this was a long time ago. In the end, he was a victim of society too, and I think he's suffered enough. I wish he could've taken a different path, but what's done is done."

"Is that your idea of 'justice'?" Shihouin asked.

There was silence.

He opened his mouth to repeat his question, but Niijima spoke up first.

"Maybe it is," she admitted. "Maybe I just want a sense of satisfaction of being on the high ground, so to speak. But he didn't manage all that much in the end, and I see no reason to do more. As long as he is not causing further issues, I'm okay with leaving him alone to do what he wants."

Aigis watched Shihouin's face. His lips were pursed, but there was a ghost of a smile on his face, and his eyes were less guarded compared to early afternoon. "That's a very mature way of looking at it, Niijima," he praised. "Most would have been happy to ruin his life, if it meant being able to exact their vengeance."

"I didn't have much reason to do so." Niijima shrugged. "Plenty of other people had far more justified reasons compared to me, so I never felt that it was my place to take any kind of revenge."

"True, Akechi did give me the impression that he was not averse to killing people when I first met him." Shihouin mused, a considering look on his face. "But he hid it well under his smiles. What was your first impression of him, Aigis?"

Aigis stared into the flame of the dim lamp. That day he unexpectedly showed up at the orphanage seemed like an age ago, even if she logically knew that it had only been two years.

"He seemed…fake," she recalled. "My guardian did not believe anything he said."

If Niijima was eating or drinking anything, she surely would have spat out whatever was in her mouth, judging from the sputtering. Shihouin looked similarly amused.

"Well, your guardian seems like a good judge of character," he snickered.

"She also almost beat Akechi-san up when he carried me back to the household, after we killed the invading Hollows." Aigis added.

That startled a guffaw out of the lieutenant. "I would've paid money to watch that!"

"But other than that," she continued, " he was…alone, I think. Like he does not really belong in the Gotei. He worked with others only on a superficial level, and he was disinterested in going any deeper."

Shihouin nodded seriously. "He's been like that ever since he joined," he added. "Did he not have any family?"

Considering that his family was the exact reason why he had interpersonal relationship issues, Aigis thought it was an ironic thing to ask. Niijima, instead, shrugged. "Not that I know of here," she said. "Do you have any family, Lieutenant?"

Shihouin blinked. "Where did that come from?"

"You've been asking about us all this while," she reasoned calmly. "It's only fair if you tell us more about yourself. I suppose a noble's family is pretty big, right?"

"It's rude to pry into the private affairs of a noble house, Niijima," he warned.

"And it's not rude to pry into our lives?" She clicked her tongue in disappointment, though her voice remained even. "I did not take you for a hypocrite to this degree."

Shihouin shrank into himself. "Oh fine," he sighed. "Consider this a little compensation for asking about your past."

He flopped onto the dusty floor of the shed. "I have an older sister. She was the previous captain of the Second division."

"Did something happen for her to relinquish her position?" Aigis asked curiously. "I was under the impression that it was difficult for shinigami to retire from any position."

"And you somehow veered straight into private territory, Aigis," he grouched. "To sum it up, stuff happened, she now lives in the Living World, but she still works with the Gotei every now and then."

Aigis blinked. "Is it possible for shinigami to live in the Living World?"

"Usually not unless you offended Soul Society in some way, and it must be pretty big for that to happen." Shihouin waved a dismissive hand. "Besides, we need people on the ground. We have the Seventh to deal with most Living World stuff, but we still need on-site agents as first respondents in case anything happens. So my sister is basically a permanently stationed scout there."

"Is it…rough, for you to be separated from family like that?" Niijima asked, a touch of concern in her voice.

"Of course I miss my sister!" Shihouin wailed, a stark contrast to his earlier behaviour. "She's the coolest, strongest person I know, but she just refuses to come back to Soul Society! I keep telling her she should be the clan head but nooooo, she says she likes the freedom better! What even is there in the Living World for her to stay there even though she can come back anytime?"

Freedom, huh, Aigis thought.

His rant faded into the background as she mused on the word.

When was the last time she felt true freedom?

Notes:

I spent the last 2 months alternating between drawing and playing through Persona 5 Royal. According to Steam, it took me 169 hours to clear it. So uh...

I haven't been writing at all.

Well, at least with P5R out of the way, I feel a bit more ready to tackle the Persona 5 story elements in this fic, so there's that.

Anyway, this chapter (and the mini arc) is a bit of a mess, so I'm not 100% happy with it, but it still went well when I asked my beta to read through, so here it is. Plus, it's a nice introduction to the current state of the Gotei.

So review! Let me know how you think this arc will go!

Chapter 22: Shady Charade

As it turned out, giving up some of their resources had benefits after all.

The residents' opinions on Aigis and Niijima changed overnight, from the skittish hostility exhibited on the previous day to a warm welcome the next. They mobbed the students, though Yushiro could see that they were, in part, trying to mooch off more resources.

Well, just this time, he'd overlook it.

Slightly away from the crowd that had formed around Aigis and Niijima, he had switched out his shihakusho for rags that would not look out of place amongst the residents of the village, carrying a small packet of candy to look like he had just received them. The good thing about being a stealth expert was that his face was not known outside of Seireitei, and it allowed him to move freely in the settlement.

The plan to flush out the bandits today was not much different compared to yesterday, with Aigis and Niijima continuing to hold the attention of the residents and any spies, while Yushiro spread the word about free food, all the while wheedling as much information as he could from the residents on a one to one basis. His goal today was simple: find that shadow he saw yesterday. As for whether they were a danger or not, he would judge later.

His mind wandered to the conversation they had last night. Yushiro had known that Niijima was a by-the-book honour student, but nothing in her file stated that she also, somehow, had a problem with authority. It was so unexpected that he had almost lashed out, if it was not for Aigis de-escalating the situation before it boiled over.

Really not a good representation of his usual laidback attitude.

Though the information about Akechi was interesting. Yushiro remembered that mission that Akechi came back from quite distinctly — while Akechi himself seemed to be in good health, if slightly shaken and irritable, the two people he went on the mission with made a point to avoid him whenever possible afterwards. It was obvious that something happened during the mission for them to act like that, though there was nothing suspicious in Akechi's report to suggest this, so Yushiro decided to ignore it.

Also, it was the first time Akechi ever recommended anyone to Shin'ou Academy. Yushiro would never admit it out loud, but he did want to see why Akechi recommended the girl to the school. At the very least, her excellent grades backed up Akechi's claims.

Speaking of Aigis, her file stated that she was one to avoid conflict if possible, or rather, she has a tendency to stop them before they became conflicts. He witnessed that first hand yesterday, and he had to give props to her skill — she simply used logic in such a way that it was difficult to refute her, all the while without belittling either side. That took skill, though it also made Yushiro wonder where in the world she learned that. The academy did not teach emotional management as a skill, so the only possible place would be the orphanage that Aigis came from, which, considering what little he knew of orphans in general, was entirely possible.

Well, after what happened last night, he did not want to push his luck. Plus, for those from Rukongai, becoming a shinigami is like starting over — their past didn't matter anymore.

He casually charmed a lady with his youthful looks a few houses away from the crowd, telling her about the generous shinigami who were giving away some of their resources. She hung onto every word, before he segued into asking about her living situation.

"My older brother has been out a lot lately," she said, a palm on her cheek. "But he brings back candy every now and then, so we're blessed in that sense. He says that he got them from trading some scrap metal he found around the village. He's been running himself ragged though, so I wish he'd stop and recover. There's no point when I can't share it with him, after all."

That rang odd to Yushiro, but he filed the information away for the time being. After a few more pleasantries, he urged the lady to get her share from the students, then went on his way.

There were less people the further away he went, so it seemed that Aigis and Niijima successfully held the attention of the entire village. Yushiro knocked on the doors of a few more houses, repeating his pitch about free resources. He managed to take a peek in a couple houses, which were barely furnished with anything — at best, wooden scraps and branches bound together to form some basic furniture.

Knowing that he was at the end of what he could glean from the residents, the noble extended his senses out, feeling the thin reiatsu in the air and noting his surroundings. When he was satisfied that nobody was watching him, he disappeared into the treetops.

---

Two hours of searching later, Yushiro finally caught a glimpse of someone who was very much out of place in the woods — a thin man that vaguely matched the dark shadow he spotted yesterday, running away from the direction of the crowd that still surrounded the students. The man stumbled through the undergrowth, careful not to leave tracks behind. Yushiro suppressed his reiatsu and followed along, hopping from branch to branch. The mystery man had hardly any reiatsu, and if the lieutenant was not directly looking at the man, it was easy to assume that there was nobody around.

In fact, that reiatsu level was too low to sustain a soul. Yet the man showed no signs of dying, at least not outwardly. Even the villagers had a little more reiatsu, enough to register as a soul on his radar. This man registered more as part of the environment.

Was this how the bandits evaded detection for so long? How did they even achieve this? It was surely not a natural development of the soul.

Before long, the man scurried into a nondescript bush, where the reiatsu signal completely cut off. Yushiro blinked as he briefly tried to pick up the whiff of reiatsu again, but it was simply…gone.

That would explain why previous groups of shinigami had trouble capturing the bandits, if it was almost impossible to track them down through reiatsu.

Well, the bush was as good a place as any to check out later. He dearly wanted to explore it right now, but he would rather wait for backup just in case anything goes catastrophically wrong.

And the kids should get some experience in. Despite everything, Yushiro took his mentoring duties seriously.

---

"Some of the households mentioned that the bandits seemed to only target specific households." Aigis said over their dinner, seated around the usual lantern in the supply shed. "Certain households haven't been targeted at all, but there's no pattern as to which households are robbed or not. And most of the banditry happens during the day, when the able-bodied are out scavenging."

Shihouin made a non-committal sound, musing the information over his meal. Niijima ate her food in silence.

"Okay, let's go explore one of their bases tonight." Shihouin announced.

That caught their attention.

"You found it?!" Niijima exclaimed.

He raised his hands and leaned away. "Possibly one of the entrances, at least. Tailed a guy to get there."

"Is it a trap?" Aigis narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe." Shihouin seemed wholly unconcerned. "Which is why I'd like some backup. I can handle a lot of things by myself, especially without idiots holding me back, but you guys aren't idiots, and I always appreciate people who can watch my back in case something unexpected happens."

That seemed quite reasonable given the circumstances.

"Is there anything we need to prepare for?" Niijima asked.

"Get some shut eye." Shihouin instructed. "Make sure you're well rested and alert. Mute your reiatsu as much as possible — we don't want to raise any alarms. We'll go at midnight."

His tone was authoritative, a stark contrast to his usual laid back persona. Aigis realised that this was probably the first time she saw him be fully serious, or be in "work mode" as some may say. It was more in line with what she expected out of a senior officer of the Gotei.

They nodded their understanding, mentally preparing themselves for a long night.

---

Shihouin woke them up five minutes before midnight, their surroundings so dark it was difficult to make out his figure. Niijima woke up with a start, a little too high strung, though Aigis awakened more sedately. It barely took them a moment to spring into action as they left most of their gear behind, opting to aim for speed.

The lieutenant led them some ways outside of the village, a treetop path that seemed to wind through myriad plants too similar for Aigis to track. He kept up a brisk, but far less strenuous pace than when they first travelled to the village, presumably so that they would not collapse on arrival. It still did not stop Aigis from almost crashing into Shihouin when he suddenly stopped on an especially thick branch, only being saved when Niijima helped stabilise Aigis from behind.

"We're here," he whispered, a hand pointing to a nondescript bush. "The entrance is right there."

"A bush?" Niijima asked lowly.

"There's something hidden there, at least." Shihouin replied. "Keep your reiatsu down, and we'll head in."

They hopped down from the tree, their sandalled feet landing lightly on the undergrowth. He picked around the bush, poking and prodding various areas, while Aigis and Niijima kept watch, until a quiet "aha" drew their attention.

"Found the switch." Shihouin said, his hand buried somewhere deep inside the bush. "Man, how'd they get that kind of ingenuity here?"

His arm moved, and a quiet rustle was the only indicator that something had moved. A dark hole appeared in front of them, with its depths dimly lit by…something.

"I'll go first." Shihouin instructed, one foot already inside the hole. "Follow only in my footsteps, and be alert for anything."

Aigis and Niijima nodded, then followed him in.

The hole turned out to be a dirt tunnel, lit at uneven distances with wooden torches. It seemed like the quintessential medieval tunnel, which was an oddity considering Soul Society's general aesthetic. They crept along the damp path, stopping every now and then to wait for Shihouin to finish analysing their path ahead. After twenty minutes, he held out a hand, stopping them in their tracks. He wordlessly raised a finger to his lips, then muttered a spell which Aigis only realised was Kyokko after he finished his cast. The message was clear: stay quiet, and stay hidden.

In front of them was a circular hole, with a crude stone block blocking their way. Some voices could be heard beyond, but they were too indistinct to make out specific words. Shihouin crept forward, pressing his ear on the board. The voices faded away after a few minutes, and he removed himself from the block.

"We're clear," he announced in a low voice. "The voices we heard were probably the bandits themselves. Your presence in the village has made them more wary, but thankfully they think there's only two shinigami here, not three."

Aigis and Niijima nodded their understanding, an internal sigh of relief released that their plan had worked so far.

"Let's open the door and see what we find." Shihouin continued. "Get ready just in case it turns into a fight."

They shifted into a battle stance as he pushed the stone block away. It fell forwards, threatening to alert any bandits still in the vicinity, though Shihouin managed to shunpo forwards and prop up the rock right before it thudded on the ground, the only indication of its weight being a surprised grunt from the lieutenant. It turned out to be a much thicker slab of stone than anyone expected, a blockage that was five centimetres thick. No wonder the voices on the other side were muffled.

They found themselves in a large, empty chamber, with the walls covered in drab grey stone, its gaps filled in with smaller, white stones. A multitude of shelves lined the walls, many of them stocked with hemp sacks, while another shelf displayed a haphazardly arranged array of farming tools, modified to kill, or maim at the very least. The floor was covered in the same drab grey stone as the walls, their arrival kicking up a gentle cloud of fine dust. Whoever the bandits were, they certainly were not keen on cleaning. Thankfully, the room was otherwise empty. At the far end of the room, two more wooden boards blocked different exits, each much thinner than the stone slab.

"I think we found their storeroom, Lieutenant." Niijima whispered.

"Yes," he agreed. He sidled over to one of the sacks and opened it up. "Looks like candy in here. And that sack has dried snacks in it. Odd stuff to keep."

Aigis could understand the logic behind candy — it was a rare commodity in Rukongai considering the majority of the population had no need for food, enough that it was sometimes used as currency. But dried snacks as well? Those were not nearly as popular, so only those who had substantial amounts of reiatsu were likely to eat them as a source of energy.

Niijima observed the pile of makeshift weapons left in the open. "Should we destroy these?" she asked. "So the bandits can't hurt anyone."

"Good idea," Shihouin agreed, "but not yet. I want to check the other two doors."

"It is a rather elaborate base for bandits." Aigis commented. "I did not think they would be underground, much less with multiple rooms."

She had expected an inconspicuous hut or something similar as a base, a repurposed building that blends in well with the background, which would also explain why the average shinigami were not able to find them. Instead, this base seemed to be too good for bandits that supposedly moved from place to place.

A thought struck her.

"Lieutenant Shihouin, you said that the bandits appeared at multiple places during different times, correct?" Aigis asked.

He nodded his affirmation, then realisation dawned on his face and he slowly turned to the tunnels. "Those?"

"It is possible," she replied. "If the tunnels are long enough, it can theoretically connect this base to multiple areas that are otherwise too far apart. Judging from the length of the tunnel we came from, and how far away the entrance was from the village, I believe the central area of this base might be in the middle of the forest."

"That is unusually elaborate for ordinary bandits." Niijima objected. "At the very least, it's possible that they might have repurposed this place, but they definitely didn't build it."

"There's been no records of any sort of base here, but it's possible that someone had built this in secret." Shihouin mused. "Once we're done here, I'll go check the records at Seireitei."

"Who would even do that?" Niijima asked. "For a base of this size, you would need a sizable workforce, plus some understanding of reishi manipulation, with how muted this entire place feels."

Shihouin frowned, and to Aigis, it did not look like his usual frown of annoyance. Rather, it was one of deep-seated hatred, as if he wanted to kill an imaginary person who slighted his entire family.

"I have an idea of who built this," he pitched his voice low, laced with danger and pent up anger. "But I'll need confirmation. For now, let's focus on the task at hand."

They nodded in response. "Should we go in and capture the bandits now?" Niijima asked.

Unexpectedly, Shihouin hesitated.

"Is something wrong?" Aigis scrutinised the chamber, already wary.

"Not…exactly," he muttered. "Just…something feels wrong here. Keep your wits with you."

They gave a grim nod. Shihouin pondered in front of the two doorways for a moment, then picked the left door. "I think I sense some people down there. If we can trap them here, all the better."

---

The underground base turned out to be less a base and more of a maze, or overly-complicated bunker. Caverns were connected to each other with an elaborate set of paths, twisting through the soil. If it was not for Aigis's uncanny sense of direction, Makoto was quite sure they would have been horribly lost.

They found a lone bandit soon enough, or at least a man who matched the description of one of the bandits described by other shinigami, who attempted to alert the entire base, so Makoto had silenced him with a single punch to the stomach, with Shihouin tying him up using kido for good measure. An hour later, they failed to find another bandit.

Maybe she shouldn't have knocked the man out.

They dismissed their cloaking kido somewhere along the way, because with how empty the entire base was, it felt more prudent to save their reishi reserves, and instead Makoto volunteered to act as a scout, moving ahead of the group to look for pathways around the maze. Her experience as a Phantom Thief really came in handy here – soon enough, she was moving around the place fluidly, peeking around corners, observing the surroundings like she was back in her heyday as Queen.

"It is possible that they are on the move." Aigis commented as they took a breather at a crossroad. "And we may simply have bad luck in running into them. But I feel that we have explored most of the base here already, and I fail to see a possible area they might be in."

"What makes you so sure?" Shihouin asked.

"The layout," she replied. "As far as I can guess, it is built like a spiral that gradually curves downwards." She crouched down and used a finger to trace a spiral in the dirt. "My estimate is that we are at one of the lowest points in the base, and all of these paths will lead back to one of the tunnels we have explored earlier. So the question becomes: did we miss a pathway somewhere?"

Shihouin muttered a swear under his breath. "I don't fancy retracing our steps," he grumbled.

Makoto was inclined to agree. "It is difficult to tell with the interference," she mused, "but I'm reasonably sure that we didn't miss anything. If anything, if there was a secret room of sorts, we would have sensed it by now, correct? Especially if it's protected by a mechanism of some sorts."

"Yes." Aigis agreed. "With how thin the reiatsu here is, anything protected by kido or kido-based technology would be akin to a beacon. Yet all I sensed was a gradual lowering of reiatsu levels."

Makoto blinked.

She looked between the doodle of the spiral in the dirt, Aigis, and her surroundings. She noted the slightly deeper groove in the spiral that was closer to the middle of the room.

It was slight, but there was a gentle slope in the room towards the middle, covered by a thin layer of dirt.

She walked towards the middle of the room, and right in the centre, the flow of reiatsu completely cut off.

Her surprised yelp probably alerted the entire base, to Makoto's embarrassment. She leapt back before the absence of reiatsu disoriented her further.

"What's wrong?" Shihouin asked, his tone unusually concerned.

"Lieutenant, can you confirm something for me?" Makoto asked. "If I'm not wrong…somehow there is no reiatsu in the middle of the room."

"Hmm…" The lieutenant took cautious steps towards the middle of the room, then stopped and scrutinised his feet. "You're right."

He dug through the layer of fine dirt, until his nails scraped stone. "Aha," he grinned, though his brows were knitted. "Sekkiseki. Now I know why the white rock in the walls was bothering me." At the confused look from the duo, he cleared his throat. "It's a rare rock in Soul Society. Its effects include emitting reishi fields that are incredibly tough and mess with reiatsu sensing, and absorption of reiatsu over long periods of time. The walls that surround Seireitei are actually made of this stuff, as well as parts of Senzaikyu."

The stone that Shihouin unearthed was about the size of a manhole, a white rock that reminded Makoto of chalk, except it seemed much more durable than that.

"That would explain why nobody could find this base." Aigis agreed. "Though you said that this is a rare rock?"

"Majority of it should be monopolised by Seireitei." Shihouin answered. "This is definitely more than any person should have, especially so far away." He tapped his feet around the rock. "This is probably an entrance. It's hollow beneath us."

"Allow me." Aigis raised her arm, intent on punching a hole through the rock. Before she could do that though, Shihouin extended an arm.

"Brute strength won't break this, even if it's not infused with any reiatsu," he chided. "Instead, let me handle this. Stand back, girls."

They obediently retreated to the edge of the room, though Makoto couldn't help but wonder why he looked like he was attempting the exact same thing that Aigis was trying to do earlier.

Then the reiatsu surrounding him exploded.

Quite literally too, as he enveloped himself in a dense layer of fiery reiatsu, so intense that it seemed almost solid over his skin. With a war cry, he struck the ground surrounding the stone multiple times, never touching it directly, but loosening it all the same. With a final shout, he blasted the ground again with a fiery ball of pure reiatsu that forced Aigis and Makoto to avert their eyes.

By the time she blinked the spots out of her eyes, the centre of the floor was gone.

"Really, using a single piece of sekkiseki stone to block your entrance isn't the smartest move if the area surrounding it isn't all that protected, isn't it?" Shihouin puffed out his chest. He bent over the hole to admire his handiwork. "Oh hey, the rest of the bandits are here too!"

---

With how everything had gone, the mission itself ended wildly outside of her expectations, but Aigis felt a certain sense of dissatisfaction at its conclusion. After all the work she and Niijima put in to act as bait for Shihouin, the bandits were laughably easy to capture once they were in the shinigami's sight, as they were woefully unprepared for a sudden assault on their base.

She was usually not one to complain about excessive preparatory work, but her effort in the last two days felt superfluous, compared to what Shihouin had achieved.

"What will happen to them now?" Aigis asked, patting her hands off the dust that had accumulated on her palms. They had scrounged some rope from the warehouse, opting to use those to tie the bandits together rather than use kido, which functioned erratically within the presence of sekkiseki.

The bandits matched the rough description that the villagers had given earlier in the day, with the correct numbers as well. They looked uniformly gaunt, with sunken eyes and cheeks, along with clothes that looked to be of higher quality than what the villagers wore, yet they hung loosely on the bony bodies. Most of them looked downcast, barely struggling against their bonds, though a few glared at her with hateful eyes.

Aigis chose to ignore those for the moment.

"We will probably transport them to Seireitei's dungeons." Shihouin said absentmindedly. "They did commit a pretty serious crime, but they won't be locked up forever – probably a few decades at best. It will take about two days for the transport wagon to come, so for the time being, we'll stay at the village for a bit."

They ended up locking the bandits at an abandoned shack near the outskirts of the village, while Niijima went back to the safe house for extra food and the rest stayed with the prisoners. They kept guard outside the only doorway, out of earshot of the bandits.

"Lieutenant, what was that technique you used earlier?" Aigis asked. "It doesn't look like anything that I know."

Shihouin scratched his chin. "Well…it's a bit of a Second division specialty," he explained. "It's called Shunko – a technique for compressing your reiatsu to enable incredibly fast attacks. Really handy for those who specialise in hakuda, but difficult to activate. Its power can rival that of a released bankai in the right situations."

"I thought bankai was the pinnacle of power for a shinigami," she said.

"Eh, power comes in many forms." Shihouin shrugged. "Bankai is indeed the pinnacle of power for the average shinigami, but many people also have other skills that are comparable in strength. My sister was so skilled at hohou and Shunko she rarely used her zanpakutou. My captain actively loathes her bankai. The technique isn't the important part – it's how you use it."

Aigis laced her hands together as she leaned against the frame of the shack. He had a point – she was so caught up with the idea of achieving bankai that she had not thought about how she would use that power, or if she even really needed it. "The technique isn't the important part, huh…" she muttered to herself.

"Are you looking for power, Aigis?" Shihouin asked.

"I…"

Why did she want to achieve bankai? Why was she not satisfied with the refined strength that she had right now? Why did Metis ask her to find herself again?

"…don't know," she admitted.

"Well, you won't need bankai then, correct?" Shihouin reasoned. "You need a solid goal beyond just achieving bankai. Maybe think about what you want to achieve during your time in Seireitei. Personally, I think you're getting ahead of yourself – just go with the flow. Your pace is your own, and there is no need to adhere to some sort of strict timeline in terms of power. Hell, I think you and Niijima are already way ahead of the curve, so relax. You're doing just fine."

Aigis looked up at the faint dawn breaking over the forest. Despite his reassurances, she did not feel…"fine", as he put it. Rather, his words only served to stir up more questions within herself, mixed into a jumbled mess that she could not even begin to vocalise.

She felt a hard smack into her skull – enough to hurt, but not enough to bruise.

"What was that for?" Aigis rubbed the side of her head and looked at the instigator, who seemed unrepentant.

"Like I said, you're thinking too hard." Shihouin emphasised, withdrawing his fist from her. "You need to stop worrying. Or find someone to talk to. Niijima has a good head on her shoulders, or if you want someone more neutral, you can talk to me – I won't judge. The worst a shinigami can do to themselves is to do everything alone. Sooner or later, you'll get overwhelmed."

And suddenly, Aigis's mind cleared.

She may have been alone, with her own unspeakable secrets, but despite everything, she was never lonely.

Her bonds kept her going all this time.

Notes:

This chapter was rough to write - the plot didn't want to go anywhere. But it's out now, and I can put this behind for the time being.

I picked up Persona 5 Strikers last month, and man was it FUN! I didn't think I'd have so much fun with my first shot at musou games, and the fact that the story was extremely solid was just a plus. I finished my first run after over 70 hours, and now I'm considering if I should go for Merciless too...

Anyway, review! Let me know what you think will happen in the next couple chapters! This arc is FINALLY almost at its end, so we will see a lot more Bleach characters in the near future!

Chapter 23: Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There

The next day, Aigis and Makoto stood watch outside the shack where the bandits were detained.

The villagers were overjoyed at the news that the bandits were captured, though that quickly turned into a mob demanding to bring their own brand of justice on them. Thankfully, Lieutenant Shihouin promptly put a stop to that, but not before a substantial part of the population caught a glimpse of the bandits' faces. Apparently, a few were friends and family to some of the villagers, which would explain why they were never robbed.

That revelation caused those friends and family of the bandits to receive death threats, which the poor lieutenant was trying to stop right now, leaving the students for guard duty.

"I'm worried for the villagers after we leave." Makoto voiced, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her borrowed shihakusho. "Shihouin-san is barely keeping the peace, and I don't know how bad it'll get once we leave."

"I understand their reaction." Aigis sighed, her hands folded in front of her as she leaned against the frame of the shack. "But I also agree that we need to prevent the villagers from mobbing the innocent."

Shihouin revealed privately that he found those related to the bandits had received more food and mundane luxuries than the rest while they were active. The trio had recovered a good chunk of the goods robbed from the villagers, but considering that most of it was candy and water, it was difficult to determine what belonged to who, and they instead just distributed everything as evenly as possible.

Depressingly, it was very little.

Makoto mused over the situation again, though her mind kept going back to what Aigis had said.

The innocent.

The bandits were hardly innocent, but perhaps…

"Can you keep guard?" She asked. "I want to talk to them for a bit."

Aigis blinked, but to her credit, she did not question Makoto's sanity, and simply gave a nod.

The shed smelled of musky sweat and dirt when she opened the door, though the prisoners were silent apart from a few grunts, unspoken complaints about the late afternoon sunlight streaming in and burning on their faces.

She closed the door behind her, restoring the darkness inside. The bandits glared at her, though she simply ignored it, instead opting to sit down on the dusty floor.

Without the adrenaline from last night affecting her judgement, Makoto could now see that the bandits looked rather ill in an entirely different way from the villagers. For the latter, it was clear that the stress of their living situation had worn them down, resulting in rags for clothes, and terrible hygiene (not that she thought it would cause any major issues, other than a wrinkled nose from the sheltered nobles, perhaps). The bandits, who looked relatively, and oddly, cleaner than the villagers, had an unhealthy pallor to their skin, sunken cheeks that were more pronounced in some more than others, and wild eyes that were more reminiscent of a feral animal than a human.

Seireitei was large enough that the effects of sekkiseki did not bother any of the shinigami, who also naturally had robust reiatsu, but within that cramped base, perhaps it was rather unhealthy for regular souls to be exposed to the unusual rock for an extended period of time.

"Sorry, I don't have any food on me." Makoto apologised.

The majority of the bandits did not respond, preferring to ineffectively glare at her, but one spat at her feet. Or tried to – the spittle fell short, absorbed into the bare ground. "Why would we want your sympathy, shinigami?"

His voice was gruff, chapped in a way to suggest that he was rather thirsty. Makoto made a mental note to ask Shihouin for some water later, since she did not carry any on her person.

"I would prefer you not to die before your trial," she replied evenly. "And I don't know if you've looked at yourself in a mirror lately, but staying in that base of yours for so long was not healthy for you."

"What're you talkin' about?" The bandit narrowed his eyes. "It was a hell of a lot better than staying here in this dumpster hole with nothing!"

Privately, she agreed somewhat, but she also did not ignore how long term reiatsu deprivation affected the bandits – they looked much more mentally unstable than the villagers. "You still have friends and family here, don't you?" Makoto countered, trying to not let her emotions show on her face.

Some of the bandits looked away guiltily. Probably not entirely willing bandits, she decided, or just hoping for a better life than one of abject poverty.

The aggressive man instead started raging harder. "Family? Friends? They're just a bunch of people to use when convenient, and leave behind when they become a burden. You can play that game in the inner districts and in Seireitei where you're all overflowing with luxuries, but not here. Here," he hissed, his voice suddenly dropping several decibels in volume as he shoved his ugly mug as close as he could to Makoto with bound hands and feet, "it's survival of the fittest."

Really, after a lifetime of dealing with criminals who thought they could intimidate her, the thinly-veiled threat barely fazed Makoto. Instead, she focused on observing the other bandits in the corner of her eye. Some of them were fearfully gazing at the exchange, but there was a hint of interest there. Others preferred to avoid eye contact entirely. But nobody else had spoken since the start of the exchange, so she guessed that this man who was almost comically trying to strain his neck towards her was the leader of the bandits.

In other words, to have the most impact on the group overall, she needed to convince the leader. She decided to switch tactics.

"So it seems," Makoto agreed easily. "Though I would say that having a base this difficult to find probably contributed to your strength."

The bandit smiled, sharp with yellowed teeth. "I'll admit, you did a good job finding it. Even I found it only by accident."

"When there was only one switch that was so well hidden no normal person would stumble on it?" Makoto pressed. "You were either extremely lucky, or you had an idea that the base existed in the first place."

He went silent, his face twisted into a snarl that threatened to escape.

"We know there are multiple entrances," she continued after a sigh, "and that we only found one of them. The base is not really all that important to us–"

"Not all that important?" His voice was now pitched into a shriek. "Not all that important? I spent my entire life looking for a way to get out of the hole called poverty, and that was the one thing that let me!"

And everything circled back to that.

Makoto did not begrudge the bandit leader for trying to find a better life – it was simply human instinct to want more than they had, and the conditions here were bad enough that in any normal situation, she would have agreed with the man. Even now, after they seized everything the bandits had, it was a pittance in her eyes. He certainly was no monster bloated on greed like some of the targets she had gone after back when she was a Phantom Thief.

That did not mean she agreed with his methods.

"Sorry, but while I sympathise with your plight, I can't condone your methods. Besides," Makoto narrowed her eyes, "was the base really the only thing that allowed you to become richer? Give yourself some credit."

The unexpected compliment caused the bandit leader to hang his mouth open in surprise.

"The intelligence to fully make use of the base," she counted off her fingers. "The shrewdness to gather information, because you know that you are weaker than shinigami. Actually, that information network is especially impressive, because you need to ensure the reliability of the information you receive, which you probably did either through bribery or intimidation. You have some excellent street smarts. It's a shame you decided to use it on banditry instead of doing something to benefit your community." She stopped, then turned to the man.

"What are you getting at?" The bandit asked warily.

Makoto let a small smile slip through her mask. She imagined what Ren would do in this situation.

"Let's make a deal."

---

"Are the villagers still unsatisfied?" Aigis studied the lieutenant.

He was dressed back in his non-uniform shihakusho, his face scrunched in displeasure. There was a noticeable heaviness in his footsteps, though Aigis suspected that it had nothing to do with physical exhaustion.

He shook his head. "I calmed them down for the moment, but it's a powder keg waiting to go off." Shihouin huffed. "Where's Niijima?"

Niijima chose that moment to exit the shack, her shihakusho dusted a similar colour to the ground. "Were you looking for me, Lieutenant?"

Shihouin scrutinised Niijima. "What were you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"Talking with the prisoners," she replied. "Do we have any water? They're pretty thirsty, from what I see."

Shihouin sighed. "None that we could spare for the moment, at the very least." He shrugged, though his eyes looked anything but casual. "There's barely anything here, and what little there is is being split between everyone. Sure those related to the bandits have more, but it's not by much, and I'm not about to force them to share just yet. And souls don't just die from a little dehydration. They'll stay alive till we get them to the dungeons."

"Any leads on the information network the bandits seemed to have?" Aigis asked.

He grunted disdainfully. "He threatened a couple people – mostly those who lived by themselves. Said he wouldn't rob them if they gave information on the movement of their neighbours, or any shinigami that came over. Pretty smart, all things considered. It's a small network, and they left messages at certain depots that were pretty out of the way from where the villagers typically went."

"Is that so?"

Aigis tensed up. There was a dangerous edge to Niijima's words.

"Is there something you'd like to say about this, Niijima?" It seems that he had noticed it too.

"What if there is a way to keep the villagers satisfied in their demand for revenge, and also lighten the burden on Seireitei?" Niijima asked.

Shihouin blinked.

She took it as permission to continue. "No matter how I think about it, there's simply not much point for the bandits to be locked up in Seireitei. There's no way to guarantee they wouldn't do it again, and we might have an even bigger headache down the line."

"It is the only way we can deal with them at the moment though," he pointed out. "Not like we can trust them around the villagers, and shinigami are usually not stationed outside of Seireitei, only in the Living World on rotations."

Niijima nodded. "I thought so. So, how about we put the bandits to work?"

Silence followed.

"How's that going to work?" Shihouin blurted. Aigis nodded alongside the lieutenant. She did see merit in Niijima's idea, but the logistics of it made her hesitate.

"We can have a rotation of shinigami stationed here," Niijima laid out her plan. "And help the villagers develop a local industry. The bandits can help with grunt work – I think they're healthy enough for that, and they can be paid with water and candy, depending on their quality of work. If we decide the bandits are not likely to turn to banditry again, we can stop the rotation and let the village develop on its own."

"I'm surprised you think we can even trust them in the first place, Niijima." Shihouin said. "Who's to say that they won't turn on us the moment we stop the rotation of shinigami to watch over them?"

"You're right," she acknowledged. "It's a gamble."

"Then why–"

"The main underlying issue is why they turned to banditry in the first place." Niijima interrupted the shinigami before he could continue. "Poverty and lack of options drive people to desperate measures, Lieutenant. This plan would help the village uplift itself into self-sustainability, and there would be no need for bandits to exist. Plus, they had an established, robust information network. We can use this village as a base to keep Seireitei updated on the state of the outer districts."

Out of everything that Niijima had said, the last sentence was what finally caught Shihouin's attention. His eyes narrowed in a way that Aigis recognised as intense concentration, different from the glares he had given to Niijima or the bandits before. "An information network for the outer districts…" he muttered.

Well, Aigis supposed that it made sense, as part of the division that was responsible for espionage. Information was a valuable commodity, especially for areas where it was scarce in the first place.

"If the bandits stay here, the villagers will at least have a justified direction for their anger." Niijima continued. "I'm not saying to let the villagers wail on the bandits, but at least it should help keep innocents out of the fire. And we can have the shinigami keeping the peace, which will help the bandits to warm up to us."

Shihouin ran a hand through his messy hair as he considered Niijima's arguments, making increasingly frustrated noises. "Argh…fine! You made your point," he sighed. "I think I can manage something, but it's gonna take a while before I can get all the resources needed. For now, I'll have a couple Second Division shinigami come over to relieve us."

There was an audible sigh of relief from Niijima as she finally relaxed, and Aigis felt herself loosening her stance too. Apparently, she had unconsciously shifted into her battle stance at some point.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Shihouin." Niijima bowed politely.

"Don't thank me yet." Shihouin grunted. "If this fails at any point down the line, I'm blaming you. Sorry, but with a plan like this, I'm covering my own ass first."

"That's reasonable." Niijima replied. "I'll just make sure I solve any issues before it becomes a bigger problem."

"So you're volunteering to oversee everything?" There was a coy grin on his face. "Rather ambitious, aren't you?"

"No, I just think I should take responsibility for being the one to persuade you in the first place," she replied calmly. "That being said, I am rather uninformed about Soul Society's laws and Seireitei's processes, so I hope you can advise me on those matters."

Shihouin sighed again, clearly not expecting everything that just happened in the last ten minutes. "I'm not the best person to ask for this kind of stuff because I don't have it all memorised. You'll have to ask someone else. That being said, I'll look after this place till you graduate. After that, it's up to you."

Niijima nodded. "I understand. I'll ask the teachers at school then."

"Oh yeah, here." Shihouin casually tossed a bottle to her, who fumbled to catch the unexpected item. He sauntered off before either student could stop him.

"What's inside?" Aigis squinted at the bottle as Niijima opened it and sniffed, before her expression turned into mild shock.

"It's…water," she stammered. She gave an amused smile. "He could've been a bit more honest, but I appreciate it. Watch the entrance for me, will you?"

"Of course." Aigis smiled back.

---

The two shinigami who came with the transport jail wagon were less than pleased when they found out that they had made a wasted trip, as the bandits were going to be kept confined to the village rather than taken to Seireitei.

"What did you say to the bandits to convince them at least not to wreak havoc after we left?" Aigis asked Makoto on their way back to the Academy, walking behind and out of earshot of the other shinigami, who were currently being graced with a playful account of the mission courtesy of Lieutenant Shihouin.

Before Makoto could start explaining, Aigis clarified herself. "I believed you could do it. I just thought it would take longer."

Makoto supposed that she could understand the hesitation, though in her opinion, Aigis could probably also do it, given enough preparation.

"Because I've seen similar things back when I was alive." Makoto replied after a pregnant pause, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ears. "Not when I was a Thief, but when I was a police commissioner. Desperation drives people to do extreme things, but one of the most effective methods to stop them is to remind them that there are still wonderful things in the world. Sometimes it's the simple joys. Sometimes it's a bit more complicated than that. The most important thing, I guess, was to treat them as a human being. Not an irredeemable evil. I had to look past the label that society gave them and find out who they really are."

"A label..." Aigis mused thoughtfully, a strange light in her eyes. "I suppose that makes sense. Though I did meet many people who actively did not want to do better."

There was no way for Makoto to know the sheer number of people Aigis met and outlived in her life.

"You might have the unique distinction of seeing the most of the best and the worst humanity had to offer." Makoto pointed out.

Aigis turned towards her, surprise written on her face.

"On one hand, you have individuals like Shido, or just the general negativity of humanity made manifest, like Yaldabaoth." Makoto continued. "But then you also have the Wild Cards, who are some of the most tenacious and determined people I've ever met."

When her eyes turned downcast, Makoto added, "That includes you, Aigis-san."

Somehow, she looked even more surprised than before, her eyes wide and the sapphire blue of her iris catching the sun.

"Leading the Shadow Operatives for almost three hundred years…must be rough. I wouldn't blame anyone if they cracked at any point, but you didn't." Makoto gazed up at the clear sky, reminiscing about the little scenes during her time there.

When the Persona users gathered for Mitsuru's birthday, Morgana accidentally got sushi all over his fur.

When a routine mission had gone awry, and Yu had to call in every favour he could get to rescue Ryuji and Yosuke, who had gone ahead to scout first.

When Teddie decided to visit the Operatives' headquarters and then had to be escorted out in short order to stop him from perving on every lady there.

But along with the good was so much bad. Being a Persona user meant being exposed to the worst of humanity, but the fact that Aigis was still here and still willing to see the best in humanity, even after three hundred years, was testament to her determination.

"You're still here, and still helping people." Makoto concluded. "If that doesn't embody the spirit of a Wild Card, I don't know what does."

Meanwhile, Aigis's expression froze on her face as she slowly digested Makoto's words, her face slowly morphing as her lips quirked into a small, genuine smile.

"Thank you, Makoto-san."

"You're very welcome, Aigis-san."

Makoto savoured the moment, their footsteps soft and light on the dirt road.

---

"So, how was the mission?"

Yushiro knew he'd sent a Hell butterfly to Soifon with a short report, and his complete report was currently sitting in front of her on her desk. But he also knew that his captain was not asking about the mission itself.

"They're talented," he replied, his posture stiff as he stood at attention. "Even more professional than some of the shinigami we have in our division."

Soifon narrowed her eyes.

"But at least one of them is too soft for the Second," he finished.

She leaned forward, her interest piqued. "'Too soft'?"

"That Niijima girl has a bleeding heart." Yushiro clarified. "She isn't averse to violence, but she's prone to disobeying orders if she disagrees with them."

Soifon leaned back in her chair and nodded. "That's a shame, but you're right," she agreed. "We can't have liabilities on missions. What about the other girl?"

"I think she can do the work," he said, his hand on his chin as he thought back to his interactions with the blonde. "But something tells me she would prefer to be in another division."

"Hmm." Soifon's gaze lowered to the report. "I'll send her an invitation regardless when she graduates. Get it drafted, Yushiro."

"Yes, Captain."

---

Once she arrived back at the Academy, Makoto took a short nap before immediately looking for Onabara.

"It's rather unusual for you to look for me, Niijima," he rumbled. They were in his office, away from prying ears. "Did something happen during the trip?"

They were both sitting seiza style on the ground, with him at his usual place behind the low desk.

"Nothing much of note." Makoto replied. "Though I do have a request."

"Well then, speak."

"Is there any way for me to learn about the laws of Soul Society?"

Onabara raised one eyebrow. "Well, I believe you can check out the books about the basic–"

"Sorry, but I've already read them," she interrupted. "I was hoping to learn about the details of laws and lawmaking in Soul Society, along with related topics such as how the noble families function in it. I know that I can't borrow them from the library yet at my rank, but I need the information urgently, so I am hoping that some exceptions can be made."

His other eyebrow joined the first one. "Are you sure nothing happened during the trip?"

Makoto pulled a strand of hair behind her ear as she shifted her feet. She hoped Onabara would not notice. "I may have…convinced Lieutenant Shihouin to put a few bandits to work instead of sending them to jail?"

There was a moment of silence as she let her instructor digest her words.

"Lieutenant Shihouin…as in, the lieutenant of the Second division?"

"Yes sir."

There was another moment of silence.

"...I'm going to need a complete report on what exactly happened, Niijima."

---

"In other words," Onabara concluded, "you convinced one of the most powerful men in Soul Society to take a massive risk on his honour as a noble and as a shinigami to help some backwater criminals?"

He looked like he couldn't decide if he wanted to applaud at the audacity of it all, or collapse from it. It stung when he referred to the bandits as "backwater criminals", but Makoto tried to keep her annoyance off her face. From his reaction, she could tell that this was going to be another test of her oral skills.

The first rule of negotiation was to stay calm.

"Yes sir." Makoto stated.

"And you decided that you'd stake your career, maybe even your life, on this gamble?" Onabara asked.

"I pride myself on taking responsibility for my actions, sir," she nodded.

Onabara finally let out a long, heavy sigh as he facepalmed. "I thought you were smarter than this."

In hindsight, there were so many things that could, or can, go wrong with her harebrained idea, but she was once the strategist of the Phantom Thieves. Her plans could be reckless, but there was always a way to success.

"I simply think Seireitei could do better." Makoto pointed out. "And this arrangement benefits Seireitei too, not just the bandits."

The second rule of negotiation was to be honest. The third was to be aware that negotiation was not a win or lose scenario.

"And so you want to learn about the laws of Soul Society in case you run into any issues?" Onabara frowned.

"I would prefer to keep everything running legally," she said. "But I'd also like to be ready to act in case the law changes. For that, I would like to understand a detailed history of lawmaking in Soul Society as well."

"You're asking for a lot, Niijima." Onabara's frown deepened. "Laws are there for a reason – to make sure nobody abuses anything beyond their ability to handle."

"I am aware, Onabara-sensei."

"Then why do you sound like you're ready to break every single one of them to get your way?" His voice lowered to a threatening growl, an unspoken warning to watch what she was about to say.

"Because I would rather do that and accept my punishment than to see, and do nothing about the injustices of this world." Makoto held her ground. "Being in a position of power is a privilege, sir, not a right. Those in the outer districts did not know how to live, only how to survive. Their methods to survive were causing so much trouble that Seireitei needed to be involved. If our mission as shinigami is to protect Soul Society, shouldn't we help those in need as well? If the laws are preventing us from doing that, then shouldn't the laws be changed?"

"And go against those who created Soul Society in the first place?"

"The one thing that lets evil win is when good people do nothing." Makoto pressed. "I am not aiming for drastic change because I know that will cause more harm than good. But it has to start somewhere, and I am asking to start it here and now."

She bowed, her head and hands on the ground. "Please, Onabara-sensei. I need the knowledge."

A second of silence stretched to a minute, then another.

Finally, Onabara sighed.

"I am in the mood to read some treatises on law," he said absentmindedly, almost to himself. "Perhaps if a student gets curious, I can lend it out for a short period of time, and the librarians will be none the wiser."

Makoto raised her head hopefully. His eyes were still grumpy, but there was a glint of grudging respect.

"Thank you very much, sensei," she bowed again, low to the ground.

"Now go," Onabara waved his hand towards the doorway in a shoo-ing motion. "I have work to do."

She took the hint and excused herself.

---

A week after they returned, Aigis and Makoto each received a letter from Shihouin.

"What did yours say?" Makoto asked curiously, their dinner momentarily forgotten on the veranda overlooking the secluded garden that they now claimed as their own.

Her own letter had been politely worded, letting her know that while Shihouin was impressed with her performance, he unfortunately could not extend an invitation to the Second, but did attach a short list of nobles of varying importance, ostensibly for "extracurricular learning".

Feel free to reach out to them anytime through your teachers, it said. They have been informed that there is a student interested in their line of work, and will be happy to share any knowledge they deem appropriate.

She could almost imagine the wink in that sentence as she read it.

"An invitation to join the Second, apparently." Aigis replied, holding her letter up to the evening glow of the sky. "He told me to carefully consider it."

"Are you considering it?" Makoto asked.

Aigis shook her head. "I don't think it would be my first choice," she said, her attention still focused on the letter. "Though I am not against it."

Makoto released a silent sigh of relief that she didn't know she was holding.

"And," the blonde continued, "he said he found out who built the base."

Makoto raised an eyebrow.

"I remember that name from our history lessons." Aigis frowned. "Aizen Sosuke, the most notorious traitor of Soul Society. He built it as a laboratory of sorts four hundred years ago, but that was all Lieutenant Shihouin could find out."

"That makes sense, I suppose." Makoto conceded. "Especially if it was off the record, as he implied."

They finished the rest of their meal in silence.

"Makoto-san."

It was spoken softly, hesitantly, almost as if Aigis was afraid of the consequences of speaking her thoughts out loud. But at the same time, there was an undercurrent of steel, a resolute will to see it through.

"Yes, Aigis-san?"

"I think…I want to attempt bankai again."

Makoto smiled.

"Me too."

Notes:

While I was writing this chapter, I kept the quote "To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom - it is indolence" in my mind. If you're wondering, this quote comes from FFXIV, and is repeated by various characters throughout the story. I suppose it influenced this chapter to some extent.

Also, Makoto hijacked the story again. I tried to wrestle the main viewpoint back to Aigis but she kept an iron grip on it, whoops. And we hit 100k words! When I first started writing this story, I didn't think this would go on for so long, and I'm barely a quarter of my way through the entire plot. Thank you all for your support, I couldn't have done this without you.

Anyway. Still looking for a job and pulling myself in all directions at once, so my writing speed has considerably slowed. Here's hoping I get some good news by the time I publish the next chapter. In the meantime, please review and give me serotonin!

Chapter 24: I'll Face Myself -Reincarnation-

Notes:

I highly recommend listening to the title song while reading through the chapter.

They fixed the holes in the floorboards, Aigis noted to herself.

Not all that surprising, considering that it had been almost two months since she last stepped into the training room. That was plenty of time for even a school with excessive bureaucratic red tape to fix minor infrastructure issues.

Summer was in full swing, and despite the night air offering some relief from the heat, the room still smelled somewhat musky. Aigis's school uniform was soaked in sweat, but she did not own any other clothing suitable for training.

So she endured the sticky fabric on her skin.

Makoto looked marginally better, in that she was not showing any signs of discomfort, but there was no telling what she actually felt, beyond looking a bit more haggard than usual.

She had thrown herself into her studies with an unnatural fervour ever since she received the letter from Shihouin. Aigis guessed that Makoto had taken him up on his offer for connections, and was now learning as much as she could about the laws of Soul Society, a mirror of what her sister was like back when they were alive.

"How are you feeling, Aigis-san?" Makoto asked, her zanpakutou laid across her lap as was standard for jinzen.

"To be honest," Aigis began, "I am a little nervous." She sat down some distance away from her friend, mirroring her position. It was not that she did not want to be close, but rather, she was worried about the destructive potential of their powers.

The last time she summoned Metis was a mess, after all.

"I believe in you." Makoto affirmed.

"How about you?" Aigis asked back, because if she dwelled on the question about herself any longer, she was sure she would back out from sheer nervousness.

The brunette sighed, and for the first time, Aigis noticed faint traces of black circles around her eyes. "Too tired to care."

"I know I would sound like a hypocrite," Aigis sat down on the floor opposite Makoto, "but you need to take care of yourself."

Makoto snorted. "It's starting to settle down, at least," she explained. "And this isn't my first rodeo. I'll be fine."

---

They summoned their Personae with much less fanfare than the last time, though Aigis's focus was primarily on Metis.

She still looked the same – the same black armour plating, the same red butterfly mask rimmed with gold. Pallas Athena's spear was still in her hand, instead of the hammer she used to wield. The only difference was the look in the eyes.

The last time she was summoned, Metis looked…disappointed, and perhaps, a little angry, judging by how badly she thrashed Aigis in their spar. Now though, her Shadow's red eyes were focused and narrowed – a challenging look.

"Seems like you've done some growing," she observed.

"I hope." Aigis answered. She was not arrogant enough to think that was enough.

"And there's your problem."

Oh.

It seemed that was the wrong thing to say, after all.

Metis shot at her like a speeding bullet, leaving Aigis to scramble away from her original position. A few fine strands of hair loosened from their roots as the golden spear barely missed her face, while she rolled into a crouched position, her zanpakutou released and primed.

"Firing!"

Her bullets merely slowed Metis a little, as she kept up her offence and used the spear to deflect any shots that threatened to graze her. Nevertheless, that was enough breathing room for Aigis to shift to a proper battle stance, her legs spread and steady on the wooden floorboards.

"You always fall back into bad habits." Metis commented in an almost bored tone. She dodged the last bullet, swivelled, jumped off the wall and charged straight at Aigis. "How long will it take for you to learn?"

Aigis merely took a half step back, dodging the spear charging at her neck by the thinnest of margins. She kept up her usual poker face, the expressionless features of a doll – a robot – on her mission.

But at the same time, something…warm and comforting was rising in her chest.

She was close to the answer, and her experience on the internship trip provided her the missing pieces, but could she voice them?

---

"They sure got going quickly." Makoto observed the white and black pair, Johanna thrumming gently at her side.

As before, they quickly cleared the space where Aigis and Metis were fighting, though thankfully Aigis had not aimed a single bullet in Makoto's general direction since their clash began. In fact, the blonde looked oddly passive, her mouth set into a firm line, her eyes vaguely following the movements of the streak of black and gold pressuring her.

Despite the sight of something that would normally be considered worrying, there was…a calculating glint in Aigis's eyes. Besides, Johanna did warn Makoto the last time that she should not interfere with Aigis's issues with her Shadow.

Johanna, meanwhile, was silent, but Makoto got the distinct impression of a side-eye directed at her.

"So what do you want me to do today, Johanna?" she ventured.

The motorcycle turned around, her wheels audibly skidding on the floor until she was face to face with her wielder. "You seem to have grown."

"In two months?" Makoto asked dryly.

A gentle puff of exhaust, reminiscent of a chuckle. "If you can joke like that, I take it that you are ready."

"As much as I will ever be." Makoto steeled herself. "No matter what may come, I will find a way through it all."

Johanna's head never moved, but Makoto got the sense of an approving nod, as the chassis moved down and up ever so slightly. It was strange, being able to read something non-humanoid so well, but Johanna was a part of herself. Any less and it would be akin to rejecting her own Persona.

"Get on me." Johanna commanded. "I will test your resolve."

It had been over a hundred years (by her own sense of time) since Makoto got to ride a motorcycle. But the moment she sat on the seat, her natural instincts and muscle memory took over – body hunched, feet firmly on the footrest, her hands on the handlebar, firm but easy.

"Try not to fall off."

And with that casual comment, in an "oh, I forgot to tell you" way, Makoto suddenly found herself hanging on for dear life.

---

"Seems like I might have misjudged you a little." Metis smirked, as she stabbed the spear into the floorboards, ripping open a new hole and swinging her entire body around the shaft like a fulcrum, then shot off, feet first, towards Aigis's centre. She took another half step to the side, then used her gauntlet zanpakutou to deflect the spear that came along with her other half. "Aren't you getting a little cocky here?"

"You, on the other hand," Aigis shot back, "seem a little too hurried." She ducked under a leg swipe, then hopped back to create some distance, until the loud roar of a motorcycle engine brushed her hair, and she was forced to duck again.

She dared to split her attention for a second to gauge what Makoto was doing, and then decided that they were going too fast for Aigis to understand what happened. At the very least though, Makoto and Johanna largely kept to aerial manoeuvres, which gave Aigis enough space to sort out her own issues with Metis.

Aigis turned her attention back to her own situation. She was in no hurry to attack. Not until she found out exactly what was happening with her subconscious.

Metis seemed unstable, in a similar way to how people had mood swings – her expression shifting between a sneer and anger bordering on frustration.

For her part, Aigis felt…nothing. She frowned minutely. That hint of warmth had cooled off, leaving just the empty, unfeeling thoughts analysing her current situation.

She really hoped that she was not being caught up in Metis's mood swings.

"Yeah, because you're pissing me off!" Metis roared, slamming her spear at Aigis, intending to cleave her in half. She took a step sideways, letting the spear shatter the floorboards instead.

Metis was not known for being reckless. From Aigis's memories, she remembered her other half often being angry, frustrated, or disappointed, but she was never reckless. Her acts of destruction always had a clear goal – protecting Aigis the best way she saw possible.

Which, in Metis's first manifestation, meant attempting to kill S.E.E.S. Aigis was just glad that she had not made an attempt on Makoto's life yet.

Aigis hung back instead of pressing the advantage, determined to observe Metis just a little more, and perhaps view this entire affair in a more logical light, or at least attempt to. She knew how fickle emotions were.

"Everything you've done…" Metis growled, sweeping her spear back and crouching low, "just hurt you more! When will you learn to stop?!"

"Wha–" This time, Aigis barely avoided the wild charge as she stumbled back, then raised her gauntlet to defend herself from the assault. The sudden change in conversation topic surprised her, but she shifted her stance to stabilise herself, trying to buy some time to think. "What are you talking about?"

"Everything!" Metis roared. "Your life, your death, every time you go out to help, you always end up hurt!" She kept up her assault, alternating between stabbing, punching and kicking whatever undefended spots she could find, while Aigis tried to manoeuvre around them.

Metis was not entirely wrong – there was no denying that Aigis had been injured far too many times in her missions, often requiring repairs to her body and circuitry after particularly intense missions. But she never regretted taking them on, because she also often saw the results of her efforts – thankful families and friends reunited with each other after disasters, a beautiful sunrise after a harrowing battle, knowing that she made the world ever so slightly better, doing her part to relieve Makoto – the Great Seal's burden.

Still, why bring it up now?

"Not…the last mission?" she asked, genuinely confused. She grunted as her arms shook from blocking the heavy attacks, digging her heels into the floorboards as best as she could.

"Yeah, I can count on one hand the number of missions where you or your friends came out unscathed!" Metis attempted another lightning quick stab to the chest that Aigis turned away from at the last moment. "Or what, are you going to hope for a messiah to save you every time you run into problems even though you're already this strong? You can't rely on them to come to your rescue every time, so you have to be strong by yourself!"

Something about the angry, dismissive way she spoke made Aigis snap.

"I–" She ground out, her arm cocked back.

"Am–" Her fists were balled. From the way Metis's eyes widened just a fraction, she noticed it too.

"Not–" Aigis was done waiting.

"Strong!" She roared, throwing a punch straight at Metis's face with all her weight. It was so unexpected that she failed to evade in time, taking the full brunt of the force behind it, bounced once on the floorboards, and skidded five metres back. The spear clattered out of her hands.

"I was never strong." Aigis continued into the silence that followed, panting from the emotional exertion. "I have always been helped by others on my journey. Mitsuru, Makoto, Labrys…everyone from the Operatives gave me steady advice and encouragement whenever I needed it, and it was only through their support that I am able to stand here now. If you want to call me waiting for a messiah every time I encounter a problem, then yes, that much is true. My messiahs are my friends and my bonds! And I will fight the world if anything threatens them!"

The silence stretched on, Metis with one hand on her bruised cheek. They barely registered the roar of Johanna's engine in the background. Aigis took a deep breath, then exhaled.

"I'm never going to be strong enough to do everything myself, Sister," she said. "All the titles I collected over the years, they were just that – titles. Labels that only encompassed a small part of me. But…with friends I can trust, the sum will always be stronger than its components." She took another deep breath that contained a barely covered up hitch. "I've already failed to protect those that I care about twice now — first when Makoto died, then when I died. I don't want to make the same mistake a third time. Can I rely on you as a friend? Can you pull me back when I overcomplicate issues in my mind? Can I trust you to help me protect those who are precious to me?"

Aigis extended a hand out.

Metis stared at the hand, her free hand twitching as if she wanted to reach out.

"Promise me one thing, Aigis." Metis finally pleaded, the fight drained out of her voice.

"Yes?"

"Don't ignore me. Please."

It was a heavy request. Aigis would readily admit that she often ignored her inner unease, her subconscious, if she felt that it would aid her in the immediate situation, but it was time to stop that and start taking care of herself.

"I promise," she nodded.

The spear faded away in a cloud of gold dust. Metis removed her hand from her cheek, revealing the dark scuff mark from where Aigis had punched her.

"I will always be on your side, Sister." Metis took the offered hand and pulled herself back up. "I will always protect you, wherever and whenever you wish. But please, take care of yourself too. I never want to see that lifeless chassis of yours again."

It slipped Aigis's mind that Metis may have seen what happened on the day she died. In fact, it had been a long time since she even thought about her death. "You saw that?" Aigis asked.

"Well, of course." Metis' tone was that of an older sister berating her younger sister for missing something so obvious. "I am, and was always, a part of you. I see everything you see." She went in for a hug, which Aigis reciprocated. "And I will always be here."

Metis dissolved into a shower of golden sparkles, leaving Aigis to hug the air. She breathed in deeply, letting the newfound power fill her soul.

She scanned the room to find her brunette friend, though once she did, her relief quickly turned to panic.

Because her friend was currently freefalling through the air, on a collision course headed straight for the floor.

"Makoto-san!"

---

If someone told Makoto that her test for wielding her bankai was a high speed rodeo, she would've laughed in their face.

But that was exactly what happened, and even after she adjusted herself to stay firm on Johanna's seat, the Persona was still zipping around the training room at sonic speeds, and the G-force was starting to tire Makoto out.

And Johanna showed no signs of stopping.

"Watch it, you almost crashed into Aigis-san!" Makoto yelled over the rush of wind as Johanna's wheels barely missed Aigis's head.

The other thing making the entire situation difficult was that Johanna was not just using the floor of the room as a surface to drive on — the walls, ceiling, and even open air was a surface, leading to unexpected sharp turns that threatened to throw Makoto off the motorcycle entirely, if it was not for her death grip on the handles.

"How are you even staying in thin air?!" Makoto half screamed, half asked.

"I am a part of you." Johanna replied dismissively. Was that disgruntlement that Makoto just heard? "Whatever you know, I know it too."

She belatedly realised that yes, one of the applications of hohou was to stand on thin air, using small reishi platforms as footholds. It was something she learned somewhat recently, though she did not use it much — the ability was a waste of reiatsu if there were other perfectly serviceable, solid footholds to be found. With that logic, it would be possible for Johanna to form her own reishi paths below her wheels, much like a personalised racing track.

Johanna took Makoto for a loop-de-loop, her wheels grazing the support beams along the ceiling, before dropping straight down towards the ground, thankfully some distance away from Aigis and Metis. About to lose her grip on the handles from the sudden change in direction, she made a split second decision.

"Bakudou number four: Hainawa!"

Yellow ropes of reishi shot out of both her hands, winding themselves around both her hand and Johanna's handles. Makoto was almost bodily thrown off, but she managed to sit down on her Persona again.

"When are you going to stop?" Makoto yelled, desperately trying to keep her balance on Johanna.

"Never." There was an almost defiant roar of the engine as it revved louder, drowning out even the rushing wind past Makoto's ears.

Her other half was stubborn — that much was clear, though Makoto was just as aware that she herself was stubborn too. And getting off was not an option — there was a sneaking suspicion that if she did, Johanna would consider it a failure, and she would never grant Makoto the ability to wield bankai.

Makoto tested the brakes, though as expected, it only kicked up a shower of sparks and failed to do anything else. She then tried turning the gear down, but that only seemed to speed Johanna up until Makoto's surroundings turned into a blur.

The only option left was to forcibly stop Johanna in her tracks, but at the current speed, any sort of kido that Makoto could muster would either require her to let go of the handles and consequently fly off the motorcycle, or were so weak that Johanna would probably tear through them by sheer force.

At this rate, this rodeo could potentially kill Makoto. So what could she do?

Her eyes widened in panic when Johanna drove straight at the wall of the training room. Before, she had seemed more interested in throwing Makoto off than ramming into the environment, but now, Johanna showed no signs of turning anywhere else before they hit the wall.

Well, Makoto's hands were still on the handlebars. So she did the only thing she could.

She jerked the handles with all her strength, away from the wall.

An awful screech filled the training room as Johanna suddenly swerved away from the wall, less than a metre before she would impact. A shower of sparks erupted from her wheels as they ground against the invisible reishi track, and Makoto almost shoulder-checked the wall from momentum. Before she could sigh in relief, though, Johanna took off again, with a noticeable decrease in initial speed.

That gave Makoto an idea.

"I'm sorry, Johanna," she murmured as her grip on the handlebars tightened. "But I'm going to need you to stop."

Makoto jerked the handlebar again, throwing Johanna off course. The smell of burnt rubber filled her immediate senses, along with the fumes from the stunt. If Johanna was a real motorcycle, Makoto would have ruined her wheels thrice over. As it is, it only seemed to be a minor speed bump as Johanna simply charged off again without completely reestablishing balance – her path straight, but the body of the motorcycle leaned dangerously to the left.

This was as good a chance as any. She dismissed the yellow reishi ropes binding her left hand, and reached down, towards Johanna's wheels.

"Hado number one: Sho!"

The blast of energy could hardly be considered powerful, but with how unbalanced Johanna was, it proved unexpectedly effective in disrupting her path, blowing both rider and Persona into the air without the support of a reishi platform. For a moment, Makoto only felt relief that she was able to stop Johanna, before gravity asserted itself and they fell.

"Makoto-san!" Aigis's shout snapped Makoto out of her stupor. Her friend's blue eyes were wide with panic, and it was only then that Makoto's mind belatedly caught up with the consequences of falling ten metres while chained to a large, heavy machine. She quickly glanced around for anything to slow her fall, though with the walls as barren as they were, she saw no way for her to land without breaking a few bones.

"Bakudo number thirty-seven: Tsuriboshi!"

Makoto suddenly found her vision filled with blue as Aigis's spell manifested – a reishi cushion suspended in the middle of the training room, its anchors dug into the walls. Both Persona and owner landed on the spell, the wind almost knocked out from Makoto's lungs despite the soft landing as she involuntarily uttered an "oof!" when she impacted.

"Are you okay?" Aigis asked as she ran over, her zanpakutou back in its sheath. She leapt onto the cushion with ease and immediately gasped. "Your leg!"

From her horizontal position still seated on Johanna, Makoto looked down. Her left leg was currently being crushed under Johanna, though oddly enough, there was no pain.

"My leg is…probably fine." Makoto slowly said, still trying to breathe. She shifted the leg experimentally, though she didn't feel anything amiss other than the weight of the chassis. "It doesn't hurt, at least."

"Thank goodness." Aigis moved to heave Johanna to an upright position, though her expression morphed from tentative relief to one of confusion. "Why did you bind your hand to the handlebar?"

"Johanna tried to throw me off." Makoto grumbled. The tendrils of the spell dissolved into reishi sparkles as she dismissed the spell.

"Yet you held on." There was a hint of amusement in Johanna's voice, though Makoto did not find the situation funny. "You pass, at least for the moment."

"Please give me a warning on what you plan to do the next time." Makoto replied as she sat up, with Aigis moving Johanna out of the way though she also kindly turned her Persona around so she and Makoto were face to face. "If this continued any longer, I might have died."

Johanna snorted, a puff of smoke released from her exhaust pipes. "That was hardly anything, compared to the forces and traditions you are toying with right now."

Makoto narrowed her eyes.

"You will face far rougher obstacles than me in the future." Johanna continued, the levity gone from her voice. "Ones that will try to throw you off your chosen path no matter what. I only wish that you will be able to keep your eyes on the goal."

"You know it takes more than that to stop me." Makoto declared.

There was no reply, but the deep sense of satisfaction and determination that welled in her chest was proof enough that Johanna approved. With a final whirl of the engine, Johanna disappeared in a shower of neon blue reishi.

"How do you think we should explain the state of the room?" Aigis asked.

Makoto finally took in her surroundings.

It was expected that there would be a worse mess this time, considering that there were two Personae wrecking havoc rather than just Metis, but this still exceeded her expectations.

The ceiling beams supporting the roof were marred with tyre marks. The floorboards were riddled with holes and slashes as wood splinters littered the intact areas. Even the walls had a few holes in them, courtesy of Aigis's kido and bullets, along with more tyre marks.

All in all, the room looked trashed.

"...Do you think they will make us pay for damages?" Makoto asked back.

"I think we deserve it at this point." Came the reply.

And just like that, all the tension left Makoto's body. She collapsed back onto the cushiony spell and laughed. Just a soft giggle at first, breathy and laboured, though she was soon joined by Aigis's own chuckle as she sat down, and that cascaded into full out laughter, mixed with just a hint of tears.

Compared to what they managed to achieve, perhaps compensating for a destroyed training room was barely a price to pay for.

Notes:

And here it is - the culmination of Aigis and Makoto's little bankai training arc. Metis was especially difficult to write here as I wanted her to voice the darker thoughts Aigis subconsciously tries to ignore for the most part. I hope I did her justice. And while I had always wanted Aigis to fight Metis, trying to decide on Makoto's bankai test was harder, and it took a while to settle on the rollercoaster rodeo in here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

No spoilers for the next few chapters, but it will largely be exposition - we finally catch up to what the rest of the Gotei were doing the last 300 years!

Chapter 25: Tane wo Maku Hibi

As it turned out, they did not have to compensate for the destroyed training room.

They did, however, have to clean the entire room by themselves. It took Aigis and Makoto a full day to clean everything up before the carpenters could move in to repair it because even though the room itself was average sized, Makoto turned out to have bruised her leg when Johanna crushed it.

She ended up hobbling along as best as she could, and when Matsumoto asked, Aigis said that she had accidentally kicked too hard at Makoto during a spar. The instructor gave both of them strange looks, but the incident was not mentioned again.

With the success of the internship mission, both students received an increasing number of mission requests from the Gotei, either individually or as a pair. After Makoto received two mission requests with clashing dates, Hinamori stepped in to ease the burden on Makoto by rejecting any missives with overly mundane work, or those that barely paid anything. It was a good thing too, as Aigis noticed the dark circles under Makoto's eyes lift ever so slightly after Hinamori started helping.

They pooled their mission rewards together to buy a hairpin for their teacher as thanks.

The missions themselves ranged from escort missions, to patrols in dangerous areas, to Hollow extermination. The extermination missions in particular paid well, and allowed Aigis a chance to blow off energy that she could not safely do so within the Academy campus. Plus, it was an opportunity for her to figure out what other abilities her zanpakutou had, other than being able to shoot bullets. All in all, there was not much, save for some minor spellcasting abilities that replicated skills she had on her Personae. It was good enough for the moment, and she took comfort in the fact her zanpakutou was probably one of the most versatile in the Gotei at the moment.

She was five months away from graduating when Onabara announced tours of the Gotei divisions for upcoming graduates.

"Have you decided on a division you wanted to join yet, Makoto-san?" Aigis asked over their dinner the night of the announcement.

Makoto fingered the sheafs of paper with the information on divisions. "Not yet," she replied, her voice hesitant. "I know I want to work with law enforcement, but apart from the Second, none of them really deal with it much, and you know my feelings on the Second."

Aigis nodded. "How are the villagers doing?"

"Still trying to get along with the craftsmen Shihouin-san sent." Makoto grumbled as she laid her head down on the table, her half-eaten meal temporarily forgotten. "The craftsmen think they're too crass and don't have the delicacy needed for craft work, the villagers think they're…'stuck up snobs', apparently."

She had been keeping a close watch on the progress of the bandits they captured on that mission, trying to guide them to reintegrate with lawful society. Lieutenant Shihouin kept his promise to aid Makoto, sending letters her way with updates and lending his network of contacts. Progress had been slow – according to her, bureaucratic red tape was currently their biggest obstacle, with tradition a close second.

"I suppose that is what happens when two groups from clashing cultures have to work together." Aigis said, taking a sip from her steaming miso soup. The frigid winds of early winter made sitting outside not an option anymore, but the dining hall was still toasty warm. "Have they at least started on repairing the houses there?"

Makoto sighed. "They have, but they're also trying to work out along the way on what materials they can use from the area." Her head was still on the table. "They apparently don't like the types of wood available there. Something about them being hard to work with." She sat back up again and took a bite out of her rice bowl. "Have you considered what division you want to join?"

Aigis's gaze fell on the papers. "No," she said finally.

There were a few she could safely eliminate – Fourth was out because of its focus on healing, Eleventh was out after a generally unpleasant mission with an officer who had more muscle than common sense (which did not stop them from sending her an invitation to formally join the division after graduation), and while she was interested in the research that the Twelfth was carrying out, she did not feel like she had the aptitude necessary for being one. Second was currently her last resort choice only if none of the other divisions worked out.

That still left too many possible divisions to join.

"The instructors will be leading tours in groups, correct?" Aigis asked.

"And each teacher is guiding a different group of divisions on the tour." Makoto continued. "Maybe we should sign up for all three and be done with it."

---

That ended up being exactly what they did, and a week later, they were standing in front of the First Division barracks, with Kira at the head of the motley group of students.

"To put it bluntly, most of you will not be able to become a part of the First Division," he said, his eyes half-lidded but serious. "This division values excellence, and will only accept the cream of the crop of each batch of graduates. However, they are also the standards that you should aim to achieve, as they are the standards held by the Gotei as a whole."

The barracks were unusually spacious by Aigis's standards, with generous rooms for the shinigami, a carefully manicured garden, and barely a speck of dust to be seen throughout the compound. It almost seemed artificial, difficult to achieve even back when she was a robot. To maintain this level of cleanliness, they either hired a large group of staff to clean it every day, or the shinigami residing there cleaned up after themselves – obsessively.

She only half-listened to the lieutenant of the division espousing the values of the First Division, a severe-looking woman with black hair pinned neatly in a bun and glasses that seemed to reflect the light around her. Makoto was a little more engaged, occasionally asking questions regarding certain points in the lieutenant's presentation, but her eyes eventually started wandering around too.

It seemed like this division was not for them. So it was a surprise when they were both stopped by the lieutenant – Ise Nanao – on their way out.

"I heard that you two are the top students graduating this year," she said, some of her severeness gone from her voice, replaced by a small amount of…was that hope in her voice? "I know there are other divisions out there that might attract your attention, but I hope that you will consider us regardless. I am sure you will be able to pass the requirements without issue."

"Is the division facing manpower shortages?" Aigis asked.

That startled a chuckle out of the lieutenant, as her expression softened into something slightly friendlier. "No, nothing of the sort," she replied. "But we haven't had new faces in the division for a while, and I think you both will enjoy your time here, should you choose to join us."

Aigis and Makoto bowed after a moment of hesitation. "Thank you," Makoto said politely. "We will consider it."

---

"As you may know, Second Division houses the Onmitsukido." Kira lectured on their way to the Second Division barracks. "They deal with espionage and assassinations, but they also have plenty of positions open for relatively more mundane work." The students echoed varying levels of acknowledgement, though Makoto privately wished that they could skip this particular part of the tour. She was aware she was not entirely welcome there, and she saw enough of what they valued during that mission five months ago.

"Welcome everyone!"

The loud and cheerful greeting, in stark contrast to the secretive nature of their job, shook Makoto out of her musings. In front of the Second Division barracks, located on the top of a small hill, Shihouin raised a hand in a friendly greeting. "I'm Shihouin Yushiro, lieutenant of the Second Division and your tour guide for today. It's always exciting to see the faces of a new batch of graduates, and I even spy some familiar faces here! Come on in!"

He welcomed the group with gusto, ushering everyone into the compound. On the surface, it looked rather similar to the First – white barracks reinforced with wooden beams, a training hall, and a large hall off to the side, but there was a surprising amount of greenery, with a forest off in the distance. Shihouin kept up a cheerful running commentary of the different buildings, pointing out some of the smaller entrances to various training facilities, and even a hot spring somewhere underground. Despite the plain exterior, somehow the Second division was unusually lavish in its amenities.

"I didn't think it would be so luxurious…" Makoto breathed softly. Next to her, Aigis nodded once in wonder. Maybe it was to allow the shinigami to unwind from their stressful positions?

"Of course, everything here is open to shinigami of the Second Division only," Shihouin warned, stopping outside of the offices. "But I should warn you, Captain Soifon is a hard taskmaster, and you should only join if you are prepared to give your all for the security of–"

"There you are, Lieutenant!"

The entire group's attention snapped to the newcomer, who focused all his attention on Shihouin. "I thought I asked you to review that report I submitted two days ago, and now Captain is asking after it."

Makoto's breath hitched at the vaguely familiar voice, then froze as a distant memory surfaced from the depths.

"I won't let you stop me!"

"Oh, Akechi-kun!" Shihouin greeted, barely missing a beat. "Did you mean the report you labelled as urgent? As you can see, I'm currently giving a tour, so I'll get to it afterwards. Is that okay with you? Actually, come join us!"

Akechi Goro blinked, then he finally focused on the fifteen-odd group of students behind his lieutenant. He immediately plastered a friendly smile on his face, a stark contrast to the light frown moments before. It felt oddly nostalgic, how he still had the perfect celebrity smile that he used in front of the media all those centuries ago. "Ah, my apologies! I'm Akechi Goro, fourth seat of the Second Division. Nice to...meet…you…" He trailed off as his gaze swept over the curious looks of the students, finally settling on Makoto.

His expression froze. "Oh."

It hadn't even been all that long, but Aigis did mention before that Akechi was part of the Second Division. Makoto had naively hoped that she would not have to lay her eyes on that treacherous detective again, but apparently that was too much to wish for.

He'd grown taller and older than last she remembered him, enough that there was a noticeable age gap between his and Makoto's current appearance, despite them being technically the same age. His light brown hair was still styled in the same fashion as when he was alive, though the tips were not touching his shoulder anymore. She noticed that he wore a pair of black gloves, similar to those he wore while he was alive as the Detective Prince. Overall, he looked…less burdened.

She broke her gaze, her arms folding defensively in front of her chest. "Good to see you well, Akechi-kun." Makoto said, trying to keep the hostility contained.

"You too, Niijima-san." His smile wavered as he struggled to keep it up, though it eased out somewhat as he turned his attention to Aigis. "Long time no see, Aigis-san. I wasn't aware that you were graduating too."

Aigis bowed shallowly. "I hope you've been well, Akechi-san."

The rest of the students broke out into furious whispers.

"Damn, I didn't think Niijima knew anyone from the divisions!"

"Knew? Did you see that hostility between them?"

"Were they mortal enemies?"

"Nah, must be former lovers!"

"Did he cheat on her or what?"

Makoto broke out into a violent coughing fit.

"All right, break it up." It was rare to hear Kira raise his voice, but he ushered the students away. Shihouin looked too entertained by everything to intervene.

And suddenly, it was just the three of them still standing awkwardly outside the offices as Aigis patted Makoto's back.

"I…did hear from Shihouin-san that you were an officer here." Makoto sighed, her voice still rough from coughing. "It was just a coincidence that we ran into each other here."

"The lieutenant did say he met two interesting students from the Academy five months back, and he seemed to be a lot busier since then." Akechi said, his gaze still not fully meeting Makoto's. "Was it the two of you?"

Aigis nodded. "He took us on a mission to hunt some bandits."

"Oh right, I think it was originally a mission assigned to the Fifth and made its way here when none of the shinigami could complete it." Akechi replied. He looked between Makoto and Aigis, not quite meeting either of their gazes. "I know that you knew each other from when you were alive after what Aigis-san told me, but…I don't think I quite believed it until now."

"We did have most of our natural lifespan to live through after what happened." Makoto pointed out as she forced herself to unfold her arms. "We had to move on."

They – the Phantom Thieves – all did. Many of them chose to become auxiliary members of the Shadow Operatives, with only Ryuji and Futaba making a career out of their powers, and even then Futaba spent most of her time in the IT department rather than the Operatives.

They fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"Oh yes – Aigis-san, did anyone tell you about what happened to Namba?" Akechi asked. Makoto tried to look interested, because there was really no point in being hostile. It was a childish, knee jerk reaction. Their past hardly mattered now.

Aigis stared blankly at Akechi for a moment before her mouth formed a small circle. "The shinigami I captured?"

Akechi jerked his head towards the forest. Despite the early winter weather, the trees were still green for some reason, though Makoto noticed a couple flecks of yellow and red within the leaves. "He was sentenced to be imprisoned in the Maggot's Nest," he said. "I thought you would appreciate an update."

"The…Maggot's Nest?" Aigis's face returned to its previously blank state.

"A prison for dangerous shinigami who had, or have the potential to break the rules in some way." Akechi explained patiently, like a rehearsed script that he had repeated many times. "Before you ask, no – I can't let you visit him, I'm afraid."

It was strange, listening to this conversation. Akechi acted like Makoto was not even there, and Aigis seemed content to entertain his fantasy, because she did not leave room for Makoto to join in.

Then again, meeting the one who lied to her sister for years before he tried to betray the Phantom Thieves in the afterlife, three hundred years after he had died, was a pretty strange situation to be in all around.

"I was not about to." Aigis replied earnestly. "What about the cultists?"

Akechi blinked. "That's…" His gloved hand went up to his chin, while the other rested on his hip. "My apologies, but I was not informed of their sentencing."

It was Aigis's turn to blink, though she did not say anything further.

"Is it normal for you to not know?" Makoto asked. "The sentencing for ordinary souls, I mean." She didn't want Akechi to take the question the wrong way.

He shrugged. "I usually don't know the sentencing for anyone I capture," he said neutrally. "I heard about the sentencing for Namba from Captain, actually, and only because of the…unusual circumstances behind his capture."

"What is the hold up, Akechi?"

"Ah, speak of the devil."

A new voice joined them, one so deep and commanding for a female voice that the hairs on Makoto's back immediately stood up on end and she unconsciously straightened her back. She looked down the corridor.

The owner of the voice was, surprisingly, a rather petite woman with long dark hair, braided into two long strands that hung freely down her back. She seemed middle-aged, though her steps were unusually soft on the wooden floorboards. The thing that captured Makoto's attention the most, however, was the white, sleeveless haori over her shihakusho, tied with a yellow sash.

"I'm sorry Captain, but the Lieutenant is currently busy with the tour for students from the Academy, but he promised he would look over the report after he's done." Akechi immediately blurted out before he was prompted.

In any other situation, it would've been somewhat amusing to watch his flustered response, but Makoto did not blame his reaction. Captain Soifon's gaze was narrowed and sharp, and she seemed to have a permanent scowl etched on her face. And when her dark pupils shifted its attention from Akechi to Makoto, the hostility redirected to her as well. It felt as if she was being analysed inside out – all her secrets struggling to hide themselves inside her.

"What are two Academy students doing here?" Soifon asked harshly.

Where in the world was their little tour group now?

Before Makoto could formulate an answer, Aigis stepped forward and bowed. "We are sorry for delaying Akechi-san, Captain Soifon," she apologised. "We will go join our tour group now."

A nudge. "Come on, Makoto-san."

She followed, though it was hard to shake off the feeling of being watched.

---

They managed to find the rest of the students back at the entrance.

"Oh good, at least you came out on time." Kira commented. "Sorry, but we need to move on."

Aigis shook her head. "It's fine, Kira-sensei," she replied. "I do not think I will be joining this division anyway."

"I don't want to go back to that division." Makoto mumbled, hopefully out of his earshot.

They had not even properly said their goodbyes to Akechi, because Aigis was too preoccupied with trying to get away from Soifon. The longer Aigis stayed there, the more she wanted to hide somewhere far away from that intense gaze. Perhaps it was part of the requirements for holding the job, but she was not keen on having her secrets exposed by a captain who could not leave well enough alone.

---

The Third Division captain, however, was the complete opposite of Soifon. On the surface, Captain Abarai Renji looked like the type of person that Soifon would happily arrest if they were in the Living World and he tried to commit any misdemeanour, with his mass of tattoos snaking up his arms and across his brow, partially covered by a pair of spectacles perched on his forehead that reminded Aigis of the type that sportsmen would wear. His long, deep red hair was tied up in a messy samurai's ponytail, which along with his stocky stature, made him resemble a…punk, as Kanji may have said once upon a time. However, his posture was relaxed as he greeted the students at the entrance to the Third Division barracks.

"Normally I'd leave this to my lieutenant, but he's currently away on a mission," he said excitedly, almost in sharp contrast to the borderline apologetic words. "We don't really specialise in anything, but we help all the divisions whenever needed, and we aren't picky about who joins either, as long as you're a good worker."

Somehow, Aigis was reminded of Junpei.

Compared to the last two divisions they visited, this one seemed almost normal. The floors were slightly dusty from constant use, and there were signs of wear and tear in inconspicuous corners, but overall, the area seemed well maintained. Kira led the tour with light steps, expertly navigating the entire compound, while Abarai introduced the various facilities in a laid-back, friendly tone. He easily started chatting with the students on a number of topics, from the woes of practising kido to different strategies for improving zanjutsu. Aigis and Makoto hung around the back of the group, both of them too emotionally drained from their experience in the Second Division to bother socialising.

"For those of you who like music, there is a dedicated concert hall in the barracks." Kira said partway through the tour, motioning at a pair of thick wooden double doors that looked rather out of place in the largely Japanese building. "Captain Rose was quite insistent on it."

"Didn't see any point in tearing it down." Abarai shrugged. "So we host concerts of all kinds every now and then. Japanese, classical, modern, rock, metal – you name it, we prep it. It's open to everyone, even those outside of the division, but of course you need to book it in advance."

"Captain Rose?" A student asked.

"The previous captain." Abarai explained casually. "Also Kira's captain while he was the lieutenant here. He's retired, if you're curious."

That was news. While Aigis knew that Kira was once a lieutenant, she did not realise this was his former division. Was this why he led the tour for this particular block of divisions?

The revelation of the concert hall garnered a few excited whispers amongst the students, though Aigis and Makoto were less interested. Neither of them were musically inclined, but Aigis did appreciate a military branch having any sort of dedicated area for recreational activities. She once tried to propose a multi-media room for the Operatives to relax in their headquarters while they were part of the government, but the proposal was summarily rejected despite repeated appeals, and she eventually had to give up.

She was not pleased with that rejection, but did build a smaller room for relaxation some time afterwards. It was one of the incidents that eventually caused her to distrust their government contacts.

The tour finished quickly afterwards as Abarai waved everyone goodbye, then they moved on to the last division tour for the day.

---

It was immediately obvious that the Fourth Division was very different from the rest. For starters, they began the tour from their side entrance, rather than the main entrance.

"We always have people going in and out through the main entrance," Kotetsu Kiyone explained, her long flaxen hair tied into a messy bun that seemed to be on the verge of coming loose. "A group like this is too big and would block the entrance, I'm afraid."

The lieutenant of the Fourth Division was a short woman who was friendly enough, but it was also obvious she had a very short fuse. Throughout the tour, she constantly yelled at anyone and everyone crossing her path, demanding them to make way for the group or to pipe down arguments between shinigami, often by yelling louder than them. Aigis was not sure whether she spent more time explaining the facilities or yelling. The fact that her vocal chords still sounded functional seemed like a minor miracle, or perhaps it was a testament to the skill of the healers in the division.

"Just because we have all the healers here doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and we won't retaliate." Kotetsu sighed after the latest round of shouting. "Most of us aren't fighters, but we take our medical care here seriously. If you don't follow our instructions and later on get a permanent injury, don't say we didn't warn you."

"Kiyone!" The door next to the tour group suddenly opened and a shinigami peeked her head out, revealing a tall woman with short lilac hair and prominent bags under her eyes. "Keep your voice down!" Several students instinctively wrinkled their nose from the strong smell of iron and antiseptic, though neither Persona user had much of a reaction.

Whatever was in there, they have seen worse.

The door slammed shut.

Kotetsu sighed again. "That was Captain Kotetsu Isane, by the way," she said. "This wing is where she personally takes care of serious injuries. As you can see, Nee-san is a rather busy woman, even in this era of peace. Patrols and missions don't always go well, so we operate in shifts here. Naturally, we don't care if you can fight or not, but a solid foundation in kido and kaido is what we're really looking for. In a way, this is probably the safest division to be in if you don't want to die to a Hollow, but you also need strong mental fortitude to thrive here – we see a lot of nasty injuries and you don't want to lose your meal."

Several students edged backwards.

"I think this division might suit your skills." Aigis commented to Makoto, who instead fiddled with her hair. She certainly had the aptitude for it – her kaido scores were amongst the top of the cohort.

"Maybe…but it's not really related to law enforcement." Makoto replied flatly.

"You may meet people who work in law enforcement though."

"You know as well as I do that they're all paper pushers who barely see an hour of combat in their career."

Aigis had to concede the point.

"Well!" Kotetsu clapped her hands, bringing everyone's attention to her. "This is all for the hospital. Our office area is a lot smaller, but don't worry, we have some very comprehensive facilities!"

---

"So what are your thoughts?" Aigis asked. They stopped by the cafeteria at the Academy for an afternoon snack after the tour, each nursing a cup of hot tea and taiyaki.

"The Third…might be a viable choice for me?" Makoto started. "I think Captain Abarai is good at managing his division, at least." She took a bite out of her taiyaki, huffing a little to cool her mouth down from eating the hot filling.

"I think his demeanour appealed to many of the students." Aigis agreed. "He seems to be quite adept at managing interpersonal relationships."

It was an important skill for leadership. Aigis still did not think she mastered it while she was alive though. In her opinion, it was the most difficult skill to use.

"What about you?" Makoto asked.

Aigis shrugged. "I do not know yet."

"Well, we still have two-thirds of the divisions to see, so I don't think we need to make a decision now." Makoto said as she stretched. "Maybe tomorrow we can see some divisions that would suit us better."

Aigis sincerely hoped so.

Notes:

This might have been a bit dry of a chapter, but unfortunately the exposition was necessary. Also, Makoto finally runs into Akechi! Who knows how their relationship will go in the future...

Next two or three chapters will have even more exposition, but we will meet some very familiar characters soon. The chapter is finished, I'm just waiting till next month to publish it because I will be very busy starting from next week (FFXIV Dawntrail release + merch prep for convention). Hopefully chapter releases won't be affected - I built up enough of a buffer that the upload schedule shouldn't change.

Lastly, I will be starting a mini game here. Give me your guesses as to which divisions Aigis and Makoto will end up in! Winner gets a cookie from me!

Chapter 26: Orange

It was a rare day that Aigis sought Ebina out for anything other than remedials (and even then, it was rare these days considering how well he was doing academically), but the visit to the various divisions showed how little she truly knew about the Gotei, despite the multitude of missions she had gone with different divisions during the summer.

So who better to ask than one of the most prolific gossipers in the Academy?

"Well…the divisions themselves aren't really all that remarkable." Ebina started. They had occupied a small room for this discussion, while they each worked on their own writing homework. "My parents always said that I should look at the people in the division when picking, because apart from the divisions with a special role, they're all mostly the same otherwise."

Despite the ongoing issues that Ebina still had with his family, that was a very practical piece of advice.

"Can you tell me what you know about the people leading them then?" Aigis asked.

"I know that three divisions are led by shinigami who are part of the Five Great Noble Families." Ebina raised three fingers, as if starting a lecture.

Maybe Aigis had unintentionally influenced him in the past one and a half years.

"The one I know about best are the Sixth and Thirteenth Divisions," Ebina continued, lowering two of his fingers, "because they're led by members of the Kuchiki family."

"If I recall, your family is a branch of theirs, correct?" Aigis thought back to what Onabara had said over a year ago, when he first tasked her with Ebina's tutoring.

Ebina nodded, though his expression soured. "The captains are technically distant relatives of mine, if you consider it that way," he confirmed. "But with my family as it is, we barely see them. I do hear that the Thirteenth is much more relaxed than the Sixth in terms of environment, because the sister had a…somewhat different upbringing than the brother."

Aigis tilted her head.

"She was adopted." Ebina clarified. "And married to the captain of the Third."

"Captain Abarai is married?" Aigis blurted. Somehow, beyond the adoption, this was the most surprising part. Did the Gotei have no rules about fraternising?

Ebina tilted his head in response. "What? It's not like the Gotei forbids marriage between shinigami. In fact, it's pretty common, because how else are you going to find someone on a similar reiatsu level as you?"

That was a valid point. It was easy to forget, with Aigis having always been around people with power, or reiatsu – they all leaked pressure. It was controllable to a certain extent, but generally the higher the reiatsu level, the more pressure one leaked. Even a moderately trained shinigami can easily crush one of the Rukongai souls if they had a mind to, so it was safer for all involved to find compatriots closer in reiatsu level than to be involved with those who were much weaker.

Maybe this was part of the reason why nobles have such a difficult time trying to understand those who lived in Rukongai.

"The Seventh is the last one led by one of the Five Great Noble Families." Ebina continued. "Not by the head of the family like the Sixth though — their head is apparently not a combatant. But they do have two other members of the family as lieutenants in other divisions, and I hear that they're all close to captain level. The Second was traditionally led by the Shihouin family, but the last captain was dishonourably discharged on…bogus charges, I think, because it was back when the traitor Aizen was still active, and the current captain is basically training the lieutenant, who is the current head of the Shihouin family to take over the division someday." He took a deep breath.

The last captain of the Second…was this the sister that Shihouin had mentioned during their mission?

"What about the other divisions?" Aigis asked, after Ebina finished catching his breath.

"Hmm…" he crossed his arms and considered the question. "The Fifth has a reputation of being somewhat shady. Aizen used to be captain of that division after all, and some of the traitors alongside him were part of the Fifth at some point in their career, so they haven't been able to quite recover from that reputation. I hear the current captain is quite strict with the shinigami in his division because of it. Hinamori-sensei was the lieutenant of that division back then, and I hear it's part of the reason why she retired."

Well, that was another instructor who used to be a lieutenant. Was it common for officers to retire to be teachers at the Academy? Not that Aigis could blame them though, because in her opinion, teaching the next generation is a perfectly valid way to spend retirement, and all the teachers for the accelerated course were excellent at their job (even Matsumoto, despite her quirks).

"Because things have been so peaceful lately, I think most of the captains have held their rank for at least a century except for the Twelfth, and really, I don't see things changing for the foreseeable future." Ebina continued, heedless of Aigis's inner thoughts.

In other words, Aigis should expect the divisions to be rather set in their ways, for better or worse.

"What happened with the Twelfth?" she asked.

"There was some drama with it a few decades back." Ebina explained. "The previous captain was technically a criminal that the Gotei had to employ because he was a good inventor, but with someone the higher ups trusted finally at captain level, they kicked the captain back into the Maggot's Nest and promoted the other person."

Aigis blinked. "Excuse me?"

He shrugged, his uniform creasing along with his shoulders. "Like I said, drama."

There was so much to unpack with that statement that Aigis promptly elected to completely ignore the entire division.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about the divisions?" Aigis prompted.

"I think you know this already," Ebina said, "but pretty much every single captain is a veteran of the two wars three hundred years ago. Not so many of the lieutenants though, but I think Lieutenant Shihouin was one of the few who fought in the Quincy War. I think most of them were promoted within the last century or so."

So it was entirely probable that the lieutenants in general were much weaker than the captains, or at the very least, saw less wars than their superiors.

"Are there any divisions you personally are interested in?" Aigis offered. "If I have not seen them yet, I can scout them out for you."

"Aren't you supposed to be the one looking for a division for yourself?" Ebina snarked back good-naturedly.

"Consider it as thanks for telling me all that you've told me today," she proposed.

"In that case…" He stroked his chin with one hand. "Maybe the Tenth and Thirteenth? I hear both captains are the friendly sort, and there's generally a good environment within both divisions."

Aigis would only be visiting those divisions the day after tomorrow, but she kept them in mind. "Do you prefer not to be in the specialised divisions?"

"I don't really see myself as good at…well, anything special, really." Ebina sighed. He raised a hand to stop Aigis before she could start protesting. "I know, I know, I'm confident enough that I feel like I'm solid on all the subjects taught in the Academy, but I don't specialise in anything, and I don't feel the need to. So I'd rather go to a general division."

She let her argument die on her lips. It seemed that Ebina had at the very least thought about his choices in some measure, which was more than what Aigis could say for her own options. "Okay," she agreed, "I will visit these divisions the day after tomorrow, so I will let you know my thoughts then."

"Thanks, Aigis-san."

"No problem."

---

Hinamori led the division tours for the day. Apart from Makoto, Aigis found another familiar face within the students — Izukino.

"Are you interested in joining any of the divisions on today's tour?" Aigis asked Izukino.

She shrugged. "Almost all of them, basically," she answered. "Except for the Seventh. I'm not interested in the Living World, to be honest. Especially not after that disaster the last time."

"I thought you enjoyed it." Aigis said.

"That was just the adrenaline." Izukino hunched over. "It was exciting in the moment, but damn, after it wore off I realised how many different ways it could've gone wrong. No thanks."

That was a reasonable enough excuse.

"Some of you might have heard that the Fifth Division has a habit of having shady people," Hinamori explained on the way. "Especially considering the history of the division from four hundred years ago. But don't worry! There haven't been any issues ever since Captain Hirako took over again, and he has an excellent eye for people. They don't specialise in anything, but I'd say that everyone there is smart and highly skilled." She stopped at the foot of a small hill, which had a set of stone stairs leading up to the gate. "And here we are!" She extended her arms out in a wide flourish, which perfectly shifted everyone's attention to someone standing at the top of the stairs.

The person greeting them at the gate was…a teenage boy. A boy with a wide smile, fluffy orange hair, and a badge on his arm.

Maybe he looked younger than his actual age – it was difficult to tell with shinigami and souls in general. But despite her own escapades back when she was alive, Aigis still felt a tinge of discomfort to see a child be in the military, let alone at such a high rank.

"Oh, Kazui-kun!" Hinamori greeted the child enthusiastically. "Long time no see!"

"Momo-neechan!" The boy practically bounced down the stairs to greet the group, waving with just as much enthusiasm. "Hi everyone! I'm Kurosaki Kazui, lieutenant of the Fifth Division!"

In a way, he reminded Aigis of Shihouin, with the cheerful smiles and abundant amounts of energy they had. However, it was obvious with Shihouin that he was very much aware of the darker side of his job, and perhaps endorsed it to some extent. Kurosaki, for lack of a better word, looked painfully innocent.

Or maybe it was an act – a persona that he showed to the public. She could not fathom anyone working their way up to lieutenant level without being highly skilled and understanding the unsavoury side of being part of a military group. Maybe he knew, and still managed to keep up his innocent act, in which case Aigis would have to commend him for his mental fortitude. She then mentally berated herself for judging someone based on appearance alone, because that was an amateur level mistake she really should not be committing.

Still…Kurosaki. If her memory was correct, then was he part of…?

"Hey." She felt a gentle nudge to the side of her ribcage. "Are you going in?"

Makoto looked at Aigis, her head slightly tilted as she withdrew her elbow from Aigis's side.

"Yes, sorry." Aigis shook her head slightly to refocus on the tour. "Let's go."

---

As far as appearances went, the Fifth Division barracks were unremarkable — about as dusted as the Third Division barracks were, without any special facilities. Still, both Hinamori and Kurosaki led the tour with much enthusiasm, all the while bantering easily with each other.

"And that's our mess hall!" Kurosaki gestured to the double door behind him. "It contains a meeting hall for the officers and a cafeteria, so it's easy to grab refreshments in the middle of a meeting for— oh hello, Captain!"

Several students jumped and whirled around, Aigis included. Apparently at some point, a new person joined their tour group — a grinning, lanky man with long silky blond hair, wearing a white scarf around his neck and a white haori.

Aigis may not have ever had a sensor type Persona like Fuuka, but she prided herself on being able to detect anyone around her. How did she completely miss the man sneaking up on them?

"Why, hello there everyone," he greeted the group lazily, waving one hand while the other was kept behind his back. "Nice ta meet y'all here. I'm Hirako Shinji, captain of the Fifth Division. And it's good ta see ya again, Hinamori-chan."

Different from the other captains, Hirako spoke with a languid Kansai accent that fit his apparently laid-back personality. However, unlike Abarai, who acted exactly like how he presented himself, Hirako's narrow eyes seemed to scan for every little movement that the students made. Aigis was reminded of Soifon in the way both captains tried to analyse her, except Hirako attempted to hide his intentions behind a friendly facade.

That just made her more uncomfortable.

Next to Aigis, Makoto seemed to be winding down from her scare as she took deep breaths to settle herself.

"Captain, I've told you to stop scaring the students!" Hinamori chastised, her hands on her hips and an adorable pout on her face. "This is why you aren't getting any new recruits!" Despite the harsh words, the twinkle in her eyes betrayed her amusement.

Hirako stepped back, his hands shifted to his chest in mock pain. "No way! I was just tryna be friendly here!"

It almost appeared to be a rehearsed script. Most of the students seemed to have calmed down and even enjoyed the performance – Izukino practically was grinning at the sheer entertainment value, but Aigis could not shake off the sensation of Hirako boring his eyes into her very soul.

Why were Hirako and Kurosaki not part of the Second Division?

She understood the value of such a show – a way to make the captain, normally a high-ranking position that demands respect – seem more relatable, thereby allowing visitors and regular shinigami to relax in their presence. After all, if even a captain is fallible and willing to allow criticism, then there should be less issue for others to relax their standards in his presence.

Except relaxing also meant that people were less likely to pay attention to their own body language and what information they were willing to share. A slip of the tongue, as they say, was all it was needed for him to find out information that was meant to be hidden.

Aigis felt a mental slap from Metis, which shook her out from her analysis. She…did ask Aigis to take care of herself, did she not? This overly detailed hypothesis was not helping matters.

Their tour continued, now with the addition of one captain making small talk with the students. At some point, Aigis found herself at the back of the group, right next to Hirako.

"I saw those eyes of yer's earlier," he opened, a calculating slant in his perpetual grin. "Yer…more experienced than ya look, aren't ya?"

Not even five minutes, and she was already busted. Captain Hirako was a truly terrifying man.

"Just an overactive imagination, Captain," she replied demurely. "I apologise for any offence I may have given."

"Nah, I like people like ya." Hirako's grin straightened out. "Ya never take anything at face value, and that's a good skill ta have here. Those of us with power, it only takes a little suggestion from somewhere ta start gettin' ideas fer godhood, and nobody wants that — it gets messy easily. Ya always need to keep an eye behind yer back for backstabbers."

There was weight behind those words, as though he had lived through them before. Considering that Hirako was apparently one of the older captains according to Kurosaki's short introduction earlier, it was quite probable.

"Are you speaking from experience?" Aigis asked curiously, then immediately regretted saying that.

Because his straight cut bangs seemed to darken his eyes, and his expression turned malevolent for a split moment.

"Aizen was my lieutenant, four hundred years ago." Hirako replied, the grin gone from his face, schooled carefully into a blank slate. "Thanks ta him, I got kicked outta Soul Society for a century."

Aigis was harshly reminded of that history of Soul Society book she browsed over a year ago with Makoto. She could not remember the names, but she did recall reading about an event where multiple captains and lieutenants suddenly went missing four hundred years ago.

So Hirako was one of those affected.

She now regretted what she said even more.

"I…was not aware of that." Aigis hesitated with each word, trying to form a coherent reply. "I apologise."

"Eh, no need fer that." The grin was back on his face, as if it never left in the first place. Except now, it seemed just a touch more natural. "Been a long time now, and I sleep well at night knowin' that he's gonna be in prison fer as long as I'm alive." He gave Aigis a light, almost friendly tap on the back, then ambled towards the front of the group, his hands clasped behind his back.

---

"Captain Hirako is pretty friendly, isn't he?" Izukino exclaimed.

Hinamori was delayed by Hirako wanting to talk to her in private, so she left the rest of the group to mingle at the entrance to the barracks. Kurosaki ran off to do his paperwork, apparently, citing that he "wanted to spend some time with his family for once", which meant that he was either regularly slacking off on his work, or there was truly an enormous amount of work in the division.

"I think he's a good captain." Makoto replied more calmly. "Or rather, he's probably just that experienced in running a division and found a good system that works for him. It's hard to balance respect, friendliness and fear, but somehow he manages it."

"You noticed it too?" Aigis asked.

"Noticed what?" Izukino asked.

"I do not think he trusts people much." Aigis explained. "So he scares those in his division into obedience as subtly as he can, like how he appeared during the tour."

Izukino blinked. Makoto nodded sagely.

"You may want to reconsider, if you were thinking of joining this division." Makoto advised.

Izukino could only meekly look down at her sandals.

---

The first word that came to Aigis's mind when she saw the Sixth Division barracks was "regal".

Not in the sense that it was adorned with luxuries such as gold and silver, but rather, in the way where it was evident that the entire barrack was carefully curated for maximum aesthetic value and practicality. Similar to the First Division, the entire area was swept clean, without any visible defects or dust. This made the lieutenant at the entrance stand out in stark contrast to his environment, with his messy rusty red hair, tattered and frayed shihakusho, along with…was that an animal pelt tied at his waist?

"Welcome to the Sixth Division, everyone," he greeted the group neutrally, sweeping a shallow bow. "My name is Kano Ashido, and I am the current lieutenant of this division."

His guided tour was polite but curt, as he showed the group the various facilities in the barracks. Like its exterior, the division had ample facilities that Aigis associated with noble hobbies — a carefully manicured zen garden, a tea ceremony room, and even a meditation room.

"We do not specialise in anything at this division, but Captain Kuchiki values order and justice." Kano said during the tour. "Though he does not have any particular requirements for students looking to join the division, he would welcome anyone who holds the same values as him. Speaking personally though…" his rigid posture relaxed, and he let a small smile slip through. "He bends the rules at times if he thinks that's better for the division. He's very creative at following the letter of the law. If I recall correctly, there was one time during the Winter War where he was asked to bring back a few shinigami from the Living World, with the implication that they were to stay in Soul Society for the time being. But because his orders were to bring them back and nothing more, that was exactly what he did – he did not interfere when they immediately left again."

Aigis watched Makoto from the corner of her eye. Judging from her wide-eyed expression, it seemed that that anecdote caught her interest.

"Would you say that you deal with the law often then?" Makoto asked, her voice even despite her expression showing her excitement.

Kano shook his head, then paused and pondered the question. "Not like the Second Division," he answered. "We merely try to live by the law and set an example for others to follow, but I would say that the captain actually values people who can uphold justice more, law or no law. If you can prove that, you have a much higher chance of being accepted into the division. While he is acquainted with a few nobles of Central 46, he does not directly participate in the lawmaking process."

Makoto bowed lightly in thanks, and they fell back into silence.

"This isn't related but…why do you wear a pelt?" Izukino blurted. Several students gaped at the question in various expressions of shock and disgust, both at Izukino's audacity and fear of the lieutenant's reaction. Kano, however, merely laughed it off.

"You're not the first one to ask that," he replied, his hand touching the pelt. "Have any of you heard of the Menos Forest?"

The students returned his question with blank stares.

"I'm going to take that as a no," he continued. "Like the name suggests, it's an area in Hueco Mundo that's filled with Menos Grande Hollows."

Aigis recalled her lessons in the Academy. The Hollows she had fought so far, despite their power, were all technically considered normal Hollows without any special characteristics. However, especially strong Hollows were called Menos Grande, wherein they were further split into three categories – Gillian, Adjuchas and Vasto Lorde respectively, from weakest to strongest.

"Well, a few centuries ago, I was trapped there with my squad when we chased a Hollow through a Garganta." Kano continued his story, absentmindedly stroking his pelt. "Long story short, I was the sole survivor, and only left after more than a century."

The students, previously buzzing with whispers, abruptly fell silent. Aigis resisted the temptation to openly gape.

The closest equivalent she could think of to that story was when Fuuka survived in Tartarus for ten days (or technically hours, according to the records), but for a shinigami to survive in such a hostile environment for so long was akin to a combat Persona user surviving in the Metaverse for ten years. It was not something she would wish upon even her worst enemies.

"I originally stayed to honour my fallen comrades and to protect the Living World in my own way by killing as many Hollows as I could in the Forest, but Kuchiki-san – that is, the captain of the Thirteenth, convinced me that I could better serve my purpose here." Kano smiled fondly, his eyes not focused on anyone in particular. "You can say she saved me from there, in a way."

"S-so…is that pelt from a Hollow?" Izukino's voice quavered.

"Yes."

"That…that's so cool!"

The excited, high pitched squeal rang across the corridor, prompting Aigis to quickly try and calm Izukino down. Kano, meanwhile, had taken half a step back from the overenthusiastic girl, a wry smile on his face.

"What is this ruckus here?"

The entire group shut up and turned towards the direction of the voice, coming from a doorway at the end of the corridor, where an imposing man was now standing. His shoulder length black hair was slicked back neatly, held in place by an oddly shaped hairpin that pulled his hair into neat, triangular strands. He wore a pair of fingerless white gloves on his hands that were rimmed in gold, similar to the collar of his white sleeveless haori.

"Good day, Captain Kuchiki." Kano immediately straightened out, greeting his captain with a shallow bow. "As you can see, the annual division tour is happening right now, so I hope you can forgive the noise level. We will move away from this area shortly."

Hinamori also bowed slightly to the captain in greeting, and the students hurriedly followed suit.

"No matter." Kuchiki intoned. "But do finish quickly. This level of noise is not conducive for work." His eyes wandered over the entire group, sweeping past every face before it suddenly jerked back and honed in on Aigis.

"Is your name Aigis?" Kuchiki asked. It sounded closer to a demand than a question.

The students parted as they turned their focus to Aigis, though she had no idea why she was singled out. With no other choice, she stepped to the front of the group. "Yes," Aigis replied. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Captain Kuchiki."

"Hmm." Kuchiki scanned Aigis from head to toe. Different from Soifon and Hirako, Kuchiki did not seem to be trying to wring every single secret out from Aigis, merely observing how she presented herself.

It was oddly refreshing to not be judged by her history for the first time in two days.

"I heard you were tutoring one of my relatives." Kuchiki finally said as he finished his scan and turned away. "Keep up the good work."

Keep up the good work?

In Aigis's opinion, he should have said that to Ebina, rather than her. She certainly was not teaching Ebina much now, only stepping in when he was truly stuck on his homework. However, she did not let it show on her face, and merely bowed in acknowledgement.

Kano took it as a sign to usher the group outside, though he hung back with Aigis.

"I know it sounds pompous of him," he said quietly, "but he's sincerely thankful that you stepped up to tutor his relative. They've been exchanging the occasional letter, as far as I know, and your name was mentioned."

Aigis blinked. The wry smile returned to Kano's face. "He has…an odd way of expressing his emotions," he explained. "Noble etiquette is rather strict, and he needs to uphold an image. I hope you can understand."

Kuchiki sounded like the type of man who was burdened by too many traditions, which reminded Aigis of Mitsuru, who was similarly held on a pedestal that was difficult to step off. However, this was quite clearly not Aigis's job to change it. She quietly accepted the explanation.

---

"The Seventh Division handles all major issues that originate from the Living World or Hueco Mundo." Hinamori lectured on the way to the division barracks. "It used to be a general division, but the captain changed it after he was promoted to how it is today. Many things in the division might seem strange to you since they make use of technology from the Living World, but you do have a lot of opportunities to go there for work, if you're interested in that."

Aigis glanced at her companions. Makoto seemed to be lost in thought, while Izukino was entirely unfocused on the introduction.

"Here it is!" Hinamori announced, and Aigis's eyes fell on a division that outwardly looked no different from every other division she had visited so far. What was different however, was that they were greeted by a man in a white, sleeveless haori, rather than the lieutenant she was expecting.

He was tall with wide shoulders, though what caught Aigis's eye more was his striking orange hair, in almost the same shade as the lieutenant of the Fifth's hair. However, the captain's hair was cropped shorter, and he seemed much older – more middle-aged than young. What stood out the most, compared to every other captain they met before, was his massive khyber knife, wrapped in white bandages and sheathed on his back. Every other captain and lieutenant had reasonably sized zanpakutou sheathed on their back or at their side. This knife, in contrast, was as tall as the man himself.

"Yo." He raised a hand in greeting, with a shockingly casual tone that was at odds with his position and the half scowl on his face. "Good to see you all here. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, captain of the Seventh."

Notes:

Ichigo finally makes his appearance in the story! I've actually sprinkled hints to his involvement in Seireitei as early as Chapter 9 - did you spot them all?

On another note, the debacle with the Twelfth was an idea that came from my beta. The original idea was to just kill Kurotsuchi off and wave it away as a lab accident, but this method was funnier and possibly more in line with how Soul Society might handle things.

On to IRL stuff that affects my writing - I have written a grand total of 300 words since last month, so next chapter is most likely going to be delayed. A shitstorm of things happened in real life that lit a fire under my ass to look for a new job, plus FFXIV is serving as an excellent distraction, and I am still behind on merch designs. Next chapter will probably be published late September.

Again, thank you all for reading, and a reminder that the guessing game on which divisions Makoto and Aigis will be in is still ongoing!

Chapter 27: Asterisk

Meeting Kurosaki Ichigo was a little like meeting a legendary figure.

History books celebrated him as the hero of Soul Society – the one who uncovered Aizen's treachery, and one of those who helped defend Soul Society when the Quincy invaded. This stood in stark contrast with his history, as he had started as a substitute shinigami while he was still alive, back when regulations did not allow shinigami to share their power with humans. Then he invaded Soul Society with the intention of stopping an execution, and the rest was history.

Kurosaki was the entire reason Soul Society has changed for the better, and he was rewarded with a place for his family as one of the Five Great Noble Houses.

In the Living World, it was difficult to meet figures as legendary as he was. Aigis sometimes found herself reminiscing and recounting stories of long passed Persona users to the newer members of the Shadow Operatives, who wanted to hear the tales and exploits of the famous figures that they looked up to. Rise was a popular target, as her legacy in the entertainment industry endured even a century after her death.

But here in Soul Society, with the long lifespan of souls, it was entirely possible to meet the living figures of those who influenced history an age before. The real question, however, was if they lived up to their legendary stories. And the fact that Seireitei seemed like the type of place who would cover up their tracks for their own convenience – as the fact that they were only allowed to learn what was taught at the Academy, along with students only being allowed to borrow a single book on the history of Soul Society in the library – just made it more likely that they would alter it to their own convenience.

So she watched Kurosaki with just a little more interest than usual.

"I know that you deal with spiritual problems arising from the Living World," Makoto began as he led the group into the barracks, "but what exactly do you do here?"

"We're basically the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here." Kurosaki replied casually. "Any issues related to Hollows or shinigami that crop up in places other than Soul Society, we deal with it. We also handle correspondence with other branches of Soul Society since they're often written in languages other than Japanese, so you need to learn a foreign language if you join, but you can pick which one you want to learn. English is a popular choice."

Aigis stole a surreptitious glance at the rest of the group. From their vacant stares, it seemed like only she and Makoto managed to follow that explanation.

"Other branches of Soul Society?" Someone mumbled.

"We're not the only ones here." Kurosaki explained. "The United Kingdom has their own branch, for example."

Aigis realised she was learning more about the world outside of Soul Society in those few minutes than she ever did at the Academy.

"Um…what is your relationship with the lieutenant of the Fifth Division?" Another student asked.

"Kazui?" Kurosaki repeated. "Yeah, he's my son. Kinda inevitable that he'd become a shinigami considering my family history and all, but I do still worry as a father. He's stuck his nose into things that he wasn't supposed to too many times to count."

Several shy chuckles ensued.

The outside appearance of the Seventh Division really was not all that special – the same whitewashed walls supported by wooden beams as the other divisions, along with a hastily manicured garden, a hot spring, and an underground training area that Kurosaki promised was "extra reinforced against everything so you can go as wild as you want". When asked for clarification, he simply said that it could withstand an assault coming from him, and it was left at that.

Still, there was a constant stream of shinigami going to and from various facilities within the barracks, unlike the other divisions where they mostly kept to their desks. They all greeted Kurosaki with a cheerful word, and he responded in kind.

"Well, I think you've all seen the same things by now in the other divisions," he said partway through the tour. They stood in front of a large wooden door that muffled the sounds inside, with the walkway facing the garden. "But here is where the real work gets done."

He opened the door.

"Hey, where's that report?"

"I'm in the middle of sending it!"

"Is this a typo or the actual info?"

"Uh…honestly both?"

"Why is this thing lagging?"

"Be grateful! At least we don't have to write all this out by hand!"

A chorus of gasps escaped from the group, while Aigis was transfixed on the sight before her.

Cubicles divided individual desks from each other, all equipped with a computer, a keyboard, a tablet and a multitude of stationery from paper to pen to brush. The electronic equipment was somewhat dated from her perspective, but considering that no other division was even using electronic equipment from what she could tell, the Seventh seemed to be about five hundred years ahead of their peers in terms of technology. In the back of her mind, Aigis idly wondered how electricity was supplied in a society that barely used them in the first place.

"I don't really care about how Seireitei prefers to get their reports and stuff done," Kurosaki said, a satisfied smile on his face, "but writing all the reports by hand was a pain in the ass. So for us, we record everything digitally – or at least, as much as we can digitally. Saves a lot of storage space for us 'cause we don't have to file everything physically, so I was able to expand some of the other facilities we have. Don't worry, we'll teach you how to use these if you join the division."

Forget the advantages of frequent Living World trips, this was the real advantage of joining the division. Brushes and ink have long overstayed their welcome in Aigis' opinion, and as odd as it was, she longed for the familiarity of a keyboard.

"If your division is the only one handling contact with other areas of the world, I imagine that this division must be quite busy usually." Aigis commented once Kurosaki closed the door.

"We are," he confirmed as they moved on. "But then about half of it is for the Captain-Commander anyway so I just forward it straight to him, unless it needs a translation first. It's not as bad as it looks, trust me."

She took the chance to gauge the reactions of the students. A few were still fixated on the door, though others seemed rather lost after the conversation. Makoto looked contemplative as she narrowed her eyes at the door, while Izukino was just as uninterested as the beginning of the tour for the Seventh.

"Is there anything you're looking for when recruiting people for your division, Kurosaki-kun?" Hinamori asked, probably for the benefit of everyone else who was too intimidated. Several people's eyes widened at the casual address, though Kurosaki himself did not seem to mind.

He scratched the base of his neck. "Not really," he began, "but I appreciate people who are willing to accept new ideas and are flexible in their methods. Because we often deal with the Living World, you're going to see a lot of new things that you've never seen before, and your understanding of the world will be challenged. People who can adapt to change are those who thrive in my division."

The rest of the tour continued, and Aigis found herself noticing all the minor, but very much advanced additions to the division facilities. The cafeteria served food from all over the world, a few of the smaller offices had whiteboards scrawled with notes, and many people carried thin tablets while they moved between buildings. In theory, they should not fit into the Edo-period Japanese aesthetic at all, but somehow Kurosaki made it work.

In fact, the whiteboards looked rather similar to the ones available in select rooms at the Academy. Did he bring them to Soul Society?

"Um…" Makoto suddenly spoke up at the end of their tour. "Is your lieutenant unavailable, if you are leading the tour?"

Aigis blinked. She had been so fixated on Kurosaki himself that she failed to consider that these tours should have been led by lieutenants (excluding the Third, who had a reasonable excuse for their missing lieutenant).

"Oh nah, he's here." Kurosaki waved a hand. "He's shy though, and mute, so I do the tours instead. On the other hand, he's an excellent worker. His quirks can be easily worked around, and he keeps our division on schedule with paperwork, so the least I can do is take over the tasks that he can't do instead."

It was difficult to tell from his perpetual half-scowl, but it seemed that Kurosaki was an unexpectedly kind captain.

"Thanks for the tour, Kurosaki-kun!" Hinamori waved one last time to the captain as he sent them off.

"Tell Lisa she still needs to reimburse me for that manga I bought for her!" Kurosaki yelled after the group.

"Will do!"

Aigis almost wanted to ask who Lisa was, but Hinamori immediately moved onto her introduction for the Eighth Division, and she lost her chance.

---

"I'd say the Eighth can be rather…two-faced." Hinamori said as they neared the Eighth Division barracks. "The captain is pretty strict with her duties and all, but her lieutenant is super laid back. Despite that, they still get things done. So I guess you just need to know how to work hard and play hard!"

It sounded like a cheesy corporate tagline that was a few centuries out of style. Aigis wondered where Hinamori learned that phrase.

The lieutenant was similarly out of style. Yayahara Yuyu had her hair styled into a long side ponytail, with it clearly bleached blonde and dyed with pink tips. Her shihakusho had to be the most modified uniform Aigis had seen so far – a two piece set where her abdomen was exposed and the black haori sleeves cut short, with the white layer cut into long sleeves. Her hakama was essentially a short skirt, and instead she covered her legs with a pair of long black leggings and white leg warmers. She was also the second person that Aigis met who had darker than usual skin tone. About the only part of her uniform that was standard was her tabi.

In other words, she looked like a gyaru.

"Isn't that style a couple decades out of fashion?" Makoto whispered to Aigis, and she returned the question with a nod. The last time she saw a resurgence of that trend was almost a century ago.

"Hi everyone! Welcome to the Eighth Division!" Yayahara was even more energetic than Shihouin and the younger Kurosaki as she gestured with her entire body. "Come on in, there's lots to see here!"

Unlike the other barracks who built their buildings all on level ground, the Eighth had built their facilities on uneven ground, resulting in some buildings needing a staircase to reach the entrance. It made for a mild workout, though Yayahara was barely fazed as she hopped from stair to stair as if it was flat ground.

"Oh, here's our meeting hall!" Yayahara gestured to a somewhat decorated building while she twirled around on her tiptoes. "It also has a dining— oof!"

She landed face first into the chest of an older shinigami. There was a quiet wince from the students, though she seemed unfazed as she extracted herself a moment later. "Hi Captain!"

The newcomer was an older female shinigami who wore a white haori, a pair of red glasses, and her long black hair was braided into a long ponytail that hung off her back. Similar to her lieutenant, her shihakusho was modified to bare her abdomen and her hakama shortened to a skirt, but that was the extent of the modifications, unlike the more extreme changes that Yayahara had made to her uniform.

Perhaps the captain was her inspiration?

"Yuyu," the captain said sternly, "I thought I told you to watch your surroundings here."

"Sorry Captain!" Yayahara clasped her hands together. "I didn't see you 'til just now."

The captain sighed, a long suffering one that plainly showed this was not the first time it happened. "We will talk about this later," she finished. Then she turned to the students. "Nice to meet you all here. I'm Yadomaru Lisa, captain of the Eighth."

So this woman was Lisa?

"Kurosaki-kun asked me to remind you about reimbursing the manga he got for you." Hinamori said, in lieu of a greeting.

"Huh?" Yadomaru snarled and bared her teeth. "That was compensation for when he borrowed that set of manga from me and then didn't return it!"

Hinamori blinked. "Maybe you can clarify that with him yourself?" she suggested. "I'm sure you two can settle on the issue together."

Yadomaru's face twisted at that suggestion, but smoothed out a moment later. "Well, I'm busy," she dismissed. "It's a shame that I can't stay longer, but I hope you enjoy the tour everyone." She strode off, her face almost comically stormy.

Yayahara gave a chuckle once Yadomaru was out of earshot. "She says that, but in fact she's good friends with Captain Kurosaki. She doesn't just lend her manga to anyone who asks, after all."

The tour continued, though Aigis could not help but notice the strangely large number of rooms furnished like lounges – comfortable cushions and low tables, clean tatami mats, and simple decoration for leisure.

"Our previous captain – that is, the current Captain-Commander, loved his drinking parties." Yayahara explained when asked. "And he liked to drink whenever he could, too. So he had all these rooms built for drinking in them if he didn't feel like being on the rooftop. Captain Yadomaru refurbished most of them to storage rooms or tea rooms after she took over."

Probably for the best, Aigis thought to herself. Though the fact that he became Captain-Commander meant that he was probably a genius of some sort that was worth the trouble of him being an alcoholic.

The rest of the tour went by uneventfully, apart from Aigis noticing the immaculate gardens off to the side of the path they were walking on towards the end of the tour. In fact, the entire division seemed to be rather clean and organised, despite the eccentricities of its leaders.

---

"This is the last stop for the day!" Hinamori cheerfully announced. "The Ninth Division is traditionally considered the security division, so they are always on standby. However, they're also in charge of the Seireitei News Magazine, so they regularly produce articles on current happenings."

Aigis still remembered the mild shock she had when Akechi described the Ninth for her, before she became a shinigami. Partially because she did not think a news organisation existed at all in Seireitei, and partially because a military branch was managing it. Her sensibilities dictated that journalism should belong to the citizens, but then again, perhaps if the journalists were armed and ready to face threats in their way they were, bizarrely, better suited for the role than the unprotected civilian journalists that populated the Living World. She cut the thought off before it strayed too far.

Like the Seventh Division, Aigis met a captain instead of the lieutenant she was expecting at the entrance to the Ninth Division barracks. Appearance wise, he was of average height, with unremarkable black spiky hair. What was remarkable, however, were the multitude of tattoos running across his face, all black lines, with a "69" printed on the side of his cheek. Both his shihakusho and haori sleeves were ripped off – the jagged edges looked frayed. Coupled with the spiked collar he wore around his neck, it gave Aigis the impression that he was a rather classic punk.

"Welcome to the Ninth Division, everyone." He greeted the group warmly, though his eyes did not settle on anyone in particular. "I'm Hisagi Shuhei, captain of the Ninth, and I will be leading your tour for today. My lieutenant wanted to do this, but unfortunately he's been waylaid by an injury, and is currently recovering at the Fourth."

Well, that explained why he was here instead of the lieutenant everyone seemed to be expecting.

As expected for the captain of a division that handles journalism, he engaged the students with small anecdotes of the various facilities around the division rather than use straightforward language to describe the surroundings. The sliding doors looked newer than the rest of the building because Hisagi had once sliced through several of them when he lost control of his zanpakutou while training. Their garden was haphazard, because nobody in the division could agree on how it should look like, so there was a little piece of every shinigami who had ever been an officer in the Ninth. There were a few struggling computers in the office because Hisagi had wanted to try the technology out for their publications after Kurosaki introduced them to his own division, but the technology never quite picked up when shinigami were averse to changes in tradition. On and on, the anecdotes built up, until Aigis could almost visualise the rich history of the division and of Seireitei.

As expected of the editor-in-chief of the Seireitei News Magazine, Hisagi was a master storyteller.

"Where do you get your article materials from?" Izukino asked.

"Generally from the division reports." Hisagi replied. "Because we're also the police and security force of Seireitei, all division reports from other divisions are handed to us before we hand it to the Captain-Commander. Some of them have…ah, interesting details in them, so we use that as inspiration for our articles. With permission, of course." The last sentence was hastily tacked on, maybe to assuage any concerns about sensitive information. "And sometimes officers contribute their own columns or articles. Rukia-san once ran a rather popular series detailing Kurosaki's life as a shinigami in the Living World since they were often paired up for missions, and Captain Hitsugaya has a column dedicated to ice sculptures."

Aigis blinked. There was…quite a bit more variety than she expected from the magazine, if the two examples that Hisagi gave were any indication on the breadth of possible subjects.

"Most of us here, we're pretty artistic people to some extent." He continued the tour, his steps echoing off the wooden floor. "I like to encourage writers to have their own flair in the articles they write, as long as it's not inappropriate. It keeps the articles interesting enough that readers will come back for more."

"Who are your audience?" Makoto asked.

Hisagi tilted his head. "Mostly the shinigami in Seireitei," he answered after a longer pause than expected. "It's meant to have a wide appeal, considering the range of articles we have in there. Nobles might turn their nose up at what we do because they think it's below them, but I've heard that it's actually pretty popular with them as well, as long as they did not parade their preference for it." At that, he let out a soft chuckle, which Hinamori mirrored.

The students were left baffled, but they did not seem inclined to explain the joke.

"What about the Rukongai citizens?" Makoto followed up after an awkward pause, as if it was not there at all.

Hisagi shook his head. "Only the first few districts," he said, though he looked contemplative. "Not that I didn't want to, you know, but I hope you understand that transport logistics prevents us from distributing them wider, and we would have to drastically change its contents if we were to target Rukongai citizens."

Aigis eyed Makoto from the corner of her eye. She backed off her questioning at Hisagi's answer, but the glint in her eyes seemed…contemplative.

She filed that information away in the back of her mind for later.

The tour continued to the training areas and living quarters. The dormitories looked the same as all the other divisions structurally, but the subtle splashes of paint along the walls made it stand out from the other whitewashed walls just enough to be an uncomfortable part of the environment. Shinigami were hard at work hacking away at training dummies in the arena, the dull thwack of bokken echoing across the courtyard. They reacted to the tour group with a short grunt that may have been a greeting, which Hisagi returned with a clearer greeting of his own. As far as Aigis could tell, the cafeteria was similarly plain, serving the standard fare she spotted in almost all other divisions.

The tour ended with nothing remarkable happening, and the group trooped back to the Academy.

---

"One of the nobles who's been mentoring me said he was acquainted with the head of the Kuchiki family." Makoto said in the evening.

She and Aigis had decided to cram into Aigis's room to do their homework – they had two days' worth of reports and lessons to catch up on due to the tours forcing them to miss regular classes. It was not as much of an issue for the sixth years like Izukino who had largely finished all of their lessons and were now revising for the graduation exams, but for the two of them who were cramming six years of material into less, each class was precious. Consequently, every study room was booked, and thus they were forced into the tiny dormitory rooms to do their work in peace.

Aigis looked up from her space on the floor. She had given up her desk to let Makoto write there instead, while she scattered her own materials on the floor. "Are you thinking of joining the Sixth?" she asked, immediately picking up on what Makoto did not say.

Makoto's hand hovered over her homework, an essay on the alternative uses of kido. "Maybe," she mused, her brush absentmindedly writing out the answer. "What Lieutenant Kano said about his captain…it hits close to home, though my mentor never really said anything about that to me."

Becoming a Phantom Thief changed her whole worldview. Being a police commissioner changed it even further. Where once her world was clearly defined in black and white, now her world was a tapestry of shades. Bending the rules just a little to affirm her own sense of justice – she had done that plenty of times if she sensed that the offender had a good reason, or was genuinely regretful. No set of laws were perfect – they were at best a guideline on how the people should act for the sake of a peaceful society, and it seemed that Captain Kuchiki understood that.

Makoto could work around the stuffiness.

"It's an appealing choice at the very least," she said finally. "But I'm also considering the Ninth."

Aigis blinked. "You want to work as an editor?"

"No!" The denial slipped out more forcefully than she intended it to, and she quickly cleared her throat. "Sorry. But while I am interested in the journalism that they do, it's actually the police part that appealed to me."

"Are you sure about that?" Aigis's facial expression did not change, but Makoto detected the hint of playful stiffness in her voice, whenever she wanted to play up her robotic aspect back when they were still alive. "I believe you were more interested in the magazine offerings than their patrols during the tour."

Makoto could practically feel her face heat up at the tease. "W-well…" she stuttered, "I was thinking of sending some to the village we went to for that mission with Shihouin-san…"

With the struggles of winter, the artisans sent to the village had shifted their focus from teaching the villagers marketable skills to just helping them survive the harsh cold of outer Rukongai. The latest report was a month ago, where all it said was that they were in the process of stocking firewood and scavenging for possible insulation materials. But the class divide was still there, despite efforts on both sides to meet in the middle. However, if there was a magazine with a wide appeal that could bridge the gap between the two…

"Without knowing its exact contents, I am not sure if I can recommend doing that." Aigis pointed out, her focus shifting back to her homework. "There is still a large cultural divide between the inner Rukongai districts and the outer Rukongai districts. What appeals to most people here may not necessarily appeal to those living outside of it. Plus, I am not sure if all residents there know how to read."

And there was the reason why Makoto was hesitant.

"I know," she sighed. "But I think it's worth a try. Worst case scenario, the villagers don't like it, and the craftsmen can keep the books or they can use the paper for kindling."

It was difficult to tell in the dim light of the cramped room, but Makoto thought she saw a ghost of a smile on Aigis's face. "Knowing you though, I am sure you can work something out." Aigis encouraged.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Makoto replied, her tone slightly dry but still full of gratitude. "Did any of the divisions interest you today?"

Aigis's gaze glided over a report in her hands, her eyes unfocused. "I like the Seventh," she replied after a pause. "But I cannot tell if it is because I am genuinely interested in the work that he does, or if I know that my skill set would be perfect for the work."

Her skills would indeed help her out if she went to the Seventh. Aigis was fluent in multiple languages on top of Japanese, plus she was excellent with a computer. Probably because she was one.

"What do you want to do?" Makoto asked.

Aigis put down her report on her lap. Though she was technically still looking at it, her gaze was far. "I promised my guardian I would improve the shinigami government from the inside," she finally said. "Even Akechi-san hinted that it was a possible path that I could take. But more than anything…I was holding onto the hope that I would see people I recognise again."

Makoto's breath hitched.

Aigis lived for over three hundred years.

How many endings did she witness? How many deaths? How many letters of consolations and obituaries did she have to write?

How long did Aigis reside in her memories as she found herself remembering her friends longer than she knew them?

Makoto got off the chair and sat with Aigis, their bodies facing the same way. There was not quite enough room on the floor for both of them to sit comfortably, but nevertheless she raised an arm around Aigis's back and rested it lightly, tentatively, on her shoulder. She only put more weight onto it when Aigis leaned into the warmth.

"I miss everyone so much, Makoto-san." Aigis whispered.

Makoto pretended to ignore the quiet drops of tears that fell on her uniform. She was awful at platitudes – her attempts at it came across as blunt, and she soon learned to leave that particular task to others.

But here, it was just the two of them.

"I'm here, Aigis-san." Makoto shuffled closer to Aigis. Her body had a warm and softness to it that was not present back when she was still a robot. "And you made your way here. We will find more Operatives, I'm sure."

In any other scenario, Makoto may have refrained from giving others false hope. But against all odds, despite the millions and possibly billions of souls residing in Soul Society, they still managed to find each other again.

It did not seem so hopeless after all.

Notes:

I'm back from my trip! I know I promised a late September release but visiting family and friends got rather busy so I was wiped for the most part of the latter half of the trip (but I did eat my fill of delicacies I can't find where I live!) I'm taking it easy for a day, then will probably get to work unpacking and cleaning up before I start other matters.

It was an intentional choice to leave the last chapter on a cliffhanger, but it was not intentional to have a 2 month gap between uploads. That was how it just worked out XD but hopefully I'll go back to regular monthly uploads now. The last part of this chapter was not originally planned to turn out this way either, but the characters decided to speak for themselves and now I have this little emotional moment that I should probably do something with in the future. My beta ran into some family issues, so I'm trying to lighten their load by giving them some space, so next chapter may still be delayed, but I already have the alpha draft ready and it should be fine for me to do the checking myself.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and see you all next chapter!

Chapter 28: When Mother Was There

"Okay kiddos, look alive!" Matsumoto's shrill voice cut through the morning fog to a group of bleary-eyed students. "I know it's early in the morning and you're all studying for your exams, but you signed up for this, so at least pretend to look interested during the tour, 'kay?"

Aigis struggled to hold back a yawn. Her sleep last night was restless, and despite being able to get eight hours of it, she felt like she barely slept at all. The cold morning did not help matters – she desperately wanted to bury herself in her futon, but her sense of duty eventually won out. Makoto, on the other hand, seemed grim. Or rather, she was trying to look grim to hold off her sleepiness, most likely.

Aigis was quite sure neither of them were mentally prepared for today's activities after what happened last night, but they still must power through nonetheless.

At the very least, she did not forget what she promised to Ebina – learn more about the Tenth and Thirteenth Divisions, both of which she would be visiting today. It would be in poor form for her to forget about the request considering how much gossip he told her.

"Aigis-san!"

The group turned back to a small figure waving and running at them from within the Academy.

"Hinamori-sensei?" Aigis cocked her head, though she stepped out of the group. "Do you need something from me?"

"Sorry Rangiku-san, I'll be quick!" Hinamori grabbed Aigis's wrist and pulled her around the corner, out of everyone's sight, then pulled out a sealed letter from her sleeve. "I forgot about this yesterday, but I have an invitation for you."

"For me?"

"Yup. To join the Fifth Division."

Aigis blinked. "Why me?"

"Seems like you made a good impression on Captain Hirako," Hinamori continued. "He likes to handpick his people where possible, and he's an excellent judge of character, so I'm sure you'll flourish there if you want to. Of course, don't feel pressured by it. If you like another division better, feel free to join them instead."

Aigis gingerly took the letter from Hinamori's hand. A plain envelope, sealed with glue on the back. There was no indication that it was written by the captain.

She wondered what Hirako thought when they talked yesterday.

"I can consider it, but I make no promises." She tucked the letter into her own sleeve. "However, please let him know that I am thankful for the invitation."

"That's all I'm asking for." Hinamori winked. "Come on, let's get you back to your tour group. I've taken up enough of your time."

Matsumoto had the same cheerful expression on her face when the duo returned. "Sorry for the delay, but it's all good now!" Hinamori matched Matsumoto's cheer as she gently pushed Aigis back to the group. "Say hi to Shiro-chan for me!"

"Will do!" Matsumoto nodded.

"'Shiro-chan'?" Makoto asked curiously.

"Captain of the Tenth," Matsumoto answered with a wink. "Hinamori-chan is his older sister, actually."

"Wait," Makoto blinked at the revelation, "huh?!" The students also gasped out in varying degrees of surprise, with a few laughs mixed into it.

"Family of choice." Matsumoto chuckled at Makoto's baffled expression. "Don't call him that though, I'm pretty sure Hinamori-chan is the only one with permission to do so."

Not that Aigis would ever dream of addressing a superior that casually. While she did not mind the language of choice of her own colleagues – they were free to call Aigis with any kind of nickname as long as it was not disrespectful, she personally could not abandon her habit of speaking formally, even to close friends like Yukari.

Matsumoto clapped her hands as she took off from the academy gates, attracting everyone's attention. "The Tenth has a reputation of only accepting geniuses considering their captain and lieutenant, but I call bullshit on that," she said casually. "It's more about compatibility, you know. If you get along with them, you'd love the division. And the Captain's not picky about his people either. Hell, you can slack off if you want and he'd still do the work for you if he likes you enough!"

The more Aigis listened to the introduction, the more she wondered how much of that description was through some…very tinted glasses, as they say. Matsumoto was once the lieutenant of the Tenth Division after all.

"Hmm?"

The group slid to a halt before the Tenth Division barracks, as the wide roads started to ice over in the winter weather. Matsumoto squinted at the barrack gates – a large whitewashed building with slanted roofs, supported by red beams.

Strangely, nobody was at the gate.

"Captaaaainnn?" Matsumoto called into the gate. "Anyone theeere?"

There was no response.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Is this normal?"

Murmurs broke out amongst the students, and Aigis observed her surroundings worryingly. At first glance, nothing seemed to be amiss.

"Do you think something happened to the captain?" Makoto whispered.

"But it is supposed to be peaceful now, correct?" Aigis whispered back.

A loud creak caught everyone's attention, as Matsumoto pushed the wooden gate of the barracks open. "Oh well, I'm sure I can find him during the tour at some point. I can lead the tour myself here, anyway!"

And she did indeed lead the tour for all of two minutes, where she sped through the compound and introduced everything in a strangely cheerful tone before she strode straight to a set of double doors within the office building, and before anyone could react, threw them wide open with a bang.

"And just what were you thinking here?!"

"You were too preoccupied with training the newbies so I did the job for you!"

"It clearly says 'for captains only'!"

"You would've made the same decisions anyway!"

Aigis did faintly hear muffled sounds before Matsumoto opened the door, but now the screaming match between two young adults – one male, one female, was on full display for everyone present, including a few shinigami working in adjacent offices whose curiosity won out, and were now watching the argument with some measure of…was that interest, or amusement?

The pair of shinigami seemed to finally realise they had an audience, as their argument abruptly paused and they both slowly turned their heads to the group of students occupying the doorway. Matsumoto was at the front, with twinkling eyes and one hand on her lips, clearly entertained by the show.

"Sorry, did we interrupt your lover's spat?" Matsumoto winked.

The two arguing shinigami finally rounded on her.

"Get out!"

---

Twenty seconds of awkward standing in the corridor later, the door opened again.

"Sorry, I lost track of time." The female shinigami stepped out of the room, scratching the back of her neck as she cracked some joints around her body. Her lieutenant badge was sloppily fixed onto her arm and her long black ponytail was messy, but she seemed composed otherwise. "Forgot I was supposed to lead the tour today."

"I wouldn't have minded watching you and the Captain argue more though." Matsumoto kept up her playful tone as she gave the young lady a light pat on the head. "You two make such a cute couple!"

"Yeah yeah, and you've been joking about that for three hundred years already, Rangiku-san." The lieutenant scowled at Matsumoto and half-heartedly waved off the hand still on her head. "Anyway, it's good to see you all. I'm Kurosaki Karin, lieutenant of the Tenth. The guy I was arguing with is Hitsugaya Toshiro, captain of the Tenth. Just a disclaimer – no, despite what Rangiku-san may imply, I do not argue with him all the time. We've just known each other for too long."

"Are you–"

"If that question is 'are you related to Kurosaki Ichigo', then yes, I'm his younger sister." Kurosaki clearly had fielded that question enough times to answer it on reflex, and it seemed that she was correct, as the student who started the question abruptly closed his mouth with a click.

Now that Aigis took a good look at Kurosaki's features, there were some distinct resemblances between the two – they had similar eye shapes, and almost comically identical scowls.

The double doors creaked again, and Hitsugaya stepped out. "Damn that Kyoraku and his whimsies…" he muttered under his breath, before he straightened himself. Side by side, Hitsugaya and Kurosaki were complete opposites in terms of appearance. His white hair was gelled halfway so half of it stuck up while the other half flopped in front of his face, and his haori furthered his overall white palette in contrast to Kurosaki's almost all black ensemble. Compared to Matsumoto, the pair looked unusually young for their position, though not to the extent of Lieutenant Kurosaki from the Fifth Division. "Why are you all still here?"

Hitsugaya's scowl, amusingly enough, slightly resembled Kurosaki's own scowl.

"Because we haven't had time to move yet?" Kurosaki replied flatly. "You should come along, Toshiro – you've been stuck in the office for three days in a row and you need fresh air." Her tone did not give Hitsugaya any room for argument.

"Besides, Hinamori-chan's been complaining that you don't visit her often enough." Matsumoto added with glee.

"I told you it's 'Captain Hitsugaya' when we're at work." There was no heat or anger in the words that Hitsugaya grumbled out. "And Momo should know that I'm too busy with my job here to see her often."

Kurosaki apparently took it as consent to drag him out of the office building. "Doesn't mean you can't make time for her, you know. Just leave some of the work to us and go enjoy your break every now and then."

Matsumoto sighed as she watched Kurosaki lead the group. "They really should start dating, you know. Captain's usually too stuffy to really express himself and Karin-chan is one of the few people who can get him to loosen up."

The students stared back at her with a mix of amusement, resignation and horror.

"You sound like a mother fretting over her children." Aigis said. Several students nodded alongside the statement.

"I mean, I did kind of watch them grow up, you know!" Matsumoto tried to defend herself. "They were so cute when they were younger…"

"I am going to kick you out of the barracks if you don't shut up, Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya yelled from the front.

"Okay, Captain!" Her cheerful tone informed everyone present that she was absolutely not letting it go.

The tour continued at a more sedate pace, as Kurosaki and Hitsugaya took turns introducing the various facilities. They apparently shared their office space – a carryover from Matsumoto's time that they did not feel the need to change. The training facilities were well-worn, though Aigis did spot weird areas of…was that water damage?

"Captain's so powerful he sometimes freezes the areas around him if he's not careful." Matsumoto explained. "And he trains frequently enough that we've had to repair the facilities often."

That was oddly reassuring to hear. A captain with the humility to know that they can always improve would be a good role model for Ebina. He was still struggling with streaks of arrogance of his skills, but he was now at least aware whenever it happened.

The officers of the division greeted Hitsugaya cheerfully along the tour, and Aigis noticed his own greetings, composed and cold to her, though nobody seemed to mind. Kurosaki, meanwhile, was personable and rowdy, loudly asking after some officers about what they were doing and…something about a football team?

"She's not the one to introduce it to Soul Society, but she did introduce it to Abarai, who introduced it to the rest of Seireitei." Hitsugaya said. "His division has a football team, and we meet them every now and then for matches. We added our own rules to match the abilities of shinigami, so it's considered part of training."

Aigis nodded along. "I used to play in a similar capacity back when I lived in Rukongai," she said. "Though the game of choice was tag. My admission exam to the Academy was also tag."

She wondered how the orphanage was doing in her absence.

Hitsugaya gave her a side eye through his scowl. "So I've heard from Onabara. Still…you trained soldiers?"

"No, just children. To keep them safe from Hollows." Aigis demurred.

His face softened just a little. "They are lucky to have you, then."

His expression was far away even as he watched Kurosaki playfully banter with another officer in the training grounds. Aigis decided not to push the conversation further.

---

"The Eleventh are a bunch of meatheads, yes, but they do deserve their reputation as the strongest division in Seireitei." Matsumoto said on the path to said division's barracks. "They'll accept you as long as you're strong, but they have an unspoken rule that nobody with a kido-type zanpakutou could join." She sighed at that. "It also means that the main method of becoming the captain of the Eleventh is through trial by combat — you kill the current captain, you become the captain."

Aigis frowned at the barbaric method, but it was not her place to comment on them.

"Does that mean captaincy changes frequently in the division?" Makoto asked.

"Really depends on the shinigami who show up." Matsumoto answered. "The current captain has been around for over three hundred years, cause he's just that strong. He doesn't really do any work though."

Both Aigis and Makoto blinked at that statement.

"You sure you should be saying that about the captain?" A lazy voice drifted over the chill to them as the group collectively turned to its source.

A stocky man leaned against the gate to the Eleventh's barracks, his zanpakutou rested on one shoulder instead of looped through his belt. He had sharp dark eyes, accentuated by red makeup on its corners and contrasted with a perfectly bald scalp that seemed to reflect the meager sunlight, so much so that Aigis almost missed the lieutenant badge on his arm.

"You know he wouldn't care about that." Matsumoto put her hands on her hips, a grin on her face. "When has he ever cared about anyone's opinion on anything apart from battle?"

The man matched her grin as his posture relaxed, though his seemed a touch more bloodthirsty. "Well, you're right about that, at least," he acknowledged, then directed his gaze to the students. "Madarame Ikkaku. I'm lieutenant of the Eleventh. Come on in, I'll show you around."

The first word that came to Aigis' mind when she saw the state of Eleventh's barracks was "messy".

The floor was clearly worn down by a variety of tools, not all of them what she would expect on a floorboard in the first place. Walls were pockmarked with the remains of past battles in the form of slashes and dents, and its bottom was caked with a thin layer of dirt. The officers of this division looked almost uniformly rugged, with a large number of them sporting some scarring over their face.

"You gotta be ready to get into a fight at any time if you're in this division." Madarame said. "Fighting is in our blood here, and we don't really care if you're a man or a woman here. Hell, our old lieutenant was a little girl, but she could scare all of us straight with a look."

Despite that statement, Aigis barely spotted any females within the division. She was about to ask what happened to the old lieutenant when she caught the oddly somber expression on the lieutenant's face, and decided to drop the subject.

She could hazard a guess, and in retrospect, it was not surprising considering what the division specialised in.

They walked past the training ground, which was clearly the most used facility in the division. The dirt was tightly packed beneath the sandals that constantly stomped on them, while men swung their wooden swords with much more ferocity than what Aigis saw from other divisions so far. There were a few spars going on, though it could almost be mistaken for a real fight. At the far end of the training ground, a large building had its lights on.

"That's our dojo." Madarame introduced. "It's where most of us are during the day, if we aren't at the Fourth nursing wounds there."

"What about the paperwork then?" One student asked.

The lieutenant scrunched his face. "The lazy bums can't be bothered with it, so I end up stuck with most of that bullshit. I'd whip their asses and they'd work on it for half an hour, then they'd slack off again." He growled in frustration. "I wanna train too, goddammit!"

And with that statement, the door of the dojo suddenly blew open, along with a body that flew out of the opening. It landed in a heap in front of the group, stopping them dead in their tracks.

Makoto ran forward, kaido ready at her fingertips, though she was stopped by an outstretched arm from Matsumoto. "He'll be okay," she said in a low voice. "Their duels may be violent, but they do stop short of killing each other." Makoto narrowed her eyes at the statement, but then turned to the body. He seemed to be breathing, so she stepped back.

"For the love of…" Madarame muttered, then brought one hand to cup his mouth. "Hey Captain, watch where you're sending these guys!"

"Huuuh?" The ground seemed to rumble as a mountain of a man emerged from the doorway. He was barechested and covered in scars, with his incredibly chipped sword held in a similar way as Madarame. His shaggy black hair hung down his back, and an eyepatch covered one eye. Everything about him exuded presence, as if he could use his figure and barely restrained power to dominate wherever he was at. "Oh, it's that time again?" His eyes wandered across the group until it landed on Matsumoto, at which he broke into a small grin. "Been a while since I saw you. Here to drink with the boys?"

"Sorry, but I'm on the job right now." Matsumoto replied coyly. "Maybe tonight I can come around though."

I highly doubt that has stopped her from drinking, Aigis thought.

Matsumoto turned to the group. "That's Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the Eleventh. Every captain of this division is given the title of 'Kenpachi', which denotes them as the strongest person in Seireitei."

Kenpachi turned that grin to the students. "So," he began, "which one of you is the strongest?"

One dumbfounded moment later, everyone glanced at Aigis and Makoto. His grin widened marginally. "Oh?"

Aigis was sure she was supposed to feel fear, with such a large man directing his bloodlust at her, but all she could feel was resignation — her experience has made her numb to most base expressions of that. She directed the flattest face she could manage at him.

"Hey look, I'll agree with everyone that these two are the strongest of the cohort this year." Matsumoto stepped in front of them, blocking him from their view. "But cut that out. I don't want them caught up in your fights before their exams."

"They don't need your protection, Matsumoto," a new voice joined the conversation as someone leaned out of the ruined door frame. "But Captain, you should really cut out your habit of challenging everyone you see."

If it was not for the smooth tenor, the man who joined in could almost be mistaken for a woman. His dark hair was cut in a bob, while his eyes were adorned with what Aigis assumed were colourful feathers. It was a rather unusual decoration decision, from what she could see. "Hello there," he waved cheerfully from behind his captain. "I'm Ayasegawa Yumichika, third seat of the division."

"I thought you were working on paperwork!" Madarame yelled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Captain wanted a few more bodies for training, so how could I say no?" Ayasegawa flipped a few strands of hair behind his head. "Also, I finished it all. It's on your desk, so get to it, slowpoke."

"Alright, that's it!" Madarame reached for his sword's sheath. "You and I are having a throwdown right here, right now!"

"No you aren't!" Matsumoto grabbed Madarame's ear, earning a surprised yelp of pain from him. "You're finishing this tour first!" She dragged him off towards another part of the barracks.

With no other ideas, the students shuffled after the duo, carefully stepping over the dazed shinigami still on the floor.

---

"I know it might seem otherwise, but Ikkaku and Yumichika are actually best friends." Matsumoto said after they left the division. "They entered Seireitei together, you know, and are utterly devoted to Kenpachi."

The group left Madarame at the barrack gates, still nursing his pulled ear.

"And Aigis-chan, Makoto-chan, good job not losing your nerve there." The teacher patted both of them on their heads. "Most students would. It's a bad habit of Kenpachi's, I suppose. He likes to fight strong opponents, so he's always on the lookout for new meat, so to speak."

Makoto shook her head. "I don't have any intention of fighting him," she grumbled. "Seems like a waste of time."

"You're correct," Matsumoto agreed, "but he'd chase after you for that duel anyway. My advice would be to just avoid him as much as possible — he can't bother you if he can't find you, after all. That goes for you too, Aigis-chan!"

"Yes, sensei," they chorused.

"Anyway, on to more relevant topics!" Matsumoto hopped back to the front of the group. "The Twelfth Division also houses the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. It was established four hundred years ago by its then captain, Urahara Kisuke, and is the division focused on researching and developing new technology. They also monitor all three worlds and oversee communications, so they're also usually the first to notice if there are any anomalies that happen anywhere. They don't really have a fighting force so to speak — they generally rely on other divisions for protection whenever they go out into the field, with the exception of the captain. Because of that, they're usually more interested in recruiting the smarter kids and combat ability is generally not a factor for consideration. In other words, if you're curious about the world, this division will be perfect for you!"

Aigis was fully ready to tune out everything regarding this division with what Ebina had told her about it, but the prospect of hearing something about the inner workings of the afterlife prompted her to at least pay attention to the members within the division.

"And here we are!" Matsumoto gestured to the gate of the Twelfth Division barracks. It was immediately apparent that it was different from the other divisions — the gate was made of solid metal, with no obvious mechanism to open it manually. At best, Aigis guessed that there was an electronic mechanism somewhere to open it. In front of the gate was a middle-aged man wearing a white haori, modified so that it had a collar that folded down. Oddly enough, he had two pairs of horns growing on his face.

"Ahh, so this is the group graduating this year?" He greeted the students genially. "I'm Akon, captain of the Twelfth. Truth to be told, I'm still relatively new to this position, so I'm more used to doing the tours myself than leaving it to my lieutenant. Come in, everyone."

While the surface of the barracks looked superficially similar to the other barracks, Aigis noticed the tall tower in the distance of the compound, along with the mass of wires that snaked around various buildings.

"Most of the facilities are underground, to protect them from any invasions." Akon explained. "We're one of the few divisions here to use electrical technology extensively, apart from maybe the Seventh, because we need it to power our experiments, you see."

"Where does all this energy come from?" Aigis asked, as they descended a flight of stairs in a nondescript building.

"Ambient reishi, actually." Akon replied. "Every shinigami will release some simply by existing, so we convert the excess reishi in the air into energy that we can use. This process doesn't harm anyone here in the slightest."

The group stopped at the base of the staircase, in front of a set of double doors lit by fluorescent lights. "What I am about to show you is simply a small part of what we do," the captain announced. "You may be a little alarmed at its contents, but please understand that this is for the balance of the three worlds, and we would never peek at your private affairs." With that ominous disclaimer, he pushed open the doors.

What immediately stood out to Aigis the most was the soft blue light emitted by the mass of screens covering every wall in the large room. They all seemed to depict video surveillance of various areas within Seireitei, though a fair number of them also displayed strings of numbers that held no significance to her. Keyboards and dials were spread along the desks that ringed the room, pushed against the walls to ensure maximum space in the middle of the room and to give space for the various office chairs that were scattered throughout. A shinigami in a white lab coat snored softly on a chair off to one side, with their arms folded to hide their face.

Akon sighed. "This is the surveillance room for Seireitei," he said, choosing to ignore the sleeping shinigami for the time being. "We monitor all public areas for unusual spikes in reiatsu, which also serves as an early warning system for any anomalies that may arise. It was refined following the Quincy War three hundred years ago, to ensure that the incident never repeats. Now, if you will excuse me…"

He walked over to the sleeping shinigami and shook their shoulder. "Isshiki! Did you spend the night working on your experiments again?"

The shinigami stirred, groaning as she lifted her head up from the table. "Huh? Sorry Captain, what happened?"

"You fell asleep on the job, that's what happened!" Akon grouched. "And in front of the Academy students too!"

Now that her face was not covered anymore, Aigis could see that the sleeping shinigami was a woman who looked slightly younger than Akon. Her hair was cut into a black bob that was currently tousled from her nap, and she wore a pair of black rimmed glasses. Next to her, Makoto sucked in a breath, soft enough that Aigis was sure she was the only one who heard it.

"Ahh, that was careless of me, sorry." Isshiki smiled at the students as she lazily waved a hand. "I'm Isshiki Wakaba, third seat of the Twelfth."

Notes:

Wakaba had always been planned for this story over Futaba (I can't see Futaba joining Seireitei), so here she is! She will join in on future arcs later in the storyline, so don't worry, this isn't the only scene you'll be seeing her in. Considering how little characterisation she received in the original game though, I'm going to do my best to make her a compelling character.

I recently received a flood of commission requests, so unfortunately I had to focus on that first over writing, which means the next chapter is currently less than 1k words into the chapter. Most likely, I will delay publishing the next chapter till around Christmas so I don't get overwhelmed. I think it's a bad habit of mine now that every time I introduce an important character, the next chapter gets delayed...

Anyway, thank you all for reading, and please leave a review!

Chapter 29: Another Ideology

Isshiki Wakaba.

In other words, Futaba's mother.

Of all the people Makoto had thought that she might run into that she knew, Isshiki was very much not on that list.

In fact, she hadn't even considered that possibility until the woman was standing right in front of her. Did Akechi know about Isshiki being part of the Twelfth? Makoto didn't know how common it was for divisions to share information, especially between two divisions specialising in vastly different areas.

Aigis raised an eyebrow at Makoto, and she was immensely thankful for the general darkness in the room so that her facial expression was hidden from the other students and shinigami. She shook her head.

Later.

It was inconvenient to talk about what Makoto knew of the woman here, in front of everyone else.

Aigis turned her attention back to Isshiki, her face carefully schooled to a neutral look.

"You promised me that I would have time to fulfil my own curiosities on the inner workings of zanpakutou, Captain!" The woman in question was currently pouting at Akon, her brows furrowed in dissatisfaction.

"Not at the expense of your actual work, dammit!" Akon ran a hand through his dark hair, then sighed again. "All I'm saying really is to take care of your health. If you're too tired to work in the day then you're too tired, period. Get some proper rest before I force you to the Fourth!"

"'The inner workings of zanpakutou'?" Aigis tilted her head. "I thought that it is a representation — a persona of sorts — of our inner self."

Isshiki blinked, and then her face broke out into a wide grin, all traces of her earlier exhaustion gone. "Oh, are you interested in the topic?" She took two steps to Aigis and excitedly held her hands in her own before Aigis could dodge. "Yes, it's a representation of our inner self, but why should we be restrained by the zanpakutou itself? Why is the zanpakutou spirit hardly manifested even with bankai users who clearly have the reiatsu to pull it off? Can you imagine having a trusted part of yourself also helping with combat, or just having an extra pair of hands for work? Just imagine the possibilities if this becomes common practice! We could potentially double the efficiency of the entire Gotei without overworking anyone or even recruiting new shinigami!"

"Alright, that's enough of that." Akon pulled on Isshiki's lab coat collar, dragging her away from a mystified Aigis. "Sorry if she scared you, she can be pretty…intense about her areas of interest."

Like Futaba, Makoto thought.

Now she saw where Futaba's own eccentricities came from. Isshiki spoke with a fervour few could match, rambling on about her interests much like how Futaba would ramble on about computers or Featherman. Unlike Futaba, who never could quite get over her shyness around unfamiliar people her entire life, Isshiki seemed comfortable – even eager – with new people, even when her captain was carrying her coat like she was a wet cat.

Makoto idly wondered how much of her life Isshiki remembered. Considering her position though, it was probably for the best that she was stationed at the Twelfth. There was a lower likelihood of running into Akechi here, after all.

Aigis shook her head. "That's quite alright, Captain Akon," she said. "On the other hand, I believe her theory has some merit."

"It could help more people receive bankai." Makoto added before her inner turmoil became evident. "Since manifesting your zanpakutou spirit is part of the process, and I believe that very few people know how to do so."

Isshiki nodded vigorously, her lab coat still being held up by Akon. "You get it! It can make the entire Gotei stronger! It could possibly be legendary!"

"Don't encourage it, please." Akon massaged his forehead with his fingertips, avoiding the small horns. "But that is more or less her specialty. Since our previous captain's…departure, she's taken over the research of how shinigami interact with their zanpakutou, and is now the resident expert for zanpakutou-specific research and problems. She'd blab about the topic for hours on end, so I'll spare you that." He finally dropped Isshiki back on her office chair, while she gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"The officers here monitor Seireitei in shifts." Akon continued. "All we ask of you here is to respect the confidentiality of whoever happens to be on camera, unless it can turn into a threat." He turned to the door and motioned for the group to follow. "Now, let's see the other facilities, shall we?"

"Come visit me whenever you want!" Isshiki yelled after them. "I'm happy to help you with any zanpakutou-related problems you have!"

"More like she's looking for new test subjects…" Makoto heard the soft muttering that Akon grumbled out.

---

"You looked like you saw a ghost, Makoto-san." Aigis commented as they strayed to the back of the group, out of earshot of the rest of the students. "Without the usual jumpiness."

The rest of the Twelfth Division was unremarkable, save for the increased presence of electronic equipment compared to even the Seventh Division. However, Makoto still spotted similar equipment between the two divisions, such as the thin tablets that many officers carried. Apparently, their systems were built on the same base according to Akon, which would explain their similarities.

"Please don't comment on that." Makoto sighed. She surreptitiously glanced around, making sure that nobody was paying attention to them, then lowered her voice and put a hand near her mouth. "But that Third Seat…she's Futaba's mother."

Aigis blinked once, then narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice to match Makoto's. "I remember something about Akechi-san killing Futaba-san's mother," she murmured. "Are you sure that is indeed her?"

"Positive." Makoto confirmed. "The name is the same, she was researching something similar to what she's researching now back when she was alive, and the face matches, albeit a little older than I remembered."

Assuming her memory was reliable, that is. But Futaba's Palace was one of the more memorable ones of her Phantom Thief career, considering how…different it was, compared to those that came before and after. She tried to shake the memory of the Wakaba-headed Sphinx cognition out of the way.

"Do you think she remembers?" Aigis followed.

Makoto desperately wanted to stop and carefully ponder the problem, but she forced herself to keep up with the tour group.

The distance between her and the rest became wider.

"I…don't know."

And was that not the most awful part of the problem?

There was no feasible way for Makoto to ask Wakaba without sounding insane. She'd heard that it was exceedingly rare for shinigami to remember their lives when they were still alive, and it was an unspoken rule to never ask about anyone's life in Seireitei before they arrived in Soul Society. Makoto may not care about rules in general when it comes to doing the right thing, but even she was leery about breaking an unspoken rule to satisfy her own curiosity, nevermind the fact that Wakaba might not believe her if Makoto said she was friends with Futaba.

Would Wakaba even remember her own daughter? Would she remember how she died?

A gentle tug on her sleeve snapped Makoto out of her thoughts.

Aigis dragged her forward to catch up with the rest of the group.

"I do not believe I can completely empathise," she whispered, her voice barely carrying over the wind, "but I understand your position. Perhaps now is simply not the right time to find out."

Time…

Yes, they had time.

With the long life that a shinigami had, there was no need to rush to a conclusion. It might not have been Aigis's intention, but it brought Makoto some relief anyway.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Thanks."

The mystery would be solved another day.

---

"The Thirteenth Division is a general division, but they used to be charged with the general surveillance of the Living World, such as its patrols." Matsumoto said, her steps light in the freezing weather. "Nowadays that's been mostly taken over by the Seventh, but they still do support work and coordination for patrols whenever needed."

This was the other division that Ebina had asked Aigis to look out for him. It was led by another noble from the Five Great Houses, but besides that she had to wonder why he was interested in this division instead of, for example, the Sixth. It looked unassuming on the outside, with the same whitewashed walls and large gate that marked the boundaries of its barracks. A middle-aged, stout man stood outside, seemingly unbothered by the weather.

"Finally got the brats here huh, Matsumoto?!" The man yelled, his husky voice echoing across the street. Some students put their hands against their ears, while others such as Makoto winced instead. The man himself seemed entirely unbothered, with his wooden lieutenant plate fixed on his arm. Oddly enough, Aigis was sure this was one of the oldest lieutenants that she had seen so far, being clearly in his late forties to early fifties, if she had to estimate an equivalent in human age. Then again, it was entirely possible that he only looked older than he actually was.

Shinigami ages were strange like that.

"That voice alone can kill a Hollow…" Makoto groaned.

Aigis attempted to massage her ears, pushing her hairband slightly out of the way as she did so. "Maybe a standard Hollow," she agreed. "It would at least do enough damage to unbalance them."

The ringing subsided, just a little bit. As she put her hands back down, she studied Makoto's face.

It was obvious she was still distracted from the trip to the Twelfth. Her eyes were unfocused on anything in particular, and she barely seemed to be paying attention to the lieutenant of the Thirteenth – the very loud man at the entrance named Kotsubaki Sentarou. What was supposed to be the one division that Aigis had negative interest in turned out to be unexpectedly important for Makoto, and as a friend, Aigis felt that she needed to be at least present to support Makoto however she needed.

"As they say, the best way to warm up is to move! So let's move into the barracks!" Kotsubaki roared, shocking both Aigis and Makoto out of their own thoughts. Aigis did her best to pay attention as she shuffled after the group.

The division turned out to be neatly sectioned, with tidy corridors, friendly officers, and a surprisingly mature garden. The flowers and bushes were carefully arranged around an artificial pond, with a bridge that linked to a covered terrace in the middle of it. Despite the small size, it seemed to be well equipped with a desk and plenty of cushions. It was certainly an odd choice of decoration.

"Curious about that terrace?" Kotsubaki asked. It took a moment for Aigis to realise that he had caught her staring at the structure.

"It seems to be an unusual choice of decoration," she replied. "I do not believe I saw anything similar at the other division barracks."

"That's 'cause it was built for our previous captain." Kotsubaki replied, and his volume seemed to lower just a notch as he stared longingly at the terrace. "He had a chronic lung issue, you see, and the air here helped whenever he had his bouts. We kept it out of respect for him – he was very well regarded and was one of the longest-serving captains when he passed."

Aigis wondered what he saw as he looked at it. "My condolences, sir."

"Haha, no need for you to worry your little head over our past, miss!" Kotsubaki returned to his previous exuberance as he puffed out his chest. "It's all over now, and Captain Kuchiki runs the place well, so there's nothing to worry about!"

"Did you call?"

"Gah!"

The entire tour group jumped as they turned to one of the garden's entrances. Then they had to look down.

A diminutive woman greeted them with a friendly smile on her face, her hands relaxed at her side. Aigis was quite sure the woman was the shortest captain she had seen throughout her tours – even shorter than the already diminutive Soifon, who was the next shortest captain she met. She wore a standard captain haori over her shihakusho, except the sleeves were so long Aigis could barely see her fingertips. Her black hair parted in the middle, framing her round face nicely as the bangs sat on her shoulders, while the rest of her long hair was tied into a side ponytail. Despite appearing almost out of nowhere, she did not radiate suspicion and unease like the captain of the Fifth when he suddenly appeared with the tour group. Instead, it seemed to be a good-natured prank, her dark eyes twinkling with amusement as she studied the students. "I think I heard something about the Ugendo," she continued, her deep voice a sharp contrast to her almost childlike height.

"One of the students was interested in it." Kotsubaki said, and he smacked Aigis's back, almost making her stumble.

Kuchiki's eyes turned to Aigis.

Unlike the older Kuchiki's narrowed, strict eyes, the younger sister had a much softer gaze. There was a gentle glimmer of interest, almost like that of a mother studying her child.

Aigis wondered how Ebina would react if she reported that observation to him.

"That blonde hair…are you perhaps Aigis?" Kuchiki asked.

"Yes, I am." Aigis nodded. "Did Ebina-san tell you about me?"

"Not directly," Kuchiki replied, her mouth quirked into a small smile. "But Nii-sama told me about your efforts to tutor our nephew. If he hasn't told you already, we are thankful for your help."

It seemed that the younger Kuchiki was much less interested in keeping a high and mighty image, unlike her brother. Perhaps it had something to do with her being adopted rather than born into the Kuchiki clan, but it would be an ideal environment for Ebina to develop in.

"He did tell me that when I visited the division yesterday." Aigis confirmed as she tried to keep her face straight, even though she felt that the gratefulness was overshadowed by how condescending his words were. If Lieutenant Kano was not there to…'translate' what the captain of the Sixth had said, it was entirely possible that she might have missed the thanks.

The younger Kuchiki chuckled. "No need to act humble. Judging by your reaction, he probably picked a poor choice of words to thank you with, but try to not let it get to you – Nii-sama just has a difficult time trying to express himself properly."

Kano described the head of the Kuchiki house with an almost identical set of words, which meant that yes, Kuchiki Byakuya was probably just that inept at communication, though it seemingly did not prevent those close to him from understanding him perfectly either.

"Oh, I believe I forgot to introduce myself." The captain cleared her throat, then folded her hands behind her back. "My name is Kuchiki Rukia. I'm the current captain of the Thirteenth Division. There should still be a large part of the barracks you haven't visited yet, correct?"

She joined in on their tour from that point onwards, as she pointed out the various facilities that the division had, including an impressive infirmary. When asked, she said it was originally built to help the previous captain manage his illness, but she saw no reason to scrap such a useful facility.

"I do understand the pressure the Fourth is under most of the time, because Kiyone-san comes around every now and then to complain," Kuchiki commented. "I like to think of this as lightening their load a little. We can usually take care of minor injuries here just fine."

Considering how busy the Fourth was when she visited it, Aigis conceded that it was a good idea.

"Almost makes me miss the arguments I used to have with her." Kotsubaki reminiscenced.

"Are you good friends with Lieutenant Kotetsu?" Makoto asked curiously.

"She was the former Third Seat here along with me." Kotsubaki explained. "She was in charge of our previous captain's health. She might've been a pain in the butt, but really, her talents in healing were wasted here."

Somehow, it was easy to imagine Kotsubaki and Kotetsu arguing, maybe similar to how Yosuke and Chie interacted with each other back when they were alive.

Kuchiki seemed to be in good standing with the rest of the division, as she greeted the officers by name during the tour, and the officers were respectful in return. There was no doubt that Ebina would be able to receive favourable attention if he chose to join this division – not only was he related to the captain, her gentle demeanour meant that he was unlikely to face severe hardships if the overall situation across the realms continued to be peaceful.

But whether being coddled would be the best path forward for him was, ultimately, up to him to decide.

---

"Have you made your decision yet?" Makoto asked.

Back at Shin'ou Academy, the canteen was serving tonjiru as a winter special. Most students had a bowl of the soup on their trays, which resulted in steam wafting through the slight chill in the air. Aigis took a sip from her own bowl, enjoying the warmth that spread throughout her body. "I did receive a few invitations, but I have not decided yet," she replied, as her chopsticks went for a bite of rice.

Makoto blew gently on her bowl of soup. "Invitations? From whom?"

"I do believe the First extended an invitation to both of us back then." Aigis pointed out, gesturing with her chopsticks. "Then there's the still valid invitations from the Second and Eleventh. And Captain Hirako sent me another through Hinamori-sensei."

Or at least, those were the ones that she remembered receiving. She was not entirely sure of Makoto's current status.

"I thought Lieutenant Ise was just suggesting that we could join the First and it wasn't an actual invitation." Makoto responded. She took a mouthful of her beef bowl before she continued. "Also, I thought you didn't like Captain Hirako. Or the Second or Eleventh Divisions."

Aigis shrugged. "I respect Captain Hirako as a capable captain," she said as she sipped her soup, "but I do not think I can stand working under him. And yes, I am not a fan, as they say, of either the Second or Eleventh." Hirako's tendency to subtly intimidate new recruits might work for novice shinigami, but Aigis was anything but a novice when it came to working in a military organisation. Yes, she joined Seireitei with the goal of changing its government, but it did not mean that she was going to willingly add more obstacles to her goal, and he seemed like a boulder in her path. Captain Soifon did not seem like the easiest person to work with either, and Aigis was, at the end of the day, not fond of the kind of work the Second took on. And the Eleventh was simply too rowdy for her tastes.

She did not need to deal with more workplace politics in her life, alive or dead.

For a minute, they ate their dinner in silence.

"Are you still considering the Seventh then?" Makoto finally asked.

"It is a possibility." Aigis said, still fixated on the various small dishes she picked up for the meal. "But I would not be opposed to going to the First. I think the Thirteenth may be a good choice for me too."

"I think the First will suit someone of your calibre." Makoto agreed. "But why the Thirteenth?"

Aigis thumbed the cup of hot tea that was served with her meal. Kuchiki Rukia was, by virtue of belonging to one of the Five Great Noble Houses, an influential person in Soul Society. Coupled with her relatively easy going personality and her marriage to Captain Abarai, it meant that if there were any unconventional changes to Soul Society that Aigis wanted to implement, the process would be greatly smoothed if she could convince the captain of the advantages of her ideas, because she could borrow Kuchiki's influence to convince many of the other captains and possibly a few members of the Central 46 too.

Except all of that was dependent on Kuchiki's actual personality being consistent with how she presented herself. Aigis was sure that some of what she witnessed today was genuine, but there was no telling how different she could actually be when it came to working with her on a daily basis.

"If…I were to push for change in Seireitei and Soul Society…I think the Thirteenth might be better in terms of influence." She finally pushed the words out. "But it is also a gamble, because much of that depends on if, or how much Captain Kuchiki is willing to listen to me."

Makoto looked down on her own half-eaten bowl. "I should consider that when I pick my division too," she sighed.

"You received a few invitations too, did you not?" Aigis prompted. "Have you considered any of them?"

The brunette counted off her fingers on her left hand as she took another bite of her food. "There's those two invitations from the Third and Eighth when I went on missions with them," she recalled. "They're not bad, from what I remember, but they don't stand out to me."

"So still considering the Sixth or Ninth?"

"Possibly."

Aigis sighed as well. "So in the end, neither of us have decided yet, correct?"

"We still have a month to consider before we have to hand in our choices." Makoto pointed out as she finished the last of her beef bowl. "I don't think we need to rush, but perhaps an outside perspective will be useful."

---

"So is that why you're asking me?" Onabara rumbled.

Career consultations were apparently not standard practice in the Academy, but her zanjutsu instructor did not seem to mind the question itself. As usual, the conversation was held in his office.

"You are the most neutral and knowledgeable person I know of in this school, Onabara-sensei." Aigis replied. "I suppose I am looking for additional opinions on my possible choices."

He sighed. "I suppose I should expect something similar from Niijima soon then…" He put down his paperwork in favour of directly looking at Aigis. "Go on, ask away. I will offer what insight I have."

Ten minutes of explanations later, Onabara's expression started to look somewhat similar to Aigis. "I'll admit, you are at least looking at each choice rationally," he mused. "But personally, if you're this undecided I would suggest staying away from specialised divisions."

Aigis blinked. "May I ask why, sir?"

"Because specialised skills are very difficult to transfer across divisions," he answered. "There is no shame in trying out many different divisions until you find the one you like, but I would suggest you start with a general one. There are exceptions like the Seventh, as the skills they value have a fairly wide application, but it would be difficult for you to use your assassination skills in any division other than the Second, for example. Unless you're a savant like Urahara Kisuke – and no, as talented as you are, you are not a savant – it would stunt your growth if you were to restrict yourself too early. This is not just a job, Aigis. This is your career. Beyond just your current preferences, it would be wise for you to think about your future and how you want to grow."

She almost forgot that she needed to think about her future too. There was no way she could stand being an unseated officer in any division for long, considering her long-term plans. So…

"Thank you for your counsel, sensei." Aigis stood up and bowed. "You have given me much to think about."

---

A week before the deadline for handing in division preferences, Aigis paused over the piece of paper on her desk.

There were three choices she could pick, ranked from first to third. Still, with her grades it would be fairly easy to join whichever division she wanted, which meant that her first choice was the most important one here.

Faint moonlight shone into her dimly lit room. Her brush soaked in the ink in her inkwell.

An hour later, she wrote down her choice.

---

Despite her worries and last minute cramming, final exams turned out to be almost too easy. The only area where Aigis had any amount of trouble was with the zanjutsu practical exam, and even then she managed to eke out a passing mark. Matsumoto apparently gave up on Makoto and Aigis taking the hakuda exam normally, and instead asked them to demonstrate their skills in front of a few visiting captains in the form of a duel.

"Think of it as a way to let out some stress from exams, 'kay?" She winked at the students. "I'll give you both full marks no matter what happens, as long as you give a good show." Their lazy teacher was even kind enough to schedule it as the last subject in their exam schedule.

With a renewed lightness in their souls, they topped the exam ranks, and a month later, they officially graduated from Shin'ou Academy.

"I suppose we won't see each other as often from now on." Makoto said wistfully as she looked back at the gates of the school.

"Perhaps not," Aigis agreed, following Makoto's gaze. "But regardless of what happens, we will still be able to see each other every now and then."

Compared to being separated by an entire plane of reality, simply being in different divisions barely seemed like a problem.

---

Aigis shed her white and red uniform for a new one – an all black shihakusho, along with white undergarments. Once she was happy with her appearance, she walked out of her new dormitory to join the other recruits.

"Aigis, reporting for duty at the Seventh Division!"

Notes:

Happy Holidays! This is the last chapter for the year, and I must thank you all for supporting me all this time - I never thought my novice attempts at writing a story would get this much attention. For those who supported Being Human both in the comments and in the shadows, I wish you all the best for the new year!

Did you guess Aigis's new division? I know a few people in the comments got it right, but I wonder about those who didn't comment and were simply keeping track in their own minds. Makoto's division will be revealed in the next chapter, so you can keep guessing if you want!

Would you believe that Gintama, of all things, got me back into writing again? I've been in a slump for a couple months now, and the last few chapters were all practically forced out of my ass. I decided I needed a distraction, and now I'm over 150 episodes deep into rewatching Gintama from the beginning (I loved the manga, but skipped around). So yeah, if this chapter or the next couple feel a little less serious than it normally sounds like, blame Gintama.

Once again, thank you all for supporting this story till now (with a special shoutout to my wonderful beta), and I hope I will see you all the next year too!

Chapter 30: The Wandering Wolf

"Aigis, can you go deliver this to the Third Division?"

"Who do I deliver it to in the Third?"

"Ask for the lieutenant!"

Three months after she joined the Seventh, Aigis was still an unseated officer. According to Captain Kurosaki, she was first in line to be considered for a seated position once one opened up, but so far there were no free spots.

She was in no hurry, so she did not mind it.

Life at the division was somewhat hectic, but it was a strangely comforting pace – it felt closer to her days working at the Shadow Operatives. Documents came in every day for translation, mostly in English, but also in a variety of other languages. Her captain was shocked when she revealed that she was fluent in English, French and Chinese on top of Japanese, so now she was handling a quarter of all the translations requested. Plus, the fact that she barely needed training to start handling computers was a point in her favour for promotion. But every now and then, someone in the division would ask her to go to the other divisions instead as an errand girl.

Like today.

Seireitei was incredibly large, so a simple delivery task often took up half a workday, accounting for the extra time taken when new recruits invariably got lost. On the other hand, it meant that others would cover her translation work in the meantime. She nodded to her lieutenant in lieu of a greeting as she exited the barrack gates to the large street outside the division.

In the Gotei, where loud shouts were common – and almost expected – in battle, Rindo Atau was an anomaly in that he was mute. With his shaggy black hair and gloomy disposition, he was a stark contrast to their much louder and orange-haired captain. Apparently he was lieutenant of the Seventh even before Kurosaki took over, and he found no reason to replace a perfectly capable lieutenant. Rindo was a hard worker, his fingers rapidly tapping on keyboards as he kept up the paperwork required for the division. Supplies, taxes, requests – almost everything had gone through him in the division at some point. In fact, Rindo's word – typed or written – carried just as much weight as their captain's did, considering that Kurosaki was not around the barracks half the time, running off to deal with something or other in the Living World or Hueco Mundo.

And was that a surprise, to know that Seireitei has some sort of a working relationship with their supposedly sworn enemy. Aigis had not pieced together all the details yet, but from what she knew so far, Kurosaki was friends with many of the saner Hollows, which meant that he was the only person who could handle most negotiations with them. Sometimes she wondered how wide his circle of friends was, because he seemed to know someone everywhere.

Aigis skimmed the top document as she strolled through the streets. Delivering documents gave her the chance to familiarise herself with Seireitei's maze-like layout, slowly building an internal map for her future reference. The document itself was detailing a few scattered Hollow attacks in the outer districts and the Living World — mostly just the aftermath as they were too far out to have shinigami arrive on time.

She sighed.

Makoto's side project was still ongoing despite her meeting obstacle after obstacle, though that was to be expected considering how stubborn she could be. Aigis was just glad that her friend had not given up yet. At least it seemed that the crafters and villagers had come to an understanding of sorts, and the majority of issues now came from disgruntled nobles who barely had anything to do with the project itself, but were trying to gatekeep crucial resources that Makoto needed. From what Aigis knew, the last time they met each other two weeks ago, Makoto was attempting to bring lawyers into the project to streamline the process of negotiating with nobles.

She turned a corner, onto the street that the Third Division occupied. It still looked the same as always, with slightly dirty walls and worn floorboards. After explaining the purpose of her visit to the gatekeeper, she was allowed inside the barracks.

---

He massaged his temples as he worked on the report. It was technically leftover work from the day before, but then some of the officers asked him out for drinks, and they were paying, so it was rude to refuse. Third Division tended to get rowdy when it came to partying, especially Captain Abarai.

Now he was paying for it with a hangover. The bright sun outside his window didn't help matters, either.

He squinted at his small pile of papers. It wasn't too much, thankfully, but it would be best for him to finish all of that before the next batch of documents came along, or he would have to work overtime. Again.

A brisk knock on his office door hammered a fresh wave of pain into his head. "Who is it?" He called out, trying his best to at least sound presentable. Hopefully the underlying groan in his voice wasn't too noticeable.

"Delivery from the Seventh Division! May I come in?" A female voice called back, muffled by the door.

Well, speak of the devil. He resigned himself to extra work today.

"Just leave it on the cabinet at the entrance, thanks." He tried to rub spots out of his eyes, then trained his eyes on the papers on his desk, away from the sun streaming into the office.

He heard the door creak open, a footstep into the room, the thump of papers on wood, but then the door closed suddenly and the footsteps hurried away.

Weird. The woman didn't strike him as the shy or busy kind judging from the clear but unhurried voice. He glanced at the closed door and the messy pile of papers, before he decided that he could sort that out when his headache subsided.

Five minutes later, his office door banged open abruptly. This time, he did look up.

"Wha—"

"Your protein shake." The woman slammed a bottle onto the desk in front of him, a disapproving frown on her face. To his dismay, he recognised the woman. Was very familiar to him too, a long time ago. "Have you not been taking care of yourself again, Akihiko?"

The brush he was holding dropped from his hand as he tried to work his mouth to form a coherent sentence, leaving a blotch that he barely noticed. The only thing that he could force out was…

"How did you get here, Aigis?" Sanada Akihiko asked.

"I walked."

---

"Of all people, you were the last person I expected to see here…" Akihiko groaned as he held his head in his hands. He was sporting a few extra bruises, thankfully hidden by his shihakusho.

"I was resigned to wait a long time until I found anyone else I knew too." Aigis replied lightly.

"'Anyone else'?" He echoed.

"I graduated with Niijima Makoto."

They were seated at a small restaurant near the Third Division. Aigis had basically bodily dragged Akihiko out - despite his protests - once it became clear that he was hungover, insisting that he get some proper food to relieve it as quickly as possible. The protein shake was just a stopgap measure to get some liquid in him, but he needed much more than just a nutritious drink. And when he initially refused, she just resorted to force.

He looked much better and younger than the last time Aigis saw him three hundred years ago, hooked up to machines working desperately to save his failing body. He appeared to be in his late twenties, with his grey hair cropped short and an undershave at the bottom half of his hair. It was strange seeing him without some sort of bandage on his face, but hopefully it meant that he was not getting into reckless fights as much.

"So that Makoto is here too." Akihiko replied, then winced as he sipped on his cup of tea. "Which division is she in?"

"Sixth."

After consideration, Makoto decided to join the Sixth Division. Her primary concerns were an easy way to access information about regulations, and a captain that at the very least, would not disrupt her whenever she needed to work on her project.

So far, Kuchiki Byakuya has not expressed any opinion on it.

"Captain Kuchiki's division huh," Akihiko mused. "Pretty fitting choice for her."

"I think so too." Aigis agreed. She thanked the chef as he served up their food at the bar table, then took a pair of chopsticks from the nearby container. "As far as I know, she has adapted well."

"But really," Akihiko began as he received his own bowl of food, "how did you end up here? I thought only dead humans end up in Soul Society."

The din of the restaurant and the street outside was loud thanks to the throng of shinigami milling about, but it afforded them a little privacy as they chatted, as long as they did not raise their voices. Akihiko left his lieutenant badge in his office, so the two looked like any other pair of shinigami acquaintances.

"My best guess so far is that my soul was considered human enough to arrive here, but I do not know the actual circumstances." Aigis replied. She stole a glance sideways. "Beef bowl again?"

He scowled, curling in protectively over his meal. "We meet for the first time in three hundred years and you're nagging at me already?" He grumbled as he took a bite out of his lunch. "I haven't had one in a week, let me enjoy this at least."

Somehow, Aigis found herself smiling. "You never change, do you, Akihiko?"

The sigh that escaped his lips was uncharacteristic of him. "Kinda hard to change when this place barely changes," he replied between bites. "The environment plays a factor, you know. It's not like the Living World where things happen at breakneck speeds. Here, it's just the same day in, day out."

Aigis turned to properly face Akihiko.

"I take back what I said," she stated. "You have changed."

Somewhere along the line, it seems that Akihiko lost that spark he initially had. Perhaps it was gone even before he died, but for the first time, she could not quite see that determination he once had.

He grunted out a humorless chuckle. "Maybe, maybe not." He took a sip of his tea, then winced again. "You, on the other hand, haven't changed much."

"Even with a body like this?" Aigis gestured to herself. Strictly speaking, her body was composed of reishi, not flesh and blood, and was much tougher than a regular human body according to her classes, being able to recover from injuries that would otherwise kill a living human. But it felt just like flesh and blood to her, and she even bled normally, so it was still quite different from her old robotic body.

"I'm not talking about the outside," Akihiko replied flatly, though there was a spark of humor in his voice. "Though it's actually surprising to see you still have that headband."

She touched it self-consciously. "I bought it when I was studying at the Academy."

Her hair had grown longer over the two years she was there, but she decided to cut it back to its original length once she graduated. Even with the headband, it was far easier for Aigis to maintain short hair over longer hair, which could fly in her face.

"You wouldn't look right without it." Akihiko took another bite out of his beef bowl. "Are the Operatives still going?"

Aigis shrugged and went back to her soba. "The Kirijo Group could not support it by themselves after two hundred years," she recounted. "We became an official branch of Public Security. The plan, I believe, was that if I was decommissioned, Labrys would take over as director. I do not know if they actually did it though."

It was a robot they were talking about after all. A top of the line, autonomous robot, but a three hundred year old robot all the same. Even with advanced medicine available, the average human life could only be stretched to roughly one hundred and fifty years. A three hundred year lifespan was only a dream – and one ripe for fear from those in power. At best, they would try to subtly control her. At worst…Aigis did not want to think about it.

"I hope Labrys is okay…" The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them.

A gentle pat brought her out of her thoughts. "Labrys is a strong girl." Akihiko said, one hand on Aigis's back while the other was still shovelling food into his mouth. "And now she has the experience to match too. She'll be fine. Besides, you're in the Seventh Division, right? Play your cards right and you might be able to find a way to meet her again."

"Who would believe that a robot became a ghost?" Aigis asked back.

He answered with the flattest stare she had ever seen on his face. His mouth was still full of food. "A lifetime of supernatural threats and this is where you draw the line?"

"I consider Shadow-related incidents to be sufficiently analysed phenomena at this point."

"Exactly how sufficiently analysed?"

"Enough that the Operatives can predict incidents with some measure of accuracy."

"What about the science, or lack thereof, behind them?"

"There has been some research done with volunteers, thank you very much."

"What, so you managed to get some research going on the soul?"

"At best, that area has only been touched on the surface, in conjunction with Personae. Nobody was brave enough to do deep research on it since Isshiki-san, or at the very least, not that I knew of. Besides, the research was eventually stopped when we realised emotions and mental health were a key part of understanding Personae, and we were not amoral enough to induce stress to the volunteers."

Persona users were difficult to come by, after all, and the Operatives needed as many active, healthy members as possible. Most subsequent Shadow incidents after the Phantom Thieves debacle very rarely started from scientific curiosity, but rather from fanatical devotion, rumors and cults, which eventually triggered their theory into how mental health and emotions related to Persona awakenings and Shadow-related issues. Honestly, she preferred it this way – it was easier to hide incidents from the general public if they were less believable. Likewise, the results of the research the Kirijo Group went through after Mitsuru died were only stored by Aigis and Labrys as part of their memory banks – it was regularly updated to protect against hacking, and storing it anywhere else was deemed too unsafe.

It was cathartic, when they demonstrated exactly why the government could not be trusted with information on Shadows after a mass hacking incident into governmental databases leaked it to the wider public, triggering another large Shadow incident that the Operatives had to subsequently clean up. Aigis indulged in some fun when she tore into the leaders of Public Security at the time.

The government never insisted on copies of their data after that.

Akihiko hung his head in defeat. "I can't believe it's been three hundred years and I still can't win against you when you start nagging. Did you practice after I died?"

"I consider it my duty to make sure you are properly taking care of yourself when Mitsuru is not present." Aigis closed her eyes as she took a sip of tea from her own cup. "And of course, you were not the only reckless idiot in the Operatives." Far from it – Akihiko was actually one of the milder ones, compared to some later members she had to rein in.

It was almost too easy to fall into a natural, comfortable state of being whenever she was around someone she was close to. She made many friendships over her lifetime, but it was difficult to replace anyone from S.E.E.S..

That kind of friendly nagging was…comforting.

"I haven't seen her all this time," Akihiko murmured. "Wonder if she made her way to Soul Society."

"I can't see Mitsuru having trouble finding her way." Aigis chuckled. "She would definitely make a place for herself here."

To the outside world, Mitsuru and Akihiko's relationship was that of a power couple – a CEO of one of the largest conglomerates in Japan along with a police officer in a strong position with a proven track record of success. Several theories and conspiracy stories floated around on how they were like in their private lives, made more prominent by the fact that both decided to keep their original last names.

The truth was, it was a loving relationship. Not in the sense of romantic love (though Aigis sometimes still had trouble differentiating that from other types of love), but more akin to something between a seamless working relationship, deep friendship, and perhaps even familial love. After years of working together since they were in junior high, they trusted each other implicitly and knew exactly how each other would react to different situations. They would nag and argue at each other for hours on end, but at the end of the day, there was nobody else who would understand each other as well as they did.

Perhaps part of the reason why Mitsuru worked herself to death was the lack of a confidant. No matter how good or how close Aigis was to the CEO of the Kirijo group, she could not replace Akihiko. There were many things Aigis could do that Akihiko could not – making sure he was taking care of himself was one of them – but at the same time, she was deeply aware that Akihiko could do things that Aigis could never manage. She never resented Akihiko for it though, because she knew that was how bonds work – each person had their own value, and nobody could replace anyone.

"Well, it's good to see a familiar face here regardless." Akihiko said, taking another sip of tea from his cup. "Sometimes it's hard to talk about my experiences when I was still alive with the other officers at the Third, because I'd seem like a lunatic."

Aigis stared into her own cup, their food long finished at this point. "I wonder if there is a pattern for it," she mused. "A large percentage of the students in the Academy barely remember their life before they died, and even more of them know nothing about their former lives. But it is a fairly difficult topic to bring up considering how most shinigami act."

"Yeah, shinigami very rarely remember their lives when they were still alive," he agreed. "People like the Kurosaki House are an incredibly rare case since they never properly died and just…migrated to Soul Society, or at least, that's what my captain says."

"Must have had something to do with Captain Kurosaki being a former substitute shinigami, I guess." Aigis suggested.

Truth be told, for such a famous person, his private life and his past were masterfully hidden. All Aigis knew was that Kurosaki had a wife, son and a sister, and he was close friends with many of the captains even before they were captains. In terms of sheer power, he was considered one of the strongest Soul Society had to offer, comparable with even the captain-commander, which coupled with his lack of control (according to veteran officers, it was easy to tell whenever he got angry because the entire division compound would be lightly crushed under his reiatsu) resulted in a strange situation where his shikai was unable to be sealed. He was a reasonable boss and the one to introduce many twenty-first century and beyond comforts to Seireitei, which she was incredibly grateful of.

But that was about it. So far she had not been able to witness her captain fight at all, and he was barely around the barracks, leaving most of the day to day decisions to Lieutenant Rindo.

"We're different, Aigis." Akihiko said as he took a long sip of tea. "We died properly– wait, how in the world did you die in the first place? Did your body break down, or did some stupid maintenance fault get you?"

"A Shadow got me when I was careless." Maybe if it was still fresh in her mind, Aigis would have been frustrated at herself for dying from such a stupid mistake. However, it had been over ten years since she passed. She accepted the consequences. "It tore my chassis and crushed my Papillon Heart."

He set down his tea back on the bar table. "I'm sorry," he said after a pregnant pause.

"Don't be. I made my peace with it." Aigis reassured him. "All of this…it is like a second chance at life for me. To live like a human would, not just a robot."

By her estimate, she got incredibly close when she was alive as she slept regularly, had bouts of insomnia, needed mental health support, preferred to read over having data downloaded into her system, and so on. But still, it was just an extended simulation of human life. The length of her lifetime was the most important factor of why she sometimes felt out of place in society, how she found herself less and less able to properly relate to her human colleagues.

And then Soul Society happened, and she found herself as one of those few who still remembered her life, when others could only remember their lives after their arrival. But it was much easier to hide, and with friends who could relate, she did not feel as much of a need to hide herself anymore.

Aigis would always be slightly different from her peers. And that was okay for her.

"Maybe if we can ask someone to research it," she began, "we can find a pattern. But I am not familiar with anyone who would be willing to undertake this."

She did not say the first name that came to mind. It would not be appropriate to ask that woman, not at this point at least. Perhaps if the opportunity arose for her to build a relationship and better understand her, Aigis would feel more comfortable asking.

"I guess I can go around and ask some of my contacts." Akihiko said as he drained his cup. "No guarantees though." He heaved himself off the chair.

"Back to work already, Akihiko?" Aigis asked.

"Thanks to you." Despite the words he just said, there was a satisfied smile on his face. "Now I have to work on leftover reports from yesterday and the stack you just gave me."

"You are just reaping your own reward, as they say," she chuckled. She drained her cup as well – she had talked with him long enough that Rindo would probably question her efficiency.

Akihiko groaned as he called for the bill. " You really can't stop nagging at me, huh? Let me pay for this, at least," he said as he left a small pile of coins on the counter and walked out of the restaurant. "Consider it my welcome to the Gotei. But well…I'm glad you're here now, Aigis."

"I am glad to see you again too, Akihiko."

---

"You're awfully late, Aigis." For once, Kurosaki was at the division. He scrutinised Aigis at the gate as he folded his arms, deepened by his permanent scowl. "I was told that you'd gone out to deliver some reports around noon, but this is much later than when you'd normally come back."

"My apologies, Captain." She bowed lightly, then straightened. "I ran into an old friend and lost track of time."

She did. The compound was washed by a golden glow by the time she made it back to the Seventh, which meant that the workday was almost over.

Unexpectedly, his face relaxed a touch. "Oh, an old friend, huh." He turned around and headed into the office building, one hand waving lazily. "I'll overlook it just this once, so you go and clean up for today. If you're gonna do it again, let me know in advance okay?"

Aigis blinked. She was expecting a stern lecture of sorts, not to go completely unpunished. "Are…are you sure about this, Captain?"

He stopped and turned back. "Looks like it was good for you, so I can't really say anything against it." There was a trace of a smile around his face. "Besides, you do so much work around here it'd be unfair to be overly strict. No emergencies happened, so no foul."

Just like that, he strode back into the building, leaving a still shocked Aigis behind.

---

"So I was told you were bodily dragged out of the division by an unseated officer." Abarai folded his arms, daring Akihiko to refute.

"Well…yes," he confirmed.

"And you left behind all your work."

"Er, yeah."

"For half a day?!" Abarai roared.

Akihiko raised both hands as he tried to placate his captain and desperately looked for a plausible excuse. "She's a friend I haven't seen in a long time! And I can't argue back against her or she'd just beat me up!"

"What do you mean you can't win against an unseated officer?! You're a lieutenant for goodness sake!"

That night, the lights to the lieutenant's office did not turn off until well past midnight.

Notes:

This chapter came to me fairly easily - maybe because I think the Academy arc was starting to overstay its welcome in my mind and I had very little motivation to finish it, but now I have new stuff and old people to introduce! Akihiko was fun to write, but I tried to stay true to his P3 personality rather than his P4A personality (he is, canonically, pretty book smart even if he's a bit dumb common sense wise). Don't worry, there will be more familiar characters introduced later!

I'd say there's about...4-5 more chapters to go before I finish this extremely extended introduction to the 'verse. After that, it's time to get into the first major story arc. Yes, I finished the outline for it. No, I don't know how long THAT will run. But hopefully it will be an exciting arc for you all to enjoy!

Next chapter is mostly finished as well - I just need to edit it, but it will be published late next month, as usual.

Anyway, thank you all for supporting this story! Review, bookmark, whatever, just don't let the art bots win! (Extremely ironic whenever they send me something because my day job is an illustrator)

Chapter 31: Like The Dragon

"I would like you to join this joint training exercise, Aigis."

She looked at the tablet, then back to her lieutenant. "...Come again?"

Rindo tapped the tablet screen again, then nodded.

Aigis blinked, then swivelled around in her office chair to fully face the lieutenant. "I do not mind going, but this is rather sudden."

He shrugged, then flipped the tablet back to him and rapidly tapped out a new message before flipping it for Aigis to see. "We were due for a joint training exercise with the Thirteenth anyway, but this notice came in just this morning, and you were specifically requested."

The Thirteenth Division?

So far her only connection to it is a tenuous link to their captain by virtue of being Ebina's tutor for a year, and while Aigis heard that he was still keeping up with his classes at Shin'ou Academy well, she did not think it would lead to this.

Why would they specifically request an unseated shinigami to attend their exercise?

"Is there anything I need to prepare?" Aigis asked as she frowned.

"There are overnight bags prepared in the warehouse." Rindo typed. "Feel free to grab one of them and you should be fine."

She blinked again. "Is this a multi-day training exercise, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, an overnight one." Rindo replied through the tablet. "You should be able to return by tomorrow early afternoon, and then you can take the rest of the day off. The details of the exercise will be given to you by the team leader, who is from the Thirteenth."

Aigis nodded, then looked back at her computer, which was framed with many sticky notes detailing to-do tasks. "May I hand over some of my work first, before I go prepare?"

He shook his head, then wrote another message on the tablet. "Let me do this instead, since I know who can handle which tasks."

Aigis bowed lightly. "Thank you very much. I will go prepare now."

Rindo typed out one last message. "The scheduled meeting time is in one hour, and you will meet the team outside the division barracks gate. Let me know if you need help with anything."

"No, I am fine." Aigis replied. "Thank you for your hard work, Lieutenant."

She gathered her papers into a pile, then cleared off her desk and left the room, while Rindo moved on to the shinigami sitting next to her.

The last thing she heard was the crashing of chairs as she closed the door.

---

The overnight bag, as it turned out, contained a first aid kit, a communicator, a small sleeping roll, and snacks. It was almost the same in content to the bag Aigis used during the Academy's training exercise in the Living World. Thankfully, it also made it very light. Just to be sure, she decided to arrive at the meeting spot fifteen minutes early.

She had barely stepped outside the gate when a shadow covered her, and she was immediately tackle-hugged.

"I didn't think Master would be lying, but I still can't believe it! It's really you, Aigis-san!" The voice was high pitched and overly excited, and the fact that she was hugging Aigis so tightly made it difficult to see exactly who it was. But then…there was only one person she knew of who called Akihiko "Master".

She tapped the other woman's back frantically. "Please let go of me. You are currently crushing my ribcage, Chie-san."

Thankfully, Satonaka Chie backed off quickly, while Aigis took the chance to take a few deep breaths, and properly look at Chie's face.

After running into Akihiko a few weeks ago, it did not seem as unusual to see other familiar faces here, though it was also obvious that Aigis's initial theory of who was responsible for this was incorrect.

Nepotism was indeed involved – she just guessed the wrong person responsible.

Like Makoto and Akihiko, Chie looked much younger than when she died at the ripe old age of ninety-four, seeming as if she was in her mid-twenties instead. She sported a short ponytail that was tied high and out of the way, and her shihakusho was altered for the hakama to only reach her knees, rather than her ankles as standard. Considering how she normally fought back when she was alive, Aigis could hazard a guess as to why.

"So sorry, I'm just so excited to see you again!" Chie grabbed Aigis's hands with her own, swinging them like a child. "It's been so long!"

"I know I said I was happy for Aigis-san to join the exercise, but I didn't know that you knew her too, Satonaka-san." A new voice piped up behind Chie, whose body was previously blocked from Aigis's view. She craned her neck around to see another familiar face.

"Izukino-san?" Aigis blinked.

The girl raised a hand in greeting. "Hi there! Didn't think we'd be working together again so soon."

"It has been about a year since the Academy exercise." Aigis pointed out. "Though I have been so busy I did not notice the passage of time. What happened to joining the Fifth?"

"You and Niijima-san had a point back then when you gave me advice," Izukino shrugged. "So I asked around, and decided to give the Thirteenth a try instead. So far, it's been great!" She raised a thumb in affirmation.

Chie looked between the two women, then clapped her hands together. "Good, doesn't seem like I need to introduce you two. Let's get going then!"

"Wait," Izukino pulled on Chie's sleeve before she could move. "No no, wait a moment. I didn't think you'd let just anyone call you by your first name, so why does Aigis-san get to do so? You're the Fourth Seat!"

Aigis blinked. "Have you been part of the Gotei for a while now, Chie-san?"

"About a hundred years, give or take." Chie replied easily. "And Izukino-chan, Aigis-san is more like my senpai, really. Plus, we've known each other for a long time, so she gets to call me by my first name. You, on the other hand, will need to work to call me that!" There was a playful tilt in her voice as she teased her junior.

"Senpai in what?" Izukino pressed.

Aigis chuckled. "You should try to work hard so you can match Chie-san's rank first before you try to call her by her first name," she suggested, sidestepping the question entirely. "Though I am glad it seems that you two get along well."

"Izukino-chan does her job pretty well." Chie added. "Which is why I picked her for this exercise in the first place." She gently tugged her sleeve free from Izukino's hands, then walked away from the gate. "Come on, we should get going or we'll be late!"

"I was only informed of this exercise an hour ago." Aigis hurried after Chie before she skipped out of sight. "May I ask what this will entail?" Next to her, Izukino nodded, a mystified look on her face.

"Joint training exercises, as the name implies, are a way to train shinigami from different divisions on how to work together despite our different focuses." Chie raised a finger as she walked ahead. "But then most divisions share the same base role of protecting Soul Society from Hollows and other outside threats, so it's usually pretty simple work. For this one, we're investigating the aftermath of a Hollow attack out in North Rukongai, in the twenty-first district."

"Investigating?" Izukino echoed. "Is something wrong with it?"

Chie sighed as the group turned a corner, onto the wide road that led outside Seireitei. "Mostly in how close it is to Seireitei. As a rule, most areas within the first twenty-five districts rarely see Hollow attacks, but we've been receiving reports from nearby patrolling shinigami almost every other week about attacks happening there for a few months now." She narrowed her eyes. "Something's going on there, and since it's also not all that dangerous, Captain Kuchiki thinks it's a good idea to make it a joint exercise too for new shinigami to participate."

Chie always said that she did not have the intelligence for more delicate work, which was why she forever stayed as a senior police officer, but Aigis also knew that her intuition – or rather, whatever came to her mind first whenever she saw something – was unusually sharp. She was still a valued member of the Investigation Team, after all.

So Aigis trusted Chie when she said that something was wrong.

"A place being attacked by Hollows every other week and it's not considered dangerous?" Izukino's face wavered between a frown and a helpless smile. "What is Captain thinking?"

"That's why I'm here, you know." Chie waved the concern off. "I'll keep you both safe, even if I know that Aigis-san doesn't need much saving."

"Huh?!" Izukino paused, before she chased after both women. "You didn't answer my question, Satonaka-san!"

---

It took them half a day to reach the site of the last attack on foot. Chie gave more details on the mission on the way – attacks generally happened at night, there was at least a week between each new wave, and while the shape and abilities of the Hollows were different each time, there was always a small group, and they were very similar in appearance and abilities within each group.

"That sounds familiar…" Aigis mused.

Chie shrugged helplessly. "We've been receiving an uptick of concentrated Hollow attacks, which is weird since they usually hunt solo. Maybe you heard about it from one of your reports?"

"Maybe…" Aigis hesitated. It was entirely plausible, though she felt that that was not it.

Her instincts nagged at her. But without a concrete hint, she could only put it at the back of her mind as she looked at her surroundings.

The area they were in, at the base of a hill, bore scars from a very recent battle, judging by the poor state of the land. The summer sun just cast a stronger shadow in the claw and sword marks on the ground, various trees in the area were missing giant chunks of their trunks or their branches, and some of them were even snapped across the trunk. Boulders were smashed into rocks, and while a few of them were still standing, they all bore pockmarks from the battle. Chie was examining one of the fallen trees, while Aigis and Izukino surveyed the area.

"This seems more like a job for the Twelfth," Aigis strolled around, noting every bit of battle damage the area sustained. "Why are they not here?" She wiped away some of the sweat from her body using the sleeve of her shihakusho – the environment did not provide much relief from the heat.

"They took all the readings they needed during the attack," Chie replied, "since they just happened to have someone from the Twelfth there."

"Then why are we here when there are eyewitnesses? Not that I don't trust you or anything though." Izukino followed up.

Chie stood up from her crouch as she examined the ground, then faced the two shinigami. "Because I was there during this attack, and something doesn't sit right with me."

"You were?" Aigis turned her attention to Chie. "How so, exactly?"

"The timing was too perfect," she began as she folded her arms, her eyes averted from them. "And in the worst way possible for the Hollows too. We had just gotten to this area for patrol, and they showed up through a Garganta. We had about five shinigami together, but we were about to separate to do a routine survey of the land here. If the Hollows showed up five minutes later, we would've been spread far apart enough that at least one of us would've died. On the other hand, if they decided to show up ten minutes earlier, it would've been at a wide open plain, which would've been disadvantageous for us too."

The path they took to arrive here did indeed involve an open plain, though it was also dry, with very little vegetation sustaining the soil. Having some form of cover would always always be advantageous for the shinigami instead of the Hollow, considering their usual size.

"That might just be coincidence." Aigis guessed. Still, she decided to keep it in the back of her mind. "Did the Hollows have any unusual characteristics?"

"Hmm…" Chie put a finger on her chin as she wracked her mind. "Oh yeah, they had lots of firepower, but were also surprisingly fragile. They could shoot ceros really far without losing power, but on the other hand they had basically no armour. If you could get a hit in, they went down pretty easily with just a regular zanpakutou."

"'Cero'?" Izukino asked as she looked up from the ground. "What's that?"

"Oh, they never taught that to you in the Academy, huh?" Chie smiled. "Think of it as their version of kido, but without all our fancy varieties. It's essentially just a concentrated reishi beam. Pretty powerful, but not all Hollows use it."

"Ah, so that is where the scorch marks came from." Aigis walked over to a nearby fallen tree, its edges charred black. She ran a finger over the black marks, and came away with soot. "Though it does not seem that all of the damage here was caused by ceros." Her eyes fell on the various gouges on the ground and boulders in the area. "That looks like a punch."

Chie's eyes followed Aigis's gaze to a crater on a boulder. "Yeah, that was from the Hollows too," she confirmed. "They had a mean hook. Made it that much harder to land a hit on them, but once you could, it was easy to cripple them."

"I thought Hollows were usually tougher than that." Izukino said. "Or at least, the ones I've seen so far."

Chie shrugged. "It depends, really," she replied. "Some Hollows are just naturally tougher than others, so generally you shouldn't lump them all with a single characteristic. Make sure to remember that, Izukino-chan!" She pointed a finger at the woman in question to emphasise her point.

"Yes ma'am!"

A dry breeze interrupted their conversation before Aigis could ask more questions. At some point, the sun had started to sink, so it was now barely touching the horizon.

"It is starting to get rather late." Izukino remarked, her hand shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun. "Should we take a break, at least?"

"Man, I was hoping to find more clues here." Chie sighed. "But you're right, we've been at it for a while now. Are you guys good at kido?"

---

Ten minutes and an exploding Shakkaho later, they managed to put together a campfire. Chie turned out to be astoundingly bad at kido, where her spells were often uncontrollable and never formed with the correct intensity. According to her, she was slightly better at ice-based spells and bakudo, but even then she tried to not rely on her kido (or lack of) as much as possible.

"I think the site looks like a normal battlefield." Izukino started, her mouth full of jerky. "Can't exactly see anything that's out of the ordinary."

"It would help if we knew there was something to watch out for." Aigis nodded in agreement. She took a bite out of her toasted onigiri. "But so far, I could not find additional clues about the Hollows here."

"I admit it's a bit of a stretch." Chie sounded rather apologetic, entirely in contrast to the satisfied sigh she let out when she took a long swig of water from her canteen. "And maybe I'm just overthinking it, but Captain did approve of this exercise when I gave it to her for review, so I can only assume that she has her suspicions too."

The flames of the campfire flickered in the twilight. Aigis found herself staring at it as she passively processed the clues they gathered in the afternoon.

Groups of Hollows hunting together when they were normally solo hunters. Similar abilities within the group. Often showed up when shinigami were around, despite the obvious disadvantage if the assumption was for Hollows to survive.

The assumption…

"Why do Hollows hunt souls?" she asked, almost to herself. Both Chie and Izukino turned to Aigis in surprise.

"Why the question?" Chie asked back.

"Just…" Aigis paused as she carefully chewed her dinner. "Hollows hunt souls to consume their reiatsu for energy, correct? It should be similar to how we consume food for energy. But why do they not go for their fellow Hollows, but specifically target the residents of Soul Society and dead people in the Living World?"

"Because other Hollows will fight back?" Izukino suggested as she pointed her jerky in Aigis's general direction. "I don't know about shinigami, but at least regular souls can't really fight back and give them enough energy, so it's easier to hunt?"

"Yes and no." Chie explained. "The general agreement is that since Hollows are essentially fallen, or corrupted, human souls, they look for potent souls to fill up the void from their fall. Their instincts lead them to denser souls such as shinigami or spiritually dense humans and souls to eat. I don't think other Hollows would satisfy that need for a soul, even if technically they have a lot of reishi in them."

"So basically any area with a high density of reishi will attract them?" Aigis ventured.

"More or less, yeah." Chie agreed. "Where are you going with this?"

"Would you say this area that we are in is dense in reishi?" Aigis asked.

Chie paused and closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again. "Just about average, I think," she reported. "I remember the results from the Twelfth were inconclusive the last time they measured the reishi density here too."

"During the last few attacks here, were there any shinigami nearby?" Aigis moved on to the next question.

"Hmm…" Chie took a bite out of her own onigiri as she pondered the question. "Oh yeah, there were! All the shinigami were in the area for their regular patrols, until the last one."

"So perhaps we can assume that the Hollows are attracted to sudden increases in reishi concentration, if they always show up around shinigami…" Aigis put a hand around her chest as she organised the information available. "Somehow this all sounds familiar, but for what reason?"

"...The Academy trip," Izukino reminded her, her jerky half hanging out of her mouth. She seemed just as surprised herself. "The Hollows there were all similar too, weren't they? And we had a bunch of students and instructors around."

"But that was on a much larger scale than the ones we have here." Aigis replied. "And before that…the reason why I even went to Shin'ou Academy in the first place was because I helped a group of shinigami against similar Hollows three years ago."

She suddenly found her shoulders grabbed by Chie. "Three years ago?! What happened?!"

"Well if you want a written record you can maybe ask Akechi-san from the Second…"Aigis began as she tried to lean away from Chie. "But there was a Hollow attack when he came to the town I was living at to investigate an unrelated incident."

Chie blinked, then released Aigis's shoulders and crossed her arms, turning away from the unseated shinigami. "The reports always said that they managed to find the Hollow portal every time it happened, the attacks always happen when shinigami are around…"

Aigis and Izukino waited with baited breath as they watched Chie mumble away.

"So…" She uncrossed her arms, then turned back to the others. "I think someone is intentionally throwing Hollows at shinigami."

The new graduates blinked.

"Not that I doubt you, Chie-san," Aigis began slowly, "but that is quite the leap of logic. Do you think that is possible?"

"I don't know," Chie admitted, "but it's possible, isn't it? Especially if these Hollows are under the command of a stronger one or something."

"Hollows can listen to commands?!" Izukino exclaimed. "I thought they just did whatever they wanted!"

"That's true for most Hollows," Chie agreed, "but there was precedence for Hollows obeying a commander — as far as they could while still being Hollows, that is."

"…the Winter War." Izukino's face slowly morphed into understanding.

"So what you are saying," Aigis organised the new information in her mind, her dinner forgotten, "is that there is someone, or something, commanding Hollows to attack groups of shinigami, for some unknown purpose."

"Yup," Chie popped the 'p' as she tossed the last bite of her dinner into her mouth. "That about sums it up."

Despite the merry campfire, the mood around it was anything but cheerful.

"Shouldn't we inform the captains of this if it's this serious?" Izukino broke the silence after a minute for everyone to digest the theory.

"Yes, but a lot of it is just circumstantial evidence." Chie countered. "They'll dismiss it unless we can give more concrete evidence, and that's gonna take time."

"Even when it has been going on for at least three years?" Aigis asked.

"We're permanently understaffed," Chie shrugged helplessly. "They'll really only pay attention to issues that have a known cause that they can go to town on immediately. So for now, we gather as much evidence as we can, and hope we aren't too late to solve the problem."

Three sighs passed around the campfire.

"This would be so much easier if we have a sample Hollow to test on…" Izukino lamented.

"Not like we can do the research ourselves." Chie sighed. "But at least we can do the investigative work, and I can usually get Captain Kuchiki to listen to me for this kind of stuff."

Aigis glanced around their campsite. The sun had long gone down, leaving the only source of light around them their campfire and the moon in the sky.

"It is rather dark now," she noted. "Perhaps we should turn in early and leave the investigative work for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'm beat." Izukino sighed glumly.

"You guys can go to sleep for now." Chie said. "I'll take the first watch."

"Thanks, Satonaka-san." The teal-haired girl took out a sleeping roll from her own bag, laid it out, and promptly started snoring once she laid down.

Aigis, meanwhile, was not in the mood to sleep, despite her earlier words. Her own sleeping roll was laid out, but she just sat on it and stared at the campfire, going over the facts in her mind.

"Something the matter, Aigis?" Chie scootched closer.

"Nothing much." Aigis reflexively deflected the concern, before she caught herself. "Just…wondering how everything links together."

It was a strange case. The evidence was disjointed, and if it was not for the frequency of the events, it was easy to dismiss them as unrelated incidents. In a way, they had forcibly linked them together using a thread so thin it threatened to break easily. Their current predicament was how to strengthen that link so that it would at least not snap as easily.

"I think your work habits are showing, Aigis-san." Chie poked at her good naturedly. "Did you have to deal with a lot of cases like this back in the Operatives?"

The latter part was spoken softly, to not wake up Izukino.

"Well…sometimes." Aigis admitted. "I left it to more capable members if they were available."

Like the occasional detective or police officer who were also part of the Shadow Operatives.

"So we can also leave the thinking to more capable people, right?" Chie grinned cheekily. "Our job is to gather as much evidence as we can, Aigis-san. We can leave the thinking to other people more capable than us."

A nudge in Aigis's mind indicated that Metis agreed with the sentiment.

She stared. "Since when were you so good at mentoring, Chie-san?" she blurted.

This time, Chie pushed her over with a laugh. "Like I said, I've been working as a shinigami for a hundred years now." She shifted around to a more comfortable sitting position. "In a way, it's similar to police work. I patrol, I catch bad guys, and I call it a day, except now I'm usually killing the bad guys 'cause they're all Hollows. It's all familiar work to me, so it's easy for me to help others at the same time."

Inexplicably, Aigis felt the slightest pang of jealousy. Somehow, Chie made it sound so simple.

"Well, I know I don't have the mind to do more complicated thinking," she continued, waving a hand around. "So I leave all that work to other people that I trust. I just do what I'm good at. That's why there's all the specialist divisions, isn't it? Like I can't speak multiple languages like you, which is why I picked a general division."

"You would do well in the Ninth though," Aigis pointed out.

"I actually applied there at the time." Chie giggled. "But Captain Hisagi thought I didn't have any artistic sense and rejected me."

That earned a chuckle from Aigis. "He must be quite strict with the division members in their news production, then," she commented.

"I heard that he gives a lot of freedom to the people he trusts, actually." Chie turned back to the dying campfire. "But back to the point, leave the thinking to other people, Aigis-san. You were a rockstar back then who took on almost half of the work that the Operatives got, but you should stop that before it wrecks you."

Aigis sighed. "My Persona said the same thing, back when I was trying to get bankai."

Chie's eyes softened. "It's probably not an easy process for you," she commented. "But listen to your Persona. That's your inner self, after all." Her hand drifted to the katana strapped at her waist, one with a yellow sheath, white hilt, and steel black guard.

Aigis let out a wry smile. "I try."

She felt what seemed like a satisfied huff from Metis, deep in her mind.

---

"In the end, it's still the same huh…" Izukino sighed.

Another morning of trawling the area for clues, yet the battlefield refused to yield more. Chie hung her head in defeat for a moment, but then perked up. "Well, I wouldn't say it was all for nothing though! We managed to link the incident to multiple other cases, so I'm sure someone will be able to figure out what's really going on soon!"

"By the way Chie-san," Aigis began as she packed up her belongings. "You keep saying that we only need to gather the clues, but do you know anyone who can help you analyse the clues?"

Chie winked. "Don't worry, I have someone on the case," she confirmed. "I just need to finish up the report and I can go deliver it." She waved a small notebook in her hand.

"Will they take it seriously with just this much evidence?" Izukino asked.

Chie nodded enthusiastically. "You don't have to worry about that!"

Aigis idly wondered who she was talking about, before she decided that she would find out soon enough. "Shall we get going then?" she asked instead, her packing all done.

"Let's go home!" Chie pumped a fist into the air. "And I'll be free the rest of the day once I finish that report!"

Home, huh.

A small part of Aigis was still unsure of considering Seireitei her new home. On a technical level it was – it was where her sleeping quarters were, but emotionally, she was still attached to the little office she shared with Labrys at the Shadow Operatives headquarters in Tokyo.

But perhaps with her friends here, it would not be a bad place to take root either.

Notes:

There are 2 more Persona users-turned-shinigami I will introduce after this chapter, but here is the first Persona 4 character! I figured that Chie would get along well with Rukia, which is why I stuck her in the Thirteenth.

Also, the case gets some more development! This was a plotline I had been figuring out since I resumed writing this story, and there will be more plot bunnies dropped around the story till the next arc concludes the entire case. I'm excited to get started on the arc, except I am currently in a drawing fever and that takes precedence cause I crash really hard if I don't have any motivation for art. So the next chapter is currently 900 words in and it will take a while to finish it, though at least I think I should still be able to publish it at the regular time next month.

Speaking of the next chapter, any guesses as to who Chie is collaborating with on the case? My beta got it right in one go, but they also knew the full list of Persona users I was going to introduce in the story, and I want to see if any of you readers can get it without that hint!

Anyway, review! Drown out all the art bots cause I AM ALREADY ARTING ENOUGH AND DO NOT NEED MORE! Have fun guessing till next month!

Chapter 32: Seeker of Truth

"Aigis-san! Can you deliver this for me?" Chie dropped a large stack of papers into Aigis's hands the moment she stepped out of the gate, which the blonde barely caught.

Two days after the training exercise, Aigis was trying to catch up on the extra work that suddenly appeared in the Seventh. Apparently, it had something to do with the Ninth looking for new inspiration for articles, of which Rindo was in the middle of negotiating a more reasonable workload for them with representatives from the division.

"Are you in a rush, Chie-san?" Aigis asked. She adjusted the pile of papers in her arms. "Your face is flushed."

Chie was looking much redder than usual, and judging by the light panting, she had probably ran – or shunpo-ed – a rather long distance. "I have a meeting in fifteen minutes and still need to deliver the report to the Ninth," she explained between gasps. "Your division is on the way, so can you deliver those reports in your hands to the First on my behalf? Thanks, I'll treat you to lunch next time!"

Just like that, she shunpo-ed away, leaving a mystified Aigis behind.

"Why did she not ask Izukino-san instead…?" she muttered to herself.

Her focus moved back to the stack of documents in her hands. Now that she had time to process what just happened, she noticed that the documents were wrapped in paper and tied with a string, making their contents impossible to glean without ripping apart the packaging first. On the cover, Chie had helpfully written a recipient: First Division, Fifth Seat.

Aigis looked back at her own barracks. Then to the pile of papers.

Her work could wait for an hour or two.

---

The First Division barracks were as impressive as ever, as Aigis looked up at the imposing white towers that formed the backdrop of the low buildings. While the gate guard gave her funny looks when he understood that she was here to deliver a report from the Thirteenth despite being a member of the Seventh, he let her in regardless, and helpfully gave her directions to the Fifth Seat's office.

The hallway echoed her footsteps as she walked down the row of doors, made more prominent by the high ceiling of the office building. Perhaps it was built to emphasise the First's reputation as the leading division in the entire Gotei, but to Aigis, it just seemed like a waste of space.

Then again, excess was not something the Shadow Operatives could afford most of the time. She made sure that Mitsuru's spending habits did not continue after her leadership.

Near the middle of the hallway, Aigis found a solid wooden door, where a placard outside indicated it was the office for the Fifth Seat. She politely knocked twice on the door.

"Who is it?" a voice asked from the inside. It sounded vaguely familiar, but Aigis chose to ignore that for the time being.

"Delivery from the Thirteenth," she called out. "May I come in?"

Rapid rustling sounds came from within the door, before it stopped just as suddenly. "Please do."

Aigis opened the door, and her foot stopped just inside the doorway. "Ah."

Maybe Chie's claim that she was too busy to deliver the report was true, but Aigis was absolutely sure that she had also arranged the meeting beforehand in some way.

Because Shirogane Naoto sat in the office, the room prepared with tea and snacks for a guest at a low table adjacent to her work desk.

---

"Seeing your reaction was worth it." Naoto chuckled as she poured Aigis some tea. "I don't think I've ever seen you with that kind of mixed expression before, Aigis-san."

Aigis's face felt warm as she thanked Naoto for the drink. "I did not think Chie-san was this good at planning meetings," she stated into her cup, hoping the steam would cover her embarrassment.

Similar to Chie, Naoto appeared to be in her mid-twenties, though unlike the short boyish cut she had when she was younger, her dark hair was now almost to her waist and left untied. Her relatively sharp features and deep voice still made her seem androgynous though.

"Chie-senpai has gotten better," she agreed. "It's an interesting quirk to see how she has changed ever since becoming a shinigami."

"How have you been then, Naoto-san?" Aigis asked.

She waved at the pile of papers on her wooden desk – a solid, western-style desk that was piled full of stationery and files on the visible surface. "Busy, as usual," she replied. She sipped on her own cup of tea serenely. "Paperwork never really ends, whether you're alive or dead."

Her fame as the Detective Prince never waned throughout her life, even when she publicly retired when she was in her mid-forties. Still, she took on regular commissions from the Shadow Operatives even after that, and her customers never seemed to end even a few months before her death.

"I can imagine." Aigis agreed. She reached for a rice cracker. "There is a surprising amount of paperwork that the Gotei generates."

Maybe "surprising" was not exactly the correct term, but it certainly was much more than she expected. No wonder writing was one of the core classes in Shin'ou Academy.

"And this is just during peacetime too." Naoto added. "Imagine the amount of paperwork during wartime."

They shared a tiny shudder.

Aigis sipped her tea. "I hope we never encounter that kind of situation."

"Incidents tend to happen rather randomly." Naoto said reassuringly, though her expression was wry. "But the last major operation that the Gotei undertook was almost two centuries ago, when a large number of Hollows suddenly appeared in the Living World."

"I remember reading about that in the library." Aigis nodded along. "A Shadow incident happened at the same time too."

Naoto shrugged. "I was not a part of the Gotei at the time, so I only know secondhand information. Though I remember Ise-san saying that it ended as suddenly as it started."

"Did they never find the cause of it?" Aigis tilted her head.

"Not exactly." Naoto shook her head. "I read the reports of the incident a while back when I was working on something unrelated, but there were holes in them, and it was not something I could easily ask the Captain-Commander about. But did you find out what caused the Shadow incident at that time?"

"The government database was hacked and information about Shadows leaked out." Aigis grimaced as she recalled the memory. She resisted the urge to massage her temples, instead opting to nibble on the rice cracker in her hand. "They were trying to prove that they needed the information on their own systems and that they could manage their own data security, but the incident proved the opposite."

Naoto opened and closed her mouth a few times as she processed the story, then finally let out a low groan as she facepalmed. "These dolts…there was a reason we never kept records."

Aigis knew for a fact that Naoto only kept the bare minimum of information required for her cases when it pertained to Shadow Operatives business. It was all too easy to leak data from their collaborators, but thankfully, everyone had a vested interest in keeping the information secret due to their own experiences with the Metaverse.

"For what it was worth, they never insisted on copies of our data anymore." Aigis sipped her tea serenely.

"I hope the government doesn't try that again." Naoto added.

"I made sure they knew very well what they did." Aigis reassured her. "If nothing unexpected happened since I died, the current director should be Labrys, and she should be able to handle it if the government tries to go after the data again."

"Good. I also hope the information does not make its way here either — there is no telling with the Gotei if they get their hands on that information too." Naoto sighed. "But yes, I do hope that we only have small cases to worry about in the future."

"Like the one Chie-san asked for help with?" Aigis ventured, her gaze on the pile of documents she brought in.

Naoto looked in the same direction, then let out a wry smile. "So you guessed it?"

"I could not confirm my suspicions until I met you."

Naoto was indeed the most qualified person to take on this case. It was a mystery with no clear culprit, and only the vaguest idea that something was happening.

Almost like the Inaba case, if it was dragged on for a far longer period of time.

The former detective picked up the pile of papers that Aigis delivered and flipped through them. "Chie-senpai asked me for help a week ago, when she told me about her own thoughts on this incident," she explained as she skimmed the documents. "If she could pick up that something was wrong, I would trust her judgement. And it seems like there is indeed more going on than what I thought."

Her hands paused at a page near the end of the stack. "She also…told me to ask you about how you met Akechi Goro?" Naoto looked up at Aigis with a blank face for a few seconds, before her brows knitted together. "That other Detective Prince? What does he have to do with the case?"

"He wrote my recommendation letter to enter Shin'ou Academy." Aigis replied.

She found herself recounting the entire cultist incident, to how Akechi came to recruit her, to the Hollow incident, then the trip to the Living World with Makoto while she was at the Academy. Naoto listened to her story quietly, though at some point she took out a small notebook and started jotting down notes. Despite her largely oriental office with shelves, the brush holder filled with brushes and a low table for guests, she herself was using a fountain pen rather than a brush.

Perhaps Aigis was not the only one who missed the conveniences of modern stationery.

"It's good to hear that Niijima-san has become a shinigami too." Naoto nodded approvingly. "She would be an interesting addition to the Gotei."

'Interesting' was one way of putting it. Her work on the outer districts was starting to attract attention from the other officers, and not necessarily in a good way either. Makoto had assured Aigis that she would be able to stay safe, but at the back of Aigis's mind, she was still worried that the former Thief could end up on the list of assassination targets from the Second.

Then again, Akechi was part of that division too. Perhaps she could ask him and Shihouin to convince Soi Fon to call it off if it ever happened.

"Hmm…this is indeed quite the tenuous link to this case." Naoto mused, her attention back to the documents. Her pen tapped the scribbled pages slowly. "But there are enough similarities to take it seriously. Now the problem is…what is the end goal?"

"My best guess would be testing the strength of shinigami," Aigis began, "but the participants' strength varies greatly, and this feels like a rather roundabout way of gathering information."

"It is possible that it's a bit of a blind test." Naoto ventured. "Whoever is on the other end of this would detect sudden spikes in reiatsu at a place, then send Hollows to the location."

"It would mean that whoever is conducting these tests has incredibly sensitive detection abilities, but could not see where they sent the Hollows." Aigis reasoned. "Maybe something along the lines of a navigation Persona, for example."

They fell quiet as the implication sank in.

"That would be close to equal to the strength of the entire Twelfth Division's detection abilities." Naoto slowly stated. "We might be looking at an organisation of dissidents, because it is…difficult to imagine that only one entity is responsible for this."

"Is it possible that it came from within Seireitei?"

Naoto shook her head. "While not entirely impossible, it is highly improbable," she replied. "I would have noticed more abnormalities within Seireitei itself. And trust me, I have been looking, and that includes keeping an eye on the Five Great Noble Houses."

"I cannot imagine them doing anything to jeopardise the safety of their own home though." Aigis said. "As…insensitive as they are, I would imagine that they would prioritise their own status first and foremost."

Unexpectedly, Naoto fell into silence. Her brows furrowed, and the grip on her notebook tightened.

That was a rather unusual reaction for the sharp detective.

"Naoto-san?" Aigis asked.

"...Corruption within the nobility is something I am quite aware of." Naoto began slowly. "Your idea does sound insane, but…I have heard rumors that there is precedent for even nobles of the Five Great Noble Houses to hatch plans that would destabilise Soul Society."

"'Rumors'? Not verified or recorded information?"

"Something the Captain-Commander once talked about during a meeting." Naoto sighed. "It was just a side note though, and he did not give me more information beyond a hint that something to that effect has happened before. All I know is that Captain Hisagi was involved with it at the time, even though he was only a lieutenant back then."

She shook her head. "Anyway, we are getting off topic." She cleared her throat, then took a sip of her tea and closed the binder. "I'll look further into the information that you and Chie-senpai gathered for me. This will probably take a while, but I hope there will be more information available. I might also ask your captain for help, considering that it involves Hollows. Admittedly, most of our ideas are pure speculation for the time being, but perhaps it may be prudent to ask him for any information on reiatsu detecting abilities in Hollows. And maybe a trip to the archives is in order, for more information on the modified Hollows from the Winter War…"

"Now that's a topic I haven't heard in a while," a deep, lazy voice cut in. "What about the Winter War?"

Aigis and Naoto both turned to the source of the voice at the doorway.

A large man leaned casually on the doorframe, the shuffling and voices of other captains blended into the din behind him. Another face peeked in from the side, which Aigis recognised as Hitsugaya's.

"Did you finish your meeting already, Captain-Commander?" Naoto greeted the large man. "I thought it would take a while longer."

"There wasn't too much to talk about." He waved a lazy hand, then invited himself into the office. "You're free to go, Hitsugaya-kun."

"I'll give you that report later." Hitsugaya bowed stiffly, then left, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Aigis had to blink a brief moment before she recovered. Despite being different genders, Naoto and Hitsugaya's voices were shockingly similar. Perhaps the only reason why she did not notice it during the winter barracks tour was because it had been two hundred years since she last heard Naoto's voice in person before today.

The captain made himself comfortable on a spare chair, then picked up a snack. "Didn't think you were the type to invite people into your office, Naoto-chan," he commented as he took a bite. "Though I admit, you have good taste."

Well, it had been a few decades since someone looked at Aigis that way.

Naoto, on the other hand, seemed decidedly unimpressed. "Please do not phrase it that way," she grouched. "Ise-san would not be happy if she had to process one more report about your harassment in the division."

For such a powerful man, it was strange to see him openly droop in disappointment. "Please don't sic Nanao-chan on me," he pleaded. "She'll take away all my sake again…"

Aigis observed the light banter neutrally. Captain-Commander Kyoraku Shunsui was a man she had met briefly, during her graduation exams. He was among the audience at her hakuda showcase with Makoto, along with a few other captains and seated officers. She had not paid much attention back then, as she was just looking forward to a good workout to relieve some of the stress of taking the exams, though she vaguely remembered his approving look after it was done.

"You're that girl at the hakuda showcase in the Academy this year, weren't you?" Kyoraku turned his attention to Aigis. "Didn't know you knew Naoto-chan here."

The main reason why Aigis had any impression of him was because of his bright pink kimono that he draped over his white haori. The kimono was clearly for women, and upon closer inspection, his long, curly brown hair was tied up and decorated with a flower hairpin, also clearly meant for women. They were both of high quality too, and she found herself idly wondering if he had some preference for womens' clothing.

It certainly did not match his rugged face, the eyepatch, or the…rather manly chest he exposed under his shihakusho.

"We are, as they say, old friends." Aigis replied. She bowed lightly. "It is an honour to properly meet you in person, Captain-Commander."

He laughed – a hearty, deep-throated laugh, as if he just heard an excellent joke. "No need to be so stiff here. I'm not gonna bite your head off for any disrespect anyway. Though, I don't think I know your name yet…?"

"It's Aigis, sir," she replied.

"Aigis-chan it is," Kyoraku nodded.

"What was that about a hakuda showcase?" Naoto questioned.

"Matsumoto-sensei decided that since Makoto-san and I could beat up all of the students in hakuda, we were exempt from normal examinations for that subject and instead did a showcase for a few officers." Aigis explained.

"Oh, yes, I can see that happening." Naoto chuckled.

"Rangiku-chan said you beat her up on the first day of class." Kyoraku added casually.

It was Naoto's turn to laugh out loud. "Why am I not surprised?"

Aigis drank another sip of her tea to hide her rapidly reddening face.

"Well, back to topic." Kyoraku said. "What were you saying about the Winter War?"

"Oh yes." Naoto's voice immediately lost its prior lightness, as she jumped straight to the point. "There's a case that I asked Aigis-san for help on, but I'd like access to the Winter War documents to do some further research. Specifically, about the arrancars."

That was something that Aigis always appreciated about Naoto — she was always ready for work topics, unlike certain Operatives that had…difficulties focusing on their job.

Kyoraku leaned back and hummed in his seat. "That's a rather tall order. Care to elaborate on the case?"

"What is an 'arrancar'?" Aigis asked.

"In the simplest terms, a Hollow who was mixed with shinigami powers." Kyoraku replied. "It's extremely rare for them to develop it naturally, but Aizen used to experiment with creating artificial arrancars. There haven't been any new ones since the last war, thank goodness."

"I want to see if there is any precedent, or possibility, of Hollows developing abilities that specialise in long range detection and teleportation." Naoto continued. "I believe that if handled improperly, this issue can become a major threat to shinigami out on missions, and possibly to Seireitei itself."

"Naoto-chan, I'm gonna need more information than that." Kyoraku frowned. "Shinigami are supposed to be able to handle most situations that involve Hollows, and we haven't had any serious injuries during missions in the last few months since that incident with the Ninth last year. So why are you convinced that there's some unknown threat out there?"

He looked much more serious than his initial jovial persona. Aigis suspected that this was his way of dealing with more severe matters, where jokes would be inappropriate.

She had to remind herself that this was not her place to interject. Not when she was an unseated shinigami.

It was heartening to see that Kyoraku was not outright dismissing Naoto's claims, but he was being cagey with the information that she required to progress the case.

"If it was only one or two incidents, I would be inclined to dismiss it as a coincidence." Naoto said slowly, making sure she was clearly heard. "But I have documentation of at least five incidents of the same nature here in my hands. I cannot ignore it as a coincidence anymore, not when I am starting to find a pattern in them."

Kyoraku narrowed his eyes. "Explain this from the beginning."

This time, it was Naoto's turn to recount the various incidents, though she occasionally turned to Aigis for clarification on various minute details. He patiently listened to the whole story, barely interrupting either one of them, but it was clear that he took it seriously — his gaze barely left Naoto's face save for the occasional sideways glance to Aigis when she spoke.

When they were finished, Kyoraku's frown had deepened considerably. "I'll admit, I still don't quite see why this is a potential problem for us, beyond the usual Hollow attacks." He steepled his fingers together. "But you're quite convinced that there is something more going on right, Naoto-chan?"

"Yes sir." Naoto nodded.

He hummed in consideration. Naoto and Aigis waited quietly for his decision, neither daring to breathe wrong.

"I can't approve full release of the information on arrancar." The captain-commander finally said. Naoto was about to speak up with a rebuttal when she was stopped with a hand. "That is classified information, and not to dismiss your ability to handle sensitive information like that, but I can't take any risk of it falling into the wrong hands. But I can give you the data for all reports from the past five years, and a summary of Aizen's research. Once you have more concrete proof, give it to me and I'll consider the next steps."

Naoto exhaled and leaned back in her seat, the tension released from her body. "Thank you, Captain-Commander."

"I think I've stayed here long enough." Kyoraku's expression shifted back into his initial cheerful one, as if he did not spend the past twenty minutes weighing the resources needed to investigate a potential issue. "I definitely wasn't expecting to talk about work here, especially after the meeting."

"I think you know me well enough that I am usually working if I am here, Captain-Commander." Naoto's expression turned flat. "Plus, you invited yourself in."

"I just wanted to hide from Nanao-chan for a while…"

Was he pouting?

"I can call her here if you want." Naoto added. "I'm sure she will be pleased to see you caring about work for once."

"I'll go now!" Kyoraku jumped up from his seat and quickly stepped towards the office door. "Oh, and nice to meet you Aigis-chan, I'll let Ichigo-kun know where you've been!"

The door slammed shut behind him.

"Ah." Aigis blinked.

What she had meant to be a half an hour affair had turned into multiple hours, judging by the setting sun outside the office window. She had forgotten to inform Kurosaki too, despite promising to do so the last time she disappeared for half a day from the barracks.

Then her mind went to the giant pile of work on her desk.

She was going to have to do overtime today.

Notes:

Fun fact: Naoto and Toshiro share the same Japanese VA (Romi Park).

I'm sorry for the delay! My motivation was doing poorly last month and I also picked up two commissions, which I'm still working on (or trying to push myself to start working on it). This chapter is definitely one of the shortest I've written since the start of this story, but there wasn't much I could add without it feeling like obvious padding.

I had a good laugh when someone guessed Naoto would be the featured character within an hour of me posting this chapter, but I suppose it was quite obvious if you paid attention to the Persona users I've decided to include in the Gotei's ranks. Next chapter will introduce the last one, and then this very extended introduction to the 'verse will be complete!

So comment! Make sure the art bots don't win cause I bet $500 that they can't draw as well as me!

Chapter 33: Pursuing My True Self

The dull thwacks of wooden swords hitting against each other echoed throughout the cave, mixed with the grunts of shinigami exerting force against their sparring partners. Aigis let out a long sigh as she finally lowered her own wooden sword, then wiped away the sweat on her brow. Her opponent, meanwhile, was sprawled face down in the dirt, completely out cold.

The weekly training sessions that Kurosaki hosted for unseated shinigami were much more intensive than what Onabara taught in the Academy, consisting of fast-paced workouts and spars that left her with aching muscles for two days straight afterwards. For someone who was rather lax when it came to division duties, Kurosaki was a hard taskmaster when it came to physical training.

"Aigis!" Kurosaki suddenly barked, causing her to immediately stand to attention. "Your opponent may be down, but you aren't yet! Go do twenty laps around the area!"

"Yes sir!"

Twenty laps was definitely going to push her to her physical limits, but she grit her teeth and started jogging around the cave.

For a small blessing, the cool air wafting through the cave helped to wick away some of the sweat and exhaustion from Aigis's body, and it was the main reason she was able to keep going as she did. The cave itself was massive – she estimated that it probably encompassed almost the entirety of the Seventh barrack grounds, just underground, and it primarily served as the division's training grounds. Various rock spires and stalagmites jutted out of the ground and ceiling, though it was well illuminated by hidden light sources. Every surface was covered by pockmarks of some kind, from stray sword slashes to ash residue from explosions to deep gouges carved into the landscape. It made running laps around the area just a touch more precarious, as she had to pay attention and avoid tripping herself on the way.

It was difficult to judge the time of the day while in here, but Kurosaki adhered to a fixed schedule when it came to these sessions – they would gather at seven o'clock and train all the way until thirteen o'clock, after which the division officers were allowed to leave the cave and freely plan out the rest of the day. The training sessions were mandatory for shinigami in their first year of service in the division, but voluntary afterwards. Despite the Spartan workout, though, many older shinigami still attended them frequently. Even Rindo attended them every now and then, whenever he was not swamped by the various documents that he had to sign off on. Aigis briefly entertained the idea that the division shinigami were secretly more suited for the Eleventh rather than the Seventh, until she realised that the training sessions were working. The results were not obvious at first, but compared to when she first graduated from the Academy, her stamina had definitely increased.

Improving her physical abilities through training was a novel experience for her. She knew all the theory of it – she aided in some of the Operatives' training whenever she was needed, but as a robot, her physical capabilities increased mainly by upgrading her parts. There was close to no effort from her required.

Aigis was starting to see why Akihiko loved to train as much as he did – it was satisfying to watch her own efforts pay off.

Six laps in, she started hearing a conversation from the centre of the cave. Most shinigami would be too tired or focused to have a conversation in the middle of training, so she could only infer that something had happened. As she got closer, she tilted her head, because it almost sounded like Kurosaki was carrying a conversation by himself.

"Does it really need to be done by next week?"

"Ideally, yeah. It's an important article, so Captain Hisagi wants it published as soon as possible."

It was difficult to differentiate the two voices, but one was much calmer than Kurosaki's rough grunts, and it was of a lower cadence too.

"Hisagi-san should go and reevaluate his own damn timeline. We aren't machines here! Hell, I heard you'd just recovered from your injuries back then, didn't you?"

"Thanks for your concern, but I'm more or less fully recovered now. And yes, I tried, Captain Kurosaki, but I can't push it any further. Can you consider it at least? The Thirteenth agreed to it already."

"Yeah because Rukia always seems to be free! She doesn't have to deal with as much work as we do!"

Her curiosity won over, and Aigis lightly jogged to the source of the disagreement, hovering awkwardly behind a rock spire.

"I can try to push it to the end of next week, but I can't go any further."

Kurosaki let out a low groan, which she interpreted as a cry of frustration. Her eyes drifted over to the other man, whose back was currently turned towards her. He was quite tall, being roughly the same height as Kurosaki himself, who was already a tall man, though the newcomer was more slender judging by his thinner arms. His grey hair was shaped into a neat bowl cut…

Hold on.

She recognised the hairstyle.

"Yu-san?" Aigis stepped out from behind the rock spire.

Both men turned towards her, though Kurosaki seemed much less surprised and more annoyed, as he leaned around to glare at her and furrowed his brows deeper than usual. "You know each other?"

Aigis looked at the other man. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes just a little wider than usual, as if he was trying to decide if he was surprised or not. But it was the same grey eyes and hairline that covered his eyebrows as he had when he was alive. There were slight creases around the corner of his eyes as he recovered from his shock into a gentle smile.

That was Narukami Yu, all right.

"Aigis-san." Yu greeted her calmly as ever, though there was an undercurrent of excitement beneath it. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I do work at this division though." Aigis said dryly, though she did not bother hiding her own smile. "I thought Chie-san or Naoto-san would've told you."

Then again, she did not know that Yu was a part of the Gotei as well.

He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled. "I actually just came back from leave," he said, looking a little ashamed. "Got injured pretty badly last winter and I was in rehab 'til recently."

Her eyes drifted to the small wooden badge tied to his arm, with the kanji for 'nine' emblazoned on it.

"Oh yes, I remember that Captain Hisagi had mentioned it last winter when I visited." Aigis nodded. "I did not know that lieutenant was you, though."

"You're more of a social butterfly than I thought, Aigis." Kurosaki crossed his arms, though he seemed amused by the exchange more than anything. "Another friend of yours?"

She hoped Kurosaki would not notice a trend amongst her friends. She avoided another lecture the last time she returned to her division late thanks to Kyoraku covering for her a week ago, though she was hoping it would not become a habit – it would be an awful impression to leave on her captain.

"Yup." Yu cheerfully answered for her. "Though she was also the last person I expected to see here."

"I had not expected to come here either." Aigis agreed. "Though I am curious – what were you talking about earlier?"

Kurosaki's expression immediately soured, though it was not directed at anyone in the vicinity. "This guy's captain," he jabbed a thumb at Yu, "wants us to put together a complete report of the happenings outside of Soul Society for their magazine. And they're not giving us enough time to do it."

"My captain is running out of material for articles." Yu shrugged helplessly. "I tried to convince him to reconsider, but he's adamant."

"I would imagine that a place as large as Soul Society has interesting happenings all the time." Aigis countered. "Why is your captain so focused on outside Soul Society?"

"He wanted to give the nobles 'a taste of foreign culture' or something." Yu said.

Aigis blinked. "But he does not need to look far for foreign cultures," she pointed out. "The culture of the outer districts would be different enough to feel exotic for the nobles."

Yu nudged her. "I think you know what the average nobles are like," his voice lowered considerably, then glanced at Kurosaki.

Oh, right. With how absent Kurosaki was and his general demeanour, she often forgot that her own captain was a member of the Five Great Noble Houses.

"No offense taken," Kurosaki grunted, seeming slightly displeased despite his words. "But you know those uptight people won't be satisfied with that kind of article."

Yu put one hand on his chin and considered the dilemma.

"Actually, if you don't mind…" He laid one hand lightly on Aigis's shoulder. "Can I borrow her for a day? I just might be able to get all the materials I need without bothering you."

Kurosaki scowled. "What is it with everyone wanting a piece of you?" he grumbled. But he waved a hand at them all the same. "If it'll get Hisagi-san off my back, fine. But she better be back by the end of the day!"

"I promise!" Yu agreed. "Come on, I'll treat you to lunch."

"I'll ask Rindo and see if he can reassign some of your work to others." Kurosaki nodded towards Aigis. "You'll still need to handle all the French translation editing for that one report though – none of the others are good enough at it."

"Yes sir." Aigis bowed slightly despite her own internal confusion, then used what little of her remaining energy to catch up to the lieutenant.

---

"I don't think I've ever seen you physically this exhausted." Yu chuckled as he pushed a cup of juice towards Aigis's face.

They were seated at a small restaurant close to the Seventh division barracks. It turned out to be lunchtime when they exited the cave, but despite the hour there were not all that many people around in contrast to the other restaurants she knew, which would generally be packed with people during lunch rush. The decorations were also quite tasteful, consisting of delicately carved wooden screens and plush wooden chairs, blending Eastern and Western styles together into something that did not quite fit into either one, yet pleasing all the same.

Perhaps the location was deliberate, to match the Seventh's duties.

"I think he has a talent of pushing people to their physical limits every single time during training." Aigis mumbled, half of her face pressed against the cool stone surface of the table, though she accepted the drink and nudged it closer to her. It was an unseeming display in contrast to her usual diligence, but she did not – could not – care for much when every muscle of her being was still on the verge of screaming in agony.

"Can't deny his methods are effective though," he agreed. "He kept pushing me back when I was at the division too."

Aigis righted her head so that her chin was on the table instead. "You used to be a part of the Seventh?"

"For about twenty years." Yu confirmed. "I mostly just did English translations while I was there though."

His English skills were indeed better than most. Aigis recalled that he was an expat back when he was alive, making him one of the more elusive auxiliary Operatives as he was often not in the country whenever an incident happened. But whenever he had time to join in on a mission, the issue tended to stay solved.

She mustered enough energy to take a sip of her drink. It turned out to be watermelon juice, which was quite welcome in the sweltering summer.

"What made you move to the Ninth then?" Aigis asked.

"Felt I was doing too much of the same stuff." Yu sighed. "Sure, I was good at it, but it got boring after a while. So I decided to try something I've never done before."

"I thought Captain Hisagi would be stricter with his standards." Aigis tilted her head. "Chie-san said she was rejected from the division."

"That's because he wasn't a fan of…ah, 'childish writing'. His words, not mine." Yu clarified as he sipped his own iced tea. "I worked with him before, and he was quite fond of me. He basically recommended me to an open position in his division, and I've been here ever since."

"Speaking of writing," Aigis sipped her juice to whet her throat, "why me?"

Yu stared at her. "...well I figured that you died recently, so you should be somewhat up to date with the general happenings in the Living World, right?"

Aigis blinked.

Yu kept his stare.

"The information I know of is twelve years out of date, disregarding the snippets of news I get from reports." Aigis began slowly. "The Living World is changing practically every minute. Are you sure you still want the information?"

"It just needs to fool the nobles enough." He smiled, folding his hands on the table.

It seemed to contain more than just a friendly smile, but Aigis brushed it off. She trusted Yu enough to know what he was doing.

Plus, she supposed that he had a point. The magazine, at the end of the day, was made for entertainment after all.

"Many countries are turning back into monarchies." Aigis began after taking another sip of her juice. "Rampant capitalism made certain people so much more powerful than even the governments that they effectively became rulers in their own right."

Yu frowned lightly, but did not say anything.

"There are efforts to redistribute wealth however, primarily from grassroots organisations," she continued. "Some of them are labelled as terrorist organisations for essentially going against the ruling power, but many were started by vestigial governments, so they have a surprising amount of pull."

"That…" Yu hesitated for a moment, then slowly found his words, "sounds messy."

"It is." Aigis agreed. "Japan has been largely spared from this due to the existence of the Emperor, but financially it is doing worse than two centuries ago, primarily from a declining population."

Japan's adherence to tradition was often in the way of new ideas, in her opinion, but in this case she had to thank the cultural importance of the Emperor for metaphorically shielding the country from the worst of the world's changes.

"The world's superpowers have changed too." Aigis recounted. "The United States have fallen far behind due to infighting, while Europe is divided on almost every single opinion." She sometimes wondered why the European Union still existed if the member countries could not agree on anything, though the shared currency that made trading across borders that much easier was in and of itself a very tempting benefit to staying within the Union. "China is the country doing the best economically for itself at the moment, but it often gets challenged ideologically by various other nations, and the government itself has changed multiple times as well."

Yu took out a notebook from his sleeve and started taking notes.

"Africa as a whole was in the middle of an economic boom last I heard about it." Aigis leaned back in her seat, trying to recall the various pieces of information she still remembered from her time as director of the Operatives. "There are now multiple organisations trying to turn the Sahara Desert back into arable land for agriculture, and they are working to a certain extent. Interestingly, there are also organisations looking to preserve part of the desert as well…a desert, for 'historical purposes' supposedly."

He looked up from his notes. "I suppose I can see an argument for it, though I personally think it's fairly pointless."

Aigis shrugged. "It is not our place to comment on it, I think."

She continued meandering through different tidbits that she remembered for the next ten minutes, as Yu listened with quiet attention. His pen (similar to Naoto, it was a fountain pen) never completely stopped as he kept jotting notes, only pausing occasionally to ask questions or clarify certain areas he was unsure about.

At some point while Aigis was describing the turbulent rise of South America as an economic power, their meals arrived at the table. She had ordered oxtail stew for herself, which was more because it was the first dish that she saw rather than any real interest in the dish itself, while Yu was eyeing his omurice with barely contained anticipation.

"How about we eat first while the food's still hot?" he suggested. "You must be tired from all the exercise and talking."

"Thank you." Aigis reached for the metal spoon on her table. She was indeed starving due to her light breakfast, because it was never a good idea to eat too much before heavy training sessions.

The stew turned out to be thick, with a heavy emphasis on the savouriness of the meat, accentuated by pepper, cream and what tasted vaguely like some sort of sour soy sauce. While it was perfectly edible, and some might even call it delectable, it was a strange balance of flavours — not quite what she expected out of the dish.

Then again, her own tastebuds were not entirely well developed, owing to her origins as a robot. Sure, she had the necessary data on what foods and different ingredients were supposed to taste like, it was not the same as experience, and she usually did not have the opportunity to eat food when she was still alive. After she arrived at Soul Society, the food she tasted was more on the bland side, as it seemed that shinigami in general preferred food with more…natural flavours.

She suppressed her confusion over the taste and went for another spoonful, this time savouring it more carefully.

"Not to your tastes?" Yu asked, a spoonful of rice halfway to his mouth.

"It tastes like…" Aigis searched for the right words as she slowly rolled the stew in her mouth, "the chef might have been a little too eager to put whatever they liked in this dish."

He chuckled at that answer. "You're not entirely wrong. Western ingredients are a rare commodity here since Japanese culture is so prevalent. I heard this restaurant was only able to open because Captain Kurosaki promised a supply of Living World ingredients for the chef to use."

She wondered how many experiments the chef had to go through to make the dishes presentable.

"I can applaud their effort, at the very least." Aigis took a bite of the meat this time. Unlike the clashing flavours of the stew, the meat was perfectly tender as it melted in her mouth, and she involuntarily let out a satisfied hum.

They ate in companionable silence for the most part, broken by the occasional clinking of silverware against dishes, and the gentle sips of their drinks.

"Before I get surprised by more people I know," Aigis began near the end of the meal, "apart from you, Chie-san, Naoto-san, Akechi-san, Makoto-san and Akihiko, are there anymore Persona users I know here?"

"Niijima is here too?" Yu blinked. He had polished off every grain of rice on his plate, leaving just a smudge of ketchup on his plate. "When did that happen?"

"We graduated together."

"Well then, not that I know as shinigami." Yu nodded. "I don't know about Rukongai since it's so big, but at least in the Gotei, that's all of us."

She tilted her head. "So you knew about Akechi-san?"

"Just the basics." Yu confirmed. "It'd be weird for someone he doesn't know to suddenly go up to him and talk about his past, so I've avoided him for the most part. I hope Niijima hasn't run into him yet…"

Aigis shook her head and reached for her juice. "Too late. They met during the winter tour for Academy graduates."

"And nothing happened?"

"Captain Soifon showed up."

He nodded sagely. "That would stop any argument, if she wasn't the one starting it in the first place."

An image of Soifon yelling in the other captains' faces popped into her imagination. Despite her short stature, it was almost too easy to see Soifon arguing with another captain considering her no-nonsense attitude that she saw back during the tour. Aigis cut it off before her mind wandered too far.

"I think their relationship is something they need to work through themselves," she said. "It's not something that we should be meddling in."

He shrugged. "I say they're overdue for a good talk," he countered, "because they need to really listen to each other's viewpoints. Whether they become friends or not isn't the problem, it's the fact that there's so many misunderstandings between them and they need to clear that up."

"They can decide that at their own pace."

"Really?" Yu raised an eyebrow. "I was thinking of giving them a slight push, just so it doesn't cause problems down the line."

And there came his bad habit again.

Yu always meant well, and Aigis genuinely trusted his emotional and social maturity, but sometimes, he was just a little…too self-assured in his own abilities as a mediator to repair relationships. Perhaps it came from his experiences as a Wild Card, but Aigis was of the firm belief that interpersonal relationships should be managed by the people in question, not by a third party.

Especially something as complicated as Akechi's relationship with the Phantom Thieves.

From what Aigis knew of Makoto, she would much prefer to solve her problems herself, rather than wait for someone to interject. Actually, she ran into much of the same issues as Yu did – trying to intervene in problems that did not directly affect her, such as her current project she was collaborating with Shihouin.

"You should at least give them a chance to reconcile their relationship themselves." Aigis chided. "Makoto-san has barely joined the Gotei for four months, and considering how long the average shinigami lives, they have plenty of time to slowly work through that."

Yu pursed his lips and frowned softly.

"Besides," she continued, " doing so when you do not have all the necessary details? That does not sound like one of your better ideas, Yu-san."

"But Ren told me everything…" he pouted.

"I'm not talking about the facts." Aigis stopped him before he could continue. "I'm talking about Akechi-san's view on what happened. You should know better than I do that their subjective view is much more important in this case than what objectively happened. I think that he is only recently starting to become more honest with himself, but it is incredibly easy for him to shut down again. You pushing the topic could reverse all the progress he has made so far."

That fake, celebrity-like smile stuck to Aigis, even after three years. Maybe it was because it was the first impression she had of Akechi, or maybe it reminded her of her origins as someone who could only imitate others before slowly starting to understand why humanity took the actions they did, but either way…she pitied him.

If she ever voiced that thought in front of Akechi though, he would probably attempt to kill her.

Yu finally deflated.

"I know you mean well," she sighed as she finished the last sip of her juice, "but this is not something you can decide by yourself. At the very least, you should talk to Makoto-san about her feelings on the subject."

"I'll…go do that," he agreed. "I'm glad I could at least talk about the idea before I started on the first step."

With their lunch finished, he pushed the plates aside and took out his notebook again, which he tucked away before they started their meal. "Anyway, I think we were talking about South America?"

---

When Narukami brought his best rookie shinigami back to the Seventh barracks, the sun was already low on the horizon. Ichigo scowled at the pair from his desk in the office, one who looked like her brain was slightly fried and the other who was deep in his thoughts.

What the hell did those two talk about?

"You got what you needed?" Ichigo asked, in lieu of a greeting. He never was good with them anyway.

That seemed to snap them both out of their stupor to some extent, as they straightened up. "Yeah, thanks." Narukami replied. "I should be good for the report."

"Good to know." Ichigo grunted back. "Can't have one of my best translators constantly absent from her station."

Aigis visibly cringed, though she also smoothed out her face once she caught Ichigo's glance.

Well, at least this absence wasn't caused by her getting sidetracked, so he could let it slide, not that her work allowed that.

"Sorry Aigis," Ichigo shuffled his papers, "but I need you to get those French translations done tonight – Kyoraku-san wants them ASAP."

The young woman blinked, then straightened up. "Yes, sir."

No questions, no hesitation at all. He liked that, but well…nobody could possibly like the idea of regular overtime. He'd have to watch how much he relied on her.

There was the possibility of bumping one of his seated officers lower to make space for Aigis, since she clearly had the ability to keep up with the duties of one, but so far all of his current officers were doing fine in their roles, and it'd be awkward for him to derank any of them without a solid excuse. All he could do for now was to try and make sure that she did not need to work overtime as much as possible.

"I'll get dinner for you if you want," Ichigo offered.

"That is quite alright, Captain." Aigis bowed, then turned to the door. "I should be done within an hour."

The two men watched her close the door softly as she stepped out of the office.

"I didn't think she'd be done within an hour…" Ichigo commented, his hands absentmindedly typing out a report for his own records.

"She can, probably." Narukami shrugged. "She's a workaholic like that. Hope this doesn't become a habit."

"I'm trying here, dammit." Ichigo grouched. "How did you two meet anyway? You clearly know her better than I do."

"We used to be coworkers," the lieutenant replied simply. "Anyway, I'll get going now. Thanks for lending her this afternoon!"

It was Narukami's turn to disappear through the doorway, his steps echoing steadily like rolling thunder, except without the ominousness.

Ichigo almost considered chasing after the guy for more answers, but his mind was tired enough from the work accumulating this week. Plus, it was Friday.

He deserved a damn break.

Notes:

Note: Yu and Ichigo shares the same English VA.

Sorry for the serious schedule slip everyone! This chapter was fighting me the whole way, plus I was just not much in a writing mood lately, so this one took a while to come out. And yeah, I have nothing for the next chapter either (but some plot bunnies for the next arc), so while I can't guarantee a date on when the next chapter will come out, I can guarantee that I will at least not abandon this story...probably.

Anyway. Summer's boiling here lately, and there's no air con at home, so I've been barely surviving with my fan on almost 24/7. I've actually kinda gotten used to it - I don't use the cooling spray I have much nowadays, but it still feels bad when you feel sticky at the end of the day. Hopefully it should cool down within the next couple days though and actually cools my home. It traps heat too well.

No other major updates apart from above, but next chapter should wrap up this incredibly extended introduction arc. After that it's a short interlude or 2 and we can jump into the next arc! So comment! Tell me who you think will appear in the story in the future!

Chapter 34: Connected

"You finished earlier than usual today." Rindo typed on his tablet after a moment of hesitation.

Not that Aigis tended to do overtime or delay her work. She just tried to be as efficient as she could.

Today though, she practically rushed through her substantial pile of documents, and instead of starting on less critical work with the time left, opted to push them for another day.

"I have an event to attend after work." Aigis stated. "I hope you can excuse me for that."

Her lieutenant blinked at how direct she was, paused, then shrugged. "You're excused. Just don't cause a ruckus when you come back."

It was Aigis's turn to blink. "What gave you that impression?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"You've been smiling to yourself the entire day." Rindo typed, then halfway to turning his tablet flipped it back to himself and typed more. "It's fine. Feel free to go enjoy yourself."

She bowed shallowly. "Thank you, sir."

He waved her off.

---

By the time she changed into more casual wear — a light blue yukata that fit the warm evening, Akihiko was already waiting at the entrance of the Seventh barracks in a red and brown yukata of his own. "Glad you could finish on time, Aigis," he said in lieu of a greeting.

"You too," she replied. "I thought your captain would be more strict considering your position."

"Lieutenant privileges." He grinned, then set off towards Rukongai as Aigis walked beside him. "He can't really stop me from that."

"Are you sure you did not push your work to someone else?" she needled him good-naturedly.

"Like I said," he shrugged without looking at her, "lieutenant privileges."

Which, in his words, meant that he did at least dump part of his work on someone else. Aigis briefly entertained the idea of giving him a light talking-to, before she tamped down on the urge and chucked instead.

A few days after her meeting with Yu, he asked her when she was free for a gathering. "It's become a tradition for us Persona users at this point," he had said. "Just a good meal and catching up together."

Naturally, she agreed. So Akihiko came over to pick her up, since she was not told exactly where it would be happening other than that it was a restaurant.

"Is anyone picking up Makoto-san?" she asked.

"Chie said she'd take care of it," he answered, then turned a corner down the street towards the Fifth division barracks.

So it seemed that wherever their destination was, it was not exactly in Rukongai. Not that they were not allowed to, though — she heard it was common for shinigami to visit establishments in the closer Rukongai districts for meals rather than stay in Seireitei, similar to how some people would travel half an hour or more to a different restaurant for a change of pace. Aigis simply had not felt the urge for that yet, considering that she did not have high standards for food, and her barracks' cafeteria served a good variety of cuisine. Still, she appreciated the trips to different restaurants for some variety in her diet.

"This must have been rather difficult to organise, considering how many of us are here." Aigis commented on the way.

"Not quite as hard as you think." Akihiko said. "The main thing was making sure people aren't on trips on the day itself. And we always have a fixed place for this, so it's easy to let the owner know."

"Will it be a problem?" she asked. "Us talking about Personas and the past, that is."

"Nah," he waved it off. "You don't have to worry about that." He winked, which was rather uncommon for him as he turned down a shadowed alley. "And here we are."

Tucked away at the far end of the alley was a small shop front, with warm, inviting lights that dimly lit the entrance. A wooden board was nailed above it, with the words "Izakaya" engraved in maroon. The traditional sliding door hung a plaque that said "Closed", but Akihiko ignored the sign and slid the door open. "Narukami reserved the entire place for us, so just relax." He stepped through.

"You're late, Aki!" A gruff voice floated through.

"I'm still not the last one here, dammit! And I had to go pick someone up too." Akihiko argued back immediately.

The other voice was…distantly familiar, dredging up almost abandoned memories. Aigis followed Akihiko into the restaurant, closing the door behind her.

It was decorated in a surprisingly homely manner, with a few tables pushed towards one side of the small restaurant, and a bar on the other side. Both had a small stack of ceramic tea cups and glass cups placed on top, presumably for guests to serve their own drinks. Wooden chairs and stools were haphazardly placed around the wooden floor, with another two stacks in the back corner near where she assumed the kitchen was. A variety of knives and kitchen implements hung on the wall behind the bar, which had enough space for a single person to serve drinks or food.

"So who's the new guy this time?" The owner of the voice turned out to be in the kitchen, but walked out. "Can't be someone I know right?"

Aigis almost choked on air.

He was wearing a white apron over a maroon jinbei, a bowl in hand as he polished it with a piece of cloth. His dark hair was styled in a shaggy mullet, and everything about his unfriendly and rugged face screamed "delinquent", yet she felt nothing but warmth and surprise.

"Aragaki…-san?" Her voice was almost an octave higher than usual.

There was a pregnant pause. His hands paused.

"What," Aragaki Shinjiro blurted, "the fuck?"

---

"You lied to me." Aigis pouted at Yu.

It took a full minute for everyone to calm down from laughing at Aragaki's reaction – Chie was outright guffawing, while Makoto seemed slightly confused but found humor in the situation. Yu was chuckling at the bar table, one hand futilely covering his mouth. All three were in casual yukatas, so it seems like they had some time to change out of their uniforms before they came over.

"On what part?" Yu managed through chuckles.

"On you saying that I met all the Persona users already." Despite herself, she was already smiling. "But now I see Aragaki-san right here, and he's a Persona user."

"Not a shinigami though." Yu calmed down slightly. "Never was one. So technically, I never lied."

She turned to Akihiko for clarification.

It was his turn to pout. "I tried to convince Shinji to join the Gotei," he grumbled. "But he was having none of it."

"I did badly enough in S.E.E.S.," Aragaki sniped back. "What made you think I'd do well in the Gotei? The kitchen suited me much better."

"Why a restaurant though?" Aigis asked.

Aragaki shrugged. "Aki wouldn't shut up about my cooking, and he kept saying he'd fund me. So I made it as annoying to get to as possible for him."

Come to think of it, this restaurant was quite far from the Third. Or rather, it was nowhere near any division that Persona users were in.

"You funded the entire restaurant?" Aigis asked incredulously.

"Got help from a lot of people here actually." Akihiko replied. "The hard part was convincing him to actually take the money."

She could imagine that.

"Narukami said he's bringing a couple new people for the gathering, but I never thought one of them would be you." Aragaki waved a dishcloth in her general direction. "Aren't you a robot?"

Aigis shrugged. "My chassis and Papillon Heart was torn by a Shadow," she said matter-of-factly. "I think that counts as dying."

It was only after the words came out of her mouth that she realised it was probably a rather morbid topic to bring up at what was supposed to be a happy party. The mood of the restaurant soured immediately, as everyone went quiet at the revelation.

"Oh, did I never tell anyone here?"

"You told me," Akihiko replied glumly, "but it doesn't seem like you told anyone else."

Naoto chose that inopportune moment to enter the restaurant, the only one still in her uniform. "Sorry I'm late, Captain had a few emergencies I had to handle— what is with the dour mood here?"

"Don't mind us, Shirogane." Aragaki sighed and turned back to the kitchen. "Aigis just decided to tell us how she died."

"I suppose that some might say it was not my finest moment." Aigis added lightly.

Aragaki snorted at that, and all tension broke. "Aki told me about how you changed after I passed, but seeing it in person is quite funny," he snarked back. "Take a seat. I'll whip up some sushi for us." He disappeared back into the kitchen, presumably to prepare the food.

"Make a steak sushi platter please!" Chie called.

"Yeah yeah, just settle down," came the reply from the kitchen.

Akihiko and Aigis found free seating opposite Chie and Makoto, while Naoto moved to sit next to Yu at the bar.

"How is your project going?" Aigis asked Makoto.

"I think everyone is finally starting to actually get along and not just tolerate each other," she sighed. "Took them long enough."

"I suppose they are starting to find common ground now." Aigis nodded. "It's good to hear that there's some progress now."

"The fact that you got permission for it in the first place is amazing though," Chie commented. "And as an Academy student too. I didn't think they'd give someone like you the time of the day." She paused, then waved both hands in front of her. "Er, not to downplay your importance or anything!"

"It's fine, I get what you mean. I'm really thankful Lieutenant Shihouin has a lot of pull." Makoto said. "I think he's starting to see the value in this plan, especially since the village is on its way to becoming self-sustainable, and half of the complaints have been rescinded."

"Makoto-san told you about it, Chie-san?" Aigis cocked her head to the side as she shifted her attention.

"Just the basics." Chie grinned.

"It was in the First Division reports." Naoto added from her bar seating. "The Captain-Commander usually reads it more like entertainment than an actual report though."

"Figures." Makoto sipped the chilled tea in front of her. "I don't think the Gotei realises how important it is to develop the outer districts."

"Even though a good chunk of shinigami are from Rukongai, most of them are eager to forget that they were once second-class citizens." Akihiko pointed out. "And the nobles usually don't care. They're like those stubborn old geezers who think they know everything, but twenty times worse since they've lived far longer. Not saying that all of them are like that – if it was, Makoto's project wouldn't have gotten off the ground in the first place, but that's the general sentiment."

"Damn, you find something new to complain about every time you have a party here." Aragaki emerged from the back, holding a stein of beer in one hand and a pitcher of lemon and cucumber slices soaked in water in the other. "If you're gonna have a party, at least talk about happy shit. Or start complaining after you've had too much to drink."

"You're always complaining about us though." Akihiko pointed out. "Pot, kettle?"

"If you'd stop having parties here it'd be better for my business anyway." Aragaki complained. "I wouldn't lose an entire night's revenue."

"You've never denied us though." Yu joined in. "Even when we gave you the option to do so."

Aragaki let out an exasperated sigh at this, and slammed both the pitcher and stein down at the bar counter. "Just get your damn beer already. And Aigis, I'm restricting you from alcohol. No telling how it'll affect you."

"I was not planning on drinking anyway." Aigis replied as she got up from her seat. "Though it seems that Akihiko comes here often enough that you know his drink order."

"More like he bothers me enough for me to know what he wants." Aragaki groused back.

"I am glad to see that you are still such good friends," she smiled brightly. She took both the pitcher and stein and carried it back to her table, settling it down with a much gentler thump.

"Oh, this is perfect for the weather!" Chie cheered when she saw the pitcher. "Thanks, Aragaki-san!"

He went back into the kitchen in a huff.

"Was he…" Makoto waved one hand at the general situation, while the other went for the empty glasses, "always like this?"

"I suppose the best term that some may describe him as would be 'tsundere'." Aigis stated. She cooperated with the brunette as they poured out glasses of flavoured water for everyone. "I distinctly remember once when he tried to hide the fact that he was cooking special meals for Koromaru back when we were still at the dorm."

"Don't you dare!" A distant yell from the kitchen instead only elicited laughs from everyone else in the restaurant.

"He may be crass and gruff, but he truly cared for us." Aigis continued. "Otherwise, he would not have…"

She trailed off as she struggled to find the words.

"I think I remember Amada-kun telling me about it." Makoto cut her off softly. "I'm starting to see why he always talked so highly about Aragaki-san."

"He will never admit it, but he was the biggest softie back in S.E.E.S.." Akihiko said as he took a swig of his beer. "Even more so than Yamagishi."

Makoto raised an eyebrow at that. "Really?"

The former S.E.E.S. members nodded together.

"Okay, you can shut up about that now." Aragaki gruffly cut them off, as he dropped two giant plates of sushi on the table, along with a smaller plate at the bar for Yu and Naoto. Aigis noticed that half of one particular plate was full of raw beef sushi. "Is my past really that interesting?"

"It is your first time meeting Makoto-san," she pointed out. "I need to establish a good impression on your behalf, since you were in the kitchen for so long."

"I don't need you doing that job for me!"

"Then you should at least join us." Yu laughed at the antics. Naoto nodded along, also clearly enjoying Aragaki's floundering.

He hung his head in defeat.

---

Sushi turned out to be the perfect party food, as an easy to eat bite-sized morsel they could put in their mouths with either chopsticks or their hands as the conversations flowed. Aigis found that she preferred the taste of tuna sushi the best – it was flavourful but not overly strong in terms of texture or fishiness. Then again, she did not have very developed tastebuds, so much of the fish actually tasted rather similar to her, despite everyone else being able to taste the differences between the wide variety of sushi that was served.

Even with the large amount of food, it did not stop Aragaki from serving skewers and two beef bowls for Akihiko and Chie later, who wolfed down their respective bowls as if they did not just eat enough food for two grown men.

At some point, Aigis found herself at the bar table, as she enjoyed some grilled chicken wings while Aragaki stood behind the bar table, cleaning the emptied dishes.

"You graduated with Niijima, right?" Aragaki asked suddenly.

Aigis blinked. "From the Academy?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Which team was she from?"

She cocked her head. "Did anyone tell you about the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"

"Hmm," he considered the question as he put a plate away. "I think Aki told me about it once. Frankly, the entire thing sounds ridiculous."

"Maybe, but we were quite infamous back then." Makoto walked up to the counter, an empty stein in her hand. "Sorry, I had to cut off Sanada-san. He's starting to get drunk."

"Thanks for doing that." Aragaki nodded appreciatively as he collected the glass. "I don't need him frying my electric circuit again."

"He did what?" Aigis widened her eyes, a half-eaten chicken wing hanging from her mouth.

"The first time he got drunk here," he sighed, "he decided he wanted to show off...what was it, Caesar? Said he never showed me his new Persona, so he just summoned the thing right in the middle of the restaurant."

He shook his head. "I was out of business for half a month before I repaired everything. But back to the topic, what're you doing in the Gotei if you're a thief?"

"We only stole the hearts of criminals to reform them, thank you very much." Makoto replied. "Though strictly speaking, we were vigilantes."

"Still sort of breaking the law, weren't you?"

"I was the police commissioner for a few decades," she shrugged. "Most of us never got caught except our leader, and he was acquitted."

It was Aragaki's turn to blink. "I've never heard of anyone getting acquitted in the Japanese legal system."

"Well yes," Makoto smiled proudly. "It was quite the landmark case."

Behind them, Aigis heard a loud wail as Akihiko slurred incomprehensible words to Chie and Naoto while they comforted him. She chose to ignore it.

"I s'pose I can see why you'd join the Gotei then." Aragaki went back to washing the dishes. "You're welcome here anytime for a meal, by the way. Just don't discuss Persona stuff with other customers around."

"Of course." Makoto nodded. "The food was delicious, by the way. Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"My first job back when I was alive was in a restaurant." Aragaki answered. "The owner taught me how to cook, but I was only okay at it."

"Really? From what Aigis-san told me about you your food was compared to the best gourmet food Kirijo-san could get."

Aragaki turned to stare daggers at Aigis. "What the hell did you tell her?"

"What everyone considered the objective truth." Aigis replied lightly as she finished the last bit of her chicken wings.

He slapped a wet hand at his forehead. "Why am I being embarrassed beyond the grave?"

"Koromaru also said that no food was as good as what you cooked for him," she added.

"Not the dog too!"

Makoto giggled at that. "It makes me want to pick up cooking again," she said. "I cooked when I was younger, but as I got busy with work it became difficult to find time to cook, and my skills atrophied."

"I'm not teaching." Aragaki retorted immediately.

She raised her hands apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry if I sounded like I was implying anything! But I hope you don't mind if I come here occasionally with questions about cooking."

"Are there cooking facilities in the Sixth?" Aigis asked curiously. She could not recall any kitchens that the division officers could use in the Seventh at least.

"Apparently some of the officers use the cafeteria kitchen after hours." Makoto answered. "Captain Kuchiki doesn't seem to mind as long as they clean up afterwards."

"...Fine." Aragaki agreed grudgingly.

"Give yourself some credit, Makoto." Yu popped up behind them, a mug of beer in his hand. "Your cooking skills were perfectly fine even after getting busy."

Aigis was sure that he had been drinking almost as heavily as Akihiko, but he seemed fairly lucid, unlike the other lieutenant. Then again, Yosuke often described Yu as being able to drink ten executives under the table, so maybe this barely registered to him as drinking.

"Compared to what I had the energy to make when I was in high school, it was a far cry." Makoto sighed. "I didn't think I could get busier after college even without dealing with Phantom Thief stuff."

"Oh yeah, did you think about what I said the last time?" Yu asked suddenly.

"I'm still considering it," she replied tersely.

It took a moment for Aigis to realise what the sudden non-sequitor was about, but she had to applaud Yu's decisiveness in such cases. "About meeting with Akechi-san?"

"Who?" Aragaki looked thoroughly lost.

"Fourth seat of the Second Division." Aigis explained. "Tried to kill the Phantom Thieves back when they were alive."

"We've been avoiding him since it'd be weird for any of us Operatives to approach him when we didn't know him back when he was alive," Yu continued, "but I thought it'd be a good chance now for Makoto and Akechi to air out their grievances and well…maybe not forgive each other, but come to some sort of understanding, I suppose."

"Damn," Aragaki took a moment to digest the idea. "You guys were even wilder than I thought."

"You don't have anything to add?" Makoto asked.

"Not my place to say shit." Aragaki started polishing the washed dishes. "I'd never forgive the guy who killed me, but I have no regrets protecting Ken. Your situation sounds a lot messier than mine though."

"I suppose that is one way of putting it," she sighed again. "I'm just…not really sure where my feelings are on the matter. It's been so long I don't really care about it much nowadays, and if I'm honest, I'd rather just never have to deal with Akechi again."

"Hey, that's a valid way of thinking." Aragaki agreed. "Since you two are in different divisions, it's not like you'll work together in normal situations anyway."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we should introduce ourselves to him at some point too." Yu shrugged. He did not seem all that disappointed at Makoto's response, merely taking it in stride. "I feel a little bad hiding the fact that there's so many people here who know his past."

"This might be petty of me, but I don't feel bad at all." Makoto said. "I'm perfectly happy to keep him out of the loop."

"Ignorance is not bliss though." Yu retorted.

"I don't think he cared much about the truth back then." Makoto refuted. "He may have changed somewhat, but I still don't feel ready yet."

The lieutenant finally sighed. "Alright, I'll wait until you feel completely ready," he relented. "But if you have anything you want to talk about before that, just come and find me. I'll lend an ear at the very least."

"Thanks, Narukami-san."

Before she could internally sigh in relief at how they were resolving the issue, Aigis heard a slam at the table behind them.

"Come on Master, you're– you can't sleep here." Chie hiccuped between her words, her face slightly flushed but still somewhat aware of her surroundings. Akihiko, meanwhile, was sprawled out on top of the table, his face definitely flushed. Naoto sat on the side as she sipped some tea, seemingly content to just enjoy the antics.

"I thought you cut him off?" Aragaki eyed Makoto.

"I'm sure I did…" The brunette trailed off.

"He is the type to have the alcohol affect him long after he stopped drinking." Aigis explained. It was a scene that she had witnessed many times before, when they were both alive. "And since it seems like he did not drink any water after you cut him off, it was not diluted enough."

"Why do you have that down to a science?" Aragaki grumbled.

"I was his minder on many things back when we were alive."

He stared at her for a long while, then finally shook his head. "He's in no condition to go back to his division like this," he sighed. "I'll put him up in my apartment for the night."

"At this rate, you should prepare a room for him, with how much he gets drunk here." Yu quipped.

"He's forever getting the hard bench till he learns his lesson." Aragaki groused back. "But, seems like you're all ready to leave."

It was true. Aigis was comfortably full from the meal, and conversation was starting to die down. A glance at a clock hanging on the wall told her that it was past eleven o'clock at night, way later than she would normally stay out at.

"Thank you for hosting us, Aragaki-san." Aigis bowed. "I will be sure to visit this restaurant again in the future."

"Fine, but one word about my past and you're kicked."

She giggled at that.

---

"Is something the matter, Captain?" Aigis asked.

The next day was work as usual, though she found herself sitting face to face with Kurosaki as she ate her lunch, which was strange enough. He scowled at her, as if trying to look through her head.

"Did you drink anything yesterday?" he asked.

"Just flavoured water," she answered honestly. "It was quite refreshing."

"No, I mean– oh whatever." He gave up all pretense. "I heard from Renji that his lieutenant went back to the division this morning heavily hungover, and last I heard from Rindo he was picking you up from the division yesterday. You had anything to do with that?"

It took a moment for her to register that he was referring to Captain Abarai.

"He did it on his own volition." Aigis replied. "Makoto-san had to cut him off."

"You didn't force him to drink or anything like that?" The scowl did not let up.

"No," she tilted her head. "Why would I do that?"

"Nothing," he sighed. "Just making sure nothing serious happened, since Sanada didn't seem like he remembered much from last night."

"He may have a poor handle on his alcohol tolerance, but he will never cause any incidents while drunk other than perhaps mild embarrassment to himself." Aigis stated firmly. "I can vouch for that, at least. Besides, nothing of note happened last night – it was just a gathering of friends."

Kurosaki's scowl softened a little into surprise, clearly not expecting her to say that. "Well, if you're so sure then. And I'm glad you seemed like you enjoyed yourself."

She tilted her head quizzically in the other direction.

"You don't seem to be the kind of person who cares for entertainment," he explained. "So I was starting to get a bit worried about what you do to relax. But if you can hang out with friends like that, I'm not so worried."

She smiled at that. "They are good friends indeed."

Notes:

Wow, a chapter (almost) on time, can you believe it?

And yeah, I lied. Shinjiro is around too :P

This was a fun one to write, imagining how they'd interact with each other after decades of friendship. Some parts of it fought me (funnily enough, I had to edit the layout of the restaurant a few times before I was happy with it), and I did consider making Aigis drink in this chapter just to see what she could come up with, but then I figured she's too responsible at the moment. Maybe she might drink in the future, maybe not. Depends on my mood.

Nothing much to say here, life is still trudging along. The next chapter is surprisingly already 2k words in, but it might get heavily revised depending on if I think it's overstaying its info dump welcome, so maybe I can still put it out on time.

Anyway, review! The art bots have finally quieted down and I got my peace back! And I'm working on an art piece of my own that I don't know what to do with in terms of lighting!

Chapter 35: Interlude - Nothing but Happiness

Kurosaki scowled at the request for a vacation. "...Okay, guess I need to take a day or two off too."

"...Come again?" Aigis blinked.

Shortly after her promotion to the sixteenth seat of the Seventh Division, two years after she started working as a shinigami, she requested a two week absence to go visit the orphanage. Mostly because she was already away for four years now, and while she had the occasional correspondence with Unagiya, she felt slightly guilty that she had essentially left them to fend for themselves all this time.

Plus, it was autumn. The crops in the fields should be ripe for harvesting now, and she could help out with it.

So when her captain said he was also coming with her, she had to question the reason.

"I like to better understand the officers in my division, and one of the best ways to do that is to visit their family." Kurosaki explained. "I'll just stay for maybe a few hours then go back, so I won't get in the way."

"Would that disrupt your work?" Aigis questioned.

"For a day? Nah, it's fine." Kurosaki shook his head. "Rindo can cover for me in the meantime, and this is also why I don't stay long."

"If you are sure, then…"

---

A week later, they took a carriage to the thirtieth district, then alternated between walking and shunpo the rest of the way. Both were dressed in casual yukata – Aigis in her usual sky blue, while Kurosaki opted for a forest green one. Unfortunately, despite his attempts to somewhat blend into the crowd, his zanpakutou proved to be rather…eye-catching.

"Is it just me, or is everyone staring at us?" Kurosaki muttered almost to himself, as they walked on the dirt roads towards the orphanage past a row of thatched houses.

"Captain," Aigis sighed, "I do think it is rather impossible for you to blend in as long as you have your zanpakutou on your back."

"I couldn't leave it behind!" Kurosaki groaned. "Zangetsu threw a fit!"

"At the very least, you should have disguised it in a bag." Aigis lifted her own bag of goods to show her captain. It was mostly snacks from Seireitei for the children, and some quality cloth for Unagiya to make new clothes with. She still remembered that time she accidentally poked herself with the needle when she was trying to repair a yukata, after all.

Well, even without the zanpakutou, Kurosaki himself was too different from the surrounding souls with his orange hair and tall, stocky build, so unlike the thinner, wiry physiques and muted hair colours of the residents.

Then again, Aigis stood out too.

Kurosaki put a hand to his face in response. "Sometimes I envy people like you, who have small zanpakutou. It's so much easier to hide it that way."

Her own zanpakutou was hidden on her person, under a short yellow haori that she wore over her yukata. "You have such a large personality though, Captain," she stated. "A small zanpakutou would not suit you at all."

"...I still can't tell whether you're joking or not."

"My friends say similar things."

Aigis considered herself fortunate that she could banter with her superior like that. Makoto often complained about her captain being "stiff as a board", though she showed no signs of leaving the division at all. She was, in fact, promoted to fifteenth seat a while ago, though it seems her actual day to day tasks have changed little.

The lighthearted chatting continued on and off as they made their way through the forest at the edge of the town, then they finally arrived at the town itself.

"Looks fairly well-built." Kurosaki shielded his eyes from the afternoon sun as he scanned the area. "At least, it looks better than I was expecting."

The town had hardly changed in her four year absence, with its muted reiatsu hanging in the air and the winding roads through it.

"The orphanage grew crops since everyone living there had some reiatsu and needed to eat." Aigis explained. "Shinigami sometimes stopped here to buy extra rations during missions."

They strolled through the town, as Aigis greeted the residents that passed by her. It seems like there were a few new people since she left, as she did not recognise some of them, but Sato gave them a hearty greeting when she went past the town hall.

"The kids told me you were coming back to visit!" He called. "Say hi to them for me!"

"Will do!" Aigis called back.

"You're popular here." Kurosaki noted.

"I took on many of the tasks that my caretaker was too busy to do back then, so I was often in town." Aigis said. "And maybe it also had something to do with the fact that I helped to arrest a shinigami here when he was causing trouble."

"Huh," Kurosaki turned thoughtful. "When did that happen?"

"Before I became a shinigami."

"...What? I don't think I heard that story before…"

So for the rest of the way, Aigis gave an abridged version of the Namba incident, leaving out the fact that she recognised who the cult was worshipping. Kurosaki seemed somewhat distracted, but she had no doubt that he was listening, or at least trying to.

"Look, there is the orphanage." Aigis pointed ahead at the end of the road.

It was still in the same place, with the same thatched roof and mud walls. The dirt ground outside showed signs of a diagram or doodle that was half blown away by the autumn wind, and she could hear the familiar low din inside the house.

"I'm back!" she called out.

The din got louder, though it was Unagiya who managed to get the door open ahead of the children, her hair messy but her face cheerful. "Aigis! We've been waiting for– wait." She narrowed her eyes.

Not at Aigis, but at the man standing next to her. Aigis looked up at her companion.

His face was frozen between a smile and a grimace, as one corner of his mouth struggled to rise into something more acceptable. His eyes were wider than she had ever seen them, though his eyebrows seemed to be doing their desperate best to tamp down on it. She did not even think it was possible for him to make such a face, considering that his default facial expression was a scowl of some sort.

"Something the matter, Captain?" she asked.

"Well well, I look away for three hundred years and you got yourself a snazzy position as a freaking captain, Ichigo-chaaaaan?" Unagiya grinned.

It was not her nice grin either.

…But did her caretaker call her captain by his first name?! And with such a childish honorific too?!

"I'm going." Kurosaki turned around and walked away as quickly as possible.

"Come back here, ya little punk!"

---

Her captain looked thoroughly tamed the next time Aigis saw him in the house, half an hour later. He sat meekly at the dining table, his yukata lightly dusted, while Unagiya just huffed in annoyance. "You're telling me this guy is your captain?" She repeated herself as she jabbed a thumb at Kurosaki.

"Umm…yes." Aigis confirmed cautiously.

She did not want to think about what Unagiya did to him, considering that for all intents and purposes, her caretaker was a violent, but normal soul, even accounting for her tiny shred of reiatsu that required her to eat. Kurosaki, on the other hand, was one of the most powerful shinigami Seireitei had to offer.

The children were chased out of the house for this meeting, probably to spare Kurosaki from further embarrassment.

Her caretaker was considerate like that.

"I'm surprised a punk like you can even be a shinigami, let alone a captain." Unagiya groused. "Aren't they all from noble houses or something?"

"I was a shinigami before I met you, Unagiya-san." Kurosaki huffed.

"And he is from a noble house." Aigis added.

Unagiya opened and closed her mouth like a fish, before she found what she wanted to say.

"What?!"

---

Aigis had to shoo the children out of the house again after they were attracted back by Unagiya's deafening exclamation. Touma and Megumi seemed the most curious, and only backed off when she promised to tell them what happened after her captain leaves.

Because he was currently enduring a half hour long tirade from Unagiya.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Aigis asked after she shut the door again.

"Your dad was an ex-shinigami who escaped into the Living World. This explains so much." Unagiya muttered as she paced the room. "So damn much. You were off fighting who knows what when you were still a kid, and the big brass just tossed that job at you without considering your damn age, just 'cause you were strong? Fuck them."

"Hey, Hollows were threatening my family." Kurosaki weakly argued back. "Gotta protect them somehow."

"Doesn't change the fact that you were a damn brat!" Unagiya roared. "You should've been worried about girls and your studies and work, not monsters eating you!"

Aigis decided to start boiling some water for tea, because she noticed that it was becoming a much longer conversation than what either of them had planned for. Once the kettle was on the stove, she cleared her throat.

"I think that is quite enough, Unagiya-san," she said politely, her voice light and level. "More importantly, I did not know that you knew each other."

Unagiya sighed as all her anger slowly drained out of her body, leaving just the tired caretaker behind. "We knew each other back when we were alive, three hundred years ago," she began as she sat back down at the table. "I hired Ichigo-chan at my business as a part timer back when he was in high school, but I often had to drag him to work."

"I had…other things going on then." Kurosaki looked away.

"Yeah, I know now." Unagiya reached across the table and smacked his head. "You were fighting a whole-ass war, which you shouldn't have been in in the first place!"

"Like I said, I couldn't just sit it out when they were trying to kill me!"

"Three hundred years ago…" Aigis mused. "Did you mean the Winter War and the Quincy Invasion?"

"Yeah." Kurosaki leaned back. "I was in both."

"And…you were in high school?" Aigis asked.

"For both, yeah."

Well, suddenly his son being the lieutenant of the Fifth made so much more sense.

Aigis was reminded of her own escapades as part of S.E.E.S. and those of the later Operatives, where they often risked their lives to bring down Shadows and gods while still being in high school, unbeknownst to others. Her captain probably went through something even more intense than that, where he had to fight against entire armies of people, rather than just monsters.

Killing a human was very different from exterminating a monster. It was part of the reason why she was always quick to provide therapy as thoroughly as she could for Operatives who had killed people before.

Still, it was entirely possible that after all that happened, their idea of "normal" was probably somewhat different from the average person, despite Aigis's best efforts to avert that.

Which would somewhat explain why her captain was willing to let his teenage-appearing son be a part of what was essentially an army.

"For what it's worth," Kurosaki continued, "Captain-Commander Kyoraku — he'd barely started at that position back then — tried his best to take care of me, my family and friends, even with Central 47 hindering him. Usually living people aren't allowed to visit Soul Society for obvious reasons, but he made special exceptions for them."

"And then you moved to Soul Society at some point after?" Aigis prompted.

"I was spending more time in Soul Society than out of it." Kurosaki said. "It seemed like the best idea, and my family was okay with it. Plus, most of their friends were shinigami of some sort, so it wasn't much of a loss."

"A living human spending more time in the land of the dead than the living." Unagiya sighed. "You've had the weirdest life I've heard so far."

"My old man was happy to be back, even if he didn't want to be involved in shinigami business anymore." Kurosaki propped up his chin with a hand. "My sisters took different routes – Karin became a shinigami, and Yuzu decided to be the family head for official purposes, but also 'cause nobody else wanted the role."

"What about Orihime-chan?" Unagiya asked.

"She helps out at the Fourth every now and then," Kurosaki replied, "but she mostly runs a bakery."

"A…bakery?" Aigis was sure she had never heard of any bakeries in Seireitei.

"Yeah, my wife runs one." Kurosaki explained. "She usually makes small batches that you have to pre-order though, cause she's just one person and can't handle baking large enough batches for everyone in Seireitei."

Well, not even Aragaki baked food regularly. She knew this for a fact, because when someone was baking in the Iwatodai Dorm, it was Fuuka trying to do so, and Makoto – her Makoto, standing by to help. Aragaki mostly just used the stovetop, and only used the oven to cook roast dishes.

Perhaps he would be interested?

"We're not doing too differently from back when we were in the Living World, to be honest." Kurosaki continued. "Goat Face still runs a clinic out of the house, mostly because he's bored. The main thing is that we have more people dropping in at random times now because it's more convenient for the shinigami, rather than having to make a trip to the Living World."

"Why would you need a clinic in Seireitei when the Fourth Division exists?" Aigis asked. "Is it because they can only treat active shinigami?"

"Partially, yeah." Kurosaki confirmed. "Mostly it's for the retired shinigami and lesser nobles who don't always have the money to hire private practitioners. And normally it's just a fairly simple wound or something, so Goat Face can take care of it just fine."

"Huh." Unagiya shot an unimpressed look at the captain. "Thought you shinigami are all rich and stuff and shouldn't have trouble affording anything."

"Stuff's expensive in Seireitei too." Kurosaki shot back. "Can't really escape capitalism anywhere."

Unagiya turned to Aigis for confirmation.

Aigis stared back blankly.

Not that she had no idea of finances or the price of items, but rather the necessities she bought in Seireitei were very different from what she bought before, so there was no point comparing.

"Why are you looking at Aigis like that?" Kurosaki scowled.

"I wanted confirmation." Unagiya sighed. "Doesn't seem like I can get it, so I'll take your word for it."

The kettle chose this moment to start whistling.

Aigis silently moved to the cupboards to fish for tea and cups, while Kurosaki and Unagiya tried to stare each other down. The silence was only broken by the clack of ceramic meeting wood when she set down two cups of steaming tea in front of them, while she nursed a third for herself.

"So," Unagiya finally began, "what made you come here?"

"Just wanted to see the kind of family that Aigis has, since she's an officer now and I like to get to know them better." Kurosaki replied as he blew on his tea. "I just didn't expect it to be you."

"Believe me, I didn't expect to see you again like this either." Unagiya snarked. She took a long sip of her tea. "Well, I expect you to take care of my daughter well. She better not be coming home with broken bones or anything like that, got it?"

"Yeah I know, I'll be the one going back with broken bones if that happens." Kurosaki snarked back.

"As long as you understand." Unagiya nodded. "Well then, are you gonna stay for a meal?"

---

It took Ichigo more effort than he'd like to admit to refuse Unagiya to stay for dinner. She was largely the same as he'd remembered her — loud, quick to get violent, and wanted nothing more than to take care of her charges. While Aigis never referred to Unagiya as a mother, it was clear that she cared for the latter greatly, and Unagiya returned the sentiment, if she considered the blonde her daughter.

But as he looked at Aigis before he made his way back to Seireitei, it also seemed that she took on a rather different role here at the orphanage compared to when she was at the division. As an officer, she was dutiful, somewhat of a perfectionist, and strict but fair with the shinigami under her command, with a mean streak of dry humour. However, as the eldest of the orphanage, she was constantly after the younger children and taking care of their needs without any complaints, and she was hardly bothered by the messes they made. But most of the snark that she sometimes showed at work was gone here, replaced with gentle encouragement instead.

In short, she seemed much more restrained.

Ichigo wasn't sure which side of hers was truer to herself, but he kind of hoped it was the one at the division, where she didn't feel the need to restrict herself.

"Will you be alright to go back by yourself from here?" Aigis asked at the edge of town, some ways away from the carriage station. The sky was a deep orange bordering on purple, as the moon was faintly visible in the sky.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Ichigo waved her off. "The way back is pretty straightforward, and I shouldn't take you away from Unagiya-san. It's meant to be your holiday anyway."

"Okay then," she nodded her understanding. "Please be careful on your way back."

"Thanks."

The path was faintly lit with lights from the brick and mud homes nearby, which for the average person might make it a somewhat scary path to go through in case bandits decided to ambush them, but for Ichigo there was nothing for him to be scared of. He walked at a leisurely pace, enjoying the rare moment of peace and quiet before he was a part of the hustle and bustle of Seireitei again.

Honestly, the town wasn't a bad place to stay in. Maybe he should consider visiting Unagiya every now and then himself…

Notes:

So I said this chapter would be released on time right?

...Yeah, didn't happen. Oops.

I did write a large chunk of this chapter over a month ago, then got stuck on how to continue and finish it, so I left it for a good while till I finally decided to get it out rather than let it stew in my document. So here it is - an early birthday present from me to all of you (my birthday is tomorrow).

This chapter was designed to be short because it's meant to be an interlude between the last arc and the next arc. I've got ideas for 2 more short chapters in mind before the next arc begins in earnest, and they're mostly fluff, but the ideas are cute and doesn't deserve to sit in my noggin forever. The idea for this chapter cropped up fairly early on when I was writing it, even before I went on my 4-5 year break, but it took some time and patience to find the right place to insert it in. I think visiting his officers' families is something I can see Ichigo doing, this one just ended up...more nostalgic than he expected.

Anyway, it's time for me to get back to commissions and planning for conventions (I just got accepted to one!). I hope I can release the next chapter in a (somewhat) timely manner, so please look forward to it!

Chapter 36: Interlude - Voice

"Roll call!" He roared at his assembled officers.

As his men stood at attention, Iba Tetsuzaemon rattled off the names on his list – mostly higher ranked officers in charge of their own units, who then reported any absences from the unit and reasons, if applicable. It was what his previous captain used, and he saw no reason to change what had worked for them all this time.

Fifty years after the end of the war with the Quincies, Soul Society had largely recovered to its former state. There hadn't been any major incidents since then other than the time the gates of Hell had to be closed again when they finished the rites for their fallen captains, so his workload had been rather light.

Guiltily, he felt it was fairly fitting work for a suboptimal captain – Tetsuzaemon had stepped up only because there were no other suitable candidates. But the division trudged along, and he preferred it this way.

The previous captain would hate to see the division fall, after all.

"Rindo!"

The lieutenant silently raised his hand.

"Urui!"

"Here!" The wolf-headed shinigami barked back.

Urui and Shouma, his younger brother, were relatively new additions to the division, having joined as apprentices after the war ended and slowly worked their way up to the current Tenth and Eleventh seats, respectively. It almost seemed like fate – that Komamura would leave, but two new members from the Wolfmen clan would join to replace him. They were well-liked by the rest of the division, and Tetsuzaemon paid special attention to them as much as he could so that they would never suffer the self-conscious shame that his former captain went through for decades.

"Shouma!"

"Here!" "Arf!"

Roll call screeched to an abrupt halt at the unexpected bark – because that was most definitely not Shouma, despite his appearance. Murmurs broke out amongst the ranks of the shinigami as they looked around the courtyard for the source of the sound.

It couldn't have come from Goro – the former division pet – either, because he had passed away ten years ago.

As he turned his head around, Tetsuzaemon's eyes finally fell on a ball of white fur behind him, near the front gate of the division barracks. Despite its matted, slightly dusty appearance, the dog was sitting up straight, its ruby eyes alert and tongue hanging out of its mouth. Its ears were pricked, and its tail was wagging in anticipation. As much as Tetsuzaemon could guess, it looked like an albino shiba inu, with its characteristic curled tail.

But where did it come from?

"Puppy!" Shouma almost shrieked in excitement, as he broke ranks and bounded towards the dog.

And brought most of the division with him to crowd around the newcomer.

Tetsuzaemon did not have strict requirements for new graduates wanting to join his division, considering that the Seventh was a general division, but the one admittedly inane requirement he allowed himself to indulge in was that every member must like dogs.

He was starting to regret that just a bit, as roll call fell apart.

The dog, bless its heart, seemed at ease despite the sudden crowd. It let the division members pet it everywhere without complaint, though the poor thing seemed slightly confused by all the noises around it.

"All right, back off, all of you!" Tetsuzaemon yelled over the ruckus, and the shinigami parted enough to let their captain through.

He produced a sausage from his robes — a habit he hasn't managed to kick yet despite Goro being gone — and held it under the dog's nose. "Want one?" Tetsuzaemon offered.

"Arf!"

"He says thank you!" Urui translated excitedly. "Good puppy!"

It was well known that the Wolfmen siblings could translate animal speech. It was helpful when Goro was around, but Tetsuzaemon didn't think he'd rely on it again this soon. He unpeeled the wrapping around the sausage, and the dog took it gently from his hands, before eating it all in one gulp.

"Good boy." Tetsuzaemon patted his head firmly. "What's your name?"

"Woof!"

He was prepared to give the dog a new name considering that he didn't have a collar, but then Shouma piped up: "He says his name is Koromaru!"

If Tetsuzaemon had to guess, someone named him with the characters for "tiger" and "wolf". "Wolf" might have been a somewhat apt description of the dog, but he couldn't see the "tiger" part, as friendly as he is. Alternatively, someone wanted the dog to live as long as he could. "Do you have an owner?" Tetsuzaemon asked next.

Koromaru's ears drooped, and he let out a little whine.

"He says his owners are gone." Urui translated, his ears mirroring the dog's.

Well, it would not do for a dog this smart to stay on the streets.

"Want to stay with us?" Tetsuzaemon asked.

"Arf arf!" Koromaru's ears pricked up again, and his tail wagged so hard it kicked up dust clouds.

Tetsuzaemon didn't need the brothers to tell him Koromaru agreed.

---

The division very quickly found out that Koromaru was, for a dog, absurdly smart. He understood fairly complex phrases and commands, had his own opinions on certain things like food, could recognise and differentiate everyone in the division, and even helped them with simple tasks like moving packages from one location to another, or dragging specific shinigami for Tetsuzaemon when he could not leave his desk. At times, he even stayed by certain shinigami that seemed to be having a hard time, providing himself as a calming presence for them to pet and destress. Otherwise, Koromaru generally hung around the captain or the Wolfmen brothers, as he became a bounding, happy shadow following them around.

So it was a surprise, but not a shock, when they found out that Koromaru could fight as well.

The day had started normally enough, as Tetsuzaemon oversaw drills at the training courtyard, while Koromaru napped in the morning sun by his feet. It was something that the captain noticed about the dog – he seemed unusually interested in the training sessions, and would happily follow anyone in the courtyard if they were training.

As the shinigami whacked the straw dummies with their bokuto, Tetsuzaemon felt the furry ball move around his feet. Koromaru was not napping anymore, but was looking around, his ears pricked.

And with one last whack, the bokuto from the shinigami closest to them split into two.

While the shinigami was still stunned from his weapon breaking, the other half spun towards the captain. He was not really worried – accidents happen all the time – and took a step to the side to avoid the incoming projectile.

Except it never reached anywhere near him at all, because Koromaru somersaulted up from his position in an impressive feat of athleticism, and caught the broken bokuto neatly in his mouth before landing again. He dropped the bokuto on the ground at his feet, then nonchalantly scratched an ear with his hind leg.

"I– I'm–" the shinigami stammered towards Tetsuzaemon, but he waved him off.

"It happens, and I wasn't in any danger." Tetsuzaemon said. "You should thank Koromaru for not damaging the buildings though."

"I'm sorry Koromaru!" The shinigami blubbered as he hugged the dog tightly. "I promise I'll give you lots of treats okay?"

Koromaru, for his part, had just one raised eyelid as he endured the hug, but he licked the shinigami's face all the same. When he was released though, he picked up the broken bokuto again, adjusting it so the bladed side faced outwards, and set his sights on the straw dummy the shinigami was hitting earlier. It was a mess of straws, but still relatively intact as all its straws were still bound together.

"Koromaru?" Tetsuzaemon asked.

The drills had stopped, with all attention on him.

The dog crouched down, then with a burst of energy – or perhaps reiatsu – leapt at the straw dummy, and cleaved off the top third with the broken bokuto.

It was far from a clean cut, but considering what Koromaru was using, it was still much better than what many new shinigami could manage. He did not stop there either, and continued his assault with a somersault slash, and finally finished off with a near horizontal slash that cleaved off most of the straw dummy, rendering it unusable. He landed lightly on all fours, dropped the bokuto, and shook off the dust from his fur, panting happily all the while.

The courtyard was silent.

Then exploded into roars and cheers.

"That was awesome, Koromaru!"

"Good boy!"

"Great job Koro-chan!"

The dog took the praise as cheerfully as he ever was, since he was now long used to being the centre of attention.

Still, Tetsuzaemon wondered about their division pet. Koromaru had always been healthy, but how long was it since he learned how to fight? And with a blade, no less?

What was his past?

---

"You're bringing your division dog." Muguruma deadpanned, jabbing a thumb at Koromaru who was standing at his feet, wearing a little black kimono that the Seventh Division put together. "To a mission."

"He can fight." Tetsuzaemon defended Koromaru. "And I'll keep him safe anyway."

Muguruma Kensei, the Ninth Division captain, did not look impressed. "And why does he have that little kunai with him?"

"He wanted it." Tetsuzaemon shrugged. "And he knows how to use it."

"Arf!" Koromaru agreed.

Muguruma stared at the animal like he grew another head.

Except that Tetsuzaemon saw the pup pick out his own weapon. It started with Koromaru dragging Urui and Shouma to the captain shortly after he showed off his skills at the training grounds, which meant that he really had something to say.

That something being that he wanted "a stick for himself", according to Urui. After going through their spare armory at the division, Koromaru settled on the kunai, which was now strapped safely to his back but convenient enough for him to draw it out if need be. The only design flaw was that it was not possible for him to sheathe it by himself, but well, any division member could help him with it.

As for why two captains were collaborating on a mission, it was because it was a rescue mission. Shinigami from both divisions had gone on a mission to the seventy-sixth district, except a week later Muguruma received a Hell Butterfly SOS signal.

Tetsuzaemon brought Koromaru for his nose to find the missing shinigami quickly, with the kunai mainly for self defence. Hopefully, he wouldn't need to use it.

---

Tetsuzaemon really wanted to rant to the Soul King – or what's left of it now – for deliberately not answering his prayers.

They found the missing shinigami fairly quickly, since they basically let Koromaru lead the way once they reached the area where the divisions lost contact, who then led the two captains through some dense woods until they reached a makeshift shelter that blended into the scenery.

And also, straight into a Menos infestation.

Muguruma and Tetsuzaemon both had their shikai out, trying to cut through a path through the mass of Menos Grande Hollows in their way, while Koromaru hung back with the missing shinigami, most of them who sported severe abrasions or deep cuts on their bodies – evidence of them fighting off the Hollows that had surrounded them. He circled the group of shinigami every now and then, barking lowly and nudging them to move before they were overwhelmed. Occasionally he let out higher pitched yips, warnings for the captains to watch their surroundings. They were making progress, but it was slow going, and there seemed to be no end to the waves of Hollows.

"Shit, can't see past all of them." Muguruma echoed Tetsuzaemon's thoughts. "I'd like to go bankai, but I don't know if those behind us can handle it."

A weakened shinigami had lower resistance to spikes of reiatsu output. If Muguruma were to release his bankai right now, the sudden increase in reiatsu pressure would probably knock out the more severely injured shinigami behind them, and then their meagre progress would slow down to a halt.

Tetsuzaemon risked a look back at the missing squad while he fended off another Hollow, and found Koromaru with his kunai in his mouth, slashing and evading a smaller Hollow's swipes nimbly at the rear. He unfortunately was not making much progress in actually killing the Hollow, but he kept it at bay, his growls muffled by his grip on the weapon. The injured shinigami, meanwhile, were using the window of opportunity to hobble forward towards the captains.

"You need to get a move on–" Tetsuzaemon barked at them, then the words froze in his throat.

Because he noticed a Menos Grande at the back charging up a cero.

"Get down!" He yelled, and the shinigami, bless them, immediately hit the ground.

"Bakudo number thirty-nine: Enkousen!" His outstretched palm lit up as he projected a yellow spinning shield between the group and the Menos, but internally, he was still sweating bullets. His skill in kido was lacking – Tetsuzaemon could pull off the lower ranked spells just fine, but there was no time to chant for the higher ranked ones, and it was doubtful a spell in the thirties range could fully block a cero from a Menos Grande.

Still, he had to try.

The cero hit the shield with the force of a battering ram, as it immediately started to crack under the pressure. Tetsuzaemon desperately funneled more reiatsu into the spell to repair it, but it was not looking great under the onslaught of power.

Just as he was racking his brain for a better solution, a howl cut through the battlefield, and he abruptly found his view blocked.

By the rear side of a giant, three-headed dog.

Koromaru had dropped his kunai on the ground, instead planting himself between the offending Menos and the injured shinigami. The black three-headed dog towered above his small white figure as each mouth spat a stream of intense fire straight at the cero, pushing the beam back to its source and burning the surrounding woods, which also conveniently stopped most of the Hollows at the back from advancing towards the group.

"Koromaru…?" Tetsuzaemon stared, stack-jawed at the almost impossible events unfolding in front of him. Even Muguruma noticed, his assault temporarily stopped.

"Arf arf!" There was a sense of urgency in Koromaru's barks as he turned his head towards the shinigami, but then the three-headed dog responded to the barks, by howling towards the sky and raining green reiatsu down on the entire group.

"Is it just me, or does my body feel lighter?" One of the less injured shinigami asked.

"No, I feel it too." Muguruma replied, still a little awed. "Seriously Iba, what's up with your dog?"

"Well…err…" Tetsuzaemon floundered for the right words to describe what he just experienced.

'Miraculous' was the first one that came to mind. Koromaru had apparently summoned something that had enough output to push back a cero from a Menos Grande, then immediately afterwards cast…something to give them more energy. On closer inspection, the spell did not heal any wounds – the heavily injured shinigami were still bleeding through their clothes, but Tetsuzaemon felt his steps lighter than usual, as if he could fight and run so much more than he normally should be able to after a gruelling two hour siege.

He shook his head. "I'll figure it out later," he replied, then turned towards the injured squad. "Get moving!"

The entire group scrambled behind the shinigami, and even the dog managed to pick up his kunai, holding it in his mouth as he bounded after the shinigami, while the giant black dog he summoned disappeared in a shower of blue sparkles.

---

It took another hour of fighting for them to fully break through the ranks of Hollows gathered in the area, and another half hour of retreating to find somewhere safe to administer first aid for the injured shinigami. Tetsuzaemon had light scratches on him, while Muguruma sported a few shallow cuts on his exposed arms. Koromaru, meanwhile, only seemed to suffer a few singed hairs and rather dirty paws.

Neither captain was any good at kaido, but fortunately the squad was able to somewhat sort it out themselves. One even jokingly asked Koromaru if he could help heal the injuries, and he responded by attempting to lick the wounds, so Tetsuzaemon had to pull him back.

"Good job getting us out of there, Koro-chan," he ruffled the shiba inu's head, "but you can't make their injuries worse, okay?"

He whined in response. There was worry in his eyes, as he nuzzled the injuries on Tetsuzaemon's chest.

"All of us will be fine," he stated confidently. "We're already out of the worst of it, and now it's just a matter of getting them back to the Fourth for proper treatment."

Koromaru responded with a little wag of his tail, then laid his head on the captain's lap.

"Well, now I've seen it all." Muguruma said drily as he leaned against a wall, his own injuries haphazardly wrapped with spare gauze. "I didn't think magical dogs actually existed."

"You and me both." Tetsuzaemon agreed. "You're gonna need to answer some questions once we get back to the division, boy." He pet Koromaru firmly.

The poor dog tucked his head into his paws, as the onlookers laughed at his response.

Well, not that Tetsuzaemon would seriously do it. Even he had his limits on what he believed Koromaru knew and could do, and he was definitely pushing the boundaries to its breaking point. What mattered the most was to give him a bath to wash off all the dirt, then lots of treats, delicious meals and plenty of rest that the shiba inu would enjoy. Koromaru's showing made Tetsuzaemon all the more curious about the dog and his past, but what was most important right now was to give him the best environment to live and be happy in.

He deserved nothing less.

Notes:

Is this chapter canon or not? Entirely up to you :3

A fun little idea I had, because I love furry pets of all kinds and Koromaru is the goodest boy out there. Ironically enough, I've never properly owned pets before, and my financial difficulties plus the care needed for a pet means that I'm not in a position to get one now either - I don't want to be one of those owners who suck at taking care of their pets. Maybe in the future I'll adopt one, maybe I never will. Who knows?

One more short chapter left until the next arc kicks off in earnest! Still dog related, just much further into the future.

Chapter 37: Interlude - Vanishing Soul

Aigis sighed as she darted around in the pouring rain.

Her first mission as the Eighth Seat, and of all things, bad weather was going to make her late.

Ten years after she joined the Gotei, she was steadily making her way up in the division. She even got a larger personal room and a quieter office that she shared with only two other officers, rather than the large business office she had to work in when she first joined the division, and she was entrusted with more confidential missions.

Like the one she was on right now.

Aigis was supposed to meet a representative from the United Kingdom Soul Society branch to receive a letter meant for the captain only, and while that part of the meeting went smoothly, it was her way back to Seireitei that was currently being blocked by the weather. Rain would not usually bother her all that much, but the letter was getting soaked in her shihakusho, and she was still far away enough that she could inadvertently ruin the letter if it was allowed to soak in more water.

Her blonde hair stuck to her face as she whipped around for some sort of shelter, but all she could see were infertile plains, the topsoil muddying her tabi and the bottom of her hakama.

She was internally debating between maybe digging a covered hole to avoid the rain or risk moving on in the hopes that she could find some sort of shelter, but a distant howl caught her attention.

There, some ways away from her, was a lone red wolf, a stark contrast from the misty grey background. And oddly enough, that wolf was looking straight at her.

Her right hand floated over her zanpakuto.

The wolf barked in a slightly frustrated, but urgent tone.

Come with me.

It had been at least decades since she last used it, but Aigis still could understand dogs fairly well. It was a combination of reading their body language and understanding the noises that they made, but at this distance, she could barely hear the wolf amongst the pouring rain.

Still, the wolf did not seem aggressive, and if it asked her to follow it, she figured that it could not be much worse than standing out in the rain.

---

As it turned out, the wolf was male, had a white underbelly, and lived in a large cave on the side of a hill that Aigis did not previously notice. As the wolf shook himself off, she looked around for something to burn, eventually settling on the stray branches, hay and rocks lying around in the cave.

"Do you mind if I set up a fire here to dry my clothes?" Aigis asked.

The wolf stared at her with narrowed golden eyes, but then turned around and nudged some of the drier bits of wood and rocks to the entrance. Do it near the exit.

"Thank you." It felt a little silly bowing to an animal, but she did so anyway more out of habit.

A few spells later, she had set up a small campfire, with a modified Hainawa spell acting as a clothesline so she could dry her uniform over it. The wet clothes dripped onto the fire every now and then, creating a steamy area so she did not feel all that cold despite the moisture that still stuck to her skin and nothing to dry herself with. The letter was laid out next to the fire so she could keep an eye on it while allowing it to dry. Outside, the rain kept pouring, broken by the occasional claps of lightning. The entrance of the cave had small pools of water, which contributed to the steam wafting around the entrance.

Once her clothes were on their way to drying, she moved deeper into the somewhat spacious cave, and found the wolf resting on a haphazard pile of hay and branches in a dark corner. "Is it okay for me to stay until the rain stops?" Aigis asked.

The wolf turned around and snorted. Just leave after. Then his eyes suddenly widened, and he hastily turned around, covering his eyes with his paws.

She blinked. "Is something the matter?"

His tail flickered, but his paws stayed firmly on his eyes even as he turned around to snort in her direction before rapidly looking away again.

She looked down at herself.

At her naked body, because she had to take off all of her clothes since they were all soaked through.

Then she looked at the wolf.

"I thought showing your naked body is normal for animals." Aigis said bluntly.

A strong smack of the tail, along with an annoyed yip. Not for humans!

She tilted her head. "Are humans not animals?"

The wolf sat up so quickly she took a half step back, and he blinked owlishly – almost humanlike – at her. You can understand me?

Then immediately buried his head under his paws again upon seeing her naked body with his own startled bark. Cover up!

"Not until my clothes have dried to some extent." Out of respect for the animal, Aigis decided to move into the steam so it would obscure some of her body at least. "And I am a little rusty in understanding dogs. It has been a while since I had to use it."

With nothing better to do, she took out her emergency rations from her uniform – wet, but edible at least, and most importantly, contained some meat jerky. She tore a small piece off and offered it to the wolf. "As thanks," she said firmly.

The wolf cautiously sniffed the jerky, but it was only when she tossed it closer to him that he took it, keeping his gaze away from Aigis all the time. Instead of gulping it down like most canines would, he juggled the piece in his mouth for a while, chewing it thoroughly before swallowing. He licked his mouth, then settled down on the bare rock of the cave. Been a while since I had this.

"You had it before?" Aigis asked. "Do you often encounter shinigami?"

He let out a little throaty bark that almost sounded like a guffaw. Shinigami rarely pass through this area, but I know one when I see one.

"You live rather far away from general civilization." Aigis agreed. The last town she passed by was two hours ago, and that was with her using shunpo half of the time.

The wolf snorted, curling into a tighter ball away from her belongings. I don't like being around people, and they don't welcome me either.

She understood the hesitation. They were proud and fierce animals, but they also clashed with other hunters – including humans – over prey and territory.

Although…she was fairly sure wolves rarely lived alone.

"Do you have family or friends?" Aigis asked. "I thought wolves like you usually lived in packs."

He gave a side eye, then shook his head. Don't like them either. I'm fine being alone here.

Aigis looked around the cave. In her hurry to dry herself, she did not pay much attention to her surroundings, but the cave was quite barren without her belongings, apart from a haphazard pile of rags and dry grass in the corner that she assumed was his bed, and some gnawed bones in another corner – probably the remains of prey that he had caught.

Then she looked down on the remains of her rations. She still had some soggy senbei to eat, along with a good chunk of the meat jerky.

It did not take her long to decide to toss the rest of the jerky to the wolf. "Here you go," she said.

The wolf looked away with a snort. Don't need your pity.

"I understand how tough it is to survive alone." Aigis insisted. "If you are not going to eat it now, at least keep it for the future."

A low growl. I said I don't need it.

Aigis ignored him and left the jerky on a clean patch of rock, instead deciding to search her shihakusho for her phone. She should tell her captain that she was going to be late as a courtesy, even though she was also fairly sure Kurosaki would not mind.

At least her undergarments were dry enough to put on now, though her thicker shihakusho was still too damp to wear comfortably.

Her phone was still a little damp from the rain, but she was pretty confident this thin, rectangular piece of metal was meant to be quite durable and weatherproof. Once her finger activated the machinery, a hologram sprung out of the screen, along with a keyboard for her to type with.

The phone was considered somewhat out of date for her tastes, where the most commonly used phone in the Living World was implanted into the body of its owner, but she operated it just fine. It was used briefly in the twenty-second century, but privacy issues – namely that anyone could see the hologram – meant it could not compete with other phones that had better security features, despite the entertainment value it held.

The gentle glow from the hologram attracted the wolf, as he went from resting to alert and staring at the pinpricks of light that floated around her. He tilted his head. What's that light?

At least he was now staring directly at her, or as much as he could through the thin steamy haze. Presumably, putting on some clothes helped him feel a little more comfortable, though she wondered why he was so…flustered, to see her naked body. Most animals she knew, including Koromaru, did not have such a strong reaction.

"A phone." Aigis replied, her fingers rapidly typing away a message. "Just letting my captain know that I will be late."

Another snort. Are they this advanced now? Last time I saw a shinigami they were still using flip phones.

"I assume that it has been at least a hundred years since you last met one then." Aigis replied lightly.

Nevertheless, the contraption seemed to have piqued the interest of the animal – he started to cautiously get closer to her, walking slowly and sniffing all the while. It was only when she finished composing her note to her captain and answered a few more messages from the shinigami directly under her that she noticed the wolf sniffing her damp shihakusho, still hanging from the clothesline.

"Did you smell something interesting?" Aigis asked as she put away her phone.

He nosed the small iris insignia sewn on the inside of her uniform – the only indicator of her division, then turned to look at her. Do you know what this flower means?

"...I was told it meant courage." Aigis replied slowly.

At least, it was what a senior officer at the time told her, shortly after she first joined the Seventh.

The wolf continued to stare at her. What does it mean to you?

She stared right back, then flicked her gaze to the dwindling fire so as to not seem rude. "Does it matter to you?" Aigis asked.

The more she talked to the wolf, the more she was convinced that this was no ordinary animal. At the very least, he had close to human level intelligence, even more so than Koromaru ever did. She briefly wondered if this was the norm for animals in Soul Society, then decided it was probably not – most animals she saw seemed about as sentient as the ones she met in the Living World, and it was fairly common among the nobles to keep pets of various kinds. According to Kurosaki, the previous captain kept a dog.

The wolf growled – a short, cautionary one. Yes.

She shifted her position to a more comfortable one, as she added another small Shakkaho ball to the flames and sped up drying her clothes. Might as well humor him, if he was this insistent.

"Doing the right thing, even if it is scary." Aigis replied. "Especially if it is scary, be it because of nerves or the potential consequences."

How would you know if it's the right thing or not? He grunted.

"Humans have something known as a moral compass," she answered. "It is, however, fickle, and no two people will have the same idea on what constitutes the 'right thing'. In many cases, both sides may be considered 'right' from a moral standpoint, yet come in conflict because they cannot achieve that without sacrificing the other."

She sighed. "I suppose, courage to me, beyond doing just the 'right thing', is also about accepting the consequences after, and taking responsibility for it. One of my friends started a project while she was still in school to improve the living conditions of an extremely poor village in the outer districts by putting the criminals caught there to work, and despite all the obstacles along the way, she did it."

The village was now just starting to be self-sustainable, and Makoto had said she wanted to monitor the village for maybe another decade before she stopped actively working with them. It would give her time to see if the project was sustainable in the long term, and maybe expand it to other villages in the future.

"She had to fight centuries-old traditions, fight for the nobles to pay attention to the plight of the common people." Aigis continued. "But she did it. She had the courage to believe in her own moral compass – that all people were worthy of living a dignified life – and accept that not everyone would see her viewpoint, but she fought for it nonetheless."

She turned towards the wolf, who was now sitting attentively listening to her. "Does that answer your question?"

He barked. If I was capable, I would've liked to meet your friend.

The rain outside stopped, as rays of low sunlight came peeking through the clouds, illuminating the cave entrance.

"I think she would be honoured." Aigis smiled.

A beam hit her face, and she looked out at the still muddy road ahead. She got up off the ground and organised her belongings as she put out the last embers of the fire. "I should get going. Thank you again for letting me stay here, um…"

Metis smacked her mentally. All this time spent talking, and she apparently forgot to ask for the wolf's name, if he had one.

He flicked his head towards the exit, then grunted. Just go. I can clean up here.

Aigis tied her obi, then fixed the positioning of her zanpakutou, and bowed one last time before she departed.

Thinking about it though, she never told the wolf her name either.

---

Shunsui languidly examined the letter from the United Kingdom branch of Soul Society as he sipped from a sake cup. Nanao was away tending to other matters, so he indulged himself in some morning wine.

Ichigo had done a good job translating it as always, but there was nothing much on the letter itself, amounting to "no, there have been no irregularities here."

He sighed. It seemed that their troubles came from the Japan side of Hueco Mundo after all.

"Naoto-chan's got a pretty darn good nose for this…" he mused.

As much as he didn't want to add more to Ichigo's plate, perhaps it would be a good idea to let him handle this after all, considering that it was important they kept their fragile relationship with the arrancars of Las Noches going. If Shunsui himself or any other shinigami went, they were more likely to start picking a fight rather than solve the issue at hand.

"Now, how long can we push this off…?"

Notes:

Last chapter for the year! Also the last chapter for these interludes - I will be starting a new arc from next chapter onwards, though it'll likely come out around or after February since I'll be busy till mid-February. Con prep and unexpected commissions have kept me busy.

I promised another dog chapter and here it is! The identity of the wolf should be very obvious - my beta got it right without me prompting. If you don't know who it is, that's fine too, he's not important to the story.

Anyway, I just want to take the time to thank everyone who read and supported this story for another year. I always enjoyed reading all the comments even though I don't reply to all of them, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story as I develop it further, hopefully to a satisfactory conclusion. No thanks to the art bots though. Y'all are pests.

Since I won't be publishing another chapter for the rest of the year, a very early Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all of you!

Notes:

Well hello there, everyone! Welcome to my first real attempt at writing fanfiction!

Just to be clear on what the format is, I plan on this series being a string of connected one-shots, following a loose storyline of Aigis in Soul Society. I literally have no idea what it is going to be like other than the setting and perhaps some specific scenes, so do bear with me. I have no set schedule for updates. Maybe I will, if anyone can come up with a solid storyline for me.

Constructive feedback is extremely welcome, especially on characterization and writing style. I would love to improve in the future, especially because I actually draw more comics than write stories.