Bleach: Shihai no Tsumi: Setting in Motion

It was morning, about a few weeks after the battle with Diosa and her allies. Everything was normal. Or at least a normal as it could be with the two casualties the Kurosaki Family had suffered. But they were going about their lives as normal. They hadn't been attacked in recent weeks, which was surprise to them all, but they were taking advantage of it to get in on some training.

"YOU IDIOT!" A voice of a loud, angry woman burst out of nowhere, coming from the Kurosaki mansion and echoing around the streets. Ahatake was currently getting shouted down by a young woman with short black hair, red eyes, and glasses, and Ahatake was sitting there with a bored look on his face. Miharu slid down on the stair-case railing, landing neatly on the mat.

"Kā-chan, who is it that's yelling at Tō-san?" She asked her mother as she walked into the kitchen.

"How many times have I told you to stop doing that?"

It was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. Megami had spoken those words more than once, yet it became the daughter's habit. After so many times, she had begun to think that the girl had became an expert at performing such stunts inside of the home, so she began to think less and less of the action. But the words were still natural to escaped out of the concerned mother's mouth, even as she peeked her head out from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.

Megami had not been in the kitchen this time. Instead, she had been in the living room where Ahatake and the other woman were resided. She didn't know exactly what to do - Ahatake wasn't exactly in trouble, was he? But the anger directed at him didn't seem like a natural theme to her. The best she had done was put on a sheepish smile as she watched the scene. She wasn't alarmed, for she had known who it was that screamed at her husband at such a manner.

"Sorry Mom." Miharu chuckled.

Ahatake sighed. "Seriously woman, give me a break. You just get fixed and the first thing you do is yell at me?"

The woman slammed her fist into Ahatake's face, breaking the man's nose. "I wouldn't have had to get fixed if you had been focusing back then!"

Miharu gasped. "O.K. can someone please tell me who she is?"

Ahatake didn't answer, he was busy tending to his nose.

"AH!"

That was when Megami decided to step in, stepping forward and raising her hands in a quelling manner. "Ryūseiga-san.... please! I understand that this is a spirit-and-master manner, but there's no need to resort to violence. Please, calm down!" Had she not been alarmed by the ruthless blow that the Zanpakutō had delivered to Ahatake, she would've gladly and directly answered her daughter's question.

Ryūseiga laughed when Megami said to not resort to violence. Ahatake, sighed, having finally cracked his nose back into place.

"If violence isn't solving your problems Megami, you obviously haven't been using enough of it." Ryūseiga said in an almost know-it-all fashion.

"Ryūseiga, can we settle this later?" Ahatake asked, annoyed. "It's too early in the morning for all this anyway."

The Zanpakutō spirit hissed for a moment, but she began to fade towards Ahatake's blade as if being drawing there, disappearing completely.

"Now you all know why I'm not too fond of my Zanpakuō." Ahatake said, sitting down in a chair.

Miharu was speechless. That was her Dad's Zanpakuō spirit? At least hers was nice.

"I believe I understand you a bit more, honey....." Megami muttered, lowering her hands in a mixture of relief and exasperation. She slowly approached him, leaning over and pressing her hands onto her knees. "Are you all right?" Her eyes peered at his broken nose in order to check if it was continuously bleeding.

"Damn I hate that spirit." Ahatake muttered. His nose was still bleeding, but he was trying to wipe it away with a napkin he found next to him.

"Hold still."

Megami immediately switched to a medical mode, her tone turning stern. She gently pulled the napkin away from him, using her free hand to push him back in a prostrate position on the couch. She kept his nose pinched. "Keep your head tilted back and your nose pinched. The bleeding will stop after a while." She instructed him.

Ahatake did as she asked, tilting his head back and pinching his nose.

Once he did so, Megami released him and stepped back for a moment, folding her arms across her chest. "No offense... but you really should attempt to find some way to reconcile your differences with your Zanpakutō. After all, it's no good if a master and their sword can't get along easily. It just hinders the both of you when you're hostile like this...." She said gently, the stern tone gone from her voice.

"We get along in battle just fine." Ahatake said, his voice stuffed up. "As you can see, she's very violent. It's when we're not in battle that we can't stand each other."

"In battle....." Megami repeated, looking on with sympathy. "But when it comes to casual situations, you go right back to arguing again! I'm pretty sure broken noses aren't one of your favorite things, are they?"

"No, but it's not often she materializes into our world just to break my nose." Ahatake explained. "But then again, my Bankai has never been damaged before. When the dragon was damaged, it damage her. She didn't take kindly to that."

"Hmmm...." Megami thought for a moment. She walked over to sit down on the empty spot where his feet where. "If that's true... you think there could be some way to make it up to her? You know...." She shrugged, closing her eyes and placing folded hands onto her lap. "A bit of apology and humility for the injury and such."

A vein throbbed in Ahatake's forehead. "Megami, I really doubt that's going to happen. I'm not one for apologies anyway."

"Just try...." Megami said softly, placing a hand onto the man's ankle. She wasn't trying to annoy him, of course. But she was trying to get him to think a bit harder before continuing such a hostile relationship. "I know it's hard having to reconcile with people you hate.... but I think it's worth a shot. If it fails, then you'll have a reason to...well...argue, I suppose."

Ahatake chuckled. "Fine. I'll try it. Later."

"Good...." She stood up, but only to walk over to give her husband a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you decided to look at things my way, dear...."

Ahatake sat up, unpinching his nose. He breathed in. "Smells like blood."

Miharu had been standing there the whole time, quietly. "Kā-chan?" She spoke up. "When's breakfast?"

This caused Megami to let out a gasp. Then, a sheepish smile crossed her face and she scratched the back of her head. "Oh, I'm sorry...!" She apologized in an embarrassed manner. "I just couldn't bring myself to cook. There's some cereal on the sink if you want some, though."

"Alright." She left, and Ahatake could hear the rustling of bags and boxes in the kitchen. "Oh that's right. Megami, I just remembered. Last night, I went to the World of the Living to talk to Kisuke."

"Oh, did you....?" Megami asked, raising an eyebrow. She placed her hands onto her hips, waiting for an explanation.

"Yeah." Ahatake said, bracing himself to give the bad news. "I told him all about Takahashi, and, unfortunately, he doesn't know a thing."

"Of course...." Megami hung her head in slight disappointment. However, this was to be expected from a new enemy. Not everyone could know anything about him. "I wonder if Rukia knows anything about him. The next time I find her, I should go and ask."

"Well, you can go looking for her if you like." Ahatake suggested. "I can feel her Spiritual pressure, and she's not too far from here, though she's not headed in this direction."

"No, no, no, that'd be too tedious. I'd rather wait for a good time to catch her. As of now.... she's probably busy with something else. Being an ambassador does that to you."

Rukia had been busy indeed. She had just gotten back from the Seireitei, conducting research on Takahashi Ishikawa. Luckily, she had been able to find information she needed in the Daireishokairō. She approached the palace. She first had to deliver the information to His Highness, then she would tell Ahatake and co. what she knew.

Inside, a meeting was taking place.

Ginji, after things had been over and done with, had gone off to see Jūshin once more in order to discuss the aftermath of what had happened. The two were sitting across from each other in their respective places. Ginji was sitting in a chair in front of the man's desk, while the king himself sat behind it. His elbows were on the wooden material, hands folded. His eyes were giving the Major an even gaze, and the Major stared back without emotion.

"So, Diosa's group has been liquified?"

"The majority have been, sir. Diosa herself was killed by Takahashi, the real leader. He was also the one to have murdered the former Lieutenant." Ginji looked down for a second, solemn in thought. "All possible leads died when the man stopped breathing. Now we have no idea where this man is, what his motives are, or what his true target is."

Jūshin let out a heavy sigh of his own, his face buried in one of his palms. "Just terrific. You take out one leader, and another spawns to take her damn place." He rested his palm down on the ground, a stern stare directed towards Ginji. "I want this man silenced as soon as possible. He, by himself, is proving to be a threat to the city. I don't care how you do it, I don't want another crisis rearing its ugly head. If worse comes to worst, I'll be forced to step in this time."

At the door, Chidori was leaning against it, staring solemnly at the two as they exchanged words. "You mustn't do that, my Lord." She said quietly. "The people revere you as their leader. They wouldn't be able to stand a valuable individual like you to sacrifice your life. In the case that you die at this moment, there won't be any successors to the throne. The military will have to take over..."

"That's exactly why I don't want to do it." Jūshin agreed. "But.... there doesn't seem to be much of a choice this time, is there?"

Rukia was able to enter the castle without anyone stopping her. She was known there already. She proceeded to the King's Office. The door was ajar. She walked inside, announcing herself.

"Excuse me."

Chidori shouldn't have been leaning against the door so much.

WHUMPF!

The startled woman only had time to turn around before falling right into the short and petite female, causing Rukia to fall on her back. For a moment, Chidori lay there on Rukia's stomach in disorientation, raising her head up and letting out a soft groan as she rubbed the back of her head. "Ouch...." She complained, her eyes slowly drifting to see what she had landed on. However, once she did, all thoughts turned to shock once again. She immediately jumped off of Rukia, holding her hands up in front of her defensively. "Woah, didn't see you coming, Rukia!"

Behind them, the two males were snickering, trying not to laugh at what had just happened.

Rukia was grumbling, getting up and rubbing her head. "I didn't see you by the door Chidori." Rukia said. She didn't seem angry, just surprised. "And stop laughing you two." She snapped at Jūshin and Ginji.

That was the wrong thing to say.

Immediately, the two burst out laughing, the King pounding his fist on the desk for a moment. Ginji himself nearly fell out of his chair at that one, unable to keep his usually mature composition. "Good god...!" He managed to gasp out, before continuing his careless chortles. It was obvious that they needed the lift in their moods. Something that simple surely wouldn't have been so hilarious, would it?

Rukia sighed, looking at Chidori. "I'm finding it hard to believe he's the King."

The said woman was shaking her head sagely, closing her eyes. "You know what? Funny thing is, I'm starting to think that, too...." She answered, her eyes drifting over towards a now-dumbfounded king.

She smirked when he raised his hands up into the air defensively, causing Ginji to slow down and eventually stop his own laughter. "Hey! Don't just come in here and badmouth me!" He exclaimed, though not at all concerned about what the two thought of him.

"I came here on business until you two decided to bust a gut." Rukia said, walking over to the King's desk. "I can only assume you already know about Takahashi?"

At the mention of Takahashi, both men immediately straightened up, their expressions serious. The former returned to his former position before his laughter. "That would be just about right, Kuchiki-san." He said calmly. "Ginji was just telling me about what had happened in Hueco Mundo."