The Next Generation {Open}

[Lhin Demizu]

Lhin stood beside an open window as the gentle breeze pushed through the window. Her eyes where closed as she sighed heavily. It had been many years of hard times for herself and those left behind in the Gotei. Their war had ended and now they where working on rebuilding what was left of the Rukongai and Seireitei. Though with the destruction of most of the wall for the Seireitei that she had moved her headquarters out from the stuffy confines of that area and instead was now headquartered out of one of the Rukon districts closest to the gates. Turning she walked out from the building she used as her personal offices and home. Walking out to the rather sparse courtyard in front of her abode she pulled the old white taicho coat around herself.

The old tcoat was the same that she was told that at one time in the past her mother had worn when she had lead the Gotei. It filled her with a little bit of pride as she held it tightly as she turned to begin the long walk back inside of the Seireitei. They had made it illegal to use Shunpo within the ruins of the Seireitei unless it was a emergency or if the person was training the maneuver. As she slowly walked along she was whistling a soft tune that her mother taught her as a young child when she was nervous.

Her steps brought her before the remains of the gate that used to block the Seireitei from all the outside world. To her the outside world was more her home than anything inside the gate, but the interior would need to be repaired as to regain the semblance of order and control the Gorei had before the war broke out. Standing there she wondered just how things had gotten so bad so fast and what had truly led up to the war’s ignition.

[Yevon Kuchiki]

How long had it been since that day? How long had it been since Kimiko and Xiaoyu were taken from him? And what of Byakuya? For Yevon it'd been simply far too long. While in public he appeared as his Father, stoic and unnevered by anything. In battle, a fierce warrior that couldn't be shaken by anything... at least not anymore. But in private? Only his Sister's saw the true Yevon Kuchiki. A soft hearted boy who used to cry himself to sleep at night back when Xiaoyu and Kimiko were first taken from them. While Yevon had come to terms with their deaths finally and no longer had to cry himself to sleep, in private he was still that same soft hearted boy. He was glad that the private shrines to Kimiko and Xiaoyu, the place their real bodies were burried, remained private. Hidden away from all save for him and his Sisters. He refused to let anyone else near it, He'd be damned before he let someone even think of defiling this sacred and hallowed place. He visited this place at least twice a day, he couldn't not visit it. It simply meant too much to him, and had it not been there for him to come back too who knows where he'd be right now. While his Sister, Lhin, was ever the shining example of who Byakuya was... Yevon was the opposite, at least in private.

Today was no exception, before he came to the Seireitei he stopped by the memorial site, both the private and public one, to pay his respects to his two Mothers and offer prayer and protection from both of them. He knew not whether they were sent back into the cycle or if their souls were forever lost to him... But if they were out there, he had made a personal guarantee that he'd find them and protect their reborn lives with his very own life. Maybe it wasn't strictly to code with the Shinigami Laws or anything, but he'd be damned if he let their Souls become devoured by a damned hollow or worse.

But as of now, he was walking towards the Seireitei. He hadn't a problem walking, it gave him time to reflect and think on everything that'd happened, He wasn't one to intrude but... He had found some of his Father's old records and... some were quite disturbing to say the least. But during his thoughts, he saw someone whom he could never mistake.

"Lhin!"

He called out with a soft smile as he came running up behind her.

"Hey Lhin! Wait up!"

[Lhin Demizu]

Lhin stopped as she heard her name being called over the wind that had picked up for a moment. Turning in the direction of the call she noticed another white clad shinigami approaching her. A wide smile crossed the usually dour looking face as she recognized her own brother coming toward her. The younger man was a great person as unlike herself he had a softer more gentle side. As her brother got in close to her she walked over and actually gave him a hug. It was not unusual for her to embrace her brother even in public as to her he and her sisters where the most important people in the entire world.

Pulling back she smiled at him as she raised her hand and brushed a strand of blue green hair out of her face. Tucking the strand behind her ear she spoke up.

“Yevon. It is good to see you. I am sorry about not coming to visit the family shrine just been so preoccupied with everything here in the Rukon and Seireitei. The rebuilding and helping the people have been quite a long and tasking service. I take it that everything is going alright with you as well?”

As she spoke she turned to slowly begin walking into the Seireitei. There was a specific location she was searching for within the ruins but it was going to be a long walk to it’s location. As they passed the gate she immediately turned and was heading toward what was the first divisional living area of the Seireitei, but the area was still quite the walk away. With each step Kori no Kagami make a noise as the blades on her hip hit one another and she looked down at the pair before shaking her head.

“Have to admit it is so eerie in here right now. All of the empty places and ruins that have had to be explored to make sure that things have not been left behind by the Central Forces. Thankfully the past week has been quiet on finding a cell of resistance or a booby trapped ruin.”

Her words where calm and yet still serious which for her was something new as she was attempting to act the role of the Soitaicho and yet she did not truly want the position and would easily give it up should someone more qualified come around to pick up the slack as she wanted to just grow and live.

[Yevon Kuchiki]

Yevon smiled to his Sister as she spoke and hugged him, he returned the hug in kind of course.

"It's alright Lhin, I understand that the preparations and rebuilding needs to be seen after and I'm sure our Mothers and Father would understand."

He responded to her apology, kissing her softly on her head as he gave her a gentle pat on the back and rubbed his hands over her back gently. The soft smile on his face betrayed his stoic nature in public, but he couldn't help but smile to his older sister. She was but maybe 50 or so years older than him, but even so her embrace always made him smile no matter where they were. It showed he too was just a mere mortal, and that even he felt emotions. He was similar to his Father in that respect, to most he was this cold, unwavering, unshakable font of strength that never let his emotions control him... But in truth it was the exact opposite, while in battle he never showed his emotions except in the most extreme of circumstances he was still susceptible to them just like everyone else.

As they walked, he had one arm slung around Lhin's shoulder, mostly for support than anything. Only Lhin truly knew why he always walked with a slight limp, it was something passed down to him from Kimiko unfortunately since she herself had never gotten her... wounds really looked at. While it wasn't anything severe, it did serve to impede his movements whenever not in a battle, or just casually moving around at times. It was a constant reminder of what their Mothers and Father went through before they were born and it helped him to remember it well.

"Speak for yourself"

He said in relation to her speaking of the booby traps.

"Just last night before I went home I ran into at least three booby traps in the ruins of the Rokubantai. Would've taken my leg had I not been as fast as I am I'm sure."

He was, of course, not speaking the truth. But that was plain to his Sister he was sure as he simply tried to 'lighten the mood' with more of his rather... bland humor. But he had a smile on his face as always as he leaned to her for support, in truth it was Lhin that was his Font of Strength more than him being anyone elses. Without her, he'd be dead right now.

[Lhin Demizu]

“Still doesn’t feel right though. Leaving you and the twins to run everything as I have to do this job. After the war I would of gladly given this position to Mr. Murano but I have not had a chance to meet with him since the war ended with him tending to his own house.”

Speaking up as they walked along she despite being older it was obvious she shrunk a little underneath her brother. As he was the head of the Kuchiki house and not her which most had thought would happen. The fact she had taken up Demizu as well for her last name was a telling sign that she was attempting to distance herself formally but not in the easiest of senses. While her brother used her for physical strength she heavily relied on her siblings for morale support.

As she was the eldest all of the expectations where dropped right onto her shoulders. So having him and the twins as backup had helped her through a lot of the hardest times. Walking along with her brother she let out a slight noise of surprise as she heard him mention the booby traps in the Rokubantai headquarters. The fact he had nearly been injured in that made her a little angry. As she had selected the teams to go through all the former headquarters. Sure most had not finished the full sweeps of them.

“I will have to make note of that and send some people in to double check and give more assistance to the teams sweeping the former headquarters. I think though we should move all of the operations outside the Seireitei until after we can be certain that they are safe. Though for some reason I feel it might be millennia til the entire Seireitei is cleaned out.”

Shaking her head as she stopped and took a step from her brother pulling a small scroll from within her robe. Opening it up showed it was an old map. On the map there was a small seal of Demizu on it which meant it had to of been from Lhin’s mother’s collection not of Kimiko’s. Looking around she pointed at a nearby street.

“This way brother. What I am looking for is down there.”

[Yevon Kuchiki]

Yevon sighed inwardly at her Sister. "It was a joke Lhin, there haven't been any mines or booby traps." He said softly as he shook his head at her, Whatever was he going to do with her? She was far too strung up on this whole affair. In truth, he half wanted to pick her up and force her to go back to the cottage where she would be forced to relax and stop worrying about all of this. Mostly because he feared for her life, While it was true that she could endure quite the beating... There was no doubt that his endurance was far greater than hers. He didn't wish for her to set off some chain reaction and get herself killed.

"Lhin... I'm going into Central 46's old Head Quarters tonight." He said rather abruptly. "I found something from Mother and Father, something that I think will help with the rebuilding of the Gotei." There was a... longing in his voice. One that he hadn't shown in a very, VERY long time. In fact, the last time this kind of tone had come from him was shortly after Kimiko had died. "I don't know if it still exists down there... But I'll be going in alone, you'll know if something has happened to me down there because I'll be going down there with my Bankai."

Yeah, he'd said it... Yevon didn't bring out his Bankai except under the most dire of situations. Whatever he was going down there for, it was something so dangerous he dared not go down there with anyone else or without his Bankai. "You are NOT to follow me understand? If I vanish... You're to use your bankai to cause the entirety of the old Central 46 Headquaters to cave in on itself and destroy it completely understand? Then I want our most elite guards to be watching that place at all times... If anything but myself in my bankai should emerge it's to be deemed an immediate threat and destroyed by any means necessary. The threat down there, if I can't tame it, is too great to be allowed out. Because if I can't tame it, nobody can. The only other one who might've been able too would be the combined force of both of our Mothers..." He spoke as though he spoke from experience... But he'd never gone near that place before. All the while he continued following her, but one thing was for sure... There was no negotiating this. He fully expected Lhin to obey him, yes she was the Sotaicho... But he was the Head of the Kuchiki House... And no matter their last names, he still fully expected her to Obey.

[Kurosawa Ryou]

”Oh my dear Lhin-chan… you mussst be going sssoft on thossse boysss and girlsss to imply they will take that long to finisssh the job of cleaning thisss place up. Your mother would have had found ways to motivate them, or at leassst been sssmart enough to know when ssshe needed help.” A playfully laugh spread through the air, despite the tone of voice which came with it speaking down to the Soitaicho like a little sister or a student, but with a note of clear affection. The area was instantly swept with a very heavy and dark reiatsu that slowly dissipated whenever it owner began to slink from the shadows to reveal himself to the pair. The form of a Shinigami dressed in an all-white suit and wearing a mask of bone with a long beak sticking out from his nose, slowly he removed his top hat so that he could slip it from his face. With a twirl of his wrist the mask disappeared, absorbed into the shadows created by his hand. Ryou Kurosawa walked forward slowly towards Lihn without saying a word at first, until he was within hugging distance. Without wasting a second the man wrapped his arms around the Captain-Commander and began to hug her… even going so far as to pick her up off the ground and swing her about a bit.

”My how you have grown… now look who is the big bad Sotaicho, but I ssstill remember you asss the little girl me and Sung-chan sssaved back during the war.” He finally he put her down and covered his lips in the manner that his spouse did whenever she laugh. The Mad King was trying to be as relaxed as he could about what would become a rather serious visit. He had not expected there to be another person there… much less it to be one of the Kuchiki house…. Much less the brat who was strong enough to block a blow that came from the fury he directed at anyone who dared take a swing at his wife, even if it had been an accident. How could the sheltered kid have known better? Way to many variables, but needless to say the Mad King had been impressed. Beyond this Ryou knew little of him and didn’t care much to simply because Yevon posed no threat. Just as cold and indifferent as his father, but as reckless as his mother… the kid at least didn’t seemed opposed to Xiao’s treaty. Not that Ryou knew anyway. ”Nice to sssee you asss well my boy, I sssee sssomeone hasss been moving up in the world as well. You children jussst grow up ssso fassst. Lihn my dear you ssshould really come visssit, or hell I can bring the kidsss to you… I know they would jussst love to meet you.”

Kurosawa had used this chance to lean forward and examine over the map, though he couldn’t read it very well, and didn’t have a much time to peek at it… this didn’t stop him from putting two and two together when it came to what Yevon might have been talking about. The man had caught enough of the Kuchiki’s monologue to pique his cat like interest, and holding up his he began to playfully count out, ”Oh ssso you’re going to order the Sotaicho around now Yevon-kun?” Purposefully Ryou accented the more feminine pitch that he could bring out of his voice when he felt like it, and he did it to sound like he was scolding the male, and even play with him a bit while he continued, ”Well if you can do that, then let me sssee. You are not Sun-Sung, not Soi-Fon-sama, or the current head of the Shihoin clan, and I don’t fall under your jurisssdiction, essspecially not asss your elder.” Pausing for a second as though trying to think of something else to add to his quip the male couldn’t think of anything and so simply reached from his slightly closed position on Yevon that he would have obtained while walking.

Reaching out he ruffled the others hair playfully, before pulling back his hand and speaking in a bit more serious tone, ”Ssso it looks like I will follow you. Sssomeone hasss to drag you back to your sissster if your sssuicide plan goesss wrong. Xiao wasss too important to me for me to let her daughter have to bury her brother after all she has lossst in thisss war you have another thing coming. If you are not confident in your ability to do what your planning by yourssself then take help, but don’t die for your pride like that or thessse fissst will make you live for it.” His tone had gone from slightly playful to downright stern as he lectured, eyes glaring daggers at the other male. Crossing his arms over his chest and letting his hair hang down over his face, as his reiastu flared up slightly in pitch with the annoyed growl that left his throat. If he had to knock the kid out and drag him out Ryou would, but the offer to help was a real. Yevon was strong, but Ryou only considered Lihn and the last of the Old Guard among the Captains to be his equals these days. Not that he acted like it… the Mad King preferred to simply offer help were he could. The whole gesture was meant to be a method of protecting Lihn than it was trying to cause trouble, because he had seen what the rashness of others of Yevon’s bloodline could cause and he refused to have those mistakes repeated and people hurt because of it.