"Shiroi Hane"

Written by Calis

Chapter Six: Saying Goodbye

She felt no pain as the shadows tore through her body with enough force to hurl her backwards to crash against the hard unyielding ground of crushed and trampled rose petals. She lay still like a puppet with severed strings, falling from the hands of its manipulator into a tangle of still unmoving limbs.

She slipped into the comforting embrace of darkness. Drifting in space, as her body became weightless. Her memories lost the edge to hurt even as they flashed through her mind like images of a reel of film playing silently. Nothing could touch her here in this sanctuary. Someone called her name softly, a voice she never thought she would hear again. She turned to see a familiar figure before her with arms outstretched towards her. A gentle smile graced his beloved face as he beckoned to her. She was dressed in her wedding grown and her future husband was waiting for her. She ran towards him and he caught her in an embrace. Closing her eyes, she abandoned herself to the strength of the arms that held her tight.

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It took him by surprise when the kekkai vanished and he comprehended her words a second too late. Tatsumi tried to hold back but Hane timed it too well. His shadows speared through her body, flinging her back. Blood a darker shade of red splattered onto the crimson petals and streaked her pale white face. Dropping to his knees beside her unmoving body, Tatsumi could tell that Hane was barely alive. Whipping out his mobile phone, he punched the number reserved for emergencies.

" GuShoShin! Get Watari to the infirmary immediately! Hane is very badly injured and I'm bringing her in. "

Cutting the call off, Tatsumi quickly took off his suit jacket and covered her as he gently gathered her into his arms. She felt so insubstantial that he could not help but notice how fragile she was. Cradling Hane protectively, he summoned his shadows once again. As darkness enveloped the two shinigami, they vanished into the night.

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Tatsumi paced outside the infirmary as Watari worked frantically inside to save the strange silver-eyed shinigami. While Hane did not resemble her half-brother except in the color of her hair and eyes as well as the pale complexion, he had his suspicions however as it was too much of a coincidence. He was aware of the nature of her powers and their efficacy against Hell denizens but what he could not figure out was why JuuOuChou allowed her to act alone when it had been a long establish rule for all shinigami to have a partner.

Taking off his glasses, Tatsumi polished the lenses as he pondered. He had tried to run a probe into her background but besides the scant personal information on Kimura Hane, he unearthed nothing. The woman had always been solitary, so much so that most of shinigami did not even know she existed and she seemed to prefer it that way by keeping any required interaction to a minimum. She did not strike him as a fickle person subjected to mercurial moods so when she underwent a complete reversal in behavior, he started watching her with his eyes and his shadows.

She had been very careful but secretly observing her, Tatsumi noticed that she always took special interest in cases that involved Tsuzuki and Hisoka especially when the cases involved the man known as Muraki Kazutaka. Every time this name was mentioned, he saw a strange look cross her silver eyes. One night, he had caught her making copies of the case reports pertaining to Tsuzuki's encounter with the insane doctor. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, Tatsumi had thought that she was possibly a victim like Hisoka until he discovered she had gone to Kyoto secretly and her true relation with Muraki.

Now that he had time to think clearly without the anger that sprung from the fierce protectiveness he had over Tsuzuki, realization suddenly dawned on Tatsumi as he recalled details of the encounter between Hane and Muraki. It was no loving reunion between siblings but a violent and dismal affair. From what he could discern from their conversation, Muraki had been responsible for the death of Hane's fiancé. Having a sister whom he held dear, Tatsumi was appalled by the extent of depravity that the maniacal doctor flaunted.

" Takenouchi Hideaki... "

Tatsumi muttered the name softly, his expression thoughtful. Turning on his heel, he headed back towards the office. He could not help Watari in trying to save her but he could at least delved into Hane's past from another angle. Tatsumi needed to know the reason behind the things that she did. Logging in to the main computer database, it didn't take the secretary long to find the record on Takenouchi Hideaki.

The man was a surgeon in a prestigious Tokyo hospital and everything about him was quite mundane except for the cause of his death. Takenouchi had been brutally murdered in his house on his wedding day. Tatsumi went through the grisly details as he called up the forensic report. The body had been torn apart carelessly like a paper doll with blood, limbs and viscera scattered across the floor of the living room in a bizarre painting of death. Thorough forensic tests were conducted but the murder left not a single clue. The key suspect was the victim's intended bride, last seen at the church where the wedding was to be held. According to the testimony of the priest who was supposed perform the ceremony, she had been very distressed when the groom had failed to show for more than three hours past the appointed time. The woman disappeared without a trace and it was three years later at her own death was she found as a coma patient in the very hospital that her dead fiancé used to work at.

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" You didn't hold back. " Watari glared at Tatsumi accusingly.

He was exhausted after working madly trying to save the life of a woman who had already died once. Watari had done his best but he could not help feeling that it was not enough. Hane was barely breathing and throughout the six hours that he had operated on her, she had not regained consciousness. He did not know her well and perhaps no one at the Shoukan Division did but he had seen snippets of her character through the few accidental times that he had encountered her, which had touched him deeply. It did not sit well with Watari that Tatsumi had caused grievous hurt to someone he considered a friend.

" Yes, I did not but it was her who dismissed the kekkai at the last moment, " Tatsumi replied calmly.

" That doesn't answer why did you attack her in the first place? She's one of us for goodness sake, Tatsumi! " Watari continued to rant.

" I did not attack her without a reason, Watari-san. Hane goaded me into it. Did you know that Hane is Muraki Kazutaka's half-sister? "

" Muraki?! You mean that crazy doctor who was after Tsuzuki-san...? ... Oh my... you must have thought.... she's.... involved... "

" She would not have help Muraki. " A new voice interrupted the two men.

" Kachou! "

" I guess it's no point hiding information about her at this stage. Kimura Hane was drafted into the Shoukan Division primary for her abilities. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that she had to be Muraki Kazutaka's half-sister. I think that you already have a more or less complete picture about her, Tatsumi."

Konoe had immediately reported the accident to EnmaDaiOu after being informed by one of the GuShoShin brothers. EnmaDaiOu had not been pleased about the whole affair. Konoe had been tasked further to investigate the cause of the internal conflict and to ensure that Hane recover for which EnmaDaiOu had issued a direct order for her to be taken to the GenSouKai. The head of the Shoukan Division went away, puzzled by the order as he made his way to the infirmary just in time to see two of his subordinates almost arguing over the shinigami who now lay two doors away.

" Tatsumi-san, what did you find out about Hane? " Watari asked anxiously.

Taking a deep breath, Tatsumi proceed to narrate the events leading up to the confrontation.

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