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For The Love of a Friend	By : orionshadow Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 32416 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Tite Kubo owns Bleach and the characters depicted therein.   Most of the characters in this story are not mine. I make no money from the publication of this work.
Lover's Letter
Waiting impatiently, Soi tried to exude an air of calm and composure. Appearing agitated while she waited for Toshiro's lieutenant was not acceptable and there was no need to anticipate anything. Taking the woman to varied destination didn't inspire her with excitement. Hearing Matsumoto talk about her husband made Soi feel slightly nauseous. Obsession was a soft word for the way she felt about the man who married her and it seemed slightly wrong to Soi to be in love to the extent the woman avowed to be.
No matter how she felt about the man, she would never, never, never allow anyone else to know she adored him; not even Toshiro. Of course this relied upon retaining her natural reticence and restraining the inclination which had made her act so foolishly around Yoruichi. Blushing and acting like a silly girl was not appropriate for a Captain and Commander. It seemed likely it would be a bad idea to admit her emotions even to herself, as she might act on them.
The recent events were disturbing. The Old Man was reacting in a manner which seemed at odds with his normal behaviour. There was no doubt he was being stubborn and appeared to refuse to think things through properly before he acted and until this time she ‘d thought he planned his dealings carefully.
All the indications were he’d begun to be less effective. If he had been fully in charge, the murder of the Council would never have happened, nor would it have been concealed for so long. It still shocked her to think of the amount of time the bodies had been left there to rot while Aizen and his fellow traitors issued orders and pretended nothing was out of the ordinary. Why hadn’t Yamamoto probed deeper into the demand for Rukia’s execution? Was he always so obedient to a higher authority, or had he hoped, in the deepest recesses of his mind for the removal of the ruling body so he might be the ultimate power in the Seireitei?
These thoughts scared her. Having been exposed to one person who justified full scale murder and subversion as a method of gaining power was making her suspect one person who should be immune to those desires. The man who had created the Seireitei surely wouldn’t engineer it’s destruction. What would be the point? Destroying everything he'd worked for any reason didn't seem like the man who'd headed the 13 Divisions for so many centuries, priding himself on the efficiency with which they dispatched Hollows and kept the threat to the Human world under some sort of control.
This was taking too long. Why wasn't the woman here? Was she primping, playing with her hair, trying to work out how to display her cleavage to gain the most attention?
An unconscious glance down her own front made her blush. The woman made her feel inadequately endowed. So did the girl who so obviously yearned after the substitute Shinigami, the girl who'd started this second kidnapping cycle. She'd seen how some of the male Shinigami seemed fascinated simply by watching the women inhale. Breathing wasn't fascinating. It was something people had to do.
At least she knew Toshiro wasn't fascinated by large mammary glands.
Or was he?
Matsumoto was his lieutenant and he always seemed more interested in making the woman work or keep out of trouble than her obvious assets.
Did he mind she wasn't hugely endowed?
Her eyes opened wide as she realised the way her thoughts were turning. Her body was at the peak of its form, flexible and ready to respond to any situation or requirement, aside from the pregnancy. She was still nimble and on constant alert to avoid any potential threat. Other men, even if they were Omeada, found her attractive and Toshiro had appeared to enjoy her body.
Damn it! Her mind was once more leading her down the same path. Why couldn't she keep her thoughts focused in the normal appropriate patterns? Why was one man having such an effect on her?
Finally a movement in front distracted her from the unhelpful thoughts. She saw two of her people escorting the 10th Division Lieutenant and she approved. One of her people remained hidden to observe any potential dangers which might not be obvious to those who were escorting a possible target. She decided to conceal herself in order to observe.
The woman seemed to be carrying something which Soi looked at with curiosity. A parcel, or package of some kind. Perhaps someone had handed her a late wedding present, but then why was she carrying it? Protocol dictated the present was not to be opened while the giver was present and it was unlikely one of her team would give this woman a present. In any case, it was immaterial.
Appearing quickly she said the simple command, "Come with me."
Matsumoto stiffened and stopped, then turned slowly toward Soi, a small frown on her face.   Soi used the dismissing motion of her hand and her subordinates obediently disappeared.
“I have this for you from my Captain.” Matsumoto held out the package.
A present? For her? From Toshiro? It was unexpected, but was it unwelcome? With a great deal of hesitation she reached out her hand and took the package. It was heavier than expected and appeared to contain something more than a letter as she distinguished a hard and heavy object within.
As it was from Toshiro, did that mean she could open it now? She began to slip it into a pocket, but curiosity was too strong and her fingers undid one end without any command issuing from her brain.
The object within slid into her hand and proved to be a figurine. Instantly, she drew back, expecting a detailed carving of a black cat, but instead it was something carved from white jade. Looking closer she saw it was carved into a very lifelike depiction of a hornet. A hornet ready to attack.
She quickly trained her muscles not to react, for her face to remain impassive, but a thrill went through her. He had taken the trouble to find something which meant a great deal to her, a depiction of the power of her attacks. Something that was both so personal, but also an acknowledgement of her abilities. Did it mean something important? Should she accept the gift? A longing to keep it grew in her while she knew to accept if might indicate an acceptance of the man who sent it to her. It had been a clever plan, giving it to his lieutenant to deliver when she had to accompany the woman. Of course, it was possible to place the statuette back in the packet, return it to the woman and firmly instruct her to return it to the sender. It was possible to do so. As it was a personal matter, that should be the end of it. Returning it was the right thing to do. It sent the correct messages and indicated her disinterest.
A beam of light caught the purity of the jade and the fine carving. The gilding was a touch ostentatious, but she couldn't fault it. If she were to select a representation of the spirit of her Zanpakuto, this was the obvious choice. She loved it and it was difficult to tear her eyes away from the beauty of the piece, but the Lieutenant was observing with far too much interest. Soi reluctantly place it in her pocket, along with the letter.
It took some effort but she said, “I will read the letter later. You may need to carry a reply to your Captain," she paused, taking a deep breath before continuing to the important matters. "You need to show yourself to 10^thand 11^thDivisions so they can be assured that you are still living. Captain Hitsugaya has reassured 10^thDivision but verbal assurance is not working on the 11^thso well."
In truth it wasn't working at all. As their four most senior officers were absent, the atmosphere is the 11th Division was dangerous. Too many argumentative, testosterone hyped males were outdoing each other with their talk and supposed attempts to breach the lockdown and revenge their Captain and the honour of their Division and blah, blah, blah. A great amount of talk and puffing out of chests as each tried to outdo the other with words, not necessarily with actions. If only they placed as much emphasis on tactics and co-operation, the Seireitei would be a better place. Perhaps a little less interesting.
Moving swiftly, she led the way into the 11th Division compound, ignoring the bows of the guards, wanting this chore over and done with. Then she could read the words Toshiro had written to her and spend time ruminating over her response.
Or respond as she normally did. Quickly and following her initial impulse. All her training had honed her instincts to a very high level and making speedy decisions made more sense to her than considering every angle and each word.
Walking amongst the members of 11th Division reminded her that this was one of the times she hated not being tall. All the men in this Division seemed to loom, without even trying and no one was shorter than her. She set her chin and said loudly upon reaching the largest of the groups hanging around: “Here is your Captain’s wife, alive and unharmed. Will you stop acting like fools? How will your Captain feel if he hears of this?” Good, her voice showed no sign of fear.

“He’ll probably tell us we should have gone and executed the tart who tried to kill his wife,” one of the low browed thugs grumbled. “And we should have slaughtered 12^thDivision while we had the chance. They caused this.”
This was progressing about as well as she expected: in other words, badly.
One man's eyes were firmly fixed on the lieutenant's chest. “Yeah, less scum to crowd this place. But at least the woman’s alive and looking good. I’ve always liked looking at her."
Soi was about to remonstrate with the man when another 11th Division low life, slapped him on the shoulder and said, “Good thing the Captain didn’t hear you say that, idiot,” one told him. “You can look, if he doesn’t catch you, but don’t talk and definitely don’t touch.”
“She’s the captain wife, not just a woman. What about the bint that tried to kill you. Is she still alive? Will she try to murder you again?” The man ignored Soi completely, addressing his question directly to Matsumoto. The slight stung slightly, until she tried to rationalise it, and failed. There would be time later to point out his mistake.
“Lieutenant Hinamori has been suffering from a serious disorder, Tuan," Matsumoto said steadily with a smile. Why was she smiling? This wasn't funny. “4^thDivision have worked out a cure and she is now in her right mind. Please don’t send anyone else to kill her. She won’t hurt anyone and she is under my protection.”
Yet another person under Hinamori's spell. Thinking about the woman made her want to scream, or something.
“You keep away from that nut job,” Tuan was telling Matsumoto seriously, as if he held some sort of authority. “Don’t give her a second chance.”
The rumble of agreement was very loud which pleased Soi. Apparently not everyone thought Momo was perfection. All these men were more inclined to kill her.
“And stay away from 12^thDivision, too. Next time the attack may be from them, not some stupid girl.” Did all these men think it essential they tell their Captain's wife how to behave and what to do? Where did they obtain these ideas? Matsumoto had a brain and the decisions were hers to make. She couldn't think of anyone who willingly spent time in 12th Division, either.
Toshiro's lieutenant coughed gently and spoke again. “Your Captain will be informed of your care for me and I’m sure he will reward you, but for now we have to keep the peace. We shouldn’t be fighting amongst ourselves.”
Ah, so she was playing it that way. The instructions the men were throwing at her were because they 'cared'. It was possible they did, especially about how their survival if anything untoward happened to their Captain's wife while he was away.
“We didn’t start the fight with the 12^th. They shouldn’t have tried to get you killed. They only tried because our Captain isn’t here,” the older man said and the others nodded agreement. Was he intentionally inciting everyone around him? Soi prepared to take action to silence him. 11th Division was already tense enough. The wrong words now might prove disastrous.
Before she could move, Matsumoto said “Protecting the Seireitei against our real enemy is more important than worrying about 12^thDivision."
She was being too polite and Soi cut in. This had to be stopped immediately. "You, what is your name? What is your role in this Division?” She glared at him, daring him to give her the opportunity to sting him.
Instead of giving the rude response she expected, the man straightened and said, "I am the 10^thseat of 11^thDivision. My name is Moto Yano.”
This man was a 10th seat? Obviously with delusions of grandeur or the faint hope with 4 of his superior officers away he may have the chance to seize power. Not that it was likely. Zaraki was not a weak opponent. “As 10^thseat you should be calming matters, not causing further dissension," she hissed. This man reminded her or Omeada, lazy and wishing for more power than he was capable of handling.
A dull red flush rose in the man's face. “I’m just saying what everyone is thinking," obviously a weak attempt at justification. “What’s wrong with the truth?”
Funny version of the truth and Soi was gratified that a number of people near to the man drew away slightly, as if trying to indicate they didn't support his views or his words.
“It’s partial truth at best. Shut up Yano. You’ve been spouting off all day about how we should get the 12^th. I tried to tell you before but you kept babbling on like the loud mouthed prat you are,” a new voice broke in, gruffly. “I’m pleased to see you well, Lieutenant. I did not mean anything by what I said in front of your husband. You are a very beautiful woman and I was drunk; alcohol causes me to lose my inhibitions. My name is Arai Hisao. As 9^thseat I should have displayed more respect. I’ve always admired you and I applaud my Captain’s taste in his bride. I am here to obey your orders, as my Captain commanded me in punishment for my disrespect.”
The 9th seat seemed more sensible than his subordinate, but was he?
“I wished I had that punishment, I’d make the most of it,” Moto said with a lascivious look on his face. Moments later he was sprawled on the ground, a sharp rabbit punch delivered by Hisao to his stomach.
Soi almost felt disappointed. She'd been planning to mince the man and then reduce him to his composite parts.
“I told you to shut up. The Lieutenant does not deserve your vulgar comments,” Hisao said very firmly. “Captain Zaraki will not be pleased.”
Matsumoto was desperately trying not to smile as she told Hisao, “I’m sure my husband has relieved you of your responsibility…”
The man cut in, with an amount of deference that had been sorely lacking in the 10th seat. “There has not been the time. I am here to follow your instructions until my Captain returns and orders me otherwise. Instruct me.”
The 10th Division lieutenant looked bemused for a moment, as if trying to find the words which might produce the most effect. Her words, however, astonished Soi. “Could you organise some drills, exercise, weapon making, and physical activity? Give your people something constructive to do. We’ll need everyone to be at their best if the Arrancar attack again and everyone relies on the 11^thfor their strength.”
She was thinking! Not only about her looks and her passion for her husband, but acting in the manner most Captains would wish their lieutenants to act if they were not there. Not only providing instructions, disguised as suggestions, but also complimenting the Division. Clever and more subtle than expected.
A look of disgust passed over Hisao's face and at first Soi thought he might respond in a dismissive manner. “We’ve tried to do that but our 10^thseat did not seem pleased with the suggestion. Funny how important he thought he was with a bit of backing from like minded idiots.
"He tried contradicting every order or saying we didn’t have the authority,” another man said. “I’m 8^thseat, Kye Ishi, " he turned to the hapless 10th seat with a smile curving the edges of his mouth. It was quite threatening. "I have an idea Moto. Seeing you have so many ideas, why don’t you work out a way of repairing those weapons that have been broken recently? It’s a messy, hard job, but you keep saying it would take a lot of imagination to fix them. What do you think Hisao?”
The 9th seat smiled coldly and nodded. “Couldn’t have thought of a better idea, Kye. Get to it Moto. Do any of your supporters want to help? Funny, they all seem to have faded away."
The situation and atmosphere had changed substantially since they arrived. Instead of being close to turmoil, 11th Division was being restored to order. Perhaps the scowling Moto had been made a focus of the trouble, but there was no doubt he had contributed to the fermenting problems that lay behind the reasons for the lockdown. It amused Soi to see a silent man escort the 10th seat to his task seeming intent on making certain that he followed orders. When Zaraki returned she might recommend he review his seated officers and identify those who were troublemakers.
Like her lieutenant.
The thought intruded before she had a chance to bask in any comparison between their two Divisions. Maybe the problems in her Division were not solely Oemeada's responsibility. When she had time, a full review was a priority.
“He’s so quiet and obedient when the Captain’s here. I thought he was hiding his nature and I was right. We’ve got a lot of nasty tasks for him to do that should keep him busy. He kept contradicting me and reminding everyone how I disgraced myself,” Hisao  was quite conversational. Was he always this talkative or trying to talk himself out of a bad situation? “With Ikkaku and Yumichika absent, he was beginning to disrupt everything. I wonder if he’ll be stupid enough to challenge the Captain for his position when he returns, like he said he would. "
Soi almost laughed at the idea and planned to be present if that happened. It might prove amusing and educational.
“I think I’ll mention it to the Captain. There’s no way he could win.” Hisao's smile conveyed a sense of amusement at the prospect of that battle.
The 9th seat said something before Soi could respond and she was pleased by the deference he showed.“By the way, Captain, I hope that the Lieutenant will still spend each night in the Captain’s house. He’ll be pissed if he came back and found she’d gone back to the 10^th.”
Why were sleeping arrangements important? Where the woman slept mattered little, but a reply might prevent further discussion. “I will arrange it so that she may sleep here. She will need to be guarded at all times.”
Another man who'd been silent until now said firmly, “Good. We’ll get these lazy buggers working hard. If they’re busy they’ll talk less. Let’s hope the lockdown is up soon. Trying to keep this bunch occupied won’t be easy.”
While they seemed ready to get the men working, she decided to add a little incentive. “Make certain they are not allowed an idle moment. I, or another Captain will check in later. Lieutenant, come with me.”
Making a quick decision she led the way to 1st Division. It had been her intention to take Matsumoto to 10th Division but upon consideration it seemed imperative for the third and fifth seat of 11th Division to be released as soon as possible. While a level of calm existed at present, the disruptive elements were still there and likely to attempt again to any level of power possible while the strongest and most able officers were absent.
Almost as if she was having similar thoughts, Matsumoto spoke with a fair amount of authority as if well acquainted with the situation, “I think it’s a bad idea to keep the 11^thunder lockdown, especially with that trouble maker. They’d be more useful maintaining the borders of Soul Society and the Seireitei. They could watch for incursions from the Hollows or Arrancar and they’d be on full alert, not thinking about revenge."
No doubt, making the men work on something which required vigilance and attention was a better use of their time and limited talent while this threat continued. It was the right thing to do, taking this woman with her when she went to confront the Old Man. Until now he'd shown no inclination to listen to Soi, but maybe the two of them might manage to sway the man.
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Toshiro was trying not to think of anything. Nothing. There was no reason to think as he had taken an action which could lead to either disaster or delight and right now he was confident it was disaster.
No matter how much effort he put into the letter or any words or sentiments expressed, if Soi was inclined to hate him, he couldn't change it. He'd made mistakes and when he received the torn up pieces of his letter, a brutal written response, a life ending hornet sting, a non-committal response he might be able to put it behind him. Move on. Find someone else.
Contemplating a positive answer was a waste of time. There was no chance Soi might have softened toward him. Their 'relationship' had begun as a trade, sex for protecting Momo. Not really sex. Frustrating time spent with a woman who wanted pleasure and was prepared to give nothing except for fulfilling the terms of their bargain. There was no possibility a good outcome might eventuate from such a weighted beginning. She'd had all the power and he'd felt like and been treated like a serf.
The resentment flared again and once more he pushed it away. They'd moved past the unequal part, for such a brief time. It might have worked if he kept his mouth shut, or used his brain before saying anything, but he hadn't, he didn't and it happened.
The motivating force to contact her was of course the result of hearing of Momo's engagement. He was a free man with no woman having expectations of him, aside from Matsumoto, and maybe Momo to some extent.
Who was he trying to fool as he wasn't having any luck lying to himself?
The main thing on his mind returned to irritate him.
How long did it take to read a letter?
If she read the letter.
Would she read the letter?

Matsumoto might encourage her to read it.
He almost laughed at the idea. Soi following advise provided by his lieutenant. Was it likely?
This strange position of both wishing to receive an answer and fearing it at the same time made him twitchy. Hanging around 4th Division awaiting another attempt on Momo's life was boring. He was forced to acknowledge that he was bored, now. The lockdown virtually guaranteed no further attempts on her life. All this waiting made him think of the work waiting for his attention and other elements of his life which were on hold.
For too long it seemed his life had been on hold. Events happening all around him over which he had no control which influenced his life and his ability to act and it was beginning to irritate him. No, he was way past the beginning and the irritation. He was annoyed, angry at the way he had to wait and consider and wait some more and wait longer. Waiting was over-rated. All it meant was anticipating a result which might never happen, or if a result did happen, it was often very disappointing.
Which turned his mind back to thinking about any possible response from Soi. A negative answer was expected, but ultimately if he received one there was no doubt he'd be disappointed. Very disappointed.
If by any chance something favourable happened, it might not be enough and again disappointment. Honesty compelled him to admit while he expected a less than positive response, he hoped she might be swayed by his letter and some finer feelings which might exist.
He bit his lip, wanting to move, do something, anything to stop brooding. If he were anything like Zaraki he'd look for a fight to pass the time. Even if he found a fight he doubted he'd enjoy it unless he found a person who would provide a serious challenge.
He decided to talk to Shunsui. Maybe the older Captain could distract him with stupid discussions about love, women, sake and sex.
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A.N.
Rumours of my death are exaggerated.
The delay was unavoidable and the reasons are many.
Soundtrack
'Army of Me' Bjork
'Shallow Life' Lacuna Coil
'Exclude' Moi Dis Mois
'Desperate but not Serious' Adam and the Ants
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For The Love of a Friend