"I am sorry if it seemed as if I was taking advantage of your kindness." — Hisana Kuchiki.
°
°
°
°
°°°°°°°°°
"I forgot to tell him about Byakuya's wife." Itachi muttered to himself minutes after leaving Kisuke's Division. He had remembered at one point but had refrained from saying it because the issues with his students had been his priority.
Even now his mind remained wholly on Kusaka and it couldn't help but paint out the worst case scenario. Before meeting Kisuke, he didn't want to think that far, but now that was all he could think of.
It was paranoid of him to only think in that direction but on a base level he knew that there was something wrong with two different people having the same spirit. For some reason, the notion felt a little off to him. And if he already felt this way then he really didn't want to know what Central 46 would have to say about it if his worst fears came true.
The fact that this matter had risen to the top of his mind and intended to stay that way until he found a reasonable path of action served only for him to trust his instincts more on this matter.
He couldn't take Kusaka from the Academy without a good reason and he also couldn't fight Central 46 if they were to give the boy a bad sentence just to spite him.
Consequences of bias, he knew, but that did not mean that he was wrong. Conversely it also didn't mean that he was right.
Pushing his thoughts aside he returned to Tōshirō who was still fretting over Kusaka, the latter of which was just stirring up from his short sleep.
"Um, Captain Uchiha, what's happened?" Kusaka asked as soon as he became coherent. The fact that a Captain was in his room was weird, more so with how skittish Tōshirō appeared.
Before he could get any answer however, his last memories snapped into place and he whirled around to look at his waist only to find that his trusty partner was unexpectedly missing.
"Here it is." Seeing Itachi with his Zanpakutō only served to further exacerbate Kusaka's already confused mind.
He looked towards Tōshirō for a clue, anything, but all he got was a worried Tōshirō, which in turn made him even more worried.
He didn't reach for his Zanpakutō but instead kept his eyes on the Captain in front of him.
"What do you remember?"
It was like walking through a haze. His last memories fizzled in through the fog and soon excitement took over his features as the realization came that he had achieved his Shikai. Finally.
His face spun to face the other two people in the room and his excitement faded as he saw the looks on their faces and remembered that something had been wrong.
"What is wrong? Tōshirō? Captain Uchiha?" His voice faltered a little, not that he had any control over it given how ominous the air in the room felt.
Captain Uchiha was the first to speak and Kusaka was glad he did.
"Nothing yet. To be honest, I don't know if there was a problem from the beginning." Itachi said, confusing the boy even further.
"I'm afraid I don't understand, sir."
Itachi nodded, and then asked, "what is the name of your Zanpakutō, Kusaka?"
Kusaka froze for a moment before the name came naturally to him. "Hyōrinmaru."
It wasn't until he said the name that it dawned on him what exactly was wrong. There was one big issue and it was a glaring one that he was surprised he didn't immediately realize it.
Hyōrinmaru was the name of Tōshirō's Zanpakutō. Tōshirō was in the room with him looking partway lost and confused. Captain Uchiha was in the room too.
"W-What is happening?" He looked at his Zanpakutō, and while he felt the inexplicable bond to it, he couldn't pick it up. Instead he looked up at their teacher for clarification.
"I don't know yet." Itachi replied. "Though I am almost certain that this case is the first of its kind, or at least the first of long recent memory."
"'This case'", Kusaka muttered. The reality of what it was already setting root in his head.
"Two different souls housing the same Zanpakutō spirit." Itachi stated.
"Is such a thing even possible?" Tōshirō asked after finding his voice.
"It should not be." Itachi answered. Seeing that he had both of their attention, he explained further. "A Zanpakutō spirit is born from the essence of a Shinigami's soul. Their thoughts, character, personality, ambitions, desires – these are all roots to which a Zanpakutō spirit is formed. Looking at it like this, it is impossible for two different souls to share the same Zanpakutō spirit. Similar maybe, but never the same."
Both students looked at each other, not sure of how to respond. As far as they both knew and were concerned, Hyōrinmaru was theirs. It was a fact they both knew deep in their souls.
"So what does this mean, because I'm pretty sure that it's Hyōrinmaru sitting right there." Tōshirō said. He looked conflicted as he pointed at the sword lying lazily on the bed.
"It is," Itachi nodded. "I already confirmed it. There is no difference between this blade and the one you have on your hip, Hitsugaya. I doubt even you could tell the difference."
"Er, so what do we do now? Are we like weird or something?" Kusaka asked with some hesitation. As far as he was concerned, the fact that Captain Uchiha was showing concern meant that there were certain problems.
"That is the thing, I don't know. The few Captains I've asked pretty much considered your case to be unheard of."
There was something about that particular reply that left them feeling lost. Was something wrong or not? Would it affect their souls? Would one of them be able to control the other's Zanpakutō? There were a lot of questions to ask and now they were being told that it wasn't clear if they could even ask the questions in the first place.
"You don't have to worry. All I ask is that you practice with diligence, that is all. Try to keep this development to yourselves. I'll see if I can find out anything about this."
"Um, yes sir. Thank you, sir." Kusaka and Tōshirō both said in unison and bowed their heads. When they raised it up, Itachi was no longer with them in the room.
"What just happened?" Tōshirō asked absentmindedly.
"Beats me." Kusaka gave a heavy lazy shrug. Both of their eyes were locked in on their respective Zanpakutō. Their youthful minds briefly wondered what would happen if they were to exchange Zanpakutō but quickly shook their heads.
Best not to entertain such thoughts. Maybe.
.....
[Kuchiki Estate]
The air was somber in the central manor of the Kuchiki Estate. There were few servants in the building, which would have been a strange thing on any other day but not on this day.
Time and time again the air around the Estate would warp and put pressure on all those who lived within its confines but would quickly disappear.
Inside a particular room in the manor lay the sickly figure of Hisana Kuchiki, wife of Byakuya Kuchiki and the Matriarch of the Kuchiki Clan. Beside her bed stood three figures, her husband, Byakuya Kuchiki, her grandfather-in-law, Ginrei Kuchiki, and Unohana Retsu.
"What can you tell us, Captain Retsu?" Ginrei asked calmly after Unohana finished through with her checkup.
"It is as I suspected. She is an inherently weak soul. The fact that she had to spend her time around vastly stronger souls did not help her condition. I can help abate her condition for now but bear in mind that it is in no way a remedy."
"Is there nothing that can be done?" Byakuya asked through clenched teeth.
Unohana shook her head sadly. "It is a matter of constitution. Like you said, she has been on the weaker side, prone to illness and random bursts of weakness, but now she's teetering off an edge I'm not sure she can come back from."
The meaning of her words settled into the hearts of the two men like cold water on a parched throat. Byakuya's frustration was viable while Ginrei remained very passive.
"If I may?"
"Speak your mind, Captain Retsu." Ginrei said.
Calm and gentle, Unohana spoke. "There's little medication and healing can do at this point. Her condition however has to specifically do with her soul and while I do not claim any expertise on the subject I know someone who does."
Byakuya immediately snarled at her, something that was out of his character but was understandable as it was his wife laying in her deathbed.
"I will not let her be prodded by a maggot like Mayuri Kurotsuchi." He glared hatefully at Unohana for deigning to even suggest such a thing. Even Ginrei was giving her a pointed look.
Unohana remained calm and composed like she always did, not at all affected by Byakuya's glare.
"I do not mean Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Kisuke Urahara is who I hoped to mention. While he's not a healer in any stretch of the word, he's still Soul Society's foremost expert on souls."
The two men looked at each other and then back at her.
"Are you sure?" Byakuya asked.
Unohana shook her head softly. "I offer no certainties, just an option."
She nodded and prepared to leave, mindful not to let it out that the suggestion had come from a certain friend of hers.
#—--------------------------------------#
A/N: We're just going to ignore Kubo's fuck all of a plot hole about the sharing-of-a-Zanpakutō-spirit thing?