The Felling of a House: Saionji vs. Ishino [Closed]

The deep violet eyes of J. Saionji snapped open in an instant. The moment an unfamiliar voice leaked through the Saionji Manor, J. was awake. Maaya woke and he looked down to her with a fierceness in his eyes that seemed to find this intrusion welcoming. He stood before she did and while only wearing his pants, he grabbed his Zanpakutō and made his way to the door. "St-..." he stopped to look at her as she spoke up. She was ready to fight against her family for the Saionji?

J. watched her for a moment and nodded. "Your family has declared war against the Saionji. From moment you draw your blade in our defense and on, Maaya, you are Saionji. Make sure you're ready for that." He opened his bedroom door and walked out, "If you need me... Yell. In combat, I will not be able to watch your back as perfectly as I'd like, not if what I expect actually occurs." J. disappeared around the first corner, shunpo'ing to stop next to his brother. J looked to Kazuo, "I need to contact the Head Captain. Handle this breach. Kill no one until I give the clear." J. walked casually passed the hallway and into Kazuo's office. Yes, he wasn't treating this as anything more than a dog wanting attention. The more he pissed them off, the better for him.

The moment he entered Kazuo's office, he hurried to the phone and began making a certain call. "H-Hello? Don't call me this early, the he-..." "Head Captain." J. interrupted Kaminari, "It seems the Ishiino have decided to make their move. They have raided my home with false accusations of kidnapping, assassination, and something else I can't remember. We were asleep, so I did not hear everything, but they've started their war. Do I still have permission?" "Annihilate them." "Thank you." J. hung up and stepped out of Kazuo's office to see the current situation. "PEOPLE OF THE SAIONJI MANOR. THE ISHIINO HAVE DECLARED WAR AGAINST US AND IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN ANY WAY!" he shouted with a bellowing anger and a harshness in his voice, "KILL THEM ALL."

Michiko woke with a fright at the sudden yelling. She listened with wide eyes filled with horror, confusion, and guilt. On behalf of the Four Noble Houses? Kidnapping? Did this have anything to do with her? "Oh no..." she felt her stomach curl and jumped out of bed in her pajamas. She ran out of her room and down the hallway. She was going to try and stop this before anything got too bad, but Kazuo and J. were already there. J. glanced at her as he walked passed, motioning for her to back away as he went into Kazuo's office. Michiko took a few steps back. Were they ready for war? And so her mind first went to him...

"Ryuusei..." she thought and turned on her heels. She hurried down the hallway toward his room. She turned the corner and went to open the door as she saw a few men rounding the corner. She hesitated for a moment as they told her to stop, but her fear got the better of her. She was about to turn to run and they ran at her. Michiko screamed as she turned away and began running toward the back gardens. If she could get some of them away from Ryuusei, she'd be satisfied.

J. made sure to pay attention to the current battleground before daring to charge in. His anger would not overwhelm his senses, not this time. He was calm and calculated. As Kazuo jumped in, he glanced over the heads of the soldiers fighting in his halls to see who stood back in the crowd. He heard the scream down to his left and grabbed his Zanpakutō's hilt and turned. He took a single step before he saw that Ryuusei had taken those men down. J. smirked at this. Ryuusei could handle it, but that meant something was on the other side of his halls as well. He turned his back to Ryuusei, trusting the young man's skill and determination and went down the other hallway.

J. vanished from sight and appeared at the end of the hall, looking down the hall to a man and soldier walking toward him. He had assumed correctly. Good. It was his turn to fight. "Invading the home of the Saionji is foolish." he stated and drew his Zanpakutō, "You've begun a war you cannot win. The Heads of your family were already warned about what would happen if they made the wrong move, yet they send you to your death. It's a shame you must fall for their futile mission." And so J. released a good portion of his reiatsu, only holding enough back to make sure that no one of his own manor would be hindered by it. It was an intimidation tactic and a way to show he was serious. At this time, he would want Ryuusei and his brother to do the same. These men would die by the hands of the Saionji as they all fought together.

Michiko turned to run from these people who were chasing her. She was so scared, she ended up tripping over her own two feet and falling on her face. She curled up, expecting to be hit or grabbed in some way, but heard a crash instead. She opened her eyes and looked to see Ryuusei standing there. "Yes! I-I'm okay. They didn't get me... thanks to you." Michiko smiled sweetly and just watched him, "Okay. I will." It was then that Michiko realized how many there were. Could he take on all of them? Michiko slid into the hallway and looked down it. J was so far now. "Ryuusei... A-Are you sure you can take all of them?"

"Maaya's Father is dead?" J's expression softened only momentarily. He was not fond of the man, nor the way he treated Maaya, but it was still Maaya's Father. He sighed and turned back to Rokuro. "It seems there are two within the Ishino that have some sense, though I pity you for having to follow such a wretched woman." J spoke and then readied himself. Kazuo released his reiatsu as well and J smirked, "Do not think that had anything to do with you or this little army. It was merely a signal." J could hear the destruction going on down the hall way. Men were falling and Kazuo had gone all out. "Good." J replied when the man charged. J merely stepped  to the side and allowed the sword to swing down passed him. J brought the back of his sword up and swung it down at the back of Rokuro's head in an attempt to show the only mercy he would give. This was meant to knock the man out so he could move on to the guard that was still standing out of the fight.

Michiko was very worried for Ryuusei's well being. She looked down the hall multiple times, praying that Lord Saionji would look this way just once, but it wasn't happening. She turned back to Ryuusei as he attempted to fight off these men. "Ryuusei..." she whimpered in fear as he was pushed back. The men quickly made Michiko their target and her eyes widened. The men began to move, but Ryuusei yelled and let out a burst of reiatsu that pushed Michiko to the ground and made her feel faint. She heard the incantations that he spoke, but knew nothing of them. Watching from her place on the ground, Michiko saw Ryuusei eliminate his enemy with gusto. Once he calmed down and the reiatsu let up, Michiko tilted her head to see if he was okay. She saw that cheesy thumbs up, smiled, and hurried over to his side and pulled him into a hug so he could relax without collapsing. "Thank you." she said and kissed the side of his head, "Thank you for saving me Ryuusei."

J sighed in relief when Rokuro did not stand again. "We'll talk after this is done." he said, assuming that Rokuro couldn't hear him. He looked up and dashed forward with shunpo, slicing the man that had accompanied Rokuro's back open. "Stay down or die." he warned before immediately darting down the hall. He smirked when he saw his servant had taken out one of them. He hired correctly. With another shunpo, J stood at the front door and three more men had fallen in a flash. And now, J was standing face to face with the woman who had started all of this. At this moment as well, a familiar Captain showed up, landing silently and quite gracefully at the top of the Saionji's wall. J did not look to her, but was glad she was here, though he had to wonder how and why...

And then J's stomach knotted when he heard the faint scream come around the side of his home. "Maaya..." he turned to run, but was stopped when a hand touched his shoulder and a green flash flew by him in a hurry. "Thank you..." was all he said until he turned back to Shiina. "Your attack on the Saionji has already failed. Rokuro has fallen as have many of your soldiers. You've already lost this and because of your actions, you will lose everything else you hold dear. The Ishino will be cast out of the Seireitei as nothing more than mere peasants of the Rukongai. Maaya... will stay with me and carry the name Saionji. You will forever be beneath her... Just like you've always been."

Michiko saw that blush and almost wanted to nuzzle and cuddle him more. The stuttering was just as cute and she had to fight her urges. Luckily, the fight was aided by the intrusion of even more of the Ishino guard. She looked to Ryuusei as he asked her about being a Shinigami and she just shook her head no. "No, I'm not." She said as she looked up to the group of incoming men. "Something tells me we're in trouble..." Michiko set a hand on Ryuusei's back and looked worriedly to him. As the men charged, ready for battle, Michiko began acting like she was going to pull him back. As they swung their weapons, Michiko put her body in front of Ryuusei and expected to be hit, but that didn't happen. Instead, four sounds of ripping flesh were heard and then some guy showed up.

Kaii Sado, the third seat of the Second Division had run into Midori on her way here and decided to help her out. No one would ever harm the Saionji while he was around. This display of traitorous intent was a disgusting thing to him and he didn't like it. So when he jumped over the fence, he sent four green knives into the backs of each soldier. They were stunned for a short moment, giving him just enough time to move between Ryuusei and the enemies of the Saionji. He summoned a sword in his hand, one with a red aura, and sliced through two of their armor, cutting open their stomach. He stood up to challenge the other two with a cocky smile, "You messed with the wrong house today, my friends." With an adjustment of his glasses, Kaii went into battle.

Midori wasn't one to meddle in the activities of the noble houses, but when she got that call from Kaminari this morning, she couldn't refuse. She knew the situation with the Ishino had become quite hostile and Captain Saionji had already warned the other Captains of that particular noble house's threat. So when she got that call, Midori stood up out of bed, brushed her hair back and began walking. She then remembered that this shit was a bit of an emergency and decided it was time to speed up. She shunpo'd through the Seireitei on her way to the Saionji Manor. On her way there, she pushed Kaminari and her fat belly back into her house and called our for Tsubine about her sneaking out, just in case...

Midori ran into Kaii Sado, one of Kazuo's subordinates and told him what was going on. He immediately volunteered to join her, so the two rushed over. Midori told him to take the side of the house in order for them to get a broader view, so he did. However, as she landed at the top of the Saionji's wall, she realized that this really was a declaration of war. She sighed right as she heard Maaya scream and drew her released Zanpakutō. She wouldn't allow J to abandon his position, so she darted forward in a flash, her hand placed on his shoulder with a quick, "I've got her" and ran darted around the side of the house. When she arrived, she made quick observations. Maaya had stabbed some woman, but a man was coming up behind her and ready to stab her in the back. Pretty much still mid movement, Midori shunpo'd again and ended up above the man. She dropped down on him and just sat there, her butt pinning him to the ground. "I hate fighting... and I'm tired. Bad combination." she said with a yawn and smiled to Maaya, "Oh well... Morning Lady Saionji."

The sun finally rose over the seireitei and the day officially began. The war within the Saionji Manor had been fought and many had fallen. J stood just a foot away from Shiina Ishino now. With a few swings of his sword and a couple well times shunpo, he had slaughtered the men that surrounded her after her little speech ended. He stood there staring contently at her, the blood of her men dripping down his blade.

"It's a shame..." he spoke calmly. His look was hard, but firm. It was like he was staring directly into her soul. His eyes had a metallic sheen. Shiina could see the unwavering spirit J possessed. She had not shaken him one bit. His anger was no longer evident, but instead his conviction rang through like an iron bell. "You spoke once that the Ishino and Saionji work differently. You were completely correct. The Saionji value honor, while you value power. We train to become stronger and better ourselves, while you manipulate and blackmail. But most of all, we value family and each other more than anything else. And Shiina..." J spoke to her now as if she never held the respected title of a noble woman.

"Maaya is no tool and you know it. She is a good woman, a beautiful woman. If you weren't blinded by this hatred of yours, you'd be able to see it. So tell me, why? What did Maaya do to deserve the torture you put her through? Was it even in her control? Or was she just used as a catalyst for your anger? What in the hell did that innocent girl do to you, to your family, to make you treat her in such a disgusting and despicable way? What turned you into this horrid demon we see now. Something changed. What was it?" J took a deep breath and stared hard into this woman's eyes, "Give me something I can tell Maaya. She deserves to know why so many of her own kin hated her. Do something, one thing, right for that woman. Just. Once. Do good for your daughter."

Michiko had every intention of taking the shot, but was suddenly on the opposite side. There was a moment of terror on her face, but when Ryuusei wasn't hurt, she was able to calm down. She looked over to the newcomer and tilted her head. When she realized he was there to help, she sighed in relief. "Thank you..." Michiko said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Don't worry about it and I'm the Third Seat of Captain Saionji's Division." he explained as he eyed the other two that were approaching, "It would be safer for you two to find a room and stay there until the ruckus is calmed down. On my way in, I saw that Captain Saionji and his brother were already getting the others taken care of, so this nuisance of an intrusion should die down soon, no different than a fly on the wall."

The men became angry at Kaii's words, which is exactly what he wanted. The two charged in anger, wanting to land a blow over tactically thinking of how to defeat him. Kaii easily moved to the right of the first swing and then ducked under the second. He parried a third and kicked one of them back before his strike could hit. Kaii looked back to see if the two were gone. If they weren't, he'd roll his eyes and keep fighting. The two men attempted a charge again, but this time more together. Kaii jumped back to avoid their swing and then charged forward with his sword. The red aura of "pierce" gave him an edge. He went to cut at the first's shoulder, but the man stepped back enough for the armor to stop his weapon. Unfortunately for him, the blade slid through and he sliced down the man's shoulder. Kaii immediately turned to the second and swung his sword upwards in the same manner, cutting the second one down as well. One they fell, he de-summoned the blade and made his way into the manor to help his Captain. "You two be careful. Take a rest."

Midori watched this gore fest in front of her for a bit. Maaya needed to let out the anger, so if she were stopped too soon, it would only turn into more problems. However, it was getting even too much for Midori to handle, so she stood up off the guy her butt had squashed and walked up behind Maaya. She grabbed onto the girl's wrist with one hand to stop her and held strong and firm. She then placed her hands over Maaya's eyes and held her in close. "Maaya... It's okay. Calm down, honey..." she spoke kindly into Maaya's ear, trying to comfort the girl. Midori quickly wrapped her other arm around Maaya and held her arms to her sides to keep her still. She pulled Maaya back, lifting the girl up off her feet if she needed to, and brought her away from Miyako's body.

Once Maaya was no longer facing Miyako and Midori stood between them, she uncovered her eyes and slowly let her go. Midori looked around at the bodies that lay around. She knew none of them, but was curious about one. The way his body fell and the wound in his stomach said that he wasn't fighting Maaya, but was fighting the one Maaya had stabbed. What the hell happened here? "Maaya... What happened? I didn't think you the type to snap in such a violent manner. You've got blood all over you... You didn't stop even when she was dead. Why?" Midori was asking like this was an interrogation. She wasn't Maaya's friend right now, but a Captain of the Gotei who wanted to know why the hell a member acted in such a manner. It was rather shocking to Midori.

J had nothing more to say. This woman understood that it wasn't Maaya's fault, yet tortured her throughout so much of her life? This only pissed J off more. His upper lip twitched in anger as Shiina went on. He gripped his sword in his hand tightly, ready to strike within a second of Shiina crossing a certain threshold. And then Shiina did as he asked...

J let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had something to tell Maaya now. Good. When he heard that crunch and what Shiina said to Nobutada, he raised an eyebrow. She knew she wasn't leaving here alive? J's normal demeanor returned as she said she'd leave him with one last insult. She didn't get to finish the last word. As she tried telling him he would not kill her, J swung his sword in a fluid motion, the blade slicing through Shiina's head like a warm knife through butter. "Wrong... again."

J watched her body fall before him and then looked up to the hollow that were baited into the soul society. J wondered why Shiina thought this would be enough of a distraction to get him to turn away from his goal. This was the Seireitei. Any Shinigami within the area was automatically going to rush in and fight off the hollow. He doubted that he would even have to lift a finger, but probably would anyway. J took one last glance at Shiina before turning on his heels and rushing to find Maaya.

Michiko was surprised at the new guy. He annoyed her though. There was something about his face. It was the glasses, yeah. Had to be. Michiko turned to Ryuusei as he told her to go into his room and nodded. She hurried inside and sat down in an open space by the wall. She kept her eyes to the floor when she heard Ryuusei talking to Kaii. She felt so guilty, like this was all her fault. She wrapped her arms around her knees and planted her face in them. "What have I done..." she muttered.

Michiko sighed and looked up to Ryuusei. He was standing guard. He could have gotten hurt. "I'm sorry Ryuusei..." Michiko said with a defeated sigh and looked back to the ground, "This is all my fault... My name isn't Reina... Well, not really. It's what I want my name to be now so my family can't find me, but my birth name is Michiko Ashikage. The man who announced the raid said that this was for the Four Noble Houses and about kidnapping, right? I think this may have something to do with me running away. I just... never thought they'd go this far."

"You could have gotten hurt..." Michiko began crying, sniffling as she tried to talk, "If that had happened... I never would have forgiven myself. I didn't want to keep everything from you and I did what I was supposed to do. I made a new identity for myself, I applied for the job the right way. I thought my family never would have found me, but... I think they did. I think that's why those men were targeting me..." Michiko's head shot up at the sound of hollow. She had never heard it before. "What... What is that sound? It's horrifying."

When Kaii rounded the corner, Captain Saionji seemed to be finished and surprised by his showing up. He hurried over and bowed politely. "Hello, sir. Captain Hayashi found me on the way here and I volunteered to come along. If my services are needed, I will be glad to provide them." Kaii spoke much more respectfully to Kazuo. It was similar to how Kazuo looked up to J. Kaii seriously admired Kazuo and will always think he was much cooler and more skilled than J was. "Yes, of course." Kaii nodded and hurried back down toward J's office. He was surprised to see a man laying there, but didn't recognize him as part of the Saionji. "You... What is your business here? Are you allied wit-?"

Those howls. Kaii stood up and rushed back toward his Captain. "Captain, are those hollow entering the Soul Society?" he asked with a bit of surprise and confusion. He ran down the hallway out the front door and looked up, "Well... Time to work." Kaii said with a glance to his Captain and then went rushing into fighting the hollow. "This morning is more exciting than normal, huh?"

Midori stood there with a sympathizing expression as she listened to Maaya. One of the few family members that didn't hate her just died protecting her. Midori understood a small part of what Maaya had been going through with her family, so she was able to get why this was painful for her. When a sudden voice rang out from behind, Midori's first instinct was to draw on her Zanpakutō and swing her arm back. When the man put a hand up, she stopped her attack about two inches from him. "You look like J." Midori said with a bit of a smirk, "And stop insulting her. That's not helping the situation, so enough."

Midori sheathed her sword and looked back to Maaya. "If you don't, I will have to. That type of reaction is something he has the right to know about, especially since it has to do with another noble being killed on his property. You're not in trouble though." Midori took in a deep breath and softened up, "Come on, sweetheart. Don't you think it's about time you go check on J?" Midori held a hand out to Maaya. If she took it, Midori would pull her up a bit quicker than Maaya would have expected. She'd pull out a cloth and begin wiping Maaya's face off. Within a couple of seconds, J came running around the corner and stopped before them. "She's fine. I told you I would make sure of it." she said with a smile.

"Thank you, Captain Hayashi." J stepped closer to them and took a look around the area. He showed nothing on his face, but he had a few concerns about what had occurred here. He looked back down to Maaya and saw the blood on her clothes and a more worried expression came up. "The blood... Where is it from?" It was now that Midori noticed the hollows. "Are you kidding me?!" she groaned in annoyance and facepalmed, "This is gonna be a report and a half... Ready?" Midori hopped around once or twice like a boxer getting ready to fight. She then shunpo'd off and began her own fight with the hollow coming in.

J looked to Maaya and used his hand to brush her hair back. "If you're not up for it, rest. You've had a bad morning, so you have no obligations to clear the hollow. If you choose to fight. Please, just stick close." J kissed her forehead and turned back toward the hollow. He ran for a moment and then shunpo'd up, also beginning this battle. And so did other awake Shinigami around the Seireitei...

Michiko felt so guilty until Ryuusei pat her head. She looked up to him with the cutest smile and blush that she could muster. He said this wasn't her fault. "But they sai-..." Michiko listened as he explained about the Ishino. She knew it wasn't her family attacking, but she figured they had something to do with why the Ishino were here. If that wasn't it, she'd feel so much better. Ryuusei was pretty positive it wasn't, so her stomach calmed down. Before the hollows howled, Michiko knew what he was about to say. She didn't want to tell J because she really was just trying to start a new life, but if Ryuusei thought it was best, then she would do it. He was cut off by those loud and monstrous howls.

"Wait!" Michiko called out to him as he left the first time. He returned and explained that she could go if the room caught on fire, but that wasn't what she wanted. Ryuusei ran off to join the battle, leaving her alone in his room. She was scared. The sounds of combat and the hollows howl were scaring her more. She didn't want to be alone in here, but felt she'd make Ryuusei mad if she left. Michiko crawled over to the opposite side of the room and laid down. She covered her ears and tried to think of something better than this horrible situation.

Kaii stopped when the man asked him to, but was wary. Kaii was surprised when Rokuro asked to aid them, but wasn't going to turn it down now. He allowed him to come along and soon were greeted by Captain Saionji. "Well..." Kaii turned to Rokuro and motioned for him to explain. When he received orders from Captain Saionji, he smiled proudly, "Of course, Captain." He looked to Rokuro. "Come on."

Kaii went into battle along side Rokuro, making sure to keep an eye on the man. Kaii's weapon of choice, or weapons, were knives with the wonderful red aura. He summoned up to four at once and kept throwing them out in a flurry, each piercing a different hollow's mask and killing it. A larger hollow landed behind him and another of equal side landed in front. The first attacked and Kaii was able to block, but he used all of his strength to push the bastard back. The second one went in on the attack, but was sliced in half by Rokuro. "... Thank you. I'll inform Captain Saionji of this." Kaii said as he pushed the hollow off his sword and sliced through it's mask and looked around at the battlefield.

Midori rushed off once things had settled down with Maaya. J would join the battle soon enough and since there were now hollow to take care of, the tired Midori decided to rush in. She saw Kazuo begin to move and decided to intercept. She hurried with a shunpo and cut the hollow he was aiming for in half, landing a few feet away from him. She smiled with wide eyes at him, "Yeah, I'm here. Kaminari gave me a call once J contacted her. Felt I should be here just in case things didn't go perfectly. Luckily my healing doesn't seem to be needed, but it's been a while since I've been in a real battle... Just wish I wasn't so exhausted."

"You know... outside of the office, that's a damn good look for you." Midori winked and shunpo'd off, slicing another hollow in two and then moving toward a Menos Grande that had made itself known moments before. Before it could let out it's howl, Midori's Zanpakutō sliced it's mask in two. "This... is... I'm tired." she thought. She almost forgot she didn't get a full nights sleep, especially with all this adrenaline pumping.

When J walked around the corner, he wasn't expecting an immediate hug from Maaya, but welcomed it just the same. He sighed in relief and returned the hug, but then saw the blood. Midori said she was fine and Maaya's story about her sister confirmed that Maaya was not the one that was hurt, at least physically. He looked over to Eisuke and sighed. Midori ran off and J was a little stuck on what to do. He contemplated a few things before hurrying off to battle. One of those things caused him to walk over to Eisuke first, pick up his body, remove the knife, and place the man on the wooden floor instead of the grass. "We will have a proper funeral for him. He will be buried where you wish, or feel he would prefer..." J was referring to either the Ishino burial grounds or the Saionji. For Maaya's sake, he'd accept either decision.

From there, he and Maaya went into battle. J's first shunpo landed him behind Midori as she complimented Kazuo's appearance. J was so caught off guard by it, that he almost lost his balance and fell, but he luckily caught himself. He had no problem staring sternly at his brother once Midori shunpo'd away. If Kazuo looked his direction, he'd just raise an eyebrow and point at himself. "Even I got that one." he's say and then shunpo away. J made sure to keep Maaya in his sights at all time. He reached up to the faces of eight menos grande and used shunpo to quickly take all eight of them out. Within seconds, they all fell.

Kazuo's reply to Midori made J glance between the two of them with his jaw slightly dropped. He pointed at Kazuo and then Midori, his eyes pretty much asking if the two of them had something going. J didn't wait for the answer because he felt he already knew it. Instead, he nodded in approval and went into battle. As he fought, he took out as many of the larger hollows as he could. As he took out another Menos Grande, he realized something was sneaking up on him. He was about to turn to strike when the bastard was knocked out of the sky. He turned the other way and looked down to see Maaya had done it. And for once, J smiled. It wasn't a smirk or a half smile. It wasn't faint, nor was it a big tooth showing smile, but it was a true and genuine smile. One of pride and of his love for one woman.

"Saw that." "Shut up." "Telling Kaminari." "No." "You know I will." "Are you blackmailing me?" "Yep." "What do you want?" "A dress." "What?" "A dress and for you to kiss Maaya the moment this is all done... In front of everyone." "Deal." "You planned on it anyway, didn't you?" "Yep." "Damn it." This was a glimpse at a small conversation that took place during the fighting. Hollow after hollow fell within the few minutes that the fighting occurred. Within five minutes every hollow had fallen and the Gotei fell silent again. Everyone landed and looked around to see the damage that had been done. The hollow were gone. There were a few minor injuries, but everything finally settled. The silence was too much for one little lady, so when she got her chance she hopped onto one of the walls and began yelling happily and cheering. This area of the Seireitei erupted in joy, applause, and laughter.

Midori shunpo'd over to stand by Kazuo's side. She crossed her arms lazily along her chest and shook her head, giggling a bit as she watched Kaminari pull everyone from the silence. J shunpo'd down next to Maaya, grabbed her, and shunpo'd up next to Midori and Kazuo. He kept his arms wrapped around her from behind and looked to see the Captain Commander jumping around. "I don't know when... But I'm gonna kill that woman." she said and then looked to Kazuo, "After the baby is born." "I can't believe that is the woman who leads the Gotei Thirteen." J said with a sigh and a small hint of annoyance. He then had thoughts of Yamanaka or Antonovich leading and shook his head. "Uh..." he chuckled, "It could be worse." J removed his arms from around Maaya and looked down to her.

"I have a message from your Mother." he said, brushing her hair back again and kissing her forehead in front of everyone, "She said 'You are the embodiment of what the Ishino should have been'."

Before the fighting stopped, Ryuusei re-entered his room and placed a hand on her shoulder. Michiko sat up quickly and stared at him. She had no idea her ribbon was glowing or why it would be. Michiko scooted closer to him and gave him a quick hug. She appreciated the protection and the fact that he didn't immediately hate her for not being completely honest. "Thank you." she said. He was going to be with her. While they sat in silence, Michiko held onto a piece of Ryuusei's clothing. It was being used as a security blanket. Finally, the seireitei went silent and the sounds of fighting ended. Michiko stood up and walked over to the door. "Let's go see." she said curiously and hurried out the door. She walked along the wood floor until she came to the front garden. She could see everyone calming down and hear the Gotei coming into laughter and cheer. She looked back to Ryuusei and smiled widely. It was kind of a beautiful sight seeing everyone like this in the morning. "Haha... Right, good morning everyone." Midori looked back to Michiko and narrowed her eyes, "You had to remind me..."

It's... just morning...