I Heard it Through the Grapevine... [Shishiyuki, Alastor]

Shishiyuki supposed that, strictly, she had no reason to pursue this aim she had chosen. The Captain of the 7th Division may have been blood to her, but she was not family. Yet, perhaps as a matter of pride, or perhaps simply because of the attachment she felt to her sister, she found herself on the grounds of the Earth Affiliation Divison. It took only a short while of searching to find who it was that she sought; a substitute shinigami with striking red hair. Shishiyuki approached, her demeanor pleasant and cordial, and greeted him with a bow.

"Good day, Mr. de Maris. I am Shishiyuki, of the Koizumi family. Would you mind terribly if I requested some of your time?"

It gave away nothing of her intention, which was of course her aim. Admittedly, Shishiyuki knew that there would be no feasible way in which the full nature of this situation was not revealed, but she did not mind that too terribly. So far as she was concerned, to say nothing of the nobility at large, the behavior of even an exiled member such as Captain Kagayaku would reflect on the Koizumi. That alone was suitable justification.

"Hey, what's up lady?"

Alastor was caught a little off-guard, at first thought he might have assumed that she was just wandering around. He didn't recognise her, definitely wouldn't forget a looker like her, even if he was in a relationship it didn't mean he suddenly became blind. He was a faithful kind of dude though, so he wasn't going to be doing anything more than window shopping.

Still, why was a pretty woman like her looking for a chump like him?

"How do you know who I am anyway?"

Something about her made him want to be on guard, probably the fact that she had information on him to be able to seek him out and approach him without any knowledge on his part.

"I am faculty at the Academy. You are in the records from a handful of classes, though I have not taught you myself."

Frankly, that was all actually true, though it was by no means how she actually knew him. Still, better to be polite, and more pressingly, not to reveal quite the lengths to which she had gone for this.

"I would like to speak with you on a bit of a private matter, if that is acceptable? This is regarding your relationship with Captain Kagayaku."

Of course, the relationship was a fairly open secret around the Seireitei. Most didn't care too terribly much, though there were certainly more than a handful of admirers for both parties that seemed thoroughly dejected by the rumors. Given there had been no apparent action taken by the Gotei, Shishiyuki felt confident in assuming that the proper paperwork had been submitted to make their relationship official record. "Assume" was the key word, of course, but she would simply speak confidently as if that were the case.

"Ah, this is not any disciplinary matter or the like, of course. I would rather not discuss this in the open, as I am sure you would not, either."

"Oh, that's kind of weird."

He thought he ought to tell her, it was weird to just look into people like that. Seriously, he didn't even know this girl or have met her and she was already stalking him? Shit. Did he have to tell Murasaki about this? He'd tell her later that some crazy black hair lady, cute as she might be, was keeping an eye on him from the distance.

"My relationship with Murasaki? Uhm, no. Sorry lady. I'm not the type to just be spilling details like that. I don't even know you for one and you're just asking me to talk about my personal life. Nope, sorry."

Jeez, he ran his hand through his hair while getting ready to be on his way. Weird lady, cute weird lady.

Well, there was no particular surprise that Alastor declined to speak with her on the matter. Shishiyuki had not expected him to simply speak openly about his relationship, and in fact had he done so, she would have thought exponentially less of him.

"My apologies, Mr. de Maris. I ought have made the purpose of my interest more apparent."

Giving him a small smile, which was admittedly not wholly genuine, Shishiyuki thought of how best to explain this. Well, honest seemed the most appropriate.

"I am unsure if you are aware, but Murasaki's mother comes from the Koizumi as well. She is, in fact, my younger sister. I do hope you understand my desire to look after my niece."

Okay, that made more sense but the red head still didn't really feel this whole deal. For one, this chick was showing up and giving him vibes that he didn't know his way around this game. Alastor gave her a pretty neutral look though and shrugged. Whatever, get it over with.

"Gotcha, kind of weird though to just show up here and look after her all of a sudden. You know I've been here a few years and I can't really say that when Murasaki came up in conversation that the support from her family was something she got through that tough time."

He wasn't from the Soul Society, he didn't get all their weird laws or the basis for them. He knew most of them now but Alastor would never understand the reason why Murasaki got the whole treatment she did. For him, she was just a really cool person when they met and he liked her, even more so that she still came out as good a person as she did.

"No, it was not."

Shishiyuki would not, and could not, deny that particular truth. She had not wished to condemn her sister and her niece, but given the nature of the Soul Society, there had been little alternative. However, the current era was rather different. In all likelihood, Murasaki had more prestige than Shishiyuki herself.

She hated that, though it was certainly not on account of feeling entitled to it.

"The nature of the Seireitei of old left my family with little choice. Had she not been exiled, the nobility at large would simply have demanded their execution for tarnishing the reputation of the noble families."

Despite her composure, Shishiyuki could only scoff at that. The mighty and infallible nobility had fallen so very far, hadn't they? Even the Great Noble Houses were simply in shambles. She supposed reliance on mere pedigree would make anyone pathetic, but this was rather remarkable even with that taken into account.

"That influence is quite lessened now, courtesy of the recent leadership of the Gotei United. As such, even if my niece does not consider me family, I nevertheless will take the time to look after her well-being, and to see if she is being treated well. Any who feel as though they should challenge me on this decision may certainly do so. I would, in fact, be most willing to meet such a challenge."

Though Shishiyuki's eyes looked rather piercing, as if firmly judging whether Alastor was acceptable, she had already decided that she had no reason to intervene on this. The willingness to speak so plainly even to the head of a noble house was a very attractive trait, after all.

At least she didn't deny it. Alastor would've been pretty happy to throw hands with Murasaki's aunt if she came in here all high and mighty and then tried to play it down or act like it wasn't something that happened. Even if not for the sake of his own values that he put it out there, he still had an moral obligation to his girlfriend to stand up for her.

"Hey, can't say I'm noble or anything, not even the sharpest guy but if I were you I'd have said screw 'em. I haven't seen my little sister in ages but I'd still beat the shit out of anyone that wanted to mess with her."

He was just laying it out there, he was a pretty honest guy and maybe that was a little bit to honest. On the other hand though, he accepted all the consequences his big mouth might get him into. She did mention a challenge though and it was his not so bright idea to followup.

"Challenge? You implying that she can't handle herself or I, no wait, her entire division wouldn't help her out if she needed it? I may be her boyfriend but I sure ain't the only one here that'd support Murasaki if she needed it."

This woman's adacity, if she wanted to go Alastor would throw hands with anyone that wanted to imply something about Murasaki. Going back even before they were together, where was this woman when her niece locked herself away because she thought she had failed everyone around her. That's right.

There was a certain degree of charm to Alastor's blunt response. Truth be told, she would have rather liked for such a thing to be an option she had been given. But the whole of her family, even Midori and Murasaki, had been at risk. She would not take a risk like that.

"I would have rather liked to, if such a thing meant taking on the problem myself. But the noble families have always rather loved subterfuge and control. Refusal would have only meant they would make us accept their will through action. I wished for my family to live on, not to die for the sake of principle."

Ah, but to his second point... She was unsure if he had misunderstood her on account of ignorance or simple emotional investment, but she would give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

"I am not, no. In fact, I know quite well that she has many who hold her dearly. If I felt she was unable, I would have stepped into her life myself long ago. However, it is with me that her exile ultimately lies. She has not chosen to reach out to me, and so I suspect she has no interest in doing so."

Giving him a less piercing gaze than before, Shishiyuki spoke in a more gentle tone, almost seeming personal now. Almost.

"I meant, rather, that for over two centuries, I have been unable to so much as ask regarding her well-being, or risk the whole of my family being put into danger by the noble houses at large. But those noble houses now have no such authority, and I will not abide by their wishes for the mere sake of their own honor. Murasaki is my family, and I will always look out for my family to the best of my ability. It is only my regret that there was nothing more I could have done."

Alastor didn't really care about all the justifications, it was whatever to him anyway. He could understand her desire to restrain herself but man, Alastor wasn't the type to just sit still while being held hostage. Such thinking didn't get you anywhere in his book. Regardless, he did in fact get that woman's view and where she came from. He wasn't that stupid.

"Okay, okay. I follow. One thing confuses me though, I don't know why you're here talking to me."

It really didn't make sense to him. On one hand Shishiyuki was here, investigating him and talking about how sad it was that she couldn't engage with Murasaki in the past and on the other hand she was talking about how times had changed and she did.

"If you care about Murasaki, why don't you go talk to her if the world's better to do that now? Seems weird to just come up to her boyfriend, are you playing an angle here, Shishiyuki?"