The Noble Sort

A/N: As usual, all the important information is lurking in the notes of the first two parts. This will be a little different, though. I've stuck to Minako's p.o.v. through most of the story, but I'm going to start switching that up now; things will be occurring that she won't be around for but will be important to the plot.

And something I've noticed, but will not fix: I've given Kyouraku brown eyes. I was watching an episode where he had grey eyes today and realized that. Hmm. I got that piece of info. from an earlier episode. Apparently the animators have done a switcharoo on me, something they do regularly, and I got caught in it. But I now have an image of him in my mind with brown eyes, so he stays that way.

Also, to reiterate what I said in the last chapter, if anyone has a question, feel free to PM me or e-mail me. I am completely okay with anything you might ask, be it a clarification or just "what the heck does that word mean?" You can't enjoy the story unless you understand it and I don't know there is a problem if you don't approach me about it. I'm a very nice person, I promise, and I won't bite anyone's head off if they have a question. Just contact me about it and I'll get you an answer.

As always, R & R! I've put quite a bit of work into this story (I'm now over 250 pages in my drafts, which get severely edited when I upload the first copy) and I'm glad that there are many of you enjoying it. I write because I enjoy it, but I like to hear that you guys are happy reading! Reviews give me a little boost in my writing.

Which reminds me, I must give a shout-out to DarkestHour over on AFF, who was (as close as I can tell) my 500th review/fave/alert. It took me a while to add it all up. I've been overwhelmed by the amount of support I have received for this story, even if it hasn't done so well on certain sites *cough* FF *cough*. I don't know what it is, perhaps the rating, but I never seem to do as well there as I do on my other sites.

Enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Noble Sort"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her uncle had arrived home shortly before dinner, a glower on his face and a deep slump in his weary shoulders. Whatever had happened, it was big.

He sat himself at the head of the table slowly and she could see the exhaustion rolling off of him. He looked older than she had ever seen him, and he barely looked like he would make it through dinner. She sunk to the place on his left carefully and slowly, hoping to not jar the table or make any loud noises. He looked, literally, dead on his feet. She would be as amenable as possible for the evening.

Hikaru came in silently, her graceful movements precise and efficient. Nothing was wasted with the maid and soon dinner had been laid out and they had been served from each of the separate platters bearing traditional foods, with Hikaru leaving out a vegetable here or a spicy piece of meat there. She knew better than they did what they would and would not eat.

Her uncle slowly picked up the elaborate onyx chopsticks that Hikaru had set out for the night and they ate the first half of the meal—an elaborately grilled tuna and salmon entrée with teriyaki sauce, rice, and vegetable mixes—in silence.

Finally, her uncle sat his chopsticks on the side of his smaller plate, reaching for the steaming cup of tea to his right. Then, his eyes opened—never a good sign—and he looked at her.

"Momo-chan," he sighed, his face drooping.

"Oji-san?" she looked at him, almost fearfully, dreading what he was about to say.

"A group of taichou and their subordinates have been sent to Hueco Mundo. They are following two shinigami that have broken protocol and gone themselves, all after a ningen female we cannot be sure is not a traitor."

She stared at him, her shock evident.

But the full meaning of what he had said was soon clear—they were very close to the final battle. He would not have sent troops in otherwise, especially taichou.

"So that's where my babysitter is?" she asked, her voice low.

"No. He is preparing for our final assault on Aizen. It will not be an easy feat to pull off."

She glanced over at him before settling her eyes on her plate. The tuna was starting to cool, flaking apart in tiny little squares that only fish could pull off naturally.

"And what is your plan?"

"A fake of your human city. The real Karakura will be transferred here, where it can be protected. We will meet him head on there and hope he will not set a foot inside Seireitei."

"It sounds simple."

He snorted.

"We have to move and support an entire city, while putting them to sleep. It has never been done that I can think of."

She looked up at him again before poking her tuna with her chopsticks. It was definitely cold, and the sauce was starting to crust.

"And you have a part for me to play in this elaborate plan of yours," she said, her cynical attitude evident.

"Once the shinigami have sufficiently secured the pillars supporting the fake replica of Karakura, you will be responsible for setting up a barrier that can protect most of the town. Obviously, not all of them can be contained. But if a barrier can be created to hold enough humans that Aizen will not be able to utilize them to create the key, then we will have succeeded."

She dropped her chopsticks, staring at him in shock.

"I can't possibly—all he would have to do is kill me—"

"I have already anticipated this. You will use your six-seal barrier to protect them, putting yourself inside if needed."

He sighed, letting the façade drop, and rubbed his forehead.

"If Aizen should make it that far, you will only be buying time. I have a feeling that, if Retsu is correct, that is all any of us will be doing."

"Okay," she said, gesticulating wildly above her plate as her anger started to manifest, "I trap myself in and keep the humans sealed. What then?"

"You wait."

"Oh, really," she said sarcastically.

"You buy time for the substitute shinigami. According to Retsu, he has never seen Aizen's shikai; he cannot be fooled by it and is the only one capable of truly defeating him."

She flicked her hand over at him, waving randomly.

"You could."

"Possibly," he conceded, nodding his head.

"But you're preparing for the eventuality that he makes it past you and however many taichou you will have with you, as well as—let's just face it—the other shinigami in the human world."

He nodded slowly.

"Never mind the fact that my barrier can't even be utilized like that!" she exclaimed, her head falling to rest in her hands, elbows thumping the table and jarring the plates and platters still present.

He looked at her, his dark eyes serious.

"Then you had better get to the point where it can."

"You—you—I…" she stared at him in disbelief.

"I am serious, Minako."

"The Rokumon does not work that way!" she cried. "It's multi-dimensional—for a reason, too. To set it up on an even plane, to be able to surround that much area—I don't think I even have the reishi for that!"

"I am sure you do, and that you can."

He stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"The first three seals are set up on an even plane, yes?"

"I—yes," she sweatdropped. "But the last three, they're special. It's the only way to form a perfect sphere."

"I do not want a sphere. A sphere is not useful; I want half of one."

She just looked at him, her disbelief still written on her face.

"But three seals…he'd blow through it in no time. And that's if I can actually manage to manipulate the natural shape of the first half of the barrier."

"Which is why you will find a way to create the last three seals upon the same even plane of the first three."

She glared at him again. Did he even realize what he was asking? Not only would she have to try to completely modify a barrier that had been one of the hardest things for her to create, she would…

"All six? You know what you're asking of me," she said, her voice fearful.

"I do, Minako."

His voice was weary and mournful, an anguished tone she had never heard from him before, and she realized that he had had that thought thousands of times since she had arrived in Seireitei.

But wasn't it something she had planned already? She was sure that she would end up using her bankai in this fight anyway, no matter the possible consequences. He was only asking for what she had already said she would do, just in a different way.

"All six seals, in a new freakin' formation, and I'll have no choice but to go bankai. To fully create the barrier, I have to. I can only use the first three without it. And—on one plane."

"I won't be worth much time," she said, already calculating in her mind, "even if I can modify it the way I would like to."

"Do you know how long you can hold it?"

She didn't even pretend she didn't know what he was talking about.

"I have—before—it's been almost thirty years since my last full, monitored attempt. I've learned to control it better. Maybe twenty minutes? Maybe more?"

His eyes closed, and she could read the feeling of defeat that had just overcome him.

"You were once able to hold a seal barrier for over an hour as long as you were not using the attacks to accompany it."

"Well," she said bitterly, "that was before. Twenty minutes is pushing it—I'll most likely be insane when I'm done. I think. Oh, hell, who knows? This is beyond what I've tried so far."

She saw his chest rise as he took in a deep breath and sighed, but the air never seemed to come out again.

"It won't buy you much time. But it will buy some, and if it is that big of a deal, hopefully half an hour will be helpful." She looked up at him questioningly, trying to hide her curiosity and her nervousness. "Will Zero be informed and ready as well?"

"Zero will be holding steady, waiting, in case he should succeed and actually make the key."

He looked at her, and she saw his hand shake in her peripheral vision. It jerked toward her and then stilled.

"Can you do it?"

"I'll need a place to practice. If I can somehow manage the seals before bankai, I can buy more time…"

His hand finally gave up the fight, and he brushed a piece of hair out of her face, his knuckles barely caressing her cheek. It had been years since he'd allowed himself such a measure of affection, even before she had left.

"You shall have it."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Days Later

Around lunchtime, Kyouraku finally happened upon him. Most likely he had finally put some effort into tracking him down. He knew he had to feel a little slighted, though, and the guilt tore at him. It wasn't right of him to avoid his best friend, but he didn't feel much like socializing at present.

"Ukitake, where have you been? You haven't visited me in almost a week, my friend," he said lazily, and a little sadly.

He plopped down on the ground next to the pale taichou, who had never even turned his eyes toward him, and raised his sakkat slowly.

"Aa," he said, a grin coming over his face.

"Don't get any ideas, Shunsui," Juushirou warned.

They were hidden by the few trees still fleshed out with leaves, and they were overlooking a small area that their sensei had brought them to for training centuries before. Now, though, the clearing was filled with only a woman and black dog, both of which seemed incredibly tired.

"What is she attempting?"

"I do not know," Juushirou murmured. "They have been there all morning, and while I have seen some evidence of her calling up an attack, they have not done anything in the past hour but stare at each other."

"They are conversing, Juushirou," he said lazily. He laid back on the dead grass, his sakkat falling over his face.

"I guessed that much," he said, smiling.

He had, truly, not seen anything out of the ordinary. Not even the seals he had heard so much about. There had also been no evidence of a barrier being put up.

"She is very pretty, Juu," Shunsui said teasingly, "I wouldn't have chosen her for my division otherwise."

Juushirou glanced over at his friend, only the sly grin on his face visible due to the hat falling over the rest of his face. He resisted the urge to smack it upward, something he had fought many times before. He finally just shook his head. Shunsui would always be more interested in romantic nothings and partying than in the particulars of someone's training.

He couldn't deny that he had noticed her beauty, understated as it was. She was not, in all actuality, gorgeous. She wasn't a Matsumoto. She wasn't even like Nanao, a quiet beauty. She was fiery and fierce, much like Yoruichi. They had a rough beauty that made them that much more dangerous. Almost like a gorgeous snake you knew you shouldn't touch because the shape of the head told you it was definitely venomous.

"She is," he finally conceded.

"If only I had acted when she was in my division," his friend sighed, and he immediately realized how little truth there was in the statement. If Shunsui had been interested, Minako would have been between his sheets. Period.

Besides…this was not someone Shunsui had ever looked at romantically; he could tell.

"She's not your type."

"Not yours, either."

He was right, of course. He had always had a tendency to choose women much like him, gentle and content. The hair was right, as was her build, but the personality she had was a little too fiery.

"I'm not looking for female companionship at the moment, Shunsui. And if I was, well—"

"You wouldn't go after sensei's niece? It has a lovely taboo quality to it though, yes?" Shunsui sighed, his hand fluttering above him. "Perfect for a romantic poem."

He chuckled.

"This is not poetry."

"Perhaps not," Shunsui murmured.

They were both ripped from their conversation by the sound of lightning, although they soon realized it had come from the woman below. It was nothing unusual, though. She had been throwing attacks around all morning, and Juushirou relaxed the set of his shoulders once again.

"That would be the first seal," Shunsui murmured.

His eyes flew open in astonishment. She had been opening gates all morning without him knowing?

"I was sure there would be some sign of a seal or a gate or—or something!" he exclaimed.

"There is, sometimes. But lightning is the first seal." His finger tipped his sakkat up, and he locked eyes with his friend. "Then, fire. Finally, tenka—the mix of the first two seals. I've never seen the last three."

His sakkat was slapped down again, and he settled back into his comfortable position.

"Then she has repeatedly opened the first two."

He looked down at his friend questioningly.

"And the pillar of fire? Which one—"

"Not a seal, Juushirou. An attack. Hibashira. Her personal favorite, really, if I remember right."

"You remember quite a bit, for a drunk," he said jokingly.

"I've had four fuku-taichou. I remember them all." The mournful tone in his voice struck Juushirou heavily; they had both lost subordinates they cared about. Both knew what it was like to mourn the subordinates that had gone before you.

"At least three are still alive, even if two are not around."

He paused, seeing that the look had not yet left his friend's face.

"Have you forgiven her yet?" he asked, his voice low and sympathetic.

"Yare, I forgave her when we found her," he said, his voice holding a tone of finality, the same tone he had used numerous times before when speaking of the past.

They were silent again as she ripped through the second seal and fire raged in front of her.

"You find her interesting," Shunsui said, his teasing tone reappearing.

Shunsui could read him too well.

"Why do you say that?" he said, making sure he sounded shocked and very, very innocent.

"You haven't taken your eyes off her for a minute. You volunteered to follow her around. I know you, my friend. You're interested in her, and not just because she's Yama-jii's niece."

Once again, he had the urge to slap his friend, but fought it.

The only way to avoid answering or lying was to be silent.

He stared down at the woman below him; the black dog was missing. Most likely he had gone back into his normal form for another attempt.

"Do you know what she's attempting, Shunsui?"

"Nah. Yama-jii didn't say."

He nodded absently, his gaze once again fixed on her.

Why did she interest him? Shunsui was right, he had felt drawn to her from the first time he had seen her again. But she was uncooperative, stubborn, fiery, dark—many things he had never considered even worth noting before. And the people she considered friends…

Perhaps it was the difference in their characters which drew him to her, much the same way anyone was drawn to investigate things that were opposite, or different. But he doubted it. He had also wondered if it was just to mark the differences in her; she was no longer the little girl they had watched grow up and he wondered if he was just marking the growth of another shinigami.

But something told him that wasn't it.

He would never admit an attraction to her, either. It was impossible to be attracted to someone who was obviously so different than he was.

Yet…

He could hear the word rolling around the back of his mind. He ignored it.

He was torn from his musings by a rushing sound he had never heard before, and he saw that she had finally ripped through the third seal—gate—something Shunsui had mentioned. There was a small fire burning right where the lightning had struck just seconds before. Tenka.

Finally, the seals were evident.

There were three floating in the air in front of her, all laid out in the shape of a triangle. There was an incandescent yellow glow coming from them, as well as in the shape of a triangle, connecting the seals which were acting as points of connection for the large shape. It was as if she had placed a barrier around the area.

He watched as she slowly approached, her arms moving this way and that. The seals were moving at her command, he realized quickly. She was enlarging the barrier and moving the seals around with her gestures.

He watched, in awe, as she stretched it to the size of a division barracks, then she stood still.

"I've never seen this," Shunsui said breathlessly, and he realized his friend was sitting up and focused on the woman as much as he was.

"She never used it in front of you?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course she has," he said, waving his hand, "but moving it like that? No. I didn't know she could."

They were quiet.

"What is she doing?" Shunsui said.

He just shrugged.

Finally she stepped up to the barrier, approaching one of the flat sides, and literally tugged at it with one of her hands. The fluorescent line moved and wobbled but immediately snapped into position.

Then, she moved her left hand, flicking it violently to the left, and one of the seals flew outward.

The shape—now a very elongated triangle, held.

She flicked the hand again, and another seal moved.

Finally she flicked her right hand, moving the seal closest to her. The barrier lines stretched immediately and became a small circle, hovering above the ground momentarily.

And then blew up.

The sound was deafening, but it didn't seem to have harmed her in the least.

The black dog appeared instantly and she turned to the side, already deep in conversation.

"I'll be damned," Shunsui said, his shock evident.

"She's trying to modify it. To contain something," Juushirou said, also finally figuring out what she had been attempting the entire morning.

"No telling what, though."

"Not with Genryuusai-sensei, no," Juushirou conceded.

They watched for another two hours as she repeatedly called up the barrier, apparently satisfied she could manipulate the three seals.

Eventually, the barrier had stopped exploding instantly, and they settled down comfortably, Shunsui lightly napping while he rested against a tree. She continued to manipulate the seals in front of her, though, seals he could finally see, and tried to get them to hold the shape she wanted.

After about another half an hour, he realized there had been no explosion. He shook Shunsui's shoulder and the man sat up quickly, worried something had occurred.

Down below them, the barrier was gone. She was sitting, patiently, and fiddling with something in her lap.

"She's most likely meditating, Juushirou. Trying to figure out how she did it," Shunsui said, lying back again.

Juushirou watched, perplexed.

She was just sitting there, and she wasn't in any meditative position he knew of.

"Maybe we should go check," he said, anxiety evident in his voice.

"Yare," Shunsui breathed out, lightly smacking his friend's leg. "Leave her alone."

He continued to watch her.

She stayed there, sitting calmly in the middle of an area now scorched by flame and lightning, for another twenty minutes.

Finally she got up, slowly, and moved to the small pack she had brought with her. She glanced around, quickly, and he felt her eyes ghost over their position. He was sure she hadn't seen them, but he knew she had the idea someone was sent to watch her.

The fact that she had had her back to him all day finally made him wary.

He would not underestimate her. She was very much like sensei, and that was warning enough to be alert and on the lookout for any tricks. Genryuusai-sensei had once been a very manipulative, tricky man that delighted in the fact that no one knew his next move until after he had already gotten three steps ahead of them.

She dug through the small pack, pulling out a wrapped bundle of some sort, and laid it on the ground. It wasn't very thick, but it was wrapped in what seemed to be very expensive blue silk and tied tightly. Way too fancy to be a lunch, although he first thought that was what it must be—she had been going all day without any food.

The bundle was left on the ground where her pack had been while the pack was slung onto her shoulder. She looked down at her wrist, then turned suddenly.

She stared right at them.

"Shunsui—"

He was up and moving by the time Shunsui had even sat up, but he could now hear his friend following close behind him.

They would still be too late.

He saw the doors appear in front of her, halfway across the large area, and he saw hell butterflies flit through the opening. There were two figures—at this distance he couldn't make them out—and she quickly sprang into action.

Before he knew it she was sandwiched by the two and they had another door opening right beside the other one.

His shunpo brought him close enough to smell the ozone left over from her practice mixing with the murky, almost moldy smell the in-between space always had, but it was no use.

The door closed before they could even get close enough to grab her, and the three that had been there before were gone, the doors closed and disappearing.

Juushirou stared at the air in front of him, his chest heaving, and he felt Shunsui come up beside him, also heaving.

Again, he thought. She did it again.

Any benefit of doubt he had given her was gone as quickly as she had disappeared.

He heard Shunsui's curse but ignored it to step over to the package she had left on the ground. He bent to pick it up and, unwrapping it slowly, let the silk hang on his arm as he cradled the box it had hidden. It was a beautiful lacquer box, something you would expect jewelry or ornamental family heirlooms to be stored in. Obviously expensive and definitely from her father's side of the family, considering the small metal lock that could be used to secure the box held the Yamamoto family sigil.

Instead of jewelry or family finery, upon opening it, he found a book. And pictures. Lots of them.

He sucked in a quick breath, feeling the chilled air agitate his weak lungs, and he heard Shunsui do the same next to him.

"Shit," Shunsui said, his face no longer a mask of laziness but pulled into a sincere look of shock.

All of the pictures were of Minako and her mother, Yamamoto Arisu, in the human world. Someone had known where she was all along and never said.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: The Japanese lesson for this chapter, only including the words I believe are new (I won't continually translate words I've already explained, but like I said earlier, you can contact me with any question you have):

Tenka is fire that comes from a lightning strike

Hibashira literally means pillar of flame

Rokumon literally means "six gates." It's meaning will be known soon enough; it's her bankai.