𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 | 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 [MINOR EDITING]

𝟕 | 𝐊𝐚𝐨𝐤𝐮 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫

I am at a loss for words, looking up at the Kaoku Clan Manor. The staircase itself is massive, but the house takes is much more... more. I've never seen such a beautiful building in my entire existence. Sure, my father, a master of his craft, had built some rather extravagant places when Shōri and I were still alive, but whoever built this is a genius.

"It's so pretty," Shōri whispers into her hands. Her eyebrows raised high onto her forehead, she lets out a giggle. I look down at her and smile.

"Lady Kayanara supposedly built this entire building on her own," the third man informs us. I cross my arms and scoff.

"I doubt that one."

"Yes, as did we when we were told," the first man admits. "But as we grew older, living both here and in the Seireitei, we began to notice the subtle detail in each room, in each floorboard, in each archway... They were all the same."

"Truly?" I say, honestly surprised.

"Yes," they say in unison. I laugh to myself again.

"Looks like she was destined to be a better architect than a mother," I say. Silence surrounds me, no doubt as a reaction to my words. Feeling like a disturbance now, I speak again. "Why don't you show us around, then?"

"O-Of course." They gesture for us to climb the stone steps. I sigh in exasperation at them before trudging along after Shōri. I am out of breath once more when I reach the top step.

"Unbelievable."

Even from where I stand, the pride in the work is striking. It was like they said: the archways, the rooftops-- the detail was anything but subtle.

"I never knew what a knack for crafts she had," I mumble. Shōri runs up the steps leading inside the manor, and disappears down a hallway. "S-Shōri!?"

"It's alright, Lady Abaron," the third man says. "You are both safe here."

"Well... I suppose safe is good thing to be," I reply, thinking back to our first night's experience. "So, my mother, then... Can we get this over with before I start regretting my decision?"

"Unfortunately, you will not be able to see her until the hour before her execution," the second man tells me. "Because you are not Soul Reapers, it requires an appeal to Central Fourty-Six for the two of you to enter the Seireitei, the decision of which should be decided by morning."

"I see." I look them up and down. "So, you three are also Soul Reapers, then?"

"Yes, milady," they say in unison.

I sigh. "Pluses, souls, Hollows, Soul Reapers... so many names I haven't heard of before. This is going to take a while, but I have many questions I need to have answered. Will you three be able to help me with that?"