Waterfall Eclipse

A Fourth Offender

Chapter Sixty-Four:

A Fourth Offender

After Rani prepared the tea, she brought it back up and served the two captains in silence as they discussed their business. Once she was done, she took her cup and went across the hall.

Once she was done with the day's filing, she went for a walk to the practice grounds and found the Fourth Seat sparring with three of this charges. She decided to head to the dojo instead where she ran into the lieutenant who was cleaning up from his session.

"Hello Lieutenant Abarai."

"Hey! Done filing?"

"Yes. The captain is in a meeting with Captain Hitsugaya at the moment, and has been for the past forty minutes."

"When do you instruct next in here?"

"Tomorrow. I would have gone to the practice grounds but Katayama is there. If I confront him about what he did, it will only end badly for the both of us."

"Leave that to the captain. I don't know if he knows our ever so popular Fourth Seat was the culprit, but he'll take care of it." He replied as someone was approaching. "Ah, Seventh Seat Omada. How can we help you?"

"The captain requests the both of you in his office."

"Okay. Thank you." Rani replied.

The three made their way back to the office and the lieutenant went in first followed by Rani, while Omada stayed outside. Captain Hitsugaya was still there.

"Captains." The lieutenant greeted.

"Abarai, do you know who saw Captain Hitsugaya and Miss Tómasu?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Tell Omada to get them."

The lieutenant complied and then walked outside to tell her to get Katayama and where. She quickly left and he walked back inside.

"Who was it?" Captain Hitsugaya asked the two of them.

"Fourth Seat Katayama." Rani answered. "At least, that's what I was told this morning."

"He has been a pain in my side since I gave him that position." Captain Kuchiki stated. "Tómasu, will confronting him in front of us be a problem for you?"

"Well, I do worry that if I begin speaking with him I might get really angry."

"Possibly violent too?" Lieutenant Abarai inquired.

"Maybe?"

"Then let Captain Hitsugaya and I do the talking. Lieutenant, keep her in check if need be."

"Yes, sir." The two replied as the door opened and Fourth Seat Katayama came in.

"Hello Captain Kuchiki, Captain Hitsugaya. I was told you wanted to see me?" He asked nervously as he saw the lieutenant and Rani in the room.

"Yes, Katayama. Have a seat." Captain Kuchiki stated.

Katayama nervously made his way to the couch.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Katayama, it has been brought to my attention by Lieutenant Abarai that last night you, after witnessing a tender moment between Captain Hitsugaya and Third Seat Tómasu, that you took it upon yourself to start informing everyone in Squad Six that they were dating. Is this correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Are you aware that that behavior is most unbecoming and unacceptable of any officer and Shinigami in the Gotei 13? That it makes you and your squad look bad?"

"Yes sir."

"Then, if you are aware of these things, why would you commit such an act?"

"Why am I being the one lectured?" He retorted causing both captains to raise their eyebrows. "Why isn't she, the Third Seat, being scolded for dating a captain?"

"Why would she be?" Captain Hitsugaya rhetorically asked. "She and I made an agreement to not tell anyone but a handful of people. If you weren't told it is because you are not in her small circle that she would want to know. We wanted our privacy, and you could not seem to even grasp that, even when you were on duty." He said calmly.

"What business is it of yours, Katayama, of who our Third Seat dates?"

"She shouldn't be our Third Seat captain! I should! She shouldn't be in an officer's position! She should've been dead by now." He stated causing Rani's eyes to widen and gasp.

"Know your place." Captain Kuchiki calmly stated.

"My place is next to you and Lieutenant Abarai. Not behind her."

"It was you too." Rani said quietly causing the captains to look at her and the lieutenant to grab her shoulders to hold her back.

"Tómasu?" Captain Kuchiki questioned shifting her attention from the Fourth Seat to him.

"He helped those three get the poison. I remember now. I saw him talking with those three earlier in the day at the academy. He handed them something. Is that why they knew where I would be when I was waiting for Captain Kuchiki to show up for my Shikai Training? Because you told them?" She asked Fourth Seat Katayama receiving a smirk as a reply.

"Answer the question, Katayama." Captain Hitsugaya ordered. "Is what Third Seat Tómasu is saying correct?"

"What does it matter? She's still alive, isn't she?"

"What did I ever do to you that would make you want to kill me?" Rani asked confused.

"Nothing. I was doing those three the favor. They came to me about it. They paid me to get that tetrodotoxin."

Lieutenant Abarai felt Rani's muscles tighten and her arm start to move to her Asauchi so he tightened his grip on her and whisked her outside leaving the captains to deal with the Fourth Seat.

"He's despicable!" Rani exclaimed as she sat herself in a chair in the filing room.

"Tómasu, just breathe."

"I am. Thank you for taking me out when you did. I was ready to pull my Shikai on him." She said calmly. "What will happen to him?"

"Probably the same thing as those three who attacked you, if not worse. He helped them while you were in the academy, which is bad enough. But he is an officer as well. With him admitting to it now, I am not sure what the Captain Commander will do."

"But getting back to the original reason why he was called in, why would he blab about Captain Hitsugaya and me? What would he have gained?"

"Nothing actually. He probably thought you were seeing him behind our captain's back, and he doesn't care who anyone dates. He doesn't submit himself in the affairs of others."

"But what he said, about him being the one who should be Third Seat. It makes him sound like he hates women. Like he's sexist and doesn't think they should hold a high position."

"That's exactly how it sounded, now that I think of it."

"I know a select amount of lieutenants and captains who would love to give him a piece of their minds on that, am I right?"

"We could arrange that. I would buy tickets."

"So would I." Captain Hitsugaya said from behind startling them. "Let's go you two. The four of us are heading to Squad One. Captain Kuchiki already sent a Hell Butterfly ahead to warn the Captain Commander, and left."