The air in the underground archive was cold and damp. Ancient scrolls and bundles of spiritual records piled against the walls gave off a musty smell. Through a small iron-barred window near the ceiling, thin moonlight streamed in pale white streaks. This was the archive beneath the Sixth Division barracks, the "White Plum Pavilion." A place no one usually entered. But now, deep within that archive, a woman stood atop a stepladder. Kuchiki Rukia. Her pure white short bob swayed in the dusty air. She clutched a bundle of old scrolls in her hands. [sad] "...Why are there so many of these?" She muttered under her breath, stretching her arm to return the scrolls to the shelf. *Creak.* The stepladder groaned without warning. [scared] "Wah—" She lost her balance. Scrolls slipped from her hands, scattering across the floor with a series of thuds. Rukia desperately grabbed the railing. She managed to avoid falling, but paper and wood splinters lay scattered at her feet. [sad] "Honestly... the worst." She climbed down from the stepladder and looked down at the mess of scrolls. She couldn't sleep. What happened at the training grounds wouldn't leave her mind. She could still feel the sensation of her ear being traced. (*Why am I the one doing this?*) She shook her head and knelt on the floor. Gathering the scrolls, she let out a small sigh. [sarcastic] "Why are the Kuchiki family records so pointlessly long?" She murmured to no one in particular, bundling the scrolls back together. The cover bore the ink inscription: *Sixth Division Seated Officer Registry — Three Hundred Years Ago.* (*Three hundred years ago... who even reads this?*) The kind of thing you wouldn't know where to throw away. But she couldn't throw it away. Because it was Kuchiki family tradition. She stood up with the scrolls in her arms and walked toward the shelf at the very back. —That was when it happened. She noticed a thin piece of wood wedged into the corner of the shelf. She reached out and pulled it free. On the wood, clumsy handwriting was carved in ink. *Ren.* Her chest thumped. [surprised] "...This." Memories came flooding back. That night, in the corner of the garden where a little girl was crying. A boy gently holding her hand, saying, "I'll keep quiet for you." (*She hid it here.*) A tiny trace of a secret from their past selves. Rukia clutched the piece of wood and couldn't move for a moment. *Clank.* The sound of the iron door opening. [cold] "Still awake?" She turned to see a man's silhouette descending the stairs. Short, unkempt black hair. Deep amber eyes. A thin scar on his left cheek. Akagi Ren slowly stepped into the archive. Rukia instinctively tensed. [angry] "...What are you doing here?" [gentle] "I sensed your spiritual pressure. You've made a mess." Akagi glanced at the scrolls scattered on the floor, then looked at her hands. The piece of wood clutched tightly. His eyes wavered for just an instant. [gentle] "...Nostalgic." [cold] "I don't know what you're talking about." As Rukia tried to hide the wood behind her back, Akagi walked silently up to her. [gentle] "I frightened you today." Rukia's shoulders gave a small jolt. [surprised] "...What?" [serious] "I won't apologize. But I didn't mean to scare you." Saying that, Akagi began picking up the scattered scrolls. Silently. Rukia stared at his profile. (*An apology?*) (*Or... some kind of trap?*) She couldn't tell. But Akagi's voice lacked its usual oppressive edge. Without a word, the two of them gathered the scrolls and returned them to the shelves. A quiet time passed. The faint scent of white plum blossoms drifted from somewhere. [gentle] "Thank you." Rukia said it quietly. Akagi stopped beside her as he returned a scroll to the shelf. [whispers] "Were you hiding here all along?" [surprised] "Huh?" Akagi's gaze was directed at the piece of wood behind her. [gentle] "I carved that. When I was a child, I used to play here often." Rukia's chest tightened. Old memories flickered between them. Before she knew it, the distance between her and Akagi had closed. Close enough that their arms might touch. Was the face he showed her his true face? Or was this just another maneuver? She didn't know. Even so—deep in her chest, there was warmth. Akagi quietly released his spiritual pressure. It slowly filled the sealed room of the underground archive. A warm, heavy pressure that enveloped her. [scared] "...Ah." A sweet shiver ran through Rukia's entire body. The inescapable spiritual pressure melted her instincts. The back of her earlobes grew hot with a sharp tingle, and the top of her head began to itch. —Gradually. From between her white hair, black beast ears rose firmly from the base. [scared] "N... no..." The moment Rukia tried to cover them with her hands, a slender black tail slipped out from beneath her waist sash. It swayed softly. This was different from before. Not half-grown. Not small enough to hide. Real beast ears and a tail. [scared] "No way... this is..." Rukia touched her own head and gasped at the sensation. Soft. Warm. And—every time she touched them, a sweet numbness ran down her spine. As her knees nearly gave way, Akagi supported her arm. [whispers] "Good girl." His thumb slowly traced the back of her beast ear. [crying] "Nn... ngh..." A sweet voice escaped Rukia's lips. The hand she meant to resist with instead clutched Akagi's sleeve. Pressing her against the shelf, Akagi supported her chin with his other hand and gently pressed his lips to hers. [whispers] "...Stop." [gentle] "I won't." Akagi's hand moved to the overlap of her kimono. The sash came undone with a whisper. In the depths of the darkness, Akagi's lips fell upon Rukia's temple, the base of her ear, the nape of her neck. Each time, her beast ears twitched and her tail swayed anxiously. [whispers] "You can't show this to anyone." Akagi whispered. His fingers gently traced the tips of her breasts, and Rukia's back arched sharply. [crying] "Only you... get to see this." [gentle] "Yeah. Only me." Akagi loosened the garments on her lower body and pushed her down onto the old rug spread across the floor. Under the moonlight, Rukia's white skin stood out. Her beast ears were flattened anxiously, and her tail swayed restlessly. His fingers touched her secret place. [sad] "...I'm wet." Her voice trembled with shame. Her pussy was already soaked with slick love juices. Every time Akagi's fingers traced her slit, a wet, squelching sound followed. [whispers] "You're feeling it." [crying] "...No..." As if to cut off her words, Akagi pressed the hard, erect tip of his cock against her slick entrance. [gentle] "I'm going in." [scared] "Wa—!" *Squelch.* [crying] "Nn-aaaah!" The moment the glans pushed inside her vagina, Rukia's back arched and her tail jolted. Akagi slowly advanced his hips, spreading the hot, tight vaginal walls deep inside. [whispers] "I'm moving." [crying] "N... ah, wait... not yet... ngh..." Akagi gripped her hips and began a slow piston. Her vaginal folds squeezed his cock tightly, and with each withdrawal, love juices overflowed, wetting her thighs. [crying] "Nn, ah, aah..." With each thrust, sweet moans spilled from Rukia's mouth. Her beast ears stood erect with pleasure, and her tail coiled around Akagi's waist as if clinging to him. [gentle] "You're cute." As he drove his hips against her, Akagi licked the base of her ear. [crying] "Stop... there... I'm weak..." [whispers] "Here?" As his tongue traced the back of her ear, Rukia's vagina clenched tight. As if savoring her reaction, Akagi quickened the movement of his hips. Wet, squelching sounds echoed from their joined bodies. [crying] "Ren... Ren..." [gentle] "What?" [crying] "More... deeper..." The moment she begged of her own accord, Rukia's face flushed bright red with shame. But she couldn't stop anymore. Her reason, her pride as a lieutenant—all of it melted away into sweet pleasure. Akagi spread her legs wide and, from the missionary position, thrust all the way to her deepest point in one motion. [crying] "Aaah! I'm... I'm coming...!" [gentle] "Come." He drove his hips deep, grinding the glans at her innermost depths. Rukia's body convulsed violently, her vagina clenching and unclenching repeatedly. [crying] "—Nngh!!" Reaching climax, Rukia let out a voiceless scream and dug her nails into Akagi's back. Fluid gushed from her pussy, soaking their joined bodies messily. Still moving his hips, Akagi stroked her beast ears. [gentle] "You were a good girl." [crying] "...Idiot." With tears in her eyes, she buried her face in Akagi's chest. After a few more fierce thrusts, Akagi released his semen inside Rukia's vagina. She could feel it herself—the hot cum pumping deep inside her, pulse after pulse. [whispers] "I came inside." [gentle] "...I know." The two held each other for a while, catching their breath. —*Creeeak.* Behind them, the iron door groaned. [scared] "...Huh?" Akagi turned around swiftly. Beyond the open door, a woman stood. Long white hair accented with blue streaks. Silver, vertically slit pupils glinted coldly in the light. In her hand, a small spirit lantern. Mizuki Hakuran. She stared at the two of them in silence. Rukia's disheveled state, the black beast ears standing on her head, the tail hanging from her waist, Akagi's powerful naked body—all of it entered her field of vision. A few seconds of silence. Hakuran's lips moved faintly. [cold] "I see." Saying only that, she quietly closed the door. The sound of footsteps climbing the iron stairs faded into the distance. [scared] "...She saw." The color drained from Rukia's face. Her beast ears flattened in terror. [serious] "Hakuran, huh." Akagi's thoughts raced, and he pressed his lips together. Straightening his clothes quickly, he muttered quietly. [cold] "A troublesome one found us." With trembling hands, Rukia pulled the collar of her kimono together, trying to hide her tail, but her spiritual pressure was in disarray from panic—her ears and tail remained clearly visible instead. Akagi stared intently at her face, twisted in despair. The secret could no longer be hidden from anyone's eyes. In the underground archive where white plum petals danced silently, the gears of conspiracy surrounding the two began to turn, slowly.