Chapter 288: This and that
(A/N I forgot to mention it but I have new editor. This one is hopefully less bloodthirsty. Welcome him warmly.)
(Byakuya's pov)
I have been... conflicted for some time now. The reason for that is my adopted sister, Rukia. The reason for allowing her to join Kuchiki's noble family was my wife, whom I love with all my being. Hisana... She spent many years searching for her lost sibling, almost losing her life before finding her if not for Ryoto Yuuki's intervention. And even after finding Rukia, she couldn't find strength in herself to face her after abandoning her. Hisana's only wish was for Rukia to have a good life, and I could provide it. And that's where my conflict started.
When marrying Hisana, I was met with opposition from the Kuchiki's elders, but with the help of my father granting me the position of the head of the clan, I was able to do as I wished, but the elders' opinion of me lowered significantly, which I didn't mind too much at that time.
That was until I heard the rumors about a young girl in Shinigami Academy looking eerily similar to my wife. Initially, I thought it was a poor attempt at a joke. It didn't help that the first to share this information was Ryoto Yuuki. Alas, no matter how small, I couldn't ignore a chance to find Hisana's lost sister, and my efforts were rewarded, but once again, I was met with resistance. This time, however, it was much more upfront, and my decisions in my younger days were catching up to me. It was then I promised in front of all of the elders to never break any of Sereitei's laws if they allowed me to be selfish this one more time. It thankfully worked, and somehow, everything turned out alright.
That was the case for some time, but life didn't allow me to be carefree for long, and Rukia committed one of the largest taboos in Soul Society, and that was giving her Shinigami powers to an ordinary human.
I did everything in my power, using every bit of my freedom without breaking any rules, but everything I did was meaningless, and Rukia's sentence was getting worse and worse until it was decided to execute her. Not only that, the date of her sentence was getting pushed forward, and my hands were tied. I couldn't do anything without getting my elders angry and possibly getting disowned from my family. It wouldn't be such a big issue if this would affect only me, but I can't predict what elders would do to Hisana. I am her shield against them, and if I'm gone, they could possibly execute her to 'cleanse' the clan from dishonor, and I couldn't risk that.
On the other hand, if I don't do anything, I will cause Hisana much sorrow, and I didn't need Yukima to know that, but I'm just... lost. I don't know what to do.
While being deep in my thoughts, I failed to notice a presence entering the room I was occupying.
"Byakuya, what seems to trouble you."
It was, of course, my father, Sojun Kuchiki. He always looked to be carefree and was often seen with a gentle smile on his face. I loved and respected him greatly, but at the question he asked, I couldn't only stare emotionlessly.
"Right... stupid question. Do you want to talk about it?"
Talk about it... Maybe it's not a bad idea to get perspective from another person. I can only dwell on my problem for so long before it becomes useless.
"I'm torn about what I should do. Should I help Rukia in any way, I risk Hisana's safety; even if the risk is not big, I can't ignore it. But if I ignore Rukia's execution, it will cause Hisana grief that will probably not go away until her final breath. The way I see it is that I have a choice between Hisana's life, albeit miserable, or the risk of her death."
I confessed all my worries to my father. I believed that he may enlighten me in some way, and looking at him, I could see that he thought about my issue seriously.
"That's a difficult issue you are facing. I can see how you may have a problem with that but you are ignoring something important."
My eyes went wide. Did I miss something? I went through all of my options multiple times, so the idea that I missed something was surprising, but it gave me hope.
"You are forgetting that you are not alone. You are my son, and I like to think that I know you. You have a habit of doing everything yourself. Be it because you believe to be the best qualified for the job or you want to prove yourself, it doesn't truly matter. You are not alone. You have me, your mother, grandfather, the Yuuki family. All you need to do is ask. I bet Ryoto is already planning to do something, Kaien-dono as well, now that I think about it. Besides, if the Kuchiki elders try to do something to Hisana, anything, they will need to go through me as well, and they know that I'm close to Ryoto and they likely don't want to have trouble with him. No one really wants to, and for good reason, too. He is part of Stealth Force, and that means he knows things, and unlike others, he bites back. Threaten something or someone he cares about, and no one will know what happened to you. Also, the stories about how he survived in Hueco Mundo for a year and came back as if nothing had happened. People just don't want to mess with someone like that."
True... Ryoto Yuuki is annoying to deal with, but I wasn't aware that it was to this degree. In any way, this talk with my father made my decision much easier.
(Ichigo's pov)
I've had this dream again... It was about my past... When I was a child, I tried to help a child standing near the river bank. It was at the time when I had difficulties seeing the differences between the dead and the living. For some strange reason, the dream was more of a nightmare. It always ended up with mom being dead on top of me... blood still fresh.
Of course, it didn't happen. Mom lived. She told me a story about a stranger who helped her that day against a dangerous Hollow. I wasn't made aware of it until I was much older, of course.
Today's dream ended differently. Instead of Mom dying, I woke up seeing the back of an unfamiliar man. He had a white cloth with a number on it.
I was waking up, and my dream was mixing with reality because when I opened my eyes, I was still seeing the same white cloth with a number on it.
It took me a few seconds to realize that I wasn't dreaming and that I was seeing a white haori belonging to Ryoto-San.
Noticing that I was no longer asleep, he turned around to look at me (even if his eyes were squinted to the point that they looked closed... or were they closed, but then how does he see?).
"Woke up, princess? Or do you need a wake-up kiss? Should I call Orihime? "
...
...
...
I just woke up, and I am forced to deal with him. I would rather fight him again than listen to his bullshit.
I wisely decided to ignore his comment and ask him about that dream. I have that gut feeling that it was more of a memory than a dream, and seeing his haori like that makes me think that he knows something.
"Hey, Ryoto-san... Did you visit the living a few years ago and save a woman with a child?"
The question didn't seem surprising or at least he didn't show it. He showed a thoughtful expression with a hand holding his chin.
"I did something like that. I was in the area, noticed a Hollow, killed the Hollow, and returned to Soul Society."
That makes things easier. I stood up and bowed my head in gratitude.
"Then I must thank you for saving me and my mom."
I couldn't see Ryoto-San's expression, but I heard him sighing.
"Raise your head, kid. You don't need to thank me for doing my job. I sometimes save people, and other times kill them. I don't want to be thanked for something I'm supposed to do. If you want to thank someone or something, you can thank your luck that I was nearby."
That was odd. Did I annoy him somehow? I wasn't fast enough to ask as a group of five (Ryoto-San's children, if I remember right) got inside the Study Chamber (still a stupid name).
The moment they could be seen, the air around Ryoto changed, and he released his Spiritual pressure and murderous intent at the same time. I almost fainted just by being close to him, but I still could hear him saying something with a tone that I thought was impossible to be made by him because it was filled with so much venom.
"Who did this."
—
(E/D: the fury of the father approaches.)
END
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