Chapter 9 – Sacrilege or Sanctioned
16 years ago …
This newfound feeling was, to Ryunosuke's surprise, foreign but intense. He had always been under the scrutinizing eyes of his father and that he had never been this close to a girl before, or at the very least, allowed to. His mind would constantly be distracted with thoughts of her. Though however brief it was the times he had spent with her, the thoughts would persist at every given chance that he was not preoccupied by notions of focus in battle, tactical strategies or even his sovereign duties as Shinigami. He struggles to keep himself from drifting away amidst the thoughts of her but had failed in numerous occasions when interrogated by his close friend, Hideyoshi.
"You've been in deep thoughts lately, and even more than the usual 'grump' mode you're always in," said Hideyoshi.
Ryunosuke tries to brush it off as he grinned for a moment.
"You know, you can't hide it from me forever," said Hideyoshi.
Ryunosuke kept ignoring him and decided to divert their attention to the Hollow that they are facing.
"Keep your eyes on the target, haven't we learned anything from that 'encounter'?" said Ryunosuke, hinting Hideyoshi of the battle with the Arrancars.
With close-to-no effort, they managed to take down the Hollows that had invaded a section of Kagamino district. As they both unsheathe their Zanpakutou, Hideyoshi begins to piece things together.
"Oh, now I see it. All these recent requests to task you on scouting duties and minor Hollow housekeeping for the Kagamino district was just so you could have a secret rendezvous with that Quincy girl, aye?" said Hideyoshi smirking.
Apparently perturbed by Hideyoshi's jesting, he decided to speak up and break the veil of silence and diversion.
"Her name is Yukino," said Ryunosuke as firm as he could. "And no, that's not it."
Hideyoshi took notice of a slight change in Ryunosuke's usual collected and monotonous tone. Picking up on this, he decides to withheld further interrogations on Ryunosuke.
"I'll head back to Soul Society and file a report," said Hideyoshi, vaguely hinting that he would not include any remark on Ryunosuke's unprecedented visitation that was off-assignment and to brush the detail aside in his report, despite already knowing his companion's intention.
Ryunosuke acknowledges Hideyoshi with a simple nod as he departs for Soul Society. In the absence of his companion, he decides to make his way to Yukino's abode.
He finally made his way here. He knocked gently on the door and waited a few moments, to which there was no answer. He took a peek at the windows from the outside. The windows were obstructing his views on the inside by white-drawn curtains. He then recalled the white curtains from last he was here. He thought of it to be tranquil and beautiful for some reason. He then knocked on the door once more. There was no answer, or the sound of rushing footsteps.
It has been a few minutes since he last knocked on the door, and no one was around. The neighborhood in which she lived in was silent, and there was only stillness in the air – even if it was only 3 in the evening. He decided to just stand by the door and await Yukino to return from wherever she had gone.
Thinking that she was not home, Ryunosuke decides to depart for Soul Society. As he was about to summon the Senkaimon, he noticed a figure walking from a distance. It was unmistakably the figure of a woman, robed in white. It was Yukino. She then took notice of Ryunosuke's presence. He raised his left hand to give a nervous wave at her. He quickly dropped his hand after frantically waving for a good 5 seconds. Yukino gave off a smile and a nod of approval for his quirkiness.
"Hello, Mr. Yamamoto. What brings you to my home?"
"Please, call me Ryunosuke."
Yukino chuckled. She lifted her left hand which had a watch strapped to it.
"Oh look, it's close to 4. Would you like to join me for some tea and biscuits?"
Ryunosuke muster the words that he wanted to say and struggles to form a sentence.
"Y-yes, I'd love to."
Yukino then gave Ryunosuke her signature smile. She pulls out her keys to the house and unlocks the front door. She walked in, which soon is accompanied by Ryunosuke.
Present
Kageshino listen intently to what his mother has to say, though with the hint of ignorance. He had his back facing her all the while when she spoke about her retelling of the times she had with Ryunosuke.
"He would then drop by every time he had a mission on Earth. And each of those times, we would learn more about each other, to the point …" said Yukino.
Yukino paused. She was caught in a trance as she pictured her fondest memories of herself with Ryunosuke.
"To the point that you both fell in love?" said Kageshino, still having his back facing her.
Yukino nodded slowly in silence. Kageshino, despite not looking, had guessed that she had agreed with his statement.
"Though we were worlds apart – literally – we just sort of complemented each other," said Yukino.
Kageshino still stood there, motionless. Yukino's clutched on tightly with her right hand, to form a fist.
"He was old-fashioned, straightforward. A little goofy at times but honest. He was a true romantic, he is," said the present Yukino, slightly tearing.
She raised her right hand to wipe away the tears.
"What has this got to do with the banishment of dad, huh?" replied Kageshino.
There had been a rumble in his voice; a mix of fury and disgust, of pain and sorrow that resonates from it.
"Just before he closed the Senkaimon on us after we escaped from Soul Society, he told me this – this was not the Shinigami's fault. It was his, and he is willing to bear all the consequences."
The voice of Yukino began to tremble. More tears began to trickle down her face.
"And no matter what happens, to keep us both safe. Away from the waging war between our kinds. Away from harm!"
Despite all the heartfelt tale that Yukino had told Kageshino, and the promise his father had intended for them to keep as his last will, in hopes that he would cease his harboring hatred for the Shinigami, he still held on to the grudge ever so tightly. His grip on the anger is what keeps him alive, or at least, what he tells himself so that one day, he would be able to settle the score. To seek vengeance, and perhaps a reason for the outcome that has befallen his father. The fate that resulted in Ryunosuke's banishment and death.
"It still doesn't change how I feel about them," said Kageshino, as he looked away.
"And it doesn't change the fact that I will make them pay for what they did," said Kageshino.
Before Yukino was able to say another word, a loud burst was heard. They turned to look at where the sound had come from. The front was blown apart. And there, standing in front of where the door once was, was a silhouette of a person, given shape by the evening rays of the sun from the outside.
"Well well, I thought I sensed the filth of a Quincy here," said the figure in a lurid voice.
Kageshino braced himself and summoned his sword to his side. He stood there at a stance, in front of his mother.
"Get back!" said Kageshino to Yukino.
The figure then unsheathed a blade that was held at a rest on its sash in response to Kageshino's stance.
"It must be my lucky day. TWO Quincies? Lady luck is definitely on my side," said the figure.
The figure took a few steps forward, revealing itself to the two. It was a female Shinigami, garbed in a brown scarf and the standard Shinigami officer yukata. She had deep purple and straight hair, tied neatly in a bun.
Yukino took notice of the insignia that the Shinigami had held on her left hand. She recognized it to be a symbolism held by the Noble families of the Shinigamis in Seireitei.
"Kageshino, she is in one of the six Noble families of Seireitei," said Yukino.
Kageshino turn a little to face his mother.
"See. The war will never end, and they were the cause for dad's exile!"
Kageshino turned back to look at the girl.
"Who are you?"
The Shinigami girl chuckled frantically.
"It doesn't matter who I am. I'm here to eradicate you Quincy scums from existence – once and for all," said the girl.
