I know I said April but some other things came up! I'm sorry! It's not my fault!
Ok first some comments:
To Toushirou-chan: Mizuho is Tatsukichi's aunt. I have no qualms in stating that she killed her own sister and her husband in order to gain power. She's the one who threatens to bury people in her gardens so she has no problem with killing anyone who gets in her way. Her tactics have clearly had an effect on her daughter Ayumi. Poor bird…
Now I love history (got a minor in it thank you very much!) and that is the thing you will notice time and time again that a lot of the "backroom politics" was done by women through their traditional roles of wives and mothers as well as mistresses. After all the old expression is "behind every powerful man is a more powerful woman" ;) If you like that sort of thing I suggest reading a biography on the Theodora of Byzantine Empire, a prostitute turned empress turned saint. Very interesting.
And Byakuya is the messenger. He can't exactly trust anyone with his little secret, as you will find out in this chapter! But the higher ups do often fail to realize how much the lower classes know. They do have eyes and ears after all…
The poor servant was mentioned in previous chapters and a few things are going to come together. Good thing you noticed the lilac eyes because that is very important and does have something to do with Hisana but not in the way your thinking! (I do love surprising my readers!)
Alliances and families are very complicated in this story. Konoka and Seigen are siblings. He adopted Matsuri and Fujimaru who were originally from Rukongai to the horror of polite society. Konoka was and is still in love with Byakuya but he doesn't feel the same way so she married Takehiko and they had Shiyo. However Takehiko is not exactly an "honorable" man (unlike our Bya-kun!) and has several illegitimate children and is severely in debt. Now he was in the process of being disowned from his family and Konoka is seeking an annulment. So what is a poor, spoiled, amoral noble to do? Hmm… I know! Kill your own father! No one would let Takehiko become the new head so that leaves his daughter but alas she is still too young. So sleep with an even more powerful woman (Mizuhou) and use her support to install yourself as regent, that way all the debt can be paid off and you won't have to be thrown out onto the street like a common man (oh the horror!)
The problem is that Mizuhou has her own agenda. The other problem is that she is allied with Amatsuki Bansui and his goal is to have his grandson Koga become the next Head of the Kuchiki clan.
Ah so complicated. Court politics is like a spider web. It is all connected and the closer to the center you get the harder it is to separate. It is also very sticky, once you are in its hard to get out. In fact, what happens is that you become tangled then a spider will eat you. I love metaphors and this one is actually useful! ;)
Oh, and I highly recommend you look at the character list and maybe reread some of the chapters in case you get confused.
Ok I do NOT own the anime although this new evil clone arc looks better than the actual manga! If I did own the manga I would have already given Ichigo his shinigami powers back already!
Fair warning, this is a VERY intense chapter!
And if you get confused I don't mind answering questions but that means I need reviews!
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Pain. Indescribable pain.
That was all he felt.
His eyes were covered but his other senses had been tortured beyond comprehension, his body broken beyond recognition.
Mouth dry, limbs maimed, mind blank.
The stench of blood filled his nostrils, knowing it to be his own. The cold chains around his wrists and ankles were the only things keeping him against the jagged wall.
How long had it been? How long had he been held captive like an animal?
Too long. So much so that hunger and thirst were now just dull aches, nothing compared to the throbbing of his bones.
Then he heard it, a sound more terrifying than deaths battle cry.
Footsteps.
Heavy, slow footsteps.
The door creaked open but any light was blocked by the cloth around his eyes.
The steps got closer, closer, closer… until his tormentor was standing right in front of him, his very presence evident.
"So boy, you're still alive? You know it would have been a lot less painful if you had just rolled over and died. Nothing to say?" A sharp strike was dealt to the prisoner's abdomen. "So stubborn…"
More sounds, more rummaging… it wouldn't be long now…
He heard the crack before he felt the pain. The whip created a flash of fire on his bare, scarred flesh. He should have been used to the suffering by now, he wanted his body to develop some sort of tolerance, but it did not and more of his blood dripped onto the already soaked floor.
Before he could even catch his breath, the crack was heard again.
And again, and again, and again…
His throat was too horse to scream, not that anyone would have come. Wherever he was, it was perfectly secure for the torture to continue.
His covered eyes were closing, his body trying to sink into unconsciousness but then another bucket of freezing water was poured on top of him, further inflaming the open wounds.
"Now now, I can't have you falling asleep on me again." The punisher stepped closer, his breath disgustingly warm on the chilled skin of his victim.
"Beg for your life little rabbit. Or beg for your death. Either is fine with me. Come on, I want to hear it. Ask me the routine questions. 'Who are you?' 'What do you want?' 'Why are you doing this?' But then, you already know don't you?"
A strong hand grasped his tattered face.
"You know that you deserve this agony. You also know that you're not the only one who should be punished… but you would rather take all this pain… then have her suffer… am I right?"
The captive did not respond but a new feeling of dread washed over him. He swore once to take any amount of pain so long as she was happy. Her smile meant so much more to him than his own life…
"Still nothing? Hmm, what should I do then?" said the torturer in a completely false voice. He already had a plan.
"Well, I want to hear someone scream so if not you… then it will have to be from her."
A fresh wave of panic overtook him, a pair of loving and carefree turquoise eyes filling his mind.
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"Oh, Tono-dono! You look so magnificent in yellow! Your skin just glows!"
Tono Midori, the undisputed gossip queen of Seireitei, laughed off the compliments of her current guests. She was currently hosting a small tea party in her chambers at the Kuchiki Manor, emphasis on small, as there were only four other women in attendance. That was the key. She had some very juicy gossip but only a few had the honor of hearing such news from her divine lips!
"And your apartments Tono-dono! So magnificent! You redecorated, didn't you?"
"Indeed. I'm sure everyone in Seireitei has heard about Ryodoji Benin's little 'remodeling,' and by little I mean practically demolishing part of the Kuchiki Manor, reconstructing it and nearly giving every artisan a justifiable homicide excuse! In any event, all the 'horrible' paintings and sculptures the future Lady Kuchiki deemed to be below her were up for the taking! The lower classes are so grateful that someone appreciated their work. It's so sweet!"
The maroon haired woman laughed at the absurdity of it all. Everyone said that she was so hard to please, but even Tono Midori had absolutely nothing on Ryodoji Benin!
The rest of the group began laughing as well, all waiting patiently for the next bit of news. When Midori just smiled without saying anything else, the other women knew they still had some ego stroking to do. The rumor goddess would not reveal her secrets for nothing.
"So Tono-dono, how are the wedding plans?" one of the other ladies asked, knowing this to be her favorite of all topics.
Midori just laughed harder. "Oh it is so wonderful to be engaged! The flowers, the arrangements, the kimonos! A swear, I may just delay the wedding for as long as I can just to enjoy the planning!"
The four ladies laughed but silently prayed that wasn't the case. They couldn't stand having to listen to the harpy brag about her advantageous alliance to the extremely wealthy, and extremely handsome, Sannen Ishinoue.
"It sound like great fun, but I'm sure that Sannen-dono is getting very impatient. After all, what man wouldn't want to have a woman like you in his arms?" One lady said in an intentionally sultry voice.
Everyone pretended to be outraged at the boldness but then descended into girlish giggles, Midori going along with it, ignoring the sting in her heart.
Most men would kill to be with her, the impossibly beautiful Tono Midori but no, not Sannen Ishinoue! He was truly glacial. In fact, she had never seen him smile once! When they first met, Midori had been amazed by his long teal hair, blue-grey eyes, and tall muscular figure but now she knew it was nothing more than infatuation. It was base attraction and it wasn't even returned. Sannen had never taken an interest in his own fiancée. They had never even been truly alone together. Now that she knew what love really was, Midori knew it would never come from this marriage…
No! Such thoughts were not important! It didn't matter anyway. She was destined to marry Sannen but that didn't mean she couldn't have love on the side. Affairs were common amongst the nobles of Seireitei. Marriages were for money, status, and heirs. Pleasure was found elsewhere which she already had!
Yes, she would have the man she loved and the lifestyle she wanted. Everything was going to be perfect but in public she had a role to play.
"Oh yes, he is a man indeed!" Midori responded with an innocent voice while covering her face with her fan, trying to make it appear she was blushing.
"Alright that's enough flattery. Now for the gossip!"
"Well ladies, I must again thank you all for attending my humble little gathering. It is so hard to find the time to be with friends. What with all these meetings. In fact, as we speak the Kuchiki Clan elders are gathering to decide…"
A loud crash stopped her words. The women looked back toward the room, trying to figure out what was going on.
The door opened slowly and the figure of a man stood at it. For a moment, all the women thought they were looking at a corpse. The young boy was shirtless, his pale skin shredded and covered in blood. His rib cage was showing and breathing harsh. Messy indigo hair covered his face that was looking at the floor.
Midori went numb with shock. "No, this can't be…this…"
His head slowly rose, showing new scars across his cheeks, lips torn open and very pained lilac eyes…
"Midori-sama," the boy said in a harsh voice before collapsing to the ground.
The noblewoman was at his side in an instant, taking his bloody head and setting it in her lap, not noticing the light silk being stained red…
"Tetsuo! Tetsuo! No! No! This can't be happening! Tetsuo! Tetsuo!" she screamed in absolute panic. Her short maroon hair fell out of her bun as she whipped her head around as her panicked turquoise eyes fell onto her guests.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? HELP! GET HELP!" she screamed in rage and terror.
The other ladies in the room, from the heights of society, had never seen anything like. They looked on with a mixture of horror and morbid curiosity as Midori held her wounded lover in her arms.
It was only when weak hands gripped her shoulders that Midori was brought back to reality. Her tear filled face turned back to Tetsuo, the man who was dying, the only man she had every loved…
"Midori-sama, you have to… you have… go… s … he …knows… you have to…" Tetsuo tried to explain but his voice was fading. All he could focus on was her beautiful face, the one that had caused him so much agony…
"Tetsuo, don't go. Please… don't go… you can't… you can't leave me… you can't do this to me… you promised… you promised to make me happy… I need you!" Her sobs prevented any more of her pleading.
For a moment Momohara Tetsuo's face became completely unreadable before a small, sad smile crossed his lips.
"You… haven't… changed…"
Midori felt the hands on her shoulders fall, the beating of the heart beneath her fingers stop…
A soul wrenching wail could be heard throughout that wing of the manor… symbolizing a heart shattering into a thousand pieces…
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"These procedures exhaust me."
Miyahara Ran was currently seated on her mat in the Kuchiki Council room and, quite frankly, bored to death. These meetings were very well choreographed. No one spoke out of turn, interrupted the person speaking, or even raised their voices. It was no wonder many of the illustrious members, dressed in their finest, looked as if they were asleep. Looked, no they were asleep.
It was a very spacious room covered with carvings of camellias representing the Sixth Division and the Kuchiki Clan emblem with the elders of the clan seated according to precedence with the highest positions in front and descending from there. Naturally Ran was seated dead center of the first row. Directly in front of her was a small platform where the main family sat.
Kuchiki Ginrei was in the forefront, silver hair and mustache perfectly in place and slate grey eyes as strong as ever. With his Sixth Divisions Captain's haori and the beautiful windflower silk scarf around his neck, Kuchiki Ginrei looked every bit the master of one of the Five Great Noble Families in Soul Society. He looked like the lord but looks were deceiving.
Kuchiki Shizuka was seated next to her father, dressed in robes of royal blue. Not a strand of chestnut hair was out of place and emerald eyes stared ahead but saw nothing in front of her.
Her children were seated beside her. The young man sat at his mother's right side, his kenseikan that was located on the left side of his head shimmering in the light. Nanako was dressed similarly to her mother, her auburn hair twisted to perfection and cerise eyes staring obediently at Shizuka's left.
On Ginrei's other side was his first grandson and heir Kuchiki Byakuya, dressed in his shinigami robes with the classic kenseikan on the right side of his head and his expression as emotionless as always.
Normally no outsiders were allowed but this was an exception.
Others in the room included Amatsuki Bansui, dressed magnificently in layers of rich purple with an ebony haori on top. Like his grandson Koga, he had a thatch of thick tyrian hair although instead of a stripe of magenta, Bansui had a streak of ivory instead. His eyes were the same tint of cerise that his granddaughter Nanako had.
Hayakawa Mizuho and her attendants had also carved out a niche in the room. She sat there in orchid robes that perfectly matched her hair which was adorned with a golden headdress and cyan eyes sparkled with triumph.
Next to her were two children. One was her daughter Ayumi, her mother's carbon copy with the same pale eyes and purple hair although hers was much shorter, barely reaching her narrow shoulders and dressed in similar dark colors. The other was Mizuho's nephew, Takehara Tatsukichi. He looked nothing like his present blood relatives. Instead he had platinum blonde hair and very large bottle green eyes that kept flicking back to the youngest Kuchiki.
They weren't the only outsiders.
As the future Lady Kuchiki, Ryodoji Benin was also in attendance seated right next to her betrothed, much to Byakuya's displeasure. It was clear she didn't actually care about the event but it was just another way to show off her position. Her crimson kimono was, naturally, too tight and too low revealing much of her bust. Her silky lavender hair was done up and golden eyes gleamed with pride.
She had also demanded that her father and uncle be present as well and that had been allowed simply to shut her up.
Her uncle Ganryu, Head of the Ryodoji Clan, was seated by his niece. He was clad in the traditional Ryodoji green with his white hair slicked back, wrinkled face sharp and amethyst eyes staring out at the crowd though every once in a while they turned to face his youngest brother and Benin's father Riyan. He too was dressed in green and had his navy blue hair pulled away from his very unattractive face.
The extra additions showed how important this particular meeting was. Here and now it would be official decided whether or not the engagement of Kuchiki Nanako and Takehara Tatsukichi would be ratified. Decided? No, that wasn't right. This was just a formality. Everyone knew it would go through. Amatsuki Bansui had bought off several elders, Hayakawa Mizuho had terrified more and she, Miyahara Ran, had done nothing to prevent it.
It was all strategy. Ran knew she could have stopped this development but she had what she wanted, a much more important marriage contract with the Ryodoji Clan. It was better to give Bansui and Mizuho something to keep them happy. If nothing else it would buy her time.
A good politician knew when to save her strength… and when to destroy her enemies.
Ran had not forgotten her words, uttered with defiance at Amatsuki Bansui several decades ago when he first proposed marrying his son to Kuchiki Shizuka. She had been young then, and although a political prodigy, Ran could admit to being outmaneuvered by the experienced old man. Still it was a learning experience. It was acceptable to lose once but unacceptable not to learn from your mistakes. No, unacceptable wasn't the right word. The alternative to not adapting was death. It was a lesson she had taken to heart.
Ran felt her own brown eyes close as memories of her own youth came flooding back.
She was born a Miyahara, one of the most important families in the Kuchiki Clan. It was her responsibility to uphold the family name and, at first, to redeem it. Her own father, Miyahara Hiro, was a glutton for wine, food and women. He wanted power but was far too lazy to put in the time, work, and effort needed to gain it. That was the fundamental difference between father and daughter, one expected everything without it being earned and the other struggled, connived, and clawed her way to power. It was a shame that he didn't live long enough to see his only child reach such heights. Up until the moment he died, Hiro had been disappointed that Ran was not the son he had always wanted.
Fool, he never realized that women were much better at the game of manipulation.
Especially due to the weakness inherent in all men…
"Yes," she thought as her eyes opened to gaze at the young Kuchiki heir, "even the strongest of men are easily susceptible to…"
"AHHHHHHHH!"
An ear shattering scream broke through he tedious room. Several elders awoke with a start, their heads moving from side to side trying to understand what was happening.
They didn't have to wait for long.
Several loud footsteps and even louder voices were heard running down the hall.
"Lady Tono!" "Lady Tono!" "Stop!"
The grand doors to the council room burst open reveling a shocking scene. Standing in the doorway was Tono Midori. Her short maroon hair was in disarray, tears streamed from her turquoise eyes smudging all the makeup on her face, her robes were covered in blood and had become so loose that one of her breasts had fallen out. A small but gleaming knife shook in her hand.
Her head whipped around widely until she finally spotted the one she was looking for, her fiancé Sannen Ishinoue.
"YOU! I WILL KILL YOU!" she roared with a cry that echoed across the room. With that she flung herself at the stunned nobleman, the tiny dagger raised to the ceiling.
However before she could move, several guards pounced, grabbing a hold of her arms. One poor boy tried to seize the side of her kimono in an attempt to cover the exposed woman, his own face red with embarrassment. If not for the atmosphere it would have been almost humorous.
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO NOW!" Midori screamed still trying to struggle against her captors and trying to get to her intended target. After a few moments of futile struggling she stopped, looking back up at her intended with an expression filled with agony.
"Why? Why did you kill him? Why… why didn't you kill me instead?" She sunk onto her knees, sobbing on the wooden floor.
Other than the cries there was complete silence.
Some instinctively turned away at the horror, others couldn't seem to look away.
And then there were those that were looking at each other.
Ran watched as cyan meet cerise and amethyst burned into gold. It was then that she felt someone watching her. Turning, her own mahogany eyes clashed with stony slate ones.
In this room of such intense emotion, it was what wasn't being said that was the most important.
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(Several hours later)
Snip… drip… snip… drip
Droplets of water hit the wooden floor as well as locks of hair but she was the only one who noticed.
"Tono Midori-dono, your actions have shamed your noble linage. For disrupting the Kuchiki Clan council meeting, you are hereby banished from the Kuchiki Manor, effective immediately. Your engagement to Sannen Ishinoue-dono has been terminated. And furthermore, due to your… immoral lifestyle… the Tono Clan elders have seen fit to have you enter a nunnery for the rest of your natural life, effective immediately." The informant stopped, but the young woman hadn't raised her head or given any acknowledgment that she had heard him.
"Tono-dono, do you understand?" the man now asked with impatience in his voice.
Still nothing.
"Very well, I have delivered my message and a carriage will be arriving shortly to take you to the designated temple." Without even bothering to be dismissed, the man left, leaving the broken girl to her thoughts.
It was funny, in an ironic way. A few hours ago, becoming a nun, living in a world without gossip or fine clothes or music would have been a fate worse than death. Now? Now Midori could not have cared less.
Tetsuo, the love of her life, was dead.
And she had no one to blame but herself.
She looked down at her hands, cleaned from the bath she had just come out of but her turquoise eyes could still see the blood… his blood staining her peach skin. It had to still be there, just beneath the surface…
But no tears fell. There was nothing left to cry over. The most important person, the only thing she truly had was gone, lost to a world of intrigue he never should have been a part of.
Tetsuo was just a servant who, despite living in the Kuchiki Manor his entire life, knew nothing of the political complexities of her "noble" world, the one she had dragged him into.
Her eyes lingered on the floor, vaguely aware that a maid was currently cutting off her hair and watching the maroon tresses descend onto the wood below. Funny, she once loved her hair and had taken great care of it along with the rest of her body.
Not that it matter, nothing mattered anymore.
She would now be forever haunted by his sad, beautiful lilac eyes, his tragic last words…
"You… haven't… changed…"
Selfish. She had been so selfish. Ungodly selfish. She had fallen in love with someone she should have never known and, amazingly, he had fallen in love with this vain and shallow woman who was farther above him then the stars.
Tetsuo had begged Midori time and time again to leave so that they could freely be together but she had refused, placing more value on a few stories and pretty jewels then the only good thing in her life.
Even as he lay dying in her arms, all she could think about was herself, begging him not to leave her.
And still he smiled at the end… like he was forgiving her…
And her outburst had been the final proof of her egotism. She pleaded to end her life to end her pain…
The door opened again, this time it was a few more servants come to get her for her last trip.
Midori didn't bother to help and didn't care about the dark looks they were throwing her. It was easy to understand why. A noblewoman and a servant were caught in an affair, one ends up banished and the other ended up dead. Even children could tell which fate belonged to which participant.
Sure a nunnery wasn't exactly desirable and everyone knew that it was a life sentence but still, the cheating noble whore got to live while one of lowly and worthless servants had been tortured and put down like a diseased animal. Where was the justice?
But the maids failed to realize something. No one could really have killed Tono Midori.
She was already dead.
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He wasn't supposed to be here. The morgue was no place for the heir of the Kuchiki Clan. And yet here he was, Kuchiki Byakuya standing over the body of the dead boy… no he had a name… or at least he had one… Momohara Tetsuo.
Byakuya tried to strain his memory, tried to remember an incident in which the boy stood out but none emerged. Before his death, he was just another servant, a good one at that if he lived his life unnoticed. Well, a few people had actually noticed him and that was the problem…
Tono Midori. In all his life Byakuya never would have imagined for a moment that he would feel sorry for someone like her. Before today, Byakuya had considered her little more than one of the worst stereotypes of women in Seireitei. She was vain, narcissistic, shallow, selfish… yes selfish was a good word. Selfish for her desires for advancement, selfish for her want of material possessions, selfish for falling in love with someone she should never have noticed…
Yes, as a noblewoman Midori should never have even been aware of a servant's existence but she had and look what it had lead too…
Byakuya knew he should feel nothing but contempt for the woman. She had dishonored herself, her fiancé, and her family by her actions. She was being rightly punished with banishment, and while the boy should not have been killed, he too would have been disgraced and expelled. That's how he should feel but given his own situation…
The heir took a step closer to the corpse… he was young and rather small for someone his age… someone who had his whole life ahead of him.
He had become so pale that it was difficult to tell where the flesh ended and the fabric of the white yukata began. Byakuya moved the garment to the side, careful not to actually touch the dead skin. The boy was emaciated with each individual rib being visible. His flesh had been torn apart, and while he had been cleaned of blood, the scars remained… and there were many. The boy had been tortured by a professional, someone who knew how to properly inflict pain…
Slate grey eyes drifted back to the boys face. It was now gaunt but Byakuya could tell it had once been filled with warmth and kindness, with understanding. His indigo hair had a blackish tint now.
Pale skin, dark hair, small frame, young in time… a forbidden love…
His hand moved from the chest to the face, to the closed eyelid. Slowly, and more driven by fear than curiosity, he lifted the lid expecting, or rather hoping, to see brown or blue or green starting back at him. Instead…
Lilac. Pure, undiluted lilac.
Lilac… violet… not the same but oh so similar.
After all, both were flowers… beautiful flowers that eventually wilt away once the chill of winter comes…
Byakuya jerked away, his hands trembling and felt a cold so intense it was almost numbing…
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Well, that was depressing!
I've shown a lot of the negative sides of these court politics, mostly through these arranged marriages and other maneuvers but it does get deadly. As in with any conflict, it's always the innocent that are the first to die…
Anyway, I do hope you guys feel sorry for Midori. Yes, she was a gossiping harpy but no one deserves to go through something like that. She was a spoiled noble who had never heard the word "no" before. How could she have turned out any differently?
You can also see the comparisons Byakuya see. Both he and Midori are nobles who fell in love with someone below their station. And both happened to be engaged! The difference is that Byakuya's situation is even worse! He's not only a noble but heir to one of the highest families and he didn't fall in love with a servant but a peasant!
Well one has ended in the worst possible way, Midori being banished and her lover, the one on the lower end of the social ladder, ending up dead.
It does not help that, in a way, Tetsuo resembles Hisana. Not actually looks like but has similar characteristics, again young, small, pale, dark hair and especially with their unique colored eyes.
So in a way you were right Toushirou-chan, there was a connection just not in the way you were expecting!
Anyway, you can see why Byakuya is so shaken. To him he might as well be looking down on Hisana's body…
And there's one more question if I can reuse my metaphor: who was the spider who ordered Tetsuo's death?
I'm currently taking summer classes that don't get out until the end of June so don't expect anything until then! I'm in 7 weeks of hell!
I know this was pretty intense, but I'm planning on making the next chapter a little less depressing (even I can only take so much!) and there WILL be more direct Byakuya/Hisana action. I actually have plans for a rather funny scene between the two of them… yes I used the word "funny" and was referring to Byakuya, that's not a typo!
Oh and a fun fact about Buddhism, monks and nuns shave their heads before entering a monastery.
Anyway, reviews, reviews, reviews!