Chapter 17 (Shizuko)
"Good as new, huh?" Renji smirked as we walked away from the shop. He poked my hair, "And keeping it down."
"Yeah, the tie that I had been using got destroyed," I touched the end of my hair, "Why—do you like it?"
He went so pink that I was sure he was blushing under his uniform too, "Y-Yeah! I do actually."
I touched my cheeks as they warmed up too. A smile crept along my lips, "Hm...thank you."
"Renji, go locate Rukia."
"Yes, sir!" He looked at me and I began to shoot off with him but Byakuya's voice halted my actions.
"Alone."
Renji was looking at me with a raised eyebrow while I scowled at Byakuya. He met my gaze evenly, briefly looking at Renji as if he should have left a long time ago. Soon, it was just him and I, walking along the Karakura streets.
There was no conversation—only tense silence. I was expecting him to make some kind of comment on my behaviour or Kisuke. I was expecting him to insult me but there was only silence.
As I brushed my hair from my eyes, I heard a faint sound. Meow.
I turned and spotted a black cat perched up on a dust bin. It watched me and meowed again when I met its gaze. Unable to resist, I walked towards it and away from Byakuya. The cat stared up at me with wide, curious eyes.
"I prefer birds to anything else," I cooed to her, "But you are quite magnificent."
She purred and I reached out. Her fur was soft and fluffy, and soon she was leaning into my hand. I began to laugh as she tried to climb up my arm but it was short-lived as the cat hopped onto my shoulder and then shot off into an alleyway.
Looking up, I found Byakuya leaning against one of the buildings. His arms were crossed and his eyes were downcast, waiting patiently for me to finish with my distraction. I cleared my throat and joined him.
"Do you not like cats?" I surprised myself with the question. Even ever-so-placid Byakuya Kuchiki gave me a sideways glance to check if I was talking to him.
"That was not a cat," He muttered, "That was a nuisance."
I could only sigh. He was worse than Ginrei ever had been and he was not even a quarter of his age. He used to be easy to talk with. Perhaps that was my problem—I expected Byakuya to be the same as we were as kids.
The wind picked up and it blew my hair into my face. I struggled to keep it out of my eyes and mouth, but Byakuya seemed unaffected. He looked bloody perfect even as the mini-hurricane blasted through the streets. I, on the other hand, was struggling to keep my grace as I picked strands of hair from my lips.
We finally reached the place we had camped out the first night when he spoke again. He handed me something cold and metallic. I looked down, unsure what to expect, and looked back at him with wide eyes when I realized that he had handed me one of his kenseiken.
"Your hair is very beautiful down," He said, "But need to have some order to it."
I stared at the pale green hairpiece. I was speechless and unsure what to think. This was an incredible gesture from anyone—kenseiken were not handed off to just anyone—but I never would have thought Byakuya would be the one to give me one.
"It's fine, thank you," I could never wear something so sacred. I had worn many fine jewelry in my hair—ones that were far more expensive than even a kenseiken—but this was more than money. The symbolism of the Kuchiki kenseiken was worth more than anything wealthy patrons could don me with.
"Your hair is in your mouth," He said bluntly and it shock the living hell out of me, "It's disgusting."
"Are you sure it's alright?" I ran a finger over the smooth edging. It was so simple but so elegantly breath-taking.
Byakuya responded by taking it and feeding my hair through it. It pinned to the side of my head, keeping most of it out of my face from the one side. I watched him the entire time, trying to gauge his reaction.
When he did nothing but step away, I broke out into a massive grin. I remembered when he was a young boy and was first given his kenseikan by Ginrei. He had been so excited and we had spent a good hour trying to figure out how they worked. Finally, my mother had to teach us and helped Byakuya put them in. The grin he wore that day while he looked at his reflection…it was hard to forget.
"Thank you," I bounced on my toes briefly before I composed myself. Clearing my throat, I bowed, "Thank you."
Renji arrived just as I straightened myself, reporting Rukia's location. He glanced at me, eyes nearly popping out of his skull when he caught sight of my new accessory. And then, after a quick review of what would happen, we were heading off to arrest Rukia.
"You have been ordered to stay in the World of the Living until Rukia's replacement arrives to take over her duties," Byakuya spoke to me.
I nodded and glanced at him. He didn't seem perturbed as we headed towards Rukia. This would surely be her demise. If she didn't receive a harsh punishment from Central Forty-Six then the Kuchiki Elders would make up for it. Was he really okay with that happening to her?
Suddenly, the kenseikan sat a little heavier in my head.
They were gone now. Rukia had gone with Renji and Byakuya but not after two of the humans were sacrificed. I had watched it all—I had even been prepared to participate in it had Renji not been able to. It all didn't sit with me very well.
Now, I stood over the redhead boy whom I saw just yesterday. His eyes were blank but his soul remained. He looked up at me lazily. My body felt filthy as I watched the cut down boy die slowly in front of me.
I had never had a problem with fighting. Growing up around the men of Squad Eleven and someone as rough and aggressive as my mother had made me friendly with the idea of casualties. Battle was battle and sometimes people got killed. But this didn't feel like a battle. It felt like a slaughter.
Rukia's screams still rung loud and clear in my head. That sweet, quiet girl who had always been just as ruled over—the one who cried for me at my wedding like it was my funeral—had screamed like I had never come across before. She had been agonized by the prospect of Ichigo dying for her. Surely someone who was as bad as she was made out to be wouldn't do that. It only added to my confusion. It only added to my guilt.
The rain had been coming down heavily for quite some time now. With how cold I was, I was sure that Ichigo wasn't far away from death now. I had initially stayed behind to perform a Konso on him as soon as his soul appeared, but now I was having second thoughts.
Glancing up, I spotted the Quincy boy who Renji had cut down as well. He was injured greatly but not to the extent as Ichigo. He would survive…but this other one…
I sheathed my zanpakuto and knelt before Ichigo. His breathing was ragged and his eyes rolled up to watch as I lifted my hands over him. Shutting my eyes, I summoned my energy to my palms and began to heal him.
Soon, he was shrouded in a thin veil of orange. My hands glowed the same color—veins and archeries radiating the orange reiatsu.
It was only when my fingers tingled did I realize my mistake. Glancing over my shoulder, I met the eyes of the man I had only seen in photos. Unlike me, he looked like he about to collapse from an aneurism.
I watched as shock and utter disbelief passed over his face. I could practically see the question broadcasted on his forehead. Who is this woman and why does she look exactly like me?
When I had imagined this moment, I had always tried to think of what his first words would be to me. Initially, it was "Hello, my sweet girl" like any child would think. As I grew older, I imagined it to be more realistic—"Who are you?" or something about how I looked a lot like him, or Kumiko.
Never did I imagine him to walked right past me and to Ichigo. The first words I heard my father say were not to me but to some naïve human.
I set my hands down and brought myself up to my feet. He seemed to have everything in order and I had no doubt that he could handle these injuries far better than I could. If what my mother said about him and Tessai were true then I was no longer needed. I shouldn't have intervened in the first place.
I turned around to leave when he said, "Why don't you take the other one?"
The Quincy groaned as if to make a point. I didn't protest, slinging the boy's arm over mine and dragging him along the road. As we flash-stepped to his shop, I kept screaming at myself to leave. I should have. Every time I thought about him now, I knew that I would. I wanted to hurt him like he had hurt my mother—like he had hurt me.
So why was I kneeling across a table from him, pouring us a cup a tea while Tessai fixed the two humans in the next room?
Next time!
Shizuko and Kisuke have a family reunion! Kumiko does a little sleuthing...
