Poisoned
Chapter II: Unveiled Secrets
byakuxhisa4eva
Byakuya pushed aside the shoji screen with vigour, his heart pounding so loudly he swore it echoed around the empty room. He was breathing heavily, not from exhaustion or lack of breath, but from the fury that was coursing through his veins.
The elders' meeting was bound to last another twenty minutes, at most. The last subject he had heard them mention – finances – were generally kept towards ends of meetings. He had to be quick. He needed those letters.
There was only one chest of drawers in the room, thank goodness. His feet practically ran him over to it, and in a frenzied state, he barely noticed his hands shaking as he yanked open the bottom-most drawer and shifted hastily through it's contents.
False bottom...false bottom...
Quickly, he pulled out all the contents of the drawer and piled them on the floor beside him. Papers, textbooks, a leather bound copy of all the laws of Soul Society. He pulled the drawer off it's frame, tilting it slightly and holding it to the light, trying to spot some usual feature that would allow him to open the false bottom. He ran his fingers across the bottom, and along the sides. Nothing.
He flipped it over. He could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears now. Situated on upper left corner of the bottom was a simple combination lock, with three sets of numbers that had to match up for it to open. Byakuya would have smirked in if it was any other case, it was so easy; but not this time, this was too important.
He ran his fingers over the metal knobs, pushing his reiatsu through the rotating metal wheels, spinning them over and over through different combinations until the right one was reached. Click. The bottom of the draw fell away, and out fell a flat, simply wrapped package, tied with hemp string, a small blue bottle tucked securely under the knot.
Byakuya grabbed the package and shoved it roughly under his robes. He didn't have time to read it now. The elders could not discover him in their rooms. It would lead to confrontations Byakuya wasn't quite ready to face yet. Even if they discovered the missing package afterwards, they would not confront him about it – they couldn't be sure their head knew, and asking would only make them seem all the more suspicious.
He shoved the plank that was the bottom back into place, and ran his fingers over the numbers to a random combination. The drawer was shoved back in, and it's content's replaced exactly as he had found them.
His eyes surveyed the room once, making sure everything was in place; nothing could reveal that someone else had been here. Satisfied, he shut the door quietly and hurried to his own private quarters with a shunpo speed he did not even know he was capable of.
Byakuya stared coolly at the simple package in front of him, his face expressionless, though his insides were churning with terror and anxiety. The package at sat on his desk held the secrets to everything he regretted in life, secrets to the mysteries behind Hisana's death that had never been made clear.
Whatever was hidden beneath the folds of brown paper could shatter the illusion he had lived with for the past fifty years; destroy his image of death and splinter his heart once again, this time beyond repair.
With a trembling hand, he reached over and pulled the rough hemp string that bound the paper together, and unfolded the packaging with the greatest care, as if it would turn to dust if he was not careful. The wrapping opened, his grey eyes saw only a simple stack of letters, in a slanted handwriting, in fading ink, on expensive pieces of parchment.
He picked up the first one, and began to read.
To the noble House of Kuchiki,
I have received your letters under the safest circumstances, passed, untouched, through my spies and seen by no one but us. I have no objection to aiding your most noble house with whatever problems that may arise, and shall offer my utmost ability to fulfill your expectations; with a reasonable price, of course.
I am certain there is something within my power to grant your request; however, due to the delicacy of human nature and the subtle differences that vary from soul to soul, I cannot prescribe any medication to perfectly suit your needs until I have seen and examined said patient in person.
Until then, I am afraid that there is nothing else within my power that will be of use to you – you must realize that any miscalculations on both our parts may lead to our discovery and my career as a reputable doctor will be gone as we know it.
Regards,
Takeda Kazuo
Takeda Kazuo,
We expect nothing but perfection. It is realized that any mishap or slip of tongue may cause both our reputations to become significantly tainted. We understand that there are certain things that are not in the power of people to do, and have agreed that if you require to examine the patient in question personally, we will agree to arrange for your immediate visit, under an alternate alias, of course.
We expect your presence at the Kuchiki manor in a fortnight, at midday, for it is the only time our Lord Kuchiki will be away on business. We cannot possible secure any other time, for our Lord is the most diligent of leaders, and will immediate suspect us of any foul play.
As expected, you will be rewarded generously for your services.
House of Kuchiki
To the House of Kuchiki,
After having examined your Lady, and my own personal supply of drugs, I have obtained the ideal medication to meet your requirements. It is a rare mixture of nightshade plant and select other chemicals, brewed so as to erase all traces of itself from the body after the soul as passed. There will be nothing to prove that Lady Kuchiki's death was anything but an illness contracted in the dilapidated conditions of the Rukongai district.
I have included one dozen doses of the select poison, in the larger crystalline blue bottle, to be given at a regular interval every month, for one year. The doses, once administered, will remain in the system until the results of the last dose, and then will remove all traces of itself soon thereafter.
The emergency dose you requested has also been included and labelled – it is the smaller of the two bottles.
I am pleased to be of service.
Takeda Kazuo
Takeda Kazuo,
It has been one year since we have last come into contact, and we are pleased to inform you of the effectiveness of your prescribed medication dosage. Lady Kuchiki has now passed from this world. There was no autopsy performed, as most believe, as you had said, that she had simply contracted an illness from her frequent visits to the upper Rukon districts – and our Lord had prohibited any damage to her corpse, as he claimed he did not want to damage her body in any way, in death or in life.
We are greatly satisfied with the outcome of your service, and will be sending your payment via your private network immediately.
You have our expectations that none of what has occurred in the past year and half will ever be revealed, for both our sakes. These letters will be burned once we have secured our need for the extra dose we retain, and we expect that all letters you received regarding this topic will be destroyed, less they be found by suspicious persons.
Should any problems arise in the future, we will not hesitate to call upon you for your service.
The House of Kuchiki
That was the last of the letters; then, a short newspaper article dated shortly after the last letter.
Seireitei Times
In a recent investigation, it has been discovered that the renowned doctor, Takeda Kazuo, famous for his exclusive treatment of the noble class, had been murdered by an unknown force. Investigators are baffled as to who could have done this, and are unable to continue the case until further evidence can be obtained.
The late Takeda Kazuo was found by his apprentice, name withheld on request, on the floor of his apothecary, lying in a pool of his own blood. Unusually, but still unhelpful as of now, he was found grasping a bottle of blue crystalline, containing a poison that is know to kill slowly without trace nor tracks once the victim is dead.
Anyone with information regarding this case is encourage to step up and inform the proper authorities.
Byakuya released his grasp of the sheets, letting them flutter to the floor soundlessly, his eyes lidded in uncomprehendable sadness.
Hisana, I'm sorry.
A/N: Ahhh, cliffhangers, how I love thee. They're actually quite fun to write, especially if you've ending in a rather odd place and don't really know how to continue...
...I'm kinda hungry...so time to eat dinner! :P