Poisoned

byakuxhisa4eva

Chapter V: Court Proceedings

The moon was bright in the dark velvet sky, blanketing the room with a pearl-like luminescence, and millions of stars twinkled in the midnight sky. But his office in the Kuchiki residence was cold and dark, drafty from the one constantly open window and scarcely used fireplace.

Byakuya sat silently at his desk, eyes closed and face unmoving – anyone who would happen to walk by would think he was a statue, he was so still. Despite his unmoving body, his mind was a flurry of thoughts whirring around his head.

Just hours ago, he had gone to the First Division, and filed a request for a court trial later on next month. When the Captain General had read the details of the case – curious as to why and who Kuchiki Byakuya was taking to court – his eyebrow had rose so high that, had he had a hairline, it would have disappeared right into it.

-~-

"This is a most unusual case, Kuchiki-taichou."

Byakuya nodded slightly, lips pressed together tightly. "Yes, it is."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Yamamoto asked, flipping a page on Byakuya's request and reading through the elegant handwriting, "Your family will consider this betrayal to the highest degree – you may not have another moments' peace after this."

"It is not I who will betray them – for they have already betrayed me." Byakuya snapped, before realizing who he was talking to and retreating back to his emotionless facade, "I will not let my wife's possible murder go about unavenged."

The older captain sighed, a weary and tired sigh that could only come with age. "Very well, Kuchiki-taichou, I will approve your case. You have read the laws regarding this situation?"

"Of course."

"Then the date will be set for next month – the twenty-ninth of March. Be prepared, Kuchiki-taichou." Yamamoto stamped the file with a red seal, and closed the folder, setting it on his desk beside him.

The noble bowed slightly, before turning on his heel to leave the stuffy office. March twenty-ninth – only a week after Rukia's wedding.

"Kuchiki-taichou."

Byakuya paused, surprised at the sudden call-back. "Yes, Commander?"

Yamamoto almost seemed to hesitate before speaking – almost. "I was not closely acquainted with your wife, Kuchiki-taichou, and I realize that as the judge and the jury, we are not to be biased on the outcome. However, for your sake, I hope that this turns out well for you."

Byakuya's mouth sudden felt very dry, and gratitude stirred his cold heart. "Thank you, Commander."

-~-

The letters he had discovered a week ago were scattered across the surface of his mahogany desk as he tirelessly searched their contents for any piece of critical information he might have missed.

He didn't really know what exactly he was looking for, but he scoured the text with the diligence of an army general at war, eyes flashing and mind calculating. He found nothing in the elegant text, but another problem soon arose in his mind.

ii. Two witnesses must be provided on the accusing party's behalf, and be willing to testify.

Two witnesses. He had one – Aya, Hisana's maid – but he knew above all others that the law stood firm in this occasion, and that he would need to produce two witnesses or the case may be declared invalid. He knew the Elders had taken utmost care to cover their tracks – it was a miracle he was able to discover Aya in the first place – so where in the world was he going to find someone else to testify?

Even if there were people that knew – about Hisana, about the poison – it was fifty long years ago, they could be anywhere, or they could have already been reincarnated into the human world, with all their previous memories erased.

It would be like searching for an ant in an ant hole – what were the chances of finding the two right people in both Soul Society and on earth was extremely slim, practically non-existent.

His eyelids closed over his steel grey eyes, and he put a hand to his temple, rubbing circles in the skin in a poor attempt to lighten his incoming headache. Part of him didn't want to deal with his – with everything – and simply retreat into his world where peace and calm and memories of Hisana reigned supreme, but the Kuchiki noble knew that he would never be able to live with himself if he simply left things the way they were.

A knock on the door pulled him sharply from his thoughts with a weary face – it was almost midnight, the full moon high in the sky – who could possibly be here to see him so late? "Come in," Byakuya said, his surprise completely masked.

When the door slid open, a petite shinigami entered the room, and Byakuya's eyes widened.

"Nii-sama," Rukia intoned, bowing before the noble head, "Forgive me for my unexpected visit."

"Rukia," he replied, his sharp eyes staring straight at her, and mouth sloping into a frown when she did not meet his gaze. "What brings you here so late?"

Wide violet eyes evaded her brother's questioning gaze, and Byakuya's eyes narrowed when he noticed the tremble in her hands when she tried to speak. "Rukia, did someone hurt you?" he cut in, the underlying threat clear in his tone.

Rukia's eyes widened considerably in shock, before hastily replying, "Oh, no, of course no, Nii-sama," with a wild gesturing of her hands.

Byakuya did not failed to notice the tremble in her voice either – something was clearly bothering Rukia. "What is it then, Rukia? Something is clearly putting you ill at ease."

She stood in front of his desk, wringing her hands and trying to speak.

"Sit down, Rukia." he offered, gesturing to the wooden chair to his left.

His petite sister quickly crossed the distance of the hard wooden floor, before seating herself in the chair with the grace of practised nobility, placing her hands in her lap and delicately crossing her ankles. Her diamond engagement ring flashed in the pale moonlight.

Byakuya felt his heart tighten at the sight – even now, even now that he knew that Rukia and Hisana were as different as could be personality-wise, the physical appearance was so similar that memories of Hisana remained as if they had happened mere moments ago.

"Now Rukia," Byakuya spoke patiently, suppressing the nostalgia inside of him, "Tell me what is bothering you. Is there something wrong with your wedding plans?"

"No, it's not that..." She sighed, and took a deep breath, seemingly gathering her nerve and tightly squishing her nervousness. "Yesterday I heard one of the maids crying in her room, sobbing about...Hisana."

Byakuya felt his back stiffen instantly, and his mind was thrown into a state of controlled chaos.

Rukia continued on, seemingly finding her resolve. "I didn't hear much, but she said..." fear flashed in her wide eyes, and her voice broke a little at the end of the phrase. She breathed in a shuddering sigh. "She said she had killed Hisana-sama."

It felt like his heart had dropped to his stomach; his eyes widened in shock. So she knew...

"Is it true?" Rukia questioned, biting her lip, and staring at him for the first time with worried eyes, "Was Hisana-sama really murdered?"

Now it was Byakuya who struggled to breathe, his head in turmoil and conscience raging. Part of him told him not to tell her, to protect her from further pain, protect her as a big brother should, especially with her wedding so close, and just let him deal with it.

But another side demanded he tell her, that she more than anyone deserved to know the truth – deserved to know the truth of her sister's death; Byakuya knew that if he were ever in Rukia's shoes, he would definitely want to know the real happenings going on.

And, that part of him rationed, Rukia would have found out anyway – after all, it would be all over Seireitei headlines before long, and better she find out by him than through gossip and the media.

"Yes," he forced out, swallowing the lump that had developed in his throat, surprised at the relative smoothness of his voice, and taking in the shock in Rukia's eyes. "Yes, it's true. Hisana..." his fingers curled into a fist, his nails digging into his palm, "Hisana...was killed."

He could feel his heart clench at the realization all over again, that he couldn't protect her, that she was really gone...

"I...I...don't believe it," Rukia's head was bowed, her hand clenched in her robes, her voice cracking with restrained sobs. "I...don't believe it...why?" She bit her lip, and shut her eyes tightly, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill over. "Why would anyone kill Hisana-sama?!" she cried, looking at him, wide-eyed, tears now falling freely against her pale skin.

"Jealously...honour, pride..." Byakuya whispered bitterly, "There were many things, but Hisana had always gotten the worst of it. I have seen what envy does to people, yet I still failed to protect Hisana. At the time, I had never thought they would do anything to this extent – I was a fool to not realize sooner."

Old memories welled up – the sly smiles, the sudden acceptance of her rank...how could he have been so ignorant?

"Perhaps I loved her far too much to ever consider the world outside the two of us –"

"No..." Rukia whispered, "You could have never loved her too much – but the hate of others can be just as strong."

The moonlight played across her delicate features, and in the half-shadows, she seemed like an other worldly being – illuminated and unreal.

"Maybe you were simply too devoted to ever even think about the possibility that she might one day leave your side."

A/N: Next chappie up! Sorry for the late update, but second term just ended, so all the teachers were piling the work on us like crazy. And we just had our mid-years too, so things have been pretty hectic lately. Anyway, I did manage to get this finished, so I'm pretty satisfied.

This was kinda a filler chapter though, but was trying to figure out how to let Rukia in on the situation, and this was the only way I could come up with. ^_^