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Chapter 12: Once powerful
Rukia silently watched as the masked and cloaked guards exited her prison. She knew that they were strong Shinigamis with special abilities; they will not hesitate the slightest, to mistreat her, to abuse her. Yet, she did not want them to leave her prison. She did not want them to leave her alone. She was afraid, she was so afraid of being alone. Shaking her head violently, she reminded herself forcefully that she had to control herself; she had to be brave, she had to go through it.
No matter what happened, she was going to undergo her execution. Rukia knew that it meant sure death, yet, she was not going to escape, she will face it, she will be brave, and most of all; she will not disappoint Nii-sama again, even if it was at the expense of her own life. She had let him down too many times. She had utterly disgraced him.
Her new prison was lit only by the light seeping in from the small gap. Shadows were created, especially in the corners of the room. Rukia shivered slightly as she saw the never-ending darkness. Then, she turned back to the little slit which could hardly qualify for a window, and knelt in front of it, closing her violet orbs. Now, it was her only source of light, the only ray which could light up her dark world. She briefly wondered if her execution would be carried out in the dark. She sincerely wished against it. She wanted to see the bright sky, she wanted to smell the scent of the newly blossoming flowers; most of all, she wanted to see the little birds take flight.
Opening her eyes again, she stared, resigned, out her little and only opening in the intimidating tower, only to register a sight that nearly made her heart stop. It was ironic, of all places, why must her little window face that direction? Out of all places, why the King's personal office?
Turning her back to the little gap, she smiled bitterly. Now, she was forced to turn away from the light, the only source of light, the only source of hope in her life. She was forced to face the shadows that scared her so much. She had to turn away from him, yet again. Yet, no matter where she went, his presence would always be there, always lingering over her.
-ßЯ-
Ikkaku sneered, "Why, ya think ya could defeat me? I guess, ya have a long way ta go!" With that, Ikkaku dived at the smirking orange-haired man.
Ichigo dodged with unbelievable ease. Smiling inwardly, he thought, it is the king's strength, what do you expect? Flipping over, he closed his eyes, and jumped over Ikkaku's attack, stepping on that shiny head before he landed on a nearby roof.
Ichigo flashed a smirk at his hand work. Ikkaku was crushed so heavily to the ground that it had a big indent. This was all caused just by a single step. His head had a huge footprint on it. It was easy, all too easy. Why could the Kuchiki not have done this himself? Ichigo reached up to draw his sword. He would have some fun before ending it.
Holding his sword in front of him, Ichigo covered his face partially with a palm and whispered, "4th release, Resurrection, hollowfy.
A white form twisted on Kurosaki's face before forming a full mask. Ikkaku watched in horror when he looked up. Gathering his pressure, Ichigo lifted Ikkaku out of the hole with his sheer strength.
"Now, let us begin to fight properly." The man whose face was covered by a mask said, leering.
-ßЯ-
"Byakuya? Byakuya!" Senbonzakura called anxiously. Red eyes darted over the form of a man, tied down by tubes.
Byakuya looked up at her tiredly in his inner world. He was held with a thousand red vines, pumping blood and energy into him. Byakuya looked at the arrangement around him, slightly raising a slim eyebrow elegantly. It was hard to believe, that he, Kuchiki Byakuya was just a small step from death. It was hard to believe that his death would be imminent if he were to break a single vein, if he were to move an inch.
He felt Senbonzakura drift down from her position to hover over him. Placing her lips at his ear, almost like an affectionate gesture, she whispered, "I thought you died. You were so close just now."
Byakuya tilted his head up slowly to look at her in her eyes. "Tell me the truth, Senbonzakura. He took more than 99 percent, did he not? If he left that one percent, I could still fight, I could still protect. But now, I am unable to stand, even with help."
Senbonzakura answered uncertainly. "Byakuya, he… he did."
Kuchiki Byakuya was too tired to reply, however, Senbonzakura knew exactly what her master was thinking of. She had served him since more than a thousand years ago. She ought to know him the best, yet, there were times when Senbonzakura would feel that he was hiding himself from her, afraid for the weaker side of himself to be seen. Afraid that he would never be accepted, afraid that people will make use of his weakness against him, and most of all, afraid that people he love will die. He protected his weaknesses well, with carefully constructed walls, carefully laid down plans. He shielded his weaknesses so carefully from coming to light. Senbonzakura once thought that her little sword wielder was cold as he did not find anything to be pleased about. Yet, as she flipped through his darkest, deepest secrets, so deeply buried in the centre of his heart, she understood him. If it means her survival, it is worth my pain.
A man, once the most powerful, once the invincible, was reduced to a mere soul that needed life supplies in order to carry on living.
-ßЯ-
Ikkaku landed on his face, smashing into a division building nearby. Ichigo smirked beneath his mask as he flash stepped towards Ikkaku's direction. He noticed, with great disappointment that the said man was already unconscious. He was about to deliver the last blow when he noticed something. Looking at the sky above him, he frowned, "Two hours passes too quickly, I will continue another day."
With that, Kurosaki Ichigo disappeared.
-ßЯ-
Byakuya looked up slowly and carefully. "Senbonzakura, I need to send him out again."
Senbonzakura stared at her wielder. "What? You plan to continue letting Kurosaki Ichigo fight when you are in such a state."
Byakuya lowered his head. "I have no other option."
The sword screamed. "You are not letting him out again, not within this week. Clearly, the third release as gone wrong horribly. It was never meant to use up so much energy, unless…" Senbonzakura then pondered. "No, that could never be. Byakuya, you need to get back to your office in an hour's time. You need to heal by then."
Byakuya remained silent.
Senbonzakura turned away from her master. Unless, the wielder really loves, or is truly desperate… Rukia…
-ßЯ-
Urahara looked up at Yoruichi. "What did you say?"
Yoruichi frowned, as she tugged her clothes on impatiently. "I said I am going back to Soul Society, and you need to open the portal."
Urahara closed his eyes. "To make sure than Aizen does not pull a trick while Kuchiki Byakuya is so wrapped up in his own thoughts?
Yoruichi glared at her friend. "Kisuke, you know Aizen well. He will make use of anything; he will make use of the little Kuchiki in order to bring down the King. He already has the Kuchiki elders in his palm, through his illusions, ideas and of course, gifts. With the elders, Aizen can have anything he wants, access to the whole Kuchiki manor. Since we started this mess, we have to end it."
Urahara opened his eyes slowly. "I managed to gain access to the Kuchiki secret service. The little Kuchiki will be executed in a month's time. Although being overdue is a severe crime, there is no reason for an execution. It seems that the order came directly from the elders."
Yoruichi paused in shock. "Aizen will then gain access to the hougyoku. We need to hurry."
Nodding, Kisuke opened a portal. "Be careful."
-ßЯ-
Rukia frowned as she recalled what she felt a few hours ago. She felt a strange, but frighteningly strong spiritual pressure released. It scented a little like a hollow, and yet, it felt faintly like… Nii-sama. It was queer. It did not fell totally like Nii-sama, yet, underlying it, there was a scent that was unmistakably like Nii-sama. Yet, this spiritual energy was certainly not calm, it spiked at intervals, and at the end of about two hours, disappeared completely.
Knocking her own head against the wall, she thought, what was happening out there?
-ßЯ-
Toshiro paused as he waited to gain permission to enter the office of his superior. Finally, after a long pause, a deep voice replied. "Enter."
Sliding the door open gently, Toshiro entered the room. He was taken aback by the face of his lord, but made no comment. Kuchiki Byakuya, was afterall, prideful. Toshiro noted the undeniably worn out expression on his lord's face, even though Kuchiki Byakuya tried to maintain his normal expression.
Nodding his head at Toshiro, Kuchiki Byakuya gestured for Toshiro to seat before speaking, "Hitsuguya, do you have anything to report?"
Toshiro frowned. "The execution of Kuchiki Rukia-sama is extremely strange. It seems that it was passed down from the elders. There is no reason, for the royal elders' to put to death one of their own, as much as they hate the person. It will be considered to be a disgrace to the royal house of Kuchiki."
Kuchiki Byakuya considered his words carefully, determined not to let his subordinate pick up any ideas of the current situation. "Perhaps there was an error in the finding. The elders, especially the first tier elders will be careful not to let that happen."
Toshiro frowned inwardly at his superior's cool and calculating tone. "Is there anyway to stop the execution to happen? Another report written by Madarame Ikkaku, or rather, written by a fourth division member, has stated that a cross between a Shinigami and a hollow has asked the direction to the shrine of penitence before he attacked Ikkaku. This is all linked to the case of Kuchiki Rukia."
Byakuya inwardly frowned before speaking. "I understand. You may depart."
-ßЯ-
Kuchiki Byakuya slowly made his way towards the shrine of penitence. The prisoners that were kept in the shrine of penitence and executed later were all at least at the rank of vice- captain. The soukyoku was the deemed the most painful, the worst way to die. Of course, while no one managed to survive it to tell the story, everyone knew enough about it, to understand the pain.
The bridge that linked the shrine of penitence to the rest of soul society was the only safe way to get there. Prisoners were cut off from the world, located on a mountain top. That bridge was the only thing that linked the rest of the Shinigamis to the prisoner. That bridge was the only thing that linked him to her.
The few days after the painful release of the third form, Byakuya often found himself reflecting. Did he even need the third form in order to break Kuchiki Rukia from the prison? He might have succeeded if he still had the strength. Kuchiki Byakuya briefly wondered if Ukitake, Toshiro and Unohana realized the change in him. He thought not. Just like he kept away all his emotions and fears, Kuchiki Byakuya kept away his injuries. It was all a precaution to prevent himself from getting hurt again.
As the bridge that was now in front of him swayed dangerously in the strong wind, Byakuya wondered if the only thing that connected him and Rukia would collapse.
-ßЯ-
A/N: And that's chapter 12: Once powerful for you! (Posted on 17th May 2009)
Next chapter shall be up next week. Weekly updates :D Oh yes, I really am thankful for the people who spared time to read, review, alert, or added to favourites Numb. So in order to thank you guys/ girls, I shall be writing an omake, and sending it out to people who will review this chapter cause I think some people might not want me to give them an omake.
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