Sacrament
Episode 8: Stratagem
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"But it is not conscious strategy to go for unconventional roles." - Anil Kapoor
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"Hisana Kuchiki is dead, dammit!"
Isshin saw his frantic son grab a wool coat, throw it on, and stomp out of the house, slamming the heavy wooden door in the progress. The middle aged man sighed, and glanced over at his co-workers Urahara and Yoruichi. They both had a look of deep concern on their faces.
"I hope he isn't running off to go tell the poor girl," Urahara sighed, tilting his green and white striped hat upwards to look at Isshin. "It's too soon."
"I know." Isshin answered. "But Rukia Kuchiki will have to know… eventually. She's a smart girl so I'm sure she'll figure it out sooner or later."
"We'll have to tell the Duke Kuchiki, at least." Yoruichi spoke up, fiddling with a piece of her lavender hair like a cat toying with yarn. Yoruichi was a witch. Well-half witch, anyway. Her mother was originally from Spain, and her father from Scotland. Her mother had been born a pure witch, but did not use her black magic to harm other human beings. While performing a mission trip to a small Scottish village called Rutherglen to teach the children there how to read and write, she met Yoruichi's father, who was there on business. They fell in love, got married and moved to Lorn, where Yoruichi was born. After her mother died at the age of twenty eight for a sacrifice, her father died soon after from a broken heart. Orphaned and young at the age of seven, Yoruichi couldn't take care of herself. Eventually, an old, kind woman named Soi-fong took her in. Soi-fong homeschooled Yoruichi, teaching her mathematics, economics, and of course, how to read and write. Yoruichi grew into a strong, smart, and independent woman when Soi-fong died of old age and handed over her pastry shop to Yoruichi. When Yoruichi met Urahara, they fell madly in love at first sight and decided to get married and open a business together. Now their shops are conjoined: Fong Pastries and Urahara's Tavern. They lived a happy, comfortable life.
Until Yoruichi found out that Hisana was still alive. That threw her life out for a loop.
"I think the Duke might already know." Urahara said seriously. "It's rumored that he went on a business trip to England and will be gone for a few days. Business trip my ass."
Isshin and Yoruichi both grunted in agreement.
"Quite right, honey. Why else would he go so far away to England-personally-except to see his late wife?" Yoruichi pondered. "But it could possibly be a coincidence."
"That's highly unlikely dear." Urahara said, squeezing her hand and looking at her lovingly.
"I know, but still." Yoruichi said, tossing her purple tresses over her shoulder. "I don't want that bastard to ever hurt Hisana again."
All three of them sighed.
"Well," said Isshin, getting up. "It's been a very eventful day. I say we all get some rest and then meet up again tomorrow morning to decide what we're going to do about Hisana and Byakuya Kuchiki."
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After looking at the stars for what seemed like minutes, even though it had been hours, Ichigo noticed Rukia's shiver from the cold and decided to take her home. Once they were only a few yards away from the Kuchiki estate, Ichigo gave her a soft kiss on the cheek goodnight and watched her small, lithe form clutch his blanket to her body and disappear into her stone estate before he turned on his heel and headed for home. He liked how his blanket looked around her small shoulders. It made him feel like he could protect her, even if he wasn't there.
Ichigo entered his house silently, so as to not wake his father. The house was pitch dark as Ichigo shrugged off his wool coat and tossed it aside on a bench situated by the door. He was about to look for a candle when he heard a scraping sound, and abruptly turned around with a slight gasp to see Isshin striking a match, the orange glow of the fire illuminated his face and gave him a stern, fatherly look.
"Father." Ichigo nodded to him, acknowledging his presence.
Isshin grunted and lit a candle before blowing out the match and setting the small, now insignificant piece of wood on a coffee table. The candle was bright and radiated the entire room in a warm light. "Son." He said.
Ichigo cleared his throat awkwardly. "I didn't tell her."
Isshin's stern face melted into a happier one. "Thank the Gods."
"I thought you wanted me to tell her about Hisana?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow towards his father. Old goat face must finally be turning senile. He's already contradicting himself.
"No, son. It is too soon for her to know. Not until we have Hisana in our grasp." Isshin waved at Ichigo to follow him, and his son reluctantly -but obediently- obeyed. Isshin led his son down a hallway and stopped in front of a wooden door. Ichigo recognized it as his sisters' room.
"What are you—" Ichigo whispered. Did Isshin intend to wake his sisters up? They needed their sleep after today. It was October 31st after all. Ichigo was sure that all the women of Lorn -who were still alive, anyway—would be exhausted after the ritual. Dreading what could be your last day must take a toll on them. Ichigo's heart went out to his sisters and all the women of Lorn.
"I want to show you something." Isshin opened the large wooden door, it creaked slightly, causing Ichigo to flinch. He didn't want his sisters to wake up. The light from Isshin's candle illuminated the girls' room in a ghostly light. It shone on their sleeping, angelic faces with effortless grace. The flame flickered, causing the shadows on their faces to dance and twirl.
"You see them?" Isshin asked his son. Ichigo nodded. "They are the most precious things in my world. And I don't want them to have the same fate as your mother did."
Ichigo's throat tightened, making it hard for him to breathe. Isshin closed the door softly until it clicked, then turned to face his son.
"I think that Hisana Kuchiki might be just the thing to make our society see its blasphemous ways. We need her. She has connections, political power. We need her for our campaign." Isshin said grimly. He looked tired; a five o'clock shadow graced his features. He rubbed his hand over his face in exhaustion.
"Campaign?" Ichigo asked. This was the first he's ever heard of any kind of campaign in Lorn.
"A Campaign against the rituals, Ichigo. The Sacrifices." Isshin said, and then lowered his voice into an almost unintelligible whisper. "I want Aizen to die."
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The moon was high in the sky when Rukia finally returned to the Kuchiki estate. Ichigo gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and then walked away without saying a word. He didn't need to. Rukia clutched Ichigo's blanket tighter around her shoulders and then went through the back door to her estate. She bounded up the cold stone stairs to reach her bedroom. Then Renji was suddenly in front of her, blocking her way. He was wearing nothing but a pair of wool pants. His feet were bare, like his chest, and his hair wasn't in his usual pony tail. It looks wild, and violent, the red strands sticking out in odd directions draped over his broad shoulders. He scowled at her.
"What do you want, Renji? It's late." Rukia hastily used her cloak and Ichigo's blanket to cover up her outfit -pants and boots, obviously not suitable for a woman of the Kuchiki household.
"What are you doing up so late?" Renji cocked his head to the side. "The Duke Kuchiki would have a fit if he knew you weren't getting proper rest."
"I should say the same to you." Rukia spit and tried to shove past him. He casually blocked her way, putting a muscled arm right in front of her and stepping closer, their faces only a foot apart. He stared at her for a long time, the moments dragging out and becoming intense. Rukia glared at him, hoping the malice in her eyes would make him leave her alone. Renji huffed, and his arm slid away from the wall.
"See you in the morning." He said, and slid into his room, shutting the door.
"I hope not." Said Rukia and went into her room. She kicked her boots off and slipped into her warm silk sheets, sighing.
That night, she dreamed of corpses.
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"Kill Aizen? Are you crazy?" Ichigo whispered, trying to keep his anger from boiling out of control. What was his father thinking! That stupid, moronic, idiot goat-
"Calm down, son. This is going to work." Isshin set the candle down on a table and crossed him arms. "It's just going to take time, patience, and stragegy."
"And a whole lot of fucking power." Ichigo said. "But how are you ever going to get people to back you up on this? The rituals have been part of our society's culture for a hundred… hundreds of years!"
"I'm pretty sure I can get most of the women on our side." Isshin said matter-of-factly. "The ones that aren't cowards, anyway."
"So… what, like twenty women then? Thirty?" Ichigo hissed at his father. "That's not enough. They're all as frightened as little rabbits!"
"With Hisana Kuchiki's help, I think we can get much more than that." Isshin placed a finger to his chin, thinking. "The women of this village respected her greatly before she "died". We can get more women on our side, I'm sure of it." Isshin paused. "…we just need to find her."
Ichigo glared at his father for a long moment before he sighed, giving up. "Fine. I'm on your side with this. But I still have doubts on whether or not we can win."
"So do I, son… so do I."
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A/N: Hello! :D Sorry that it took me a while to update! On Monday, I got grounded for some bad grades, then on Tuesday, I got into a bad car accident and totaled my car… eh… on Wednesday and Thursday I was still grounded… and so I basically just started this chapter on Friday. I hope you liked it! The plot is finally boiling up!
Thank you to Chris, teshichan, Ashezo, CheezuKe-KiXD, panianime, J, and PersonalRiot, for reviewing and Ichirukitard for the LONGEST REVIEW EVER! 私はあなたを愛して！