Sacrament
Episode 9: Glow!
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"Charm is a glow within a woman that casts a most becoming light on others." - John Mason Brown
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The first thing Rukia thought about when she opened her purple lidded eyes from a restless sleep was of her father, Byakuya. He would be returning early tomorrow morning. That meant the young girl only had one more day of freedom before her father arrived and kept her locked inside her stone cage. Rukia sighed, and rose from her soft, warm bed. She was still dressed in a shirt and wool pants. The midnight haired beauty quickly stripped out of her clothes and threw on a simple baby blue gown that reached her ankles and had long, flowing sleeves that caressed her wrists. The neckline was a Cupid's bow, and a simple white sash accommodated her waist. She tossed her long, wavy hair into a messy bun and then opened her door quietly, trying not to wake the many other members of the estate. When she saw no one in the hallway, (she was particularly making sure Renji wasn't there to irritate her,) Rukia slipped out of her room and padded down the hallway to the kitchens.
Unohana was already there, making some form of pancake with her hair in a large braid and an apron around her slim waist. Rukia's mouth watered at the smell of the pancakes wafting in the kitchen. She tried to identify the flavor… Blueberry? Raspberry? No.. it was… Rukia blinked thoughtfully.
Strawberry.
Rukia, in a very unladylike manner, snorted at the irony. Unohana jumped slightly, spilling some pancake batter on her apron. The middle aged women turned around abruptly with a surprised look on her face which quickly melted when she saw that it was the young maiden behind her and not some intruder.
"Darling, you scared me." Unohana wiped her forehead with a sleeve and smiled.
"I'm sorry, Unohana." Rukia said, "Do you need any help with breakfast?" Rukia slid into an old wooden chair and grunted as her muscles tensed and cramped. She hated sleepless nights.
Unohana's eyes widened for a moment before she spoke. "Oh no, dear! We wouldn't want to get pancake batter all over your pretty dress now, would we?"
"Unohana, I can change—"
"No, no! I've got it. How about you go for a stroll? It's very warm this morning. Surprisingly for November, eh?" That's right. It was November now. But the sacrifices would resume next year. In just one, short year. Unohana raised an eyebrow and continued stirring the batter, turning her back to Rukia. The woman had noticed the dark circles under Rukia's eyes, but decided not to press the issue. Rukia was strong. She could handle anything that was thrown at her.
Rukia gazed out of one of the windows in the kitchen, and saw a lovely sun peaking over the horizon, painting the Kuchiki gardens with a heavenly, peachy glow. It reminded Rukia of Ichigo's hair, for some strange reason. A blush crept on her cheeks at the thought of the handsome young man. Rukia's thoughts suddenly had her all flustered and the girl thought that a refreshing stroll wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. She needed to loosen up her muscles and gain a clear head. With the sacrifices yesterday, and her and Ichigo's budding relationship, she hadn't had that much time to really set her priorities straight over the past couple of days.
"Yes, Unohana. It does look warm. I think I will take a little walk, thank you." Rukia nodded to her nurse-since-birth and the middle aged woman smiled back at her before returning to her work. Rukia exited the kitchen and slipped into her bedroom to grab Ichigo's blanket and draped it over her shoulders. Rukia cringed slightly when she passed Renji's room, hearing his loud, obnoxious snore. The thought of him looking so disheveled last night, the way he eyed her body like she was something to eat, set Rukia's teeth on edge. She tiptoed past the red-haired man's room as quietly as she could and left the Kuchiki estate to the comfort of the gardens. It was pretty warm for a November morning, probably sixty-five degrees. Rukia loved the slight breeze that tousled her hair and comforted her heavy, purple lidded eyes. She had hardly gotten any sleep last night.
Her mother had visited her dreams again.
The thing that really haunted Rukia Kuchiki, though, was that it was a good dream. Her mother had been alive. Healthy, even. There had been a lovely glow in her cheeks, a sharp, intelligent look in her eyes that deeply contrasted the dead stare Rukia was used to. In her dream, Rukia had seen her mother in a clearing in the woods, much like the clearing in her last nightmare with the boiling mud. But it had been a bright and sunny day, much like this one now. Her mother had been lying on her back in the field, the soft grass embracing her, the sun gracing her cheeks.
She was beautiful.
But that's why it had hurt so much. Because Rukia knew that she could never see her mother. Touch her, feel her comforting embrace ever again. And it killed her.
Rukia almost started to break down and cry right there in the gardens, surrounded by flowers of all sizes and colors, but she stopped herself. What would Ichigo think if he saw her this way? He would probably think that she was just another weak woman. Nothing special. Ichigo admired the fierceness in her, she knew that.
So she had to stay that way. Fierce. Strong. Independent. And she was determined to do so.
Rukia strolled through the gardens with a now-passive look on her face. Her eyes were half-lidded, an almost bored expression touching her features. The Kuchiki mask. Her fingers fanned out to touch the soft, velvety flowers as she passed them, and she thought of Ichigo's hair again. His was soft too. Only the touch of the petals could rival it. She hummed when peaceful thoughts of Ichigo entered her head, and remained in the garden for the better part of an hour before something strange happened.
It wasn't completely strange, like a meteor falling from the sky, or a fly suddenly growing in size and dancing the hula. No, it wasn't that strange.
But it was strange enough to be noticed.
Rukia's left hand had started to glow. At first, Rukia wasn't perturbed at the slight glow in her left hand. It must be coming from the light of the sunrise, the young beauty thought, bringing her hand up to inspect it. You're making a fool of yourself. Put your hand down, Rukia, she heard her father's patronizing voice echoing in her head. But then the glow intensified, and slowly turned the color of red. That was certainly not natural light of the sun.
Rukia, with her other hand, tried to brush the glow off, as if it were just red paint. It didn't budge. The glow suddenly grew brighter, with more intensity. Rukia yelped and stepped back, tripping over a root protruding from the cobblestones of the garden. Rukia squeaked as she fell on her ass with a hard thump, and then momentum led the way -making her fly backwards until she was facing the cobalt blue sky, her legs in the air, exposing her undergarments.
It would have been hilarious if the glow in Rukia's hand hadn't started to burn.
"Ah!" Rukia desperately picked up dirt and put it on her burning hand, trying to extinguish the "fire". When it responded by growing even hotter, Rukia scrambled up and ran towards the Kuchiki pond in the middle of the gardens. She threw herself into the cold water without even thinking about it. She had to. Her hand was on fire.
Rukia, holding her breath, opened her eyes in the murky water and looked at her hand. It was glowing as bright as the sun, and burning even hotter. She wondered why the water wasn't boiling around her appendage. She screamed again, the pain overtaking her.
Then, a hand reached down through the water and grabbed hold of her hand, the one that wasn't glowing, and pulled Rukia up out of the water. Strong arms embraced her as she coughed and sputtered and continued to scream.
"Rukia!" Long fingers caressed her cheek, trying to get a reaction out of her. "Rukia! What's wrong?" Soft hands on her face, then running through her hair. "Rukia! Dear God, answer me! What's the matter? Are you hurt? Are you—"
Rukia's screaming ceased. She stared at her hand. The pain had vanished. Rukia looked at her small, pale hand. It wasn't glowing red at all. The burning was gone. To Rukia it almost felt like it didn't even happen.
"I'm fine." Rukia said, her voice shaking.
The strong arms around Rukia relaxed a bit, and she heard a deep exhale escape from the man.
"Thank God." Byakuya said.
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Ichigo stared at all the copies of the Gore Lists from the past century. There were 100 of them exactly, each for every year. It had taken Ichigo's father a lot of trouble just to get these copies of the Gore Lists, and Ichigo was reading them intently, trying to find some kind of pattern to Aizen's madness. If the rumors were true, and most likely they were, Aizen hand-picked the victims of the sacrifices himself. Rukia and Ichigo's mothers included. Ichigo had decided to read them in chronological order, started with the first noted sacrificial list with meticulous eyes. Ichigo read many of them, and had written down the names of some of the women that seemed connected in some way. He wasn't sure how much of a lead this was, but Ichigo was determind to get an upperhand on Aizen. In any way possible.
But Ichigo's throat tightened when he looked at the year of 1760. His mother had died fourteen years ago in the fire. And still, Ichigo could smell the rancid stench of his mother's rotting perfume. He closed his eyes, suddenly a bit woozy at the sight of his mother's name written on the paper in beautiful blood red ink. He sniffed, and his ears perked up when he heard the sound of light footsteps pattering by his doorstep.
Ichigo, utterly perplexed, stared at Yoruichi, who had just barged into his home like she belonged there. Then again, maybe she did. His eyes widened as he took in her disheveled form. She was wearing pants –the first time he saw a woman wear men's clothes besides Rukia—that were dirty and mudded. She wore a strange orange smock that was also dirty and ripped in some places, and her hair was an absolute mess.
"I've found her." Yoruichi said, reaching up and picking out leaves and some small twigs from her mass of purple hair. "It took a lot of effort… but I found her."
"Who?" Ichigo said. As if he had to ask.
"Rukia's mother." Yoruichi replied with bright eyes. "I've found Hisana Kuchiki."
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"Father?" Rukia asked as she gazed up at her father. Byakuya was holding her. He was actually holding her in his arms. The last time he did that she must have been a small child. "Is it really you father? You're not supposed to be back until…" Rukia looked up at the sky. It was pitch dark. Only the light of the moon offered any kind of light. Where had all the time gone?
Byakuya patted her back, and then gripped her harder as he got up with his daughter in his arms, carrying her back to the house. "We have to talk, Rukia. Immediately. I know you're tired and you want to rest but it's very important that you know."
"Know what?" Rukia asked, leaning her head against her father's chest as he opened the back door to the Kuchiki estate with his booted foot. He walked inside, still carrying her, and made his way down the hallway and upstairs.
"About your mother."
Rukia's eyebrows furrowed deeply just as a pinching sensation gripped her heart. Her mother? Why?
"What about her." Rukia mumbled, and closed her eyes, remembering her dream with the boiling mud.
"Oh, Rukia. There is much you do not know about your mother. About me, even." Byakuya entered his study and set his daughter down on a big cushioned chair. It was the same one Hisana used to read in on rainy days. Byakuya sighed and sat down in the chair opposite Rukia.
The young woman pulled her knees up to her chest, shivering slightly. Her clothes were still soaking wet, as was her hair. Byakuya pursed his lips, then got up and wrapped a big feather-down blanket before sitting back down again and crossing his arms. Rukia cuddled with the blanket, thankful for it's warmth.
"So." Byakuya said. "Where to begin?"
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A/N: I am EXTREMELY sorry for the late late late late update! I had finals this week and I studied my ass off. I was also grounded for a while… heh… silly me :/ Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter! A lot of stuff is rolling in motion as the plot unfolds! Whoo! Sorry for the lack of IchiRuki fluff. I'm sure there will be TONS when Ichigo finds out about Rukia's… incident? Ahh! It's such a mystery!
Thank You For Reviewing: Chris, panianime, WindMiko, and splitheart1120.
Happy Readings!
P.S. = I plan on updating on Christmas to make up for the lateness. Consider it a Christmas present
P.P.S. = Sacrament is almost to 50 REVIEWS! You guys are so awesome! Thank you! And don't forget to REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!