Author's Soundtrack:
The Path (A New Beginning) by Gustavo Santaolalla
Chapter Twenty Two
Outside her window, Rukia could see the edges of the forest surrounding the city of Coban, the peaks of the mountain range where, somewhere, she had been kept. From so far away, in the colorful light of the setting sun, everything appeared serene, picturesque. It was difficult to imagine what horrors lay beneath the canopy of vibrant greens. She found comfort in knowing that it was now nothing more than a crater of smoldering remains. If only Aizen had done her the courtesy of remaining in the building when he'd set off the explosions.
Seeing his mocking face through the flames sent a debilitating wave of familiar pain coursing through her. The cool sensation of the wall as she leaned against it did little to ease the overwhelming heat that scorched her body.
It was a memory.
It wasn't real.
This was reality.
She repeated the phrases until the feeling dulled into a mild ache and she could see the forest outside once again. Her body longed for the relief she found in Ichigo's arms, the comfort and strength of his hold acting as a wall that separated her from those wretched memories. Silently, she forced that longing down. Being with Ichigo lightened the severity of her attacks, but she knew she couldn't continue to rely on him for it. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. She needed to learn to rein in these memories and take control of them on her own.
There was a knock on her door and Ichigo stepped inside. When he saw her at the window he frowned. She tried to offset his concern with a smile, but he was by her side in an instant.
"You all right?"
"You're just as bad as Orihime," Rukia remarked with a humorous snort. "I'm fine."
He didn't look convinced, and touch her cheek. "Your skin feels clammy and there's sweat on your forehead."
"You really know how to make a girl feel pretty," she bit back sharply. Instead of being offended or hurt by her tone, he smirk.
"I suppose you can't be feeling all that bad if you can snap at me."
She cringed, feeling guilty. "Sorry."
"A bad one?"
She only shook her head, not interested in going into any details, mostly in fear of reliving the moment again. She'd experienced worse. Comparatively, this was a slap to the face versus being hit by a semi. At least she could get over this one on her own. With enough practice, she might be able to do it with a worse episode.
He pulled her to him and gave her forehead a soft kiss. She thought he might apologize, lament what happened to her, but he remained silent. Feeling the tension ease from her muscles, she melted into his embrace. All she needed at this moment was his presence.
"How'd the meeting with the doctor go?"
How had it gone? The psychologist Orihime selected was kind enough, professionally inquisitive without pushing too hard. They did little more than exchange pleasantries, some small talk, and stare at one another. True, it had only been a two hour visit, but was that good or bad? She wasn't expecting to be instantaneously healed, her mind calm and the memories chased away, but did she feel any better? Was she supposed to? How did she know she was on the mend? That therapy was what she needed?
"Everyone has their own pace, their own way of healing," she recalled the doctor telling her. "There is no 'one size fits all' approach to dealing with trauma."
It was frustrating. All she wanted to be was normal again. To be her old self. But that wasn't possible. She knew it. After Kaien she had never been the same. This was no different.
But she had liked who she was, who she was turning into. Where did she go from here?
There was a knock on the door. Rukia pulled away from Ichigo and opened it to see a CAC agent.
"The debriefing will be starting soon." And having delivered his message, scurried off down the hall.
"We can try to delay it," Ichigo said, standing behind her. His hand wrapped around hers and pulled it from the handle. Her palm ached, the skin creased with the line of the handle. She hadn't realized she'd been holding it so tight.
The thought of what was waiting for her made her stomach churn. What kinds of questions would they ask? Would they want to know details? About every single thing that was done to her? Would she need to start from the very beginning? The first time? The first death?
It had been simple, easy, quick with only the feeling of a sharp blade biting into her throat before the end came. He'd cut deep enough that she's bled out in seconds. The second and third deaths were quick as well - nearly instantaneous.
Then he got creative.
Fingers entwined with her own and Ichigo pulled her to him.
"Stay with me."
He reached up and pulled her hand from her throat. Without realizing it, she had been massaging the area where she felt the steel of a slow moving blade.
"I'll let Orihime know we need more time."
"No," she stated, taking a deep breath and solidifying the world around her. Reaching for the door, she pulled it open. "I want to get it over with."
When Ichigo didn't second guess her decision she almost kissed him. There was already too much doubt floating around in her mind, hearing it spoken aloud would have made it difficult for her to move forward.
The conference room where they were meeting was large enough to fit twenty of the CAC agents and several observers. Much to Rukia's relief, the majority of the seats were vacant. A large U-shaped table was centered in the room, with Councilor Reyes, Agent Yasutura, and two other agents seated at the top. Along the far side sat Orihime and Ashido.
Her eyes met with Ashido's. They would need to speak before this was over. There were many thing she wanted to say to him, things that should have been said when she first work up, but couldn't.
"Kuchiki! Kurosaki!"
Shinji's excited voice boomed from the speakers in the room, causing Rukia to flinch. His bobbing blonde head was projected from the large TV on the wall. Already she felt a tick form at the base of her eyes. Not quite the appropriate response when seeing her Chancellor, but Shinji had that kind of affect on people. There was another face on the screen. A severe looking man with slicked back dark hair - Director Ginjou from the American Agency, she believed. And he looked just as annoyed with Shinji's antics as Rukia felt.
"Glad to see you alive and kicking, Kuchiki!"
"Chancellor," she greeted him formally with a small bow of her head. "I see the Gathering hasn't had an impact on your boundless enthusiasm."
Scowling in disapproval, Shinji leaned back in his chair and prepared to go on a long, whining tirade.
"Are you kidding? These assholes have managed to suck an entire century off my lifespan. It takes forever for them to come to any sort of consensus. The other day, it took them half the morning to decide what they wanted for lunch - I kid you not!"
"Chancellor Shinji," Councilor Reyes cut in, much to the relief of everyone save Shinji himself. "Now that you have seen your Councilor is in good health, I assume we can begin."
Heaving an exasperated sigh, Shinji nodded. His expression became severe as he eyed the camera. "Let me warn you one last time, Councilor, to tread carefully."
Councilor Reyes gave him a pointed stare, but nodded. Motioning to the seats in front of them, the councilor asked them to take a seat.
"Agent Yasutura," the councilor said, looking to her agent, "please begin."
"As most of you are aware, after the capture of Councilor Kuchiki, the American, Japanese, and British agents discovered through an anonymous source where she was being held captive. They formally requested permission from the CAC to retrieve her. We then sent a team to scout the area-"
"You're missing some information there, kid," Director Ginjou's hands were clasped in front of his face, his eyes narrowed and thick brows furrowed. "Don't think we forgot about you blackmailing our teams, Reyes."
"We are both fully aware you struck an impromptu deal on the tarmac," Shinji added, with heavy sincerity. "Our team's assistance in retrieving important data to gain access to your territory. Access, I remind you, our agencies had already received before traveling to your territory."
It was rare for Shinji to become so frightening serious, but it seemed the Gathering and recent events had taken a toll on his patience. His finger tapped on the surface of his desk as he challenged the councilor with a hard stare.
"It is true that I used rather unorthodox means to ensure the recovery of a certain item," Reyes replied, unruffled by the accusation.
"An item that you refused to give us information on and that could have risked the lives of everyone under your command. An item that you were led to by an unfamiliar and unverified source," Ginjou added, his voice growing rough.
The councilor worked her jaw, clearly unhappy with the level of scrutiny she was facing in her own debriefing. Hearing most of this for the first time, Rukia was stunned. It was unsurprising for a council to use less than reputable means to leverage an advantage over others, but that they were willing to accept the terms was shocking. Ichigo's determination was moving, but he was known for ignoring rules in favor of doing what he thought was right. Ashido and Orihime, however, still had careers to be mindful of. Depending on the information, their actions could have been viewed as treasonous.
She couldn't help but wonder if she would have done the same, had the circumstances been different. Could she have ignored Council rules and risked her new life to help someone?
Lifting her gaze, she caught Ichigo's eye and she knew she would have. Without a doubt, she would have burned the forest to the ground to find him.
And that thought shook her to the core.
"We did what we could to verify the source and their information," Reyes finally replied, managing to keep her anger in check. "There was not time to vet the source any further, and all team members were warned of the risks."
"What was on the flash drive?" Ginjou pushed.
"I am not at liberty to discuss the contents-"
"Cut the bullshit, Consuella." Shinji leaned into the camera, his jaw set as he glowered at her through the screen. "You used the situation to your advantage and manipulated our people into helping you retrieve unknown data, which was clearly another trap who could have done who knows what. You risked my councilor, my agent, and the agents of two other councils. If you think we're getting through this meeting without know exactly what was on that flash drive, you are sorely mistaken."
The councilor looked flustered. "I do not have permission from Chancellor Cordova."
"Chancellor Sullivan and I will deal with Chancellor Cordova. Talk."
"You would damage your own position-"
"Do you really think I'm the one at risk here? You have three councils with their eyes on you. Three councils who nearly lost some of their top agents because you and Cordova decided to play it hard and fast. Cordova's lucky I don't drag his ass out in front of the other councils and demand answers right there."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Try me."
Shinji and Reyes glowered at one another, the tension ratcheting with each passing moment until the councilor exhaled, her posture deflating. Rukia felt for her. She was only doing what she thought was right for her council, and now she was suffering for it. Rukia had no real love for the woman, but she could understand the complications of her position.
Sitting up, the councilor opened her mouth and then shut it again, grappling with her decision. As she began to speak again, Shinji interrupted her.
"It's in your best interest that only the truth comes out of that mouth," Ginjou warned.
Councilor Reyes fumed, her eyes locked on Shinji as she grappled with her decisions. And then she sighed, rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes.
"The data was supposed to have information on the whereabout of Chancellor Cordova's son, as well as evidence of a crime he committed."
"The Chancellor's son is missing?" Orihime asked.
Councilor Reyes nodded. "For several weeks. At first, we thought he was running about like usual. He is a strong supporter of the humans and is often meeting with other groups to push their agenda. He was at a large conference in Spain when he went missing. Not wanting to draw attention to the matter, we sent a team to discreetly search for him."
The councilor's visage darkened considerably before she continued. "A team eventually found him. He'd been hunting in Italy, killing senselessly and leaving bodies in the open for humans to find. When we finally caught up to him, he was. . . he was a monster. Consumed by the hunger that seemed to hound him endlessly, he had transformed into something unrecognizable."
"I'm assuming the Spanish Council had no idea the culprit responsible for wreaking havoc in their territory was the Chancellor's son," Shinji observed.
"None. There would have been war."
"Attacking humans in their territory is certainly an issue," Orihime chimed in, "but for it to result in a war? That seems a bit dramatic."
Rukia could see Ichigo tense beside her, knowing he was doing his best to keep himself from cutting in. She was certain there would never come a time when he didn't value human lives ,when their treatment by the Councils would be viewed as acceptable. They were still his people, even if he was no longer one of them, and the loss of life due to vampires still struck a chord with him. She could read it in his eyes, the question of how many more lives would be lost or damaged because vampires saw them as little more than their food supply? As damaged goods when one vampire ran wild?
The image of his father laid out on the floor of his sisters' bedroom was jarring. When it shifted to a young girl, Rukia nearly slipped into another episode.
It was a memory.
It wasn't real.
This was reality.
"Except that one of his victims was the daughter of a human ambassador."
"Of course she was," Ginjou grumbled.
Ichigo broke his silence. "What, there are humans who actually a matter to you people?"
"Yes," Councilor Reyes replied sharply. "Human ambassadors work as a bridge between the Councils and their governments. It helps to ensure stability within the territories. As a benefit, they are protected under our laws. Any attack on them is viewed as an attack on the council itself."
"Out of obligation, the Spanish Council is required to act or it could lead to chaos in their territory," Orihime added.
"After finding him in Spain, and discovering he killed the girl, you lost track of him?" Shinji asked, his tone still taking on a hard edge.
Cringing at the reminder of her failure, Councilor Reyes nodded. "The flash drive was supposed to have his whereabouts, along with information about what was done to him. For him to have been reduced to feeding on humans when he's fought so long for them - it's heinous."
"It's clear this is Aizen's doing," Shinji said, a darkness settling over his features. "For the past six months, each of the territories has been dealing with rogues who have made a mess of things. Killing and leaving the bodies for the public to find. At first, we thought they were vultures, taking advantage of the Gathering and the chaos Aizen's betrayal has sown, but it appears their involvement is more calculated.
"Councilor Kuchiki, please share what you've discovered with our troublemakers."
It wasn't how she expected the debriefing to go. The first thing she thought they would discuss was her experience. It was a relief. And it was nice - to be looked at, not as a victim of Aizen's, but a partner in this fight against him.
Shinji was watching her, his mouth hidden behind his hands, but she was convinced she saw a small smile. She would have to buy him a very expensive brandy when she got back.
"There were several rogues that were hunted in the British territory," she began. "As the Chancellor stated, we thought them only taking advantage of the instability created by Aizen's attack. However, we soon discovered one rogue whose movements were more calculated, and we discovered he was working for Aizen.
"We can't be sure if he was a willing participant or not. After we captured him, a chip in his brain introduced a powerful chemical into his bloodstream, killing him almost instantly.
"We've had similar cases in the past few months," Orihime added. "Each of the rogues captured had chips as well."
A shared glance between Agent Yasutura and the councilor indicated they'd had similar experiences.
"What does that mean?" Ashido wondered aloud.
"Guessing Aizen's motives is a waste of time," Rukia replied. "What I do know is that the last rogue we killed had been assigned to watch me, and another sent to retrieve me in New York."
"Aizen seems to have quite the fascination with you," the councilor cut in, eyeing Rukia dubiously.
"Aizen and I have a very. . . tumultuous history."
"That's putting it mildly," the councilor mocked. "He killed your family, killed your guard's family, turned his sisters, massacred members of your hunting tea, and, according to some reports, he even killed you."
Rukia kept an even stare as Reyes summarized the events of her life with ease.
"Why is he so focused on you? What is it about you that keeps him coming after you?" Reyes leaned forward, her eyes boring into Rukia's, searching for an answer. Rukia fought to keep her emotions tamped down as Reyes' questions beat against her like heavy stones. "What answers is he trying to get out of you? What is exactly is your relationship? Are you truly just another victim, or is there more? Perhaps, in reality, you're actually-"
"Back the fuck off!" Ichigo was out of his chair, his hands slamming on the table as he leaned forward, white teeth bare for all to see. "Ask another stupid ass question and no title in the world will keep you safe."
The two other CAC agents were out of their chairs, hands on their swords. Ashido and Orihime responded in kind. Eyes were locked on Ichigo and Reyes, waiting for one of them to act.
The temperature in the room began to drop as Rukia felt her control slip. She knew little about her abilities, except that they were somehow connected to her emotions. If she didn't rein them in, soon Reyes would know one of the very things Aizen was curious about - and she was not someone Rukia wanted to trust with this secret.
"Kurosaki," Shinji broke in, his voice stern. When Ichigo ignored him, he spoke more firmly. "Ichigo. I'm sure Councilor Reyes regrets her poor choice in words and questions. I imagine she only means to understand what Aizen is up to, and not to accuse Councilor Kuchiki of treason." Shinji turned his eyes to Reyes. "Don't you Councilor?"
Reyes' eyes darted between Ichigo and Shinji before settling on Rukia. Whatever she saw in Rukia's face seemed to affect Reyes, her gaze softening some as she leaned back in her chair.
"I apologize, Councilor Kuchiki. Aizen has done a great deal of harm to our people. We only wish to discover what his goals are and put a stop to them."
Rukia's voice caused Reyes to still. "You're wasting your time."
"Excuse me?"
"Aizen likely has no real goals, no final outcome that he wants to reach. His intentions are purely scientific. Our world is the experiment. He's only setting things up and introducing variables to see the different results. Destroying the chambers that kind from wiping out towns, creating armies with different methods of rebirth, kidnapping rogues and council members and destroy their will and personalities - it's all just data to him. If there is an end game, I doubt anyone will be able to figure it out."
Taking a shaky breath, Rukia looked Reyes in the eye. "And if you want my honest opinion, your chancellor's son is dead at best. He played his part, now he's of no more use."
"At worst?"
"If you don't think taking a bleeding heart, human rights advocate and reducing him to an uncontrollable beast that feeds and kills without hesitation isn't the worst possible outcome for him, then I imagine you don't want to consider what the 'worst' is."
Rukia's words settled on the room with a heavy, suffocating weight. Still, she wasn't quite sure they could imagine the lengths of Aizen's depravity.
"Considering Aizen's role in what happened to the Cordova's son and the ambassador's daughter," Shinji said after a long pause, "I think we can safely say that the CAC will not be held responsible."
"What are you getting at?" Reyes demanded cautiously.
"I'll be bringing this to the attention of the other chancellor's."
Reyes was out of her chair. "You can't! It'll start a war!"
Shinji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I understand your concern. It's certainly not a matter to be taken lightly, but it's either this or Spain hears about it from Aizen himself."
"It would make sense," Ashido cut in. "Relations between the territories can be rather volatile. It would be easy to tear them apart with just the right nudge."
Reyes sat back in her chair, eyes wide with disbelief. "So we're screwed either way."
"Don't be so melodramatic, Consuella," Shinji moaned in annoyance. "What happened to the Chancellor's son is tragic, and I'm sorry for it, but this provides us with an opportunity to gather the territories together and deal with Aizen once and for all. They will finally see how easy it is to toy with us when we are divided."
"You would use his death to your advantage?" Reyes spat.
"If it will convince all of the other chancellors to get off their lazy asses and actually do something? Yes, without hesitation." She stood, snarling and ready to berate him, but Shinji continued. "We've all suffered at the hands of this maniac, but he is too resourceful to face alone. Believe me, we've been trying. He's manipulating our strained relationships and using it to rip us apart piece by piece. We need everyone working together to bring him down once and for all."
"You would tear us apart for him," she countered.
"I understand your concerns, but they will see reason, even the chancellor from Spain."
"You are a fool to believe that."
He shrugged. "I probably am, but that's not going to stop me. With Rukia's testimony and the evidence gathered by our four councils, our chances of convincing them to put aside their petty differences are considerably higher."
Rukia stared at Shinji. "You mean for me to speak at the Gathering?"
"I do."
"But for someone of my rank to attend-"
"Sod the rules. This is more important."
"The councilor isn't leaving," Reyes stated with determination.
"Apologies, Consuella, I didn't mean for that to sound like a request."
"Rukia Kuchiki-"
"Is not a member of your council and is a guest. Or are you telling me you are holding a member of my council prisoner?"
A chill swept through the room, and Rukia was confident it wasn't her doing.
Shinji leveled an icy glare at Reyes, and underlying threat hidden in his gaze. One wrong word and Reyes would have the war she was afraid of, and it would be the British Council alone. Director Ginjou had been more than willing to back Shinji, and his silence spoke volumes. And if Shinji decided to reveal the information to the Spanish Chancellor. . .
The weight of the consequences visibly forced her into her seat. "We have no other connection."
The defeated tone of her voice tugged at Rukia's heart. All she wanted was justice, revenge for the assault Aizen had committed on her people. If there was one thing Rukia could sympathize with, it was the need for revenge.
But what Reyes wanted, Rukia couldn't give her.
"I don't remember anything that would help you," Rukia told her. "Even if Aizen had been in a gloating mood, he wouldn't have shared anything that might have compromised his plans. If anything, he would have said something that would have only benefitted him in the end."
Reyes stared at Rukia, her dark brown eyes begging for her to be lying. When she saw nothing but determined truth, Reyes heaved a heavy sign.
"Now that that's over with, I suggest, Rukia, you get some rest before your flight. Once you're her, things will get interesting."
Despite his dire words, a gleeful grin had spread across Shinji's lips, giving him the disturbing likeness of the Chesire Cat.
"What's with the look?" She asked dubiously.
"What look?"
"That 'this is going to be great' look you get every time one of the elders gets into a fight with Hiyori; look."
"Listen, I've been bored out of my mind for the past month. Forgive me for being excited that something interesting is finally going to happen."
At least one of them was looking forward to her testimony. She'd managed to dodge a bullet with the debriefing, but the chancellors wouldn't be so lenient. They would want to know every detail, evaluate every bit of evidence - at least, she hoped they would. Although she dreaded the moment when she would have to speak about what happened to her, about what she might have heard, it would be even worse if the chancellors chose to ignore her and Aizen altogether. Shinji was right, they needed to move against Aizen as one, otherwise, he would destroy them bit by bit.
If she had to suffer through those memories in order to save her people, she would do it.
Author's Notes: Hello my lovelies! I am so so sorry this chapter is so late. I ended up rewriting about 60% of it, then I got slammed with real life stuff.
I wanted to make it clear that Rukia and Ichigo have NOT slept together yet. The ending of the last chapter was playful, but it's still too early for them to take that step. In reality, they would have gone for a sparring session - where Orihime would have been none too pleased with her patient escaping to practice fighting. I thought about writing a whole new chapter with that, but I couldn't get it to work.
I wanted to thank and respond to a guest who left a very lengthy and awesome review since I can't PM them. One of their concerns was how OOC they felt Rukia was by offering to step down from the hunt for Aizen when it is her life's mission at this point. Honestly, I kind of like that it felt that way. In a way, it puts you guys in the same shoes as Ichigo and Ashido. She is the same woman they knew, and yet not. Everyone responds to events in their lives in different ways and we have no idea what those responses will be until we're in those situations. In this world, this story, this is how I see her reacting to what has happened to her. I hope that doesn't scare you off, dear guest, and that you continue to read - especially because we have some more vampire politics coming up ;).
Thank you all again for reading and for the favorites and follows, and for the reviews from the two anonymous guests, MugetsuIchigo, and NieveDrop - I really do love hearing all of your thoughts on what is going on so please R&R!