So, here's the final chapter of act 3, I hope it is to your liking.
All she could feel were the weights on her ankles and wrists, the bite of the concrete floor, and the pain of hunger ripping through her.
Papa hadn't come down to feed her since he left to speak with the group he always spoke to her about.
Had he forgotten about her? No! He would never!
Then why hadn't he come down?
The myriad of reasons why cycled through her head one after another as panic started to set in.
She had no idea how long Papa had been gone for. He had kept her down here for her own safety. He chained her to the wall so she wouldn't wander into the dangerous world outside. He had to come back, he always did!
Her mouth was painfully dry, and she could hardly get the energy to move.
Was she going to die here?
No, it hadn't been that long! He'd come back, he always did!
Suddenly, the girl could see the door before her open, and the light blinded her.
Aura woke up suddenly, she immediately appraised her surroundings.
It was all a dream.
A dream, no, a nightmare of the time before Tokinada found her.
Her father was a demented individual who saw her more as a thing than a daughter, and put her in a situation where she was entirely reliant on him.
A decision that almost killed her after his death.
Tokkinada saved her that day. She had eaten all things in reach, and she had run out of water.
To be left in such squalor due to obsession.
Once she was freed, and she finally ate in what felt like days, she remembered everything being… bland.
It was as if existence had lost all of its color. Food had no flavor, no texture, no art could bring out feeling, nothing gave her joy or dispair.
She simply… existed.
She went on like that for a while. Doing well in school, slowly building up her own success, but it all felt empty and meaningless.
She floated aimlessly in a world that had no meaning, and worst of all she was fine with it. She was alive after all.
Then she met Tokinada again, and he gave her a purpose. He had a plan, but he needed her to do it.
Due to her trauma, she was never able to attach herself to anyone or anything. She had no focus, no special ability granted to her through a connection to an object. Instead, the world itself moved as though it was listening to her. As she got out of bed the blinds opened with a thought alone, allowing her to see that it was morning.
As she moved to the closet, the door opened without her so much as touching it, and the clothing she decided to wear flew to her as requested.
Soon she was fully dressed and ready to go about her day, one she hoped would not end with her having to take action to mitigate Ichigo Kurosaki's threat to the plan.
Ichigo was walking to the secret meeting hall where they will be discussing "The future of humanity" as Tokinada so eloquently put it.
Ichigo's mind was in turmoil, not even a day after having Karin's well-being threatened he had to make a critical decision as a noble for the first time. No doubt the uncertainty he felt was all part of Tokkinada's plan. Tokkinada needed to be stopped, but if Ichigo moved against him, his family would be hurt.
Ichigo wanted to punch a hole in something, preferably Tokkinada. Ichigo was thrown into a bind masterfully. His ethics demanded he do everything to stop Tokkinada, but the threat to his family loomed over him like a roiling storm cloud.
Combine that with how quickly this all came up on him, he had no time to sort himself out, even after the talk with Kukaku yesterday.
As he was walking he heard the sound of another come alongside.
"So you are representing the Shiba today," The voice of Byakuya Kuchiki. One he wished he could talk with in a much better mood.
"Tokkinada specifically asked for me to represent the Shiba," Ichigo's response elicited a sigh from Byakuya.
"He believes you are easier to sway," Byakuya was correct. His grandfather had warned him about the shrewd man that was now the head of the Tsunayashiro. The clan never acted without contingencies or leverage. If Tokinada requested Ichigo over Kukaku, then it was because he believed he had leverage.
"Figured, any news from your family's elders?" Ichigo really didn't want to dwell on the subject any longer. The thought of what might happen to his sisters was disquieting.
"No, they are still deliberating, it is likely they are looking for any possible reason to deny you," Byakuya still had his misgivings about Ichigo, but they were all cultural and had nothing to do with his opinions on his trustworthiness or honor. Ichigo was the best of them, even if he was unconventional even by Shiba standards.
"Figures," Ichigo sighed as they walked along the white causeways of the Seireitei. "I'm honestly surprised they didn't approve it then and there if they want to be rid of her that bad."
"It isn't just that they want her gone, they want something out of it as well," That was always the catch with the elders. She is a tarnished bartering chip in their eyes, the very thing they hate about her making her valuable to their own machinations. It revolted him.
"And they won't care what she has to say about it," Ichigo really didn't look forward to looking through the offers for his cousins and potentially even his sisters. The thought of using family as political capital like this was disgusting to him. No one should have that kind of power over someone, especially family.
The walk quickly went to silence as neither of them had anything more to say.
Soon they were at the meeting hall. The secure and largely secretive location where the heads of the five great houses met was on the same campus as the Central 46 and its various support structures, though it was clear this building was much much older.
Byakuya looked to the guards and soon the door was open and they were both ushered in.
"I thought the guards would be more chatty…" Ichigo spoke quietly as the door closed behind them.
"The guards could potentially overhear sensitive information, and so they are sworn to silence," Byakuya spoke calmly. The guards who protected the grounds of the meeting hall were a group steeped in tradition and joining their ranks was seen as a great honor. The vow of silence was enforced by a kido spell, taking away their voice without otherwise harming them. A measure his grandfather proposed over the previous method.
"Sounds a little excessive if you ask me," Ichigo rubbed the back of his head as he looked at the guards lining the hallway, each
unflinching in their vigil.
"They all volunteered knowing they would give up their voice," And any titles they would have had otherwise. The guards needed to be impartial, and so all political ties were cut. Ichigo and Byakuya could both individually overpower them, but guarding against the actions of the other great houses wasn't their only purpose.
When all five house heads were present it posed an opportunity to attack them all at once. So they were primarily meant to protect them from such attacks.
It wasn't long before they were at the door of the central meeting chamber and without either Ichigo or Byakuya motioning for it the guards by the door opened it and ushered them inside.
the first thing Ichigo noticed about the meeting hall was the oppressive atmosphere and how it made it deeply uncomfortable to be in. It almost reminded him of…
"Is this?"
"Seki-seki? Why indeed it is," The saccharine tone of Tokinada pierced through the air and brought focus to the Tsunayashiro head. "Our ancestors had this place built after a bloody civil war in order to speak upon matters that concerned the Great Houses and to potentially de-escalate conflicts before they became lethal. Hence making this place so that it would disperse the power of any who walked in. I doubt even Lady Shihoin herself could use her power to its fullest here."
Tokinada was standing at the table in the middle of the room, and behind him was the green banner of the Tsunayashiro, the crest emblazoned on it boldly. That was when Ichigo noticed the other banners as well. The orange of the Shihoin, the white of the Kuchiki, the lavender of the Yayahara, and the burnt red of the Shiba.
"I'm right here," Ichigo's attention was then drawn to Yoruichi, who was sitting cross-legged in the seat reserved for her family, one elbow resting on the table as she impatiently tapped it with the fingers of her other hand. It was clear she didn't want to be here.
"Unfortunately," Tokkinada's venomous reply juxtaposed his previously playful tone. It was clear they had history and one neither liked. "Now that we are all here, why don't we take our seats and begin proceedings."
"I have a question," Ichigo spoke up
"Hm?" Tokinada looked over at Ichigo.
"Where is the Yayahara representative?"
"Ah, yes, about that," Tokinada leaned forward in his seat, resting his chin on his steepled hands. "See, since we are the only ones that know the truth about the Soul King's status after the war, I was forced to exclude them from the proceedings, unfortunate really."
"You could have easily asked the Royal Guard for permission to inform the head of the Yayahara clan about that," Yoruichi knew why he didn't do that. Whatever the hell he was planning would have them on his ass in no time. No, he wanted this to be a backroom deal cut without Squad Zero's knowledge.
"It would have taken too much time, and they are too fond of the status quo. One that has so clearly failed time and time again, both for us, and the living world," Yoruichi grit her teeth at Tokinada's response. He was right and she hated it. Tokinada's plan was inevitably going to be the exact opposite of what he was implying.
"How exactly has it failed?" Byakuya spoke next, one cannot upset the status quo lightly, as there could be unforeseen and potentially harmful consequences, and not just for the nobility.
"Humanity has proven itself to be unable to decide its own future. I could regale you with tale after tale of the mortals prioritizing their own short-term gains, blind to the consequences at best and recklessly ambivalent to them at worst," Tokinada spoke with authority. He had seen their decision-making process up close. "The peons are all fools."
"I doubt they are all so foolish," Byakuya spoke up. He was suspicious of Tokinada's statement. Even if he is right, there's an angle to this he must be hiding.
"Are you so sure? After all, your late wife was surely foolish to trust you with her sister's well-being," Tokinada grinned. He loved to pick at the scabs of those around him, and he already wrote off a civil war as an inevitability. Might as well have some fun about it.
"Damnit! Tokinada you-" Yoruichi stood up out of her chair just about ready to punch him out, consequences be damned, until Byakuya held his hand up to stop her.
"Yes, it is true that I mistakenly supported Rukia's execution, and I do not mind being held to account over that," Byakuya then raised his eyes up to give Tokinada a piercing glare, "But that was my mistake alone, not Hisana's."
"Oh please, don't look at me like that, it's not like I came here to pick a fight," Tokinada kept up his infuriatingly jovial demeanor.
"So if you think we can't be trusted to lead ourselves then what's your plan?" Ichigo spoke up. He wanted to get this over with.
"Ah Ichigo. You still mistakenly see yourself as one of them. Your unconventional ancestry aside, you are one of us, a higher order of being." Tokinada gazed at Ichigo in an attempt to make him uncomfortable. While he gained nothing from revealing his quincy heritage, as Byakuya was the only one who was likely to be unaware, the prod itself was entertaining, "As for my plan, we all know the Soul King is otherwise… unable to directly lead, and as such, I hoped to provide a… useful mouthpiece to a new order, one that will openly rule all worlds."
With that Tokinada motioned for someone to come out of the shadows, and Ichigo immediately recognized the androgynous form of Tokinada's retainer, Hikone Ubuginu.
"So you want to crown a new 'Soul King' and rule the living world that way? Do you honestly think they'll just lay down and take it?" The living world had no active monarchs with any real power left, Bhutan notwithstanding. The idea that they would just submit to a new one? Especially as the world's leading superpower literally fought a war to free themselves of one at their inception?
"I have many contacts who would stand to gain from this new order. After all, the quincy question has yet to be resolved by Central 46, and our firm but just guidance would be certain to keep the rest of the rabble from ruining things for themselves in the long term," Tokinada grinned again. He knew Yoruichi and Ichigo both had an interest in not continuing the genocide of the quincy. Especially since Ichigo himself was one. Byakuya was neutral on the subject but was not one for needless cruelty.
"So that's what this vote is about, taking over the living world?" Ichigo spoke up again, this time his voice was heavier, as though something was weighing him down.
"No, it's about no longer pretending that we aren't the ones in control of it," Tokinada this time was not as tolerant of Ichigo's ignorance on the matter. "Immediately after the war, a decision was made in this chamber to authorize the Visuals Department to do something it hadn't done since the advent of modern warfare in the living world, orchestrate a conflict to balance the souls between the three worlds. My daughter, who I am very proud of for this, chose to direct the world's preeminent superpower to a Middle Eastern country called Iraq. I believe you are familiar with this Ichigo."
Ichigo was stunned. Was this how much power Soul Society already had over humanity? That he had over humanity?
"That decision was made in extenuating circumstances," Byakuya spoke up.
"And? We are still the ones who decide the fate of humanity! Not some self-important plebeians who we let play pretend!" Tokinada was now clearly furious. His anger at his contemporaries's refusal to take responsibility for the power they held, to guide the weak and unfit to the future, was palpable.
"And what makes you think we have the right to do that!" Yoruichi stood up as she yelled. Her one hundred years in the living world had given her perspective on the matter, and how there were many in the living world that valued their ability to determine their own fates.
"Because it is our divine responsibility to do so!" Tokinada all but shouted at Yoruichi. They were all raised to be leaders, to guide the masses to the future. That was the responsibility that came with their privilege.
Silence followed as tension filled the air.
Soon, after a few moments, Yoruichi spoke again.
"The Shohoin refuse to support this resolution," With that Yoruichi got up and left.
"As do the Kuchiki," Byakuya followed shortly.
This left Ichigo alone with Tokinada.
Ichigo stared at Tokinada before he spoke.
"Like hell I'll let this happen," Ichigo then left, hoping Tokinada would realize the futility of his plan and give up.
"Cowards, the lot of you."
Karin was enjoying an off day from patrols. Her father had opted to take up the night patrol so she could get some rest and not go to soccer practice tired in the morning. Shino also benefited as since a captain was doing the patrol she didn't need to be present.
In the free time she had Karin was reading one of her manga that she personally enjoyed on her bed. She had hardly changed the room any since Ichigo left, the bed was still next to the window largely for convenience, and hell, she swore she could still feel some trace amounts of Rukia's spiritual energy in the closet, but it was her room now, especially as many of the things that were Ichigo's were now in his room in Soul Society.
Karin had a gut feeling that he wasn't going to be coming back for much more than visits. The way he looked at Rukia, the way he ran into certain death to save her, there really isn't much reason for him to not stay there. She didn't blame him.
Karin had finished the volume she was reading and put it down before getting up. she was in her pajamas and had done most of the prep work to go to bed, but she fancied herself a snack first, so she left the room and began to go downstairs.
What was waiting for her as she opened the door to the common area, however, was not a welcome sight.
"Glad to see you're still awake Karin," The cold monotone startled her. Karin hadn't sensed the intruder nor did she hear anything that would have indicated her entry.
Karin was frozen as though she was standing before a predator, every instinct in her body telling her this woman in front of her was very dangerous.
"What the hell is going on here?" Karin could barely get the words out. It was like the air was thicker somehow, and she knew it was coming from this woman.
"Introductions first. I am Aura Michibane, your brother has become a problem for a colleague of mine and we seek… insurance that he will not cause… further complications," Aura twirled a letter opener between her fingers as she flatly waited for Karin to respond.
"Like hell you are," Karin's voice was shaky, her fists balled, but she could feel it in her bones, she stood no chance. No, she needed to get to her badge in her room. The moment her body even flinched in the direction of her room the pressure increased. Karin quickly faltered, dropping to a knee for a moment as she braced herself against the doorsill.
"I would rather not have to force you to comply before I even get to explain things," Karin was as stubborn as her intelligence seemed to indicate. If she was already this uncooperative this may get complicated.
"There's not much to explain, you're kidnapping me as a hostage," Karin grit her teeth as she fought against the pressure bearing down on her.
"That would be correct. Though I have no intention of harming you," Aura looked coldly at the girl before her.
That's when Karin could hear coughing from upstairs.
"Karin, what's happening-" Karin flew into a panic
"Yuzu don't come down!" She all but screamed up the stairs, they were both in danger.
"What?" Yuzu was confused, she was almost on the verge of falling asleep when she could hear the commotion from downstairs. Now the air was almost unbreathable to her and she could barely stand up, bracing herself against the far wall.
"Stay there!"
She could see Yuzu's startled realization at what was happening once she heard
"I have no intention of repeating myself. You have no choice, it would be best if you complied," Aura spoke more sternly this time. her eyes somehow even colder than before.
"There's no way in-" Karin felt the pressure rise, and not suddenly saw herself being attacked in multiple different ways simultaneously, each one subduing her almost instantly, using the very home she grew up in as a weapon against her. Right as she came out of it she then heard a loud thud at the top of the staircase.
"Yuzu!" It was at that moment as she moved to assess her unconscious sister that Aura struck, throwing the letter opener with perfect accuracy and with enough force that the hit with the handle knocked her out.
boom