Chapter 43. I'll be honest this is the farthest I've gone into a long fic, which I'm impressed at because I usually don't stick to a project for this long. (stares at the graveyard that is my documents folder)
so wow...
Tokinada was not happy. The meeting with Urahara went about as well as expected, he totally refused to join them, and they had tipped their hand. The clock was now ticking, and so they had to act before Kyoraku or Yoruichi could get Central 46 to allow them to intervene.
That ment they had to go with the emergency meeting and fast.
It would take a few days to get an emergency session of the Central 46 ready, possibly even a week. All Tokinada needed to do was to get the meeting with Ichigo, and then the meeting with the others that knew the true nature of the Soul King. Given that Ichigo had a meeting at the Kuchiki estate today, that meant he could get him immediately.
He had already sent a trusted retainer to fetch Ichigo once he was done convincing the Kuchiki elders that they should allow him to marry their pet pessant.
Hikone was not the one he sent. Too heavy-handed. No, This was a member of a subordinate house who ate up his story about the clan being attacked by a third party. Useful as he had ordered the deaths of her close cousins.
He was disappointed a being of such pedigree as Ichigo would slum it out, but he didn't fault him. Ichigo wasn't raised as a noble and so had yet to learn how things worked.
And he honestly could have chosen worse.
To say Rukia was nervous would be an understatement.
She was well aware of the proceedings going on. They were the talk of the manor, and a lot of the gossip wasn't flattering. This was why she spent most of her time away from the Kuchiki estate, but that didn't free her from the rumors, instead only making them more bearable.
Thankfully today's captains meeting pushed off the hell that was inevitably going to happen as Ichigo met the elders. It was another routine meeting.
All of the captains had arrived, though Lieutenant Kotetsu's absence was odd, especially considering her absence from the earlier Lieutenant's meeting. The taller lieutenant would always be here on time, and Isane would never delegate her duties like she did today, giving Hanataro the duty of reporting to the lieutenants meeting.
"Now that everyone's here, I'd like to bring attention to the first matter of the day," Rukia was thrown off by the Head-Captain's decision to move forward with the meeting.
"As was made clear, after the war with the quincy we had multiple vacancies in the captaincy. While many were filled quickly thanks to our colleagues Captains Aikawa and Yadomaru," both Visored nodded, "A crucial vacancy was that left by the loss of one Yachiru Unohana."
They filled the vacancy in the fourth. Rukia didn't know what to think. So quickly after the war as well. Though the name Kyoraku used was odd. It almost reminded her of the late Kusajishi…
"Thankfully the first Kenpachi ensured she had proper successors ready for both of her roles," Zaraki nodded, and Rukia was shocked. The greatest healer she had ever seen was Soul Society's most prolific serial killer?
"She has demonstrated her qualifications before myself, Captain Orotobashi, and Captain Zaraki, and so I introduce Captain Isane Kotetsu."
She did it. Rukia was momentarily scared that the head-captain had gone and gotten someone else, but as the doors opened and Isane walked in with the long white haori of a captain. She smiled, knowing her colleague had done well to earn that title.
Isane then walked until she stood at the end of the two rows, in front of both Rukia and Captain Kurotsuchi.
"I thank you for this opportunity, head captain, and will execute my duties to the best of my abilities," Isane then bowed before taking her spot between Captain Sui-Feng and Byakuya.
Now only the thirteenth lacked a captain.
"You've already been doing that," The head-captain's affirmation ended the topic and then they moved on with the meeting.
Ichigo was waiting nervously in a waiting area in the Kuchiki estate. He knew about the captain's meeting today, and so was aware the meeting with the elders wouldn't happen for a while, but the nerves were getting to him.
It rapidly became clear that the Shiba and Kuchiki were organized radically differently.
The Shiba were surprisingly far more rigidly structured. Whatever Kukaku said happened, however, the Shiba were far more open about criticizing the clan head and showing ideas openly. While Kukaku was the ultimate executive authority of the clan, it was largely run by committee.
The Kuchiki couldn't be any further from that.
What the outside saw as one cohesive house, was in reality several smaller houses loosely organized into one cohesive entity. Byakuya was simply the head of the "main" branch.
Because of this, Byakuya's authority over them was far weaker than Kukaku's over the Shiba. No surprise then that he had heard stories of Byakuya facing threats from them of demoting his branch and promoting another.
Ichigo figured it was some parliamentary bullshit that they would never actually go through with, but it effectively kept Byakuya on a leash. Especially as it seemed that the other branches were the ones with the actual power in the clan as while Byakuya was in charge of maintaining the family archives, everyone else was free to pursue business ventures as long as they paid back a percentage of it to the main branch to fund the archives.
It was as Ichigo was reviewing his thoughts that Byakuya walked in.
"Good, you're early," Byakuya's voice was as stoic as ever, but Ichigo swore he could hear relief coming from it. "follow me."
Ichigo quickly started following Byakuya, taking a second to catch up due to the noble captain not slowing down.
"Understand that this is not the unstructured chaos of a Shiba clan meeting. Do not speak unless spoken to, do not use informal language when you do, and do not let your temper get the better of you," Ichigo nodded. He had seen how Kukaku ran the family meeting, largely unstructured and stream-of-consciousness, but concise and open. It was clear that this was not how the Kuchiki worked.
"Were these the…"
"Yes, but now is not the time," Byakuya knew the question before he even asked. They were the ones who in effect forced him to push for Rukia's execution. Something that oh so cathartically splashed mud on all of their faces and bought Byakuya back some of his political capital and freed him from his agreement to them.
Ichigo understood. Bringing that up would be an attempt to undermine them, creating hostility. Not something he wanted.
They then got to the meeting room and a servant slid open the door. Once Ichigo walked through, they slid the door shut.
Byakuya moved to sit at the front of the two lines of the elders, with Ichigo moving to sit behind him and to his right. He was the subject of today's meeting, but he was a guest all the same.
As soon as Byakuya and Ichigo had sat down on their knees like the others, Byakuya spoke.
"We may begin," At the call of Byakuya's voice the silence that filled the room broke.
"What makes this boy better than any of the other suitors, whom I should mention, you dismissed out of hand," One of the older men spoke aggressively, prompting a momentary glare from Byakuya.
"My reasons are my own, but if you desire a reason, it is because he has earned my trust and respect," Ichigo had long known that that was the case. Hell, seeing him plead to him to save Soul Society at the start of the war all but confirmed that. But hearing him say it outright was something else.
"That much is true, it had become a running joke that someone would have to become legend to meet your standards, so I assume he has at least cleared that bar," It was becoming clear to Ichigo exactly how little power over the clan Byakuya had at the moment. They weren't exactly disrespecting him, but they were skirting that line very closely.
"Young Shiba, do you have any questions?" one of the other elders spoke to him directly. Probably hoping for him to screw up. He wasn't going to give him that.
Ichigo deliberated for a moment, thinking of how best to word this question.
"I understand wanting to meet me in person, but what is the exact purpose of this meeting?" Ichigo figured it was some sort of Kuchiki procedure, something that he hadn't exactly read up on.
"Since you are requesting to marry a member of the main branch, your children will be in line to head the clan should something happen to Byakuya. We simply want to ensure you don't have any ulterior motives," Ichigo wasn't buying that bullshit for a second, but the between-the-lines reading was simple enough. 'We're looking for any legitimate reason to reject you.'
"Thank you for the clarification," Ichigo nodded. Byakuya looked to the side from his raised position. Ichigo was conducting himself well. This was good.
Then the next elder spoke.
"Lord Byakuya, I understand that he is blood Shiba, and thus one of us, but the boy was a ryoka once. How can we be certain he will respect our laws and traditions? He was never raised in them and only just realized the part he plays in this world." Ichigo was impressed by the question. It was an attack on his character, but not in a baseless way. Law and tradition were things the Kuchiki valued dearly, and his first trip to Soul Society was hardly a good first impression in that regard.
"I believe it would be best he answer that question himself," Byakuya then looked at Ichigo, surprising him.
"I came here under extenuating circumstances, Ru-" Ichigo caught himself and cleared his throat, "Lady Rukia had saved my life and the lives of my sisters when she made me a substitute. Breaking the rules or not, I owed her my life. I wasn't going to just sit by and let her be executed," Many of the elders nodded thoughtfully as Ichigo took a breath. he showed them he was a man of honor, now for the next part. "I've also learned that in this world, each part has a reason to be where it is. That there is a way things work, and that everything around that was carefully chosen for a reason," Ichigo was vague, especially on saying if he agreed with any of it, because he honestly didn't agree with all of it. Demonstrating awareness of the delicate balance, both of power between the noble clans, and of the balance of souls, should be enough for them to hear what they think he should have said.
"Eloquently put. He's a little rough around the edges, but that's to be expected for a Shiba." The youngest of the elders spoke. A man who looked only slightly older than Byakuya. probably someone who's inherited their father's position in the clan.
"I almost feel like he's too good for her," Ichigo's eyes shot wide as he stared daggers at the perpetrator.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I quite heard you. Could you say that again?" Ichigo spoke with a cold and thinly veiled menace. He damn well knew what he heard, and knew that it was a clear insult to Rukia.
Their shocked face told Ichigo that they fully expected to get away with that comment. Ichigo had no such intention, and Byakuya's own glare reinforced that as a tense silence filled the room.
"Well? He asked you to repeat yourself," Byakuya knew damn well what Ichigo was doing. It really pushed the limits of decorum, but the statement was clear, and honestly? He didn't care.
'I dare you to say that again' and its various iterations were very much a trap. Byakuya was fully expecting this to go to shit if his asshole of a cousin in fact did repeat himself, but at that point both he and Ichigo would have good reason to.
"I apologize, I must have let my thoughts slip. The young Shiba is a living legend, and with how he has conducted himself I can't help but feel we may be getting more out of this than they are," Prostration. He knew he got caught and was trying to save face. Both Ichigo and Byakuya knew what he was saying was bullshit. Ichigo was willing to let it go as it would hopefully be the last time he'd deal with them. Byakuya however was fit to make an example of him.
"After Lord Shiba is dismissed the elders and I will discuss how to reprimand you for your lapse in judgment, until then you are to remain silent" Byakuya was careful in his wording. His choice of using 'lord' a deliberate act to remind them that Ichigo is no mere child, not anymore.
"Of course Lord Byakuya, your word is final," Those words were spoken with disdain, but there was little he could do in the face of his censure. So he simply took his cue to shut up.
After that the meeting became far less hostile. It was clear the other elders held a similar opinion of Rukia, and if the 'almost' was any indication, they also held him in similar regard.
The questions for both him and Byakuya flew by and soon he was dismissed.
Ichigo didn't care to stay and see the carnage that was about to be unleashed.
He was about to leave when he noticed a servant girl calling for him.
"Lord Shiba! Lord Shiba!" The servant was nondescript, but from the green on her outfit it was clear she was a Tsunayashiro servant.
Ichigo dreaded what she could possibly be calling him for, but whatever it was it wasn't her fault, and it would be rude to not at least hear her out. So he walked over to her..
"Yeah?" The servant let out a visible sigh as it was clear she was waiting for a while.
"Lord Tsunayashiro would like to meet with you today, I hope you don't mind?"
So that's the last deck chair into place. The next few chapters will wrap up act two and then well...
boom