[Bleach] War to End... (part 3)
Jul. 30th, 2006 01:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valmoraThe War to End All Wars, part three.
Full heading and disclaimer in part one.
The sense of reiatsu approaching the compound disrupted Byakuya’s reading slightly, though no more than Renji collapsed on the floor beside him, reading under Byakuya’s shoulder. Renji shifted away from him as a servant slid the door to the room open and bowed, effacing himself and informing Byakuya-sama that Ukitake-taichou was waiting for him in the Hall of Blossoming Pigeons. Byakuya, following the servant to the room in question, Renji in tow, found Ukitake kneeling before a tea service, glance taking in both Byakuya and Renji with no change of expression. He knew this meeting was not mere camaraderie.
“Kuchiki-taichou, Abarai-taichou,” Ukitake greeted evenly, a hint of his normal smile showing through as he watched the two take their seats and heard the return greetings. Byakuya had never been the easiest person to work with, and even now the casual air he was used to relaxing beneath seemed unfit for the Kuchiki estate as a whole. However, it was the first time in years he’d been invited to step foot on the premises, which was positive even if their discussion would most likely be on less desireable topics. “It’s been a while since you’ve invited me for tea; I’m sure it will be as wonderful as the last time,” he offered.
“Only if ya’ like it bitter enough ta’ shrivel yer tongue,” Renji quipped, passing Ukitake the plate of sugar candies. “How’d th’ battle go?” The report had already been given, but the redhead had never fully appreciated the written word in comparison to another’s spoken ones.
“As well as can be expected,” Ukitake answered with another, vague, smile as he politely set some of the sugar-cube-like candies before him and returned the dish, his gaze shifting to Byakuya once his task was complete, waiting for the noble to begin their real discussion now that the servants had disappeared and the tea had been properly served.
Byakuya caught Renji’s sideways glance at Ukitake’s words, which said nothing beyond Really fucking awfully, then and on which Byakuya did not, therefore, comment.
“Yesterday, after the meeting - of which, it may be assumed, you were apprised - Kurotsuchi-taichou gave to me an object of unknown properties and unknown materials, stating that Abarai would find it of interest. Given Abarai’s topic of address in the meeting, it may be assumed that the object is relevant to a transformation to Vaizard, but the manner in which it operates is not immediately clear. Would you be aware of some such object from your investigations during the Vaizard scandal, Ukitake?”
While the general vein of discussion had been one he’d anticipated, the exact topic was rather startling. Ukitake paused in mid action of lifting his cup and set it down once more, fingers loosely seeking the liquid’s warmth as he simultaneously contemplated the ramifications of Byakuya’s question as well as ran a quick mental inventory of all Urahara’s experiments he could remember. His gaze slid to Renji before he could think to stop it, but once placed, lingered on the other captain.
“I’m not dumb enough ta use somethin’ I know nothin’ about,” Renji stated flatly, shifting back out of his seiza and looking generally disgruntled.
Blinking slightly, the elder captain straightened back, withdrawing his gaze. “Of course not,” he answered, allowing his smile to show through, however briefly, before it fell back into a contemplative and slightly disturbed frown. “... Urahara’s initial research was in the direction of a device specifically for shinigami,” he slowly began, looking back towards the Sixth Division captain as he spoke, “but it was eventually dropped in favor of what would eventually become the Hougyoku, which is, as you know, an unrestricted device. If Kurotsuchi-taichou came across more detailed information, it would not be hard for a man of his capabilities to complete such a device...” He paused and then added, “That’s quite sensitive information, however - you’re sure that is the device he gave you?”
“The exact phrasing used was that Abarai ‘might want’ it, although he did not go so far as to actually use Abarai’s name,” Byakuya answered, “though his meaning was clear enough. Given the temporal proximity of Kurotsuchi’s actions and Abarai’s outburst, it may be assumed that the two are related. However, you are not aware of its function or how to activate it?” Setting the box on the table after retrieving it from the depths of his clothing, he regarded it for a moment before returning his gaze to Ukitake’s reaction.
Freeing a hand from the cup of tea he held, Ukitake retrieved the object in question from its place on the table and turned it over in his hand, frowning contemplatively. A few moments later, he looked back at the assembled captains. “I’d want to take a longer look at it and review the research before answering definitively,” he finally answered and then, with a sigh, set it back on the table. “I was surprised to hear of your support for the idea.” Relaxing slightly, he once more drew up the cup of tea and drank the bitter concoction.
Over the rim of his cup, Byakuya answered Ukitake’s unspoken query with, “It has never been wise to depend on the unskilled in battle for defense of one’s territory against a much greater foe.” Sipping from his own cup of tea, he glanced at the object and then responded, “Abarai, if your machinations with that box could wait until after Ukitake is finished, whatever he could find would doubtless be of benefit.”
“Che - since when have I had a say in any of this?” The redhead muttered, swirling his tea so that the sugar he dropped in would mix. “Do what ya’ want with it. I don’t care.” He brought the cup to his lips and drank down some of the liquid as if attempting to get it to his throat without it touching his tongue.
After a moment’s pause, Ukitake nodded and took the device once more, placing it in the folds of his own clothing in much the same manner as Byakuya had. “Then I will look into it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.” Another, somewhat dimmer smile, as his mind was already racing with possibilities and documents to look over again. His gaze slid momentarilly to Renji again.
“I know,” the redhead announced, hardly batting an eye at the attention he was receiving. “He gave it ta Kuchiki,” he somewhat clarified, setting his cup down. “Ain’t nothin’ I can do about it, though. I wouldn’ be a captain if someone didn’ think I could be trusted, eh? Everyone else’ll jus’ see what they want.”
“One must of course note that you and I have no intention of murdering our subordinate officers, however,” Byakuya remarked to Renji with no little amusement, setting down his teacup and considering the matter closed now that they had secured Ukitake’s assistance, if not support. “Thank you for your help and discretion; the reasons for secrecy are of course immediately apparent, given the fractured state of the Gotei Thirteen without the knowledge of a device such as the one mentioned.” He remained seated, the teacup left on the table, and glanced over at Renji before looking back to Ukitake.
Renji snorted sarcastically. “Killin’ my vice-captain’d be impossible for me anyway,” he griped, the topic obviously less welcome than their previous one.
Ukitake resisted the urge to empathize with Renji’s feelings on the matter, knowing himself too well to vocalize thoughts pertaining in any manner to vice-captains. Instead, he nodded and finished his tea, trying to get his mind to refocus on the issue at hand. “What will you do if its nature is as we think?”
“What would you advise?” Byakuya asked carefully. “The device is, of course, illegal, but to reveal its existence would be to endanger not only ourselves but also Kurotsuchi to banishment. However, forthrightness would only be encouraged.” He let the statement stand, waiting for Ukitake’s reaction, knowing it would alter whether or not the object would ever be of use.
“It’s been a long time since you asked for my advice,” Ukitake observed quietly, sitting back slightly in an adjusted seiza. “Had this been a formal meeting, I would have had to bring my results to Yamamoto-soutaichou immediately, and while turning over such a device would not place you in direct threat of banishment, it would cause unneeded strife.” He paused, letting it go unsaid that Kurotsuchi was likely in trouble no matter the outcome. “... As we are now, I have just enjoyed a wonderful cup of tea with a friend I have not been able to meet with in a long time.” He smiled again, casually, as if truly unbothered. “And I don’t think you need my guidance any more.”
Byakuya resisted the urge to nod faintly, standing and allowing Renji to see Ukitake to the door as he thought. Secrecy, then, and tacit support - the battle must not have gone well at all, then, for Ukitake to be condoning, even without words, a transformation by others to Vaizard. And while Byakuya knew intellectually that the difference in opinion between Yamamoto-soutaichou and Ukitake was not new, it was remarkable and deserved contemplation as he watched Renji return to the table.
“What’re ya thinkin’?” Renji asked the moment they were completely alone again, knowing Byakuya well enough by then to see the heavy thoughts layered behind a seemingly-bored stare. Ukitake’s answers had only mildly surprised him, after the many different points of view he’d seen lately, but it seemed Byakuya was more deeply affected by them than he’d been.
“Kurotsuchi’s willingness to expose himself to investigation of wrongdoing is uncharacteristic,” Byakuya remarked. “I mislike it; it makes one wonder to what one exposes oneself with that box.” He stood, limbs unfolding, and made the trek back to the room where they had been, leaving the tea for the servants to clean up. “One must hope, therefore, that Ukitake can enlighten us as to its purpose.”
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Scene Five
Scene Six
Scene Seven
Full heading and disclaimer in part one.
The sense of reiatsu approaching the compound disrupted Byakuya’s reading slightly, though no more than Renji collapsed on the floor beside him, reading under Byakuya’s shoulder. Renji shifted away from him as a servant slid the door to the room open and bowed, effacing himself and informing Byakuya-sama that Ukitake-taichou was waiting for him in the Hall of Blossoming Pigeons. Byakuya, following the servant to the room in question, Renji in tow, found Ukitake kneeling before a tea service, glance taking in both Byakuya and Renji with no change of expression. He knew this meeting was not mere camaraderie.
“Kuchiki-taichou, Abarai-taichou,” Ukitake greeted evenly, a hint of his normal smile showing through as he watched the two take their seats and heard the return greetings. Byakuya had never been the easiest person to work with, and even now the casual air he was used to relaxing beneath seemed unfit for the Kuchiki estate as a whole. However, it was the first time in years he’d been invited to step foot on the premises, which was positive even if their discussion would most likely be on less desireable topics. “It’s been a while since you’ve invited me for tea; I’m sure it will be as wonderful as the last time,” he offered.
“Only if ya’ like it bitter enough ta’ shrivel yer tongue,” Renji quipped, passing Ukitake the plate of sugar candies. “How’d th’ battle go?” The report had already been given, but the redhead had never fully appreciated the written word in comparison to another’s spoken ones.
“As well as can be expected,” Ukitake answered with another, vague, smile as he politely set some of the sugar-cube-like candies before him and returned the dish, his gaze shifting to Byakuya once his task was complete, waiting for the noble to begin their real discussion now that the servants had disappeared and the tea had been properly served.
Byakuya caught Renji’s sideways glance at Ukitake’s words, which said nothing beyond Really fucking awfully, then and on which Byakuya did not, therefore, comment.
“Yesterday, after the meeting - of which, it may be assumed, you were apprised - Kurotsuchi-taichou gave to me an object of unknown properties and unknown materials, stating that Abarai would find it of interest. Given Abarai’s topic of address in the meeting, it may be assumed that the object is relevant to a transformation to Vaizard, but the manner in which it operates is not immediately clear. Would you be aware of some such object from your investigations during the Vaizard scandal, Ukitake?”
While the general vein of discussion had been one he’d anticipated, the exact topic was rather startling. Ukitake paused in mid action of lifting his cup and set it down once more, fingers loosely seeking the liquid’s warmth as he simultaneously contemplated the ramifications of Byakuya’s question as well as ran a quick mental inventory of all Urahara’s experiments he could remember. His gaze slid to Renji before he could think to stop it, but once placed, lingered on the other captain.
“I’m not dumb enough ta use somethin’ I know nothin’ about,” Renji stated flatly, shifting back out of his seiza and looking generally disgruntled.
Blinking slightly, the elder captain straightened back, withdrawing his gaze. “Of course not,” he answered, allowing his smile to show through, however briefly, before it fell back into a contemplative and slightly disturbed frown. “... Urahara’s initial research was in the direction of a device specifically for shinigami,” he slowly began, looking back towards the Sixth Division captain as he spoke, “but it was eventually dropped in favor of what would eventually become the Hougyoku, which is, as you know, an unrestricted device. If Kurotsuchi-taichou came across more detailed information, it would not be hard for a man of his capabilities to complete such a device...” He paused and then added, “That’s quite sensitive information, however - you’re sure that is the device he gave you?”
“The exact phrasing used was that Abarai ‘might want’ it, although he did not go so far as to actually use Abarai’s name,” Byakuya answered, “though his meaning was clear enough. Given the temporal proximity of Kurotsuchi’s actions and Abarai’s outburst, it may be assumed that the two are related. However, you are not aware of its function or how to activate it?” Setting the box on the table after retrieving it from the depths of his clothing, he regarded it for a moment before returning his gaze to Ukitake’s reaction.
Freeing a hand from the cup of tea he held, Ukitake retrieved the object in question from its place on the table and turned it over in his hand, frowning contemplatively. A few moments later, he looked back at the assembled captains. “I’d want to take a longer look at it and review the research before answering definitively,” he finally answered and then, with a sigh, set it back on the table. “I was surprised to hear of your support for the idea.” Relaxing slightly, he once more drew up the cup of tea and drank the bitter concoction.
Over the rim of his cup, Byakuya answered Ukitake’s unspoken query with, “It has never been wise to depend on the unskilled in battle for defense of one’s territory against a much greater foe.” Sipping from his own cup of tea, he glanced at the object and then responded, “Abarai, if your machinations with that box could wait until after Ukitake is finished, whatever he could find would doubtless be of benefit.”
“Che - since when have I had a say in any of this?” The redhead muttered, swirling his tea so that the sugar he dropped in would mix. “Do what ya’ want with it. I don’t care.” He brought the cup to his lips and drank down some of the liquid as if attempting to get it to his throat without it touching his tongue.
After a moment’s pause, Ukitake nodded and took the device once more, placing it in the folds of his own clothing in much the same manner as Byakuya had. “Then I will look into it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.” Another, somewhat dimmer smile, as his mind was already racing with possibilities and documents to look over again. His gaze slid momentarilly to Renji again.
“I know,” the redhead announced, hardly batting an eye at the attention he was receiving. “He gave it ta Kuchiki,” he somewhat clarified, setting his cup down. “Ain’t nothin’ I can do about it, though. I wouldn’ be a captain if someone didn’ think I could be trusted, eh? Everyone else’ll jus’ see what they want.”
“One must of course note that you and I have no intention of murdering our subordinate officers, however,” Byakuya remarked to Renji with no little amusement, setting down his teacup and considering the matter closed now that they had secured Ukitake’s assistance, if not support. “Thank you for your help and discretion; the reasons for secrecy are of course immediately apparent, given the fractured state of the Gotei Thirteen without the knowledge of a device such as the one mentioned.” He remained seated, the teacup left on the table, and glanced over at Renji before looking back to Ukitake.
Renji snorted sarcastically. “Killin’ my vice-captain’d be impossible for me anyway,” he griped, the topic obviously less welcome than their previous one.
Ukitake resisted the urge to empathize with Renji’s feelings on the matter, knowing himself too well to vocalize thoughts pertaining in any manner to vice-captains. Instead, he nodded and finished his tea, trying to get his mind to refocus on the issue at hand. “What will you do if its nature is as we think?”
“What would you advise?” Byakuya asked carefully. “The device is, of course, illegal, but to reveal its existence would be to endanger not only ourselves but also Kurotsuchi to banishment. However, forthrightness would only be encouraged.” He let the statement stand, waiting for Ukitake’s reaction, knowing it would alter whether or not the object would ever be of use.
“It’s been a long time since you asked for my advice,” Ukitake observed quietly, sitting back slightly in an adjusted seiza. “Had this been a formal meeting, I would have had to bring my results to Yamamoto-soutaichou immediately, and while turning over such a device would not place you in direct threat of banishment, it would cause unneeded strife.” He paused, letting it go unsaid that Kurotsuchi was likely in trouble no matter the outcome. “... As we are now, I have just enjoyed a wonderful cup of tea with a friend I have not been able to meet with in a long time.” He smiled again, casually, as if truly unbothered. “And I don’t think you need my guidance any more.”
Byakuya resisted the urge to nod faintly, standing and allowing Renji to see Ukitake to the door as he thought. Secrecy, then, and tacit support - the battle must not have gone well at all, then, for Ukitake to be condoning, even without words, a transformation by others to Vaizard. And while Byakuya knew intellectually that the difference in opinion between Yamamoto-soutaichou and Ukitake was not new, it was remarkable and deserved contemplation as he watched Renji return to the table.
“What’re ya thinkin’?” Renji asked the moment they were completely alone again, knowing Byakuya well enough by then to see the heavy thoughts layered behind a seemingly-bored stare. Ukitake’s answers had only mildly surprised him, after the many different points of view he’d seen lately, but it seemed Byakuya was more deeply affected by them than he’d been.
“Kurotsuchi’s willingness to expose himself to investigation of wrongdoing is uncharacteristic,” Byakuya remarked. “I mislike it; it makes one wonder to what one exposes oneself with that box.” He stood, limbs unfolding, and made the trek back to the room where they had been, leaving the tea for the servants to clean up. “One must hope, therefore, that Ukitake can enlighten us as to its purpose.”
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Scene One
Scene Two
Scene Four
Scene Five
Scene Six
Scene Seven
