Bleached

Chapter 7

Bleached

Chapter 7: Christmas holidays (part 2)

Zanpakouto speech

§ Shiba Clan Mansion: Elder's meeting room §

One Shiba Kokouto was in a rage. Not only had one of the Elders of his Council killed the former Clan leader, but he'd clearly done something more terrible, if his fate as an eternal sinner was something to judge by. The icing on the cake was that Kaien had insisted several times to him that Ryuu had too much power. But everytime Kokouto had waved his concerns aside. After all, if someone was mildly unpleasant, it didn't mean that they were mass murderers. But right now his attention was drawn to the young man, who was actually a child in terms of age. But Kokouto felt as if his experience of a thousand years of life were nothing compared to the experinces the young Heir Lord had undoubtedly experienced.

The Elder was also curious about his Sensing abilities. As far as he was aware, only the strongest Shibas had the ability. Shiba Isshin, who was a Captain level shinigami, had told him in a rare moment of seriousness that if he went into Bankai, and concentrated hard enough, he could hear snippets of his opponent's thoughts. But the Heir Lord had apparently heard everything Ryuu had thought, so much so that he got the slippery eel to admit one his greatest secrets. Without even entering his shikai. Such a mystery this young man Council leader finally called order to the meeting.

"Quiet down! I know that the shocking revelations of today have stunned us to the very core. Lord Kaien, what do you suggest we do?" Kokouto knew that Kaien's word would be the final say in the action the Council was going to do. Kaien was after all, a charismatic leader, and no one beside Ryuu had ever disagreed with him. Kaien seemed thoughtful, before he answered.

"I would like for the Clan to send the details of the revelations to the Onmitsukido, conveniently leaving out anything about Sensing, ofcourse,and have them lead a thorough investigation. After all, it is their third seat who was revealed to be an eternal sinner." Kaien paused, then a small vidictive smirk graced his face.

"And I would think it will be beneficial for us to hand over Shiba Kyuu to them as well. After all, his escapades are no secret from anyone." Everyone grimaced at the mention of the pathetic son of Ryuu. After the motion had passed with an ovewhelming "aye",one of the Elders, Shiba Natsumi (AN: Thanks!) asked Kaien something hesitantly.

"Lord Kaien-sama, you always opposed Elder Ryuu. Could it be that you knew of his deeds?" the Council became still at the query, and focused their attention back to Kaien once again, who had an inscrutible look on his face. Kokouto winced as he realised that Kaien was very close to cracking, if his reiatsu was anything to go by.

"Yes. I knew that Ryuu was an evil man. I knew that he needed to be thrown out of the Council, and possibly the Clan. I knew that," a look of anguish came over Kaien's face as he finally lost control of his reiatsu. In miliseconds, Ichigo was beside him, providing his brother comfort. Kaien visibly struggled to regain his control as he continued.

"I knew that he...he murdered Father...because I was there. The night Father was assasinated, he was very tired. He'd recently returned from a month long stay in Hueco Mundo. So he was an easy prey for Ryuu. I was only a recent graduate from the Academy then. I didn't have enough credentials to coonvince the Council or the C46 of Ryuu's deeds, not without solid evidence. So, I worked hard to become a stronger and more respectable as a shinigami. But it wasn't enough. I still didn't have enough evidence against Ryuu. But then along came my brother." Kaien gave Ichigo a soft smile.

"I can't say how grateful I am, otouto, that you managed to kill that bastard, and at the same time provided evidence aganist him. I was suprised that the Gates of Hell appeared, as I am not aware of Ryuu's other..ventures." The silence that Kaien's emotional outburst generated was broken by the occasional sniffle. Poor Natsumi was looking horribly guilty. Kokouto clenched his fists, his rage reappearing. That all this had happened under the nose of the Council was a wake-up call. But the Elder pulled himself together. He focused his attention towards the Heir Lord, who was comforting his older brother. Clearing his throat, Kokouto brought everyone's attention towards himself.