My dearest…
I am losing this battle before I begin. There is no easy way to say this, and I shall not take recourse to long and pointless statements like so many others around me.
Rukia is in prison. I put her there. I had no choice.
She is in the holding cell within the 6th division barracks which was the most I could do after I brought her back. Central 46 will likely declare her execution in 36 days. She has been found guilty of the crimes she was accused of. Rukia Kuchiki has indeed transferred the powers of a Shinigami into a mortal's soul. I saw it myself and I cannot lie. The Onmitsukido’s reports were accurate.
I believe I know why Rukia acted recklessly and violated this law no Shinigami ever must. I saw the boy, Hisana. He looks like her dead superior Kaien Shiba. The resemblance is there. And she begged for his life… Even after I severed his soul body's vitals, she stepped in to request that I stay his execution. I acceded to her request and left him there. I could have finished him with the snap of a finger. But I saw in her eyes that which I saw years ago the night Shiba died: grief and guilt. She professed both as she held herself responsible for the boy’s plight. She wished he would live a moment longer, should that be possible. For her sake, I left the boy there, where he would likely perish without further help from me in that regard. In the unlikely event that he should survive, he would no longer have the powers he received from Rukia, and that would have to do. It seemed to be the only thing I could give her, that leniency.
I cannot appeal against a ruling from the Central 46. Sympathy for relatives is not befitting a Shinigami, let alone a squad captain. Even if I wish to help her, my hands are tied… I swore on my parents' grave that I would never again break a law, that bringing her home would be the last time I broke any rule, law or custom.
What do I do now, Hisana… So desperate was I to bring to fruition whatever you asked of me, that I made two promises I never should have… for in keeping one, I break the other. I cannot save her without breaking the vow I made to my parents, and I cannot honor that promise without breaking the one I gave you…What do I do…
YOU ARE READING
Byakuya's diary: notes to Hisana
FanfictionJust as Byakuya Kuchiki talks to his late wife Hisana's photograph, he writes to her... moments of peace and calm, which feels much the same to him as conversing with that beloved image at her shrine. - My interpretation of Byakuya's actions, though...
