Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Living Realm (1)
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
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AN: This chapter took longer than I expected to make, ended up rewriting it twice so I apologize for the delay. But truthfully I'd rather spend more time on quality instead of quantity so there's a chance it'll happen again.
Anyhow I hope you find this mini-arc enjoyable, I was thinking maybe 3-4 chapters but we'll see. Also I've been addicting to nuzlocking (I'm playing a shit ton of Pokemon for short) so that might also be why chapters are taking longer…😅
Chapter 29: Living Realm (1)
Stood within the courtyard atop a large tower, he found himself at the behest of a towering coral-stained gate with golden pattering down its middle. Of course, he couldn't actually perceive such details but at the very least its size didn't need to be brought into question.
At each side of the structure were figures donning white face-coverings that only left small slits for them to see through, they were the members of the recently founded Kidō Corps, responsible for the facilitation of all Shinigami who used the transport-medium.
Or to be specific, the Senkaimon. The sole bridge connecting Soul Society and the living realm.
'She seems to be doing just fine, not that I should've been worried in the first place. Hopefully things stay that way, having all my excitement quashed is probably the last thing I need right now…'
His deliberating was quickly interrupted by the sensation of someone grabbing his hand and gently lifting it upwards, before he could question her actions his attention was caught by the sound of fluttering slowly approaching him.
"Stay still" An obsidian-colored butterfly with violet wings gracefully landed its toothpick-like feet on his hand, though it didn't seem like much at first glance they were undoubtedly a crucial tool for Shinigami to have.
Hell Butterflies made transportation through the Senkaimon substantially easier, preventing Shinigami from having to cross through the treacherous Dangai during their passage to the living world.
Furthermore, they also assisted with relaying messages from one person to another, making orders and important information a lot easier to distribute.
Through his eyes, they merely looked like a small cluster of onyx flames kindling on the brunt of his skin. Out of curiosity, he languidly began to raise his off-hand towards the critter in an attempt to interact with it.
"Stop that, just let them do their job" With a tinge of disappointment, he reluctantly put his hand back down and settled with admiring the specimen from a distance.
"Heh" Shunsui couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, it was like watching a mother scold their unruly child. Except both the mother and the child were capable of turning him into mince-meat.
"If you want I can take you to where they breed them once we return, it's a pretty interesting process" The job of tending to Hell Butterflies were usually left for "less successful" Shinigami to deal with, but Shunsui enjoyed spending some time every now and then watching them in their observatories to pass the hours.
"I'll take you up on that" The Kidō Corps personnel each formed a seal with their hands, causing the gate to pry itself open as a blinding light was revealed from within.
"Enough dawdling, I'm busy so I'd rather we get this over with quickly" They each followed behind the Captain, to which Unohana shot a brief glance of discontent towards Koda.
"Are you being purposefully dense?" Shunsui remarked, nudging the man with his shoulder until he got the message. Koda turned to him with evident confusion, wondering why Shunsui was pushing him for no apparent reason.
Well aware that he wasn't able to make out expressions, Shunsui grabbed Koda's head with his hands, snapping it towards Unohana hoping that he would finally take a hint.
"Oh.." He walked up next to her, causing the Captain's expression to immediately lighten as she smoothly interlocked her arms with his.
"What's the matter? You said it yourself, I'm the only woman in your life" She followed with a coy giggle, clearly aware of what she was doing.
'I'm pretty sure that's not what I said…'
——
The streets were bustling as per usual, flooded with hopeful traders, vagabonds in search of employment and shopkeepers completely occupied with keeping their stomachs full. The populace surrounding the Himeji Castle were relatively well looked after, lavish goods and fine silks weren't exactly easy to come by but staying afloat wasn't all that hard.
Of course, you had to work for it. The culture in the area put heavy emphasis on earning your keep, those who didn't work, didn't eat. A good philosophy for preventing stagnation as a result of sloth.
Most of their values were formed by virtue of Ikeda Terumasa, a man who had been awarded the place thanks to his contributions in battle. A place that had been built on top of countless corpses who had once waged war in an attempt to overrun it, a place where even those still among the living had to fight everyday to keep the memories of flames, arrows and swords clashing against each other from getting the better of them.
Even the Daimyō himself was no exception, his insistence on remaining on the forefront of the battlefield rather than a war-table at the back had him witness all of the horror with his own eyes, something he convinced himself he would eventually get used to.
But of course, war was never that simple. The guilt of having what felt like an endless river of blood on his hands drove him to the brink of collapse every day, without fail.
Deep down he knew that the prosperity of this town was merely a mask for the pain and suffering it had brought to so many people, both living and dead. With such anguish tormenting the consciousness of his people, the mere mention of war was enough to cause even those some would consider "honor-bound" to contemplate whether they were better off with an early grave, one that would be granted not by the blade of another.
This darkness both attracted those blinded by greed whom sought to take advantage of their angst, and those who sought to consume it.
Terumasa meekly sat at his desk, robotically scanning over mountains of paperwork as he continued to defend his land from famine, poverty and most importantly— conflict. He could feel the weight of his eyelids falling down on him, his mind wanting nothing more than to rest.
But his heart wouldn't allow it, for too many years had he been complacent with shedding blood in the name of peace, but in his advanced age he knew better than to let himself succumb to such an excuse.
If keeping his residents safe required him to fight with a brush rather than a sword then so be it, he would learn each and every abstract skill he needed to be the greatest brush wielder in all the land.
No sacrifice was too large if it could avoid death.
All of a sudden his brush-stroke had gone awry, disturbed by an abrupt rumbling sensation that seemed to originate from the roof of his residence.
"For fuck sakes…" He wearily hauled himself to his feet, marching towards his balcony with his blade in hand, ready to confront whichever hooligan had so foolishly attempted to plunder his own house.
"Huh?" But he couldn't see anyone, not to mention that the rumbling had stopped seemingly out of nowhere.
"Is my fatigue finally getting the better of me? Or perhaps my age?" He scratched the back of his neck unsure what to make of the situation, ultimately settling on attributing it to mere lethargy.
He returned to his study, crumpling up the ruined document and tossing it aside as he prepared a fresh sheet for him to work on.
But once again, his duties were interrupted not by a rumbling sensation, but the sound of someone knocking at his door before dawn had even broken.
"Come in" He responded with a tinge of venom in his voice, a visitor was the last thing he needed whilst on the brink of collapse.
A woman with silk raven hair and fair skin entered through the doorway, wearing an alluring Kimono with rose-shaped patterns plastered all over its surface.
His wife, Ikeda Tsukiyama.
"You're still awake?" Her voice was laced with obvious concern, she wasn't ignorant enough to not be aware of how little sleep her own husband was getting. The worst part was she couldn't even bring herself to ask him to stop upon knowing how necessary his work was for their people, moreover how insulting doing such a thing would be.
"Yeah, just dealing with a few reforms here and there, you know how whimsical Oda can be with his legislature…" He didn't take kindly to the fact that he wasn't able to spend much time with his own wife nor his children thanks to his position, but that was the burden of leadership he had to bear.
"Curse that man, you should let me meet him so I can give him a piece of my mind!" The two of them were able to share a brief chortle thanks to her obvious banter, it was at times like this that he wondered how he managed to end up with such a phenomenal woman.
"Haha, I'll be sure to keep that in mind. How's Nobuyasu doing?" His eldest son had always been the brightest, with excellent grades, phenomenal swordplay and a keen business mind. It was thanks to him that he never had to worry about who would succeed his position once his time had come.
"As usual I can't figure out what's truly going on in that mind of his, still insisting on the battlefield rather than taking up office…" She hated the thought of her own flesh and blood being exposed to such brutality, god forbid he ever— no, she couldn't let herself think that.
"I wasn't much different in my youth, but it's only now that I understand why my father was so insistent on keeping me at home. But as much as I want to stop him, keeping him contained is probably the worst thing we can do for his health…" He shared in his wife's lament, but having been in the exact same situation as his son all those years ago he understood what he was going through.
If his son desired the battlefield, if he wished to truly see for himself how unforgiving being a leader was then it was his job as both a parent and a leader to give him that opportunity.
"Now that, I don't doubt. But he should still come visit every now and then, no?" Terumasa could only shake his head helplessly, there's only two possibilities that await one when they first step onto the battlefield, specifically as a leader.
They'll either come to terms with the pressure and learn to make it their own. Or they'll crumble under it, retreating under the umbrella of cowardice or scurrying from the battlefield itself. He had a hunch regarding which path his son would follow.
"Under all that arrogance we both know his heart lies with his people, for better or worse he has inherited my duty-driven personality. But he won't have to bear his responsibility alone, at least not yet" She nodded affirmingly, their son was a prodigy there was no questioning that.
But without proper guidance, all his potential would go to waste. He was a diamond in the rough, and they would do everything in their power to polish him.
Neither of them would be able to support him forever, all they could do was make sure he was as prepared as possible when his time came to inherit the title.
"That's true, anyways did you also notice the trembling earlier?"
"You felt it?" She nodded as his worry heightened, he wasn't imagining things after all.
"I thought it was a burglar, but when I went to the balcony to check there was no-one. Maybe there's a faulty pillar somewhere around the house?" It was possible that rather than a third-party being responsible, it was the structural integrity that was at fault.
"I doubt it, didn't we just get everything polished last week?"
"They could've missed something. But I'll check with the Kurokuwa later to be safe" Content with his response, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and left him to work undisturbed.
"Who would've thought a human could have such bountiful Reiryoku? And who said good things never came easy?"
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