Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ 30Kisses ❯ Prison ( Chapter 25 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Someone had once told her white was the color of hope.
Rukia knew better now.
White was potential, the infinite. Exactly, she would have said, the infinite nothing. Endless possibility, the infinite distance that dwindled to a single point. No matter what happened or where she turned, all she found was white.
At least in the darkness, she would have had hope of light. Here, nothing ever changed.
No hope of rescue either. Once before, she had handed herself over to save the person who would grow to return the favor. Not this time. No one would break those endless white walls, no one would stain (black and red and navy and orange) her immaculate prison.
Rukia looked down at her sleeve, then laughed. Sode no Shirayuki, where are you? But no, not even her zanpakutou had been this pure, this empty. The yuki-onna had been made up of pastel shades, pink, blue and lavender, only white compared to the stained world she existed in. There was no room for her here; no matter how Rukia screamed, her sword could not respond.
Not that it mattered. The white simply swallowed her screams into its vast silence.
Only one other thing existed in this infinite space.
Her jailer.
****
"Rukia, are you alright?" Grey eyes conveyed the worry that Byakuya kept off his face.
"Niisama," she turned and smiled that diamond-bright smile at him. "I'm perfectly fine. And you shouldn't be here. It's bad luck if the groom sees the bride in her wedding gown before the wedding."
"I couldn't wait." he admitted, delighting in how the top layer of her kimonos blended nearly perfectly with her skin. "And you can't call me that after today."
"Of course," a gentle tilt of her head. "Byakuya-sama." Her eyes were a bit vague, but he dismissed it as nerves. Kami-sama knows, he had spent most of last night awake, tossing and turning in anticipation. He drew her in to an embrace. "You look so much like your sister."
"Thank you, Byakuya-sama. I shall strive to live up to her example."
He spared her one of his rare smiles, then leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "I'm sure we'll be very happy."
The ceremony was less than an hour away, so he left her then, in that bright room where the sun reflected of the mirrors and made her shine like a pearl. He passed Renji, looking pale in his dark hakama and haori, and offered him a nod. His lieutenant returned the gesture, but without any grace or enthusiasm. Byakuya gave a quick glance at the other wedding guests, including the ryoka, who he had invited on Rukia's behalf. Yes, everything would go perfectly today.
Rukia knew better now.
White was potential, the infinite. Exactly, she would have said, the infinite nothing. Endless possibility, the infinite distance that dwindled to a single point. No matter what happened or where she turned, all she found was white.
At least in the darkness, she would have had hope of light. Here, nothing ever changed.
No hope of rescue either. Once before, she had handed herself over to save the person who would grow to return the favor. Not this time. No one would break those endless white walls, no one would stain (black and red and navy and orange) her immaculate prison.
Rukia looked down at her sleeve, then laughed. Sode no Shirayuki, where are you? But no, not even her zanpakutou had been this pure, this empty. The yuki-onna had been made up of pastel shades, pink, blue and lavender, only white compared to the stained world she existed in. There was no room for her here; no matter how Rukia screamed, her sword could not respond.
Not that it mattered. The white simply swallowed her screams into its vast silence.
Only one other thing existed in this infinite space.
Her jailer.
****
"Rukia, are you alright?" Grey eyes conveyed the worry that Byakuya kept off his face.
"Niisama," she turned and smiled that diamond-bright smile at him. "I'm perfectly fine. And you shouldn't be here. It's bad luck if the groom sees the bride in her wedding gown before the wedding."
"I couldn't wait." he admitted, delighting in how the top layer of her kimonos blended nearly perfectly with her skin. "And you can't call me that after today."
"Of course," a gentle tilt of her head. "Byakuya-sama." Her eyes were a bit vague, but he dismissed it as nerves. Kami-sama knows, he had spent most of last night awake, tossing and turning in anticipation. He drew her in to an embrace. "You look so much like your sister."
"Thank you, Byakuya-sama. I shall strive to live up to her example."
He spared her one of his rare smiles, then leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "I'm sure we'll be very happy."
The ceremony was less than an hour away, so he left her then, in that bright room where the sun reflected of the mirrors and made her shine like a pearl. He passed Renji, looking pale in his dark hakama and haori, and offered him a nod. His lieutenant returned the gesture, but without any grace or enthusiasm. Byakuya gave a quick glance at the other wedding guests, including the ryoka, who he had invited on Rukia's behalf. Yes, everything would go perfectly today.