The Pact
folder
Bleach › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
15
Views:
3,357
Reviews:
44
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Bleach › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
15
Views:
3,357
Reviews:
44
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Into the Woods
To all those reading and reviewing, I hope you enjoy.
***
“Care to tell me exactly why you’re not going to let him take Renji? Though I can probably guess,” Nyx said, eyeing her sister suspiciously.
Amaterasu shook her head. “It isn’t why you think, Nyx. A little bit of it, yes, but not the majority.”
“Why then?”
Amaterasu looked her sister squarely in the eye before saying, “When you told me about children starving and being left to fend for themselves very young in the outer world I thought it was some kind of sick jest. I know you’d never joke about something like that but my mind refused to wrap around and accept it.”
“I can understand why you’d think that way since you’ve never really seen anything like it here.”
“I remember you said it wasn’t that way here because it was the Empress’ job to make sure everyone had a place. You said we didn’t have any children like that here because my grandmother did her job well and it was a heavy responsibility to protect those who weren’t capable of doing it themselves.”
“Yes. I take it Renji was one of the Soul Society’s throw away children.”
“He was,” Amaterasu said tightly, hands clenching into fists at her sides. “I want to protect him.”
Nyx blinked and wondered what the big redhead would think of being protected by a small woman whom he barely knew. At least in the technical sense he barely knew her. Nyx sensed that something else between them had connected, whether Renji knew it or not, it was there. It was also something she knew couldn’t be denied because she’d tried to do just that with her own connection to first her husband and now to Uryuu, oddly enough.
“I won’t give him back to them, Nyx. He’s worked so hard and they still treat him like something to be scraped off of the bottom of their shoes. I will not allow anyone to hurt him like that ever again.”
***
For Jyuushiro Ukitake it had taken years of negotiating in all kinds of odd circumstances to hide the surprise of the Amazon’s Empress elect striding into the room where he and the Council were talking, followed by the Commander of their military. Stranger still, the Empress elect was not in robes of state as would have been appropriate for a negotiation but in full military dress uniform and the fact that the wave of power coming from her was nearly enough to knock the seasoned Captain out of his seat. Oddly enough it seemed to him the energy was protective rather than truly angry and he wondered at the reasoning for it.
“Not a word,” she said as several of the Council members had started to speak. “I don’t care if you let Ichigo and Sado go with the Soul Society representative. Renji is not leaving though. Now, everybody aside from the negotiator and the other men, get out.”
At that, Ukitake’s eyebrows did go up in question as he shot Renji an inquiring look. The other man shook his head and shrugged, indicating he had no idea what was going on either.
The Council shuffled out of the room, casting their Empress elect odd looks as they passed her. Alexa had been the one glaring the hardest but it wasn’t directed at Amaterasu but at Nyx. Both of the younger women presumed it was for Nyx putting her on the floor the past night.
Desaria had leaned in to say in Jyuushiro’s ear, “It will be fine. Nyx is with her and she’s really the only one who has ever been able to control her.”
Jyuushiro nodded, turning his head to look at the Empress elect. He had been informed that she was Ryuuken Ishida’s daughter and he could certainly see the resemblance to both Ryuuken and Uryuu. After the door had been closed behind the last Council member Jyuushiro stood and bowed deeply to first Nyx then to Amaterasu.
“Your Highness, Commander, please be seated. If you would be so kind and inform me as to why you would release two people who were taken against their will but not the third. Especially when the third person is the one who has the most connection to Soul Society as a whole.”
***
“Where might we be going?” Uryuu questioned Cyan as she dragged him along a path from the sculpted gardens around the main compound and into the deeper forested areas. It seemed that he was free to wander about as long as one of the Amazon was with him and they weren’t terribly picky about which one it happened to be.
“To see if any of the trees will talk to you,” Cyan said.
“Uh, Cyan, trees don’t talk,” Uryuu said, trying to keep the amusement in his voice to a minimum. She was a child after all and her imagination probably ran to all sorts of wild things.
Like being able to gather spirit particles or fire energy arrows? A voice from no where seemed to say.
Uryuu shook his head and looked around, trying to see if anyone else had followed them into the woods. He saw nothing but varied shades of brown and green with occasional bursts of color. That had been odd.
“Sure they do. Daddy said most people don’t hear ‘em cause they don’t listen and everybody has a kind of tree that’s special to them. Mine are oak trees. Daddy’s were elder trees, he said they were part of the maple family. I think yours might be holly cause you’re kinda prickly.”
Uryuu wasn’t sure what to say to this so he didn’t say anything, just kept checking for flashes of human presence among the trees because he could have sworn they were being followed. As Cyan dragged him along the path though there was a definite change in atmosphere and pressure. He started feeling much warmer and light headed as they ventured further and further into the woods.
“I want to see the fight too but Mama said I can’t go by myself.”
“Fight? What fight?” Uryuu asked, sounding confused because he was.
Cyan smiled up at him as she suddenly stopped in front of a massive oak tree. “The Oak and Holly king.”
“Wha . . .”
Cyan put one little hand at the base of the tree’s roots, the other still holding on to Uryuu and took a deep breath.
“By my heart and by my hand, I call upon and now command, grant me blessings sacred tree and open wide the doors to me.”
Uryuu couldn’t have stopped his mouth from dropping open if he’d tried as blinding light shone in a half circle at the base of the tree. There was an audible click and the half circle slid back to reveal a door tall enough for him to walk through if he hunched down a bit. He peered into the depths of the tree and found himself looking into a clearing filled with people. He turned to ask Cyan what was going on when she grasped his hand tighter and dragged him into the oak tree.
***
“Care to tell me exactly why you’re not going to let him take Renji? Though I can probably guess,” Nyx said, eyeing her sister suspiciously.
Amaterasu shook her head. “It isn’t why you think, Nyx. A little bit of it, yes, but not the majority.”
“Why then?”
Amaterasu looked her sister squarely in the eye before saying, “When you told me about children starving and being left to fend for themselves very young in the outer world I thought it was some kind of sick jest. I know you’d never joke about something like that but my mind refused to wrap around and accept it.”
“I can understand why you’d think that way since you’ve never really seen anything like it here.”
“I remember you said it wasn’t that way here because it was the Empress’ job to make sure everyone had a place. You said we didn’t have any children like that here because my grandmother did her job well and it was a heavy responsibility to protect those who weren’t capable of doing it themselves.”
“Yes. I take it Renji was one of the Soul Society’s throw away children.”
“He was,” Amaterasu said tightly, hands clenching into fists at her sides. “I want to protect him.”
Nyx blinked and wondered what the big redhead would think of being protected by a small woman whom he barely knew. At least in the technical sense he barely knew her. Nyx sensed that something else between them had connected, whether Renji knew it or not, it was there. It was also something she knew couldn’t be denied because she’d tried to do just that with her own connection to first her husband and now to Uryuu, oddly enough.
“I won’t give him back to them, Nyx. He’s worked so hard and they still treat him like something to be scraped off of the bottom of their shoes. I will not allow anyone to hurt him like that ever again.”
***
For Jyuushiro Ukitake it had taken years of negotiating in all kinds of odd circumstances to hide the surprise of the Amazon’s Empress elect striding into the room where he and the Council were talking, followed by the Commander of their military. Stranger still, the Empress elect was not in robes of state as would have been appropriate for a negotiation but in full military dress uniform and the fact that the wave of power coming from her was nearly enough to knock the seasoned Captain out of his seat. Oddly enough it seemed to him the energy was protective rather than truly angry and he wondered at the reasoning for it.
“Not a word,” she said as several of the Council members had started to speak. “I don’t care if you let Ichigo and Sado go with the Soul Society representative. Renji is not leaving though. Now, everybody aside from the negotiator and the other men, get out.”
At that, Ukitake’s eyebrows did go up in question as he shot Renji an inquiring look. The other man shook his head and shrugged, indicating he had no idea what was going on either.
The Council shuffled out of the room, casting their Empress elect odd looks as they passed her. Alexa had been the one glaring the hardest but it wasn’t directed at Amaterasu but at Nyx. Both of the younger women presumed it was for Nyx putting her on the floor the past night.
Desaria had leaned in to say in Jyuushiro’s ear, “It will be fine. Nyx is with her and she’s really the only one who has ever been able to control her.”
Jyuushiro nodded, turning his head to look at the Empress elect. He had been informed that she was Ryuuken Ishida’s daughter and he could certainly see the resemblance to both Ryuuken and Uryuu. After the door had been closed behind the last Council member Jyuushiro stood and bowed deeply to first Nyx then to Amaterasu.
“Your Highness, Commander, please be seated. If you would be so kind and inform me as to why you would release two people who were taken against their will but not the third. Especially when the third person is the one who has the most connection to Soul Society as a whole.”
***
“Where might we be going?” Uryuu questioned Cyan as she dragged him along a path from the sculpted gardens around the main compound and into the deeper forested areas. It seemed that he was free to wander about as long as one of the Amazon was with him and they weren’t terribly picky about which one it happened to be.
“To see if any of the trees will talk to you,” Cyan said.
“Uh, Cyan, trees don’t talk,” Uryuu said, trying to keep the amusement in his voice to a minimum. She was a child after all and her imagination probably ran to all sorts of wild things.
Like being able to gather spirit particles or fire energy arrows? A voice from no where seemed to say.
Uryuu shook his head and looked around, trying to see if anyone else had followed them into the woods. He saw nothing but varied shades of brown and green with occasional bursts of color. That had been odd.
“Sure they do. Daddy said most people don’t hear ‘em cause they don’t listen and everybody has a kind of tree that’s special to them. Mine are oak trees. Daddy’s were elder trees, he said they were part of the maple family. I think yours might be holly cause you’re kinda prickly.”
Uryuu wasn’t sure what to say to this so he didn’t say anything, just kept checking for flashes of human presence among the trees because he could have sworn they were being followed. As Cyan dragged him along the path though there was a definite change in atmosphere and pressure. He started feeling much warmer and light headed as they ventured further and further into the woods.
“I want to see the fight too but Mama said I can’t go by myself.”
“Fight? What fight?” Uryuu asked, sounding confused because he was.
Cyan smiled up at him as she suddenly stopped in front of a massive oak tree. “The Oak and Holly king.”
“Wha . . .”
Cyan put one little hand at the base of the tree’s roots, the other still holding on to Uryuu and took a deep breath.
“By my heart and by my hand, I call upon and now command, grant me blessings sacred tree and open wide the doors to me.”
Uryuu couldn’t have stopped his mouth from dropping open if he’d tried as blinding light shone in a half circle at the base of the tree. There was an audible click and the half circle slid back to reveal a door tall enough for him to walk through if he hunched down a bit. He peered into the depths of the tree and found himself looking into a clearing filled with people. He turned to ask Cyan what was going on when she grasped his hand tighter and dragged him into the oak tree.