novelraw Chapter 399 Sokyoko
Chapter 399 Sokyoko
When Gin asks her what is wrong and observes that she seems distracted, a sweating Rukia apologizes, the anxiety thick in her voice.
Suddenly, Gin observes that 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai does not seem to be dead yet, startling Rukia, who realizes that she can indeed sense Renji's Reiatsu, though it is weak, a fading pulse in the distance.
When Gin notes that he will be dead soon, Rukia looks at him in shock, and as Gin expresses sympathy for Renji since he was only trying to save her, Rukia demands that he not speak of Renji so lightly.
Gin asks Rukia if she is afraid, stunning her, and points out how she does not want Renji and the others to die before elaborating how she must not want to die now that she is thinking about the possibility of her loved ones dying, leaving Rukia speechless, the truth of his words a bitter taste.
Amused by this, Gin offers to save Rukia, to the shock of both her and the Kido Corps members, and approaches her while observing he could save her and her friends this instant if he wanted to.
However, as an initially incredulous Rukia begins to believe he may mean it even though he has no reason to save any of them, Gin rests his hand on her head, a cold, dry touch, and reveals he was just kidding, leaving Rukia speechless while her eyes widen in horror and disbelief.
With Gin bidding her farewell and promising to see her at the Sokyoku, Rukia notes she thought she had given up hope and lost all reason to live, with no regrets and no fear of death, but was shaken by having hope dangled in front of her.
Concluding with horror that Gin made her want to live and made her resolve crumble, Rukia falls to her knees and screams in despair, the sound raw and broken, while Gin smiles maliciously behind her.
While Gin didn't know someone unknown to him was paying attention to them since the beginning of his arrival,
'These villains in the animes are really unpredictable; you can't guess their motives from their actions. Anyway, he will die even if he became a good person in the end, because he was there when Aizen attacked me. I like revenge stories the most.'
Eero thought to himself, his purple-gold eyes coolly assessing, looking at the Gin back and then glanced at the Rukia kneeling and crying.
…
After a while,
On Sokyoku Hill, the execution platform stood stark and high beneath a vast sky. Captain-Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto stands before Rukia with his lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe, and declares in a booming voice that they will now begin the execution.
While Rukia looks up at the towering Sokyoku, 2nd Division Captain Sui-Feng stands with her lieutenant, Marechiyo Omaeda, and observes that very few people have shown up for this, to Marechiyo's confusion.
Sui-Feng points out how the only divisions with both their captain and lieutenant in attendance are the First Division, Second Division, and Eighth Division, with Shunsui Kyoraku and Nanao Ise standing nearby next to 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu, and admits that the Fifth Division, Eleventh Division, and Twelfth Division not being present makes sense before questioning where the rest of them are, with even Unohana being absent.
Suddenly, Sui-Feng is surprised to see 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki arriving at the ceremony, his presence commanding, and as a stunned Rukia addresses him, her voice barely a whisper, Byakuya looks away and joins the other Shinigami.
While Rukia looks down in dismay, accepting his rejection, Yamamoto inquires if she has any last words, which Rukia confirms that she does after some contemplation, her resolve finally settled.
After hearing her request, Captain-Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto stands before the Sokyoku and agrees to Rukia Kuchiki's request to allow the Ryoka to return home unharmed after the execution concludes, to Rukia's relief, a small, weary hope flickering to life.
However, 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu considers this cruel because Yamamoto has no intention of sparing them; the promise is a psychological trick.
Standing beside Isane, her captain, Retsu Unohana, clarifies that this is kindness rather than cruelty, and as a surprised Isane wonders where she has been, her eyes scanning the crowd,
Unohana explains that the least they can do is ease Rukia's worries and give her peace of mind if execution is her unavoidable fate.
In front of the captains and lieutenants, several members of the Kido Corps approach and surround the Sokyoku before making multiple hand seals in front of short pillars on the ground, chanting softly. This causes the energy around the Sokyoku to blast into the sky and concentrate around the short pillars of the Kido Corps when Yamamoto commands them to release it.
Suddenly, the thick, heavy ropes binding the Sokyoku begin snapping at the base and whirling around the Sokyoku, with members of the Fourth Division observing this means the Sokyoku is being unbound, before flying off the Sokyoku and becoming completely rigid and straight as they embed themselves in the ground below Sokyoku Hill with a heavy thud.
Rukia looks up at the Sokyoku and notes her heart is regaining some peace despite 3rd Division Captain Gin Ichimaru sending it into turmoil earlier, which she initially assumes is due to Yamamoto's promise, only to attribute it to her brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, not even looking at her while she was trying to think of a way to survive... his coldness finally giving her strength.
As she looks over the assembled captains and lieutenants, the fear now muted, Rukia thanks Byakuya in a silent prayer.
Suddenly, three medium-size cubes rise from the platform underneath Rukia's feet, cold and metallic, and as the cord binding her arms behind her back dissolves, Rukia finds the cubes splaying her arms outward on either side and locking her legs together by hovering in front of them before ascending toward the top of the execution scaffold with her frozen in place, a perfect, desolate target, looking at those assembled below.
When her captain, Shunsui Kyoraku, requests that she not look so sad about this because she is making him feel bad, his voice gentle and melancholy, 8th Division Lieutenant Nanao Ise clarifies that it is not sadness she is feeling, but a profound, unnerving resignation.
...
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