Hollow Moon: A Lost Shadow

Chapter 17: Suffocating Elegance

Sunlight beamed through the windows of the Kuchiki mansion. Inside was Rukia.

The rays pooled on the tatami mats of her spacious room, silence broken only by the ticking of an ornate clock. The mansion itself was a grand and oppressive structure that felt more like a cage than a sanctuary. It was a mocking mirror of her former freedom.

She, too, had been given a punishment. Until the case was solved, she was stripped of her Soul Reaper status and confined to these opulent halls. This enforced return to her noble roots was a constant reminder of the world she'd forfeited—a world where friends mattered more than bloodlines.

Every morning since Silas's sentence was announced, she donned traditional kimonos that felt suffocating despite their luxurious silks. She would then sit by the window, gazing out at a manicured garden that had long lost its charm.

Each carefully dressed flower petal felt like a highlight of the things she couldn't do. Banned from Soul Reaper duties and confined to the Kuchiki manor, an ache gnawed at her heart. Was it fair? Was it just? She didn't know.

Her thoughts were as heavy as the kimono weighing her down. Silas: a face that would often appear in her mind, even when she wasn't trying to think about him. Not the Silas that she thought she knew, but the one with cold, yellow eyes and a monstrous aura that seeped from his pores. She shuddered slightly at the image.

A knock startled her from her brooding. Rukia knew who it was before she even opened the door—Renji. Apart from the servants of the manor, he had been the only Soul Reaper consistently visiting her these past few days.

"Rukia," he began, his voice rough. "We need to talk about something."

Her face hardened. She wasn't in the mood for company, especially not his. His presence served as a reminder of all the mistakes she'd made. There was an awkwardness between them now, borne of shared guilt and shattered ideals.

Talk wasn't what she needed. Yet, she stepped aside, allowing him in and remained silent as he cleared his throat.

"I wanted to know about... about him," he finally managed, avoiding the name like a bad omen.

Rukia clenched her jaw. His tone held an unfamiliar note of vulnerability. Had she truly been so blinded and foolish? But even in the face of overwhelming evidence, a stubborn voice screamed in her heart that she couldn't have been so entirely deceived.

"You reported to Central 46 that he was taken over by a Hollow; is that right?"

"There's nothing left to say, Renji. What happened... That wasn't Ichigo. No, it was a Hollow..." Rukia swallowed the bitterness as she continued. "He wasn't himself."

"So that's it?" A flash of his signature fire sparked in Renji's eyes. "You're gonna brush it all off? Pretend like he didn't act the same after leaving you?"

He paced around the room, fists clenched at his sides as he said, "Just admit that he's a madman. All the people he's tricked. You're telling me you didn't see any of it?!"

Rukia finally burst. "I did see something! His eyes... were wrong." Her voice trembled, barely above Renji's. "Those weren't Ichigo's eyes!"

There it was—the shared trauma between them. Renji's face darkened, still unsure of himself.

"His eyes?" he scoffed. "Don't tell me you believe that he was possessed by a Hollow. Rukia, he killed a member of the Shihōin family! How can you still..."

He spoke again, his voice heavy with pain and accusation, saying, "Rukia, the case is still ongoing, but the evidence doesn't lie." A harsh edge crept into his tone. "He used you, Rukia. Manipulated you." Renji watched as denial battled anger across her face and continued, "That 'friend' you trusted. He lied to you. Maybe from the start. Don't tell me he ever cared..."

Those words stung. Then he brought up someone from her past, hoping that it would bring her back to her senses.

"Kaien wouldn't have wanted you to be so blind!"

The mention of Kaien's opened a past wound. It was a name spoken with such raw pain that it hurt more than any accusation. Guilt twisted Rukia's insides like there was no tomorrow.

The thing about Kaien was that he was secretly one of Rukia's crushes when she joined his squad. Mix that with the fact that he strongly resembled Ichigo; looking at Silas always reminded her of him.

Had those moments of connection, that unexpected empathy, all been a lie? Could Silas have played her so cruelly? Yet her instincts still refused to embrace this twisted vision as truth. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Get out!" her voice cracked with anguish. "Don't compare Ichigo to Kaien!" she cried, anger replacing tears. "You don't know what I've been through! You have no right to judge!"

Her outburst took Renji aback. He stared at her, hurt flickering in his eyes. In the sudden silence, he could see all too clearly how much influence Silas had on her.

During the time he had rescued Rukia, she was in so much distress that he couldn't tell what sort of pain she was suffering from. She was begging Renji to go save Silas, so he knocked her out and carried her back to the Soul Society.

"Maybe not," he said, his voice quiet now. "But I won't stand by and watch you get hurt again. He doesn't love you, so stop living in a dream."

His words, laced with truth and concern, struck her like a whip, cutting through to her fragile, desperate hope.

"Just get out!" she repeated, her voice shaking and her tears burning her eyes.

Renji hesitated, but then turned to leave. He knew he was right. Yet the only way to recover some sense for her was for the perpetrator to confess.

The shoji screen slammed shut with a jarring finality. Rukia then sank to the floor and wept.

Was she wrong? Was she living in a delusion?

Her heart ached for answers, the truth obscured by doubt and pain. The silence of her room pressed down on her, heavier than any confinement. All she had left was the hairpin in her pockets and the question of who put it there.