The Fortress
by Spunky0ne
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"What can I do, Naoki?" Tetsuya whispered in a terrified voice, clinging to the other young prisoner and quivering as heavy footteps approached their cell, "They are coming for me!"
His cellmate's cold hands held him tightly, and the older boy's lips touched the younger boy's ear, the words he breathed carrying the courage Tetsuya needed desperately.
"Shh, it's all right. You will be all right. You will come back to me by morning, my friend. Close your eyes, close your mind...and make your heart a fortress that won't ever let them in."
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Chapter 1: Rain
The first thing the returned to Tetsuya's awareness was the rain. Small, fast droplets fell down from the sky, making his wounds sting as they rolled down his body, washing away the blood that had stained his pale skin. He still tasted it in his mouth, but as the rain continued to fall, he captured some of the droplets that had dribbled down his soft cheek, collecting them until he could use them to expel the unpleasant fluid and freshen his mouth slightly.
After a time, he could move his heavy eyelids enough to crack them open. The rain invaded, making them burn and leak fitfully, but he could see that night had fallen and that the collapsed and lifeless body of his quincy opponent still laid where it had fallen at the end of their long, drawn out battle.
The quincies were horribly strong...their hearts poisoned by that awful man. I felt it when that man left existence. I think it rains everywhere now to wash his wickedness away. What price we pay for that is a smaller thing when set against that fact. The only way our worlds could be saved was with his death...and now the worlds cry with relief that he is gone.
Tetsuya's vision blurred again, and his eyelids felt too weighted, so he closed them again and began a slow inward assessment of his condition. He felt a cold chill in his belly as, one by one, he sent a flicker of his reiatsu into each of the seven centers through which his power normally flowed, and he received not even a flutter of reaction.
They were badly shocked in the final moments, when the quincy unleashed his full power and I was forced to join with Arashi to unleash my own full potential. Yes, invoking that power now, while I am as yet not transcended, requires a sacrifice. I will lose consciousness again soon and, if when I wake again...if I wake again, I will be powerless for a time.
I have never dared use that power outside of my inner world for that reason.
I wonder how long it will be until I can hear Arashi's voice inside me again. It's so strange not feeling that connection with him.
He envisioned the lovely black Arabian stallion in his mind and conjured the memory of his wispy, soothing voice to comfort himself.
Arashi will be back, he reminded himself, as long as I survive.
He knew he wasn't out of danger yet. He laid on the hard, wet ground in a secluded area, just short of the barrier that protected the heart of the Kuchiki family...the innocent men, women and children not strong enough to defend themselves from the quincy aggressors, and so had been protected in that place by the power of the ones like Tetsuya, who could fight for them. He still sensed that the barrier was intact and that gave him a feeling of hope and pride that whatever his eventual fate, he had done what was most important. Those lives that depended on him were still safe.
And now that Ywach had been cast down, they would soon emerge and go back to the wreckage that had once been their homes. It would be a very long time, he knew, before the grand homes and lovely, fragrant gardens were restored. But the noble families, wiser for having their very lives in danger of being taken away from them, were that much wiser that they knew to be thankful and to accept their reduced circumstances gracefully.
Just as I will gracefully accept the weakness and long loss of my powers, the slow period of recovery that is the price for putting everything on the line to perform the most sacred of my tasks. They are safe, and I can feel that Byakuya-sama is still alive. All is well. I can rest peacefully now.
There was a lingering danger of being found by a remaining enemy, of course. But as he couldn't move, there was little point in worrying about the possibility. He accepted that his fate was, at the moment, in other hands and all he could do for himself was to rest quietly and conserve what strength he had, so that when help reached him, he would be salvageable.
The rain softened and caressed him more gently as it fell, and Tetsuya couldn't repress a grim smile at the irony of just how swiftly he could have transported himself to a safer place if even a bit of his power had remained so that he could invoke his shikai. For when the rain fell, he could transform his body into a waterform copy, then shift his being to anywhere he had one already formed. And there was one within the barrier he laid outside of...one secreted in his chamber for just that reason. Even without rainfall, he could have made a waterform to use for the shift. Rain just made it easier in that it required less reiatsu. But when none was flowing, it rendered all thought of that useless.
A low rumble of thunder teased him out of his thoughts as the rain thickened and poured down more heavily. He didn't worry, even when the ground became soggy with it, and it began to run along the path he laid on. Although he felt the uncomfortable cold, he wouldn't freeze to death. And even if the water became deeper and covered him, he wouldn't drown.
No, water is a friendly thing to me. And now, after everything, it comforts me. It soothes and caresses me to remind me that I still live. It gives me hope that I will be found soon and taken home to be healed.
Yes, the rain is a good thing.
The footsteps he began to hear were another matter.
They rose very slowly over the sound of the rain as someone approached him. They were calm and steady at first, but slowed and then stopped as the other reached him. Tetsuya was careful to give no sign that he still lived. He took only the barest of breaths, then stopped breathing as the person knelt beside him and checked briefly for a pulse. He felt the person's eyes observing him and peeked up through his barely opened eyes.
Shock flooded Tetsuya's slender body and a shiver ran down his spine as he took in the man's handsome, solemn countenance. He knew well the shape of that man's face, the dark hair and the misbehaving strand that snaked down the middle of his forehead. He knew those wickedly beautiful eyes, even in the darkness, and he knew that darkness was where that man belonged. He knew he must have made a sound because the man smiled down at him. There was an icy coldness in that smile, and Tetsuya could feel the swift approach of impending death.
"Ah, you have not seen my shikai and I was careless enough to let you see me. That...is unfortunate for you, my lovely young friend. You leave me with little choice. But don't worry, I won't let you suffer."
Power flared around the man's hands and Tetsuya's eyes were mercifully blinded by the sudden brightness. There was some comfort in not being able to see the end coming. He conjured a final, happy image of Kuchiki Manor rebuilt, her beautiful gardens restored, and Byakuya returned to the manor and walking peacefully in those gardens. He wasn't even terribly sad he wouldn't be there as well. For Tetsuya, it was enough to have protected that reality.
As he succumbed to unconsciousness again, he felt no fear in his heart. It was still that fortress that his former cellmate, Naoki had helped him to build.
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Aizen Sousuke paused for a moment as the light around his hands fully illuminated the face and body of the lovely, if battered young shinigami he knelt over. He was certain that he had seen that young man's comely face before.
In passing, perhaps, but where?
He looks like one of the nobles...a Kuchiki maybe? He is too young yet to serve as one of their elders. But I know I have seen him somewhere.
He rolled the man onto his back and studied him more closely. His fingertips found a charm at the young man's throat and he illuminated the area again to examine it.
A Celtic moon and moonstone. Expensive. It was a gift from someone close to him. He has worn it for a long time and probably only removes it to clean it.
He reached down to touch the hilt of the broken sword that laid beside the man.
A respectable blade that has recently been broken, but not by the enemy. No, he thought, studying the weapon more closely, not broken...sacrificed...likely to gain a higher power.
Fascinating.
This is someone of consequence then.
He lifted the young man's wrist to check his pulse again, and then frowned, staring and bringing it into the brighter light.
A seal?
No, a crest.
Interesting...This is Byakuya's personal crest. He must be the one who gave this man the charm, then...a birthday gift, or for a promotion.
But no...if he had been amongst the ranks of the Gotei 13, he would have been someone I would have investigated long ago. And I would remember him. Someone like this? Yes, I would remember him if I had known of his powers and researched them to make sure he was not a threat.
There were some who I could not find information on, some that certain people were careful not to expose, even though they didn't suspect me at the time.
Ah, yes, I remember now. This young man...is Byakuya's bodyguard. Rarely ever seen, but always close to him. And that dead enemy bears out the proof of this one's ability, though I sense no power at all within him now.
Byakuya's bodyguard.
Respectably powerd.
Facing a more powerful enemy.
And forced to make a sacrifice to win.
"You did well," he complimented the collapsed noble, "And it would be the honorable thing to do to send you into death respectfully, but...you have piqued my interest. That is a dubious honor, young Kuchiki. And I am a less than honorable man. I wonder if you will appreciate waking to find I have spared your life. I strongly doubt it. So...I must do something to make sure you don't act unwisely. What do you think that will be?"
He touched the noble's face lightly and sent his reiatsu seeping into his body, confusing his senses, then taking him into a deeper, more restorative sleep.
"You see, my young friend," he explained to the senseless shinigami, "even though you have not seen my shikai, my ability to confuse your senses still works, provided that it is relayed directly through touch and infusion. I control your senses now. That should cure you of any thoughts of escape. Now I can examine you at my leisure, and I can see what purpose you might serve."
His lips smirking, he leaned over Tetsuya and lifted him carefully, then looked around briefly before opening a garganta. Seeing the way was clear, he stepped into the dark cavern and moved swiftly through the blackness, his feet providing an illuminating trail of reiatsu as he strode forward. He continued to scan the area cautiously, but found no sign of enemies until he exited the cavern and dropped down into Hueco Mundo. His steps quickened as he spotted the ruins of Las Noches and moved in that direction. He silently congratulated himself on having hidden the fact that, despite the outward appearance of the place, all of the chambers he had deemed useful had been carefully concealed and protected before their leaving. And indeed, as he passed through the courtyard and entered the fortress, he sensed the still present illusions that guarded those places, keeping hollows and searching shinigamis alike from finding anything that might have been useful or worth stealing. And while it did have a lonelier feel without Gin and Tousen at his side, he wasn't exactly alone.
He looked down at his unconscious captive, trying again to remember where he had caught sight of the man. It came back to him then, that he had only ever caught short glimpses. The noble was very good, it seemed, at hiding himself.
Reaching the living quarters, Aizen passed through a illusionary wall and moved down a long, silent hallway, lighting the kido lights along the way. He reached the door to his quarters and paused, scanning cautiously. It wouldn't have been unlike Gin at all to leave him a parting gift.
The thought of Gin put a somewhat sad, thoughtful smile on his face.
It is too bad that you proved to be as treacherous as I always thought you were. You were an engaging partner and a wonderful lover. I do miss you dreadfully. But, he mused, looking down at Tetsuya's smudged, but comely face, Isn't it said in the living world that where a door closes, a window opens? And although I grieve that you have left me, you see I am not alone anymore. I have someone new to explore, though I think he will be more resistant to me than you were. But resistance provides a pretty spark, doesn't it? And as the barriers fall, it is good to always be sure that we both know exactly where we stand. Not that I think this young man will be as treacherous as you, but you did teach me to use a measure of caution. Ah, but we must get comfortable. Ours has been a long, difficult journey, has it not, my young Kuchiki?
He sensed the way was safe and opened the door to his room, which looked as it had the day he had left, the bed neatly made, everything in fastidious order and nothing touched that shouldn't have been.
He carried the unconscious noble to the bed and laid him down carefully, then took his time undressing him. He had to smile at the perfect curves and soft expanses of pale flesh. His scent, too, was lightly sweet and pleasant. But looking and touching made a strong reaction in his long neglected body and, one of his few moral standards being that he was not the kind to take advantage of an unconscious victim, he focused instead on healing the noble's physical wounds, at the same time, giving closer attention to the man's curiously unresponsive spirit centers.
"It will be a shame if you are damaged beyond healing," he said quietly, "But, having gone to the trouble of saving your life, I could always make a servant of you, in that case. You do, after all, owe me for taking you up before an enemy found and dispatched you, as well as the trouble of carrying you all of the way here and healing and bathing you."
He laughed softly to himself as he lifted Tetsuya again and carried him out of the room and down the hallway to the large indoor bathing room. He checked briefly to be certain that the water in the huge bathing pool was still clean and warm, then he carried Tetsuya down into it and proceeded to the one of the soaking areas, where he carefully washed away the dirt and grime that had tarnished his captive's fine skin. He was almost sorry for doing so, as Tetsuya became even more lovely and tempting, suspended upon water, with his long, wavy strands of raven black hair swirling around his head. He was so much so that Aizen found himself second guessing his decision to rescue the young man, rather than ending his life. In his distraction, he allowed Tetsuya to slip down beneath the surface, then he stopped and stared in surprise as the noble continued to breathe, as if still taking in air. He watched to be sure, then brought the young man back to the surface, smiling in approval.
"I see. You wield an elemental water zanpakuto then, ne? And this...is a natural ability that requires no effort, but is a protection that your ability grants you. Interesting. My friend, you become more interesting by the moment. I am not displeased."
He released Tetsuya to drift in the soaking pool and rose, himself, to walk out to the warm waterfall, where he indulged in the first hot shower he had enjoyed since leaving the ruins of the Central 46 prison. And as the dirt and muck ran down into the pool, he breathed in deeply, beginning to finally leave the days of his unpleasant incarceration behind.
Yes, there is a future again. Not that it eluded me completely before. The hogyoku ensured that my life could not be ended. And even though it refuses to obey my commands, it still protects me. Protected and tucked away here, I will pick up the pieces and continue. He was distracted for a moment by the enjoyable sight of Tetsuya's handsome, naked body floating aimlessly around the soaking area.
I wonder now what this new fate holds for me. Can you tell me that, lovely Kuchiki?