Shattered Moon Part 16: Frozen Tears
(I know I haven't finished The Rift and I promise to continue that and the other Shattered Moon stories, but just wanted to give readers the first taste of the next installment in honor of Tetsuya's upcoming birthday! This is the lead off for Tetsuya Kuchiki's birthday month and the beginning of a rainfall of lovely, widened blue eyed loving fun! Yes, Tetsuya is making his debut in the Shattered Moon series, complete with equine partner Arashi. Enjoy and please review! Love you all, Spunky)
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Chapter 1: The Lost Soul
A lovely black hell butterfly flitted along over the rugged foothills, just to the east of Kuchiki Manor as the sun was setting. It floated up over a small stand of trees and found Takeo Abarai-Kuchiki, where he stood, studying an oddity in the reiatsu that had brought him out to the deserted area.
"Captain Abarai," Momo's sweet voice said, rising up out of the hovering creature, "We have completed our investigation and have found no sign of whatever was causing the earlier reiatsu fluctuations. We are on our way to you."
"Hmmm," Takeo murmured, only half listening.
He studied the landscape around him, his red-brown eyes scanning for the presence he had felt only moments before.
"Where did you go?" he whispered, looking left, then right, then moving towards a cluster of rocks ahead of him.
As he approached the rocks, a high pitched, frightened sounding squeal rose up ahead of him, and he stopped and stared, his hand on his zanpakutou as a tall black Arabian stallion burst out from behind the rocks, raced towards him, then slid to a stop, snorting nervously and showing the whites of his lovely, wide sapphire blue eyes.
"Whoa," Takeo said soothingly, "Easy there. I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me."
He smiled at the stallion as he stood, tilting his ears towards the young captain.
"Ah, you are an intelligent creature, ne? You know a friendly soul when you see one?" he added, "I don't suppose you could help me find the source of the disturbance around here, eh?"
Please, help us!
Takeo stiffened, his eyes blinking in surprise and a curious expression coming onto his face. He stood still, looking into the pretty beast's blue eyes.
"Okay, this is going to sound a little strange," he muttered, loud enough so that the horse could hear, "but...did you speak to me?"
You hear me?
"Erm..." Takeo said, looking perplexed, "I heard something. Either you're somehow communicating by speaking into my mind, or I've been spending too many nights helping my father transcribe those old myths in the family archive. This is really weird, but I'm under orders to find out what's going on here, so I'm gonna go out on a limb here and just ask you. Who are you? Where did you come from? Do you know what is causing those reiatsu disturbances?"
The stallion gazed at him quizzically for a moment, then let out a shuddering sigh.
You can hear me! Thank kami! I am Arashi. I do not know where I came from, but we need your help! We are trapped!
"Ah...o-kay," Takeo answered, looking around, "Who's 'we'? Were you with someone? You say that person is trapped. Can you show me where?"
In the prison. We are in Itamigiri!
Takeo's eyes widened at the name, his lips frowning and his mind wheeling back to his work in the archive, to the clan leader diaries and the old stories of the illegal noble prisons said to have housed nobles of mixed blood.
"Itamigiri?" he repeated, stepping closer to the stallion and studying him more closely. He saw then the more ghostly nature of the beast, the way that, even though he stood close by, his reiatsu was hard to sense and he looked slightly blurred around the edges
"You don't look like a normal spirit steed," he mused, "What are you?"
Please...please help us. We are trapped!
"I understand," Takeo said, looking more calmly into the stallion's eyes and sensing his distress, "I will help you. Take me to where your friend is trapped."
He made a sound of surprise as the horse's head dipped and the beast's velvety muzzle tickled his cheek.
Thank you. We are grateful. We have been trapped for a long time.
"All right, then," Takeo sighed, steadying, "I'm not crazy. This horse is talking to me. And someone is..."
He paused, remembering his careful training.
"You don't want to get hasty. Remember that, kid. Think things through before you act and always have someone watch your back."
"Yes, Father," he answered, smiling up at Renji, "Sorry, I mean, Captain Abarai."
"Don't worry about it," Renji chuckled.
"It is kind of funny, though," Takeo went on, smirking, "You talking to me about not being impetuous."
Renji scowled.
"Hey! Knock that off, runt! Who's the captain here, anyway? I'll have you in the brig for insubordination!"
"Dad," he whispered thoughtfully.
He looked back at the horse and nodded.
"My vice captain is almost here. We will help you. Don't worry."
Again, I thank you!
He waited as the reiatsu of his approaching comrades closed in on their position, noting the way the tall stallion stiffened and shivered anxiously as they approached.
"Easy, friend," he said reassuringly, "The ones approaching are my subordinates. They will not harm you or your friend. We are going to help you."
He heard no reply from the beast, but felt his weak reiatsu calm.
"Captain!" Momo cried out as she reached them.
She skidded to a stop, staring at the tall, lovely stallion that stood beside Takeo. Arashi paused and his eyes touched hers briefly, then he nickered softly in greeting.
"Momo, this is Arashi," Takeo explained, "He was with a friend and said that his friend became trapped."
"He talks?" the young woman asked, blinking and looking up at the stallion again.
"Eh..." Takeo answered, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, "K-kinda. Anyway, there's someone trapped in an old prison just up here. Come with me and...be vigilant, okay?"
Momo's eyes narrowed slightly at his words and she nodded.
"Yes, Captain."
The four officers who had accompanied her spread out around them, scanning the area cautiously as the group moved forward onto an old trail. As they progressed, the forest became more wild and tangled, the thick trees blocking out much of the light. Takeo studied the area around them and watched the stallion carefully as they trod on, but Arashi's demeanor remained calm and unruffled. He led them to what looked like a large stone cliff, then stopped.
"What is this?" Takeo asked, "I don't think we can get through here. Arashi...?"
It is an illusion. Touch it with your zanpakutou.
"C-captain?" Momo queried in a flustered voice, "are you talking to the horse?"
"Eh...yeah," Takeo replied, flushing slightly, "You mean, you don't hear him?"
Momo looked from Arashi to Takeo and back again, then shook her head.
"No, sir."
"Great," Takeo sighed, "Look, take my word for it. He's got some way to make me hear him in my mind."
"Of course, Captain," Momo responded, her eyes still betraying an edge of doubt.
Takeo gave another displeased sigh and drew his weapon. He touched the tip to the rock in front of him and waited.
For a moment, nothing happened, then there was a loud cracking sound and the image of the rock faded. Instead, in front of them, they found something hard, cold and faintly blue.
"I-is that...ice?" Momo asked incredulously, reaching out to touch it.
Takeo caught her hand just short of touching it.
"Careful," he warned her, "This is a shinigami ability. Do you feel the reiatsu? It is like that horse's."
He turned to Arashi.
"Did you freeze this area?" he asked.
Arashi paused, then blinked several times, thinking.
I don't know. But I don't remember making that ice. I think it was him.
"Him?" Takeo repeated, earning a curious look from his stymied vice captain, "Who is this friend you keep referring to?"
I don't know exactly who he is, only that he is in pain and could not escape from that place. I heard his voice in my mind and he was screaming for help. Please, you must save him!
Takeo studied the ice carefully, scanning it to explore it's dimensions and content. He paused, sucking in a surprised breath as something registered.
"Kami! Someone is in there!" he gasped.
"Captain, what do you mean?" Momo asked, looking alarmed, "How could anyone...?"
"Momo!" Takeo said excitedly, "Can you apply your power to melt this ice? You would have to work around any souls that are trapped within it? Can you do that? Can you melt the ice without harming the soul or souls in it?"
"Eh...yes, sir," the young woman said, drawing her weapon.
She breathed a soft command to the zanpakutou she held, and the group watched as the ice in front of them shimmered and started to melt. The task took some time, with Momo focusing deeply and carefully managing her weapon. It was nearly two hours later when she finally withdrew her power and looked back at Takeo questioningly.
"The way is clear, Captain," she reported, "But, I only sensed one living soul ahead of us. The reiatsu is very weak. Whoever it is, is unconscious."
"All right," Takeo said, moving forward with his senses extended, "Weapons at the ready and scouts spread out. Be ready for trouble. I don't think we'll run into anyone. I think Momo's assessment is correct, but we'll be careful."
He stepped forward into the darker environment, examining the dripping walls of rock that led into what seemed to be some kind of underground facility.
Is this really that old prison? Takeo mused inwardly, If it is, it's monumental! Itamigiri was an illegal prison that was rumored to exist, but was never actually located. No one ever emerged to tell if the stories about it were true. It is one of the great mysteries of our time! Byakuya is going to be floored if this is really Itamigiri.
It has special significance to him, because he searched endlessly for it, but could never find it...not in all of the years he looked!
The entry corridor opened into a large entry room with broken stone gates at either end. The group walked slowly through the tumbled pieces of shattered rock. As they progressed, Takeo noted a darkness to the rock and studied it more closely.
"There was fire here," he noted.
The group passed through the inner gates and found themselves in a large cellblock. On either side, partially burned bodies laid in the cells and haphazardly about the floor. The officers with Takeo checked each, noting the position and condition of the bodies.
"Captain," Momo whispered sadly, "What happened here?"
"I'm not sure," Takeo answered, "but we're going to find out."
Takeo honed in on the source of the reiatsu he had sensed, and passed through the cellblock, then moved on into an inner grounds, where he found more collapsed bodies. He sensed that flicker of life ahead of him and moved forward more quickly, gently moving aside the body of what appeared to be a guard, then freezing as he uncovered two poorly dressed youths, one holding the other's deceased form tightly.
Takeo gently parted the two and laid the still living prisoner on his back. He made a sound of surprise as he was stricken by the porcelain features beneath the dirt and grime on his face, the fine-carved face and slender throat, the more delicate look of him that reminded Takeo instantly of Byakuya.
"Is he...alive, Captain?" Momo queried.
"Yes, though I don't know how." Takeo remarked.
Momo leaned over the young man and began an infusion of healing reiatsu.
"He's ice cold, but he doesn't seem to be affected by it," Momo observed, "His injuries are minor, but he is severely undernourished. He appears to have been beaten."
Momo gently loosened the ragged yukata he wore and examined him more closely.
"He has been repeatedly sexually assaulted, and it appears some of the abuse happened in a time frame close to when this area was frozen."
"Take samples of everything," Takeo ordered, touching the young man's comely face lightly, "I want everything documented."
"Yes sir!"
Takeo added his own flow of healing reiatsu as Momo continued her examination of the young man. At the touch of his reiatsu, the young man stirred slightly, then his eyelids fluttered and opened, revealing large, frightened sapphire eyes that reminded Takeo instantly of the stallion that had summoned them. But as he looked around for the creature, he realized it had disappeared.
"Wh-who are you?" the injured prisoner asked, his voice shaking, "Are you g-going to hurt me?"
"No," Takeo said quietly, "We heard that you were trapped here and we came in to rescue you. I am Takeo Abarai-Kuchiki, captain of the fifth division and this is Momo Hinamori, my vice captain."
"Th-thank you for coming," the young man said in a wavering voice, "But...could you check on my friend?"
"The one you were embracing?" Takeo asked.
"Yes."
"I am sorry," the captain said sympathetically, "You were the only one we found here who is alive."
The young man's blue eyes filled with tears.
"N-naoki?"
"I am sorry. He is gone. You are the only survivor of...whatever happened here."
Tears rolled down the injured youth's face, making long streaks in the muck that coated his fine skin.
"There now, it's going to be all right," Takeo assured him, "I will make sure that you are well taken care of. You won't be hurt. Do you think you can stand?"
The young man took hold of Takeo's arm and sat up slowly, then tried to come to his feet, but staggered instantly and collapsed into Takeo's arms.
Kami, he's so thin! He barely weighs anything!
"S-sorry," the youth apologized, looking up into Takeo's widened eyes, "I don't seem to have any strength."
"You were trapped in the ice for a long time, it seems. Your horse friend said that this is Itamigiri. Is that true?"
"Horse friend?" the young man queried, leaning heavily against Takeo, "I don't know a horse. But, yes, this is Itamigiri."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"Someone was near to finding the prison," the young man explained, "They started to execute all of us. Then, there was fighting and...the prison was on fire. One of the guards killed Naoki, then he was going to kill me. I don't know what happened after that. I just remember holding Naoki, then it was quiet for a long time. Then, you came!"
"How long have you been here?" Takeo asked, "When did all of this happen?"
"I don't know," the youth replied, shivering and resting his head wearily on Takeo's shoulder, "I don't know at all. They said that the young Lord Byakuya was looking for us, but he never found us."
"Young Lord Byakuya?" Takeo repeated, "You know of my father?"
"Your father?" the injured youth asked, looking confused, "Lord Byakuya was a teen like me! Barely adult. He couldn't be...married?"
Takeo tightened his hold on the other young man as his legs trembled and started to give way again. He lifted the youth off his feet and started back towards the prison entrance.
"Well, we will question you later," Takeo informed him, "I'll take you to a safe place where you can be healed, then we will iron out just who you are. But can you tell me your name?"
"Ah..." the young man panted dizzily, his eyelids fluttering as he began to lose consciousness, "My n-name is...Tetsuya...T-tetsuya Kuchiki."