Chapter 2: Return of the Mongrel
Renji's mind spun at considering just how quickly the hunter had become the hunted. Although still not being a model of reiatsu control, he was usually good enough to mask his reiatsu so that he could evade pursuit if things got dicey.
"They're fucking dicey now, aren't they?" he panted, turning in among a thick growth of trees and continuing to run, "What I wouldn't give right now for one of captain's super duper reiatsu-suppressing cages! Damn! I got so spoiled, being with him all of the time!"
He remembered, all too well, his earlier life in the Rukongai, where they had always had at least four kids guarding their camps. And fighting was really just a way for the stronger ones to give the weaker time to run away. Fighters in Inuzuri tended to die young. Only a lucky few, like Rukia and him, lived and managed to get out of the slums. Those few were usually rare ones like Renji, who later rose through the ranks of the Gotei 13 and became officers.
Renji swerved around a boulder and dropped down onto an even more thickly forested slope. A small alcove suddenly offered itself, and he fell into it, curling his body to make it as small as possible, then engaging in, not a reiatsu masking technique, but in one that consisted of reducing reiatsu flow to a pinpoint. It was an unusual approach and more something akin to what little kids did when frightened of things that went bump in the night than what warriors used in the field. But, Renji decided, if it would get that damned quincy off his back, then it was well worth abandoning his pride to be able to evade his pursuer long enough so that he could rest, and maybe find some source of food. He laughed inwardly, thinking of how Byakuya would likely respond to that, then he felt a sad twinge inside, remembering the state his captain had been in upon his arrival in the pocket dimension.
His eye took in everything in a sweeping glance, the too pale and dreadfully thin, raggedly dressed body, filthy, sweat-drenched skin and tangled raven hair. His dark eyes were covered and he was bound to the bed he laid in. And when he screamed Renji's name, the redhead felt the desperation all of the way down to his toes.
"Fuck!" Renji hissed softly, swallowing hard and trying to erase the image from his mind, "What did that monster do to you?"
He hoped fervently that he wouldn't have to learn that by suffering the same consequences.
"Shinigami," said the quincy's dead calm voice from an uncomfortably close position, "I will admit that you are at least as good at hiding yourself as that other was. You must be captain level, although you do not wear a haori. And he knew you. So, you came looking for him...alone. That would suggest that you were close to him. You do not look, at the surface, like you come from the same family. You were a friend, then, a comrade? Renji, he said? You are Renji Abarai, then?"
Shit...he's heard of me?
"You shouldn't be surprised that I know your name. His majesty, before that shinigami loving bastard, Ichigo, killed him, made sure that all of us more powerful quincies had detailed files on all of the captains and their vice captains. You were Byakuya Kuchiki's vice captain, no?"
I still am, you fucking freak!
"So, you are captain level, but you still serve as his second in command. Quite odd, really."
Yeah? Well, Captain didn't think so much of me doing that either. He pushed me hard to promote and I dug my feet in and wouldn't budge, especially once we...
He realized suddenly that his mind had become dangerously distracted. And he didn't want to think about the night he had spent in Byakuya's arms, that first night after coming home from the quincy war.
He said, afterward, that it had been a mistake for him to tease me, when he had nothing to offer me.
And despite his dire situation and his will to force the past away, Renji's mind couldn't help but relive their last moments together.
"We belong together, Captain," he said, sitting up and wrapping his arms around the lovely, pale body that had so recently been wrapped around his, "You know that. I can see that you do."
"And if not for the losses suffered by the noble families in the war...if not for the need to preserve what is left of my family's power...Renji, I wasn't lying when I told you I love you. I was devastated that I couldn't protect you and Rukia before. And before the call for eligible nobles to be married to preserve our powers and bloodlines, we could have, at least argued for the right to be together. But as things stand, there is no choice. I cannot, on the one hand, ask for my own brethren to give up their right to choose who to love, and not be willing to make that sacrifice, myself."
"Then, why did you do this? Why did you sleep with me?" he asked, his brown eyes filling with tears, "If you knew that you were going to have to break my heart and leave me, then why?"
"Wouldn't your heart have already been broken if I had taken a wife, but had never made love to you and confessed what I felt for you, Renji?"
He had to admit that it was the truth.
"Y-yeah...yeah, I guess."
Byakuya captured his face in both hands.
"My heart would have been broken anyway too," the noble confessed, "This way...our hearts can break together, and we can comfort each other until the time comes that we must let go."
He didn't mean to start crying. He knew how Byakuya refused to shed tears, and saw them as a sign of weakness. But he was sure that Byakuya was the love of his life. And the love of his life was only going to be his for a short time longer, and then he would be taken away...still in Renji's presence, but not allowed to show any signs of affection. It wasn't Byakuya's fault and Renji couldn't argue that the clans were being unreasonable. They were fighting for survival, after losing many powerful family members and being far reduced in number. That was the cost of the war.
He felt warm lips touch his face, brushing away his tears as Byakuya laid him down again. His caresses this time didn't feel sexual, but were meant to comfort.
"I am sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your fault, and even if it kills me, I am not going to blame you."
"Renji..."
He met the noble's objection with a storm of passionate kisses, letting his hands roam over every inch of that pretty, petal soft skin as Byakuya gave in to him and made love to him again. They laid together quietly afterward, looking out the window, up at the bright, full moon.
"There was an old story in the archives," Byakuya told him, "that many thousands of years ago, one of my ancestors fell in love with one of the 'simple folk.' In those times, it was unheard of, but this man, Hajime, laid eyes on the commoner, Tama, only once...and he felt that he could never love any other. Hajime was a man of great wealth, of power and privilege. And he loved his family. But such was his love for the commoner, Tama, that he bade his family a tearful goodbye and he left them."
"What? Were you thinking of doing the same...before the war, I mean?" Renji asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Well," said Byakuya, managing a fleeting smile, "I wouldn't have had to give up everything. But...given the same choice as Hajime, I might have."
"Really?" Renji asked, feeling strangely better, knowing Byakuya loved him that much, "But that became impossible, considering what happened in the war."
"Yes."
"So, what happened with Hajime?"
"The leader of the family hunted the two down and confronted Hajime. It is written that he used the crest that is within every member of every noble house, to reclaim his power. He revoked Hajime's rights to even wear the Kuchiki name, and he had Hajime's name stricken from our records."
"Damn, that's harsh," Renji mused, shaking his head.
Hajime remained kneeling on the ground, after the clan leader left. He shed his first tears, being held in Tama's arms and Tama asked him if he regretted following his heart. Even then, even having lost everything an being made outcast, Hajime said that he loved Tama, and his wicked, rebellious heart wouldn't let him do any different. Maybe, he told Tama, that was why he had been chosen to suffer so much...because he couldn't be obedient."
"Tell me that this story doesn't end badly," Renji pleaded.
Byakuya fed him a long, open-mouthed kiss, then smiled at him, giving the redhead a powerful tickle inside.
"Tama stood, then, and Hajime looked up at him. And as he watched, Tama's body began to glow with a great, golden light. He revealed, then, to Hajime, that he was of the spirit dimension, and that he had placed himself in Hajime's path to test him. Hajime crumbled and bowed at the transcendent's feet, begging his forgiveness for disgracing his family and failing to serve the soul king as he should have. But Tama smiled down at him, and helped him to his feet, then kissed him and said something that made Hajime go instantly breathless. 'My love' he said, taking Hajime's face in his hands, 'You did not fail your family and you did not fail my test. You were willing to give up everything for me. And it did not matter that I was a poor man. My soul called to yours and yours answered. Do you know why?' Hajime was still too stunned to answer. 'Your soul answered mine, because I am your king. And you are the very first soul that my hands made. The first soul created by the new king is always named his consort. But a consort, to be wise, must leave the spirit dimension and live among the ones he will help to rule. The king' he said 'is the hand that rules the worlds, but the consort is the heart.' Hajime was shocked all over again, and he looked at Tama in confusion. 'But we are both male,' he said, 'How will I have your children?' The held him close and gave him more kisses, then made him a promise. 'As you have shown yourself to be of great heart, I will bless you with children, Hajime.' And ever after, it was believed that if a noble heart broke, for the sake of love, that same miracle would happen."
"That's really beautiful," Renji sighed, nuzzling closer to the noble, "But...a guy getting pregnant?"
"It would be better than losing each other," Byakuya said wistfully.
"Okay, but if the soul king lets that happen for us," the redhead said, smirking, "You get to carry the bundle of trouble, okay?"
"Me?" Byakuya said, looking surprised, "But I am the clan head. I couldn't..."
The two exchanged glances, and found themselves laughing, despite the pain of what was happening.
"I love you, Byakuya," Renji told him, climbing on top of the noble and spreading his legs to receive him again, "I'm not going to stop loving you, just because we can't be together."
"Shit, I have to stop this," Renji whispered, sniffing softly and rubbing his eyes, "Thinking that way could get me killed here. I don't think any miracles of any kind are coming my way. If I want to get out of here alive, I have to make it happen!"
"Renji Abarai," the quincy's voice said solemnly, "You will not be able to escape. Like your captain, you will be captured. I will take you back and lay you in the bed where I kept him. And day by day, night by night, you will suffer the same awful fate that he did."
I want so badly to kill that bastard now, for what he did to Byakuya. But I need to rest and eat. I need more power to overcome him!
"We can play this game for a while, but eventually, I will grow too hungry and I will stop playing with you. Run, for now, if you like. But I will have you in the end. I will drain the life out of your veins and leave you an empty shell, like he was when you took him back."
I wonder if he was found. Kami help him if the cleaner came along. He was so weak. But...I can't think about that now. I have to keep myself alive and free. I have to kill that thing, and then I have to find a way to break out of here and go home!
XXXXXXXXXX
Ichigo, Tetsuya, Rukia and Orihime looked up as Kisuke entered the room, their eyes questioning.
"I have a little more information," Kisuke said quietly, "But not everything I have to say is good."
"Let's hear the good stuff first," Ichigo said, his lips tightening.
"The good stuff," Kisuke repeated, "The positive...Byakuya's not gonna die. I managed to save his spirit centers, and they are recovering well. I will be able to remove him from the containment unit by tomorrow, and once he is out, then we can let him regain consciousness."
"And the unpleasant news?" Tetsuya queried.
"He'll be powerless for a while. I can set him up with a mod soul that will give him enough power to return to the Seireitei. But it will be a while before he regains his powers. And there's no way to know whether or not he'll be at the same level as he was. This really is a big unknown."
"Well, I know my brother," Rukia said firmly, "I know that he will recover. They didn't think he was going to live before, but he did. And he will live and come back stronger than ever!"
"I agree," said Tetsuya, "Byakuya is the strongest person I know. He will be all right. And more than that, he will be determined to go after Renji. He and Renji were very close."
"But Kisuke said that he'll be powerless," mused Ichigo, "How is he going to go after Renji in that kind of condition?"
"I don't know," said Tetsuya, "But I know him well enough to know that nothing and no one will stop him from trying."
"We could keep him unconscious," suggested Kisuke.
"But we need to know what he knows about where Renji might be," Rukia objected.
"Right," sighed the shopkeeper, "I guess we'll just have to keep a close eye on him and make sure that he doesn't leave here until he's stronger."
"And we're gonna have to move on finding Renji as soon as he can give us a clue where to look. We went to the coordinates where we found Byakuya, but we didn't find the pocket dimension he came out of yet."
"If he even came out of one of them," Kisuke said, frowning, "But, changing the subject, there's one more thing that you should know."
"What's that?" asked Ichigo, exchanging glances with the others.
"I've isolated the reiatsu that I found on Byakuya's body. The thing that made such a mess of him was part quincy."
He watched the strong reactions of the gathered group.
"Now, it's not mentioned much outside the military, but a bunch of the more dangerous quincies were rounded up after the war. There was...disagreement in Central 46 about what to do with them. The ones that we could prove had taken shinigami lives were executed...although that bastard, Mayuri Kurotsuchi managed to purloin a few for his experiments. When he was done with them, the ones that were still alive, he placed in secured pocket dimensions. He did this without authorization, and when Central 46 found out, they were the ones who ordered Byakuya to investigate. My guess is that he entered one of the pocket dimensions and ran into one of the quincies that survived Kurotsuchi's experiments. I didn't mention that before, because there was nothing in the information that would have been helpful. But it's important that you know now, because if you meet up with this thing, you need to have a way to fight him."
"You said that it was part quincy," said Tetsuya, "What is the other part?"
Kisuke met their eyes darkly.
"I was just getting to that," he told them in a low, worried voice, "The other part...was demon.