Chapter 2: Gifts of Healing
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(Thanks so very much to everyone reading and reviewing! :) My gratitude to Periwinkle (So glad you like it!), Aizenfan6969 (Aww, you're sweet. I will keep the chapters coming.), PrivateCaller (You can thank Janessa Wolf - Soul. I hadn't thought of pairing Tetsuya with Ukitake, but as I'm writing, I'm asking why I did not see how good they would be together!), Kittykins (Now I'm hungry for hot, gooey cinnamon buns!), Yukino76 (More is here and on the way too!), WriterFan4Life (So glad you enjoyed that!), TMP3475 (Ah, Renji's location and status will play into another couple's situation, so we won't know about him for a little bit yet. I'm so excited to move this one forward. I have some great things planned!), Jaundrie (There's more good stuff on the way!), Cptn Suz (One of the great things about fanfics is that you can escape a little from canon and experiment, as well as rewriting the fate of characters and playing things out differently. I love Ukitake and I'm so sad he died in canon. I wish he had been given more of a chance to shine. This story is a little nod to him.), and Janessa Wolf - Soul (What an amazing suggestion! I didn't realize until I wrote the first chapter how much I was going to love seeing Tetsuya with Juushiro. Juushiro is different from anyone I've ever written with Tetsuya. He is truly gentle and kind, but so genuine. Great suggestion. I like new and different things. I will try to get over and read your story. I don't read One Piece, but I know the characters and story in general from chatting in forums. I do my best to get out there and read when I can, so I will be along to have a look soon. :) I'm off now to write the next chapter of this before I forget what I was going to write.) Enjoy the new chapter! Love to all, Spunky)
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Byakuya watched out of the corner of one handsome grey eye as Toshiro ranged alongside him, moving off to his left or right to examine an area more closely, then returning to check in. He extended his senses carefully, but even given the quincy king's death and the hasty retreat of the quincy soldiers, the air still hung thick with the dead king's reiatsu that interfered annoyingly with even the close bond between the Kuchiki leader and his own fukutaichou.
This has been a problem throughout the war, this ability they have to thicken the reiatsu to the point where our senses cannot penetrate. This is part of the reason that they are still dangerous, even in defeat. But despite the difficulty, Abarai must be found. Even disregarding my personal interest of protecting a friend and the man my sister loves, Renji is a valued officer whom we cannot afford to lose. Kami knows this war has erased so much talent that protected all of us. It will be a long time before we return our military to what it was prior to the war. Yes, it will take more than a hundred years.
"I didn't sense anything over in this direction," Toshiro reported, reaching up to brush the sweat from his forehead.
"Hmm," Byakuya sighed absently, his eyes already combing an area they hadn't approached, "I am going on to the next."
Toshiro's frown deepened and he studied Byakuya's calm, but discomfited expression for a moment.
"It's getting pretty late," the tenth division taichou commented carefully, "We should probably suspend the search until morning, when it's light."
He immediately felt the flicker of Byakuya's disturbed reiatsu and saw his noble companion bristle in response.
"Abarai may not have until tomorrow," Byakuya responded matter-of-factly, "And what would you do if it was your fukutaichou?"
Byakuya's touch on his arm made Toshiro stop as he prepared to expel an off-handed comment about his red-haired comrade.
"You pretend to be bothered by her, but you know what you felt when her life was threatened during the war. You would have done anything to protect her."
Toshiro sighed resignedly.
"Yeah, but don't tell her I said that."
He frowned as he noted how low the sun was hanging in the sky.
"There's more to it, though, than you wanting to save a comrade, a valued officer, even a friend, isn't there?" he asked.
Byakuya went silent for several minutes, his dark eyes scanning the horizon and his senses reaching out to their limits. Some time later, he let out a long, discontented breath.
"There is more," he confessed, "My sister is in love with that red-haired idiot."
Toshiro couldn't hold back a sad smile.
"You're doing this for Rukia?" he inquired, "Kuchiki, that's…"
He broke off as a bright flash of light erupted in front of them and a group of quincy soldiers launched themselves from within the shadows, one of them bearing down on Byakuya with killing intent.
"Look out, Kuchiki!" Toshiro shouted, sending Hyorinmaru into release with just a thought.
He threw himself into the path of the attack, firing an icy attack at the intruders. A sea of white arrows flew at him and the reiatsu thickened dangerously. Just as his ice barrier began to crumble, Byakuya's petal blades surged around him, throwing the rest of the arrows off course and surrounding Toshiro protectively. The quincies held for a moment, then the combined reiatsu of the two taichous forced them back. Within moments, the taichous' onslaught had them retreating back into the shadows. As the last was passing through, Byakuya stiffened at spotting a flash of familiar material at one quincy's forehead and wrists.
Those are the headband and wristbands I gave to Renji before the invasion!
"Byakuya!" Toshiro shouted, tearing him out of his reverie too late to stop the last furious blast of reiatsu the fleeing quincies sent at him.
The noble saw a flash of movement in front of him, then heard Toshiro make a sound of intense pain. The light died, leaving him looking at Toshiro's straight, proud back for a moment before his comrade started to collapse. He caught Toshiro as he fell, dropping onto his knees and staring down at the younger man in dismay.
What was I thinking?
How could I let myself be distracted like that?
Now, Renji is still missing, and I have caused Toshiro to be injured protecting me.
He had little time to let his emotions about his error surface, as another shadowy doorway opened and another flurry of arrows erupted, forcing him to grab his stricken companion and head for the nearest cover.
I was careless and emotional…and that carelessness could have cost us our lives!
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Juushiro rose out of a sleepy, tranquil haze and found himself looking up at Tetsuya's smiling, but weary looking face.
"You're back here again?" he asked in an amused tone, "Aren't there injured people who need your attention more than I do?"
Tetsuya let the blue light around his hands fade and paused to run his hands over his face, then he patted his cheeks to rouse himself.
"The injured arrive in a steady stream," he admitted softly, "and there are not enough healers. I go from room to room and do what I can, but if we do not have the healers we've sent for arrive soon…"
Tetsuya went silent as Juushiro's hand curled around his forearm and the white-haired taichou sat up and faced him.
"You look exhausted," he said worriedly, "I am fine now. You need to rest."
Tetsuya shook his head firmly.
"I have managed to heal the terminal damage," he explained, "but you will need many follow-up infusions to correct the damage done as your illness ravaged your body. It will be weeks before the treatments will be done. And we've found, for some reason, that the treatments I give you are more effective than that of the other healers in the family."
Tetsuya looked down at his hands questioningly.
"I don't understand it. I wasn't trained for more than basic field healing. I was mentored by Byakuya-sama…trained for fighting."
Juushiro gave him a gentle smile.
"You were trained for fighting out of necessity," he corrected the younger man, "I am sure that Byakuya knew that you had some capacity for healing, but think about it. He had just rescued you from Itamigiri, and he saw that you were in danger of being harmed again if you could not protect yourself. I don't think he was denying that you had healing potential, Tetsuya. He was doing what he felt was best for you. Byakuya was torn apart by his father's death, and stung again at Soujun dying before Takao and Kiko could be found and all of you rescued. He made finding your family his mission. And when only you could be saved, he made sure that you were as protected as you could be."
"Byakuya-sama shouldn't feel guilty because of the hatred of others that harmed all of us," Tetsuya sighed, blinking sleepily, "He was a teen when he planned the raid against the illegal noble's prison. He did more than anyone could expect."
Juushiro's smile warmed charmingly.
"And you have gone above and beyond, showing your gratitude. Tetsuya, maybe it's a good thing that this healing ability has begun to emerge now. You have made Byakuya proud with your fighting ability. Now, you can shine even more brightly in a path you choose. Do you enjoy healing?"
Tetsuya paused, looking quietly down at his now unlit palms.
"It does feel good to heal people," he confessed, "to watch as the hateful damage that others have done to them fades away. Within the prison, our abilities were stopped under limiters, but we could still manage little acts of healing for each other. After I was abused, my husband…erm…Naoki, would heal me. And when he was beaten, I would heal him. We were helpless in every other way, save that one. We were powerless. It was like our only act of rebellion was in erasing the hurts they placed on our comrades."
"I wasn't aware that you were married, Tetsuya," Juushiro commented, "I do remember that you and another prisoner were close…that you…"
"Oh, Naoki and I were not officially married," Tetsuya said, blushing, "It wasn't allowed. But when we returned, after Naoki died and I lost the child that I was carrying, Byakuya-sama officially recognized our union by having Naoki and our baby buried at Kuchiki Manor."
"I remember," Juushiro said approvingly, "That caused quite a stir."
He studied Tetsuya more quietly for a moment.
"I had forgotten that you are a breeder male."
Tetsuya's blush deepened.
"It was just another reason for some of the elders to hate me."
He sighed and ran his hands over his face again.
"And I am not really one of them anymore," he added in a tired, half-hearted tone, "My injuries made it unlikely I would ever conceive again."
Juushiro gave him a sympathetic look and took hold of his hand, squeezing lightly.
"Tetsuya, you need to rest. I am doing much better, and I know you haven't slept. Your attendant has been here several times, looking for you to get you to sleep."
"I can't sleep," Tetsuya whispered, lowering his eyes, "When I do, I see Kuchiki Manor in flames, and I hear the children screaming as they run for safety."
"But the children of your family all escaped, I heard," Juushiro interjected.
Tetsuya's eyes closed tightly as the memory flashed in his mind again.
"They were surrounded by white fire, and if I had miscalculated in my plans by even a fraction, they would have died right there on the path to safety. There was no room for error, because of the suddenness and violence of the quincies' first attack wave."
"We were all taken by surprise," the white-haired taichou agreed, moving closer to Tetsuya and sliding a supportive arm around his shoulders, "You know what happened to the taichous in the opening battles, ne?"
Tetsuya nodded.
"It was horrible. What happened to my cousin and the others…especially what happened to Yamamoto Soutaichou. He was close to Ginrei-sama and Byakuya-sama."
"Shh," Juushiro breathed soothingly, "Put all of that out of your mind for awhile. Your cousin is safe and the enemy is in retreat. Your battle skills have been successful and now it is your healing skills that we need. But, you can't heal anyone if you are too depleted, yourself. You must go back to your quarters and rest, Tetsuya."
Tetsuya frowned and bit his lip gently, earning a knowing look from the elder man.
"You gave up your quarters, didn't you?"
"It was necessary," Tetsuya insisted, "I wasn't being…"
"I know."
"There are too many injured and not enough healers, not enough beds, not enough supplies. If we aren't relieved by the fourth division soon…"
"They will come," Juushiro whispered into his ear, coaxing the younger man down onto the bed, "and you don't want them to arrive and have to treat you for exhaustion. If you have nowhere to go, then you can share my room."
"No," Tetsuya objected, "It wouldn't be…"
"Tetsuya," Juushiro laughed softly, "this is not the time to worry about being proper. Lie down. I am still recovering, so I can't do much, but I do know how to induce a dreamless sleep."
Tetsuya opened his mouth to object, only to have his breath stolen away again by the touch of the elders man's fingertips on his face and a little flicker of reiatsu that made everything around him disappear into a calm, grey haze. Juushiro tucked him in and paused to let his fingers slide down Tetsuya's porcelain cheek affectionately. Then, he settled on the other side of the bed and closed his eyes. As he was dropping off to sleep, still watching his lovely companion sleep out of the corner of one green eye, the door opened and Kuchiki Koji stepped into the room.
He paused, breathing a sigh of relief at seeing Tetsuya sleeping contentedly.
"Oh, thank goodness," he sighed, smiling gratefully at Juushiro, "Michio has been worried about Tetsuya-san. He hasn't slept in two days. Every time we convinced him to go and lie down, more wounded arrived."
"Well, he's sleeping now," the white-haired taichou assured him, "Why don't you grab that extra pillow and curl up in the corner? I know it isn't soft, but it's close to your master, so you'll be there if he needs you."
"Oh, you are very kind, Ukitake taichou, but…"
"But nothing," Juushiro chided him, smirking, "You are supposed to watch out for him, ne?"
"W-well, yes," Koji stammered.
"And if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that Tetsuya doesn't make it easy for you to keep up with him."
"Ah…" Koji said, flinching uncomfortably, "I would never disrespect Tetsuya-san by…"
"You don't have to say it," Juushiro laughed, "I can see for myself. Come now, lie down and rest, Koji. You and Tetsuya have a lot of work ahead of you. You want to be well-rested for that."
"Yes, Ukitake taichou," Koji said, taking the pillow and moving to the indicated corner to lie down, "Thank you for your hospitality."
"My hospitality," the white-haired man mused, "I think you've got that backwards. This is your family compound. I should be thanking you for taking me in."
"Oh…ah…"
"Go on. Get some sleep."
"Arigatou, Ukitake taichou."
"You're welcome."
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Ichigo felt soft, cool hands remove the cloth from his forehead, then a fresh cloth cleaned the sweat from his flushed face and throat. He opened his eyes, blinking and squinting, and encountered Uryu's serious face looking down at him.
"H-hey, Uryu," he greeted his friend weakly, "Watcha still doin' here? I thought you'd be going home."
He blinked and squinted harder, frowning at the lack of familiarity he felt with his surroundings.
"Where are we?" he asked, his words still slurring slightly from drowsiness.
"The Kuchiki encampment," Uryu answered softly, "Kyouraku Shunsui said that we should take you here, because you passed out and I couldn't get you to wake up. You've been out cold for hours and you spiked a fever from an infection in your wounds."
"You still look a little beat up, yourself," Ichigo commented, looking at his friend more closely, "Didn't you get healed too?"
Uryu looked away, dipping the washcloth in a bowl of water and wringing it out.
"No," he said quietly, "I didn't feel comfortable asking shinigamis to heal an enemy."
"Idiot!" Ichigo chided him, trying to sit up, then groaning and falling back.
Uryu scowled at him.
"It serves you right, trying to get up before you're well. Just lie back down."
"All right, all right, jeez," Ichigo complained, dropping back onto his pillow, "But you shouldn't make assumptions like that about Byakuya's family. His staff knows you're a friend of mine. I told Shunsui you helped me."
"Well, that doesn't mean that everyone's automatically going to accept that!" Uryu snapped softly, "There are a lot of people here who aren't members of Byakuya's family. I've already done what I can to show that I'm not a threat."
He held out his hands, exposing slim silver bands that wrapped around his wrists.
"Limiters?" Ichigo said, frowning, "Uryu, what if there's an attack? You won't be able to defend yourself!"
"I'm fine!" the quincy youth said irritably, brushing off his friend's concern, "I had to make sure that you were okay and this was the nearest place."
"You didn't have to do this," Ichigo objected worriedly, "If you thought that there would be problems, you should have let the soldiers bring me here and just gone home! You shouldn't have risked coming here if you knew it would be uncomfortable for you."
"I told you, it's fine," Uryu persisted, "I didn't want to leave you after you…"
He broke off, his scowl deepening.
"Just be quiet and rest!" he snapped angrily, turning away and dipping the cloth in the water again.
Ichigo smiled and reached out to touch his friend's shoulder, making Uryu wince and close his eyes.
"Hey," he said more softly, "thanks for staying with me."
Uryu gave a long, shuddering sigh.
"What are friends for?" he whispered, turning back and laying the dampened cloth on Ichigo's forehead, "Now, shut up and rest."
"Man," Ichigo snickered, "you need to work on your bedside manner."