Chapter 2: Wounds
XXXXXXXXXX
(Thanks to everyone for the enthusiastic responses! My gratitude to Willow (No sooner said than done!), Anonymous guest (Ichigo's thinking and more of his side are coming, so it will become more understandable as the story rolls out. It wasn't as easy as it seemed from Byakuya's perspective. In fact, Ichigo's emotions about it are surprisingly deep.), AdalieDelacroix (Hmm, yes, things will come out that will explain...soon!), Siwon611 (So happy you like the story! And here's the next dose!), Ashesofthefirststar (Sorry for the heartbreak. I beat up on myself as I write, so I can sympathize! Ichigo's perspective will begin to play out in this chapter, and may surprise you.), Gemnika (It's so funny. I wasn't even planning to write a sequel to I Won't Say I Love You, but this idea came crashing in and woke me out of a sound sleep. Man, those crazy plot bunnies! lol), Doggyband (Sorry about that. I just picked myself up and dusted myself off, when my sadistic muse grabbed me again by the throat and made me write this next chapter!), Hisuiryuu (It's okay. I did just also start Cherry Blossom and the Strawberry Part 2, so keeping the two separate in one's head can be tricky.), Yukino76 (And here's more coming at you!), and Tiffany91 (Watch for little broken pieces all over the place. This one's off to a messy start, but very revealing moments lie ahead.) Enjoy the new chapter! Love to all, Spunky)
XXXXXXXXXX
Slipping in and out of consciousness, Byakuya was vaguely aware of dust being disturbed nearby and small rocks and pebbles sliding down and dropping like rain all around where his incapacitated body laid, pinned beneath a large slab of stone. He was grateful for the fact of his senses being so far gone that he could neither feel the injuries he already had, nor would he feel the end of his life if the ones coming down the cliff were enemies. An echoing whisper sent a hard chill down his spine as he recognized Suki's voice, but wasn't sure anymore how she was there in Hueco Mundo, or if perhaps he was only in some stage of dying and was beginning to hallucinate.
"Dad!" Suki's voice hissed frantically.
"Dad," Torao's voice added, "we're coming to you!"
Byakuya sucked in a deeper breath, his mind clearing enough so that he instantly regretted the increased awareness of both his situation and the amount of pain he was in.
"Oh…" he groaned softly, turning his head to avoid a shower of dust and pebbles as the children slid down and flash stepped onto the ground near his incapacitated form.
"Dad!" Suki sobbed in a muted voice as she dropped to her knees at his side.
"S-suki," he whispered haltingly, his mind spinning dizzily as he looked up at the three children who crouched over him, "Torao, T-tora."
"We're here," Torao answered, his clipped tone indicating the forced calm he was employing to deal with the unimaginable trouble they were in, "Dad, what can we do?"
"We have to get this rock off of him!" Tora exclaimed softly.
"Suki," Byakuya managed, stifling a cough, "you are the most adept at shielding. You must create a protective barrier around us. Th-there may still be enemies in the area."
"Okay, Dad," Suki said, her voice shaking, "I've got it."
"G-good girl…"
Byakuya's voice faded for a moment as the stars above him seemed to begin melting together.
"Dad?" Torao called anxiously, taking Byakuya's limp and dusty hand in his.
He quivered at the icy feel of the sweat dampened flesh.
"I may be going into sh-shock from the injuries I sustained," Byakuya explained, blinking to clear his stinging eyes.
"We need to keep him warm," Tora said, removing her cloak and reaching beneath the stone slab to wrap it around him, "and keep talking to him, Torao."
"I know," the youth said shortly.
Torao's jaw clenched and shook softly.
"We need to get this rock off of you," he said with forced calm.
"No," Byakuya whispered, "I am bleeding internally, and unless you are prepared to treat massive bleeding, you cannot move it yet. S-send someone for Urahara K-kisuke."
Torao looked back at his sister and cousin.
"You two go. I will stay with him."
"Torao, no!" Suki objected, "You can't…!"
"There is no choice," Byakuya insisted, "Torao's powers are most suited for our defense. Strengthen the sh-shield around us before you leave. W-we will be all right until you return. Tora, use your mist to confuse anyone who might spot you as you return."
"I will, Byakuya-sama!" Tora answered quickly, grabbing Suki's hand, "Come on. The faster we get there, the faster we'll get back!"
"Mark the coordinates before you leave," Byakuya managed, "Hueco Mundo…14-21."
"I've got it!" Suki affirmed, "Dad, we'll be back as fast as we can."
"No," Byakuya said firmly, "Th-this is enemy territory and y-you are not military officers. S-end Urahara, then wait in Karakura Town."
"Do you want us to tell Shiba Ichigo you've been injured?" Tora asked.
"Th-that will be unnecessary," Byakuya whispered, his vision dimming ominously, "Before you could reach him, he will have sensed it."
XXXXXXXXXX
Ichigo tossed and turned in his sleep, grimacing as flashes of blackness and bright light, sounds of battle and harsh memories from the quincy war echoed in his head. There too, were the flickering images of the aftermath, the slow rebuilding and his sudden marriage to the lovely and complex leader of the Kuchiki clan. But even in sleep, he couldn't forget their horrible loss and the cracking and breaking of the family they had built together. He cringed, curling tightly in his sleep, until sleep was impossible, and he came awake and sat up, his former husband's name on his lips.
"Byakuya!" he gasped, his heart pounding unmercifully.
A shaft of iciness stabbed at his insides as he spotted the curtains in his window waving in the night breeze. A moment later, he was gripped with a sharp, terrifying image of the man he had been thinking of, lying injured, with three dark shapes hovering over him.
"Byakuya!" he hissed breathlessly.
We're still connected after all. A soul bond isn't something you can decide to end. It's always there.
He's in trouble.
He closed his eyes and focused on the image he had seen, registering the crescent moon and the parched feeling that had accompanied the scene.
Hueco Mundo.
Ichigo surged out of the bed and hastily dressed, waving off his sleepy attendant as he flash stepped out onto his balcony and opened a family senkaimon. He ran into the precipice world, his heart racing and his teeth clenched.
This is really bad!
But he's still alive. I can feel it.
Even with that slight reassurance, Ichigo moved at blazing speed, traversing the dark corridors swiftly as his mind continued to turn viciously.
It doesn't matter that we broke up. It doesn't matter that we couldn't go on living together. When someone gets into your soul like Byakuya and I got into each others' there's always gonna be something there. I realized that a long time ago.
It's not that giddy feeling of being in love. It's way deeper than that. It's not something that we could choose to break. And I don't think it will ever go away. Byakuya's always gonna be in my heart, and when he's in trouble, I'm going to be there.
Ichigo spotted the exit ahead of him and thundered through, dropping down into the underground training room beneath Urahara's shop. He felt a twinge of surprise that the area was dark and quiet, and he wondered briefly if he had been mistaken and had just been dreaming what he had felt before. But that thin hope shattered as a garganta suddenly opened, and Suki and Tora ran out, panting harshly and turning immediately for the ladder that led up into the shop.
"Suki? Tora?" he inquired, frowning in surprise, "What the hell are you doing here? Why were you in Hueco Mundo? What's going on?"
"Dad!" Suki sobbed, flash stepping to him and throwing her arms around him tightly, "It's Daddy Bya. H-he's been hurt really badly."
The heavy feeling of sickness in Ichigo's chest and stomach increased painfully and he hugged his daughter amost crushingly.
"It's okay. It's gonna be okay," he promised, turning his head to look at Tora, "Tora, get Kisuke, okay? Then, go get Orihime."
"I will!" Tora answered, flash stepping up the ladder.
Ichigo took Suki's teary face in his hands.
"Tell me what happened," he said, keeping his tone carefully controlled, "Tell me everything."
"H-how did you know?" Suki asked, "You knew, didn't you? Why would you be here if you didn't?"
"I knew something was wrong," Ichigo admitted, "but you're going to have to tell me what happened. What were you and Tora doing in Hueco Mundo? Did Byakuya take you there?"
"N-no," Suki managed, her breath catching raggedly as she continued, "T-tora and I saw him leaving. We…followed him. Torao too."
"Why would you do that?" Ichigo demanded, "You know better than to sneak off and follow him when he's working. You've never done anything like that before. Why did you this time?"
"It wasn't like the other times," Suki sobbed, "It was all of a sudden. H-he didn't dress in his haori or anything. And he went alone."
"That doesn't sound like him," Ichigo mused, shaking his head, "Wait a sec. You said Torao went with you. Where is he, Suki? Is he okay?"
"H-he was when we left. He stayed with Daddy Bya and I left a shield over them. Daddy Bya told us to."
"Okay," Ichigo said, patting her face gently, "Kisuke and I are going to take care of this. I want you and Suki to stay here and help Tessai get things ready for when we get back."
"But I want to go help Daddy Bya too!" Suki objected.
"You've done all you can," Ichigo said firmly, "and we'll talk about you sneaking around at night and in enemy territory later. Right now, you need to stay here and stay safe so that Kisuke and I can help Byakuya. Don't go anywhere. I'm gonna need to ask you some questions when we get back. You stay here and do what Tessai tells you."
Suki's arms hugged him tightly.
"Okay, Daddy," she sniffed, swallowing hard and wiping her tears away.
Ichigo gave her a warm smile.
"It's gonna be okay," he assured her, "You know I won't let anything happen to Byakuya."
"Th-thanks, Daddy Ichigo!" Suki said hopefully, "He's in Hueco Mundo, 14-21."
"Got it!" Ichigo said, flash stepping into the open garganta, "Tell Kisuke I've gone ahead."
"I will!"
Ichigo's reiatsu poured out all around him, making a thick, but bumpy path for him to run on.
I never have learned how to control my reiatsu and make a smooth path, he chided himself, I guess that's for people like Byakuya who use more finesse and less raw power.
He felt a little chill as he extended his senses, trying to feel Byakuya's presence ahead of him, but only picked up a small flicker of his life force.
He must be messed up pretty good for it to be that weak. But he's not alone. Torao is there. He's strong enough to protect them until Kisuke and I get there…although, if the enemy that brought Byakuya down is still there…but then, he wouldn't have kept Torao with him, if that was the case. No. He would have forced them all to leave. At least, that means he thinks he has a chance of surviving. We're going to make good on that.
Ichigo slowed as he reached the given coordinates and found himself exiting onto the top of a cliff. He looked around and quickly spotted the signs of a recent rockslide. Forcing down the urge to call out to Byakuya and Torao, he studied the area carefully, using his senses to ensure that no enemies remained nearby. Sensing none, he moved cautiously to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Even squinting, he couldn't see, but could only vaguely sense his ex-husband and son's presences. He proceeded down carefully, stiffening as more rock came loose and tumbled down.
"Byakuya?" he hissed softly, "Torao?"
"Down here!" Torao's hushed voice guided him, "Dad, we're down here!"
"I'm coming!" Ichigo assured him, keeping his movements slow as he sought to find footholds.
Several tense minutes later, he reached the bottom of the ravine and passed through the protective barrier. A moment later, his white faced son collided with him, hugging him fiercely.
"Dad!" he whispered shakily.
"It's okay," Ichigo assured him, hugging him back, "How's Byakuya?"
"H-he passed out," Torao reported, leading Ichigo to Byakuya's side, "B-but he told me to tell whoever came that he was impaled from the back by quincy arrows."
"Quincies?" Ichigo repeated, "but the quincies haven't been bothering anyone since Uryu and his dad went to help them rebuild. You say he saw that they were quincies?"
"That's what he said," Torao confirmed, "Suki, Tora and I just saw blinding white light, and there were arrows made of reiatsu that were in Dad's chest. But they slowly disappeared. They faded and the bleeding got worse. I tried to slow it down, but it's still bad."
"It's okay," Ichigo assured him as the two moved back to Byakuya's side.
Ichigo leaned over the stricken noble, moving the cloak that covered him and studying the positioning of the rock that held him down.
"He told me not to move the rock…th-that it was…"
"Holding back some of the bleeding," Ichigo finished, "We won't move this until Kisuke gets here."
He knelt beside Byakuya, removing a small first aid pack from within this shihakushou and producing a small cloth that he dampened with a little bottle of water to cool his ex-husband's face. Byakuya stirred and groaned.
"Easy," Ichigo soothed him, "help is coming."
"Ichigo…" Byakuya whispered, "Are you really h-here?"
"Heh," Ichigo chuckled, trying to keep the tension out of his voice, "You're in trouble. Where else would I be?"
"P-please take Torao and go," Byakuya panted, shifting slightly, then making a guttural sound of agony.
"Shut up. We're not going anywhere until Kisuke gets here. Just tell me what you can. Torao says that you were ambushed by quincies?"
Byakuya's eyes clouded over as he began to lose consciousness again.
"Hey!" Ichigo snapped, patting his face and squeezing his hand, "I'm talking to you, here. Look at me, Byakuya. Tell me how many there were."
"You don't have to be mean to him," Torao complained.
Ichigo's head turned and he lowered his voice to a soft whisper.
"We need to keep him talking or he'll go into shock and he could die right here. Besides, I heard from Suki a few days ago that you were giving him the hardest time of anyone. She said you were yelling at him and stomping around, saying that you hated him and wanted to come live with me now."
"I was mad!" Torao objected, "I can't help saying stupid things when I'm mad. I'm like you, not him!"
"Y-you know," Byakuya interjected softly, "I can still hear you two. I am not deaf, neither have I forgotten about injury induced shock and its effects."
"Will you be quiet and try not to move too much?" Ichigo chided him, "you're going to make the bleeding worse. Are you at least hurting some right now?"
"To put it mildly," Byakuya said with almost chilling calm.
"You want him to hurt?" Torao objected, "I mean, I know you're mad at him, but…"
"The p-pain is an indicator of m-my level of awareness, as well as a sign that I probably have not had my spine crushed entirely," Byakuya explained.
"Will you shut up and let me do the talking?" Ichigo snapped, "You're going to scare the shit out of him!"
"Our children have been trained to administer first aid," Byakuya replied in an unruffled tone, "scared or not."
Ichigo scowled and let out a flustered breath.
"How many quincies did you see?" he asked, more calmly.
"Only one," Byakuya answered, "I was attacked from behind by a second."
"You didn't sense him?" Ichigo asked, "The kids didn't get a look at him?"
"They made bright light around themselves," Torao explained, "We could see they were there, but we didn't know what they were."
Ichigo glanced at Byakuya questioningly, and the noble paused, remembering the quincy boy's familiar looking face and blue-violet eyes.
"I was…distracted," he whispered, his voice shaking as he began to lose consciousness again.
"One of them distracted you while the other attacked from behind?" Ichigo mused, frowning, "You don't get taken in by things like that."
"Th-the younger one…he…l-looked like…S…" Byakuya trailed off, quivering, then falling still.
"Hey, don't you do that," Ichigo said urgently, patting his face, "Byakuya, come on. Kisuke's gonna be here any minute."
"I'm here!" Kisuke called down to them, flash stepping down and bringing Orihime with him.
Orihime made a soft, urgent exclamation and activated her power, placing her healing field over the trapped noble as Kisuke swiftly assessed the positioning of the rock and the severity of Byakuya's condition.
"Looks like we got her just in time," he said, placing a hand on the rock, "Come here, Torao. I'll need your help with this."
"He said not to move it or he'll bleed to death!" Torao cried.
"Easy there, kid," Kiuske said reassuringly, "That was just until Orihime and I got here to help him. We can get this off him now, but we'll need to work together. I'll take care of shielding him. You blast that thing."
"I can do it," Ichigo offered.
"Eh, you just keep Byakuya-san calm. We'll handle this."
"Byakuya's unconscious!"
Kisuke gave Torao a knowing smirk.
"Your dad, there'd use a little too much oomph and we'd have a roasted Byakuya instead of just an injured one."
"Hey!" Ichigo snapped.
"Come on, kid. I've got him shielded," Kisuke urged the youth, "I've seen you do this."
"Yeah," Torao croaked, "for fun on rocks a lot smaller than this…and not with my dad underneath it!"
"It's fine," Kisuke chuckled, "Blast it. I'll protect Byakuya."
"Go on," Ichigo urged him, "You can trust Kisuke."
"That's not what Byakuya says," Torao huffed, taking aim on the rock and raising his reiatsu.
"No," Ichigo agreed, an unbidden smile rising on his lips, "it's not."
"Stay a little behind me," Kisuke warned Orihime.
"I won't hit her!" Torao snapped.
"Ah, stay back anyway," Kisuke whispered to the human girl.
Torao shook his head, scowling as he focused on the huge rock and fired a measured blast of kido. The others winced under Kisuke's protective shield as the rock exploded and sent bits flying out, away from the gathered rescue group.
"Nice shootin' Tex!" Kisuke said appreciatively, "Well done."
"Th-thanks," Torao panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead, then rejoining the others at Byakuya's side.
He gazed down at Byakuya's too pale face, worriedly.
"Is he gonna be okay?" the boy asked Orihime.
"He's hurt pretty badly," the human girl explained, "but I can heal him. He will just need pain relief and a lot of sleep when I'm done."
"We'll make sure he gets that," Ichigo soothed his anxious son, "He's going to be all right now, Torao."
"Okay," the boy said more calmly, slipping a hand into Byakuya's and holding it gently.
"Hey, Orihime," Kisuke said softly, "you think we can move him soon? We're starting to attract hollows. The leaders may not be enemies exactly, but the local residents can be a nuisance."
"We can go now," Orihime assured him, "I've rejected the injury to his heart and lung. I can finish with the broken bones when we get back."
"All right," the shopkeeper said, extending a hand and slowly curling strands of bright kido netting around Byakuya's motionless form, "Let's go home."