Chapter 4: The Healing Blade
"Where are we going?" Renji asked the king's messenger, following as the young man led Byakuya and him out of the healing center and to an odd, glowing portal.
"Aha!" the redhead said, glaring at the device, "So, there is a way besides bouncing us from platform to platform to get us from one place to the other around here! I knew that guy was bullshitting me!"
"Renji," Byakuya said reprovingly, "you should mind your manners. He is taking us to the royal palace."
"The...what?" Renji gasped, stopping, "The...really?"
"Come on!" the noble scolded him, pulling him along by the arm, "We shouldn't keep the king waiting."
"We're gonna see the king?" Renji squawked, his eyes rounding, "But, I thought that..."
"His majesty wishes to speak with you before he sends you back to the Seireitei," their guide informed them.
"Great," the redhead muttered, sweat breaking out on his forehead, "He probably wants to warn us not to get our asses trashed again or he won't be saving them this time!"
"I think that goes without saying," Byakuya said dismissively, "There must be something more important than that if he wants to speak to us personally. Just be quiet and respectful, and let me do the talking!"
"Okay."
"Okay?" Byakuya repeated, narrowing his eyes.
"Okay, Taicho," the redhead corrected himself.
"We need to have a talk when we get back," Byakuya said dryly, "You are becoming too lax."
"S-sorry, Taicho. I just...the king, you know? We're really gonna see the king!"
The two quieted as they entered the portal and found themselves walking through a narrow corridor, reminiscent of the precipice world. Another portal opened as they approached it and Rukia and Ichigo proceeded out of it and joined them.
"Hey," the shinigami substitute greeted them, "Byakuya, good to see you awake. You really got trashed. I was worried."
"As you see, I have recovered, although, I am not yet ready to return," Byakuya greeted him, fixing a dark gray eye on him for a moment, "I am pleased to see you have recovered as well. I see your zanpkauto has gone through a transition."
"Yeah," Ichigo affirmed, "Oetsu and Ichibee helped me a lot with that."
"That you use their names so casually," Byakuya chided him.
He paused, sighed and shook his head.
"You certainly are free spirited…"
Ichigo shrugged and smiled.
"Can't seem to help that."
"Hmm."
"It looks like we'll be going back soon," Rukia said as the group followed the king's messenger out another portal and into a small reception area.
A group of guards surrounded the four, leading them into a huge, marble-floored corridor that led to the king's throne room. Shining golden doors opened ahead of them and the messenger stopped them just inside. Rukia and Renji's eyes rounded and they seemed lost for words, but Ichigo's brow furrowed as he took in the odd figure encased in what looked like a crystal bulb. Two guards stood on either side of the king, and as they entered, the one to the king's right side stepped forward and began to approach them.
"What the heck?" Ichigo breathed softly.
"That's the king?" Renji whispered to Byakuya, "Taicho, his reiatsu feels weird…like…"
"Like a quincy?" Byakuya said, earning shocked looks from the others, "That is because…he is a quincy. He is the former king of the quincies, who came here in battle, a thousand years ago…and slayed the true king."
"He…killed the real king?" Ichigo exclaimed softly.
"He did. And he is now our king," Byakuya explained solemnly, "He was incapacitated at the end of the war, and in the aftermath, he agreed to keep the balance of souls and to use his powers to assist us. In return, we see to his comfort here, and we make sure he is not mistreated."
"Except for being imprisoned?" Ichigo asked.
"The crystal housing protects him from harm, and it also protects us from the swells of his power if he loses control. It is a safety measure he also agreed to."
"But…why doesn't everyone know about this?" Renji asked anxiously, "Why the secrecy?"
"Can you imagine the chaos it would have caused to know that our king had died and we were in danger of destruction?" Byakuya mused, "It was the decision of Central 46 at the time, that the commoners would not handle the news well, so they were not burdened with it."
"Well, I don't know about Central 46, but I think I'd rather know the truth," Ichigo said in a low, angry voice.
"I'm with Ichigo," Renji said, shaking his head, "Damn."
Byakuya motioned for them to stop talking as the guard reached them and the messenger bowed his head and addressed the man.
"Lord Protector, these are the shinigamis Reio asked to see," he said, bowing deeply.
"Thank you, Nobu," said he guard's calm, soft voice, "You may go."
The messenger turned and exited the room, and the guard led the four to the king. Byakuya glanced at the others and lowered himself onto his knees. His three companions hastily followed suit. The king looked down at them through dark, eerie eyes, examining them all briefly before speaking, not aloud, but into their minds.
"I am glad to see that all of you have recovered and that you will soon be able to return to the battlefield. The situation is grave and you are badly needed. Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renji, you have completed your training?"
"Yeah...yes, your majesty," Renji stammered, earning a glare from his disapproving taicho.
"Ichigo, I know that you need to return to your training, but I wanted to update all of you on the situation and how you are needed."
"Of course, your majesty," Ichigo said, nodding, "But, can I ask you something first?"
The king nodded silently.
"I understand you are a quincy, and that you only agreed to remain here and serve the shinigamis because you were too injured to fight anymore. Honestly, how can we know that you are on our side?"
"Ichigo!" Rukia hissed, "For Kami's sake!"
"It is a fair and wise question," the king said into their minds, "I was an enemy to the shinigamis of the past. I have not forgotten this. But, what you should know is that I have seen the future. I know what is to happen, and there is no path for me…but this. Once, I wanted to rule the world…to rule it, but not to destroy it. Should Ywach triumph, then he will destroy everything. He will not stop at killing me. He will destroy the shinigami world, Hueco Mundo and the world of the living. What is left behind will be a chaotic maelstrom of creatures fighting to survive, and a king who enjoys watching them struggle and die in vain. I…do not want to see everything in ruins, so I have chosen…my fate."
His strange eyes looked into Ichigo's, and the shinigami substitute felt the weight of his emotions.
"The taichos left in the Seireitei are struggling," the king informed them, "The final attacks will soon commence and if we are not able to stop them, the Sternritters will annihilate every shinigami who survived the first wave. You must use your restored and newly trained powers to prevent that, and to invade the enemy's palace. You will be sent back to a strategic position that will enable you to do that, but the fights will get harder as you advance. In addition, there is someone you must rescue on my behalf."
The four looked at each other questioningly, then back at the king.
"There was a young noble who was taken as the enemy army attacked. They did not kill him, but made him a prisoner. You have to find him where they have imprisoned him in the enemy camp and free him. This young man is not just a shinigami, but is the secret bearer of a healing power that is going to be critical at the end of the war. I have foreseen that he must be protected, and that his death would be the forerunner of millions more if we do not rescue him. Find him. Bring him back safely. I do not want his blood spilled before its time. This will be a difficult task, but I have confidence in you. And...I will be sending someone else along with you to aid you in your search. He is a powerful fighter, and one of my own protectors. He is the King's Samurai...Abarai Katsuro."
Renji's eyes rounded at the sound of the name, then stared in shock as a tall, handsome red and silver-haired man in a black and red kimono stepped out from behind the throne. His eyes swept across the group approvingly, then moved back and fixed on Renji. Renji's jaw dropped and he gazed at the man more closely, studying the familiar features, the long hair, bound into a long braid that curled around one shoulder, the tall, muscular body and bold. black markings that covered him. And even the sword he carried had a touch of similarity to Renji's own.
"I know it is a shock," the king explained, "especially considering that you didn't know he was still alive."
"I wanted to come back when your mother died," the samurai explained in a voice that was a deeper, more melodic version of Renji's, "but except under special circumstances, we cannot safely leave this place."
"You...!" Renji gasped, finally breaking free of his silence, "You are..."
"I'm your father, Renji," the man said, giving him a wide, charming smile.
XXXXXXXXXX
Tetsuya stirred sluggishly where he laid on his belly, his wrists still bound to the rail at the head of the bed he laid in and the quincy, As Nodt, still naked and spread out along his back. The sleeping quincy remained entrenched in the captive shinigami's body, connecting the two, even as they slumbered. His body already suffering from the beginnings of corruption by the quincy, Tetsuya moaned softly, shivering at the visions that invaded his restless mind.
As Nodt crouched within a copse of trees, looking out into the forested area in front of him, watching carefully for any sign of movement.
"Master?" a soft voice intoned.
As Nodt's head turned, and his black eyes briefly met those of his servant. The younger quincy set a cup of hot tea in his master's hand and crouched at his side, assisting with the watch as As Nodt sipped at the tea and scanned the forest for the presence of enemies.
"I don't understand," the younger man said, his eyes troubled, "Why do they hate us so? Why do the shinigamis want to kill us? It is so unfair, Master As Nodt. It is not like we want to upset the balance of souls. It is just that the hollows threaten us all. What are we to do?"
"We continue our struggle to survive, of course," As Nodt said, matter-of-factly, "There is nothing else we can do, Keiji."
As Nodt felt a touch of warmth inside at the distressed look in the young gemischt's eyes as he continued to survey the darkened forest.
"I understand," Keiji said, more softly, "but it makes me sad. It makes me afraid, Master."
As Nodt closed his eyes, scanning the area again and concluding that, for the moment, they had eluded the enemy. He slipped an arm around his servant's shoulders and let his face burrow into the soft waves of dark hair, seeking the younger man's throat and smiling at the instant blush it brought to Keiji's fine skin.
"M-master!" the younger quincy objected, sucking in a surprised breath as As Nodt's seeking hand slipped beneath his clothing and sought his warm privates, "Sh-shouldn't we focus on watching for them? N-not that I do not like being touched by you, but...they could find us!"
"That is always a threat," As agreed, caressing the younger man's privates and nibbling the sweet flesh beneath a flushed earlobe, "But even though we are threatened by them, we should not let it steal away all of the brightness in our lives. That isn't living, Keiji."
The quincy servant opened his mouth to answer, only to find that sweet orifice invaded by a hardened, commanding tongue. Keiji's soft hands clenched and he groaned as he felt himself being pushed back and braced against a tree, where As Nodt held him while opening his clothing and slowly preparing him.
"M-master!" Keiji pleaded, the word muffled by the assault of the elder quincy's tongue, "Master, I am...I am afraid!"
"Do not fear them," As hissed softly, gently nibbling, then suckling the younger man's earlobe and enjoying the strong reaction in his servant's heated loins, "We will be strong. We will fight back. We will make them fear us, Keiji!"
"Master!" Keiji gasped, reeling as the elder quincy positioned himself and took his servant, still standing and pressed back against the tree.
Keiji's words faded into soft, lovely sounds of intense pleasure and his hands gripped As Nodt's shoulders firmly. His hips pressed forward eagerly to meet each hard, grinding thrust his master offered, and as they moved together, the tremor went out of the younger man's hands and the panic left his eyes. He groaned in surrender, his legs shaking and threatening to collapse as the elder quincy's body went taut, shuddering as he loosed his seed into the younger man. Keiji sighed, his own body quivering in release and a feeling of blissful satedness joining with As Nodt's fierce heat to warm him inside.
"Are you still afraid?" As Nodt asked quietly, brushing a sweaty strand of Keiji's hair away from his eyes and kissing him on one flushed cheek.
"No," Keiji whispered, resting his head gently on As Nodt's shoulder, "Master has filled me with courage again. I have nothing to fear...nothing at all."
"I won't let the shingamis harm you," As Nodt promised, caressing the younger man's face with graceful fingertips, "I will protect you from them."
The scene in Tetsuya's mind shifted to a later time, a candlelit room, where Keiji laid, his slender body dressed in a soft yukata and his fading eyes looking up into his master's.
"M-master," he managed in a trembling voice, "I am afraid to leave you."
"You don't need to be afraid for me," As Nodt chided him, "You remember that, after the massacre, his majesty granted me his power so that I would be strong."
"I do not fear that Master will not be strong enough," Keiji explained, reaching up a shaky hand to touch As Nodt's face, "I don't want you to be alone."
"You think I will miss you?"
"No," Keiji whispered, a tear leaking onto his face, "An echt of your status has no need for the company of a mere gemischt like me. I just...I love Master and I don't want him to feel lonely."
"What a lovely sentiment," As Nodt said, caressing Keiji's hand, then kissing it lightly.
He touched the dying man's face and brushed warm kisses on his lips, at the same time, clamping down hard on the emotions it evoked in him.
"You are a fine servant," he whispered, squeezing the younger man's hand a final time, "and yes, Keiji, I will miss you."
"Thank you, my Master!" the younger quincy sighed, his eyes drifting closed, "Thank you for taking away my fears. I am dying but I am not afraid. Even though I am leaving you, my heart will still love you."
As Nodt watched with shadowed eyes as the life left his servant's body and Keiji's last breath came out in a contented sigh. He sat next to his deceased lover, holding his limp hand as the warmth seeped away and keeping his face serenely calm.
"I love you too."
As Nodt's eyes opened suddenly, and found Tetsuya's observing him over a naked shoulder. The quincy read the shinigami's stricken expression and he rolled Tetsuya onto his back and laid down on top of him, glaring coldly into his widened blue eyes.
"You saw, didn't you?" As Nodt hissed in a chilling voice, "You know, then?"
"You did love him," Tetsuya whispered, tears leaking onto his face, "a servant...a gemischt. You..."
His words disappeared as the quincy's mouth came down hard on his, stopping the words and sending a heavy weight crashing down on the captive shinigami's reeling heart.
"Why?" Tetsuya cried, closing his eyes tightly as the quincy's fingers hastily prepared him and his body was roughly breached, "Why didn't you tell him? Why did you let him die before you said the words! You let him die in agony. You let him die, thinking he wasn't anything to you! You loved him, but when your leader stole his power and took his life, you stood watching and didn't fight for him at all! You..."
"I was afraid," As Nodt whispered into the noble's ear, stunning Tetsuya into silence and leaving him staring at the quincy in dismay, "As strong as I was, I could not stand against the shinigamis. I was injured and dying, and the only thing that kept me alive was his majesty's power. I realized then that if I wanted to live, I must obey his majesty at all costs. And when he reclaimed Keiji's power and my lover died, I didn't want his death to be in vain!"
Tetsuya gasped and strained against his bonds as the touches on his body became rougher and more insistent.
"I couldn't save Keiji. There is no way to resist the will of his majesty. He grants all of us our powers and he can take them back at will. The only way to live is to obey him!"
"So, why haven't you turned me over to him?" Tetsuya asked suddenly, making As Nodt's body freeze atop his, "Why are you keeping me here and not telling him about me?"
"You think I won't, shinigami?" As Nodt asked icily, "You think that, because of him, I will show you mercy? That is very, very foolish, Kuchiki Tetsuya! I am keeping you here for one reason and one reason only."
"Why, then?"
"I want you to tell me where they are," As Nodt said in a low, threatening voice.
"I don't...!"
"Of course you know," the quincy said sternly, "You were Byakuya's protector. Of course you would have known the way to the family so that you could reunite him with them, once you found him. I am many things, Kuchiki Tetsuya, but I am neither stupid nor merciful. Now, if you want to live, you will tell me where your women and children are hidden!"
"I don't know!" Tetsuya insisted, reeling as a striking hand stung his cheek, "I don't! You don't think that the family would have confided such a thing in a half-blood, do you? They hated me! They imprisoned me for years! Even now, they look down on me! Why would they entrust their lives to someone like me? I don't know where they are!"
"Yes, you do," As Nodt said calmly, his body glowing threateningly as several golden thorns formed between them, "And if you don't want to die right now, you will tell me where the rest of the Kuchiki family is hidden!"
Tetsuya screamed as one of the thorns passed through his chest and found a second spirit center and slowly poisoned it with malevolent reiatsu.
"His majesty wants the shinigamis to die," As Nodt went on, slowly breaching and corrupting another spirit center and leaving Tetsuya gasping and on the verge of losing consciousness.
"I will die before I ever betray them to you!" the writhing shinigami spat venomously, "You said that you loved him, but the truth is, you didn't! If you truly had loved him, then you wouldn't have been afraid to die for him! Look into my eyes. I am not afraid to die for the one I protect! This is what love is, As Nodt, and I am the reason you so fear really feeling it!"
Tetsuya's words ended in a pained gasp as a fourth spirit center was breached. His face went pale and his eyes blinked dazedly and closed. As Nodt stared down at the unconscious shinigami in surprise, his vision flickering strangely and his eyes flickering with torment.
"Wake up," he whispered, touching Tetsuya's blanched face and shaking him gently.
An odd jolt of memory jabbed at the quincy and he shook the young man more urgently, breaking the bonds on his wrists and pulling him close.
"Wake up!" he pleaded, his eyes widening as Tetsuya's body seemed to shift back and forth between Keiji's and his own, "WAKE UP!"
He clutched Tetsuya to his chest, closing his eyes tightly and loosing his words in a desperate shriek.
"WAKE UP, KEIJI!"
A chill shot through As Nodt as a familiar step sounded in his doorway.
"As Nodt?"
The quincy froze, still holding Tetsuya against him.
"Yes, your majesty."
"You needn't trouble yourself with him anymore. Give him to me."
As Nodt remained still and silent as Ywach stepped closer, observing him through dark, shadowed eyes.
"You don't need him anymore," he said again, "My power is all that you need, ne?"
"Y-yes, your majesty," the quincy said numbly, his fingers loosening reluctantly as the quincy leader took Tetsuya's unconscious body from his arms.
"You are better off without him. He is nothing. He is a means to an end. You will be rewarded for finding him. I will extract what we need from him and we will destroy the Kuchiki family. We will crush the noble families, demolish the Gotei 13 and annihilate all of the shinigamis as they wanted to annihilate us. This is what they deserve. Do not forget that."
"Yes, your majesty," As Nodt said, more calmly, watching in silence as the quincy leader carried Tetsuya out of the room.
He remained on the bed, still breathing in Tetsuya's soft, sakura scent and feeling the touch of the shinigami's warm skin against his. He started to rise, then paused at feeling something beneath one braced hand. He picked up the item from the bed, staring at it silently in the darkness...a bright silver pendant with a blue moonstone at its center.
He left the bed and found the tools he needed to mend the broken clasp, then looked at the pendant again before setting it in place at his own throat.
"You are courageous like him, Kuchiki Tetsuya," he whispered, "But, you will find that the only thing your courage ends in...is death. I am sorry. I could not save you. I am not courageous like you."
He sighed softly and closed his eyes.
"I am afraid."
XXXXXXXXXX
"My...what?" Renji repeated, looking stunned, "I didn't know that..."
"Surely you knew you had a father," Katsuro chuckled, looking amused, "And I'll confess that your mother was the sweetest flower that ever grew on the Shihoin family tree!"
"What?" Byakuya and Renji gasped, staring.
"Shihoin Tama," Katsuro said, his eyes softening, "I encountered him when I came to the Seireitei during the first conflict with the quincies."
"The first conflict with the quincies?" Byakuya repeated, disbelievingly, "But that was...that means that Renji must be..."
"Tama was charming, if a little, erm, challenging. I didn't realize that I had impregnated him when we were together," the samurai stated, grinning at the blush it brought to the faces of the sixth squad taicho and his fukutaicho, "Tama was the oddball, powerful male in a family where mostly females were leaders. This made him somewhat temperamental and not eager to return to his family. When I found out about you, Tama had moved into the Rukongai, knowing that it wasn't safe to have a samurai's son in the Seireitei, where he might have been discovered. He shaded your reiatsu and took you to the lower Rukongai, where he later succumbed to illness, relating to his wounds from the war. I could not return to collect you, as we are only allowed to leave the royal realm with special permission. It is too dangerous to the king. But...I did watch over you from here."
"You!" Byakuya said, his eyes widening, "You are of the secret royal clan?"
"All of my samurai are of the secret royal clan," the king explained quietly, "And each will serve me in his time. Renji, you too will someday serve me as well...or perhaps my descendent. But...back to the matter at hand, the situation in the Seireitei is desperate. You must return there and do what you can to stop the advance of the Vandenreich. Ywach and his Sternritters must be stopped! And...you, Kuchiki Byakuya, must find and rescue your cousin, Tetsuya, before Ywach realizes what he is."
"Tetsuya!" Byakuya mused.
"Tetsuya is the noble you were talking about? The transcendent?" Renji exclaimed, "I mean, he is powerful, but...?"
"Tetsuya is a very young transcendent," the king said more softly, "Unknown to even him, Tetsuya is a direct descendant of the Kuchiki progenitor, Kuchiki Hajime."
"Kuchiki Hajime!" Byakuya gasped.
"Who is that?" Renji and Ichigo asked together.
"Kuchiki Hajime was the first noble that our original king created," Byakuya explained in a shocked voice, "After the clans were sent to live in the Seireitei, the king made Hajime his consort. Hajime possessed a powerful healing gift that was housed in a full elemental sword."
"A full elemental?" Ichigo mused.
"As all of you know, Tetsuya's Rekuhime is a water spirit, but if what his majesty says is true, Tetsuya's zanpakuto is only partially awakened."
"You are correct," the king affirmed, "Tetsuya must be found and brought safely to the royal realm. It is his power that we will need in the end, if we wish to survive. I can sense Tetsuya's reiatsu and I can tell you that he is in the enemy palace, held captive by the Sternritter, As Nodt."
"As Nodt!" Byakuya gasped, remembering suddenly the flash image he had seen of his cousin, just before losing consciousness completely, "That monster took Tetsuya?"
"Yes," confirmed the king, "Tetsuya sensed your distress and went to find you. He did reach you, but he was captured by As Nodt and made a captive of the Vandenreich. I do not know if Ywach is aware of him being in the palace. As Nodt seems content to keep the young man to himself."
"Which, strangely enough, is fortunate," explained Katsuro, "If that bastard knew Tetsuya was a transcendent, he would kill him immediately to make a key to enter the royal realm!"
"He could do that?" Rukia whispered in horror.
"Tetsuya's soul is able to pass into the royal realm, as others are not," the king went on, "If this is discovered and Ywach absorbs him, the imprint of Tetsuya's soul would give him easy entrance here."
"But if Tetsuya could be used that way, then why was he allowed to remain in the Seireitei?" Byakuya asked, "And what about Renji? Couldn't he also be used that way?"
"The samurai are residents of the royal realm because of their extreme reiatsu that would be dangerous to the Seireitei and its residents," said the king, "They are not transcendents, but very powerful noble class shinigamis. But, Byakuya, you now wield reiatsu on that level. That is why Shutara's clothing must remain wrapped around you until you are in greatest need. Once it opens, your full reiatsu will be released. You must only allow this to happen as a last resort. Now, Ichigo, you must return to finish your training. Rukia and Renji, you complete final preparations to return to the Seireitei and start our advance battles. Byakuya and Katsuro, I want to speak to you further regarding your mission to retrieve Tetsuya."
"Yes, your majesty," the group said together.
Byakuya and Katsuro watched as the others departed, then turned back towards the king.
"My samurai," the king said, smiling as Katsuro's head dipped respectfully in response, "Byakuya, you will return to the Seireitei together, but when you arrive, Byakuya will need to search for As Nodt, while you, Katsuro, must infiltrate the palace. Once you find As Nodt, Byakuya, you must prevent him from returning to the palace, while Katsuro will search for and free Tetsuya. But be warned...I have sensed the corruption of the first of Tetsuya's spirit centers by As Nodt's powers. Not only does this mean that if he dies, his soul will be tribute to Ywach, it also means the countdown has begun to the enemy discovering his true nature. With each center's corruption, the end draws nearer. And if the core spirit center is breached, Tetsuya's mind will be lost and his body will be forced into transcendence. But instead of a healer, he will become a true monster. The chaotic reiatsu will turn him into a spirit demon. This must be prevented at all costs, even if he must, in the end, be destroyed!"
"But, your majesty!" Katsuro exclaimed, "If he dies..."
"I know," the king replied shortly, cutting him off, "There will be many additional deaths because of it."
"Your majesty!" Byakuya said, breathlessly.
The soul king's eerie eyes fixed the two in place and his voice rang deep in their hearts as he spoke again.
"You are my last hope. Please...do not fail me!"
