Chapter 4: Hope Comes in Small Places
Tetsuya slipped quietly out of Kisuke's bedroom and stepped into the hallway, pausing to look around and sense his elder cousin's direction. He headed down the hallway, to another guest room and found the door open.
Within the room, Unohana taicho and Ukitake Taicho knelt, infusing Ichigo's unresponsive body with their reiatsu. Byakuya knelt on the other side with Rukia beside him. Tetsuya crossed the room and knelt on Byakuya's other side. The Kuchiki leader gave him a stern look.
"Tetsuya, I know you were given an order to rest. Why are you disobeying that order?" he chided his cousin.
Tetsuya shifted very slightly, but made no move to leave.
"I only plan to stay for a few minutes," he explained, "I wanted to see how you and Ichigo are doing."
"I am fine," Byakuya replied, "I had inhaled the noxious gas, but I was not otherwise harmed."
"How is Ichigo?"
Byakuya sighed, exchanging glances with the other two taichos.
"We are barely staying ahead of it," he answered dispiritedly, "And while we can keep him in this state for a very long time, we need to do more."
"Kisuke has been working tirelessly to find a way," Juushiro added.
"I believe he will find an answer," Retsu said solemnly.
"Doesn't he always find a way?" Juushiro said, giving the others a little, encouraging smile, "Retsu is right. He'll find a way…and until he does, we can keep Ichigo stable."
Byakuya studied the others for a moment.
"I know you both realize that Yamamoto sotaicho is not likely to want four taichos distracted from protecting the Seireitei while Aizen is such a threat to us. As much as he acknowledges Ichigo's value to Soul Society, he feels that we can't cluster our forces, but need to deploy them more strategically."
"You say that like you disagree with him," Juushiro said, smirking very slightly.
Byakuya gave him a disapproving look.
"Whatever my own inclinations," he answered stiffly, "I am not making the decision."
The four gathered around Ichigo looked up as Tessai entered the room, alongside Orihime, Jinta and Ururu.
"We are here to relieve you," the mustached man told them, "I have left food for you in the kitchen, so please eat before you go to rest."
"Thank you," Retsu said, rising with the others.
They headed out, into the hallway, stopping as the lab door at the end of the hall opened and Kisuke emerged, looking weary and slightly agitated. But, he smiled when he saw the others in the hallway.
"Byakuya, Tetsuya, I was just going to go looking for you."
"Looking for us?" Byakuya repeated, "Why?"
"I'll need you to come to the lab so that I can show you. Will you be all right waiting a little longer to eat?"
"We will be fine," Byakuya answered as the others headed into the kitchen and Byakuya and Tetsuya moved to join him.
Kisuke smiled warmly at Tetsuya, eliciting a little, annoyed flicker in Byakuya's reiatsu.
"Are you feeling all right, now?" the shopkeeper asked the younger Kuchiki, "You get some good sleep?"
"Yes, thank you," Tetsuya said politely, "It was kind of you to share your room with me."
The flicker in Byakuya's reiatsu flared.
"Tetsuya, you slept with…?"
"Ah, Byakuya-san, relax," Kisuke chuckled, "It was only because he needed to rest, but we were out of beds. I was hardly in the room at all. No harm done. I promise."
Tetsuya blushed and Byakuya gave the shopkeeper a smoky glare, but didn't answer.
"Anyway," Kisuke went on, "if you'll come with me, I'll show you what I came up with."
Byakuya's frown deepened.
"If you are giving an update, why not include the others involved in Ichigo's care? What are you up to, Urahara Kisuke?"
"Now, why do you think I'm up to something?" Kisuke chuckled.
"Because my instincts say you are," Byakuya said, narrowing his eyes, "I get the feeling you have chosen to speak to Tetsuya and me alone because you have something unpleasant to say, and you do not wish to do this in front of the others."
"Eh," Kisuke said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, "I wouldn't call what I have to say unpleasant. I guess I'd just say that it involves a decision that needs to be made, and since that decision is in your hands and Tetsuya's, I wanted to give you privacy to hear what I have to say, then to give me an answer."
"An answer about what?" Byakuya asked impatiently, "You know that Ichigo's condition is critical right now. You also know that Sotaicho is not going to let four taichos and two fukutaichos remain clustered here, away from our home base, while Aizen is preparing for war."
"I'm aware," Kisuke assured him.
"Then, if you have an answer to Ichigo's situation, you need to stop wasting time and explain it," the Kuchiki leader said stridently, "We need to employ it quickly."
"Easy," Kisuke said, giving him an amused look, "I'm getting to that, but you have to know, what I've found suggests a treatment that is going to require something pretty…well, extreme."
"Extreme?" Byakuya repeated, "How extreme? What, exactly, are we talking about, here?"
"Come on," Kisuke said, leading the two into the lab and closing the door, "I'll show you."
He led them to a monitor, where an array of data was displayed.
"These are Ichigo's readings for his spirit centers and spirit core. As I told you, they show that he is in critical condition, and we are barely keeping him alive."
"I see that."
"Yes," Kisuke said, bending over a keyboard in front of the computer monitor and tapping swiftly with his fingers, "Okay, if you watch, this shows what happened with each of several possible therapies I tested on his damaged cells that I collected. You see that all of the early tests failed, and although a few indicated mild reactions and improvements, none of these were successful. I'll tell you, I was at the end of my rope and pretty much outta ideas, but…then something occurred to me. There was a collection of cells I had taken that, like the reiatsu that disrupted Ichigo's body systems, was different in nature. Look at what happened when I exposed Ichigo's damaged cells to this."
Byakuya and Tetsuya's eyes widened as they watched the introduced cells swallow up the damaged ones.
"That is a profound response," Byakuya observed.
"It's amazing!" Tetsuya said wonderingly
"This would obviously bring about the question of what you are waiting for," Byakuya said impatiently, "and why we needed to be alone with you to do this. Where did you get those cells, and what is required of Tetsuya and me?"
"Okay, okay!" the shopkeeper said, holding up his hands defensively, "here's the deal. The cells that I took are from Tetsuya's body."
Tetsuya's breath caught sharply and Byakuya's expression darkened.
"And?"
"And," Kisuke explained, "they are not just any random cells. These cells were taken from the area of his body where, when he is impregnated, the spirit chamber forms."
Byakuya's reiatsu rose sharply.
"What are you suggesting?" he demanded.
"Hey," the shopkeeper said sternly, "you asked me to come up with something, with anything that can help keep Ichigo alive and help him recover. You did not say as long as your answer doesn't make me mad, so…this is an answer."
Byakuya's glare intensified and his lips twitched, but he held back answering. Kisuke hastened to explain further.
"You see, anytime you have cells that can change easily, cells that aren't bound to being this or that, special cells can be transformative, meaning that they can…"
"They can affect other cells around them," Byakuya supplied.
"Exactly," Kisuke affirmed, "And the reason Tetsuya has cells like that, is because he is a breeder male. Those cells are able to change when exposed to reiatsu and semen to form the spirit chamber and the new reiatsu of the baby."
Byakuya's look turned curious, then darkened further.
"Are you saying that you took Tetsuya's cells and exposed them to…?"
"I exposed them to Ichigo's cells," Kisuke answered, "I had to expose them to some reiatsu and semen to get them into their transformative state, but…"
Byakuya gave him a deadly look.
"Yours?" he practically growled.
"Byakuya-san, you are getting distracted. You asked me to find a way to save Ichigo, and I'm gonna tell you, this will save him. Now, it isn't going to restore him completely, but it will stabilize him, and that will stop the clock from ticking while we work to find a more permanent cure for him."
"I understand, and Tetsuya and I will, of course, cooperate. Just stop stalling and tell us what we need to do."
"Yeah, that," the shopkeeper said, looking warily at Tetsuya, who blushed, but looked back at him calmly, "You see, to get a reaction in Ichigo, I need more of Tetsuya's transformative cells…a lot more. And right now, there are a limited amount, not nearly enough for what I intend to do."
"And that means?" Byakuya prompted him.
"It means that I need to do something to promote the growth of those cells."
"And how is that done?"
Kisuke opened his mouth to answer, but was silenced as Tetsuya answered for him.
"I have to become pregnant."
Now, it was the shopkeeper blushing.
"He's got it."
He paused, looking at Byakuya and watching as the Kuchiki leader glared at him and worked to keep his burgeoning temper under control.
"Now, we need to find someone who resonates well with him, to be sure that his body will respond."
"Assuming that Tetsuya and I agree to this."
"Of course," Kisuke agreed, "Just remember, I have nothing else that is working. This works. But, these is a little more to it."
"There is more?" Byakuya asked, stiffening.
"Yeah," Kisuke affirmed, "because even with Tetusya's transformative cells in action, we need to stimulate Ichigo's body to help us. Now, I know you're gonna be mad and you're gonna tell me It's unethical. It is, and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. You're not gonna like it. But you have to decide, here, what is more important. Do you want Ichigo to stabilize before sotaicho pulls the rug out from under us and calls you guys back to the home base, or do you want to sit here for longer while I fool around, looking for something you like better?"
"What are you suggesting?"
"You know that the original breeder males were not natural ones. They were made, after the blood war with the quincies, a thousand years ago. They were made to repopulate the noble clans."
"And you know that the process for making them is outlawed. It is banned! And for good reason, because a number of the original breeder males died while being altered."
"I know that," Kisuke argued, "but we are out of options. We need to impregnate Tetsuya to get the cells in the amount we need, and we need to prepare Ichigo's body to be able to make his own transformative cells. In short, I know the process to also make Ichigo a breeder male…"
"You plan to impregnate him too?" Byakuya asked sharply, "In his condition? You are going to…?"
"The other option is to just let him go on like this until we can't anymore, for whatever reason. You know we can't do this forever, Byakuya-san. If you want to save Ichigo, then drastic measures are called for. We need to start prepping these two and we need to find partners to provide the reiatsu and semen. There has to be a strong resonance, or the pregnancy won't happen."
He paused, noting that Tetsuya's face had gone frightfully pale.
"Tetsuya-san, what is it? I'm sorry if I upset you. I was just…"
"It's not that," Tetsuya said softly, lowering his eyes, "It's just that there is a person I know already who has a strong resonance with me…although it is a negative connection. But, I know he would be able to cause…"
"Absolutely not," Byakuya said, in a voice that was firm, but at the same time, gentle.
Kisuke gave them a curious look.
"Tetsuya was, as you know, a prisoner in Itamigiri, the illegal noble's prison. While incarcerated, he was abused and impregnated by someone who is not allowed to touch him."
"But, this is an emergency!" Tetusya argued, "And…couldn't I be artificially inseminated? I don't have to actually…?"
"That's right," Kisuke assured him.
"There is not way you are having that man's child, Tetusya!" Byakuya snapped.
"So, because of that, Ichigo will have to suffer?" Tetsuya asked, "Byakuya-sama, I am as upset by the idea as you are, but we have to consider…"
"No," Byakuya said, glancing at the shopkeeper, who bit his lip to hold back a smirk, "because, if you were listening, then you know that there was another option besides Orochi."
Tetsuya frowned.
"There was?"
Byakuya nodded.
"We only just discussed the fact that Urahara Kisuke was able to affect your cells with his semen and reiatsu."
"Yeah, and a second ago, you were ready to take my head off for that," Kisuke chuckled.
"Well, given that the other option is a sadistic monster who abused my cousin, you are suddenly the better option."
He paused and looked into Tetsuya's eyes questioningly.
"If…you wish to go along with this, Tetsuya."
"Of course I will," Tetsuya said without hesitation, "Ichigo has done so much for Rukia-san. It's our turn to show our gratitude for that."
"You do realize that we're talking about something that will bring two babies into the world," Kisuke warned them, "Not to mention the fact that we are going to be impregnating Ichigo without his consent. He may be pissed."
"He should be grateful to be alive, and to have a chance at recovery," Byakuya insisted, "We need to put this plan in motion now. You know we don't have time to debate it."
"Right," Kisuke agreed, "So, if you're on board, I will prepare the…stuff to begin the process with Tetsuya. Then, we need to find someone who resonates well enough with Ichigo for them to impregnate him, once I alter him."
Byakuya's dark, brooding eyes flickered.
"I believe you will find that my reiatsu resonates strongly with Ichigo's. You will also find that you will not need to transform him."
Kisuke and Tetsuya exchanged surprised glances.
"And…how do you know this?" the shopkeeper asked.
"I know this because of the connection I felt with him when we fought nearly to the death, and I know because…I am also a breeder male. I can either be impregnated by, or impregnate Ichigo."
"Oh," Kisuke said, shaking his head, "Ichigo's gonna love that…"
"Ichigo is going to live and he is going to recover fully," Byakuya said determinedly, "I am going to make sure that he does."