Chapter 7: Crosswinds
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(My thanks to Winterheart2000 (Yup, the boys are in deep and getting deeper...), Picklez80 (I thought that would be a good, surprising turn.), PrivateCaller (Your wish is my command!), Aizenfan6969 (I would expect some wicked behavior by the Kaiser...), Kittykins (Byakuya will see Ichigo soon, and he'll be shocked.), Vora (Byakuya does have a cool head and he is smart, but he'll be tested as he works his way towards Ichigo.), Hisuiryuu (Yeah, sociopaths like power and dominance.), Yukino76 (Byakuya will have to learn to use his powers differently, but he will have some help.), Jemma M (You are so very welcome! Byakuya has the Kaiser fooled for now, and he will have other challenges, but I think we know a guy like Nacht will eventually get wind of something and the danger will escalate.), Tomyallen (Byakuya will have to alter how he uses his reiatsu, but he will be able to use his Shinigami powers, once he is taught the differences in accessing and using that power.), and Tmp3475 (Yes, Nacht's brashness and overconfidence, as well as his lasciviousness has blinded him for now to Byakuya's true identity. He saw and sensed a quincy and didn't think to question. But, upon closer examination, who knows what will happen!) Enjoy the new chapter! Love to all, Spunky)
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Ichigo stirred as he began to wake, and he instantly regretted moving. A heavy throbbing pain radiated in his head and he felt stinging in several places on his skin and aching in his muscles. He breathed slowly, closing his eyes again.
"Ugh," he groaned.
Relieved to find he was alone in the bed, he turned away from the light that was coming in through the balcony doors and he curled his body into a ball. Feelings of mingled humiliation and revulsion sickened his stomach as he felt the lingering dampness along his bottom and inner thighs. And if that wasn't enough, he felt the nausea the healer had warned him about. He tried to breathe through it, distracting himself with other thoughts. But, his insides contracted painfully, and he was forced to exit the bed and stagger to the bathroom, where he dropped jarringly onto his knees and emptied his stomach into the toilet. He heaved several more times, eliciting a hard ringing in his ears, then he fell onto his bottom and sat against the wall with his legs bent and his face rested on his curled arms. He heard the bedroom door open and close, and groaned unhappily. But his face brightened very slightly as the servant, Mandel, entered the bathroom.
"Are you all right, Edle Knecht Ichigo?" he asked.
"Yeah," Ichigo sighed, flushing the toilet, "It's just what Verril told me to expect. Just some nausea and throwing up."
"I was warned you would be uncomfortable, so I brought some tea and soothing crackers for you sir."
"Th-thanks, but I don't think I can."
Mandel offered him a hand, but flinched as he spotted a dark bruise on the edle knecht's wrist.
"I should bring the healer," he said, helping Ichigo to his feet, "It's more than being with child that's tasking you, sir. No one wants you to be in pain."
"No," Ichigo agreed miserably, "they just want me locked up in here with that guy tying me up and beating and raping me. You know that's what's going on."
"I know," Mandel said sympathetically, looking around to be sure they were alone, "Kaiser Nacht is not a gentle leader. We all know that…and…if you take my meaning, you are not the only one he abuses in those ways."
"What?" Ichigo asked, looking back at the servant in alarm, "You mean, he…?"
"Any servant, noble or not, is beaten if he or she fails in their duties or is deiobedient or willful. We are all subject to strict rules, and we are expected to obey Kaiser Nacht without fail…some of us sexually, as well as menially."
"I am sorry if that makes you feel worse," Mandel hastily apologized, "I only meant to assure you that Kaiser Nacht is serious, and that you must not anger him."
"Can you tell me something?" Ichigo asked, "If this guy is so awful, then why is he the leader?"
Mandel's already troubled face fell, and he went quiet for a moment.
"Mandel?"
"Kaiser Nacht leads because he is powerful and he knows how to make people obey him. When you killed Ywach, you freed us in one way, but shortly after, we lost our freedom again to this man. He has dreadful powers. Some say he has a bewitching charm that he likes to use to control people's minds! It's very frightening, but it is better than the absolute chaos that erupted when everyone felt Ywach's death, and they began to panic."
Mandel helped Ichigo back into bed and he set the food tray in the edle knecht's lap. Ichigo still suffered twinges of nausea, but he picked up the tea and sipped a few times, earning a look of cautious approval from the servant.
"Tell me something, Mandel," Ichigo urged him, "because I'm confused. Why did I kill the old king?"
"Why did you kill Ywach?" Mandel mused, "I suppose it was because you are not just a quincy, you are half shinigami too."
"And the shinigamis are the quincies' natural enemy, right?" Ichigo inquired.
"That might be, for the rest of us, sir, but it wasn't for you. You were a friend to the shinigamis. You helped them through a terrible conflict with a rogue shinigami taicho and when Ywach sent his Sternritters to attack the shinigamis, you rushed to help them."
"Do you hate me for killing King Ywach?" Ichigo asked.
"Oh…no, sir," Mandel assured him, "However frightening and abusive Kaiser Nacht is, Ywach was many times worse. He didn't just abuse us, he murdered the strongest noble leaders, himself, to avoid any of them betraying him, then he built his army of loyalist followers, who followed him into war against the shinigamis."
"So, Ywach started the war?"
"Yes, the shinigamis didn't even know we were hidden, here in the shadows," Mandel explained, "To us, it was payback for the shinigamis trying to exterminate us. But, it was also an unprovoked attack, made from stealth. Ywach wasn't one who followed rules. He made them. Kaiser Nacht is not the dread power that Ywach was, but he is horribly powerful. You would do well to do as he says so that you avoid his punishments. They are cruel."
"Yeah," Ichigo sighed, looking down at the bruise on his wrist, "I know."
"Rest and eat now, sir," Mandel urged him, "I will have the healer come and make you more comfortable. I will be back to help you dress for the council meeting later."
"Thanks," Ichigo said softly.
He waited until the servant was gone, then he tried a few of the crackers, chewing slowly as they calmed his roiling insides.
It doesn't seem like there's anything I can do but go along, for now. With my powers sealed and Nacht already threatening my baby, I have to be really careful. But, whatever it takes, I won't give up.
I won't.
I am going to get out of this place.
I am.
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Uryu rushed up the steps of the Karakura Town hospital, looking left and right as he charged through the lobby and down one of the hallways. He ran past several objecting nurses before reaching his father's office and bursting in, earning a stern look from Ishida Ryuuken. The elder Ishida remained sitting, but set down the papers he had been reading.
"What are you doing, bursting in here like that?" Ryuuken demanded, "This is a hospital, Uryu."
"I know!" Uryu snapped, cutting him off, "but this is an emergency!"
"What kind of emergency?" asked the quincy doctor, "Did you find a sign of where Ichigo might be?"
"Yeah, I did," Uryu confirmed, "Byakuya and I found blood and reiatsu traces that proved Ichigo was taken into the shadows against his will. I tried crossing over partway to listen in and find out more."
"You were spying on the palace?" Ryuuken objected, "Uryu, that was reckless! You should have come back and let us handle that."
"I learned that Nacht seems to have taken over, and he has Ichigo!"
"And that is the emergency? Or is there more?" asked the doctor.
Uryu let out a flustered breath.
"The reiatsu line I had anchored to Byakuya recoiled suddenly, and I was flung back, and Byakuya was thrown across."
Ryuuken's eyes rounded.
"You caused a Gotei taicho to be captured?" he asked breathlessly, "Uryu, you fool!"
"I didn't exactly plan for the line to recoil!"
"If you dropped him into the palace, Kuchiki Byakuya is a dead man! You may as well have killed him with your own hands. It would have been better than what he'll suffer when they get their hands on him."
"I knew they would, if they realized who he was…"
"Please tell me that you ended his life mercifully. Uryu, if Kuchiki Byakuya is killed by them, his family will sense it. We'll all be blamed and this time, we will be exterminated! Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"I couldn't help that the line recoiled!" Uryu exclaimed, "You know that. And I didn't kill him or let him be killed by them. At least, I didn't sense him being killed."
Ryuuken's eyes narrowed.
"Then, what did you do?" he asked warily.
His son's next words shocked him into rare speechlessness.
"I gave him quincy powers and marked him as a family servant."
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Byakuya woke to a pounding headache he recognized instantly as the dregs of the power that had rendered him unconscious for the night. He shivered at the cold that seeped through the covers on his bed and looked up at the ceiling, breathing slowly and using a moment of meditation to ease the pain. He sat up in the bed, shivering again, and reaching for his robe. He searched his tiny room and found a bath towel and washcloth, then he left the room and stepped into the deserted hallway.
He headed towards the door that the other servant had pointed out the night before and passed through. He found himself in a common washroom and entered the side marked for men. Several of the showers in the main chamber were running, and a number of other servants, including the one called Vogel were talking casually and washing themselves.
Byakuya moved to the far end of the room and slipped out of his clothes, taking up a position under one of the shower heads. He sighed in relief that the water was blazing hot and comforting. His mood improved as he washed away the dirt, grime and small traces of blood left behind from the beating he had taken.
"Hey, sweetheart," a male voice said suddenly, as a strong arm curled around Byakuya's bare waist, "You wanna show me a good time?"
A swift strike to the midsection dropped the man at Byakuya's feet.
"What was that?" the noble asked coldly, "I do not think I heard you."
Three men talking to Vogel broke away and started across the room, approaching Byakuya from different angles. Vogel crossed his arms and glared at Byakuya.
"There's no fighting allowed," he rebuked the noble.
"It was not fighting," Byakuya answered calmly, "That was a warning."
"You think you're hot shit because you're an Ishida?" one of the men stalking him teased, "You picked the wrong place and time, Tomas."
"We don't like turncoats here!" hissed another.
Byakuya met Vogel's eyes meaningfully.
"If you do not want fighting, then, perhaps you should ask them to back away. If they come any closer, I will not be responsible for what happens to them."
Vogel gave Byakuya a look of warning, then he turned his back, going blithely back to washing himself. But, he turned his head to watch as the three men closed in on the noble.
"What's the matter?" one of the men taunted him, "PMS?"
Another grabbed at his arm, but had his hand swatted away.
"Hey, asshole!" the third snarled, "You don't just come in here and start wailing on people!"
"My apologies," Byakuya said with a vicious edge of sarcasm, "but the man laid hands on me without permission, and anyone who does that, deserves what I give them in return."
"Those were some sweet kisses," one of the men snickered.
"You got more of that, honey?" another laughed.
The three men moved as one, taking hold of Byakuya's arms, then reeling as the noble's wet flesh slipped easily from their hands and several well-placed kicks sent two of the the three flying in different directions. The third man gave an enraged growl and charged him. Byakuya sidestepped the attack and initiated his own, only to be caught by an ankle and brought down onto the wet floor. The man was on his back, before he could rise, and Byakuya could see out of the corner of an eye that the first man he had dropped, as well as his other two attackers, were starting to move. The man holding him tried to force his legs apart, but Byakuya shifted his weight and flipped the man off his back, then made a swift strike to his midsection to end the conflict. He climbed to his feet, only to find Vogel standing in front of him, crossing his arms and raising his reiatsu.
Damn! Byakuya swore inwardly, I do not yet know how to use my reiatsu in this state.
He struggled to breathe as the big quincy's reiatsu swelled around him, forcing him to his knees.
"Yeah, Vogel!" one of the recovering men jeered, "Do him good!"
Vogel's fingers sank into Byakuya's wet hair, and he dragged the noble to his feet. He glared into Byakuya's deadly grey eyes for a moment, then let go, leaving Byakuya staring at him.
"When you come here," Vogel said gruffly, "you're either an aggressor or you are a submissive. You passed the test. You're not a submissive."
"What would you have done if I was a submissive?" Byakuya asked, glaring at the recovering men out of the corner of a wary eye.
Vogel smiled at him.
"I would have let them enjoy you," he chuckled, "You've got moxie, Tomas, but you don't seem to know how to control your reiatsu at all."
Byakuya was taken aback for a moment at the change in the big quincy's demeanor, but he quickly adjusted.
"I was…not allowed to develop my powers," he lied, "As you know, my master, Ishida Ryuuken, hates being a quincy. We were not allowed to use our powers around his home."
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Vogel asked, eyeing Byakuya's slender, naked form appreciatively.
"When one is powerless, he must either compensate or he will pay the price," the noble answered.
Vogel nodded and waved off the three men who had begun to approach them.
"C'mon and finish washing yourself," he invited Byakuya, motioning to the shower head next to his.
Byakuya quietly moved in, under the hot spray, washing his hair as Vogel bathed beside him.
"You're pretty for a tough guy. You taken?"
"Yes."
Vogel frowned.
"If you're with someone, why did you run away and come here? Where is she?"
"He came here before me," Byakuya explained, "He was able to sneak in and I was supposed to meet him. But, I was clumsy and got caught."
"What's the guy's name? Maybe I can help you find him."
Byakuya stiffened slightly.
"I would…rather not say for now. I do not want to get him into trouble. I will find him on my own."
"No problem," Vogel said, more agreeably, "While you're here, you might want to learn about how to use your quincy powers. You can't fight off everyone if you don't have some ability. You did good for an untrained, but unless you're wanting a lot of boyfriends coming to call on you, you need to be able to warn'em off."
"That does sound wise," Byakuya surmised.
"Will you trade sex for the training?" Vogel asked, "I know you're spoken for, but it's not considered bad for slaves like us to exchange sex for things, since we don't have much else."
Byakuya shook his head firmly.
"I…could not look my lover in the face again if I ever did such a thing."
"Well," Vogel sighed, "it's okay by me if we find another way, but Tomas, you need to know, having a pretty face like yours may get the Kaiser's attention. And if it does, you're going to be cheating on that boyfriend pretty damned quick. I like you. I'll try to get you assigned somewhere away from him. But we need to work something out for payment, because I'm sticking my neck out. And remember, if I protect you from the Kaiser, someone else is gonna get nailed instead of you. Understand?"
He thought quietly for a moment, then looked back at Byakuya.
"How about just a kiss?"
"A…?"
Vogel shrugged and nodded in the direction of the men who had tried to attack the noble.
"It'll give me a little thrill and more importantly, it'll give those guys one more reason to leave you alone."
"I do see the sense of it, but…"
"We can work out something else for the training," Vogel went on blithely, "I just thought it would help if the other servants thought you were with me."
"Oh, very well," Byakuya said, blushing, "I do want to avoid their attention. Fighting them would probably earn me attention I would rather avoid."
Vogel smiled.
"Pretty and smart," he said approvingly, sliding an arm around Byakuya and pulling him in for a long, open mouthed kiss that left the noble blushing brightly and the bigger man visibly aroused.
Byakuya swallowed hard and turned his head aside politely.
"Go on back to your room and get your uniform on," Vogel laughed, looking down at his aroused member and shaking his head, "I gotta go and deal with this."
