Chapter 9: The Escape
(Happy Birthday, Renji! I will try to finish another Renji chapter today if I can, but if not, I will have a few more over the next several days. Didn't get to all of the ones I meant to, but things are calming a little. Onward! Love to all, Spunky)
Renji rested quietly in the hollow king's bed, his bright golden eyes glistening as he held Tetsuya against him, threading affectionate fingers through the waves of his soft hair and rubbed little circles on his rounded belly. He felt a warmth inside that seemed far removed from the chill that the king's power had awakened in his hollowfied body.
"Thank you," he whispered gently, "Thank you so much, Tetsuya, for bringing back the love that I shared with you and Byakuya. Just to know myself again is such a gift. Even if I can't go back with you, I can hold you for now and feel grateful that I know what there was before. It makes this place inside me a little less dark, less evil, less hollow. That means everything to me. You, Byakuya and our babies mean everything to me. But you can't stay here much longer. You have to go. As soon as…"
He trailed off as he felt a little tingling begin in his abdomen and looked down to find a soft glow overtaking the rounded bump on his abdomen. Catching his breath, he lifted the covers and found the same glow rising within Tetsuya's belly.
"Sentience," he whispered, tears coming to his eyes.
The glow coming from their bodies lit his face, and he felt Tetsuya move in his embrace. The younger man's pretty blue eyes opened and focused on their swollen baby bumps. He sucked in a sharp breath and tears of intense happiness flooded his widened orbs.
"Renji!" he exclaimed breathlessly.
"Yeah," Renji answered, smiling lovingly and petting Tetsuya's lovely face, brushing away his tears and kissing his smiling mouth.
"The babies have reached sentience!" Tetsuya breathed, "Renji, we…can escape!"
Renji paused for a moment, looking one more time into Tetsuya's sweet, hopeful gaze.
I don't know how to tell you that I can't go with you. I love you and Byakuya and our babies so much that I don't know how to say the words to you. So…I won't say them. I just have to convince you to run. It isn't going to be easy, but it's what I have to do. I have to give this king his heir so that there will be an heir here and he won't come after our children or their children in the future. Yeah, it has to end here. If I stay and have this heir for him, then there will be royal family here to carry on the line. Please understand, if there was any other way, I would never let you go. You brought everything back, Tetsuya. That's a gift I can't repay you for…except to do this to protect all of you. I just…wish it didn't have to be this way. I love how you are looking at me. It breaks my heart that I am going to have to terrify you to get you to run away!
"Renji, are you all right?" Tetsuya asked, reaching up to trace the golden lines of his face.
Renji held his gaze steadily, his heart aching as he forced the loving expression to leave his face as he growled softly.
"Renji?" Tetsuya hissed, pulling free of him, "Renji, what's wrong?"
"I…I…" Renji stammered, clawing at the hole in his chest, "Tetsuya, it's the king's power. It's…doing something to me! Tetsuya, you have to go now!"
"N-no!" Tetsuya exclaimed, staring, "Renji, our babies have reached sentience and the king has not yet returned. We can run together now! Come on. We have to leave now, before he comes back!"
Tetsuya reached for Renji's hand, then cringed away as his hollowfied husband snarled and all recognition left his golden eyes.
"Renji!" Tetsuya sobbed, "Renji, don't!"
"R-run, you fool!" Renji gasped, his clawed hand swiping clumsily at Tetsuya, "C-can't you see? I'm…I'm losin' control!"
"I can help you!" Tetsuya assured him, starting to move closer.
He shrank back as Renji lunged at him, forcing him back against the bedroom wall and glaring down at him through deadly eyes.
"I…h-hunger," he mumbled in a dazed voice, his lips parting and bared fangs seeking Tetsuya's vulnerable throat.
"Renji, no!" Tetsuya sobbed, breaking free of him, "Renji, please, stop!"
Tetsuya turned and ran for the balcony as Renji turned and fired a calculated blast that managed to graze Tetsuya's slender wrist, relieving him of the limiter, before it crashed into the balcony doors, destroying them completely and opening the way. Instantly, the palace alarms began to wail.
Run Tetsuya!
Renji cringed as heavy pain throbbed in his midsection, making him fall onto his knees, gasping and clawing at the floor.
I pushed it too hard.
The baby's…
He couldn't see to know what had happened to Tetsuya. The doors to the suite crashed open and a group of guards dashed inside and frowned curiously at the sight of the royal consort, crouching on the floor. The guard captain spotted the broken balcony doors, then looked back at Renji.
"The shinigami must have attacked him and escaped through the balcony doors!" he exclaimed.
"N-no, he didn't h-hurt…" Renji panted.
A male healer ran into the room and wrapped an arm around Renji, helping him to his feet as the heavy pains continued to tear at his insides.
"Relax and try to slow your breathing, your highness. You are about to have your baby."
"You're not gonna hurt him?" Renji moaned weakly, "D-don't…"
"The king has given orders that your child will not be hurt. I will help you have the baby now. Let's get you into bed."
One of the guards assisted as the healer helped Renji to his feet and guided him back to the bed.
"Send word to the king that the consort is in labor," the healer said brusquely, sending the guard running out of the room, "Easy now, your majesty. You are doing fine. It just seems that your fight with the shinigami pushed you into an early labor. But the child is sentient. The reiatsu is fully matured. You and your baby will be fine."
"Okay," Renji whispered weakly.
I hope to kami that Tetsuya got away!
He watched closely as the healer washed his face and throat with a cool, wet towel, then leaned over his rounded belly, monitoring his progress as the area slowly began to lose cohesion.
"I am going to need to restrain you for the delivery," the healer told him.
"What?" Renji cried, trying to sit up.
Instantly, several guards moved to the healer's side, helping to hold the struggling consort down as the healer fastened the restraints.
"I am sorry," he apologized, "Sometimes during births by more powerful hollows, there is the tendency to become violent. This is for everyone's safety. Do not worry. I have sent word to the king. He will come shortly to comfort you."
He'll come, but it won't be for comfort, "Renji realized, He's gonna make sure the baby was born alive, then he's gonna kill it! I should've gone with Tetsuya. I thought that I wouldn't have the baby for a while…long enough to make a plan to hide him or something. But now…!
"I am going to deliver your baby now," the healer said, leaning forward.
Tears flooded Renji's eyes as the glow in his belly seemed to rise, then it slowly began to emerge.
This is my last connection to who I was…to my home…to Byakuya…to Tetsuya…to our kids…to everything that matters! I can't let them…
He watched through damp eyes as the healer gathered the reiatsu cluster into his arms and the cluster gradually began to solidify. He sobbed at the bright shock of red hair that was wild and wavy, like Tetsuya's, and marked with dark, raven colored ends. Large grey eyes peeked up at him and blinked slowly, and the baby's hearty cry tugged at Renji's chest painfully. He accepted the tiny infant into his arms, smiling sadly at the sight of the fine golden markings over each eye.
"He's beautiful, your highness," the healer said kindly, "I think the king will be pleased."
Renji noted that the guards had moved away to give the two more privacy. He looked up at the healer questioningly.
"What is it, your highness?" the hollow asked.
Renji took a steadying breath.
"You know that the king just wanted me to have this kid so that he could see if the mating he wants to do with me will be successful."
The healer looked down at the baby, his regretful expression confirming Renji's worries.
"He has ordered us not to harm…" he began.
"I know," Renji said desperately, "But you know he hates the kid because he is also the child of my shinigami husbands. Look, just…please, tell the king that the baby was healthy, but…I don't know. Something happened. Help me hide him so he doesn't have to die!"
"Try to relax, your highness."
"I'm not gonna relax and watch you monsters kill my baby!" Renji shouted, "Please! If it was your kid, what would you do? C'mon…"
Renji's golden eyes widened as the healer withdrew a syringe and brought it to his arm.
"No! Don't!" he cried, pulling harder on his bonds.
A furious sob escaped him as the needle bit into his flesh and almost instantly, his vision began to fade.
"B-bastard!" Renji gasped, tearing at his bonds as the child was taken from him, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"
Renji heard an odd crashing sound and felt the room go cold. At first, his hazed mind expected it was the king, then he realized with a start that it was Tetsuya, who had appeared on the balcony and struck at the guards with his returned powers. The stricken guards crashed into the far wall and fell to the floor as Tetsuya turned on the healer and swiftly froze his body in place, then stole the baby from him. He ran to Renji as the pounding of approaching footsteps sounded in the hallway.
"Take the baby and go!" Renji panted dizzily, "I'm not gonna be able to keep up with you."
"I'm not leaving you here, Renji!" Tetsuya exclaimed, touching him with a small flare of his power, "I have slowed the effect of the sedative he gave you. You should be able to escape with me."
"You have to go!" Renji pleaded with him, tears streaming onto his face, "Tetsuya, this never gonna be over if…if I…!"
Tetsuya blanched as Renji quivered, then his eyes began to take on a malevolent look.
"I…I'm losing control again!" Renji lied desperately, "Tetsuya, get outta here now!"
Tetsuya watched in dismay as Renji's reiatsu roared wildly around him, and all recognition faded from his eyes.
"Renji!" he sobbed, holding the redhead's baby against him.
Something impacted the doors to the suite, and they shattered as the hollow king stepped into the room. He paused for a moment, glaring, first at Tetsuya, then at his riled consort. Realization spread over his face and he gave Renji a cruel smile.
"So, you tried to get away with him, but your power went out of control?" he laughed as Tetsuya held the baby protectively and backed away.
Yutaka sneered at the slighter shinigami, his eyes cold and triumphant.
"You see now that Renji truly belongs to me now. And he will do my bidding…even if I tell him to kill you!"
"No!" Tetsuya cried, "Renji!"
He turned and flash stepped wildly as Renji lunged off the bed and charged after him, his lips curling with foul intent.
I'm so sorry to scare you like this, but it's the only way…
Tetsuya felt the dark return of the nightmare that he remembered having so many times before. He flash stepped across the dark sands, fleeing, but with Renji's baby pressed against his shoulder. Tears ran down his face in streams as he remembered the wickedness that had filled his husband's eyes. The hollow king's laughter filled his ears, making them ring with the horrid sound as Tetsuya continued his flight across the sands.
Arashi, are you there? his mind called out desperately.
I am here, master! Arashi called back, I am coming to you. Byakuya-sama is with me.
Tetsuya hugged the baby more tightly as heavier sobs wracked his body and he ran faster.
Byakuya-sama will kill him if he sees Renji this way! I have to lose him before Byakuya-sama sees him!
But as fast as he could run, the possessed consort was faster. Tetsuya angled towards a rocky area that would provide more cover, but he ached with fear that Renji would reach him too soon. He barely reached the first clusters, when golden power wrapped around him, freezing him in place as Renji stalked forward, looking empty and barren of life, showing no sign of the man Tetsuya remembered.
"R-renji…" he managed brokenly, watching dismay as his husband moved forward to stand in front of him.
For a moment, Renji gazed down into Tetsuya's rounded eyes, betraying the whole of his regret, then his power struck Tetsuya and the younger man screamed and crashed down into a heavy blackness.
XXXXXXXXXX
Tetsuya felt familiar, soft hands touching his face and heard Byakuya's solemn voice calling his name repeatedly. He drifted, just beneath cognizance, unable to move and painfully aware that he had somehow survived Renji's attack. Illness flooded his insides as he wondered.
Did Byakuya see him?
Did Byakuya have to kill him?
How did I get here?
He struggled against the haze around his mind, forcing one eye open and looking up in surprise at Byakuya's weary, regretful-looking expression.
"Tetsuya," he whispered, touching his husband's face tenderly and bending to kiss him, "you are going to be all right now."
"Wh-where…?"
"You are at Kuchiki Manor," Byakuya supplied, "You are home, Tetsuya. You have been unconscious for over a month."
"The…baby?"
Byakuya's face took on a more curious look.
"The baby you brought back with you is under competent care with Urahara Kisuke."
"In Karakura Town?" Tetsuya asked in a shaky voice.
"Yes," Byakuya confirmed, "As the child is a vizard and carries hollow reiatsu in addition to shinigami reiatsu."
"I…!" Tetsuya began, trying to sit up, only to be gently pushed down again.
He stared as he realized that his baby bump was gone.
"M-my…!"
"Your baby is fine," Byakuya assured him, "although she also had to be taken to Karakura Town as she is also a vizard. Tetsuya, what happened to you? Who is the child you were carrying in your arms? We know he is part hollow, but we cannot identify who his shinigami parent is. It looks as though this may have been deliberately done. What do you know about all of this?"
Tetsuya stared at Byakuya in dismay.
If I tell him…
I can't tell him.
I could never say the words without dying as I said them.
I won't…
Tetsuya swallowed hard, shivering as Byakuya's hand slid into his.
"I am sorry, anata, but I must ask you. I know you have been through something horrible. Can you tell me if you found Renji?"
Tetsuya sniffed softly and dove into Byakuya's arms.
"I…d-don't remember anything f-from before. S-someone attacked me, and everything is fuzzy. I just…I remember someone giving me the boy and telling me to run!"
"Do you remember why you went into the desert?" Byakuya prompted him, "Did you go there because you were looking for Renji?"
"I t-told you I can't remember anything!" Tetsuya sobbed, pressing his face into his husband's warm shoulder, "I am sorry!"
Byakuya held him gently, running his fingers through Tetsuya's hair and speaking in a soft, soothing tone.
"It is all right now. You are safe. You are home. And Tetsuya, I am not going to leave you again. I will stay with you."
"Th-the babies," Tetsuya whispered fearfully, "What will happen to them?"
"They will not be harmed," Byakuya promised, "Your daughter will be returned to Kuchiki Manor as soon as Kisuke is done with his analysis and has put a seal on her hollow power…just a temporary one that will remain until she is older and ready to learn to control them."
"What will happen to the boy?" Tetsuya pleaded softly, "I know that I am supposed to protect him!"
"We do not know who his parents are," Byakuya explained, "and at least one of his fathers is a powerful hollow."
"You could say the same about my daughter!" Tetsuya exclaimed.
"We know that you are Renji are her parents, even if you were infused also by a hollow," Byakuya said soothingly, "We do not know how this boy came to be, and that is a danger."
"Byakuya, please! I…I know I promised to care for him," Tetsuya argued, "He is just a child. Please let me take care of him!"
"I am sorry," Byakuya said sincerely, "As the reiatsu has been altered, we have no way of determining who might come looking for the boy. But Kisuke has offered to care for him. He is knowledgeable about vizards. He will take good care of the boy. Now, I want you to rest. After some rest and food, we will go and see the children. You may bring your daughter home when we come back. She is very special…a final gift from the lover that you and I have lost."
Tetsuya couldn't find the words to answer, but he nodded into Byakuya's shoulder and laid down obediently. He waited for Byakuya to leave him, but his husband only laid down next to him and pulled Tetsuya into his arms.
"I am sorry…so sorry that I was not there for you," Byakuya whispered, "I promise you that whatever you need, I will give to you. Tetsuya, if you remember anything, I swear that I will help you. I know all of this has something to do with Renji…"
He glanced at Tetsuya and found him to have fallen asleep.
"You are hiding something, anata. Not that I blame you for not trusting me because of how I abandoned you. But you must trust me, Tetsuya. If you know something, you have to tell me!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Renji laid silently in the king's bed, his body bared and the hollow healer leaning over him.
"Well?" Yutaka inquired impatiently, "Is he pregnant?"
"No, sir," the healer answered, "Not this time either. I am sorry. I don't know why you are not able to impregnate him."
The king scowled.
"Well, we will keep trying," he said shortly, "Get out!"
"But sir, he is catatonic! You…?"
"He is alive and that is all that's necessary. Get out!"
He watched as the healer fled the room, then glared down at his glazed-eyed consort.
"You are going to give me a child!" he seethed, "You belong to me, not those damned shinigamis! I will have my heir out of you, damn you!"
He climbed on top of the senseless consort and wrapped a hand around Renji's throat warningly.
"You will give me this child or you will sorely regret it!"
