Chapter 10: Promises
"Lord Byakuya, please sir, you are still healing. You must return to your bed, sir!"
The young male healer looked on in dismay as the noble ignored him and remained at the side of the injured Rukongai girl, looking down at her through distressed eyes and holding her limp hand. Ichigo knelt alongside him, studying him quietly as he watched over Hisana. The healer continued his pleadings for several minutes, then shook his head in resignation and left the tent.
"This wasn't your fault. You have to know that," Ichigo reasoned with him.
"What I know is that Orochi has wanted leadership all along," Byakuya said bitterly, "I just didn't think he would stoop to attacking me directly."
"He saw you were injured by that strange hollow's blood and he figured he could overcome you."
"Why did she have to protect me?" the noble whispered, closing his eyes in torment, "Her systems are already delicate from living such a hard life. And that poison has weakened her. And because I was not fully conscious, it is her word against his about what exactly happened. Most of the men still think she was trying to rob me. This woman would never have done such a thing. And because she protected me, her freedom, her reputation, and her health are all the price. Ichigo..."
"You can't blame yourself for this," Ichigo said, shaking his head firmly, "Byakuya, it's not your fault."
"But it is. I was arrogant, thinking that I was in control of the situation. My grandfather questioned the wisdom of bringing Orochi here. I should have listened to him."
"Well, that may or may not have been a mistake," Ichigo argued, "but what's done is done. And you heard the healers. She will recover."
"She will recover, yes," Byakuya repeated, choking on the words, "but her systems are weaker and she will continue to be susceptible to illness. She cannot possibly get the care that she needs here, Ichigo. Hisana needs..."
Byakuya went silent as the tent door was pulled back and Orochi entered. His infuriated grey eyes met Orochi's colder, indignant black ones and the reiatsu rose viciously between the two as Byakuya surged to his feet and attacked.
"Byakuya!" Ichigo gasped, watching in disbelief as the noble threw himself against his cousin, kido exploding from his hands and sending Orochi tumbling away.
"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?" Orochi demanded, recovering himself quickly and raising a protective barrier as Byakuya attacked again.
"You miserable bastard!" the heir screamed, "You only did this to get to me and damned be anyone who might be hurt by it! You think you are above the law? That you don't have to answer to anyone? By kami, you'll damned well answer to me!"
Orochi's eyes widened and he reeled at the impact as Byakuya's lithe body slammed into his, taking him to the ground again. The heir's hands wrapped around his throat and Byakuya's enraged eyes engaged his as the slender fingers began to tighten. The voices of their comrades rose up sharply in protest and Ichigo ran to Byakuya's side.
"Byakuya!" he cried, frustrated as he reached out but found himself unable to make physical contact even with the unhinged heir.
"You want my place in the family?" Byakuya hissed, his dark eyes wilder and more frightening than Ichigo had ever seen them, "Then, if you want it so badly, try to take it from me now, Cousin!"
"ENOUGH!" snapped a stern voice that made Byakuya stiffen in surprise, "Byakuya, release him!"
With an effort, the heir loosed his clenched fingers from his cousin's bruised throat and Byakuya came to his feet as Orochi scrambled away from him, holding the injured area and coughing in recovery.
"He's crazy!" Orochi insisted, choking on the words, "Delusional!
"You and I both know that attack that weakened Hisana was meant for me!" Byakuya shouted.
"That's ridiculous!" Orochi fired back, "The little tramp hit you over the head and tried to rob you! You were just so infatuated that you refused to see her for what she really is...Rukon garbage!"
"How dare you speak about her that way!"
"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" Ginrei roared.
He turned his head and caught the eyes of a group of officers.
"Jun, Ken, you will escort Orochi back to the Seireitei and place him in the sixth division jail until further notice."
"You can't believe a word he's saying!" Orochi pleaded, "He's out of his mind!"
"Go!" Ginrei said sternly, turning back to face his grandson, "Byakuya, come with me."
His chest still heaving with emotion and exertion, the heir followed him into another tent, where one of their subordinates provided the two with tea, then bowed and left them alone. Ginrei sipped at his tea, watching as Byakuya's breathing gradually slowed and the sense came back into his dark eyes.
"I am...sorry, Grandfather," Byakuya said finally, taking a sip of his tea, "I don't know what came over me."
"How is that injury you received?" Ginrei asked, leaning forward to study the bandage that still covered the area.
"I am fine, really," Byakuya assured him, "I wasn't hurt badly...not as badly as Hisana was."
"Yes, I have heard about this girl."
"She is a counselor at the school," Byakuya explained, "We attended the solstice celebration together so that she could introduce me to some of the newer children, as I hadn't been about for some time. But there was a hollow attack that distracted us. After, I walked her back to her home and left her there. I was attacked while returning to the camp. It seems that some blood that a hollow splashed me with during the fighting disrupted my coordination and senses. I never knew my attacker was approaching. And if Hisana had not followed me and interrupted, I would have been finished."
"But you do not believe that it was this woman, who you only met today, trying to rob you?"
"Grandfather, I admit that I only met Hisana today, but even so, I know that she would never, ever do something like that. It isn't in her nature."
"But you think it is in Orochi's nature?" Ginrei asked quietly, "I know that you two have long been at odds and that Orochi is bitter over Soujun being chosen as heir over Orochi's father, Isas before you. It didn't help that Soujun refused when Isas offered for Orochi to take your hand in marriage, but my son saw something in that boy that unnerved him. He never trusted Isas or Orochi."
"Grandfather," Byakuya said softly, "I am...sorry for not listening to you. I should not have brought Orochi here. I was only thinking of protecting Tetsuya, who is vulnerable to him. I had no idea he would do something like this."
"We must proceed carefully," Ginrei warned the younger man, "With no concrete evidence, only the statement of the peasant girl, Hisana, the elders will not convict Orochi. You know this. It is likely why you acted so rashly just now."
"Again, I am sorry," Byakuya apologized, "I was just so angry."
"My boy, you are going to have to be very careful. The elders are already skeptical about you, and when word of this situation and your actions reaches them, things will get worse. You must try to appease them. If you are not careful, Isas will convince enough of them that you are unsuitable as heir and you will lose your title. I could not bear to see that happen."
"I know," Byakuya whispered, "I just...cannot bear the fact of what he did to her...what he was trying to do to me."
"They did say the girl will recover," Ginrei said soothingly.
"She will never be the same. And left here, what chance does she have? She will die, Grandfather, and her blood will be on my hands."
"We could move her to a care facility in the upper Rukongai," Ginrei offered, "Other than that, we have few options. Give it some thought, then, and act as you see best. But be careful, Byakuya. You are on the knife's edge with our council. Push them too far and you will lose your place as heir."
"I understand," Byakuya said quietly, watching as the aged man rose and left the tent.
Ichigo waited until they were alone, then moved forward and placed a hand on Byakuya's shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked kindly.
A chill went through him as Byakuya gave no sign of hearing him or feeling his touch.
"Byakuya?" he said more stridently, moving in front of him and placing his hands on the Kuchiki heir's face, "Byakuya!"
"I can barely see you anymore," Byakuya said, reaching out with seeking fingers and touching one of the hands that rested on his face, "Ichigo, what is happening to me? In that other place...am I dying?"
Ichigo felt a frightening jolt inside at the words, but he forced the feeling away and looked deeply into the other young man's eyes.
"No," he said firmly, "You are not going to die. I won't let you!"
He felt a sensation like falling and found himself jumping awake to the sound of a squealing monitor. On the bed in front of him, Byakuya's eyes had opened and were widened in distress. He tried to sit up, but was stopped by the protective restraints. His mouth opened in a startled gasp of pain and fear, but no intelligible words emerged.
"It's okay!" Ichigo reassured him, pushing him back down as several healers ran into the room, "Lie back down. You're okay. I promise."
He stepped back, watching with worried eyes as the healers calmed, then sedated the distressed noble.
"Do you have to do that?" Ichigo asked, his voice shaking, "He was starting to wake up."
"I am sorry, yes, we have to sedate him," Hanataro explained, "He is in a critical phase of his recovery, but he is very weak. Too much stress on his body or his emotions could send him into shock and he could die. The sedation will leave him partially awake and more calm. This is for the best."
"Okay," Ichigo whispered, his heart aching as he watched Byakuya's eyes glaze over.
"Thank you for staying with him," Hanataro said sincerely, "You and the others. You are really helping him. Despite how it looks right now, he is improving. We will heal him. I promise we will."
Ichigo watched in silence as the healers completed their work, then left the room, admonishing him to eat and rest. He ignored the words and returned to the senseless noble's side, sitting down and taking an unnervingly chilled and limp hand in his.
"You're gonna be okay," he whispered, unsure whether he meant to reassure Byakuya or himself, "I promise you'll be okay. Just trust me, all right?"
His eyes rounded and the hand that held Byakuya's shook as the noble's voice somehow managed to sound in a hoarse, trembling reply.
"I trust you."
"Good," Ichigo whispered in a choked voice, tears flooding his eyes, "Because I'm not letting you go anywhere. Rukia, Tetsuya, Renji, we're all here, taking turns sitting with you. You are not alone, Byakuya. You haven't been alone for a minute."
Unable to reply, the noble tightened the fingers of the hand Ichigo held and the dark eyes cleared slightly and fixed trustingly on his.
Thank you, Ichigo.
Ichigo's hand slid into the sleeve of the noble's yukata and found the ginger haired bear, then squeezed it gently, making it growl softly. He sighed and leaned forward, resting his face on Byakuya's hand as he dropped off to sleep and found himself returned to the Kuchiki council chambers.
"Never!" Isas hissed furiously, "Never in all of the years of our existence has a member of this family directly defied the will of the elders and remained as heir! This is an outrage! You must all see now how unfit Byakuya is for this position among us. Not only did he take that little strumpet's word over that of a member of our clan, he married her without either our blessing or permission!"
"My grandson has explained that action," Ginrei stated solemnly, "and while I do not agree with his choice to marry Hisana of Inuzuri, I do understand that he felt he had no choice. There is no question that the power that struck her was Orochi's. And he has given conflicting statements, at first claiming not to have been there, then saying that he encountered her robbing my incapacitated grandson. Adding to the confusion, Lady Hisana had no prior convictions for robbery or any crime and has a reputation in Inuzuri of being a humanitarian."
"Are you calling my son a liar? Taking that peasant girl's word over his?"
"I am considering the evidence," Ginrei stated firmly, "We cannot be conclusive about exactly what happened, but I do believe Byakuya felt that, as she was injured on his behalf, he had no choice to act as he did. I move that we accept Lady Hisana into the family and allow Byakuya to retain his title as heir."
"I think we all sympathize with Byakuya in that it was a confusing situation," Head Elder Nori posited, "but it was rash, marrying her without proper courtship and ceremony. And Byakuya has several times thwarted the will of the council. If he is to remain as heir, I think we need some reassurance that this will not continue to plague us. So, as a measure of protection for our good name, I must insist on making the retaining of his title contingent upon him refraining from taking any further action against our will. He will be a great leader, Lord Ginrei. But he must learn to be wise and not so headstrong."
"I understand," Ginrei said calmly, placing a hand on his silent and pale-faced grandson's shoulder, "Byakuya will attend to the council's will faithfully, as you have granted Hisana acceptance into the family and have allowed him to continue as heir, provided he does not transgress again."
Byakuya remained silent as the meeting concluded and he and Ginrei exited the hall.
"Well," Ginrei sighed, "we can breathe a sigh of relief. As long as you are cautious, things will be fine."
"I will be careful," Byakuya said softly, "And Grandfather, I am sorry to have disgraced my father's memory."
"Oh, you've done nothing of the sort. Don't listen to those old men. They don't know so much. Just do not anger them again, my boy," Ginei said, touching his face gently, "You are this clan's best hope. It would be devastating to see that go to waste."
"I won't let it," Byakuya promised, "I will remain within the confines of our laws from now on."
"That's a good boy," Ginrei said approvingly as they entered Kuchiki Manor, "Now, you should get some rest. Go."
The old man followed the walkway and disappeared into his room, leaving Byakuya looking after him. The heir sighed and walked out into the gardens, pausing in a quiet clearing and breathing in the scent of the flowers.
"Are you still here, Ichigo?" he whispered, closing his eyes, "I don't think I can feel you here anymore. I know you never promised to stay, but..."
"Lord Byakuya?" Hisana's voice said, breaking into the noble's reverie, "I heard you'd come back. I hope that they weren't too harsh with you."
"Everything is fine," Byakuya assured her in a quieter, more determined tone, "I am fine. But you should be resting."
"Oh, I've rested as much as I can. I feel much better. And I will feel even better after a walk with you around the gardens."
"Very well."
"Lord Byakuya?"
"Hisana, you are my wife now. You do not need to use my title."
"I understand. But are you sure this was the right thing? To anger the council like that? I know you wanted to help me, but..."
"Do not worry about that," Byakuya said solemnly, "You put yourself at risk to protect me when I was vulnerable to my cousin. You and I know that is the truth, whatever anyone else says. I am surrounded by these people who think blood is the deciding factor in everything. Having you at my side reminds me that is not true. There are more important things. Do not question this anymore."
"But don't you ever want to fall in love? Have children? A family of your own?"
"You are my family," Byakuya assured her, "and even if you are too fragile to bear children, you are my wife and...my best friend. There is nothing in that to be regretful about. Come now, the plum trees have begun to blossom. Let us not hesitate to enjoy this lovely day."
Ichigo watched as the two walked away.
"I had no idea it was like that," he whispered, "You were such a different person then, Byakuya."
He watched sadly as Hisana paused and coughed several times.
"And I think I know why now. I know why you were such a cold person when I met you. Hisana risked herself to protect you and she eventually paid with her life. That was a lot of weight to carry alone...but...remember, you're not alone anymore."
Ichigo felt himself drawn back into the room where Byakuya laid, recovering. His hand tightened on the noble's and his eyes opened...to find Byakuya's dark, trusting eyes gazing steadily back at him.