Chapter 11: Poison
(I apologize for not getting to shout outs yet, but I'm being killed with work and have a few hours to go, but couldn't wait to post. Tomorrow is the last day this week and next week, I'm on vacation (going to sleep all week, I think!) Enjoy the new chapter. Spunky loves ya!)
A man's voice sounded somewhere in the depths of Ondori's muddled mind, bringing him back from what felt like a gaping precipice and leaving him suspended in a much softer feeling haze. The voice sounded, not once, but off and on, each time coming closer. It had a soothing quality that suggested the man doing the speaking had a humorous bedside manor and a more lighthearted nature, but also had a serious side that was not just dangerous, but deadly.
Who is this man?
"You should be able to hear me now," the man said to him, "but you won't be able to move for a while. The poison injected into your body by Kuchiki Orochi's snake is a pretty nasty one. It's a good thing that the boys got you here when they did, because a few more minutes and your central nervous system would have shut down."
Is he...smiling at me?
"You're welcome, by the way," the man chuckled, "Just get some rest now, okay?
Ondori focused his hazy mind wholly on opening his heavy eyelids. Doing so made sweat break out on his forehead, and he heard a monitor in the room complain.
"I told you to relax and get some sleep," the man's voice chided him, "People who got that close to dying shouldn't be getting headstrong so soon."
Ondori's eyes cracked open. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but his heart fluttered helplessly as his eyes met a pair that were lighter grey than Bya's and infused with more than a little surprise at seeing him move.
"Oh, a tough guy?" the man asked, giving him a heart melting smirk and touching the odd green and white striped hat he wore over his slightly mussed blonde hair, "But you're a Rukon boy, aren't you? A survivor. That's good, because if you had an ounce less moxie, you wouldn't be with us right now."
"B-bya?" the brothel owner managed.
He found the sudden softening in the man's eyes strangely endearing.
"Don't you worry about ol' Byakuya," he assured Ondori, "He's made of some seriously tough stuff. We don't call him the prettiest tank in the Gotei for nothing, you know. He gives new meaning to the word durable. He was pretty messed up, but Orihime hasn't met much that she can't heal, even deadly poison from that wicked cousin of Byakuya's."
"Kisho?"
"The boy? Oh, he's okay. Just got knocked around a little and scared out of his wits, seeing his dad get hurt like that. Well, that and he gave his spirit centers a pretty good shock, firing a kido spell like I'm hearing he did, with no training. He's got some spunk in him, like both his parents."
Ondori took a quick, soft breath as a damp washcloth cooled his face and throat and he managed a weak smile.
"Th-thanks."
"No problem," the man said good naturedly.
"Who are you?" Ondori managed, his voice shaking as weariness began to steal over him again.
The man arched an eyebrow.
"Are you still trying to talk? You know, you have no appreciation for what a job it was, keeping you alive. Glad to do it, though. I like a good challenge. And it's Urahara Kisuke, recently un-banished taicho, shinigami wise guy and I sell candy and novelties too. When you were delirious before, you said your name was Ondori? Is that true?"
"My name is Akira," Ondori said sleepily, "Ondori is an alias...I use when I am working."
"Oh," said Kisuke, narrowing his eyes cutely, "A spy?"
"I'm a prostitute. I own a brothel in Inuzuri," Ondori said, warmth flowing back into his body at the shopkeeper's startled reaction.
"Oh," he answered, a curious look in his slightly widened eyes, "And...you're a friend of Byakuya's, you say? You know, after you rest and are feeling better, we have got to talk, because I'll bet that's an interesting story, and I'm always looking for ways to tease our Byakuya-bo. But for now, I need you to close those pretty gems of yours and get some sleep. Dodging death requires recovery time, so shut'em or I'll shut'em for you."
Ondori made a sound of amusement and let his eyes slide shut. He felt Kisuke's hand curl around his wrist to check his pulse, the fingers holding on for a little longer than was actually required.
"I'm glad you didn't die, kiddo," Kisuke sighed, "I hate seeing good talent thrown away."
Who is this man?
He is amazing!
XXXXXXXXXX
Byakuya rested just beneath consciousness, weightless and unable to move, but deeply aware of the warm, familiar presence that had returned to his side after years of separation. He could feel the reassuring press of his lover's body against his side, the feeling of fingers being laced together with his, and a face that burrowed beneath his chin, breathing in his scent and sometimes shedding silent tears as he waited for Byakuya to move again.
I'm sorry for making you suffer like this. You've never done anything but love me honestly and openly, the only way you know how. Your heart was never stopped by other people's rules, and you've never felt any obligation to follow rules that didn't make sense to you. I should have recognized the gift in that. It had already saved Rukia and set me free of the unwise promises I made to follow the rules blindly. I complained about you being headstrong, but I wasn't any less stubborn in making the same mistakes, yet again. I knew the rules were unfair and I didn't agree with them, but like a slave to them, I tried to obey instead of realizing that there is no beauty in a life without you. And those rules that I clung to were senselessly rigid. I understand why they exist, but my heart knows that there are exceptions. You have always been an exception, Ichigo...no, exceptional.
I love you.
I wish my lips could move to tell you that. I want to brush away the tears you're crying over me. It's cruel being stuck in this place between awake and asleep. There isn't any rest, just knowing my mistakes made all of this happen.
I'm so sorry.
Byakuya's heart skipped painfully in his chest as he felt Ichigo's fingers brush against his face.
"What are you crying for?" Ichigo whispered in his ear, warming the soft earlobe with his breath and making the pale skin blush, "You're beating up on yourself, aren't you? Why do you do that? Stop it. We're still breathing and our hearts are still beating. Whatever's wrong between us, we'll find a way to fix it."
"I'm sorry, Ichigo," Byakuya managed, barely audibly, his voice weak and shaky, "I was stupid to let you go."
"That's okay," Ichigo chuckled, letting his fingers slide along Byakuya's soft cheek, "I was just as stupid to let you think for a minute that I would really leave you. If you hadn't disappeared that day, I might've held out a little while, but sooner or later, I would have realized that I can't leave you."
"I can't leave you either."
"But you did," Ichigo said, closing his eyes against the burning he felt in them, "You disappeared and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find you. Everyone around me was sympathetic, you know? They tried to make me feel better, tried to tell me that I had to move on. But something wouldn't let me do that. I just...know that this is right and I can't listen to anyone telling me it isn't. But even though I feel that way, I should have at least listened to you. You tried to think of my feelings, even when you thought you had to leave me...and I refused to hear anything you said. I'm not saying I should have left you. I'm just saying that I shouldn't have gotten so angry at you."
"Your anger was understandable," Byakuya answered wearily, "I wasn't listening to you either."
"Well, I think we're both ready to listen to each other, but we'll do it later, after you've rested. I just almost lost you all over again. Just be quiet and let me hold you, okay? I've got ten years of missing this to make up for."
Byakuya swallowed hard and shivered at the clinging weight of his ten years in exile.
"I may not have remembered you for the past ten years," he whispered, "but you were all that was missing from my life that I learned I couldn't live without."
"Stop it, all right?" Ichigo pleaded, "You really need to sleep. Don't worry. I'll stay right here. I'm not going anywhere."
"Kisho?" Byakuya inquired, his voice wavering.
"He's fine. He got some bumps and bruises, and he fried his spirit centers a little firing kido spells that were beyond his level. But he's awake now and eating like a horse. The old healer and his wife brought your daughter here too. They've been in to see you, but you were still unconscious. I told them that they could come in and see you tomorrow, after everyone's rested."
"Ondori?" Byakuya inquired, earning a curious look from Ichigo before he realized his mistake and corrected himself, "Akira?"
"He's fine," Ichigo answered, "Kisuke and Orihime were able to counteract the poison in both of you. What's the story with you two anyway? Who is that guy?"
Byakuya paused, breathing slowly and seeing the man both as the younger Akira and older and wiser Ondori.
"He rescued me from the river and took care of me when I had nothing, not even clothing, Ichigo. He is a friend. If not for him, then I would have died."
Ichigo considered the words quietly for a moment.
"Then, he's my friend too."
"Ichigo, there are things about my life in Inuzuri that..."
He broke off as Ichigo's fingers touched his lips stayingly.
"Later. After you've rested, okay?" Ichigo chided him, "We'll work everything out then."
Byakuya sighed softly and nodded, curling closer to Ichigo and nuzzling his cheek.
"Ondori..." Ichigo mused, "Doesn't that mean...?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
"That is his alias. He owns a brothel."
Byakuya opened his eyes and sought Ichigo's at the longer silence.
"O-oh," Ichigo managed, biting down on his tongue to hold back the obvious question, "Maybe we should talk now."
"Good night, Ichigo."
"Oh man," the Shiba heir complained, "That is so not fair!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Kurushimi sensed Tetsuya's presence in the training grounds beneath Urahara's shop, and he descended the long ladder to join him. He found the blue-eyed man standing close to a tall, black Arabian stallion and speaking quietly into the great beast's perked ear. He moved closer and the stallion's ears tilted in his direction.
"Tetsu-hana, who is this?" he asked curiously, "I didn't know you had a spirit steed."
"This is Arashi," Tetsuya explained, laying a hand on the horse's neck, "Arashi, this is Shima Kurushimi, third division taicho and leader of the Shima clan."
Arashi stretched out his long, graceful neck, sniffing at Kuri and observing him closely through eyes that were the same gemlike sapphire as Tetsuya.
"There is some very unique between the two of you," he surmised, "He is not a normal spirit steed, is he?"
"No," Tetsuya agreed, "Arashi is physically the same as one, but he wasn't born of other spirit steeds, he emerged from my soul."
"Is that so?" Kuri mused, gazing raptly at the two, "How?"
"You know that I was imprisoned for most of my youth in the noble's prison, Itamigiri?"
"Yes, and that Byakurai helped you escape," Kuri remembered.
"As we escaped the prison, we were attacked, and our enemies closed in around us. I don't know how exactly it happened. Byakuya-sama says that he believes that my will to protect us was far stronger than my body, and my zanpakuto gave me Arashi to answer the call of my will and protect me. He can use my powers and he is devoted to me."
"Where has he been?" Kuri asked, "Was he concealing himself, as you did when you protected your cousin?"
"No," Tetsuya explained, "When Orochi sealed my powers, Arashi was forcibly returned to my inner world. Only now that my powers are unsealed was he able to emerge and come back to me here."
"That was an ugly thing that snake put on you," Kuri spat.
"The years serving his sexual needs were worse," Tetsuya confessed, "Seeing me under his control and in pain excited him."
Kuri glowered.
"Hijo de mil putas..." he muttered, earning a curious look from Tetsuya. (Son of a thousand bitches)
Kuri let out a soft, disgusted breath.
"Sorry. I just can't stand that kind of thing. He and Sasune should have been born brothers."
"They are supposedly cousins," Tetsuya said, tilting his head slightly, "but there were rumors about their fathers both being Kuchiki Isas..."
"I would buy that instantly," Kuri said, shaking his head, "I never understood Sasune's cruelty. He liked to cause me pain. When we were arranged to marry, I was still very young and naive. I thought that I was just doing things wrong and deserved what I was getting from him. He was a beautiful but treacherous man, just like his snake cousin-brother, ne?"
Tetsuya blushed and nodded.
"Well, we are free of those two now. What say we drink to their early demise, eh Tetsu-hana?" Kuri invited him, pulling a flask from within his clothes and taking a long swallow before offering it to his flustered looking friend.
"Ah...I am..."
"Oh, Tetsu-hana, just a swallow...to keep you warm, eh? It takes the edge off the bullshit we put up with. Go on."
"W-well, all right. Just a little, I suppose."
He paused and glanced at Arashi as the stallion snorted and stamped his foot disapprovingly. Kuri met the stallion's glinting eyes squarely.
"Don't worry," he said, his smile fading and his voice taking on a perfectly serious tone, "I will never disrespect our Tetsu-hana. I would rather be run through with my own sword."
Arashi exhaled through his nostrils and tossed his head as Tetsuya took a sip from the flask and sucked in a startled breath as it burned across his senses.
"You are not a drinker, Tetsu-hana?" Kuri said, his smile returning.
"No, not really," Tetsuya confessed, "Orochi said that sake was too fine to be wasted on me and when I tried it at a few weddings, I became dizzy after only a sip or two."
"How do you feel now?" Kuri asked, smirking.
"A little giddy," Tetsuya admitted, letting out a soft laugh.
Kuri moved in closer and slipped his arms around Tetsuya, looking into his slightly hazy eyes as he brought their lips together.
"And how do you feel now?" Kuri whispered.
"Like the ground just disappeared from under my feet," Tetsuya said breathlessly.
He surrendered easily to another, longer kiss, then felt Kuri's soft tongue sweep across his lips, gently requesting entry. His body relaxed in Kuri's embrace and he gave a little happy sigh as the Shima leader's tongue caressed his. When they parted, he was blushing furiously.
"You are a treasure, Tetsu-hana," Kuri breathed, nuzzling his soft cheek, "I think it's a crime that anyone has ever failed to see that in you."
"It's so strange that blood like mine even looks the same as theirs. Our faces look so similar and I act the way they do, but when they look at me, all they see is someone who doesn't belong," Tetsuya said sadly.
"Well, you will never hear those words from me. Never," Kuri promised, sinking deeply into Tetsuya's mouth again and holding him tightly, "Because these arms are a place where you will always belong. They will hold you lovingly and never cause you pain."
He started to kiss Tetsuya again, then paused as Arashi suddenly emitted an equine raspberry.
"Oh?" Kuri said, arching an eyebrow, "you don't believe me?"
Arashi's head tilted and he eyed the caramel skinned man suspiciously.
"It's okay if you don't trust me yet," Kuri said quietly, extending a hand and waiting as Arashi sniffed it and nodded before running his hand along the stallion's sleek neck and scratching him behind the ears, "Trust must earned, and that is difficult when someone's trust has already been violated."
You know the right words to say, a wispy voice spoke into Kuri's mind, Just see that you never hurt him or there will be nowhere you can hide from me...
Kuri gave a nervous laugh and Tetsuya looked at him in surprise.
"Did he speak to you?" he asked quickly.
"You didn't hear?" asked Kuri.
"No," Tetsuya answered, "That part isn't the surprising part. He was talking to you, not me. The surprising thing is that he trusted you enough to speak to you in the first place. Arashi rarely speaks to anyone but me. It means that he has a good feeling about you."
"And what about you, Tetsu-hana?" Kuri asked, "What feeling do you have about me?"
Tetsuya gave a little sigh and stepped into the circle of Kuri's warm, strong arms, resting his head on the Shima leader's shoulder as they kissed.
"That good, eh?" Kuri laughed softly.
"That good," Tetsuya whispered, as they kissed again.