Chapter 12: Searching
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(And she's back! Just escaped from under a pile of RL work. So happy to be writing something fun! Thanks to Adalie Delacroix (Good catch! I did use a slightly different version of the 'trial of five cuts' in This Thing That's Not Quite Love! Which reminds me, that's another I should really update, as it's nearing the end...), Yukino76 (Yes, Ichigo is definitely committed now to fixing things.), Ashesofthefirststar (I do have a little bit of an evil twin side! And yes, Ichigo is coming to terms with how selfish he was before. He wasn't meaning to be that way. He was actually pretty freaked out and scared when he had Soujun. But instead of confiding in Byakuya about his fears, he bottled them in true Ichigo fashion and he just depended on Byakuya to have the children or not. He will absolutely face his fears now...maybe sooner than he thinks! And the storyline will be taking some interesting turns. :) Watch out for some nasty cliffies here and there. There tend to be more as the action gets going!), Cubone262005 (The family will come together, but lots is about to happen too!), Tmp3475 (Aric will be there when Byakuya finds himself in a tense situation...soon!), Tiffany91 (A lot will happen on a number of fronts now...), Parnita (Yeah, my muse is a little sadistic sometimes! lol), Jaundrie (Well, I will keep up with the updates. Glad you enjoy the stories!), and Hisuiryuu (I definitely couldn't turn down a naked and willing Byakuya!) Enjoy the new chapter!)
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Aric would have cried out, but for the hand that clapped roughly over his mouth and the familiar voice that hissed in his ear.
"Stop it! It's me…us," Little B hissed, "I thought you were going to step out of the hedge. There's a guard over there!"
"Oh…" Aric whispered, looking in the indicated direction and feeling an instant swell of gratitude, "Thanks, Little B! But you scared me to death. I thought you were Heilgar!"
"You're lucky I wasn't," Little B whispered back, "While we were looking around for you, Lukas and I found Heilgar out with some of his scumbag buddies. They were looking for shinigamis to capture!"
Aric stiffened.
"Were they near here?" he asked urgently.
"Kinda. But we lured them off away from the ones they were tracking."
"Good," Aric sighed, glancing back at Byakuya's open garden doors again, "I don't want them using my power to hurt anyone else."
He smiled at Lukas.
"Thanks, guys."
"You're welcome," Little B answered proudly, "Now, we should get our asses outta here before we get captured. Come on, you…"
Little B broke off suddenly as a tall, red haired girl stepped out of one of the bedrooms and Lukas suddenly went still and round-eyed.
"What the…?" Little B mused, "What's wrong with you, Lukas?"
He peered out of the bushes as the lovely, doe-eyed girl wrapped a dark cloak around her slender shoulders and brushed a few stray autumn hairs away from her face.
"Ah…" Lukas managed dizzily.
Little B exchanged perplexed looks with Aric.
"Oh my god, you've got to be kidding me!" Little B groaned, wiping a hand over his face, "Stop that, will you? You're being ridiculous. That girl's gotta be five years older than you, and she's a goddamn shinigami!"
"Sh-she's really pretty," Lukas stammered.
Aric smiled and shook his head ruefully.
"Come on, Lukas," he said more kindly, taking the younger boy's hand, "Little B is right. It's not safe for us to stay here."
They paused, peering out of the hedge as a second shinigami girl and a boy arrived.
"Tora," called the other girl, "Matsuko-san says breakfast is ready for us. Are you coming?"
"Coming!" the red-haired girl called back, flash stepping to join her cousins.
"Tora," Lukas whispered dazedly.
"Will you come on!" Little B laughed, "We need to get out of here."
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Ichigo laid in bed, curled warmly around Byakuya's naked back and gently rubbing his very slightly rounded belly. His eyes reflected hints of sadness as he watched his husband shift and moan unhappily.
Byakuya never used to have trouble sleeping. And he was always up before dawn, out the door and training, first with Tetsuya, then with Renji and me. I guess I don't have to ask when things changed.
He nuzzled, then kissed the side of Byakuya's neck and found the area uncharacteristically dampened with a light sheen of sweat.
"It's okay now," he whispered, letting his reiatsu seep into the spirit chamber where their baby grew, "I'm with you."
Byakuya shivered, then let out a relieved breath and drifted more deeply into sleep. Ichigo's arms held him close and his fingers made little comforting circles on Byakuya's soft belly.
I wonder if it'll ever be like it was before. I don't know how it can be, after everything that's happened. But I want to try to mend what we can. And I want to make things right between Byakuya and me. I know that just convincing the elders wasn't enough. I have earned the right to be his husband, but before I make love to him, I have to convince him that he can trust me to be there for him and for the kids. It's not too much to ask. He's been there for everyone, even me, while I was running away and refusing to face everything.
I still believe that Soujun is alive, but I see now that I have to take care of the rest of the family too, even if I keep up the search for him. And now, if I can show Byakuya I'm committed to us and to our whole family, I won't be alone in searching.
"Is it time to get ready to go?" Byakuya asked sleepily, opening a dark eye and focusing on Ichigo.
"Whenever you're ready is fine. How's your stomach? Any nausea?"
"Not at the moment," Byakuya answered, sitting up and meeting Ichigo for several warm kisses of greeting, "It is better with you being so attentive."
Ichigo felt a twinge of guilt and shifted uncomfortably. Byakuya noticed his reaction and squeezed his hand.
"I did not mean it that way," he assured his husband, "I only meant that…"
"I know what you meant," Ichigo assured him, "and even if I didn't, you don't owe me explanations or assurances. I left you. I promised to love, honor and cherish you, but I didn't do that. I got angry and I didn't even try to work things out with you."
"But you did," Byakuya objected, "Ichigo, all along you were open with me about how much our son's disappearance was hurting you. And even though you chose to leave, I am sure that there were better choices I could have made as well, more effort I could have put into holding things together. You cannot tell me that if I had not withheld that information from you that you would still have left. That act…"
"It didn't cause this, Byakuya," Ichigo said, his head bowing penitently, "I just had all of these pent up emotions…fear, sadness, rage…and I couldn't turn them on a person or thing that was responsible."
"That is because, if we are honest with ourselves, Soujun was in my care. I was his guardian on that journey."
"Byakuya…"
"I was responsible for seeing that he reached Karakura Town safely, and I failed to do that."
"We both know that what happened wasn't your fault," Ichigo insisted, "I never blamed you."
"No," Byakuya sighed softly, closing his eyes, "Instead, you bottled that emotion, held it inside you. And everything that followed only caused the pressure to build. Each blind corner we turned in the search for Soujun, each failure to learn his fate, all of it led us to the point where the pressure inside you was too much to hold back anymore. All it needed was a spark to ignite it, and I gave you one. Ichigo, we will not get anywhere with either one of us claiming all of the innocence or guilt. A marriage is the joining of two people, and its success or its failure is the result of the choices those two people make."
"But…I left you," Ichigo reminded him, "I walked out on you."
"And," Byakuya said in a barely audible voice, "I did not even try to stop you except in asking you not to go."
Ichigo paused for a moment, breathing in Byakuya's sweet, soothing scent.
"Do you really think you could have stopped me?" he asked, reaching down to continue rubbing his husband's warm belly.
"It does not matter," Byakuya said firmly, "If I just let go without giving my best to mending things, then in the end, we both gave up on each other. We each bear a weight of responsibility in this."
The two looked up in surprise as the sound of slow clapping emanated from the bedroom doorway and they found Hinata leaning against the door frame and observing them through slightly narrowed eyes.
"Bravo," he congratulated the two as Ichigo scowled and shifted the blanket to better cover them, "I think my work may be done here without me having to do anything much at all."
"We don't need you barging in on us and listening in on our conversations!" Ichigo snapped.
"Good morning to you too, my little ginger-haired snapdragon," Hinata said pleasantly, "You don't know how much I have missed seeing you on a regular basis. I have had the pleasure of spending lots of time with your lovely and very depressed husband, soothing his hurts and listening as he unburdened his tragically broken heart."
"Don't you have something better to do than snoop around here?" Ichigo complained.
"Oh, I have many better things to do than to stand here and entertain your biting sarcasm and burgeoning anger. But we have work to do, don't we? I am here for an initial assessment of the current state of your…relations."
"Byakuya, did you know he was coming over?" Ichigo asked.
"He is a bit early, but not terribly so. It is only a short assessment of our marriage that can be done before we leave."
"Oh, and where are you two little love birds flying off to?" Hinata asked, smirking.
Ichigo started to give a sarcastic response, but Byakuya touched his arm lightly and he took a flustered breath and went silent, his eyes sparking.
"We are revisiting the place where Soujun disappeared," Byakuya explained, "After so long, there are not likely to be any clues that have not been cleaned away, however it is a place to begin. We also have a site in Hueco Mundo we will be examining."
Hinata nodded.
"But there is a reason that you are doing this now?" he asked, "I ask for completely professional purposes, of course."
"Of course," Ichigo muttered, rolling his eyes petulantly.
"We are doing this now," Byakuya continued in an unruffled tone, "because of an odd occurrence in Hueco Mundo that could possibly allude to our son still being alive and in the hands of an enemy."
Hinata's eyes widened.
"That could be very good news for you," he concluded.
"It could be," Byakuya agreed, "We will be investigating together with our children."
"Well, I certainly can't argue with a family mission," Hinata said approvingly, "and I don't think I want to delay you in getting started on that."
"You don't?" Ichigo inquired, frowning slightly.
"Of course not, darling," the counselor said, smirking, "Working toward a common goal is good, just…don't forget that it's not what you do when you agree that matters the most. It's what you do when you disagree that shows the true state of things. Keep that in mind and this could actually work out for the best."
Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes again, but refrained from commenting as Hinata took his leave of them.
"Au revoir, love," he said, inclining his head towards Byakuya, then adding a more off-handed, "and to you too," in Ichigo's direction.
Ichigo shook his head irritably, but managed to quell any insulting words.
"You want to have something to eat before we go?" Ichigo asked as Byakuya let out an amused breath and headed for the dressing area.
"I am quite hungry," Byakuya admitted, catching his husband's appreciative gaze in the full-length mirror.
Ichigo moved closer and turned to face Byakuya.
"Where's Torio?" he asked, sliding his arms around his slightly flushed husband and meeting him for a long, open-mouthed kiss.
"Mmmm, Torio is aware that my reiatsu is riled," Byakuya answered, smirking slightly, "probably from the numerous infusions. They do tend to have that effect."
"Your heart's beating really fast," Ichigo noticed, kissing him again.
"Well, it does tend to do that when you offer me your affections."
Words gave way to deeper kisses and more intimate touching that left Byakuya feeling light-headed and swaying slightly. Ichigo noticed a little tremor in his body and paused, frowning.
"Hey, you're going kinda pale. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Byakuya assured him, "I think it is just another of those odd spells I seem to have. But there is nothing to be done really, until Urahara Kisuke finishes his analysis."
"C'mon, let's get you back into bed," Ichigo urged him.
"I will be fine. I just…need a moment."
"Get back into bed, will you?" Ichigo said more stridently, wrapping his arm around Byakuya and guiding him to the bed.
Byakuya sat down on the edge of the bed, then laid down on his left side, curling around several pillows as his heart continued to throb and race.
"Ichigo-sama," Torio said, appearing in the doorway, "do you want me to bring our healer?"
"Yeah," Ichigo said worriedly, "and get a message to Kisuke. These episodes seem to get worse each time."
"Ichigo, I will be all right," Byakuya insisted, "and we need to look for signs of Soujun's…"
"Stop it!" Ichigo exclaimed, ust close your eyes and breathe slowly, okay? Don't think about anything but breathing."
"I feel quite dizzy," Byakuya admitted, "I th-think I might…"
"Byakuya?" Ichigo called worriedly, watching in dismay as Byakuya's body went limp in his arms, "Byakuya!"
He looked up and sighed in relief as Michio and Torio hurried into the room.
"I've sent a hell butterfly to Urahara-san," Torio assured him as Michio leaned over Byakuya and Ichigo rolled his husband onto his back.
"He just passed out," Ichigo explained breathlessly, "His heart was racing like crazy. Michio, what's going on?"
"I am not sure," the old healer admitted, "This is not related to the pregnancy, so it must be related to the condition that Urahara Kisuke is investigating."
"Damn it!" Ichigo swore, "I wonder what's taking so long with those tests. We should have heard something by now!"
"I am sure we will hear something very soon," Michio said reassuringly, "And while we wait, we will just need to keep Byakuya-sama comfortable and as relaxed as possible."
"Well, right now, he's unconscious. I don't know about you, but I think that's a little too relaxed."
Ichigo's attention was drawn back to Byakuya as his husband shifted and moaned softly.
"His heart rate is coming down again," Michio observed aloud, "The spell seems to be ending."
"Byakuya?" Ichigo called urgently.
"Ichigo?" Byakuya mumbled sleepily, opening his eyes, then squinting and blinking to bring the room back into focus.
"You had another one of those fainting spells," Ichigo explained, "How are you feeling?"
"A bit foolish," Byakuya admitted, sitting up slowly, "I feel fine now, like nothing happened."
"Well, something definitely happened," Ichigo said stridently, "Your heart was racing too fast and you passed out. Byakuya, these things are getting worse!"
"I understand that," Byakuya assured his anxious husband, "but I am fine right now. We should leave now if we want to…"
"Leave?" Ichigo repeated incredulously, "We're not going anywhere. We need to stay here. You're not well, Byakuya. We can't be traipsing around in enemy territory when we don't know when the next one of these things will happen. Look, we can continue the search for Soujun later, when you're…"
"No, Ichigo," Byakuya said insistently, "We need to follow up on the lead in Hueco Mundo while the trail is still relatively fresh. This really cannot wait. You know that."
"You're not going anywhere," Ichigo said stubbornly.
"Then, take the children and go without me!" Byakuya persisted, "This is important too. I will…stay here and I will not get out of bed. I will wait for Urahara's answer and I will not move until I receive it."
"You won't get out of bed?" Ichigo repeated, narrowing his eyes, "You promise you'll stay here and rest?"
"I will let Torio spoil me completely," Byakuya assured him.
"I won't let him out of my sight, and I will message you immediately if there is any news," Torio promised.
"Please, just go," Byakuya urged him, "Ichigo, our son could be alive, and this could be our last opportunity to bring him home. You have to go and investigate this."
Ichigo hesitated, his eyes locked on Byakuya's and his own heart pounding. He took a steadying breath and, with an effort, brought his burgeoning emotions under control.
"Okay," he said reluctantly, "I'll take the kids and we'll check this out."
"Ask Tetsuya to go with you," Byakuya suggested, "Renji will probably want to go along as well, and they will be useful if there are any problems."
"Sure," Ichigo answered, gathering himself, then climbing to his feet and hurriedly dressing.
His worries eased slightly as Toshi arrived, bearing a tray of hot food and Byakuya made a sound of relief and dug into the huge meal. Ichigo watched for a moment, then took Torio aside.
"You contact me immediately if there is any trouble," he said sternly, Doesn't matter how small or insignificant it seems. If he sneezes too hard, I want to know about it."
"I understand," Torio said soothingly, "I promise you that I will inform you right away if there are any changes in his condition."
"Thanks, Torio," Ichigo said, nodding and moving back to Byakuya's side to offer him a parting kiss.
"Be good, all right?" he said reprovingly, "You let these guys take care of you. We'll check this thing out and be back before you know it."
"I will be right here," Byakuya promised.
Ichigo stepped out of the bedroom and found their worried children waiting just outside.
"What's wrong with Daddy Bya?" Suki asked insistently, "We heard he passed out!"
"Byakuya is all right," Ichigo said calmly, "Torio, Toshi and Michio are taking good care of him. You know he's having a baby. It throws his body out of whack, so we just have to let him stay here and rest while we go on this little mission. Look, I need you guys for focus, okay? We're going into enemy territory, so all of the training Byakuya and I have done with you? This is when you're going to use it. Come on now."
"But…Byakuya," Torao said uncertainly.
"He will be fine," Ichigo said firmly, "He wants us to go because he really can't right now. We're not going to let him down. If there is a chance that we can pick up Soujun's trail, we need to do that. Byakuya's every bit as invested in this as the rest of us, but we're going to have to do this without him. Can you do that for him? For us?"
Suki, Torao and Tora exchanged tentative glances, then nodded in affirmation.
"Sure," Torao answered for them, "Okay."
Ichigo looked back at the bedroom doorway a last time, then opened a senkaimon and led the children inside. In the nearby bushes, Aric turned to Little B and Lukas.
"Guys, you need to follow them."
"Whoa, what about you?" Little B asked, "We're not going anywhere without you!"
"You have to make sure that Heilgar doesn't cross paths with them," Aric insisted, "I am going to try to find out what Byakuya's condition is. He's obviously worse if he is not going with them."
"Aric, this is really dangerous!" Little B objected, "Who is this guy that you're risking your life just to help him? You don't even really know him!"
"That's the thing," Aric explained, "I feel like I do know him. And…because I don't remember a lot of things, maybe he is someone I knew before I was taken by Heilgar. I have to find out. But his family needs protection."
"All right. All right, we'll take care of it, right Lukas?"
Lukas gave the other two boys a conflicted look. Aric smiled.
"I'll be all right," he assured the younger boy, "Go with Little B."
"Just don't get in my way," Little B scolded Lukas teasingly, "and don't get us captured."
"I won't," Lukas promised.
"Yeah, unless that Tora girl bats her pretty lashes at you," Little B huffed, "Let's go."
Aric watched as they left, then moved close enough to the bedroom so that he could hear the voices of the ones within the room. He listened for several minutes, then settled in the bushes, trying to think of what to do next.
I think I need to talk to him. If these guys would just leave so I can slip inside…
He heard footsteps on the walkway and caught his breath sharply as he recognized the Karakura Town shopkeeper and the two men who accompanied him.
Ishida Ryuuken and Kurosaki Isshin? Why are they here?
He listened carefully as the three entered the room.
"Urahara Kisuke," Byakuya's voice said, bearing an edge of uncertainty, "I will assume this means that the test results were not good."
"They were not only not good," Kisuke answered ominously, "They were pretty damned worrisome. Byakuya…you need to let us take you to Karakura Town, and we need to go now."
