Chapter 12: The Small Hope

"Tetsuya-san?"

Tetsuya's eyes blinked open and he found himself alone in Aizen Sousuke's bed. Intense warmth still flared inside him from the heated exchange of passions between the leader of the hollows and himself, and he still felt the pleasant ache of having been taken several times during the night. He gazed sleepily up at Haru and gave him a friendly smile.

"Good morning, Haru-kun."

"Morning?" queried the boy, "It is already midday, Tetsuya-san. Mother was getting worried because you have barely eaten since…since yesterday."

Tetsuya glanced at the tray of food that the boy had brought and sighed softly.

"I am sorry, Haru-kun," he said softly, "I am afraid I don't feel well enough. I don't wish to be rude, but I just can't."

The servant boy gave him a worried look, but nodded and sat down on the bed next to him. Tetsuya sat up and rubbed his eyes, then leaned back against the pillows and looked out the bay window.

"He is just sleeping, Tetsuya-san," Haru said quietly, "Mother said he will be just fine when he wakes up. Do…do you think it would help to sit with him for a while? I can take you to him. Aizen-sama said that if you asked to see him that we should take you to him."

"Thank you, Haru-kun, for trying to raise my spirits," Tetsuya replied, tears forming in his eyes, "but…I think it would do no good for anyone for me to go to him now. He is sleeping comfortably, ne?"

"Oh…yes, Tetsuya-san! He is very comfortable! Mother dressed him in my best soft pajamas and he is tucked into the extra bed in my room. I promise, we are taking very good care of him."

"I am grateful," Tetsuya said softly, brushing a tear from his cheek, "I will not go and see him just now, but I would like to go for a walk. I've hardly been out of this room since I came here."

Haru nodded.

"Where would you like to go?" the boy asked.

"I have some books I've finished reading and need to return to the archive. And I have a few more to search for there."

"I can take you to the archive," Haru answered, "But will you please try to eat something, Tetsuya-san? Mother is going to be upset if you haven't eaten."

He took a few conciliatory bites to please the boy, then followed him out of the room.

"Where are you taking him?" the guard asked Haru.

"We are going to the archive," said the boy, "Aizen-sama said that Tetsuya-san can go where he wishes as long as he stays inside the fortress."

"I know that, but he also required an escort."

The guard fell in behind them as Haru led Tetsuya to the archive. They stopped at the door and the guard let them inside.

"Just let me know when you are ready to leave," said the guard.

Haru took the books Tetsuya had returned and began re-shelving them, while the noble took a piece of paper out of his pocket and searched the shelves for the references he had written down. He gathered several books, then returned to the archive entrance, where Haru was waiting for him.

"This place is creepy," the servant boy commented, looking around, "Some of the books have dangerous things in them."

"I sensed that," agreed Tetsuya, nodding and glancing back where they had been, "but not to worry, the guards would help us if anything tried to harm us."

"Still," said the boy, "I'm relieved to get out of here. I don't like this place. I like books, but…"

"I understand," said Tetsuya, smiling.

The two rejoined the guard outside the door and began walking back to Aizen's room. Tetsuya absently perused the books as he walked

"Tetsuya-san," Haru said, breaking into his thoughts, "Are you sure you don't want to visit Naoki-kun for a short time? You can say hello to my mother while you are there. She worries about Tetsuya-san. Maybe she wouldn't worry so much if you went to see her and had tea and cookies with us."

Tetsuya started to gently refuse, but read the genuine emotion in the boy's eyes.

"Very well, Haru-kun," he said quietly, "If you think it would ease her mind. Your mother is a kind woman. And she has a kind son, as well. I am grateful."

Haru smiled up at him, then led him to the servants' wing. Tetsuya was inwardly pleased to see that the conditions of those serving Aizen looked to be quite comfortable and the mood in the area seemed relaxed and even jovial. Haru reached one of the dwelling areas and ran inside, dragging Tetsuya along and leaving the guard at the door.

"Mama!" he yelled, "I've brought Tetsuya-san for tea and cookies! Mama?"

"I am right here, Haru. You needn't shout," he mother said with gentle reproach, "Welcome, Tetsuya-san. I am glad you came to join us."

"Thank you," the noble said quietly, "And if it wouldn't be any trouble, I would like to see my brother while I am here."

"Oh, of course, Tetsuya-san!" the woman said, "Haru, take Tetsuya-san to see his brother while I prepare the tea and snacks."

"Yes, Mother!" said the boy, taking the noble's hand, "Come this way, Tetsuya-san."

Tetsuya followed Haru down the hallway and into a nicely sized room with two beds and several bins full of toys. He walked quietly to the bed where Naoki slept and sat down in a chair that Haru provided. Haru glanced at him, then slipped out of the room and left the two alone. Tetsuya looked down at his younger brother's sleeping face and took a small, limp hand in his.

"I am glad to see that you are being well cared for, little brother," he said softly, "I am sorry that you were caught up in all of this. But I promise you, Naoki-kun, I am going to get you out of here. Nothing bad will happen to you. Not like…"

He stopped himself and forced the memory of his friend's death away. This situation, he reminded himself, was not like the one in Itamigiri. Aizen had promised to free them.

But as of our soul bonding, I have to wonder. Now that I am bound to him, does that mean that I can never return home? That I must leave everything I know behind and remain with him? And what if someone does stop him? If he is killed, I will simply die with him, but what if he is captured? There are so many uncertainties…

He looked out the window and tried to imagine going home. But he couldn't, no matter how he tried, see himself being freed. Aizen was vulnerable because of him. And the hougyoku would use its powers in any way it had to so that Tetsuya wouldn't be a liability. It meant that he couldn't count on Aizen to keep his promise. He couldn't count on ever going home.

The more I think about this, the more unsettled I feel. The more I consider it, the more it seems that there is something wrong in the connection between Sousuke and the hougyoku. He says he is the master, yet he yields to the stone so that it can offer him its greater powers. But the stone is self-serving too. It made him kill me once because…

He stopped himself for a moment.

Could it have been afraid? But…what would the hougyoku fear coming from me? What power do I have that it has not taken away that could thwart Aizen's plans?

He took a soft, sudden inhale as a memory returned to him.

"You may not believe this," Aizen whispered into his ear, "but I feel badly about this. I had looked forward to sharing more time with you. You are truly unique, Kuchiki Tetsuya. I shall look forward to your awakening when all of this is over."

He offered the devastated noble a final kiss, then intensified the power around him.

"Wait," the hougyoku interjected, stopping Aizen, "I think, perhaps, another way would be better."

Aizen's eyes rose and fixed on the softly pulsing crystal.

"What do you mean?" he asked, "Tetsuya has accepted his fate. Why is it necessary to further torment him? There is nothing left in him that threatens us, or our plans. He has no power to stop us now."

"You have been too lax with him. Even now, as you prepare to subdue him, you offer him consolation. He brings out weakness in you, and that interferes with our goals. But I will be happy to show you how to control him successfully."

"What do you mean?"

A soft glow appeared in the center of the room and Tetsuya gave a sharp gasp of dismay as Naoki appeared. The noble tore free of Aizen, scrambling towards the child, but was stopped short as a translucent red chamber rose around the boy.

"What are you doing?" cried Tetsuya, "I said I would cooperate! He said that Naoki could go home!"

He placed his hands on the outside of the chamber, staring into Naoki's frightened eyes. A moment later, the boy's eyes misted over and he collapsed.

"Naoki!"

He is alive, noble shinigami, the hougyoku told him, He will remain alive as long as you do nothing more to interfere with us as we carry out our plans. You are to pleasure Aizen Sousuke as you promised, and serve him faithfully, and when we become king over the three worlds, I will allow your brother to wake. Take him with you, but know you can do nothing to free him. You are bound to serve us now, Kuchiki Tetsuya, and if you fail, he will sleep permanently!

"He interferes with 'our' goals," whispered Tetsuya, "And it said…when 'we' become king. It said 'we.' Why? The words make it sound like they will both be king, but how can the hougyoku…?"

His thoughts were interrupted as Haru stepped back into the room.

"The tea is ready, Tetsuya-san," he announced.

"Very well," said Tetsuya, "I will be there in a moment. I just need to say goodbye to my brother."

He turned back and placed a gentle kiss on Naoki's fingertips, then another on the boy's forehead.

"Rest easy, little brother," he said softly, "I will see to it that you return home safely…and soon. You have my word."

He brushed away a tear that had formed in the corner of one blue eye, then rose and left to join Haru and his mother. He was quiet as they ate, attending to the conversation as politeness dictated, but distracted by thoughts about the hougyoku. After finishing the tea and thanking Haru's somewhat relieved, but still concerned mother, he returned with the guard to Aizen's room and sat down on the bed, laying the books he had found in front of him. Sighing wearily, he picked up the first and spent several minutes searching the pages, but finding nothing useful. He set the book down and picked up the second, but as he read, began to feel and ache in his stomach and a dizzy, nauseous feeling.

He tried, at first, to ignore the feeling, but it only increased over the next hour, and finally, he could stand it no longer. He left the bed and ran into the bathroom, falling onto his knees and loosing the contents of his stomach. He remained on his knees afterward, trying to breathe through the discomfort, but succumbed several more times to the need to empty his stomach.

Dizziness overcame him and he laid down on the floor, seeking the coolness to balance the feeling of heat in his body. After a time, he slowly drifted off. Haru brought him awake some time later.

"Tetsuya-san! Tetsuya-san, are you all right?"

He tried to answer, but couldn't make his mouth form the words.

"You have to send for Aizen-sama!" exclaimed the boy.

"Aizen-sama is not in the fortress. He said to have his personal healer attend him if there were any problems."

The guard bent over the semi-conscious noble and started to lift him.

"N-no!" Tetsuya gasped, struggling and pulling free.

He fell to the floor and backed away on hands and knees.

"Th-they p-poisoned him," he moaned dizzily, "They…poisoned Naoki…"

"Naoki-kun is fine, Tetsuya-san!" Haru insisted, "And the guard just wants to take you to the healer.

"Let me go!" cried Tetsuya as the guard tried to lift him again, "D-don't touch me! I know…I…I know you want to p-poison us! You hate us half breeds and you want us all to die!"

"What is he talking about?" asked the guard, looking confused.

"I think he is confused," said Haru, "Naoki told me that Tetsuya-san lived in a prison for half bloods before and it was really a bad place. It seems like he thinks we are there."

"Should I make him sleep?" asked the guard.

"Maybe you should let me try to talk to him first," suggested Haru.

He approached Tetsuya slowly and slipped an arm around his shoulders.

"Tetsuya-san," he said softly, "It's okay. No one will hurt you."

Tetsuya looked up at him with wide, unseeing eyes.

"N-naoki…" Tetsuya moaned, "Naoki…I thought that…thought that they gave you…Oh no! That means…they poisoned me! Help me, Naoki!"

"I will," said the boy, "My friend and I will take you to a healer who is a good man. He will take care of you. No one will hurt you."

"Naoki…" sobbed Tetsuya, "Naoki, I thought that they killed you! I thought that…you died!"

"I am right here," Haru said softly, "Let this man carry you, Tetsuya-san. He is going to take us to the healer. You are sick and you need healing. Please let him take you to the healer."

Tetsuya's wide, frightened eyes fastened on Haru's and he held still, though he quivered under the guard's hands as he was lifted and carried out of the room. Haru scampered after them, watching worriedly as the healer beckoned them into the infirmary and the guard laid Tetsuya down on the bed. The noble looked around the room, struggling as the healer moved in close and began to examine him.

"Hold still now," said the old man, placing a hand on Tetsuya's arm, "or I will need to sedate you."

"N-no…no…" Tetsuya moaned fitfully, "I won't wake up. I know if I fall asleep…N-naoki!"

The healer placed a gentle hand on his forehead and induced sleep. Tetsuya closed his eyes and went still.

"Is Tetsuya-san going to be all right?" Haru asked worriedly.

"I think he'll be fine," said the old healer, "but I need to have a good look at him and it was upsetting him to be here."

"He was in the noble half breed prison before," Haru explained, "It was like he was dreaming about it, but…he…his eyes were open!"

"He was going back to that time in his mind, for some reason," said the healer, "Maybe because going to the infirmary in that place was a bad thing. But do not worry, Haru-kun, I will find what is ailing your friend."

"Can I stay until you know what's wrong?" asked the boy, "I want to be able to tell my mother what happened. I promise I'll be quiet."

"Very well," said the healer, continuing to examine the noble, "If he starts to wake up, you can help me to keep him calm."

"Okay," said the boy, watching as the healer placed a hand on Tetsuya's damp forehead, then held his other hand just above the noble's body, slowly releasing his reiatsu into different areas of Tetsuya's body.

"Tell me what you know about what happened," he directed Haru.

"Well, I was going to take Tetsuya-san some dinner, and I found him collapsed in the bathroom. He threw up and then he fell on the floor and wouldn't wake up at first. I shook him and yelled at him, but it took a long time before he woke up, and then he wasn't making any sense. He thought he was poisoned."

"There is no poison in his body," the healer reported, and he does not seem to have any illness I can see."

"Then why did he throw up and faint like that?" asked the servant boy.

"I'm not sure yet," said the healer, "I am going to take some blood and reiatsu samples and run some tests."

Haru watched quietly as the healer drew several vials of blood, then collected several samples of the noble's reiatsu.

"I have to take these to the laboratory," he told Tetsuya, "I have given him a strong sedative to help him rest. He is overly strained from the pressures of being a captive, I think. I want you to…"

"What happened to Kuchiki Tetsuya?" asked Aizen's voice from the doorway, "Why is he here?"

"According to the boy, he became ill and lost consciousness. Then, when he woke, he was not in his right mind. He claimed he had been poisoned and kept calling Haru 'Naoki.' I believe he was hallucinating about the prison he was kept in before."

"But you found no sign of poisoning? Nothing to support what he was saying?"

"I found nothing, no explanation for his illness," reported the healer, "I am running some tests, but they will take some time."

Aizen's lips tightened.

"He will not take well to waking here," he said shortly, "I will see to him until the results are available. Come to me as soon as you know anything."

Without waiting for an answer, he lifted the unconscious noble into his arms and carried him back to the bedroom. He set him in bed, then left for a moment to change into a yukata. Returning to the bed, he laid down and pulled the unconscious shinigami onto his shoulder. After nearly an hour of motionlessness, Tetsuya began to stir and moan softly.

"N-naoki?" he whispered, his fingers touching Aizen's face blindly.

"Try again," said Aizen quietly, "It's me…Sousuke. Wake up, Tetsuya."

"S-sousuke?" the noble said uncertainly, his eyelids fluttering and slowly opening, "Sousuke, what happened? Is something wrong?"

"Everything is fine now," Aizen assured him, "Rest."

"But…where…where is…?"

"Shh…rest now. Everything is fine."

"I don't…I don't remember what happened, Sousuke."

"Hmmm? What is the last thing that you do remember," the brown-eyed shinigami asked, running the fingers of one hand through the noble's riled lengths of raven black hair.

"I was with you," Tetsuya whispered, closing his eyes and burrowing his face into Aizen's shoulder, "and there was water…and flowers…and I felt…safe."

"You are safe now. I am here."

"Where were you, Sousuke?"

"I had some things to attend to somewhere else. But I am back now. Everything is fine. Rest, my love. I want you to get well."

Tetsuya mumbled something unintelligible and drifted off on Aizen's shoulder. The leader of the hollows reclined quietly, watching the noble's troubled face as he slept. Some time later, a tap sounded on the door.

"Come in," Aizen said, softly, not wanting to wake Tetsuya.

The noble stirred and lifted his head, then slowly sat up, looking around and resting his eyes on the healer.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, "Was I ill?"

"Not exactly," said the healer, "You thought you were ill, but except for signs of stress, I found no illness."

"Then how do you explain what happened?" asked Aizen.

The healer smiled.

"Congratulations, Aizen-sama, Tetsuya-san is carrying your child."