Chapter 14: Nameless
King Yasahiro wrapped one arm around Aizen Sousuke's waist and placed the other on Arashi's warm back, restoring the steed's reiatsu and strengthening him as he ran easily under the white clad hogosha's direction. The former leader of the hollows focused on the remembered feel of his former associates' reiatsu and nudged the Pegasus in that direction, his eyes fixed on the trail ahead, but his mind straying to the injured lover he had left behind him.
"Do not worry, Sousuke," the king assured him, sensing the direction of his thoughts, "Tetsuya will recover. Before we left the spirit dimension, I gave him additional strength, and a key to unlocking even more, should the need arise. The bond between you is very strong now, and it will drive him to return to your side."
"That is what concerns me," Sousuke replied, keeping his eye on the terrain, "I do not doubt either his strength or his resolve. He is a tenacious fighter and he has a strong heart that guides him. But the very heart which powers him could work against him in this."
"How do you mean?" asked the king.
Sousuke was quiet for a moment.
"These men we seek are hollows because I led them astray. My treachery brought this on. And when they make their move against me, Tetsuya could be caught in the crossfire."
He smiled sadly and shook his head.
"As a matter of fact, it almost goes without saying that he will be. And the forces we are dealing with here are formidable. Gin and Tousen were tremendously powerful shinigamis, and as hollows, they will only have grown in strength. My own power, as vast as it is, may not be enough to protect myself, let alone Tetsuya."
Yasahiro smiled against the hogosha's back.
"Sousuke," he said quietly, "Tetsuya is not the person he was when he faced the dark wraith. In those trials, he sacrificed his innocence to protect what was important to him. He proved himself to be a fierce fighter, one who presses forward to the ends of his strength and then finds more. You have to trust him or certainly you shall both come to ruin. The only way you are going to overcome your enemies is by combining your strength. That takes tremendous trust…and I know why you are struggling when it comes to trusting in his strength. Neither of you has spoken of it, except to each other…and Tetsuya, himself, has avoided making you speak of it, but I am your king. I know what happened, even if your ban kai rewrote it."
Sousuke leaned back slightly, slowing Arashi, then stopping him. He slid down and helped Yasahiro down from the Pegasus's back. He was quiet as they allowed the warhorse to rest and drink from a nearby lake.
"Yasahiro-sama," he said finally, "I don't hold it against Tetsuya that he could not defeat the hollow wraith. Certainly, he exceeded any expectation I would have had at the time. And I agree with you that he has only become stronger. But it is…heartbreaking…to remember what no one else does. To look at him and have flashbacks of a violent rape and death he doesn't remember. To have already failed him in a devastating way…and to fear doing worse."
"So," said the king softly, "It is not that you fear his strength will fail. You doubt yourself."
The king placed a hand on his arm.
"Do not underestimate yourself, and do not lose faith in your lover."
Sousuke looked down at the king's hand and placed his own over it.
"I promise that I will trust in our strength, especially in that we have you. But you must be cautious, your majesty. As long as we remain outside the spirit dimension, you cannot use your full reiatsu to protect yourself."
"That is true," Yasahiro said, nodding, "but still there are things that need doing, and we must be the ones to see them done."
"And we will," Aizen said, helping the king onto Arashi's back again and climbing up after.
He caught his breath sharply as Arashi gave a sudden squeal, then threw his head back and neighed loudly. His feet shifted nervously and he looked back in the direction of the Seireitei.
"I wonder what this means," mused Sousuke.
Yasahiro closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, then a smile crept onto his lips.
"It seems that your Tetsuya has tapped into a greater source of power and has broken free of the reiatsu cage. Things are moving quickly now. We must move forward and find your former associates."
Sighing in frustration and looking back in the direction they had come, Aizen Sousuke put his heels to the Pegasus and set him running again. He was shocked that Tetsuya had recovered enough to shatter the cage, but if he could do that, then, Aizen thought, maybe things would be all right.
Maybe…
XXXXXXXXXX
Tetsuya flash stepped into the council chambers and slid to a stop, glaring at the men who sat around the large meeting table. He saw Tori and Toshi smile at each other. Behind him, the council chamber doors closed and the locks clicked into place. Tetsuya's body tensed and his hand found Re-kuhime.
"What are you doing?" he asked the men gathered at the table, "Why have you gathered for council without the permission of your clan leader or head councilor? Have you forgotten the rules of our clan?"
"We have not forgotten the rules of our clan," said Councilor Fumio, leaning forward, "But we have gathered, because we think that you have, Kuchiki Tetsuya!"
"What? Have you been listening to those fools? Have you lowered yourselves to falling victim to their lies? To being misled and dragged down into treachery by them? I call for this meeting to be adjourned immediately!" Tetsuya demanded.
"No," said Tori calmly, "You no longer have the right to do any such thing, Kuchiki Tetsuya!"
"You are suspected of capital crimes, Tetsuya-sama," Toshi added, "And this council has been called to hear the evidence and pass judgment on you."
Tetsuya stiffened as he felt a repressive kido settle over him, holding him in place. He knew already that he wielded the power to shatter it, but made wary by the bold move that Tori and Toshi were making, he chose to allow himself to be restrained, at least long enough to learn what his treacherous cousins were plotting.
"You cannot be serious!" he exclaimed, "You cannot call a disciplinary council without the clan leader or head councilor's permission to do so! And council may not pass sentence without the clan leader's approval! You cannot do this! Have you all taken leave of your senses?"
"We have actually given the matter a great deal of thought since Councilors Tori and Toshi brought us evidence of your misdeeds, Tetsuya-sama," said Councilor Eri, frowning at him disdainfully, "You have, it seems, been consorting with an enemy to our clan…Aizen Sousuke!"
"Consorting with…? Tell me," said Tetsuya in a low voice, "Since when did we begin declaring enemies to the family without an act of council? I know that Aizen Sousuke was never made an official enemy of the clan. I was at Byakuya-sama's side when he tried to convince this council to make Aizen our official enemy, so that we would have leave to kill him on sight, but council refused to act, based on the assertion that it was hardly necessary as the man was already marked by the Gotei 13 as an enemy, and that his crimes against the peasants that Byakuya-sama brought into the family were hardly worth declaring war over! Have you all forgotten your words! Aizen Sousuke is not a declared clan enemy!"
"Actually," said Tori, "He is."
"Yes," agreed Toshi, "He is, because after hearing that the Gotei 13 was searching for him, we called up the decision for review, and in light of the fact that not only is Aizen alive, but he is suspected of capital crimes once again, we reversed our decision."
"Without my input? Without Byakuya-sama's?" asked Tetsuya angrily.
"You were badly injured and unconscious," said Fumio, "meaning I was made interim head of the council. And Byakuya-sama's actions at the time caused us to suspect him of involvement. It prompted an emergency meeting, and we declared Aizen Sousuke an official enemy of the clan. And at the same time, we were given information from several sources that you were involved in a secret relationship with Aizen."
"My relationship with Aizen Sousuke broke no law. You have it from the king, himself that Sousuke is a light-being and that he was corrupted and led astray, that he fought the darkness that had invaded his soul and defeated it!"
"The king, himself?" queried Tori, "The king that Aizen abducted?"
"Sousuke did not abduct the king."
"You know this for a fact," said Toshi, "How?"
"Did he whisper it in your ear as he laid you on your back and screwed you until you lost your senses?" asked Tori.
"How dare you!" Tetsuya hissed, "My relationship with Sousuke is none of your business. And Sousuke has not committed a crime."
"Then, where is he?" asked Fumio, glaring meaningfully at Tetsuya, "And where is the king?"
Tetsuya's eyes widened as he saw the trap they were setting for him. He remembered Byakuya's words before leaving.
"If you reveal to anyone that Sousuke left with Arashi, or that they were going after the hollow forms of Gin and Tousen, then you and Sousuke will be accused of plotting with Gin and Tousen to revive the imprisoned spirit of Zetsubou!"
"Yes, I know that Sousuke would not seek to bring Zetsubou back. But the Royal Guard, the Gotei 13 and our clan will be forced to consider the possibility, and while they do, you will be arrested and face trial for conspiring with them. They will attempt to force you into revealing everything you know by threatening you with a death sentence. They will offer to only imprison you if you will reveal what you know. But once you tell them that Sousuke left with the king, you will implicate him…and we will lose both of you!"
"Tetsuya-sama," said Fumio solemnly, "We will give one chance to tell us everything you know. In return for your cooperation, we will shield you from being arrested and executed as an accomplice. You will be removed as head councilor and imprisoned here in the council prison, but it is a better fate than what you will get if you refuse to talk."
"You cannot prove I've done anything wrong. I have nothing to fear from you," Tetsuya said calmly, "I have done nothing but protect my king, and I will continue to do that, regardless of what threats you make!"
"Then, if you will not cooperate with us…"
"What?" said Tetsuya, forcefully, "What can you do? Within the boundaries of our laws, I have done nothing wrong!"
"You have engaged in a relationship with a man who is an enemy of our clan, and has been named a suspect in the king's disappearance. You have admitted to this relationship."
"Because it defies no rules!" Tetsuya insisted, "You cannot…"
"We are well within our rights to protect our clan by arresting you on suspicion of helping your lover to abduct the king."
"No!" Tetusya breathed, shaking his head, "You can't…"
"Kuchiki Tetsuya, you may reveal to us all that you know, or you may sacrifice your place within our family."
"You would…" Tetsuya gasped.
"We will strip you of your connection to the Kuchiki family, make you an outcast and then turn you over to the Gotei 13 to be tried on charges of treason. Is that what you want?" asked Fumio.
"Perhaps he needs time to consider," suggested Eri.
"With the king's life in the balance?" asked Tori, "Are you mad?"
"Tori is right," said Toshi, "He must make his decision now."
He glared down into Tetsuya's widened eyes.
"So, what will it be, Kuchiki Tetsuya? Will you give up your lover to save your own skin and our king? Or will you force us to take everything from you and send you to your execution?"
Tetsuya's breath froze inside him as his eyes read the faces of the councilors he had led for so long. He closed his eyes for a moment, mourning what he was losing. Then, he met their eyes proudly, straight-backed and fierce-eyed.
"I will not bend," he said quietly, "Not for you, nor for anyone. I am Tetsuya Tenba. Do you think that a Pegasus would choose me as the highest ranked of the King's hogosha so that I could turn about and stab his majesty in the back? You are fools! I am no traitor."
"You give us no choice."
"Byakuya-sama will not allow you to..."
"Kuchiki Tetsuya, you are hereby stripped of head councilorship, your place within the Kuchiki clan and our surname. And nameless as you are, and accused of being an accomplice in his majesty's abduction, we will give you into the custody of the Gotei 13!"
The chamber doors opened and flash steps sounded all around him. But when the leader of the second division team took hold of Tetsuya's shoulder, he watched in dismay as the body under his palm disintegrated and splashed to the ground, leaving a large puddle of water at his feet.
You have my gratitude, milady. Your timing was fortuitous, to say the least.
Tetsuya felt the cool swell of his zanpakutou's affection and could feel that she was smiling, albeit sadly.
They are idiots, Master. They have no idea who they are throwing away. But Byakuya-sama will not allow this. He will put those councilors in their place.
Tetsuya sighed softly as he masked his reiatsu and sensed the direction that Aizen and the king had taken. He was a long way behind them, on foot, and pursued. But his pursuers would not capture him anytime soon. He was left with time to think as he ran.
I imagine it's a good thing to have been made Tenba no Kishu, since I haven't a surname anymore. It feels strange…but thinking back to my meeting with Yasahiro-sama before this all began, it's as though he knew, or maybe sensed something like this. It's as though he knows something about me that I do not as yet. Still, he did tell me that I would discover what I needed to know. I will trust him.
As he continued to flash step forward, his mind flashed back to the odd dream he had had about the night his mother died…the man he felt he should know, and the revelation that he was not who he appeared to be. He vaguely remembered mention of a curse…of the king's line of succession, suggesting he was royal. But even if he was…even if that was truth and not a simple dream…if his mother's name was Aratani and she was a princess, it didn't tell him why the man in his dream had sought to kill him as a child…or why he appeared now in Tetsuya's dream. He flashed back to the end of the dream, when the man had touched him, turning him in the direction of the mirror, but there his memory failed him.
Who did I see when I looked in the mirror?
All I know is that it made me feel like my heart had died inside me.
So many secrets…
Why do I suddenly wish things could go back to the way they were?