Chapter 14: Shattered Bonds
"Give him to me. Give him to me and forget that it ever happened."
Byakuya heard an odd sound...a small gurgle, then a strong, powerful wail.
He sat up too quickly, making his head spin and startling the man who laid in the bed next to him. On some level, he realized that the bed he was in now was his own bed, and the man with him was Renji.
"B-bya?" Renji said, looking pale and scared.
"Wh-where is he? Where is he, Renji?"
Renji's sad, red-brown eyes found his and saddened even more at the senselessness in them.
"You're dreaming again," he said, wrapping his arms around the noble and holding him tightly, "C'mon, you have to snap out of this. The baby...Aizen's baby...she's gone, Byakuya. It's okay...to react to that...okay to mourn her, but this..."
Byakuya's gray eyes flared indignantly and his reiatsu throbbed strangely. He looked at his wrist and made a sound of surprise and dismay at finding that a limiter had been placed on his powers, allowing only enough reiatsu flow to nourish the other child he carried.
"What did you DO!" he yelled at the redhead, shoving him away, "What is THIS?"
"You weren't making any sense!" Renji shouted back, his voice shaking, "You wouldn't stop. You kept insisting that it was a boy and that they took him. But Byakuya..."
He paused as Tetsuya appeared at the doorway, dressed in a sleeping yukata and blinking sleepily.
"What's wrong?" he asked quickly, "What is happening?"
"Tetsuya," Byakuya said, his eyes fixing on his cousin, "he won't believe me. No one believes me! But I know. I know it was..."
"I will bring the clan healer," Tetsuya told Renji, "Keep him calm."
"Okay," Renji said shakily, swallowing hard and looking into Byakuya's wide, wet gray eyes, "Okay, Byakuya, look...I'm sorry. I'm...gods, I'm sorry! I told Kisuke that you needed help and he was going to help us out, but those goons busted in, and then they sensed you. I don't know how, but they sensed you..."
Byakuya's mind spun back dazedly.
"Hideo-san, he's...it's...emerging!"
"What?"
"He was in labor."
"Renji, please listen to me. I know that you think I am dreaming, but...I heard them! They said that..."
He stopped speaking, shocked into silence as a needle bit into his flesh and his mind began to fall away into blackness again.
"Wha...? Renji, why?"
"I'm sorry!" Renji said, pulling him close and holding him against a muscular shoulder as the medication took effect, "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"
Byakuya's eyes dulled and his body went limp in Renji's arms.
"Damn it!" the redhead seethed, "Is this okay? I mean, he's pregnant with our baby! This can't be okay for our baby."
"The baby will be fine if we can get him to calm and start thinking sensibly again," said the clan healer, "It is to be expected that he is like this. He was severely traumatized by the termination of his pregnancy. We understand that."
"But pumping him full of drugs? How in the hell is that going to help him?" Renji objected.
"The sedative is not harmful," the healer assured him, "And the time at rest will help to give him distance from what happened. He is going to be all right, Abarai-san. Do not worry. He just needs time and care. You are helping him a great deal, truly. Just keep comforting him."
Renji watched as the healer left, then looked up at Tetsuya helplessly.
"Just keep comforting him?" he asked sarcastically, "Tetsuya-san, comforting isn't doing shit for him and you know it! What can we do?"
"I am not sure," said the noble, "but we have to find a way to break through to him."
Renji bit at his lips nervously.
"Tetsuya-san," he said, his voice quaking slightly, "Y-you don't think that...that maybe he could be..."
"That he could be right?" asked Tetsuya, "That there could have been some kind of coverup? I do not know. I know that if they heard of such a thing, the members of our clan that sit upon the Central 46 council would not allow this, nor would the ones who are our allies. If it is a coverup, it is being done by a person or small faction within the council. But...Renji-san, there is absolutely no evidence of any kind to support what my cousin is saying. Add to that, he is grieving. Even if we think there might be credence to what he is saying, we are a long way from being able to take any action. I give you my word, I will do everything in my power to get to the bottom of this."
"I know you will," Renji said, looking up at the blue-eyed noble with trusting eyes, "You really got me out of a jam back at the repentance center."
"Actually, it was the elder's council that..."
"Don't give me that," Renji said, shaking his head, "You think I haven't noticed that you are his greatest supporter in the family...right up there with Rukia. And I appreciate everything you're doing."
"I wish I could do more," said Tetsuya, squeezing Byakuya's limp hand gently, then stepping away, "I will be back. I have to make the rounds, checking in with the security staff. I will be back soon."
Renji nodded and turned back to the sleeping clan leader.
"Your cousin, Tetsuya is really great," the redhead said, kissing the noble lightly on the forehead, "I don't what I would have done if he and the elders hadn't put pressure on the Gotei 13 to release me. I was going crazy in there. But...ahm, we're together now. Everything's going to be okay. I'm going to stay right here. I'm not leaving you alone for a minute. Rest, okay? You'll be okay. You and our baby are going to be fine."
He flinched and caught his breath as Byakuya's hand moved in his and the noble's eyelids fluttered.
"R-renji?"
The redhead smiled sadly.
"You shouldn't be awake. You need rest."
"Can we...leave here?" the noble asked.
"Huh? You're not in any shape to go anywhere. Where would you want to go, anyway? You're safe in your own bed, and I'm here with you. You've got healers, attendants, people to wait on you, hand and foot. And you have Tetsuya, Rukia and me, all watching over you. This is where you need to be right now. This is your home, Byakuya."
"You...are my home," the noble whispered, "It...d-doesn't matter where...we are."
Renji felt tears in his eyes and swallowed hard.
"You're my home, too. I love you. And..." he whispered, tears leaking onto his face, "I'm sorry I couldn't stop them. Really, I am."
"It is not you fault," Byakuya said, closing his eyes again.
Renji watched as he drifted off again, then he laid down next to the noble and curled his body around Byakuya's, slipping his hands beneath his yukata and gently infusing his abdomen with warm, balancing reiatsu. He ran his fingers through the noble's long, silken hair and planted soft kisses along his throat. He drifted off to sleep, wrapped around the noble, his cheek rested on Byakuya's.
He'll be okay.
He has to be.
Whatever I have to do, I'm going to make him well again.
XXXXXXXXXX
Byakuya woke late at night, his mind still hazy and his body weak from the sedative.
I have to get out of here.
They think that I'm crazy. No one believes me. But I heard him crying. I know I heard him crying. He was real, and he was mine. How could he be gone? I still feel him inside my heart. They took him...but why? Why did they take him and not kill him? I don't understand...
He closed his eyes and breathed in Renji's warm scent, trying to gain enough clarity of mind to understand. Aizen's face flashed in his mind and Byakuya flinched, remembering. he shivered at the memory of Aizen touching him, but something in the memory triggered a suspicion. And slowly, as his mind cleared more, the idea grew.
It must have to do with him...
He turned his head and found that Renji was sleeping soundly. He worked his way free of the redhead's arms and slipped out of bed...making his way on unsteady legs to the dressing area and dressing in just his shihakushou. He left the room and carefully evaded the eyes of the house security guards, thankful that the limiter on his wrist made it easy to hide his reiatsu. He quickly found that although he was without most of his powers, he still had his flash step, and he hastened to leave the area of the manor quickly to avoid being followed.
He passed through the darkened streets, little more than a shadow, moving noiselessly until he reached a cluster of trees outside of Central 46. He knew better than to think that he would be allowed inside, and so hid his reiatsu and waited for another person of strong reiatsu to arrive. He used his flash step to slip in ahead of the person, then used shadows and alcoves to move about inside. He went first to the guard station at the entrance to the prison, and waited until the guards were distracted to steal a set of keys to the prison gates.
He was surprised at how easy it was to traverse the levels of the prison, only waiting for the proper moment when the guards made their rounds or changed shifts. In shockingly little time, he reached the lowest level, marveling that no alarm had yet been sounded. He crept near to the last guard station, where two guards sat, talking softly and playing cards. He knew from a schedule he had spotted at another guard post that he had an hour until anyone arrived for the next shift change. He moved closer to the two, then in a flash of motion, knocked the two unconscious and took the key to Aizen's cell.
Byakuya ran now, turning the corners quickly and heedlessly. He abandoned stealth entirely, intent only on reaching Aizen. He nearly tore the door off the hinges, opening it, then flash stepped into the cell.
Aizen sat, bound to his chair, only his left eye and his mouth uncovered. He blinked and stared as Byakuya entered the chamber, then smiled wickedly.
"Why, Byakuya, how kind of you to come and visit me," he said, sedately, "You...missed me then?"
Byakuya flash stepped forward and placed his hands on Aizen's bound arms, glaring into his one uncovered eye.
"Where is he?" he asked in a hissing whisper, "Where is my son?"
"Your son?" Aizen queried, sounding surprised, "What are you talking about? You mean...you had our child?"
Byakuya's lips tightened and he clenched Aizen's arms harder.
"Tell me where he is!" the noble demanded.
"Or what?" Aizen asked, smirking, "You'll hurt me? Oh...you have missed me."
Byakuya's eyes blazed and he leaned closer.
"I know that you don't care about him, but I do! And despite what everyone keeps saying, I know he is alive! Tell me where he is!"
"Come closer," Aizen mouthed, "My cell is monitored. They are probably on their way here now!"
Byakuya shivered, but leaned forward.
"Kiss me...and I'll tell you."
"No!"
"You had best hurry..."
"Aizen...you..."
"Come closer, I'll whisper it into your ear."
He knew better than to believe the man, but desperation collapsed his resolve and he brought his ear close to Aizen's lips, shivering as the man's tongue extended and tasted a pale earlobe.
"Sweet..." Aizen whispered hotly into his ear, "You smell and look just as sweet as that night, Byakuya."
"Tell me!" Byakuya hissed, closing his eyes as footsteps sounded in the hallway.
"Kiss me..."
"Aizen!"
"Kiss me, Byakuya. But do so quickly, now."
His stomach quailed and dizziness swept over him, but the sounds of the approaching guards forced his hand. His body quaking with revulsion, he brought his trembling lips to Aizen's, his resolve shattering as the man pushed his tongue into the noble's warm mouth.
"Freeze!" yelled a guard, bursting into the room.
"Tell me!" Byakuya breathed, breaking free.
Aizen stared into his eyes.
"It hurts, doesn't it? Wondering?" the prisoner said, smirking.
"Aizen!" Byakuya cried, clawing at him, "AIZEN!"
Byakuya stared, rapt, into Aizen's one uncovered eye as the guard reached him and sent a shock of kido through him that dropped him at Aizen's feet.
"What a shame," Aizen said softly, "A waste of such loveliness. But he's completely mad."
"Be quiet!" the guard snapped, "Or we'll bind up your eye and mouth again!"
"What is going on here?" asked a man with a tranquil voice.
Even stunned, Byakuya remembered...
"Give him to me. Give him to me and forget that it ever happened."
A chill went through him as the man knelt next to him and checked to make sure that he was breathing.
"Good, you fools didn't kill him. That would have brought suspicion."
He looked up at Aizen.
"What did you say to him?"
Aizen's lips smiled.
"What do you think?" he asked, laughing softly, "Are you afraid? Are you going to kill him now?"
The councilor glared at him.
"Oh, that's right, you can't...suspicion. So...what will you do?"
He watched as the councilor removed a syringe from his pocket and injected the stunned noble, then watched as Byakuya's widened gray eyes hazed over and became senseless.
"Oh, bravo," said Aizen, "Yes, everyone already thinks he is crazy, ne? So...who would know if you did turn his brain into swiss cheese? How very crafty of you."
Aizen's eye drifted down to rest on Byakuya's lovely, collapsed form.
"Such a beautiful man," he commented, "He breaks very sweetly, doesn't he?"
"Shut up!" snapped the councilor, "or we'll bind your eye and mouth again."
Aizen went quiet, but watched in amusement as the guards lifted Byakuya and started to carry him out of the cell.
"Take him to the healing center," the councilor ordered the guards, "But...make sure you take sufficient time...so that there will be no trace of the drug in his system."
He glanced back at Aizen.
"You didn't even tell him, did you..." he said, realizing.
Aizen looked back at him and said nothing.
"Bastard!"
"Councilor Takamiya! Yamamoto Soutaichou asks if you require anything from the Gotei 13."
The councilor sighed.
"Tell him that the sixth division taichou broke into Aizen's cell and attacked him. We are sending him to the fourth division for psychiatric evaluation. We will defer to the judgment of Unohana taichou."
"Hai, sir!"
XXXXXXXXXX
"How in the hell did he manage to get to Central 46, let alone inside Aizen's cell?" Renji mused, holding on to Tetsuya's slender waist as the noble's stallion carried the two quickly towards the fourth division, "This is bullshit, Tetsuya-san! Byakuya attacking Aizen? That's just crazy?"
"Yes," agreed Byakuya's younger cousin, "I find myself questioning what we were told, and we will get to the bottom of that, but first we must get to my cousin."
They thundered up to the front steps of the healing center, where the two men quickly dismounted and raced inside. The receptionist directed them up the stairs, which they took, two by two, then they ran down the hall and came to a halt at the nurse's station.
"We are here to see Kuchiki taichou," said Tetsuya, "I am Kuchiki Tetsuya and this is Byakuya-sama's husband, Abarai Renji."
"Go on in," said the nurse, buzzing them through, "Unohana taichou is waiting for you."
Renji flash stepped down the hall with Tetsuya on his heels, and the two burst into the room and slid to a stop.
Byakuya laid silently in the bed in the room, soft restraints on his wrists, ankles and across his waist. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, his wide gray eyes glazy and senseless.
"Kami, what happened to him?" Renji gasped, "Unohana taichou, what happened?"