The Rain Child
By Spunky0ne
(A story suggestion by HisagiKuchiki – Thanks for the inspiration, sisterwolf!)
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AN** - To get the plot to work, I had to play a little with the TBTP timeline. Some of you may notice that, but it's on purpose. Happy reading!
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The new Kuchiki leader, young Byakuya, learns that the story of his father's death in battle is a lie, but the only known witness to Soujun's death is a cousin who is being held in a secret prison. Can Byakuya find him in time? And once he does, what will it take for him to unlock the truth?...yaoi, mpreg, references to non-con sex/rape…Aizen/Byakuya, Kisuke/Tetsuya
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Chapter 1: Rumors
With his brow furrowed and his dark grey eyes narrowed in concentration, the young leader of the Kuchiki clan gathered his reiatsu, aiming at the first of three targets set out before him. He loosed the first blast, hitting the target dead on, then he leapt into the air and fired another blast, hitting the second. A third blast left his hands and destroyed the final target as he turned, before his feet touched down gracefully.
Byakuya knew that if his grandfather had been there, Ginrei would have been pleased.
But with the council's approval of my elevation to leadership, Grandfather was called to the royal realm to serve the king more directly. It's to be expected. He would have gone sooner if not for the deaths of my grandmother and parents. I did tell him that I would be fine despite the recent passing of my wife, and that I would not disappoint him if he left…but all of that loss took a toll on him, and it was in me that he found comfort.
I hope he is happy.
"That was a good set of moves," a feminine voice said suddenly, shattering the peace of Byakuya's morning, "but if you can't even stop a girl from stealing your hair tie, then you won't be impressing much of anyone, little Kuchiki leader!"
Byakuya started to reach for the hair tie defensively, but was an instant too late. He scowled as the long black strands of his hair fell down over his shoulders and into his face and Yoruichi laughed and flash stepped away.
"Ridiculous woman," the young man growled, glaring in the direction she had taken, "Take it, then, and begone. I don't have time for you."
He brushed the hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ears, then he turned his attention back to his training.
"Not even going to give chase today?" Yoruichi asked, appearing in the branches of a nearby tree and dangling his hair tie from her extended fingertips, "You must have something on your mind."
"Hmph," Byakuya grunted, turning away and drawing his sword, then he began to work his way through a kata he had learned long before from his father.
Yoruichi dropped down from the tree and moved closer, standing with her arms crossed and observing as Byakuya's slender body executed each move gracefully. Every now and then, as he continued, his grey eyes flicked to look at her for a moment, then darted away.
"That's really beautiful, you know," she commented, "You look so much like Soujun…it's almost like seeing him again."
Byakuya slowed and stopped, keeping his back to the purple-haired woman.
"Why are you here?" he asked solemnly, "I mean, besides coming to annoy me."
Yoruichi gave the hair tie in her hand a regretful glance and moved forward, watching as Byakuya sheathed his blade. She moved in behind him and tied his hair back again, watching as he turned to face her.
"I heard that you'd picked up on the rumor that's been going around about your father, and I came because I wondered if you thought it might be valid."
Byakuya looked her in the eyes for a brief moment, then stepped away to where a few of his belongings had been set down. He picked up a water bottle and took a long drink, then he wiped the back of his sleeve over his sweating face.
"You are in charge of the stealth force," Byakuya said quietly, "I would imagine that you heard this rumor before I did."
"Yes," the Shihoin admitted, "I did hear it sooner, but I wasn't sure whether or not to take it seriously. There have been a number of rumors about Soujun's death, but none have yielded any real proof."
"But, you feel differently about this?" Byakuya mused, half to himself, "You feel that…the mention of the secret prison is a tantalizing lure…not just because of its possible connection to my father's death, but because of your little crusade against the conservative elders, maybe?"
Yoruichi gave him an offended look.
"I would never disrespect Soujun that way," she said firmly, "but you know that."
"You mean, the way you constantly disrespect me?" Byakuya countered, "While I am comforted by your treatment of my father's memory, excuse me if I fall short of taking you at your word."
"Byakuya," the cat woman sighed, losing all signs of her usual levity, "I am concerned about this, and not just because of, what did you call it? My crusade against the conservative elders?"
"I think you listen too much to that hare-brained scientist you used to employ in the Maggot's Nest," Byakuya said with a derisive edge to his voice.
"That hare-brained scientist just happens to be one of the greatest minds of our time," Yoruichi posited, "and Kisuke feels very strongly that there is reason to believe the rumors."
Byakuya bit back another dismissive comment and merely looked back at the cat woman silently, allowing her to continue.
"I know that you do not particularly like Kisuke or me, but you do love your father, and I can see that you think there is more going on here than meets the eye."
"And what if I do?" Byakuya sighed, looking down at his sheathed blade, "I am a new leader and still young. While I obviously have you and Urahara Kisuke in agreement with me, you are also still a young leader, and we do not have the backing in our own clans to try to do something about it. What are you suggesting? Do you think that we should try to handle the situation using your more underhanded tactics?"
A little smile touched the edges of Yoruichi's lips.
"For once, you don't look as though you disapprove. What happened? Did you find more information?"
Byakuya considered quietly for a moment, then moved closer and lowered his voice.
"I was approached by Aizen Sousuke after the fukutaichos meeting today," he admitted, "Aizen fukutaicho confided in me that he is privy to evidence that, not only are many of the conservative elders guilty of targeting mixed bloods, he has discovered the location of one of the secret prisons. The name he gave me was…Itamigiri."
Yoruichi's eyes widened. She bit her lip, considering, then met Byakuya's eyes again.
"That's the name of the prison that my sources have connected to the rumors about Soujun's death," she acknowledged.
"Yes," Byakuya agreed, "my sources have told me the same, but there was no one who could authenticate the claim. That Aizen fukutaicho may be able to is…both encouraging and disturbing."
"I have to agree on that," Yoruichi sighed, her frown deepening, "Kisuke and I have both felt some uncertainty about him. There is nothing he's done that's blatantly wrong. I suppose it's just a feeling I have. Still, even if we don't trust him completely, he could be useful in helping us find a way to prove what happened to Soujun wasn't a simple death in battle, as well as proving, once and for all, that the illegal persecution of mixed bloods is a problem that requires the direct attention of Central 46."
Byakuya gave her a doubtful look.
"Senpai," he said solemnly, "do you honestly think that the problem is one that simply requires the right evidence to make them address it?"
He loosed a long sigh and turned his head to look into the somber, grey sky.
"I fear that the problem may be so widespread and the elders are already trying so hard to conceal it…that…maybe no one is immune to the danger anymore."
He gave her a meaningful glance.
"Not even clan leaders."
Yoruichi's golden eyes narrowed and her head bowed as she dropped her voice into a whisper.
"Then…you have been threatened directly?"
"No," Byakuya whispered back, lowering his eyes to look at the ground, "I received the results of the testing that you stole the samples for, so that we could hide what we were doing."
The cat woman's breath caught.
"Byakuya…"
"Hisana was poisoned, and it was a poison that is very difficult to obtain and dangerous to even possess. It leaves only the tiniest trace so that most of our tests won't even detect it. It was thought to be most unlikely to be used, and the testing for it is expensive and takes extra time. It was thought that the tradeoff was not enough to warrant its use in most cases…especially not the case of a peasant, even though she might be the wife of the most powerful clan's leader."
Byakuya quietly abandoned his usual distance and slipped a hand into Yoruichi's where it was hidden by the length of his scarf that trailed down.
"Senpai, we are not safe."
"No," Yoruichi agreed, "but that doesn't mean that we should just do what they say."
Byakuya hesitated, then nodded briefly in assent.
"If we do not act, then our hands will be tied, and we will be complicit, then, in whatever happens because of it. And there is another wrinkle."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I have found her. I have found Hisana's sister."
"Ah…"
"I have no choice but to honor my late wife's request to bring her into the family, but…I have been open with the elders and assured them that I want no closeness with her. I would only be reminded of Hisana's untimely death. But in keeping with my word, I will take her into the family and allow her to wear our name, while also sending her to a position in Juushiro's division."
"Hmm…that will probably keep her safe, and long as she is not made an officer."
"Yes, I have seen to that," Byakuya stated cryptically.
"That is good, I suppose, but I wonder how safe you are, given that you've now gone against the elders twice," Yoruichi said worriedly.
"I think none of us are safe," Byakuya concluded, "so we must be judicious in the risks we take, but we will take them still."
"Then, you are going to follow up with Aizen Sousuke?"
"Yes."
He turned away and looked quietly up into the cloudy sky.
"One way or another, I will find answers!"
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Yukihana Naoki laid quietly in the dark corner of his cell, his thin body wrapped protectively around another, and his filthy hand rubbing a slightly rounded area on his cellmate's abdomen. Although their two bodies managed to generate a little heat, it wasn't enough to keep the two from shivering in the iciness of early morning.
"Are you feeling any better, Tetsu-chan?" he asked the darker-haired youth he held onto, "It feels like your reiatsu is more balanced now."
"I do feel a lot better," Tetsuya answered, his pretty sapphire eyes peeking down under the poor blanket and watching Naoki's hand rub circles on his belly, "Thank you, Naoki."
He read the flustered expression on the older youth's face and smiled, sitting up slowly. He opened the front of his yukata and started to climb onto his cellmate's lap. Naoki stiffened, but kept his voice soft, even as he objected.
"Don't. You don't have to," he assured Tetsuya, "I was just keeping your reiatsu stable."
He sighed and lowered his eyes.
"Besides, I know you don't really like doing it…because of what Orochi-sama does to you."
Tetsuya's smile wavered slightly, but he shook his head firmly and wrapped his thin legs around Naoki's body. His lips were cold, but they warmed quickly as they found Naoki's and caressed them tenderly.
"I do like doing it with you," he insisted, capturing the elder youth's face in his hands, "Now hurry, before the guards see!"
He lifted himself slightly, allowing Naoki to quickly prepare him, then he positioned himself over Naoki's hungry member and lowered himself slowly, joining their bodies. They pressed their mouths together tightly to hide any sounds and Naoki's hips rocked back and forth and Tetsuya's body rose and fell on his cellmate's thrusting arousal.
"T-tetsu-chan!" Naoki moaned softly into his slighter companion's devouring mouth.
The elder youth tried not to notice the tightness of Tetsuya's grip on his shoulders, and the slight look of discomfort on his face.
He tries, but for some reason, Tetsu-chan just can't seem to love me the way I love him. Orochi-sama's cruelty has broken something inside him.
He felt tears in the corners of his eyes as he held Tetsuya gently against him, caressing his back and whispering against his tight lips.
"You are beautiful, Tetsu-chan. I know it hurts when he is inside you. I just want you to know that it shouldn't hurt when someone loves you. When someone loves you, his touch should make you smile. You should long for it when you and your lover are apart. And when you are joined, it should make you feel like you are flying!"
Tetsuya felt a warning shudder in his cellmate's body and he clamped down hard on Naoki's mouth, absorbing the little sounds that escaped as the other boy gasped and began his release.
I can give Naoki pleasure, but for some reason, I am never able to reach that state he does…that state Orochi also reaches when he rapes me. Penetration feels like violence, even when it doesn't hurt. And when Orochi leaves his seed in me, it feels like it burns me. He burns me with his hatred. Naoki's seed is warmer and it feels more comforting. But no matter how Naoki touches me, no matter how he thrusts or caresses or sucks me…I…just…can't.
"Tetsu-chan," Naoki sighed, letting his spent member slide free of the younger man's body, "it's okay. It's not your fault. I want to thank you for giving me such pleasure, and I promise you that when Byakuya-sama comes and we are rescued, things will be different. You will heal in body and in spirit, and one day when I touch you, you will be able to respond to me."
He touched his fingertips to Tetsuya's damp cheek, brushing away his tears of frustration.
"Come now, don't cry. It's enough for me to hold you and kiss you. And remember, you are carrying my child! What greater gift could anyone give me than that?"
Tetsuya opened his mouth to answer, then he paled and closed it again as echoing footsteps sounded in the corridor outside their cell and a dark figure approached. The two prisoners hastily released each other and laid down, pretending to be asleep. But a few moments later, someone rattled the door to their cell loudly, and the two sat up, quivering.
"You," the guard growled, pointing at Tetsuya, "Orochi wants to see you."