Chapter 2: The Accused
"Haru?" said Renji questioningly, as he entered the Falcon Ridge Recovery Center, "I thought that Tetsuya and Arashi would have shown up already to take you to Kuchiki Manor for the rehearsal. I mean, you two are the happy couple. You really do need to be there, ne?"
"We will be," Haru said, as Tetsuya stepped out of the counselor's office and joined them, "You see? My lovely husband-to-be is already here."
"But," said Tetsuya, "I thought it best to remain here until the details of Prince Tohma's situation are more clear."
"So, what's the story?" asked the redhead, rubbing his swollen belly absently, "The king's message said that Tohma was suspected of attacking a counselor."
"Yes," said Haru, clasping his hands together somewhat nervously, "You remember, of course, how he was with Byakuya...before."
"Yeah, I wish I could forget, but..."
"Tohma had been making good progress in his recovery. All of us counselors and Unohana taicho were pleased with how well he responded to treatment after coming here from the spirit dimension. Then, a few months ago, a new counselor arrived at the center. He was like Tohma, in that he had once been an abuser. He was molested and abused as a child, and began to visit the same upon others. He was stopped before he could harm anyone too badly, and he went through a course of treatment. When he emerged, he trained to be a counselor, and was accepted and assigned here. He encountered Tohma, and the two seemed to bond quickly. Tohma asked to be reassigned to Hiromi, the new counselor, and although a few of us had some misgivings about the idea, we gave them a probational approval."
Haru sighed and leaned against Tetsuya, biting his lip gently and thinking carefully before continuing.
"The main concern we had...is that Hiromi looks much like Byakuya."
"What?" asked Renji, frowning, "And no one questioned that?"
"Of course we did," explained Haru, "We ran a battery of emotional and cognitive tests to be certain of Tohma's ability to handle such a thing, and he seemed to delineate clearly between the two. And Tohma's recovery continued to move forward, so we ended the probation and allowed the change of counselors."
"So...if he was doing so great," said Renji, "what happened? A relapse?"
"We don't know," said Haru, shaking his head, "All we do know is that Prince Tohma was painting on the hillside. He does this to calm and focus his mind. Hiromi left the center, saying that he was going to speak to Tohma. A short time later, Tohma staggered into the center, carrying Hiromi, who was unconscious, and had been badly beaten..."
Haru met Renji's eyes meaningfully.
"And he had been sexually assaulted."
Renji's eyes darkened.
"Did he admit to it?"
Haru shook his head.
"He hasn't spoken since the attack. He only turned Hiromi over to our healers and allowed himself to be bound and placed in a holding cell. We have monitored him and he seems beside himself with grief. In fact, we wondered at first, if he could be innocent...if someone had done something to both of them."
"But?" Renji asked.
"But...we could find no one else's reiatsu on Hiromi's body. And when we conducted a rape assessment on Hiromi, we found traces of Tohma's semen inside him."
"Well, I guess that pretty much proves it, ne?" said Renji, shaking his head and tightening his lips, "Okay, I will take Tohma back to the Seireitei and have him held in the repentance center until after the wedding. Then, I'll take him back to the palace. The agreement was that if he fucked up, he was out of the program and would go back to the prison at the palace."
Haru sighed sadly.
"We had such hopes for him, Renji-san," he said, looking in the direction of the holding room, "I just can't believe that he had us all fooled so well."
"Yeah," said Renji, "but he's good at that...as we found out when he was putting on a show for us with Byakuya, and beating the living hell out of him behind closed doors. Don't feel bad. I'm sure that you guys did everything you could."
He left the counselor and Tetsuya behind and followed the facility guard into the holding room. They stepped inside together, then Renji turned to the guard.
"I want to speak to him alone."
The guard gazed at him in surprise.
"Are you sure, Abarai-sama?"
Renji flinched at the honorific, but ignored it.
"Yeah, thanks. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"I only meant that, in your condition..."
"I said, I can take care of myself," the redhead said, a bit snappishly, "Eh, sorry. Just...thanks. I'll handle him."
The guard nodded briefly, then bowed and left.
Renji approached the bed where Tohma sat, propped up on pillows, his slender wrists bound in kido ropes, tying him to the bed rails. He stared blankly ahead, his eyes and face wearing an expression of utter devastation.
"You want to tell me what happened? How that counselor of yours got beat up and raped, and your body fluids ended up inside him?"
Tohma's lips quivered softly, and his golden eyes blinked.
"Would you believe me if I told you?" Tohma asked, his voice soft and oddly choked.
"Not likely," Renji answered, "I'd say that it looks pretty open and shut. But...if you have an explanation, I will listen."
"If you will not believe me, then why should I bother?" the prince asked defeatedly, "You have already convinced yourself I did this thing, so why do you waste our time? I am sure that you have more important things to attend to."
"Yeah, well, our dad ordered me to do this, so don't waste my time fucking around and trying to play games with me. Just tell me your story, and then we'll get out of here."
Tohma nodded briefly and waited as Renji slowly lowered his pregnant body into a chair.
"Congratulations, by the way," said Tohma, studying his brother's enlarged abdomen, "I am glad to see that you and Byakuya are going to have another child. So...he is well, then?"
"Yeah," said Renji, guardedly, "He's fine."
"Then, if that is so, why are you carrying the child?"
Renji scowled.
"Because that's how we wanted it," he snapped, "Enough chit chat. Tell me your story."
"Very well," Tohma said, looking down at his bound hands, "I was out on the hillside, painting, and Hiromi came to see me."
"About what?"
"About my progress, of course," answered the prince.
"Oh?"
"He was happy with how I was progressing, but he did betray a concern that I was overstepping boundaries with him."
"Were you?"
Tohma let out a resigned breath.
"I kissed him."
"You kissed your counselor."
"Yes," answered the prince, "He warned me that if I did such a thing again during my treatment, he would have to have another counselor chosen to assist me."
"Yeah, well, he probably figured out you were using him to replace Byakuya," concluded Renji.
"Actually, he understood that, although his resemblance to Byakuya initially caught my attention, I fell in love with him because of his own unique qualities."
"Right," said Renji, looking unconvinced, "So, how did he end up beaten and raped?"
He was surprised at the pain that flashed across the prince's face at the mention of the counselor's injuries.
"I don't know," Tohma said in a low, controlled voice, "One moment, I was standing beside Hiromi, looking down the hillside, and the next thing I knew, I woke up next to him, and he was badly injured."
"So...you are saying that you...had some sort of blackout and attacked him?" Renji concluded, "I guess that, considering your history, it could have happened that way, ne?"
He was shocked to see tears rise in his brother's eyes and the way Tohma clenched and unclenched his hands as he went on.
"I don't know," he said miserably, "I don't believe I could ever hurt Hiromi. But I have hurt and killed people before. I find it frightening that I have no memory of any of this."
"But you know you must be guilty," said Renji, "How else would your body fluids be inside him?"
Tohma shook his head and sniffed softly.
"I don't know. I can't explain."
"Yeah, well, whether you meant to or not, you hurt that guy."
"Is he going to be all right?" Tohma asked, meeting Renji's eyes warily.
"I don't know what his condition is," he said, looking out the barred window, "But we can ask before we leave."
Tohma nodded silently and sat still as Renji released the bindings on his wrists and allowed him to stand.
"I'm taking you to the repentance center until after Byakuya's cousin's wedding, then I will take you back to the palace prison. And this time, you will stay there for good."
"I understand," Tohma said, lowering his eyes and bowing his head in submission.
He stood quietly as Renji bound his wrists behind him and checked the seal on his powers. He followed the redhead out to where Haru and Tetsuya waited.
"Hey," Renji greeted them, "Are you guys ready to go back to the Seireitei?"
"Yes, whenever you are," Tetsuya confirmed.
"Okay," said Renji, but I wanted to check and see how Hiromi is before I go."
Haru nodded.
"He is in our healing center," the counselor said, "We will wait here while you see him, if you like."
Renji glanced at Tohma.
"Wait here."
He turned away before his brother could answer and walked back to the healing center.
"Ah, Abarai-sama," said the healer, "I heard that you had arrived."
"How is Hiromi?" the redhead asked.
"He is resting comfortably," the healer assured him, "He will make a full recovery, but..."
"But what?"
The healer met his eyes sadly and sighed.
"There is a...decision to be made."
"What?" asked Renji.
The healer nodded in the direction of the door.
"You should speak to him. He will explain."
Renji frowned and turned towards the room that the healer had indicated. He passed through the door, then stopped short, staring and taking in the strong resemblance to Byakuya.
"Hiromi-san?" he said quietly.
The man's eyes opened and met Renji's wearily.
"Abarai-sama?" he queried softly.
"Just...call me Renji," said the redhead, "I came to see how you are. The healer said that you are going to make a full recovery."
"Yes," said the counselor, "I was very fortunate."
"Yeah," Renji agreed, nodding, "but the healer said something about making a decision?"
Hiromi sighed and looked down at his hands.
"Yes," he admitted, "But...before I get to that, I must tell you. I do not believe that Prince Tohma was the one who attacked me."
Renji frowned.
"Come again?"
"I do not think that Tohma attacked me," the counselor repeated.
"And, uh...how is that possible, considering that his semen was discovered inside you?"
Hiromi shook his head in frustration.
"I cannot answer that," he admitted, "Nor can I say how I know. But I feel that he was not my aggressor. For one thing, Tohma was standing beside me when I was struck. If he was the one, it would have been difficult for him to do that."
Renji bit his lip gently, considering.
"That seems kinda shaky," he commented, "Are you sure you just don't want to think badly of him?"
"I have asked myself that," said the counselor, "and I will admit that the feelings I have for Prince Tohma are not appropriate, considering my position as his counselor. But we had agreed not to move in a romantic direction."
"And he seemed accepting of that?" asked Renji.
"He was regretful," said Hiromi, closing his eyes and remembering, "but yes, he accepted that it was not appropriate for us to pursue a relationship at this time."
"And there were no signs that he might be angry or...?"
"No, he accepted what I said. He was anxious that I would resign as his counselor, but I opted to continue to treat him, so long as he agreed not to pursue me."
"And he said that he wouldn't?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any other enemies?" the redhead asked.
"A few," admitted Hiromi, "I was, as you know, an abuser, myself."
"Could one of them have set Tohma up?" Renji asked.
"I don't know," said the counselor, shaking his head, "but I feel that someone set him up. It was too obvious. If Tohma had wanted to hurt me like that, he is crafty enough to cover his tracks...and...he would not have left such an obvious piece of evidence to implicate him."
"You mean the semen?" asked Renji.
"I mean the child," said Hiromi.
"What?" asked Renji, staring at the counselor in surprise.
"Prince Tohma, as a member of the royal family, knows that he is capable of impregnating male or female partners. If he was going to commit this crime and wanted to have any chance of not being removed from the treatment program, he would have been much more careful. But...as you pointed out, his semen was found inside me. And...it was found that a reiatsu chamber has formed inside me, and I am pregnant. Tohma would not have been so careless."
"But he might have been that arrogant," suggested Renji, "Remember that he was trying to put pressure on you to be in a relationship. What better way than to obligate you by getting you pregnant. Unless...you plan to..."
"I will have the child."
"Despite the fact that you were raped by him?"
Hiromi shook his head.
"That has not been proven. And I believe that further investigation will exonerate him."
"But you understand that, based on the evidence, I have to take him back to the palace."
Hiromi sighed and nodded.
"I understand. But...will you do me a favor?"
"What?"
Hiromi took a steadying breath.
"I want to see him."
"Huh..." huffed Renji, "You sure about that?"
"I am sure."
Renji nodded briefly and left the room. He returned a few moments later with the prince at his side. Tohma stood silently in the doorway, looking into Hiromi's eyes warily.
"You...wanted to see me?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes," the counselor said softly, "I needed to tell you...I...Prince Tohma, I believe that you are innocent."
Tohma caught his breath in surprise.
"You...do?" he asked softly.
Hiromi nodded.
"I know that you were an abuser before. I understand that. But...you were doing well in your treatment, and despite your lapse in judgment when you kissed me, I believe you were too committed to your recovery to hurt me like that. I thought that you should know that."
"Thank you," the prince whispered, "That means a great deal to me. I wish that it was enough to allow me to stay here with you...but...I have to leave with my brother."
"I know," said the counselor, "But...I would offer you a small bit of hope...to give you something to fight for."
Tohma looked at the counselor questioningly.
"I am pregnant," Hiromi said, making the prince freeze in place, staring, "I am pregnant with your child, and I am going to bear the child."
Tohma put a hand over his mouth and blinked several times, then swallowed hard and met Hiromi's eyes again.
"But...if the child is mine and you know that, then how could I be innocent?" he asked softly.
"I don't know," said Hiromi, "All I know is that I still believe that you are."
Tohma was silent for several long minutes, then he nodded and bowed his head, brushing away a tear that leaked out onto his cheek.
"Thank you," he whispered, "But even I cannot tell what really happened. I must leave you. Hopefully, I will be proved innocent. But...if I am not, even so...I am...thankful. You really tried to help me. And...even though I will never see my child's face, it is a comfort to know that my child will exist...and that you will remember me kindly to him or her."
"Tohma," the counselor said softly, "Remember what I said before about being strong and trusting in your fate. I believe that if it is meant to be, we will cross paths again."
The prince smiled sadly.
"I hope very much that is true," he said, turning away, "Farewell, Hiromi. I will not forget your kindness."
The prince silently followed Renji out of the room and said nothing more as they made their way back to the Seireitei. The redhead stole glances at his brother as they walked, his eyes troubled as he thought back to what Hiromi had said.
There's just enough to leave some doubt. But even so, we can't take any chances. I have to take him back to the royal realm. But after that...
He glanced at Tohma and met his eyes briefly.
After that, I'm going back for a closer look...