Chapter 2: Lost
"Ishida-dono, thank you for coming in to consult," said the emergency room doctor, "We have an adult male, age approximately twenty-two to twenty-five years. He received some kind of traumatic impact. There were no witnesses, but his injuries suggest he was hit by a motor vehicle. He was unconscious when found, no identification. Our initial exam revealed signs of concussion, fractures of the right arm, right femur and several ribs on the right torso. We suspect internal bleeding and immediate surgery will be necessary to control it. Vital signs are weakening."
"Then, we had best get started quickly," Ryuuken said, frowning with concern, "I will go and scrub. Have your team prep him as quickly as you can."
"He is already prepped and ready when you are, sir!"
"Arigato, Seiji-san!"
The emergency room doctor turned and jogged back in the direction of the surgical room, while Ryuuken hurriedly changed into clean scrubs, masked, washed and gloved himself, then moved to join the others.
Ryuuken approached the unconscious patient and quickly ran through a final assessment. As he studied the man's face, his body stiffened slightly and his gaze intensified, but he carefully controlled his expression. He remembered the coded communication from his son that had reported the progression of the quincy king's overtaking of Soul Society.
This is one of his concubines, the one who used to lead the Kuchiki clan! Kuchiki Byakuya...Uryu said that he escaped and that many enemies will be looking for him.
He bit his lip gently and leaned closer to the man, invoking his power and watching closely as the monitors around the former noble beeped furiously.
"Ishida-dono, he has gone into cardiac arrest!" Seiji exclaimed, grabbing the defibrillator paddles and preparing them swiftly.
Ryuuken's head bowed slightly and he distorted the reiatsu around the patient so that when the other doctor set the paddles in place, they were not in contact with Byakuya's body.
"Clear!"
The quincy doctor sent a soft, harmless jolt through Byakuya's muscles, making his body jump as though in reaction to the shock. He focused hard as the monitors continued to beep fiercely.
"Still no heartbeat or respiration, sir!" a nurse called out.
Ryuuken continued the charade as the others attempted defibrillation a second time, then a third. He leaned over Byakuya, then, angling his body so that the others couldn't see and feigned giving an injection into the patient's heart. For several minutes longer, the surgical staff worked furiously at trying to revive the man on the table, but finally Ryuuken closed his eyes softly in defeat.
"Please note the time of death," he said quietly.
The faces of his associates reflected deep sadness at the admission and they were silent as Seiji noted the time and the surgical nurse laid a sheet over the deceased man's body. Ryuuken sighed unhappily and exited the room. Seiji followed as an orderly wheeled the dead patient away.
"You did the best you could," the emergency room doctor assured his colleague, "He was in very poor shape when he arrived. I feel bad we don't even know his name."
"Yes," Ryuuken agreed, "But these days we see so many of them that we have little hope of finding the family."
"Only if they come looking for him."
"Right."
"Thank you again for coming to assist us."
"I did nothing for that man."
"You were more likely to be able to help him than anyone," Seiji chided him, "If you could not save him, then he could not be saved."
Ryuuken sighed again wearily.
"Thank you."
He left the emergency room and walked to his car, then drove it out of the parking lot and parked it a short distance away. Using his reiatsu to mask his return, he moved swiftly back to the hospital and slipped in through the back door. He ran to the morgue, where he waited until the attendant working in the room turned off the lights and exited. Then, he slipped inside and quickly located the concubine's body and lifted him onto a gurney. He turned back and removed a second, similar body from another cold chamber, pausing to use reiatsu to alter his features to match Byakuya's. He stole a measure of Byakuya's reiatsu and infused the fake's body with it, then placed the stranger's body in Byakuya's chamber. He pushed the gurney to the door and peered out to make sure the area was clear, then used his reiatsu again to distort whatever the hospital security cameras might pick up.
Grateful for the cover of darkness, Ryuuken fled to where he had left his car, then carefully placed Byakuya in the back seat. He paused to infuse stabilizing reiatsu into the concubine's immobilized form.
"You will be all right with rest and care," he said, though he was aware that Byakuya probably couldn't hear him, "The gigai you are in was badly damaged, but I can't remove it or you will be tracked. I am going to take you to another doctor who will help you. I would take care of you myself, but too many people will be coming to me to ask questions. I think you understand why I can't let you fall into the wrong hands. We may not be friends, but I am not your enemy, Kuchiki Byakuya. The king is a tyrant, and our hope lies in someone like you. Please continue your quest. Please succeed. The world has become too dark a place for us. Do not fail us."
He left Byakuya sleeping in the back seat and drove his car away, taking a circuitous route and changing cars twice before arriving at a quiet cottage, several towns away from Karakura Town. He lifted Byakuya out of the back seat and carried him to the doorstep of the cottage, where he left him with a note pinned to his hospital gown. He drove away and returned home, where he found his son already there and waiting for him.
"Uryu?" he greeted the young man quietly.
"You were gone a long time," Uryu noted, "I heard there was a man brought to the hospital that fit the missing concubine's description."
Ryuuken looked back at him silently.
"I checked and I learned that you had operated on this patient and he died."
"Yes."
"But when I looked at the body, I found it was not Kuchiki Byakuya, but a fake."
Ryuuken held his breath and said nothing. Uryu studied him carefully for a moment.
"It is apparent to me that Kuchiki Byakuya was only feigning death and must have set up the dummy to confuse anyone pursuing him."
"Is that so?" Ryuuken mused, "He is still quite strategic."
"Yes. He is being pursued by Ichigo, as well as Tetsuya and Renji. I sensed another two powerful men following as well, but I don't know them."
"Hmmm."
"I have to return to the king and give him a report," Uryu said solemnly, "You will please pass on anything you learn directly to me."
"Of course."
He watched with conflicted eyes as his son turned away and disappeared, then he sighed and moved to his liquor cabinet to make himself a drink. He sipped at it slowly, looking in the direction Uryu had gone.
"Be careful, Son," he whispered, "If you pretend too hard, you will become one of them."
XXXXXXXXXX
"What's wrong, Yuzu?" Karin yawned, looking sleepily up at her whimpering sister.
"I heard a thump outside and someone knocked on the door," Yuzu informed her, "What do we do? What if it's them?"
"If it was them, they would have broken in and grabbed us by now," Karin assured her, "Let's go and get Dad."
The two girls ran out of their bedroom on silent feet, slipping into the darkened hallway and creeping into Isshin's bedroom on tiptoes. They approached their sleeping father quietly, Karin shaking her head at his loud snoring.
"If the reason we're here is to hide, he really sucks at it," she said dryly.
Despite still feeling a little spooked, Yuzu giggled. Isshin snorted and sat up quickly.
"Wha...huh? Where's the fire?" he demanded.
"There's no fire," Karin said, frowning, "Yuzu heard a thump and a knock at the door."
"Hmmm, okay," their father said, his face turning serious, "You two stay back and let me deal with it. It's probably nothing, just someone fooling around, but..."
He left the sentence hanging and climbed out of bed, wrapping a robe around himself and moving cautiously towards the front door. He peered out the peephole for a moment, then scowled.
"Looks like a drunk. Hang on..."
He opened the door and his frown deepened.
"Hey Buddy, you can't be sleeping here. You'll have to..."
He broke off, staring as he sensed a small flicker of the man's reiatsu.
"Kuchiki Byakuya?" he breathed, his heart pounding, "What the hell is he doing here?"
He spotted the note and instantly recognized the handwriting.
"Karin, Yuzu, let's get him inside, before someone sees him here!"
The three lifted Byakuya carefully and carried him to an empty bedroom.
"Stupid ass, Ishida!" Isshin muttered, laying the unconscious man in bed and quickly checking his vital signs, "Just leaving him like that. Anyone could have found him. I just hope to kami he didn't lead anyone here while he was being such an idiot!"
"No one's around. It's the middle of the night," Karin observed, "And if he was worried about someone following, he couldn't hang around very long, could he?"
"Well, why'd he have to bring this guy here? Everyone knows he's one of Ywach's lov...erm...special prisoners!"
"You know, we're not stupid, Dad," Karin reminded him, "We know that guy keeps good looking men around to have sex with. You don't have to..."
"Hey! That's no way to talk. Be quiet and go get the first aid kit, ice and a wet washcloth."
"I'll get them!" Yuzu volunteered.
"Okay, Karin, can you try to find a warmer blanket to put over him?"
"Sure."
Isshin frowned as he continued to assess Byakuya's battered body.
"I'd say this wasn't just your sugar daddy playing rough," he sighed, "Sure made a mess of your gigai, not to mention, beat up your soul too. You're a wreck, Byakuya. Luckily, I'm good at putting broken things back together, although it would be easier if I could get this damned gigai off...but that wouldn't be good, ne? Don't want that psychopath following you here. And by the way, you do know that if you attract attention to us, I'm going to have to kill you. I went to a lot of trouble to find a safe place for the girls. I won't have it all be just for nothing."
He blinked in surprise as Byakuya groaned and his eyelids fluttered and opened. The former Kuchiki leader met Isshin's eyes blankly.
"Hey, are you all right?" Isshin asked worriedly.
"What happened?" Byakuya asked, wincing and putting a palm to his head, "How did I get here? Who are you?"
"Man, you really took a whack on the head, didn't you? It's me...Kurosaki...erm, Shiba Isshin. You know, former taicho of squad ten? Disappeared from the Seireitei?"
"S-squad ten?" Byakuya repeated, looking confused, "Seireitei?"
"Eh," Isshin mused, scratching the back of his neck, "You do know who you are, don't you?"
Byakuya's dark eyes widened in distress.
"I don't know," he said breathlessly, "I don't remember...anything!"
"Whoa, you mean like why you came to town, or are we talking, don't know your own face in the mirror?"
Byakuya looked back at him with growing terror.
"I can't remember anything at all!" he insisted.
"Okay...okay, it's all right," Isshin assured him, "You know, when you get hit on the head, your memory can be affected, but usually, it will come back okay. And I didn't see any signs of brain or neurological damage to you. I think if that damned gigai wasn't pretty much fused with you, you would have your powers right now, but it seems like they're holding them back...probably so that King Psycho can't find you."
"K-king Psycho?" Byakuya repeated looking more and more alarmed, "Gigai? Powers?"
"Take it easy. He won't find you here," Isshin said soothingly, "Look, I know you're confused right now, but I'm going to advise you to focus on your physical recovery for now. Even if you don't know who you are, I do. You're Kuchiki Byakuya, former head of the Kuchiki noble clan. For now, all you need to know is that there is a king over Soul Society, the place where you live. He conquered it a little while back and took you and other...erm...good looking nobles as his...special prisoners. It seems that you escaped him and there are people after you. I'm going to help you with your recovery and when your memory comes back, we can figure out why you went to Karakura Town."
Byakuya blinked slowly, his heart still beating uncomfortably fast and his head aching fiercely.
"Why I went to Karakura Town..." he whispered, shaking his head, then wincing, "I have no idea why I was there. I could have just planned to hide there from the king."
"Well," Isshin said, smirking, "you are really good looking. I'll give you that. But if Ywach was that intent on finding you, I'll bet it's not because he misses the cuddles. You have something, or you know something important."
Byakuya scowled.
"I am almost naked! Where would I be hiding anything? And if I know something, I don't remember it, so it would be useless to ask me!" he snapped.
"Hey, take it easy," Isshin said, putting up his hands and smiling sadly, "You're starting to act more like yourself, so your memory should be along soon. Just rest here and don't do anything stupid like leaving. You wouldn't know who your enemies are if you left. You'd be in their hands in a second."
"And that matters to you because...?" Byakuya asked pointedly.
Isshin took a steadying breath.
"It matters because of my son."
"Your son?"
"Yeah," Isshin answered, taking out his wallet and showing Byakuya a picture of a ginger-haired young man with a wide, charming smile.
The raven-haired man gazed at the picture, trying to conjure any connection.
"What is your son's association with me?" Byakuya asked.
"He's in love with you," Isshin replied, matter-of-factly.
"I...thought I was a sexual plaything of the king," the noble objected, "Do you mean to say...?"
"What I'm telling you is that I know my kid. And some time back, when he heard that Soul Society had been invaded, he went rushing there to help. The last thing he said to me before he left was that he was not leaving Byakuya and the others to die. He put your name first."
"And you think it means he was in love with me?"
"It was that and other things...the way he said your name...things like that. You know."
"No, I don't."
"I guess not," Isshin said sheepishly, "But whatever. Ichigo would want me to help you out, so I'm going to heal you and get you on your feet. I'll also see if I can get word to him that you're here. I have to be really careful. I don't want us to be found. We're on the king's capture list because of his connection to Ichigo."
Byakuya looked past Isshin to where his two daughters stood in the doorway.
"I am endangering you and your girls by being here?" he mused softly, his dark eyes regretful at the thought.
"Don't worry about it," Isshin assured him, "Just let us heal you and then we'll get you back on your way, okay?"
Byakuya sighed.
"Even if I was well enough to leave, I wouldn't know where to go," he concluded, "I thank you for your help, Shiba Isshin."
"Heh, don't do that," Isshin chuckled, "It's scary when you start being nice to me."
"W-we didn't get along when we knew each other before?" the noble asked.
"Eh...well, you just complained I had relaxed priorities sometimes. Then, there was that whole thing where I disappeared for a while. I'm sure you and the other taichos weren't happy about that. But in any case, we're allies, and you need allies right now. You've got a guy after you who's used to getting what he wants. Just stay put and let us help you. We'll make sure you find Ichigo."
"That does seem to be the best option, considering my physical and mental state," Byakuya admitted, "I would be grateful for your assistance."
"Good, let's get you cleaned up."
XXXXXXXXXX
"Can you sense if he was here?" Ichigo asked, watching as Tetsuya scanned the debris-ridden entry to the wrecked shop.
"He was," Tetsuya confirmed, pacing slowly along the hallway, "There are traces of his reiatsu here."
Tetsuya and Renji moved along the hallway and to the entry into Kisuke's laboratory. Ichigo followed them inside and paused by the door.
"His presence dissipates in this area," Tetsuya continued, "He must have found a gigai to conceal his reiatsu."
"Can you still trace him?"
"Perhaps. Even if his reiatsu is hidden, it can escape a little at times if there is some kind of disruption or impact. And if he uses his powers at all, I will sense him."
"Look at this," Renji said, pointing out a small machine, "It's been used recently."
"It's a reiatsu disruptor of some kind," Tetsuya concluded, studying the device, "He may have used this to remove his collar."
"Then, he destroyed it in the thing over here," Renji added, pointing to another device.
Ichigo frowned thoughtfully.
I could use the disruptor to try to get Tetsuya and Renji back in their right minds, but it would put us all at risk if Ywach figured out I did that. He has to keep thinking I've given in. On the other hand, Tetsuya's too good at finding Byakuya. I have to be sure if he does find him, he doesn't bring hell down on us all. Shit...what should I do?
He was jolted out of his thoughts as Tetsuya stiffened and placed a hand on his sword.
"What is it?" he asked softly.
"Someone is here," Tetsuya reported, "I sensed two presences, but they quickly concealed themselves. We are likely being watched...either by king's operatives or someone working with Byakuya-sama."
Damn, I guess it's good I didn't use that thing on them, then. If we're being watched by the king, I could have given myself away...although if he's having me followed, it means he doesn't trust me as much as he pretends to.
"All right," he said calmly, "I want you two to try to figure out who's following us. I'll continue the search for Byakuya."
"Are you sure that is the best option?" Tetsuya asked, "I am better at tracking him."
"I'll find him," Ichigo said firmly, "You guys just find out who's behind us, watching. We don't want any unpleasant surprises. We may not be the only ones with an incentive to capture that guy."
"Very well," the blue-eyed noble answered, turning away.
Ichigo watched as the two left, then he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.
I hope you're okay, Byakuya.
He left the shop and walked out onto the street. People gave him wary glances as they passed and he couldn't help but feel a stinging ache inside at what his hometown had become.
Ywach has wrecked Karakura Town, Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. He's a monster. And all of our hope for getting rid of him hangs on finding Byakuya and Orihime.
Ichigo was dragged out of his thoughts by a male voice that sounded nearby.
"It happened over there," the man said, pointing, "A car hit him and he fell down the embankment. They searched, but couldn't find the body."
His heart pounding, Ichigo crossed the street and moved towards the place the man had indicated to his friend. He sensed the area carefully and stiffened as he connected with Byakuya's familiar presence.
"Oh no!" he gasped softly, running down the embankment and following the edge of the river, "Byakuya!"
XXXXXXXXXX
"You see?" Kensei said, holding Hisagi by the arm to avoid them being seen as Tetsuya and Renji emerged from the destroyed shop, "I told you the Kuchiki guy is sharp."
"He would have spotted me," Hisasi agreed, "Sorry. I should have been more careful."
"It's okay. No harm done this time. Just be more cautious in the future. You don't want Ywach on our asses."
"N-no," Shuuhei said, shivering at the thought, "I've seen what he does to the guys he sleeps with."
"Well, he'd be more likely to just kill us, but I understand your concern there. I think he's more evil in bed than he is when he just murders someone. But he's the boss, so we follow orders."
"Do you think those two will find us?"
"I'm not sure," Kensei admitted, "We'll wait here while they do their thing and follow later."
His lips curved into a smirk and he turned suddenly and pushed the slighter man up against the low wall they stood next to.
"H-hey!" Shuuhei objected, struggling.
"Relax," Kensei said, tracing the other man's facial markings with an enthusiastic fingertip, "I just thought while we wait, I could teach you a little lesson for almost giving us away."
"But what about Tetsuya-san?"
"You let me worry about him," Kensei directed the younger officer, closing in and rubbing his body against Shuuhei's provocatively.
Shuuhei's lips parted as the other man's closed over them and he moaned into Kensei's powerful, attacking mouth. He surrendered easily to the strong hands that reached beneath his clothes to explore his naked flesh as they kissed. Those hands teased him for several moments, then pushed him slowly down to his knees.
"Show me how sorry you are for that mistake," he chuckled, running his fingers through the other man's spiked black hair.
Shuuhei laughed softly and left his superior to watch as he knelt and delivered his most thorough and dutiful apology.