Chapter 3: Pariah

Byakuya woke to a deep horrid ache that seemed to be everywhere and left him with an inclination to hold very still, so as not to incite more agony. But even breathing seemed to exacerbate the pain, until he found he was moaning feverishly and longing to become unconscious so that he wouldn't be forced to endure the pain anymore. He wondered if he should call out for help, but already felt like a huge inconvenience to the family in hiding that had taken him in.

They were already in danger from this king who is after me. I would not want to endanger them even more. They are good, kind people to take in a stranger. Except that, while I feel like they are strangers to me, they know who I am...or at least, who I was. This is so confusing.

His head turned reflexively as the bedroom door opened, and pain exploded through his head, neck, back and arms. He was sure he couldn't have been responsible for the deep, guttural cry of agony that sounded, and he felt a blush in that he had suffered such a loss of control in front of the younger of Shiba Isshin's two daughters.

Yuzu, I think her name was...

"S-sorry," he managed, fighting the dampness that had come into his eyes.

"I'll go and get Papa," the girl said, turning and sprinting out of the room.

"N-no, it's..."

Byakuya sighed.

So much for not being a burden.

A few moments later, a heavier step sounded outside the room and Shiba Isshin appeared, carrying a syringe.

"I don't know how you're awake again already," he commented, shaking his head, "I gave you enough painkillers and sedatives to stun an elephant! But then, you are pretty tenacious, aren't you?"

"I w-wouldn't know," Byakuya managed dryly.

"Right," Isshin chuckled, inserting the needle into the concubine's arm and injecting the painkiller, "Now, hopefully, you do the sensible thing and go back to sleep for a while."

"I should go," Byakuya said weakly, "I am endangering you and your children. I d-don't want to be the cause of h-harm to them."

"Like you'd get ten feet before you collapsed," Isshin said skeptically, "Don't worry about anyone finding you. I have all kinds of protections around us. And hey, someone just arrived who's going to help get you on your feet and out of here."

Byakuya looked up curiously as the ginger-haired young man his benefactor had said was his son entered the room, then hurried to his side.

"Byakuya!" he cried, "what the hell happened to you? I overheard some guys in Karakura Town say that someone had been hit by a car, and I sensed your reiatsu at the scene. Then, I heard a rumor that you died at the hospital there. I couldn't believe when Dad messaged me that you were here. How did you get here?"

"It was Ishida Ryuuken," Isshin explained, when Byakuya only answered with widened, confused eyes, "He said that he was called in for a trauma case and recognized Byakuya from a description by Ishida Uryu of the missing king's concubine."

"Shit! Uryu doesn't know we're here, does he?"

"Don't worry," Isshin assured him, "Ryuuken didn't tell him anything. Not that he's actually on the king's side, but his loyalties are murky, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah," Ichigo said darkly, "I think a lot of people's are right now. It's the only way not to end up brainwashed and used by him."

He looked down at Byakuya and took a seat in the chair by the bed.

"But maybe things have a chance to get better, now that you're here."

"What do you mean? Better how?" Byakuya asked, "What do you expect I will do?"

"You stole back Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka." Ichigo explained, "We just have to find her and figure out how to use them to undo whatever Ywach did to conquer our worlds!"

He paused and blinked in surprise at the blank look the noble gave him.

"You did steal it, didn't you? Ywach was sure you did!"

"Eh, Ichigo," Isshin said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, "The thing is, Byakuya was badly injured...I guess when that car hit him. He doesn't remember a thing. The only reason he knows his name and who you are is because I told him."

"What?" Ichigo asked, staring.

"Your father is right," Byakuya said softly, "I don't know who I am, except what he has told me. I don't how or why I escaped, or why I went to Karakura Town. And I don't know who Orihime is, or what her Shun Shun Rikka is. I am afraid I am useless to you. Without pain medication, I cannot even cope enough to move."

Ichigo gave his father a panicked look.

"Is Byakuya going to be all right?" he asked urgently, "Do you think he'll recover fully?"

"His body and that gigai that's stuck on him are a mess, but he'll heal up, if he takes it easy for a while. His memory should return as he improves, but I can't make any guarantees. He's going to have to take it a day at a time. And in the meantime, you have to be sure that you don't lead anyone here."

Ichigo nodded.

"I sent the guys who were with me to chase down some others who are following, and I told them I was still hunting Byakuya. They think I'm on the king's side."

"And I cannot tell who is or who is not," Byakuya mused as Isshin and Yuzu left the room.

"Don't worry," Ichigo said ruefully, "It's hard for anyone to tell who the king has messed with. I think, for now, we have to assume that the only ones we can trust are the people right here. I think if we stick together, we can do this. We can find wherever you concealed the Shun Shun Rikka and we can find Orihime!"

"But how will we do that when I do not know if I stole it or not, or where I might have hidden it? Ichigo..."

"You let me do the worrying," Ichigo said soothingly, reaching out and squeezing Byakuya's pale hand, "Just focus on getting well."

He paused at the questioning look the noble gave him.

"Ichigo, I must ask you something personal. Please do not take offense."

"Okay," Ichigo said uncertainly.

"Your father, when he told me about you and showed me your picture...said something. It made me curious."

"Well, you'll find out that sometimes my dad's full of crap. What did he tell you about me?" the Shiba heir asked, smiling in amusement.

"He said that you are in love with me," Byakuya said bluntly, making Ichigo stiffen in reaction.

"He said that?"

"Yes. And...I wonder if that's true or is he wrong? I would not ask, but without my memory, I am at a terrible disadvantage."

"I know that," Ichigo assured him, "And maybe we ought to talk about that when you start remembering things. Because, when you do remember, you are going to realize that...it doesn't really matter that I love you."

"What?" Byakuya asked, frowning in confusion.

"A person who loves you, shouldn't fail you," Ichigo said penitently, "I failed you in all of the worst ways."

"Ichigo, I don't understand."

"Yeah, because of me, you don't understand. You don't even remember."

"Why are you saying this?"

"I'm saying it because it's true," Ichigo said sadly, "You asked me to protect Soul Society. You trusted me to defend it, and all of the people we cared about. I didn't do that. So, until the day that I undo that failure, I don't deserve your love. That's why we need to put that aside and not think about it while we're fighting to stay alive and to make things right again."

"We don't have to speak of it if you don't want to," Byakuya agreed, "but if you love me, I ask you not to leave me. I am injured and I am alone except for you. You are really all I have, Ichigo!"

Ichigo's brown eyes filled with tears and Byakuya's hands took hold of his tightly.

"I want to tell you that's not true," Ichigo went on, "I want to tell you that you still have your sister, Rukia, your cousin, Tetsuya, your comrade and friend, Renji...everyone. But when Soul Society fell and Ywach became king, he took over their minds. And I don't know how to get them back! You say you feel alone. I do too. And that's why I won't leave you. I'm staying right here. We'll get you healed and we'll find the way to get back what we lost. I promise you that, even though you don't know if you can trust my promises."

"I can trust your promises, Ichigo," Byakuya said, touching the Shiba heir's cheek with soft fingertips, "But...you are wrong about something."

"Oh? What am I wrong about?"

Byakuya gave him a faint smile.

"You said that you failed me."

"I did. Soul Society fell, Byakuya," Ichigo insisted.

"But, as I see it, because you are trying to undo the past, you are still defending Soul Society. You are going to keep your promise."

The Shiba heir gave him a surprised look, then smiled at him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But enough about that, let's take care of you. Lie down, okay? Dad told you to rest."

He watched as Byakuya laid back against the pillows.

"You said that you would stay with me?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah, and I will," the Shiba heir promised, relaxing in the chair.

"Not like that," Byakuya said meaningfully, "I need to feel your arms around me."

Ichigo stared at him through tortured eyes.

"I told you, I don't deserve to..."

"But I need to feel your arms around me," Byakuya insisted, "If I have forgotten you, remind me who you are. Don't wallow in your guilt anymore. Help me fix what's wrong, Ichigo."

Ichigo breathed in and out slowly, looking steadily into Byakuya's dark grey eyes. Finally, he nodded and moved forward, climbing onto the bed and lying down at Byakuya's side. The king's concubine turned and curled into his arms, resting his head on Ichigo's warm shoulder.

"Do you still hurt?" Ichigo asked.

"Some. No matter how good the painkiller, it was a devastating injury. But I will be all right now, thanks to Ishida Ryuuken, your father and sisters...and you, Ichigo."

"I haven't done anything," Ichigo complained.

Byakuya's smile warmed sweetly.

"You are doing something right now," he pointed out, "Your arms are the first things I've felt since I woke up here, that seem familiar."

"But uh, Byakuya, we weren't lovers or anything," the flustered Shiba heir pointed out, "I never got the chance to hold you in my arms."

Byakuya turned his head slightly to whisper into Ichigo's ear.

"Then, perhaps you shouldn't assume that you were the only one dreaming of this."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ywach-sama," Hisagi said, bowing, "we received your message and have brought Kuchiki Tetsuya and Abarai Renji back from Karakura Town."

The king gazed quietly at the two bound prisoners for a moment.

"Thank you. You may go," he told the two officers.

"Hai, Ywach-sama!" Kensei and Hisagi answered, bowing together.

They turned and flash stepped away, while Ywach moved closer to the two prisoners. He looked into Tetsuya's widened sapphire eyes disapprovingly.

"Kuchiki Tetsuya," he growled softly, "of all people, I thought that you would be successful in apprehending your cousin and bringing back what he stole from me."

"I am sorry, Ywach-sama," Tetsuya answered penitently, "We followed your orders until Shiba Ichigo told us to find out who was following us. We weren't sure it wasn't an enemy. We did not know you would mistrust us and have our own forces spy on us."

The king's hand moved suddenly, striking Tetsuya and sending him crashing to the floor with his hands still bound and unable to break his fall. He laid on the ground, gasping as the king's foot struck his ribs.

"I am sorry, Ywach-sama!" Tetsuya panted, "I should not have failed you!"

"You are lucky I let you live!" Bach hissed, grabbing the noble by the hair and dragging him to his feet as Renji watched with dull, barely comprehending eyes, "Byakuya is out there and he has something that belongs to me. You are the only one I know can get close to him. But...maybe you need a little bit of help to draw him in."

Tetsuya stared back at him through frightened eyes as the king's mouth fastened on his and he felt and tasted something sickly sweet that sent his head into a spin almost instantly.

"Wh-what are you doing to him?" Renji asked, blinking in confusion, "T-Tetsuya?"

The king released the noble and watched as Tetsuya sank onto his knees.

"Poison," Bach hissed softly, "You see, I know that you have the ability, Tetsuya, to hold back poison, and I know for how long. If you take too long to find and return Byakuya to me, then I will not be able to counteract the poison I just gave you before it is too late. Go now, both of you. Find Byakuya...and bring him to me!"

Tetsuya choked and gasped, coughing repeatedly as Renji lifted him and flash stepped away.

"H-how will we find him?" the noble asked between gasps of discomfort.

"I don't know," Renji said shakily, "but we have to do something! If we don't, you're gonna die! I don't want you to die! We have to capture your cousin. If we do, then the king will save you."

Tetsuya looked back at Renji through devastated eyes.

"Do you really believe that?" he asked softly, "Don't you begin to see that the king is treacherous?"

"Shh!" Renji pleaded, tears leaking onto his face as he opened a senkaimon and carried the noble into the living world, "Just take it easy, okay?"

He fled the king's palace and raced into the living world, then paused, looking around the park they exited into with desperate eyes.

I don't know what to do! How do I find Byakuya? I don't know which way to go!

"Do you want to save your friend?" a male voice asked.

Renji stiffened as Uryu stepped out from among the trees.

"Y-you! You're the king's successor!" Renji said accusingly, "Why would you help us?"

"Be quiet and come with me," Uryu ordered him, "Do exactly as I say if you want your lover to live!"

He led them along the quiet streets until they reached a house with the name Ishida on the mailbox.

"Knock on the door and speak to the man inside. He may be able to help you. Go now!"

Renji raced to the door, holding tightly to Tetsuya as he pounded on the door. A sob escaped him as the door opened and a bespectacled man observed him with surprised eyes.

"Are you...? Can you help us?" Renji pleaded, "This is Kuchiki Tetsuya. He is Kuchiki Byakuya's cousin. The king poisoned him and said the Tetsuya will die if he does not return Byakuya to the palace!"

The man looked sadly into Renji's desperate eyes.

"I am sorry. I cannot help you," he said somberly.

"Please!" Renji pleaded, "I don't want Tetsuya to die! I love him. Look, the king will let him die unless we find Byakuya. Are you just going to let him die?"

Ryuuken continued to gaze at him sternly.

"To protect her from you, yes. I will allow him to die. And you should allow it as well. Under no circumstances should you return to the king, whether you find Kuchiki Byakuya or not. If you do, you and Tetsuya will die anyway."

"S-so," Renji sobbed, dropping onto his knees and holding Tetsuya against him, "there's nothing I can do? Nothing will convince you to help us?"

"You are under the control of the king," Ryuuken sighed sadly, "I can do nothing to assist you."

"You have to help us! I'm begging you!" Renji howled, his reiatsu rising around him in a rising red flame.

The power rose to a wild roar around him, making Ryuuken step back and stare at him in horrified fascination.

Will he come apart right here?

"HELP US!" Renji screamed desperately, his power exploding around him and shattering the controlling collar he wore.

As it fell away, Renji stiffened and shook his head in confusion.

"Wh-what? What was that? What happened?"

Ryuuken shook his head in wonder, then looked at the two young men more gently.

"You have broken the king's controls," he said disbelievingly, "You must love that young man very much. And look, you broke his collar too. Now...I can help you."

"Thank you!" Renji sobbed, collapsing at the man's feet, "J-just don't let Tetsuya die!"

"If you want to save your friend, then you must do exactly as I tell you."