Her Gentler Eyes
By Spunky0ne
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Tetsuya arrives in Karakura Town, amidst a raging storm, badly injured and carrying an unresponsive Byakuya. Even more shocking is the tale Tetsuya tells Kisuke and Ichigo before losing consciousness. The shopkeeper and shinigami substitute take the two into hiding and set out to unravel exactly who is behind the appearance of a boy who claims to be Byakuya and Hisana's son…yaoi, Ichigo/Byakuya, Kisuke/Tetsuya.
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Chapter 1: By the Code
The lights in Urahara Kiuske's underground training room flickered for a moment, making the shopkeeper look up from where he knelt at Ichigo's side, healing a long slash that ran nearly the full length of the younger man's sword arm.
"Looks like the storm's getting worse up there," Kisuke commented, Maybe when we're done with this, we should go up and help Tessai and the kids batten down the hatches."
"Sure, no problem," Ichigo answered easily.
"Thanks. That's pretty generous of you, especially considering you got that slash protecting me."
Ichigo gave Kisuke a curious look.
"What were those things, anyway?" he asked, "They kinda looked like a normal hollows, but they were small, real fast, and camouflaged."
Kisuke looked back at him silently for a moment.
"Cause, if you ask me, I'd say that ambush was meant to kill you fast and disappear. As soon as one of those guys cut me, it exploded."
"And I made the rest explode before they found a mark," Kisuke said quietly, "It was an assassination attempt. People try it, from time to time."
"People just try to kill you for no reason? What people?" Ichigo demanded.
"Who said that it was for no reason?" Kisuke asked, "You don't think I piss off a lot of people enough to make'em want to kill me? I mean, remember who you're talking to, here."
Ichigo grinned.
"Right. But you're also the guy everyone depends on as soon as the shit hits the fan. I don't know. If I were those guys, I wouldn't be trying to kill the only guy capable of stopping Aizen."
"You stopped Aizen," Kisuke said, smirking.
"Naw, I beat him up until you could seal his power away," Ichigo insisted, "Kisuke, everyone knows that even though it's my sword that does the strike, it's you who taught me how and when to use that power. If these people you're talking about are striking at you, doesn't that mean that they might wanna do something to me too?"
Kisuke shrugged.
"Comes with being a troublemaker," he said in a casual tone, "Don't worry about it. I'll do some checking and let you know if it's anything we need to do anything about."
"Whatever you say," Ichigo sighed wearily as the shopkeeper finished his healing efforts and sat back against a large rock, "I'm so tired from training right now that I don't know if I could lift Zangetsu again if you asked me to. You know, for it being peacetime, Ywach being dead and Aizen being back in Muken, you'd think I'd get a little vacation or something."
"Yeah, maybe," Kisuke chuckled, "but you don't want the next big bad guy to get the drop on you, right? Gotta think ahead."
"The only thing I wanna think about right now is how much I'm gonna empty your fridge when we go upstairs. I'm starved, and before you suggest it, I'm too starved to walk home, so I'm raiding your food."
"Well, I can't say I'm not responsible for giving you a good workout. Besides, I keep the place well stocked, since we get so many drop ins from Soul Society."
His grin widened as a senkaimon opened near them and two male figures began to appear.
"See what I mean?" he laughed.
But his smile faded and a soft exclamation of dismay escaped him as the two figures staggered through the senkaimon and collapsed in the sandy area in front of them.
"Kisuke!" Ichigo shouted, rushing after the shopkeeper as he flash stepped to the fallen men's side.
One of the two lifted himself and grabbed on to the shopkeeper's arm as he knelt beside them.
"Easy, I've got you," Kisuke reassured the young man.
"B-Byakuya-sama!" the shinigami panted weakly, "He stopped breathing!"
"Ichigo, go and get Orihime!" Kisuke said sternly.
"Got it!" Ichigo called back as he dashed up the ladder.
"How are you holding up?" Kisuke asked the conscious man.
"Me?" the man said, his blue eyes blinking in confusion, "Byakuya-sama is the one who is not breathing."
"You're bleeding badly," Kisuke said, rolling Byakuya onto his back and quickly assessing, "I guess you guys ran into some trouble?"
The young man gave him a guarded look.
"Let's start with who you are," the shopkeeper said kindly, "You look familiar. Do we know each other?"
The blue-eyed man shook his head.
"We've never met in person, but I know who you are," he explained, "I don't know if you know of me. I am Kuchiki Tetsuya."
Kisuke's eyes registered instant comprehension. He studied the young man more closely for a moment.
"Yeah, I have heard of you. I may even have sensed your reiatsu around Byakuya before. But then, your job is to stay outta sight most of the time, isn't it?"
Tetsuya nodded.
"I am his bodyguard, and as you can imagine, that job requires that I keep a low profile. After all, if Byakuya-sama's enemies know of me, but not about me, they may be less inclined to chance attacking him."
Kisuke examined the deep wounds in Byakuya's damaged body and shook his head.
"I'd say that whoever did this to Byakuya-san knew both him and you to be able to do this."
A shiver went through Tetsuya's slender body and he went a shade paler as he remembered.
"The ones who did this, planned it meticulously."
"They must really have it in for the Kuchiki family," Kisuke said, his hands working quickly to stop the flow of blood from Byakuya's body.
Tetsuya's face took on a tormented look that elicited an expression of realization from the surprised shopkeeper.
"This…was family?" Kisuke asked slowly.
Tetsuya's face went white and he shuddered as his ears rang loudly and his shaky body began to fail him.
"H-he…he said he was…Byakuya-sama's s-son!" the young man managed.
Kisuke started to answer, but was halted as Tetsuya collapsed beside his motionless cousin.
"Damn it. Not you too…" Kisuke breathed worriedly, extending a hand and wrapping a healing field around Tetsuya, "C'mon Ichigo…hurry."
He continued his desperate efforts for several minutes longer before flash steps sounded and Ichigo arrived, carrying a flustered looking Orihime.
"S-sorry!" she apologized hastily, "I couldn't run fast enough."
"Glad you're here," Kisuke said quickly, "Take care of Byakuya. I'm getting no life signs right now. Tetsuya's hurt bad, but I can handle it so you can put your full attention on Byakuya."
Ichigo watched in dismay as the young woman rushed to the Kuchiki leader's side and knelt, casting her healing shield over him.
"What the hell happened to them?" the ginger-haired man asked anxiously, "Kisuke, did Tetsuya tell you anything more about who did this?"
"Yeah, he did," the shopkeeper answered, looking up at Ichigo for a moment, "It seems to be a family dispute of some kind."
"That doesn't sound good," Ichigo mused, "Family stuff can get pretty nasty. But, aren't the elders pissed about one of their own attacking their leader?"
"I'm not sure yet," the shopkeeper said cryptically, "And until I am, we need to keep a lid on these two having been here. As soon as they're stable, I'm taking them somewhere safer."
Ichigo shook his head in disbelief.
"Somewhere safer than your shop? I didn't know a place could be safer than here."
"It's usually the safest place around," Kisuke agreed, "But if this is a family dispute and the leader's been attacked, then whoever did this is likely to expect Tetsuya would bring his cousin here. We may have company on the way already."
He turned his attention to Tetsuya and worked quietly for several minutes before continuing.
"Orihime, you getting anything from Byakuya?" he asked finally.
"I have a heartbeat and he's breathing now," the young woman reported, "but he's comatose. I'm going to have to bring him back slowly."
"You do that. Ichigo, Tetusya's as stable as I can get him, for the moment. Just sit with him for a second while I make this place a little safer."
The shopkeeper stood and extended a hand as he breathed a soft incantation. Golden light lanced out of his hands and formed a strong barrier around the five. Kisuke frowned and shook his head discomfitedly.
"I really don't like this."
"It sounds bad," Ichigo said softly, stealing a glance at Byakuya's ghostly face, "Kinda makes me glad that I asked for time to think about whether or not I want to take a place in the Shiba family. I mean, they're less strict than the other clans and if I go to them and tell everyone about my connection to them, Byakuya thinks they'll reinstate the clan. It's just that, even though I'd be part of a more relaxed clan, I still have to deal with the others. I just don't know if I can do something like that. I know it'd be good to restore the family's honor, but…"
"You're right not to have jumped into anything," Kisuke agreed, "but I wouldn't let this stop you from considering revealing your identity. It is who you are, and bringing the clan out of banishment would be a good thing. The more reasonable people we have running Soul Society, the better. But, if it's not what's in your heart, it's okay not to do it too. You weren't raised in a noble home. You were raised a normal human kid."
"Except that I was never really normal," Ichigo sighed, "I don't know. I have no idea what I should do."
"Well," Kisuke said, smirking slightly, "sometimes getting away somewhere quiet can be helpful in getting a clear head and thinking things over."
"Getting away…" Ichigo repeated, glancing at Byakuya and Tetsuya, "You want me to go with you when you take Byakuya and…?"
"Tetsuya," the shopkeeper supplied.
"You want me to go with you when you take Byakuya and Tetsuya to wherever you're going to stash them? I don't know about that. If I disappear again, I may get kicked out of college. Kon isn't dumb, by any stretch, but he spends too much time chasing girls in my body. I'm going to get a bad reputation."
"Hmm, it's okay if you can't. I just don't like leaving you here, where you might be asked some uncomfortable questions or otherwise bothered by people looking for these two."
"I can just say I haven't seen any of you," Ichigo chuckled, "What? You don't think they'll believe me? You think someone would…?"
He glanced down at Byakuya again and a sharper twinge of worry passed through him.
"Kisuke, Byakuya's gonna make it, right? He's gonna be okay? I mean, I've been dead before and Orihime brought me back…"
"He'll come around," Kisuke assured his anxious friend, "Ol' Byakuya's a fighter. This was just a nasty blindside. It looks like he had no idea…"
The shopkeeper paused as Tetsuya stirred and moaned softly. He moved to the younger Kuchiki's side and touched his face gently, sending Tetsuya into a deeper sleep. Ichigo gave him a curious look.
"Didn't you want more information from him?"
"Not at the expense of having his systems collapse. Tetsuya's taken some really hard knocks too, I'm afraid. I want to be sure these two are out of the woods before we start interrogating them."
"I didn't mean we should interrogate them," Ichigo chuckled, relaxing slightly, "I just wondered what kind of monster could do this to Byakuya."
Kisuke paused, considering carefully.
"Sounds like a family made monster to me," he hedged cautiously, "The question is, who is the monster? Who sent him or her? Was this a subfamily shooting for leadership…or are one or more of the elders in cahoots?"
"What a mess," Ichigo sighed, relinquishing care of Tetsuya to the shopkeeper and taking up a position at Byakuya's side, "You know, things have always been a little complicated between Byakuya and me, but…I'm not going to just let someone hurt him. He's my friend."
Kisuke gave him an amused look.
"You two go back and forth a lot for friends," he teased gently, "I'd say there are a few sparks burning there."
"Shut up!" the ginger-haired man complained, "Don't even start. Byakuya's…"
He focused more closely on the injured Kuchiki leader's face and shook his head.
"I guess we don't know, if this was done by family," he said in a conflicted tone, "Does this mean he's not their leader? What do you think's going on?"
Kisuke was spared from answering as a new senkaimon opened in the training room and an aged, regal looking man stepped out. At the sight of him, the shopkeeper's eyes widened.
"That's Kuchiki Nori, leader of the elders," he explained, "I guess we're about to find out if that barrier's a good one."
Nori looked around the underground training room as Tessai flash stepped down from the shop to meet him.
"Good day, Nori-dono," Tessai said politely, "Is there something I can do for you?"
"I hope so," the old man, looking around, then looking back at the other man, "I was hoping to speak with Urahara Kisuke."
Tessai smiled apologetically.
"My apologies, but Urahara-san is not here right now."
"Ah," Nori sighed, pausing to take a slow breath before speaking again, "I have…an order I wish to speak to him about."
"I see," Tessai said quietly, "Can you tell me which order you are referring to?"
"Two items," the old man said, looking into the assistant shopkeeper's eyes, "I understand that they may have gone astray or been damaged. I am afraid I must cancel the order. I will need to place another order. I will be in touch with Kisuke about the details."
"Of course, Nori-dono, I will be sure that he gets the message."
Inside the barrier, Ichigo gave Kisuke a confused look.
"What the heck was that?" he asked, shaking his head in confusion, "Byakuya and Tetsuya are missing and he's here asking about…?"
"Two items," Kisuke repeated, nodding at the two unconscious men.
"Who may have been lost or damaged!" Ichigo added, more enthusiastically, "But, what was that about canceling and making another order?"
"It was a warning," the shopkeeper explained, "You see, when Ginrei was leader, I was close to both Nori and him. And you know some of the crap that goes on. We kinda took care of each other's interests. We always knew we could trust each other. And we developed some little signals. Now, what he just passed on to me is that it's not safe for him to tell me anything, and it's really not safe for Byakuya and Tetsuya to go home."
"So, he wants you to hide them and he'll get back to you?" Ichigo inquired.
"Exactly," Kisuke confirmed, "So, as soon as these two are stable, I'll need to move them to a safe house and protect them there until it's safe for them to go back."
Ichigo nodded.
"So, when do we leave?" he asked.
Kisuke smiled.
"You sure you want to disappear again? Worry your dad and sisters? Maybe miss a few classes and have Kon make the college girls think you're a pervert?"
Ichigo set his eyes on Byakuya's blood soaked body and deathly pale face.
"Yeah," he said determinedly, "Like I told you. Byakuya is my friend. Someone tried to kill him and there's no way they're getting away with it!"