Chapter 23:
The sun was shining and the grass was wet with dew. It was a delightful smell. The ground was cold but Hitsugaya was strangely warm. And comfortable. He snuggled against what he was using for a pillow and sighed contentedly. This morning was starting off great.
Morning?
Remembering something important, Hitsugaya opened his eyes and looked down. He was a Soul Reaper again, and using Hisagi for a pillow. He blinked sleepily and sat up, seeing Shinji curled up behind him, his arms tucked under his chest as he slept. All three werewolves had slept in a pile on the ground which turned out to be very comfortable.
"Guys. Guys, wake up," Hitsugaya told them. "It's morning."
Shinji turned his head away, curling into a tighter ball. "Five more minutes," he mumbled tiredly.
Hitsugaya grabbed Shinji's hip and shook him, succeeding in rousing Hisagi as well, who had been using Shinji's legs as a pillow. Without Hitsugaya's body in the small of his back, Hisagi felt cold and woke up. He looked around sleepily, noticing that he had been sleeping on top of Shinji's legs. He yawned and stretched, finally awake enough to take notice of the day.
"It's morning?"
"Yeah," said Hitsugaya. "We made it through the full moon."
Hisagi looked down at Shinji. "You hear that, Shinji? We made it to morning. We're ok."
Shinji stretched and sat up. "That wasn't too bad. But I think I need to take a day. Must've done some activity last night 'cause my body's feeling it."
"What did we do last night?" Hisagi asked, unable to recall last night's events.
Hitsugaya remembered most of the night but some parts were missing, including how they ended up in a pile. He also recalled them rescuing him from the cell. "You guys don't remember?"
Shinji scratched an itch on his face lazily, thinking. "Well… I sort of remember, but… It's still morning. Give me a minute."
Hisagi tried hard to remember. A lot of it seemed like a blur. The more he thought about it, the more came back to him. "I remember us coming out here. I remember we ran together. I played a lot. We hunted. Um… Wait. Didn't we go into..? Were you in a jail cell?"
Shinji looked at Hitsugaya, his memory coming back to him.
"Yes, I was," said Hitsugaya. "And you two helped me escape."
Last night felt like a dream; a very vivid dream. The part where they freed Hitsugaya from his cage the most. Afterward they romped in the field and forest, forgetting all about it until this moment.
It stirred up a vague memory of Shinji's as well.
"Was I with Kensei last night?" he asked Hisagi, knowing he must have been there to see it.
Hisagi nodded. "I think so. We went into…"
Shinji grimaced at the memory. He knew he had attacked Kensei when he attacked him. He remembered wanting to bite him and would have if it hadn't been for that howl. His motivation had been forgotten along with most of his reason for doing half the things he did last night, becoming a curious, carefree animal under the light of the full moon.
He hadn't tried to stop himself at the time. He didn't want to stop himself.
Shinji sat there, knowing the others were staring at him but didn't care. This confirmed it was impossible to control their impulses as wolves, as far as he was concerned.
"What's going to happen when they find out you're not in that cage?" Hisagi asked Hitsugaya.
Hitsugaya looked back at the buildings stretching into the distance. "We should probably go and find out. If it's important, we'll hear about it." Despite his hurry last night, he recalled something even more worrisome. "I'm more concerned about what they found before the wolf."
Momo stared into the empty cell with disbelieving eyes. "But it was right here last night, I swear."
Iba and Soi Fon looked from the empty cell to the girl trying to make them believe her.
"I found a wolf last night and brought it in here to hold until I could tell someone and have them look at it." She put her hands on top of her head, mimicking a pair of pointed ears. "It had pointy ears and was huge and white." She extended her arms to measure something she could not contain.
Soi Fon looked skeptical but Iba just looked annoyed.
"When you caged it, did you remember to lock the cell?" he asked her.
"Well, no. I didn't see a point. There was no way it could lift the latch on the cell door. I figured that would be good enough. And I couldn't find the key."
Iba groaned. "Clearly it let itself out."
"How was I to know it could do that?" she said, getting flustered. "It didn't seem able to when I left it here."
"Why would you leave it here?" Soi Fon asked, irritated. "We're looking for a thief, not a wild animal. I have no interest in some mongrel mutt you found roaming the streets."
"But it could have had something to do with the blood," Momo defended.
Soi Fon rolled her eyes, scoffing. "How could a wolf be responsible?"
"Well… if it could open doors… and-"
"And get past all the defensive Kido we have in place protecting the blood bank in the sickbay in addition to the locks we did use on the thing? Not to mention all the people going in and out of there every day, and the guard. Someone would have seen a wolf go into that building."
"Yeah, I don't think a wolf could have done this," said Iba. "Good try, but I don't see that happening. Not with all the Kido and locks and guards we have. An animal couldn't be responsible."
Momo pouted, not done yet. "Maybe not those ones but we did find something last night."
Momo took them to the place she told the two Soul Reapers to hide the trash and opened up a bag they had tied shut, showing the Captain and Lieutenant the contents.
Smelling Momo and blood, Shinji rounded the corner and found three people looking inside a bag. He came over, asking what they were looking at and saw the very thing Hitsugaya warned him about.
"Blood packs and this… It looks like blood splatter," said Iba. "Where did you find this?"
"Two men were disposing of the trash and discovered this. Two different locations. The empty blood packs were found near Squad 4 and the splattered papers were found near Squad 7. Toshiro and I saw these and he said it looked like someone was trying to cover their tracks."
"Seems that way."
Shinji looked from the bag to the group. "Well, hang on a second. The blood packs do look incriminating but what about this blood splatter? It could be unrelated. How do we know someone didn't just cut themselves?"
Soi Fon looked at the stain on the papers and frowned. "I've seen blood splatter and this doesn't look like a cut. There's saliva mixed in. Looks like someone spat blood into the trash."
"Then they cut their mouth or bit themselves, you think?" Shinji asked, hoping to come up with a reasonable explanation.
"Not this amount. Maybe internal bleeding and they spat blood out. Unohana would be able to tell what kind of injury this could be better than I can. We should take this to her and have her analyze it."
Momo gasped, thinking she uncovered the reason for the missing blood. "Then maybe someone is injured and they're using the transfusion bags to treat themselves."
"They should go for treatment if it's this bad."
"Maybe they're not well enough to get there on their own."
"But well enough to steal blood packs?" Soi Fon huffed at the ridiculous idea.
"Then they have a partner."
"A partner would bring them to the sickbay for treatment. Not do whatever this is." Soi Fon gestured to the bag. "A stranger wouldn't know where to get them from and that Kido's strong. It would have to be a Soul Reaper and they would have the decency to take them to the sickbay."
"But what if they thought there was no other way?" said Momo. "Maybe whoever they're helping is making them do this. I don't know why. But maybe they're blackmailing them. Or there's a very good reason for it."
"Which is why we're doing an investigation," said Iba. "Once we find out the culprit and the motive, we can end this and get things back to normal around here."
Shinji had to get the bag away from them. If Byakuya had ripped those blood packs open with his teeth or vomited into that trash, his saliva would be all over it. Shinji's sharp noise could detect the faint stench of garlic coming from the stain but Byakuya's scent was muddle with all these conflicting smells and time passing by.
"If we know they're covering their tracks, then we don't really need to pay any attention to where they dropped these off," said Shinji. "There's also no point in keeping that bag, so…"
"We can use it to find out who had it last and where it came from," said Soi Fon. "My men are excellent trackers."
"Yeah, but they're not hound dogs." Shinji tried to take the bag from Momo. As soon as he reached for it, Soi Fon snatched it away. "I'm just saying that whatever's in here is probably useless by now. Planting false leads and stuff like that. And if the guy responsible knows we're on to him, he's going to go into hiding or get desperate. I say it's best if we-"
"Ignore it?" Soi Fon interrupted.
"No, not ignore it. Just keep it quiet. At least until we have more to go on."
Soi Fon looked at him suspiciously.
"We haven't found any of the blood packs until know and just these four and we know there's more that went missing," said Shinji. "What if these were planted to throw us off? I mean, doesn't it seem weird that we discover them now and in one location? Excluding the blood stain thing, of course."
Momo thought what he said made sense and Iba seemed to agree with him. However, the stubborn Soi Fon had already made up her mind. "I'll be the judge of it. This stuff's coming with me and I'll take care of it."
"We're all investigating this," Iba reminded her.
"I more so," she told him. "I am a Captain, and my company is known for tracking down our targets with precision. We can handle it from here."
Knowing there was no way for him to get that bag without making himself look guilty, Shinji sighed and said, "Alright, if that's how you want to do it, who am I to complain?"
He watched Soi Fon carry the bag away with her and wanted to tell Hitsugaya everything he learned.
This may put Byakuya and his followers in danger. And if they were in danger, everyone was in danger.
Byakuya looked over his newly repaired office with satisfaction. All the broken windows had been replaced and covered with tasteful décor such as calligraphy wall scrolls. His makeshift bed had been remodeled as well. A second couch had been brought in and tied together with the first, making it more comfortable than the previous one extended with the coffee table. All the pillows and blankets were there for his comfort and to fill the space between the couch cushions. He looked over it with approval.
"Well done," he told them. Then he selected one for his morning meal. It wasn't just to fill his belly but to reward them as well. His servants seemed to enjoy being fed upon and looked forward to it.
It was a privilege to provide Byakuya with nourishment. It was symbiotic as well, seeing as they received something as well. It was euphoric. Feeling as one with their master.
His meal selected, Kira stepped forward, fidgeting slightly. He was trying to force the corners of his mouth down so Byakuya wouldn't see him smile but the anticipation and joy of being his master's first meal of the day was too great. Byakuya pulled Kira in close and bit him. Kira had come to associate the pain with pleasure, especially since that was what he felt almost immediately afterward. It must have been something in Byakuya's bite that did it or just having his blood drained from him, because Kira always came back for more. Being in Byakuya's arm, having his blood sucked from his neck, was absolute bliss.
Byakuya took his mouth off Kira's neck and stepped back, licking his lips. Kira staggered for a moment and put a hand to his neck to rub the area. Feeling lightheaded, he felt his way back to the wall with his other hand and stood there, basking in the wonderful feeling. If Byakuya asked him to do anything right now, even throw himself out the window, he would have done it without question.
His adoration of Byakuya increased tenfold.
Byakuya sensed this even without noting the pink hue on Kira's cheeks. He knew this is what happened each time he bit one of them and had grown used to it.
His stomach full and daylight out, Byakuya was incredibly sleepy and wanted nothing more than to climb into his newly refurbished bed. He sluggishly went over to it and got situated. He had always been a light sleeper but after becoming a vampire, he slept more soundly, particularly during the day. He found there were times when he would actually enter a type of food coma and be unaware of anything happening around him unless it caused him pain. He didn't even hear his underlings come in on one occasion, having an entire conversation mere feet from his bed.
Knowing that was likely to happen, given how he felt, Byakuya gave them instructions and laid down. As soon as he closed his eyes, he was asleep.
His servants watched him over the back of the couch as if he were a puppy in a playpen, smiling fondly upon him.
"He looks so handsome when he's asleep," said Kira, rubbing his neck.
"Even more than usual," said Renji with a sigh.
Ikkaku was able to shake himself free first and pushed the other two away from the couch. "He needs his rest and we've got our orders. Let's move it."
They each went their own way and each of them ran into a hindrance. Squad members from the 3rd and 11th Division spotted Kira and Ikkaku and demanded they come to their Division immediately to do some work, having made themselves scarce the past few days. They had been told to act as normally as possible so no one would suspect, so they didn't fight it, going with them despite not wanting to.
Renji also found himself in a predicament, Rukia coming over to talk to him. He acted as normally as possible but he needed to get his work done and cover for Byakuya at the same time. When she started asking about his Captain, Renji wasn't able to keep his cool.
"Uh, w- what do you mean?" he asked, pretending to be clueless.
"I haven't seen Byakuya at home very much. I know he likes to take long walks at night but…" Rukia looked worried. "The servants haven't been making him dinner lately either. They told me that I've been the only one showing up for dinner."
"He's probably coming home while you're in bed and never noticed."
"But what about missing meals? He's got to eat sometime."
Renji tried to find a reason for this. "Maybe he's on a diet? Or he's eating elsewhere."
"Like where?" Rukia asked.
"Uh, I don't know. I don't watch him all the time. I don't know what he does. The man's a mystery and he likes it that way. Makes him mysterious."
Rukia looked like she wanted to say something further but didn't.
Renji tried to think. If Rukia thought there was a problem, she might pry into Byakuya's life which might expose his secret. He didn't want to get Rukia involved and if she did discover the truth, his slaves couldn't do anything, given their strict orders not to harm her in any way. Byakuya also wouldn't want Rukia to be upset, so Renji had to find a way to comfort her and throw her off the trail at the same time.
"Byakuya's working hard and he hates when people try to pry into his business. I'm sure he's doing something to destress and have some personal time. If I start asking him about his private life, he'd get pissed, thinking he can't have anything to himself."
Rukia got flustered and said, "I'm not prying into his personal life. I just want to make sure he's alright."
"I'm with him all day long and I don't notice a thing. He seems perfectly fine, so you shouldn't worry."
"I'm not worried. I know Byakuya can handle himself." Her cheeks were pink as she said this.
"Then handle your own thing," Renji advised. "A Lieutenant shouldn't be this worried and come running over to check on a grown man able to take care of himself and his own business. You heard what he said the other day, remember?"
She didn't want Byakuya to think less of her in any way, so for Renji to bring that up was like a stab in the chest. She didn't want to say any more.
"It's not like I'm worried or anything. I just wanted to make sure he was ok. That's all." Rukia started to walk away. "I gotta go."
Renji breathed a sigh of relief and went on his way.
Rukia wasn't going to pry but she still had a feeling something was going on.
"I'm not wasting my time on something as trivial as this," Ikkaku complained.
A Soul Reaper tossed him a wooden sword for practice. "Hey, the Captain's away with the Lieutenant and you're the one who normally leads us in drills, so here we are."
"Get Yumichika to do it," Ikkaku said defiantly.
"Good freaking luck." The Soul Reaper stabbed his thumb in the direction of Yumichika who was currently eyeing his reflection in a mirror mounded on the wall of the dojo. He twisted his head to look at himself from every angle, oohing and ahhing at himself.
"Was that mirror always there?"
"Brought it with him."
Ikkaku frowned.
Yumichika flirted with his reflection, oblivious to everything going on around him.
Unable to get out of it, Ikkaku led the Squad in some combat drills and then some matches. He easily defeated a bunch of men, hoping it would discourage any new challengers like it usually did. They kept coming and Ikkaku was getting irritated.
He looked over at Yumichika who hadn't looked away from the mirror this entire time.
This was the same man who damaged Byakuya's office with that horrible scream of his and fled. Now he was refusing to do anything. This man was an annoyance and he couldn't see him as a friend anymore.
"Would you get your ass over here and stop making out with your reflection, idiot?!" Ikkaku threw his wooden sword at the back of Yumichika's head.
It hit him in the small of his back but it didn't anger him. Yumichika turned and looked to see what had happened and appeared surprised to find that he was in the dojo. "Oh, are we doing drills now?" he asked, cocking his head.
"You dumbass!" Ikkaku snapped and stomped away, fed up with him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ikkaku," Yumichika told him insincerely. "It's just that I look so good today, don't you think?"
"You didn't leave Byakuya's office looking very good yesterday when I brought you over there."
"Well, you were acting so weird. Can you blame me for flying the coop?"
"All you had to do was hold still!"
Yumichika didn't answer him, flipping his hair and going back to the mirror.
A man leaned over to speak to the person next to him about Ikkaku's comment. "The guy's a freaking rich noble. I heard his place is already fixed up. Nice for things to be repaired that quickly. Of course, knowing Kuchiki, it wasn't remodeled to his exact specifications. Poor baby."
Ikkaku delivered a swift kick to the man's face and sent his tumbling backwards into the wall. He couldn't stand anyone speaking ill of Byakuya, even a mild insult or criticism.
"I won't tolerate you talking that way about Byakuya Kuchiki, you understand me?!" he bellowed.
The man sat on the ground holding his face in complete shock. Ikkaku wasn't even this protective of Kenpachi and he was probably the most loyal person here to the man.
It was enough for even Yumichika to look away from the mirror to stare at him in surprise. He knew something was different about his friend but hadn't paid that much attention until now. Something was wrong with him.