Chapter 2: Promise of Silence
(Warning...This chapter is pretty dark and contains references to non-con sex, but will not be graphic in detail. Just didn't want to shock and upset anyone by surprising them with the turn the story takes here. Questions will be raised in this chapter and the answers slowly revealed, and readers will see how everything fits together later on in the story...so some angst here that will set the groundwork for Renji and Tetsuya's interactions, then things will lighten up again, but the danger will linger throughout the story. Hope that makes sense!)
Renji opened the door to the large, well apportioned double suite and followed Tetsuya inside, then closed the door behind them.
"Gods, I love the places that Taichou picks for us when we go on assignment!" the redhead sighed appreciatively, "but I'm sure that you know what I mean, ne?"
Tetsuya smiled but didn't answer, and his gaze followed Renji's as the redhead gestured towards the room off to the right of the entrance to the suite.
"That's your room. Why don't you go get comfortable while I run out and touch bases with our contact here?"
"Shouldn't I go along?" asked the noble, "I am here to assist you, Abarai fukutaichou."
"Eh, no, this guy is no trouble. He's a friend of mine. I'll introduce you later. And please call me Renji. You don't have to be so formal when we are alone together, Tetsuya-san."
"Hmmm," said Tetsuya, meeting his gaze quietly, "I mean no disrespect, sir, but Byakuya-sama...erm...Kuchiki taichou did specifically instruct me to defer to you at all times while we were here. I do not wish to offend you, but you will understand if I must follow our taichou's order."
Renji laughed softly and shook his head dismissively.
"Have it your way, then, Tetsuya-san. Now, go relax a bit. I will be right back."
"Of course, sir. And just so you are aware...I have instructed Arashi to accompany you whenever I am not with you..."
"Oh, you don't have to do that," Renji chuckled, "I just going to..."
"You may either ride him to wherever you are going or he will make himself unseen and follow you, but Kuchiki taichou impressed upon me that as your subordinate, while deferring to your orders, I must always watch my superior's back."
"Whatever makes you happy, then," Renji said, smiling good naturedly and turning back towards the door, "I shouldn't be gone too long and when I get back, we can have dinner, okay?"
"Hai, Abarai fukutaichou," Tetsuya said, coaxing a widening of Renji's smile.
Gods, this guy gets cuter by the moment...
Still smiling, Renji exited the suite, leaving Tetsuya alone. The blue eyed shinigami looked around the common area and moved into the kitchen, locating the food that had been stocked prior to their arrival at the Kuchiki clan leader's command.
Byakuya-sama said that Abarai-san prefers sweet or sweet and savory rather than spicy, so chicken teriyaki, rice and steamed vegetables should be pleasing. And I will make his preferred taiyaki for after. Byakuya-sama says that he very much enjoys that.
He gathered the necessary ingredients, preparing fresh egg drop soup, salad, a hot buttered shrimp appetizer and then the main course and homemade taiyaki. When the cooking was done, he left everything warming and started towards his room to change out of his uniform and into a more casual yukata. He paused as he passed the door to the suite, thinking he might have heard a voice outside the door. But when he heard nothing more, he moved on to his room, where he undressed and found the idea of a hot shower irresistible. He let the water warm and laid out his yukata, then prepared to enter the shower. But the sound of a footstep in his room made him pause and listen for a moment. He stepped out into his bedroom, extending his senses, then caught his breath in surprise as an arm wrapped tightly around his waist and a silver band snapped shut around his wrist, sealing away his powers.
Arashi! his mind called out instantly as he fought the arms that held him so tightly that he couldn't seem to move.
Strangely, he could not seem to connect with the stallion's consciousness.
This must be a very strong seal...
A shock of stunning kido weakened his legs so that he was held on his feet by the other man, who seemed to realize suddenly that something was not as he expected.
"Well now...you are not Kuchiki Byakuya," he said, sounding surprised and turning Tetsuya's head slightly to get a better look.
Tetsuya had a flash impression of familiar slicked back, black hair and hard, glinting black eyes, then he was dragged across the room and thrown down roughly on the bed and trapped there.
"What did you want with our clan leader, Kuromori Tatsuo?" Tetsuya gasped, "That you would even think of approaching him in such a way! This is worse than any affront you have ever burdened our clan with! Get out of here now and you may escape our leader's wrath. Lay hands on me again, and whatever you do to me, he will kill you!"
The wicked smile the man gave him turned Tetsuya's blood to ice in his veins.
"Kill me? Over a half-blood? I don't think so...not even if you are his favored cousin," the other man said, dragging the struggling shinigami onto his knees on the bed, "I think that his doting upon you has made you arrogant, half-blood. But...I will be more than happy to remind you of your place, here and now!"
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Renji shook his head in appreciation as he took his leave of his friend and started back towards the hotel, not feeling Arashi's presence, although he knew full well that Tetsuya had instructed the stallion to follow him.
Those two are pretty damned formidable together. I can see why Taichou depends on them for his safety.
He walked back to the hotel at a casual pace, still somewhat disappointed at Byakuya's decision to send Tetsuya instead of coming on the mission himself, but still looking forward to getting to know Byakuya's younger cousin better.
He's very likable, if a little shy and too intent on following Taichou's instructions to the very letter. Ah well, a little time with me should loosen him up a bit. And I have to admit that Tetsuya is not just cute, but damned adorable. I wonder if Taichou would kill me completely if I asked for permission to date him. Knowing my luck, he's probably straight as an arrow, but here's wishing...
He chuckled softly to himself as he continued along the peaceful, tree-lined street, arriving back at the hotel just as the sun was setting. He rode the elevator up to their floor and passed the floor security guards, then walked to the end and entered the suite. He was surprised to find warm, delicious scents of food in the air and the table set for the two of them. He peeked in at the warming food and sighed happily.
Oh my god...adorable and he cooks too! He is so made for me. Gods, I hope he likes guys...
He glanced at the closed door to Tetsuya's room, then looked down at the place settings at the table. He heard water running and assumed that his lovely companion was showering after all of the work preparing their meal. But as time went on and the sound of the water continued, Renji felt an odd, worried catch in his belly. He got up from the table and walked to Tetsuya's door, listening for a moment before tapping on the door lightly.
"Tetsuya-san?"
Hearing no answer, he tried the door and found it unlocked. He turned the handle and opened the door, clicking the lights on as he entered the room.
"Holy shit..." he breathed, the breath leaving him as he took in the sight of the tangled bedding and the splashes of blood on Tetsuya's scattered clothes.
He was across the room in a flash step and threw open the bathroom door, expecting the worst. He found the younger shinigami curled into a corner of the shower, the now-cold water raining down onto him where he sat on the shower floor, his arms curled around his knees and his face buried in his arms. His lovely, pale skin was marked with angry cuts and bruises, and even Renji's noisy approach did not stir him.
"Tetsuya-san!" Renji gasped, turning off the water and dropping to his knees in front of the young man.
He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the half-noble, then touched a trembling arm and called Tetsuya's name more gently. Still getting no response, he carefully touched Tetsuya's face, coaxing him to raise his head. Tetsuya complied quietly, but only stared dazedly ahead of him, his sapphire eyes frighteningly vacant.
"Tetsuya-san?" said Renji, "Listen, okay? I know someone hurt you. I'm going to take you to someone who can heal you, all right? We'll have to take some evidence so we can go after the person who did this, but..."
"No," Tetsuya said, with a soft air of finality.
"What?" queried Renji, taken aback at the odd response, "Tetsuya-san, you were just sexually assaulted. I'm not going to let someone do that to you and not do anything! You need healing now. Just...relax and trust me, okay? I know you're pretty roughed up, but you know I'm right. Just..."
"Abarai-san," Tetsuya said softly, "You cannot tell him."
Renji's eyes widened.
"Huh?" he muttered, frowning, "Tetsuya, what is going on here? Who did this to you? What is this about?"
"It doesn't matter," Tetsuya whispered shakily, "It's over. Just...go, Abarai-san. I will be all right."
Renji shook his head in disbelief, his temper flaring.
"You listen to me," he said in a low, controlled tone, "There is no way that I am going to let someone do this to you and not do anything...and hide it from Taichou! And I, sure as hell am not going to just leave you here like this! I don't know what's going on here, but..."
"Renji-san!" Tetsuya said in a pained voice, shocking the redhead with his sudden departure from formality, "I am in full awareness of, first, what has happened to me and secondly, what my necessary course of action is. You have no understanding of what is going on here, and in truth, it is not yours to know. Just...you must respect that. If you try to force me, I will have Arashi break in here and free me..."
"Hey," Renji objected, more gently, "I'm not trying to strong-arm you, here. Tetsuya, I am trying to take care of you, something that any comrade, or any friend would do. You've been hurt. You need to let me take care of you...please."
Tetsuya hesitated, looking into Renji's eyes with devastation plain in his own.
"I am sorry, Abarai fukutaichou," said the noble, regaining his composure somewhat, "It is just that..."
"Stop," Renji said gently, "Don't apologize. I come from the lower Rukongai. I took care of my share of friends who had shit like this happen to them. Just, let me heal you, all right? We can leave the other stuff for now, but you really have to let me heal you."
Tetsuya paused, thinking for a moment.
"Abarai fukutaichou, will you give me your word that you will not tell anyone without my leave? Can I trust you to keep that promise?"
"Okay, fine. I will respect how you decide to handle this, but..."
"Then...heal me, if you wish. I will not fight you anymore."
Renji let out a relieved breath and helped Tetsuya slowly to his feet.
"Good. That will make things easier. Just...trust me. I'll take care of you, okay?"
Tetsuya said nothing more, but only nodded briefly, turning himself over to the redhead's care.
Renji guided him out of the room and into his own room where he wrapped a yukata around the younger man and had him lie down on his stomach on the sofa. He carefully bared Tetsuya again and took note of the location, size and type of each injury, noting them on a pad of paper on the table beside the sofa, then healing each injury. he worked his way slowly from head to toe, cataloguing and healing...purposely leaving the most intimate areas for last. Then, he helped Tetsuya turn onto his back and examined and healed the rest of him. Tetsuya laid still, cooperating silently, his eyes distant and lost, sometimes staring dazedly. Renji paused when all that was left were the intimate areas and he helped the noble sit up, facing him.
"I have to touch some private areas. Just tell me if you want me to stop and I will, okay?"
Tetsuya nodded silently and laid down again, looking away as Renji quietly continued to examine and heal him. As he surveyed the damage and slowly made it disappear, his anger flared at the thought of anyone hurting such a gentle person as Tetsuya like that.
I want to fucking kill the person who dared to do this to him. But if I get too forceful with him, I'll do more harm than good. So, I'll take care of him and gather the evidence, then deal with the rest later.
I hope he decides to tell Taichou, though.
I wonder if I should have made that promise to respect his wishes. What he wants may not be what's best for him. Damn! I wish I knew what to do. In the Rukongai, sexual assaults were part of the territory. But we're not in that place. We're in an upscale neighborhood with a low crime rate and nothing nefarious going on nearby. An attack like this...if it was random would be very out of place. That suggests that Tetsuya-san knew his attacker. And if so, I wonder why he doesn't want Taichou to know...
"I'm done," he said finally, reaching out and tying the front of Tetsuya's yukata closed, "I'll go make you some tea, okay?"
Tetsuya nodded silently.
"Arigatou, Abarai fukutaichou."
"Please, would you call me Renji?" the redhead said, shaking his head, "I think that the fact that we've shared a bit more than a simple mission to Karakura Town makes us a little more than superior officer and subordinate. You can use my title when others are present, but when we are alone, I really want you to call me Renji."
Tetsuya observed him quietly for a moment, then nodded briefly.
"Arigatou, Renji-san," he said sleepily.
"I'll be back with that tea and a little something to eat in a minute. You stay there and rest."
He left the room and returned a few minutes later, only to find that the younger man had fallen asleep in his bed. Renji left the food and tea on the nightstand, then he went back to Tetsuya's room and carefully catalogued everything he found, preserving the evidence meticulously.
I am sure some critical evidence was destroyed when he went into the shower, but I'll take everything I can get from here. And once he's had time to settle down and listen to reason, we can look at this and figure out who did this and why.
I only wonder if my suspicion from earlier was right and he knew his attacker...
And I wonder, if he did, what would make him want to keep that from his cousin. I wonder if it has something to do with the clans. I don't really get all of their ideas and rules and attitudes. It's a really different world than the one I grew up in...a lot more complicated...
"Renji-san!" Tetsuya's voice cried suddenly from the other room.
Renji flash stepped out of Tetsuya's room and back across the large suite to his, where he found Tetsuya sitting up and staring through widened, distressed eyes, and panting in fear. The redhead sat down on the bed and pulled him close, holding him tightly as he dropped his head onto the redhead's shoulder, his slender body shaking all over.
"I am sorry I startled you," he apologized, "It was only a nightmare."
"Yeah?" said Renji, looking relieved that the noble wasn't in any danger, "Well, you're entitled. I'm sorry that this happened to you. I was supposed to watch your back as much as you were supposed to watch mine."
"You couldn't have known that someone would do this," Tetsuya said, said, shaking his head, "It was...unexpected."
"Can you tell me now who it was? Was it someone you know? An enemy?"
Tetsuya shivered.
"I am sorry, Renji-san," he said softly, "I cannot talk about it right now."
"Okay," said the redhead, rubbing the noble's back gently, "but at some point, we are going to have to talk about it, okay?"
Tetsuya bit his lips and nodded briefly, then started to climb out of the bed.
"Oh, no you don't," Renji objected instantly, "Where in blazes do you think you're going?"
"I have to clean up my room and then I am going to sleep," Tetsuya said, yawning wearily.
"Forget it. Lie down. You're not going back in there tonight. You'll stay with me."
"Renji-san..."
"Lie down. Don't get cheeky with your superior officer, got it?"
"Erm...well, as you wish," Tetsuya said, lying back down.
He caught his breath softly as Renji settled down next to him and coaxed Tetsuya into settling onto his shoulder. He continued to rub Tetsuya's back gently as the noble started to drift off.
"Tetusya," he whispered, bringing the younger man back from the edges of sleep, "There's something kinda personal I need to ask you."
"Hmmm?"
"Are you...or have you ever been in a serious relationship?"
He paused for a moment, rethinking the question.
"I'm only asking because it may help us to understand why you were attacked."
A long silence followed before the noble gave his soft reply.
"I had an intimate relationship with one person, but he died some time ago."
"I'm sorry," Renji said, sympathetically.
"Thank you, Renji-san."
"Have you ever been sexually assaulted before?" Renji asked.
"Yes. I was held in a secret nobles prison for a time and the boy who was my lover and I were sexually abused numerous times during our incarceration there."
Damn!
"Does Taichou know? About the boyfriend and the abuse you two suffered?"
"Yes," Tetsuya affirmed, "It was Byakuya-sama who rescued me. My lover was killed during our escape."
"Again, I'm really sorry."
"That is all right. You were only asking because it was necessary. But you need not worry, Renji-san. I have endured this before. I will be fine."
"Okay, now get some sleep."
"You really needn't coddle me so," Tetsuya objected, "I am not weak."
"No, I didn't think you were," said Renji, giving him a smirk, "but you do have a tendency to argue a lot with your superior officer. I gave you an order. Now, lie down and get some rest. We still have work to do here, so we need to get some shuteye."
"Of course, Renji-san," said the noble, the edges of a smile touching his lips.
He set his head back on Renji's shoulder, his body calmer and more relaxed as he drifted off again. Renji held him quietly and caressed his wispy hair lightly, thinking carefully.
Back in the Seireitei, I got the feeling, not only that Tetsuya might have been posted in our squad to protect Taichou from something, and that Taichou was worried about harm coming to his cousin. It really sounds like something is going on here.
I wonder what it is...
I wonder what it will take to get him to tell me.
