Chapter 2: Nameless

Tetsuya woke to find his body bathed in a soothing, golden light and a girl near his own age gazing down at him through gentle, worried eyes. She smiled as she saw his eyes had opened, then squeezed his hand lightly to encourage him. Tetsuya said nothing, but watched her closely as the feeling of healing power flowed through his body, leaving him without pain and feeling surprisingly normal.

An odd feeling swelled somewhere inside him, somewhere beneath the familiar reiatsu of his and Naoki's unborn child. But he couldn't be sure what the feeling was. And before he could make sense of it, it blazed sharply, making the girl's light barrier shatter and sending her tumbling backwards.

"What is this?" Tetsuya cried, "What is happening to me?"

The door to the room they were in flew open, and the young man who had found him before, ran into the room, followed by a lighter haired man who wore a strange, striped hat. A shield rose in front of the three, and Tetsuya saw the elder man's hands rise warningly.

"What do you mean, attacking Orihime like that?" the man asked, sternly, "Didn't they teach you any manners back at the academy, kid?"

"A-academy?" gasped Tetsuya, "I don't know what you mean! I'm not doing this! My powers are sealed!"

"I sensed that his powers had been sealed and rejected the seal," Orihime explained, "Urahara-san, he didn't attack me. He didn't even look like he wanted to. I think he can't control his powers!"

The three watched in dismay as Tetsuya cringed back against the wall, on the bed, his hands gripping his midsection and his eyes terrified.

"What's happening? It hurts! Something is...!"

His mouth opened into a horrified scream as light flared around his body again, and something huge and black emerged and placed itself between the injured shinigami and his rescuers. Tetsuya reeled, staring in disbelief as the three people on the other side of the emerged creature shielded their eyes and backed away warily, watching as the light gradually faded, then they gasped in surprise.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day..." Kisuke mused.

"What is it?" Ichigo breathed.

"Is it...a horse?" Orihime panted, blinking.

The creature's shape resolved into that of a tall, black Arabian stallion, whose fierce blue eyes were the same as the young shinigami's. The beast positioned himself protectively in front of Tetsuya, then looked back over a satin shoulder and nickered encouragingly at the young man.

"Who...who are you?" Tetsuya whispered.

He flattened himself back against the wall, crying out in surprise as a soft, wispy voice sounded in his mind.

I am Arashi.

"What is this? What's happening?" Tetsuya gasped, feeling his head begin to spin ominously, "D-did you speak to me?"

Kisuke looked back at Ichigo and Orihime, who returned his gaze and shook their heads slightly.

"Did you say that he spoke to you?" Kisuke asked forcing calm into his voice.

"You didn't hear him?" Tetsuya said shakily, tears rising in his eyes, "But you...do see him, don't you?"

"Yeah," said Kisuke, "We see him. What did he say to you?"

"He...ah...he told me that his name is Arashi."

"Arashi," Kisuke repeated, lowering his hands, "We are not going to hurt you or Tetsuya. Orihime was only healing him."

The stallion gave Kisuke a measured glance, then spoke again into Tetsuya's mind.

Tell him that I apologize for frightening the girl. Your powers were released suddenly, and your weakened body could not handle the stress. I emerged from your soul to use that power you could not...to protect you.

Tetsuya swallowed hard and met Kisuke's eyes again.

"He told me that he is sorry for frightening Orihime. He says that...he emerged from my soul to protect me, because my body could not manage the sudden release of my powers."

"Fascinating," Kisuke breathed, meeting Arashi's powerful gaze, then stepping forward slowly, "Do you mind?"

Arashi stared back at him and bowed his head slightly.

The shopkeeper examined the horse slowly, taking careful readings and studying him from every angle before shaking his head and sighing in appreciation.

"A familiar?" he mused, "A vessel for protective power that seems to work on the level of a zanpakutou."

He glanced back at Tetsuya and saw that his hand was wrapped around the hilt of a lovely, slender blue steel sword.

"So, that just emerged too?"

"Y-yes," Tetsuya confirmed, "I didn't have one before. My powers were sealed away so that they wouldn't emerge while I was in the...while I was back there."

Kisuke's eyes narrowed and he grew wary again.

"You were a prisoner then?" he asked, "An inmate in Central 46, perhaps?"

"No!" Tetsuya exclaimed, shaking his head in dismay, "It wasn't like that! I'm not a criminal! I swear it!"

"Okay," said Kisuke, "but we know that you were held prisoner. So, why don't you tell us why...and where you were held. Maybe also, how you got here. What can you tell us?"

"I...everything seems scrambled!" Tetsuya exclaimed, placing his hands over his eyes, "It is...painful to try to...go back there! It...!"

He made a sudden exclamation of pain and collapsed onto the bed. Kisuke sought Arashi's worried eyes.

"We're gonna help him," the shopkeeper assured the stallion, "Don't worry. We won't let any harm come to him. I'll have to put a limiter on him to help him manage the power in his body, but he'll be fine."

The stallion gave him a brief nod, then stepped back.

"Orihime, why don't you give me a hand with him while Ichigo takes Arashi down to the training area. I think we want to keep him close to the kid in case that power burst of his attracts any unwanted attention. I'm also going to put him in a reiatsu-concealing gigai until we find out what his story is. Something's really strange about all of this."

"You don't think he was telling the truth?" Ichigo asked, "He seemed pretty sincere. He just seems really scared, Kisuke."

"Yeah, he does. Poor kid. I wonder what happened to him to make him like that."

"He didn't seem to even understand that he was feeling his own power before," Orihime said sadly.

"Maybe he hasn't...if he's been someone's prisoner for a long time," Kisuke surmised.

"But he looks like he's about my age," said Ichigo, "He must have been a prisoner at a very young age to not know what his own power feels like."

Kisuke leaned over the unconscious youth and began a careful examination.

"He's thin...emaciated...badly underfed and his body has been beaten and sexually assaulted on numerous occasions."

Orihime's eyes filled with tears and she sniffed softly, gazing raptly at Tetsuya's pale face as Kisuke continued.

"He has spent some time in kido chains. His eyes are overly sensitive to light, indicating he was kept somewhere dark. There are signs that someone with innate healing power may have healed him, from time to time."

He opened Tetsuya's yukata and touched several places on the young man's torso, sending flickers of reiatsu into his body.

"His spirit centers have been sealed away, and will be sensitive. But they haven't degraded. Still, it's a good thing that he got out of whatever that place was before they started to deteriorate. As it is, with some healing and careful training, I can bring his powers along slowly."

He started to withdraw his hands, then frowned and laid him on the youth's lower abdomen again, focusing his reiatsu on the area.

"Huh...well, I think we have a kid with some noble blood," he surmised.

"Oh?" said Ichigo, "How do you know that?"

"That's easy," said the shopkeeper, meeting Ichigo's eyes meaningfully, "Because this kid is pregnant."

"What?" Ichigo and Orihime gasped together.

"How can that be?" asked Ichigo, "Is he actually...a girl?"

"No," said Kisuke, shaking his head, "This is definitely a shinigami male. And the only male shinigamis in Soul Society that can reproduce like this, with other males, are the nobles who carry the ancient noble blood of the Breeders."

"Breeders?" Ichigo repeated.

"Yeah. You see, a long time back, during the war with the quincies, a lot of damage was done to the noble clans. Women and children were slaughtered in droves, and the noble families were close to extinction. One among them, a scientist, came up with the method of altering some noble males to receive reiatsu from other males and to form a spirit chamber inside. Inside the chamber, the reiatsu would mature. And when it was time, the reiatsu would emerge through the body of the male and then solidify. It was the only thing that helped the noble families hang on. But...after the crisis was over, they quickly forgot the role that those men had played. And when they realized that the boys born of the males were sometimes also Breeders, they turned against them. Oddly, the Breeders were supposed to have died out a long time ago. Occasionally, there's a throwback, and this kid might be one of them. If so, then he may have been imprisoned because of that."

"They still do that?" Ichigo asked, frowning.

"That's horrible!" Orihime exclaimed.

"It's not supposed to happen anymore, but as you know, Ichigo, what's 'supposed to happen' is a subjective thing when it comes to the noble families."

"So...there is maybe still a prison that was incarcerating him, even now? But, haven't things changed for the Breeders?"

"Well, there haven't been any around. Still, that whole thing about them dying out may just mean that some group or groups have been capturing and imprisoning them. This may be a secret prison."

"Well, what else could it be?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm not sure," Kisuke mused, "but that's something I'll keep working on. While I do, I need you to do me a favor."

"Yeah?"

"I'll put that kid into a gigai, and you take him to your house. If anyone asks, he's your cousin. No one should be able to tell he's a shinigami, and the gigai will hide the pregnancy, cause you know that would be a dead giveaway. I'll keep you updated, and you keep him safe. If he is from a secret prison, you can bet that someone will come looking for him."

"But, wouldn't Tetsuya be safer in one of your safe houses?" Ichigo asked.

"Usually. But...he loosed an awful lot of power just a little while ago. And I am sure that it was sensed by the twelfth division. They may even have seen him as he passed through the senkaimon...unless he used a noble entry...but how would a prisoner be able to do that? No, we have to assume that Kurotsuchi taichou will send someone...probably stealth force, to come and check things out. I need him out of here and in a place they wouldn't have reason to look."

"What about him?" Ichigo asked, indicating Arashi, "Won't they be able to sense him?"

Arashi huffed out a soft breath and shook his head briefly.

"I guess he can hide his reiatsu," concluded Kisuke, "But, go on now. Get him outta here before Soi fon taichou and her merry men show up."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mayuri-sama," said Nemu, stepping into her leader's laboratory, where she found the twelfth division taichou bent over his computer and typing furiously, "I have something strange to report. An explosion of reiatsu at Urahara Kisuke's shop. It occurred a few hours ago, but was not repeated, and he made no report to us regarding it."

"Well, that's hardly a surprise," sneered Kurotsuchi, not even looking up from his console, "And why should I care if the fool blows himself up or not? What a waste of my time to go running around, bothering with the likes of him. Let him blow himself up. It will save all of us a lot of trouble."

"But sir, the power that exploded was not Urahara-san's, nor did it match that of any of our operatives in Karakura Town."

"So, it was a joker from out of town. I repeat, who cares?"

The reiatsu pattern matched one that entered the precipice world yesterday and disappeared after. We knew that the cleaner had gone through and suspected that the one it came from had been swallowed up."

"Did you run an identification on it?"

"Yes, sir. It did not match any known military, nor did it match Central 46's criminal watch list or any of the lists from the noble families."

"So, this is some rogue that has joined up with Urahara, eh?" Kurotsuchi said, looking somewhat more interested, Did you get a visual?"

"No, sir. There were strange explosions in the precipice world in that area, and the cleaner appeared to sweep everything away."

"Well," said the twelfth division taichou, "It seems like some of the trash didn't get put out, ne?"

"Mayuri-sama!"

"All right, then. Report it to Soi fon taichou and have the stealth force go and detain the person who matches that reiatsu pattern!"

"Yes sir!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Taichou," Renji said, smiling, "Thanks for inviting me over to dinner. It was really great."

"You are welcome," said the noble, "And I am glad that you were willing to join me for a walk up here to my favorite place for looking at the moon."

"Well," the redhead said good naturedly, "I had to stretch my legs and work off some of that mountain of good food I ate, right?"

"Yes."

"And besides, you kinda looked like you still wanted to talk to me about something."

Byakuya met his eyes fleetingly and Renji felt a soft, sweet jolt inside.

"How very astute," the noble complimented him, "There is something that I wanted to..."

He broke off, looking annoyed as a hell butterfly flitted into view and paused in front of him.

"Aww, damn it all to hell!" Renji sighed, "Just when this was getting good..."

"I am sorry, Renji," Byakuya said regretfully, "But it is a priority message. I am required..."

"Yeah, I know," Renji said, still smiling, "Go on."

Byakuya nodded to the dark insect.

Kuchiki taichou, said Kurotsuchi Nemu's soft voice, our sensors have recorded a reiatsu signature within the precipice world that we cannot identify. We have already checked it against the military files and the files in the Central 46 system. The soul has been at the site of several explosions and bursts of dangerous reiatsu, and is wanted for questioning. It was last sensed several hours ago in Karakura Town, and we are awaiting word of the soul's capture. Mayuri-sama requests that you should check the database in your family archive, as you have complete listings of all nobles' reiatsu as part of the histories your clan is in charge of keeping. Please respond and cc Soutaichou.

"Aww, man!" sighed Renji, "That guy. Ruins a perfect..."

Renji froze as warm. slender arms wrapped around him suddenly and a soft, sweet mouth fastened hungrily onto his.

"Holy...!"

He couldn't speak as Byakuya pushed him back against a sakura tree and pressed up against his body provocatively.

"Oh! Oh gods, Taichou! Oh, I hope this means you're gonna tell that guy to fuck off! Cause...you...mmmmmmm...are...giving me a really hmmnnnn...huge hard on!"

His legs wobbled and he almost collapsed as Byakuya released him.

"My apologies if I was out of line," the noble said, eyeing him and smirking, "It is just that...after all of the planning that went into getting you up here alone with me, I could not let you escape without at least a good night kiss. You aren't...angry, are you?"

"Angry?" Renji repeated, chuckling as he realized that he was clenching the front of the noble's fine kimono, "Yeah, I'm pissed as hell"

Byakuya's face fell, and Renji pulled him in for another kiss, surprising a confused look onto his face.

"But...?"

"I'm angry cause that creepy taichou from the twelfth messed up such a great first date, Taichou."

Renji grinned as a slow smile bloomed sweetly across Byakuya's face.

"So, do you have to do that now?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the noble confirmed, "However, if you wish, you may accompany me to the family archive to assist me with this research. I warn you, though...you may be forced to stay all night."

"Oh," the redhead said, nodding, "Thanks for the warning. But do you have stuff for making tea in there?"

"That," said Byakuya, "and a lovely recess, perfect for taking rest breaks during the night."

"Hey," laughed Renji, "That sounds like my kinda research."

"Then, you are willing?"

"Oh yeah," Renji said, aiming for his mouth again and just missing as he pulled away.

"Very well," Byakuya said, smiling coyly, "Come with me, Renji."