Part 4 'Compromise and Control'
Kisuke Urahara was waiting in front of his shop in the dead of night. When he had sensed the gate open he had known who had done it and that it would be an urgent situation. There was only one person who could travel from the soul society to the living world so easily. Rayna was coming and whatever her reasons Kisuke knew it was not good. He did not expect to see Rayna appear with two wounded and one of them was the 6th Division Captain no less.
"I see your penchant for trouble just keeps following you. When will you ever learn to be more careful?" Folding his fan and placing it in his pocket he began to walk toward the girl that had appeared. The two unconscious bodies beside her told Kisuke why she had come. He would get the details of the battle later, right now he had more pressing issues.
"Well Tessai, it looks like you better call Orihime" Kisuke said as he knelt next to Lady Yoruichi. Picking up his lady, he was shocked by the state he found her in. She was so cold that the sweat on her brow had become icy. Captain Kuchiki had fared worse his skin was covered in a thin sheet of ice. As he walked past Tessai he said "Get the others inside," in an uncommonly serious tone. Walking back into his dimly lit shop, he cradled lady Yoruichi against him to try and warm her.
"Mistress if I can help?" Tessai said as he walked over to the Rayna. With ease he picked up the menacing captain carrying him over one shoulder. Rayna was glad for his help. As big as Tessai was, he was a gentle giant that she had come to love.
"Take him inside and make him comfortable. He needs help his Reiatsu is fading." Rayna could sense the dark haired Shinigamis' spiritual pressure dying within him. If it did die, so would the Captain. She worried that the Kisuke would not be able to help them. Saezu the Arrancar, seemed to have the power to destroy Reiatsu. Rayna had tried to help Lady Yoruichi by allowing her own Reaitsu to flow but she was unsure if she had done little more than offer comfort.
Captain Kuchiki had also lost a lot of blood from the wound on his shoulder. This only made Rayna more unsure of her decision. Her need to remain anonymous may have caused her to have a severe lapse in judgment. Surely the court guard was better prepared for such injuries and she felt guilty about not taking him there if he lost his life it would be her fault.
Once inside Kisukes' shop, Tessai walked past the main areas and led them down a steep staircase and through a narrow hallway. He made his way to a room devoid of anything except a set of futons. It was a clean room despite the sparseness. Very carefully he laid the captain on a futon and quickly left the room. Kisuke soon came in with Yoruichi. "I need you to let your Reiatsu flow into theirs. It appears that their spirits have been poisoned and they are slowly dying. The stronger the Reiatsu the faster it works."
She looked at him questioningly. If Rayna let her spiritual pressure flow in the living world she would put them all in danger. With a reassuring grin he replied to her unspoken query. "They won't find you here, trust me. Just be careful." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a fan and began fanning himself as if nothing was amiss. Rayna obeyed sitting on the floor between the two futons in an attempt to keep her Reiatsu under control. Concentrating, Rayna let her spirit fill the room.
Shortly after that Tessai came in with a young red headed human girl following him. Pretty and voluptuous, the schoolgirl uniform she wore only enhanced her beauty. "Oh," she said surprised at seeing Rayna there. Although it could have been her Reiatsu she was sensing because it now coated the room. It was so strong that Rayna herself was slightly glowing. Rayna offered her best disarming smile to the girl.
The girl quickly took stock of the situation and sat down next to the captain in front of Rayna. She put her hands out spoke an incantation and a glowing orb surrounded him. Rayna was astonished when she saw his wounds start to heal. It seemed his breathing became easier as well although his color did not change. The poison that had contaminated his Reaitsu was still taking its toll. It was still killing him as it ate away at his spiritual pressure and would eventually swallow his soul. Rayna could feel his soul fading, and was surprised it too was not being healed. A short time later the girl lowered her hands and said "that is all I can do. His body has healed but," she bowed her head. "I am sorry I am not strong enough to protect his spirit." She looked very glum as if the prognosis was not good.
Turning to Yoruichi, she laid her hand across the wound on her arm and healed it in seconds. Rayna had could sense the Ladies' Reiatsu healing very quickly. Her soul had already begun to recover. The boy must have used more poison on the Captain because despite his immense spiritual pressure he was struggling to hold onto life. A short time later the dark skinned woman regained consciousness. Yoruichi quickly sat up and glared at the girl. "You fool when are you going to learn not to take stupid chances?" Crossing her arms, Rayna sensed a lecture coming.
"The girl has your stubbornness. You can't blame her for picking up your bad habits." Kisuke smiled and pointed his fan at her as he stood over her. Putting an end to any lecture, that could wait for later. He needed Raynas power and if Yoruichi lectured her it may cause it to lose strength.
The teenage girl chose that moment to interject further defusing the situation."Hello, I am Orihime." The red haired girl said and held out her hand to Rayna. Soft grey eyes offered nothing but kindness. Rayna sensed another kindred spirit in the girl and liked her at once.
"Rayna," she took the girls hand and shook it.
"Oh, warm," she said and rubbed her hands together. Orihime smiled at Rayna as if they had been old friends.
"Orihime this needs to be our little secret." Kisuke said motioning to the scene around them. She nodded in recognition of his request. Rayna knew that girl would tell no one about what she had seen here tonight. The strange teenage boy with the inviting spirit would remain a secret.
"Well everyone, now that we are all friends. It is best we leave the captain to Rayna." He put a hand on the girls shoulder before bending over and whispering in her ear. "I know I can trust you to keep it under control. I have strong barriers in place but if your Reiatsu goes beyond this house it will be noticed." The look on his face told her what he expected from her. Kisuke then reached down and helped Yoruichi to her feet before adding for everyone else. "We will be in the way, Rayna will need all of her concentration to heal the captain." Following behind the others, Kisuke started giving instructions as they left.
Rayna turned her attention to the captain. The tiny light that was his soul was fading and flickering. The Reiatsu she possessed was hard to control because it was so drawn to his suffering. Her spirit was attracted to souls that were damaged. It was like a light that continually wanted to find dark corners to brighten. That was how she was able to locate the desperate souls in the Soul Society. If only she had the same ability for sensing hallows unfortunately broken souls and hallows felt the same.
When her thoughts changed the light in the room seemed to dim a little and she hung her head. She should not dwell on that or she would be unable to help the captain.
Rayna moved in closer to the captain, the white of his skin now had a blue translucent sheen covering it. There was a smirk of pain on his aristocratic features and his silky dark hair was moist with icy sweat. The Captain was doing his best to fight the poison but it was not enough. The poison the boy used on his Reiatsu was going to kill him. Rayna would have to access a lot of her own power to heal him. If she was not careful saving him would be the least of her worries.
Carefully, she placed a hand on his fore head. It was so cold that it burned her when she touched him. Resisting the urge to pull away from the pain she closed her eyes and concentrated. She let her Reiatsu flow into him from her hand. The poison was strong and tried to seep into her through him. "Not a chance" she said out loud. She increased her Reiatsu. It took all of her effort to do that and keep it hidden. Panting with the effort to eradicate the poison she struggled to keep control. She needed to increase her Reiatsu but she just was not strong enough to do that and have control over it. The Captain was going to die if she didn't do something.
Rayna had seen what he had done. The menacing captain had protected her even though he was unsure of her. Using his body as a shield he had taken the blade that was meant for her. There was not enough time to mount a proper defense. When it happened he was so close to her that she felt his body tense when the blade pierced him. Rayna saw the look on his face and it surprised her to find that it was absolutely devoid of emotion.
"I am sorry Captain." She said aloud.
Rayna physically jumped at the voice from behind her when Kisuke said, "It wasn't your fault." She turned her head and saw the intelligent eyes staring at her as he knelt down beside her.
"He is a man of honor. Even though he thought I may be a threat he protected me from the Arrancar." Rayna recognized the honor of this nobleman, it was the same as her fathers. The thought of her father affected her and her Reiatsu began to fade. She pulled her had away from the Captain feeling defeated.
"None of that," Kisuke said as he removed her cap. He carefully picked something from her hair. "The great lady that wears this seal would not allow such a man to die." He held up a gold ribbon for her to see. Rayna reached up and touched the ribbon. She knew it well. A soft gold silk ribbon with her father's crest embroidered on one end and her mothers on the other. The beloved man had given it to her when she was very young to wear in her hair. She looked at Kisekae stunned. The unusual shop owner always seemed to know things without people telling him.
Then he looked down at the captain "he needs your help, if you want to thank him honestly, help him. I have analyzed the wound of the Zanpakato. It is a Reiatsu poisoning blade. Where there is light it consumes it leaving nothing but frozen emptiness. You are the only one that can help right now." He smiled at her "Orihime can heal much but she does not have the capabilities to cure a poisoned soul."
Kisuke stood up over her, opened his fan and said, "Now, get to work."
Rayna turned back to the captain. There strained look on his face had deepened and his body was convulsing from the cold. Rayna could not fail. For her father's sake she would not. She released the ribbon that she had been holding onto. Replacing one hand on his forehead and the other on his hand Rayna allowed her spiritual energy flow into him.
The only way she could help him without releasing an incredible amount of power was to allow her very essence to fuse with his. That meant draining all of her strength but it may help her contain her Reiatsu within the confines of the room. The room began to change with the power of her Reiatsu. Its pure unseen light glowed into deep corners and crevasses there was no room for darkness anywhere.
It was hard and Rayna struggled to hold onto her control as she released the Reiatsu that would save the captains life. At first the poison did try to creep into her again but her light was too pure. The poison burned up when exposed to her. Rayna was close to losing control even though it was working. The darkness that had poisoned his Reiatsu was being purified by her light. Though, it took more of her Reiatsu than she could imagine. Rayna was straining against the pressure she was putting her body under. Holding on until the last of the poison had been eliminated she fought against the pain it was causing. Rayna had over done it and she ached everywhere. The pain in her head was debilitating. As the last of the darkness in the captain was purified by her she lost consciousness.
The shop owner watched as Rayna fell forward laying across the captains' body. "I knew you could do it my lady." Kisuke said as he carefully bent down and pulled a cloth from his pocket. He wiped away the trickles of blood that had begun to fall from her nose. Kisuke decided to leave her just as she was because he could still sense her Reiatsu intermingled and healing the Captains'. If there was one person who could benefit from Rayna it was Captain Kuchiki. "There is no power stronger than love," he said as he walked down the hallway fanning himself.
Byakuya was surprisingly warm, after being painfully cold for so long. Slowly coming into consciousness he realized that he recognized the warmth. It was the same as the boys from the battle. That inviting spiritual pressure was wrapped around as it fed its power into him. The captain was lost inside a state of rapture that he had not felt in a long time. As he became more aware he realized two things. First, he was not alone. Secondly, someone was laying across the top of him.
Snapping open his eyes he tried to move and was welcomed by biting pain. It immediately broke the spell of euphoria that had surrounded him. Sensing that the poison had been eradicated, Byakuya could still feel the effects of it on his body. He could tell that he had been close to death.
Carefully he propped himself up on his elbow so he could better survey the situation he found himself in. The dimly lit room made it hard to focus. As his eyes adjusted he was able to see who was laying across his stomach. It was not the boy as he first suspected but, a woman. A pretty, round face with soft features and even softer looking lips lay in his full view. She looked angelic sleeping on top of him framed in beautiful cascading hair.
Byakuya did not recognize the woman even thought she was very familiar. He did know the spiritual pressure. Such a strong pure Reiatsu had never existed in the court guard to his memory. It was the warmest inviting presence that he had ever felt, pure and beautiful in its power. It was the same as the boys from earlier. Could the two be brother and sister? If that was the case then the head captain should be made aware and both should be taken to the court gate.
This situation could be very compromising but after the battle and his injuries. Byakuya just did not have the will power to change it. He could still feel the power of her Reiatsu healing his. At least, that explained why she was hear, even if it did not explain why she was sleeping on top of him.
The Captain was just too tired to think about it anymore and he knew that he needed more rest so that the happenings of today could be sorted out. Deciding it was best to stay until he was healed, he gave into his need to stay wrapped in the warmth of the Reiatsu surrounding him. Carefully, he shifted the woman so she rested more comfortably in the crook of his shoulder and wrapped his left arm around her. Maybe, this was just a dream and he would wake up alone and not have to worry about the compromising situation. She was so inviting in his weakened state he couldn't resist. It was almost as if it her Reiatsu was just for him. Byakuya had not felt such peace in a long time. Reasoning with himself that it was just a dream, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep despite the comprising situation.
I actually have several chapters of this story written, but have come to find that writing it is easier than editing it… But here is the next installment… Todays background noise consisted of the movie 'House of Flying Daggers' and the musical styling of Jem. As always I don't own Bleach it belongs to Tite Kubo and I don't seek any profit for anything I have done.