Chapter 5: Honorable Pain
(Thanks to RedSnow4 for requesting!)
Orochi wrapped himself in a black cloak and pulled the hood into place, then slipped out his window and flash stepped away from his house. He remained in the shadows, sensing the reiatsu around him to carefully avoid being seen, as he flash stepped through the trees and came to the broken fence at the outer edge of the Kuchiki family estate. He squeezed through the fence and turned towards an old weed choked trail. He reached the old prison in minutes and slipped inside. He paused, looking around quietly to be sure he was alone, then found the secret release switch and opened the way to the concealed inner room.
A small red kido light formed around his hand, and lit the way as he walked slowly down the stone steps and into the hidden cellblock. Inside one of the cells ahead of him, the lone living inhabitant of the old prison laid still within his bonds. He flinched and stirred as the sound of Orochi's relaxed footsteps echoed around him.
Orochi stopped and glared down at the tightly bound form he had left on the torture table. The dark haired man within the bonds knew it was of little use to struggle, and so he forced himself to wait quietly as the other man removed the gag from his mouth and offered him a few small sips of water so that he would be able to speak clearly.
"Now then," Orochi said in a calm, silken voice, "I hope that you plan to be more tractable this time. If you are, then we can avoid painful consequences like those you have already experienced. My question is simple. You know what I will ask you. Give me the truth and I will free you. Continue to resist, and I will make you as sorry you were born as I am. Tell me, where is the heir? Was it that ratty looking boy you sent scurrying away when I found you?"
"I t-told you," the dark haired man said, his body trembling from the coldness of the cell, "I don't know what you are talking about. There was no child."
"You are a horrible liar," Orochi went on, "I know that you are lying to me. I will hurt you if you do not tell me what you did with the child."
"There was no…"
The bound man gasped in pain as a heavy whip snapped across his back, cutting him through the thin cloth of his already torn and stained shirt.
"LIAR!" Orochi hissed, "I am not stupid. I know you were there that day, that you got there ahead of me. It took me all of these years to track you down. You would have had no reason to stay away all of these years, except if you were guarding the heir."
"I told you that there was no heir! The boy miscarried. You know that it happens sometimes. And I stayed away because I was weary of intolerant bastards like you, Orochi!"
"How dare you even let my name touch your foul lips!" Orochi snapped, striking his captive across his already bleeding and bruised back, "Worthless peasant! I should just give up this nonsense and kill you!"
The whip snapped across his back again, making the man bite back a cry of pain and his chest heave softly as he sought to keep himself under control. He quivered as Orochi touched his bindings and sent a small, warning shock into his body. Then, swiftly, he struck with the whip again. The dark haired man clenched his jaw and his fists tightly.
"Go ahead," the captive hissed, straining in his bonds, "I do not fear you…and I do not fear death!"
Orochi sank his fingers into the other man's long, black hair and tightened them painfully.
"Well," he said in a silken voice, "You may not fear me and you may not fear death, but I can keep you here and leave you pain indefinitely. It's what you deserve, you half blooded freak! Your kind should have died out long ago, when they were made prisoners here. They should have killed all of them!"
He leaned close to the dark haired man until his breath touched his captive's soft, pale skin, sending a chill down his spine.
"Had I lived back then, I would have made sure our family's pure blood had stayed pure, and not been muddied by the likes of you!"
"That's amusing coming from you, you foul snake! You speak of corruption of the blood, but you scheme against your own leader! My blood may be mixed, noble and peasant, but it only knows loyalty and honor, and I took pride in wearing the Kuchiki name."
"Hmmm," mused Orochi, "But if you are so proud of being one of us, then why did you abandon us so suddenly?"
He tightened his fingers in the man's hair again, making him wince and grunt in pain.
"Why did you leave us and relinquish the name you so loved? The leader who loved you like a brother? It must have been something important."
"I told you…!"
His words became a sharp cry of pain as a kido spell shocked his bound form and the whip snapped across his back again. Orochi stopped speaking to him then, and struck him repeatedly. Alternating between the heavy snaps of the whip and the stinging kido shocks. The bound shinigami stubbornly held back his cries, only loosing harsh gasps of distress as Orochi continued to beat him. When he stopped, his captive fell still, his panting breaths echoing oddly around them. He went limp in his bonds and seemed to have lost consciousness. Orochi struck the wall next to the prisoner, upsetting a shelf full of various items that crashed down onto his captive, and onto the floor. He brushed off the ones that had landed near the bound man and struck him hard in the ribs, but the captive made no sound and remained still.
"Useless," Orochi muttered, shaking his head, "But I think remaining here will wear you down. And when I return, perhaps I will introduce you to some of the implements that the jailors here left behind when Itamigiri was liberated. We'll see how you enjoy screaming in agony. You will crumble and fall apart…and you will tell me everything…Kuchiki Tetsuya!"
Tetsuya held perfectly still, only slowly drawing and releasing breath as his captor made a sound of annoyance, extinguished the kido lamp and left him. Only once he heard the other man's footsteps fade, did he move. He opened the hand that had wrapped around a piece of broken glass from something on the shelf that had broken and fallen onto him. He had pushed it underneath him, cutting himself in several places in the process, but leaving himself a means of escape.
He worked slowly at the bindings, flinching when the glass slipped and cut him and making painfully slow progress. He had no sense of whether it was day or night, and wasn't sure how long he had been held in the old prison. All he knew was that he had to escape.
"I cannot let him reach you," he whispered, catching his breath as the broken glass slipped and cut into him again, "He will kill you if he finds you…and then he will kill Byakuya-sama. I cannot let that happen!"
XXXXXXXXXX
"So where did you say you were going?" asked Renji as Rikichi handed him the last of the finished reports.
"Oh," said Rikichi, "I have some friends that I meet with in the mid-Rukongai, 33. Once a year, we go back to the old district and because we don't know when our birthday's are, we celebrate them all at the same time. "
"Ah, that sounds great," said Renji, nodding, "Happy Birthday, then."
"Thanks, sir," Rikichi said, smiling, "Will there be anything else before I go?"
"No," Renji began.
"Actually," said Byakuya, without looking up from his paperwork, "There is something I need seen to…a delivery to mid-Rukon 31"
"Taichou," Renji objected, "You aren't going to inflict that…"
"Annoying task?" Byakuya supplied.
"Yeah," the redhead agreed, "That one's a pain in the ass…and besides, I thought that the hell butterfly said that it was to be handled personally."
"Um, what are we talking about?" Rikichi asked, furrowing his brow.
"Nothing too taxing," Byakuya said, giving Renji a soft glare, "Just something that I was asked…"
"…ordered…" Renji muttered under his breath, trying not to smile.
"…asked…to do. It involves escorting a member of one of the noble clans to a meeting of some importance."
Renji coughed to avoid laughing.
If you can consider a trip to the hunting grounds important. Face it, Taichou. Soutaichou's still pissed at you…
"I think that, you being somewhat more his peer, he might enjoy your company."
In other words, you hope he'll annoy Rikichi instead of you and me, ne Taichou?
Renji cleared his throat and looked away to avoid Byakuya's scathing glance.
"Okay," said Rikichi, nodding, "Certainly, Kuchiki taichou. When do we leave?"
"Now," said Byakuya, standing and slipping Senbonzakura into the belt at his waist.
Renji turned back to his desk and picked up Zabimaru from the stand, then gave Rikichi a questioning look.
"You going to bring your weapon? Or are we just using kido and hakudo today?" he asked, smirking.
"S-sorry, sir. I'll get that right away!" he said, flash stepping into the hallway.
Renji bit at his lips for a moment, but found himself unable to hold back.
"A clan leader escorting a clan prince on an outing?" he asked.
"Shut up, Abarai," Byakuya said, frowning.
"Especially that little…"
Byakuya cleared his throat sharply, giving Renji another seething glare, as Rikichi returned to the room.
"I'm ready now, sirs," he said, taking up a position a step behind Byakuya on the left, while Renji stood on the noble's right side.
They left the sixth division and flash stepped down several streets, before turning in the direction of the second division headquarters. Byakuya's frown continued to gradually deepen and his reiatsu sparked more and more fitfully, the closer they got.
"Taichou, I'm pretty sure she isn't going to be there. I'm sure that she has better things to do than to annoy you."
"One would think so," Byakuya sighed.
"Oi, Byakuya-bo! What a surprise. I had no idea that my nephew's outing would net an escort of such importance!"
Byakuya raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Yoruichi laughed and looked around.
"Eh, Kisho? Your escort is here. Are you going to hide all day? Kuchiki taichou took time out of his considerable duties to come and take you on your outing. The least you could do is be polite."
Byakuya moved aside suddenly as a dark shape dropped from the branches of a tree. The beast landed instead, on an unsuspecting Rikichi, who had stepped into his path, and the two tumbled to the ground. Rikichi suddenly found himself lying on his back with a large, beautifully colored wild cat on his chest. Rikichi stared, rapt, into the cat's golden eyes, his face lighting in wonder as the cat rested, sprawled across his chest.
"Are you…a clouded leopard?" he asked, wide-eyed, "I've seen pictures before in books, but I never saw one up close before."
"Shihoin Kisho," Byakuya said sternly, "Get off of my twelfth seat at once!"
Kisho gave Rikichi a lazy smile and leapt lightly off of him. His body shimmered for a moment, then the lovely leopard form disappeared, and a smiling, tawny-haired, golden-eyed youth appeared in his place. He reached down and offered Rikichi a hand.
"Sorry," he said still smiling at Rikichi, "I wasn't actually trying to flatten you. But he moved and threw me off."
"Oh, no problem," Rikichi said, still thinking about the leopard, "I was sort of clumsy, getting in your way like that."
"Come," said Byakuya, stiffly, "We haven't all day to spend exchanging pleasantries."
"You're in a foul mood," observed Yoruichi, "But I understand. Soutaichou can be very unforgiving sometimes, ne?"
"Get out of my way."
"You are in a nasty mood aren't you?"
"Let's go," the noble said shortly, flash stepping away.
Renji shook his head and followed, with Rikichi and Kisho on his heels. They flash stepped away from the Shihoin estate and second division, then slowed and walked at a more leisurely pace towards the main gate of the Seireitei. Rikichi continued to steal curious glances at the noble prince who walked serenely at his side.
"So, you are a seated officer?" Kisho asked suddenly, startling Rikichi.
"Um, yes. I was just given a seat recently. Are you in one of the squads?"
"Actually, no," said Kisho, a note of regret in his voice, "I am what you'd call a 'spare heir.' My cousin is the actual heir, but being the next most powerful, I would have to assume that place, if anything happens to her before she mates and has another heir."
Rikichi gave him a surprised look.
"But…I didn't know that Yoruichi had a daughter…"
"She doesn't," laughed Kisho, "Our clan is a little different in how we choose the heir. It can be any clan member, but must possess the proper qualities of leadership. We're a little less focused on blood ties," he said, glancing at Byakuya, who acted as though he didn't see and continued walking, "and a little more relaxed. I think that gets to some of the more stuffy clan members. But in any case, the heir and the spare are not allowed to enter the military."
"Oh, I see," said Rikichi.
"They seem to be getting on pretty well," Renji commented, glancing back at the two youths that trailed behind them.
"Rikichi has a calming presence. It creates a useful balance, much like the one between you and me," commented Byakuya, "That is why I asked him to come along."
"Huh…wait a second," Renji said, frowning, "Did you just compare me to that little…"
Byakuya started to answer, but broke off as a panicked looking youth ran towards them.
"Rikichi!" he cried, "Rikichi, I've been looking all over for you!"
"Miki?" Rikichi called back as the dark haired youth approached him and slid to a stop, "Miki, I was just coming to meet everyone. I just have something to finish first."
"I need your help!" Miki said in a desperate tone, "It's Tadao. Something bad happened! A man attacked us while we were coming to meet you. Tadao distracted him and told me to run, but we can't find him now!"
"Who is this boy?" Byakuya asked, Rikichi, "He is one of the friends you were meeting?"
"Yes sir," Rikichi answered, "The ones of us meeting today are all from the same orphanage. And all of us were saved by Tadao, at one time or another."
"He is another of your friends?" the noble queried.
"Yes," said Rikichi, "but more your age. We don't know exactly where he lives, but he watches out for children. He was supposed to be there today. He always comes when we celebrate our birthdays."
"That sounds serious," said Renji, looking down at the two boys.
"Your fukutaichou is right," said Kisho, "We should help them."
"Renji," said Byakuya, "You will see Shihoin Kisho to his arranged meeting place, then find me in the mid-Rukongai…"
He glanced at Rikichi.
"33," said the youth.
"You will meet us in the mid-Rukongai, 33, then."
"But, I would like to help," said Kisho, "It sounds like it shouldn't wait."
"Come, Shihoin Kisho," said Byakuya tersely, "You are wasting time."
The youth scowled, but fell in with Renji.
"I thought Soutaichou told you to handle it personally," complained Renji.
"It was a low level mission, and it is superceded by any dangerous situation that arises."
Renji sighed in frustration as he watched Byakuya and the two youths disappear into the crowded street.
"Great," he muttered, "Well, I guess we should go."
Not hearing an answer, he looked around, and was surprised to find himself alone.
"Damn kid!" he hissed, shaking his head, "The only thing worse than these stupid assignments is fucking up a stupid assignment. Taichou is going to be pissed…and Soutaichou is going to have us doing the fourth division's laundry! Damn…"
He disappeared in a blistering flash step, headed for the mid-Rukongai.