Chapter 14: The Storm
(This one's back on the active list! The updated active list is on my profile, so check it out! If you don't see something you want, shoot me a PM to ask. A few high profile stories like Naked Truth, The Hostage and Longings didn't make the list, but have been requested, so I will try to get to them if I can. The active list will be updated every week or two, so keep checking in and be sure to review in support of chapters of your faves. Thanks so very much to everyone reading along. Spunky loves ya!)
Renji stirred and opened one red-brown eye to find Byakuya positioned where he had been when the redhead had fallen asleep...standing near the window, looking out into the storm, his grey eyes fixed steadily on the falling rain and lit by intermittent flashes of lightning. At first, he only watched the noble quietly from where he laid on the bed. But as time passed and Byakuya's expression darkened and grew more worried, Renji left the bed and joined him, moving up behind him on silent feet and slowly sliding his arms around the slighter man, breathing in that warm sakura scent and feeling a jolt inside as Byakuya said nothing and offered no resistance at all, but instead, closed his eyes and leaned into the redhead's embrace. His hands came to rest on Renji's, and he turned his head slightly, bringing their faces close together.
Renji felt a moment of hesitation in the noble and gave in to the strong impulse to move slightly and bring their lips together. Byakuya took a sharp little breath as their lips met, then he gave himself over to the warmth and pleasance of a long, intense kiss. They held each other more tightly, listening to the pounding thunder and the sound of rain striking the window and driving down into the soaked ground outside.
"I guess we know now why it was that we took a chance on Rikichi, ne?" Renji said softly, smiling into the back of Byakuya's shoulder as he held the noble and they looked out the window together, "We always questioned that decision, didn't we? We talked about it a lot."
"Yes," Byakuya agreed, "and given the presence of the seals on their powers, it must be that we sensed that Rikichi had the potential to grow very strong. He just couldn't do that until the seal was released and his identity was revealed."
"So, given that Tetsuya-san was the one who protected me back then, and who delivered the boys to the orphanage and watched over them, he must have placed the seals, right?"
"I believe so," Byakuya agreed, "It would have been well within his capability to do so. Tetsuya was always talented. He read incessantly and trained tirelessly to become stronger. It was necessary for him to achieve, being of mixed blood and having to fight for recognition within the family. And when the boys were born to you, he would have known that you couldn't care for them, and that it was a danger for you to be near them, as it would make you both easier to find. You may well question his actions, but he knew the dangers all too well and gave everything to protecting our children."
"I get why he took the boys and didn't tell me anything," Renji said, looking more deeply into the rain, "He was right. I couldn't care for them. I would have loved them and tried, of course, but we would have been sitting ducks. They were better off growing up where they did. They didn't have a lot, but they had caring folks looking after them and seeing they grew up right. They're good, responsible kids, and they're strong, even without their powers being at full strength."
"It cannot have been easy for Tetsuya, leaving the family and having to make his own way. But he was always strong and resourceful. And his loyalty to me was unshakeable. Losing him was horrible, Renji. I missed him so terribly all of those years and now that he has returned, there is nothing I won't do to protect him and the boys he sacrificed his place with me to watch over."
"I feel the same about that," Renji sighed, "I'm grateful to him for protecting our kids, and whatever we have to do to keep all of them alive and well, we'll do."
"I am glad you are with me, Renji. This situation is distressing enough, but facing it alone would be unbearable."
"You don't have to worry about that," the redhead said bracingly, "I'm not going anywhere. We're going to find Rikichi, Tetsuya and that little, pain in the ass, Kisho, and we'll keep them all safe, okay?"
Byakuya nodded briefly.
"I think that we should go now. The rain is still somewhat heavy, but I feel danger in waiting any longer. Whoever is working against us knows that he is being cornered. Tetsuya and the boys don't have much time. They need our help now."
"Then, let's go," Renji said, reaching for his uniform and beginning to dress.
The two quickly finished their preparations, then exited the inn and headed out of town.
XXXXXXXXXX
"What do we do?" Rikichi whispered, holding tightly to Kisho as they heard the soft scuff of a shoe on the rock outside the cave entrance.
"Stay behind me," Kisho whispered back, shifting to his leopard form, "Let me protect you. But gather some of those rocks, just in case."
Rikichi nodded and began to pick up several of the sharp stones. They froze and stared at the cave entrance as several soft tapping sounds reached them. Then, a large, dark shape poked in the cave entrance and a soft equine squeal sounded, making them jump back in surprise.
"Arashi!" cried Rikichi, breaking into a smile, "It's Tadao-san's horse, Kisho. He is a friend."
The two scrambled forward, shielding themselves hastily as the stallion slipped into the cave, then shook the clinging water from his body, showering the two with it.
"Idiot!" chuckled Rikichi, moving to hug the tall beast, "But where is...?"
"I am here," Tetsuya said quietly, slipping into the cave and quickly raising a concealing reiatsu cage.
"Tadao-san, you are all right!" Rikichi exclaimed, "We were so worried when you and Arashi disappeared."
"I will be fine."
"But, you are hurt!" Rikichi noted, staring at the cuts on his friend's face and arms, "Kisho, can you heal him?"
"It is all right," Tetsuya began.
"Please, Tadao-san," Kisho said, shifting back to shinigami form, "allow me to heal you. If you want to protect Rikichi, then you need to be at full strength. This person who is pursuing us is terribly powerful...but you know that, don't you?"
"Yes," Tetsuya sighed, settling down on the floor of the cave and sitting calmly as Kisho began to heal him, "Rikichi-sama, it is time for me to come clean about some things. I would have spoken up sooner, but our enemy found us before I could tell you."
"You know who is pursuing us?" Rikichi asked quickly.
"I do," said Tetsuya, "but I must start at the beginning. You need to know who you are...who you...and your brother, Miki are."
Rikichi's eyes widened.
"Miki is my...?"
"He is your brother," Tetsuya confirmed, "I was present when the two of you were born to a teenager of the lower Rukon."
"Y-you were?" Rikichi queried disbelievingly, "But...?"
"My name is not actually Tadao," Tetsuya confessed, "I am Kuchiki Tetsuya, Byakuya-sama's missing and presumed dead cousin. Some years back, I learned that another of our cousins, Orochi, who was powerful and desired leadership of the clan, set Byakuya-sama up to be humiliated in front of the clan. He drugged Byakuya-sama, who was a teen and like a brother to me at the time, and he took him to a brothel in the lower Rukon, and set him up to be discovered there and shamed. The one he was with that night and the one who bore you and Miki, Rikichi...was Abarai Renji."
"R-renji!" Rikichi gasped, his eyes rounding, "Renji is...? But...but how is that possible? Renji and Kuchiki taichou are...our parents?"
"They are," Tetsuya affirmed, "I learned of the situation after the fact and traveled into the Rukon, just in time to stop thugs that our cousin hired from killing Renji. He was very ill and was unconscious when the two of you were born. The healer was a good man, who knew that Renji could not care for you. He agreed to care for Renji and I agreed to see that the two of you were taken care of. I kept the secret of your birth and took you to the mid-Rukon, where I placed you with Michio and Noa. I watched over you for many years, never daring to return home, lest our cousin should use me to find you. Unfortunately, Orochi found me and overcame me. He tormented me, trying to get me to tell him about you. I escaped and reached Kuchiki Manor, but then, he captured me again and Arashi had to help me escape him. He is somewhere out in the storm. I only hope that Byakuya-sama can find us before he does. I am powerful, but so is he. And having been weakened by the torments he inflicted on me, I am still recovering. But, thank you, Kisho, for the healing. Arashi and I will protect you until Byakuya-sama arrives."
"You will protect them?" Orochi's voice hissed, seemingly out of thin air, "And how do you plan to protect them, when I am already inside your defenses?"
Tetsuya gasped and went pale as dark reiatsu flared around his midsection and slowly, the head of a large snake began to slither out of his shocked body.
"Wh-what is this?" he cried, staring in horror.
"I was well aware that if you escaped me, that you would return to those mixed blood mistakes our cousin made with the little tramp from that Rukon whorehouse. So, I implanted one of my snakes in your body, coiling it around your core spirit center, so that when you found them I could transport myself to where you are. In a moment, I will have you all!"
"No!" Tetsuya howled, falling onto his knees, "Arashi, get them out of here!"
"We can't leave you Ta...Tetsuya-san!" Rikichi objected.
"Get on Arashi and go!" Tetsuya ordered them, wrapping his hands around the neck of the emerging snake and screaming in pain as it thrashed about, trying to escape him, "Run!"
Arashi squealed and loosed a blast of kido fire that shattered the protective cave around them.
"Come on, Rikichi!" cried Kisho, "You must listen to Tetsuya-san. You know that we cannot fight that man. We aren't strong enough!"
"But..."
His next words were drowned out by an agonized scream Tetsuya expelled as the snake escaped his grasp and bit down on his arm, then drew back and struck his shoulder.
"Tetsuya-san!" Rikichi wailed, "Arashi, please, save him!"
The stallion gave the youths a panicked look and trembled with indecision.
"It's all right," Kisho said, shifting to his leopard form again, "Protect Tetsuya-san. I will get Rikichi to his fathers! I won't let him be taken. You have my word!"
The worry disappeared from Arashi's dark eyes and he charged forward, placing himself between his master and the coiled snake and stomping at the slithering beast, simultaneously blasting it with a volley of ice blades. The snake coiled more tightly, then slowly began to shift into the body of a darkly dressed shinigami.
"Come on!" Kisho shouted to Rikichi, "We have to get away."
"But Tetsuya-san!"
"Arashi will protect him," Kisho said firmly, "We will do no one any good if we die here, Rikichi! Come on!"
His heart in his throat and misgiving on his face, Rikichi launched himself onto the leopard's strong back, and Kisho charged for the cave entrance, wheeling away as the shinigami near the fallen noble continued to solidify. Arashi buried the emerging man in ice blades, but found most repelled by the man's dangerously strong reiatsu.
Master! Arashi called into Tetsuya's spinning mind, please, you must try to escape! There is a waterform outside. Can you shift to it?
Tetsuya focused and tried to pass through the set waterform, but felt instant pain in his breached midsection.
I can't! He did something to me! Arashi, I can't use my powers!
Get out, Master! I will protect you.
Arashi surrounded the nearly formed shinigami with another barrage of ice blades, backing towards the cave entrance as Tetsuya crawled to him and staggered to his feet. He threw his tormented body onto the horse's back and urged him out of the cave as Orochi's form finished its manifestation and surged after him.
Arashi dashed out of the cave and turned in the direction of Kuchiki Manor, only to be stricken a moment later with a disruptive kido blast that took him off his feet and sent Tetsuya crashing to the ground.
Tetsuya heard Orochi laugh, and felt his cousin moving closer as the rain pelted down on them, and Arashi struggled for a moment, then fell still. Tetsuya laid still, unable to move as his cousin stalked closer, summoning his power around his curled fingers.
"You are finished, half-blood!" the black-eyed man sneered, taking aim on the fallen stallion and his incapacitated master, "I am going to destroy the two of you, then I will hunt down those boys you worked so hard to protect and I will slaughter them! And if you have any dream of Byakuya being able to stop me, think again. I have been building my power and making my plans for years. That peasant-loving fool is going to die, as are his mongrel fukutaichou and their two little bastards! Goodbye, Tetsuya. This time, you really are going to die!"
Tetsuya's eyes widened as Orochi's power swelled around his hands, coalescing and then bursting free and closing in on them. He closed his eyes against the blinding light, waiting for the end to come. He heard an impact and felt the ground shake, then felt the presence of someone standing over him. Opening his eyes, he saw a flash of ginger-colored hair and met a pair of friendly golden-brown eyes.
"You must be Tetsuya," the young man greeted him.
"Y-yes," Tetsuya sputtered, blinking and staring in surprise, "You...you are...!"
"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo," the young man said, extending a hand and helping the injured noble to his feet, "Byakuya sent me to find you, Rikichi and Kisho."
He paused, handily catching Tetsuya as he started to collapse again.
"R-rikichi...Kisho!" Tetsuya managed dizzily.
"It's okay," the ginger-haired man assured him, "Yoruichi has them. And it looks like that guy took off. I don't think he'll be back anytime soon. So, let's get you and your horse back on your feet and go find Byakuya and Renji."
"We're here," Renji's voice said from behind them.
Two swift flash steps sounded and the two appeared in front of the injured noble and the shinigami substitute.
"Tetsuya, are you all right?"
Byakuya asked worriedly, capturing his cousin around the waist and helping him sit back down.
"Arashi!" Tetsuya panted, brushing the rain-drenched strands out of his eyes, "He's hurt."
"I'll take care him," Renji offered.
"We need to transport the two of them back to Karakura Town for healing," Byakuya surmised, "Watashi no itoko, can you call Arashi into your body?"
"N-no," Tetsuya moaned, shaking his head, "Orochi did something to my core spirit center. I cannot channel reiatsu"
"Well, I'm sure as hell not carrying that oversized fleabag back to Karakura Town!" exclaimed Renji.
"Ichigo, will you take care of my cousin? Renji and I will heal Arashi enough so that he can walk back with us."
"What about the boys?" Ichigo asked, "Did you see them and Yoruichi?"
"They already started back towards Kisuke's," Renji reported.
"And we had better get going as well," Byakuya added, "Tetsuya, I need to know everything you have remembered about what happened. You said that this was our cousin, Orochi?"
"Yes," Tetsuya said weakly, struggling to remain conscious, "I didn't know, at first, exactly who it was, but I soon learned that it was part of something Orochi was planning, and I interfered and rescued the babies. Orochi was the one who captured and tortured me to try to get me to tell him where Rikichi and Miki were. I escaped him and Arashi carried me to you. But Orochi knocked Renji-san out and abducted me again. He was going to kill me, but Arashi interceded and helped me get away from him. I found the boys, but Orochi had implanted one of his snakes in me while I was his prisoner. The snake emerged and damaged me. I would have been killed if Ichigo-san had not arrived. I am...very grateful to you, Ichigo-san."
"No problem," Ichigo said, smiling, "Come on. Let's get you back to Kisuke's."
Tetsuya felt a flush touch his cheeks and he tried to climb to his feet, but nearly fell again.
"I am afraid I cannot keep my feet," he said penitently.
He inhaled in surprise and flushed more brightly as Ichigo's strong arms swept him up.
"No worries," the shinigami substitute assured him, his voice sending a pleasant tickle through Tetsuya's shaky insides, "I've got you."
"Th-thank you again, Ichigo-san," Tetsuya said, looping his arms around Ichigo's neck.
"Hold on," Ichigo said, engaging his flash step, "We'll be there in a flash."