Chapter 10: Deadly Petals

"Are you sure about this, Renji?" Rikichi asks, cautiously eyeing the sealed zanpakuto in my hand.

"Not completely," I answer, "but I don't know that reiatsu tracking will be sufficient to find him, "We'll try tracking with reiatsu and only unseal the sword if it becomes a necessity. Zabimaru suggests we use him and Hiwashi to control Senbonzakura. Takeo, you will be responsible for shielding us from anything else that comes at us."

Takeo nods.

"Kassou Hiwashi Ko!"

Rikichi's eagle forms and carries us into the air. We sweep around in a circle and head for the edge of the Sereitei. Rikichi furrows his brow and focuses his energy in a wide sweeping pattern. The eagle beneath us shrieks and turns according to the mental shifts of his mind. As we fly toward the Rukon District, I summon Zabimaru, watching as the spirit appears in front of me.

"Zabimaru," I say in greeting.

"Renji," he replies, nodding.

"I need you to see if you can sense anything about the condition of Senbonzakura. I can't read anything because of the seal."

Red light extends from Zabumaru and wraps around the sealed zanpakuto. There is a long silence as he focuses his spirit energy.

"Renji, it is difficult to reach through the seal, but I do sense life within Senbonzakura, though time grows short. We have, perhaps a day…at most two before the zanpakuto will die. We must hurry."

"Zabimaru," I say softly, "Can you offer any comfort to the spirit? Is there…anything you can do to…ease its pain?"

The baboon king eyes me thoughtfully.

"You are kind, Renji, to seek this," he says, blinking.

"Senbonzakura is a part of Byakuya's soul. I can't stand the thought of either of them being in pain."

"There is not a lot that I can do," Zabimaru admits, "but I will offer what hope and comfort I can."

The red light around Byakuya's zanapkuto pulses softly. There is a deep sadness in Zabimaru's voice when he speaks to me again.

"I have conveyed the message. Senbonzakura is grateful for the gesture, Renji."

I nod, but I can't say anything back. I feel Takeo's eyes on me and I look up at him.

"I can tell how much you love our captain," he says quietly, "When I talked to him earlier, I also felt how much he loves you in return. I know I'm still a stranger to you, Vice Captain, but I would like to be more than that. If you…want to talk about it, I will listen."

"I don't know what there is to say," I reply, meeting his eyes, "but I am grateful. I'm worried for him. There isn't a lot of time left to find the answers we need to save him. There isn't much else to say. It's killing me."

"Then perhaps you need to think about something more pleasant. Perhaps you could tell me about how you met Captain Kuchiki. I know very little about that. All I really know is that you and the captain have been life partners for about two years. I've heard some wild stories about spirit wolves and such, but all I have heard is secondhand."

I am really starting to like this kid. I see the influence of the Rukon in him…and traces of Kasumi…traces of myself. As the eagle soars across the sky, I go back in my mind to that very first day I laid eyes on Byakuya, the seemingly cold and heartless bastard who was nothing like that on the inside.

"Takeo, did you know that when I first met Byakuya, I absolutely hated him…"

The words start out slow, but as they leave me, there is a sort of peace that touches me. Takeo stares rapt as I chart the course of the slow shattering of lies and masks that brought Byakuya and I together. With every word, new life flows into the memories and it comes back to me…our battle against each other, the slow healing, the days in Inuzuri, how he faced down the council of elders to protect our right to love each other, his desperate effort to rescue me from the ookami seirei, how we rescued Yoruichi…and what is was like when our children were born.

There are tears in my eyes, but they aren't tears of grief. The memories are far from painful. They only serve to remind me of what we are fighting to protect, to sharpen my resolve. In his absence, the stories reawaken in me the memory of the warmth of his presence, the feel of calm and focused power and strength that surrounds him and the unbreakable trust and love that sees us through everything.

There are tears in Takeo's eyes too as he listens while I recount the stories. I reach a point where the emotions rise up and I don't know what else to tell him. I stop talking and sit staring down at the softly moving feathers of the eagle's back. I feel approaching warmth and the brush of his arm as it wraps around my shoulders. I am deeply touched. And it awakens a growing need inside me to learn more about this young man…my son.

"Renji," Rikichi's voice breaks into my thoughts, "I can feel that we're getting close, but I am having trouble centering in. There are lots of confusing reiatsu echoes in this area. I think it has been deliberately done to prevent this kind of tracking. What do we do?"

"We're going to have to try using Senbonzakura."

Rikichi nods, but his eyes convey concern. This will be dangerous. I summon Zabimaru and watch as he materializes again. Slowly, I remove Senbonzakura from its sheath. I feel the traces of Byakuya's reiatsu on the hilt and my breath catches. I set it down in front of me and extend my hands over it.

"Get ready," I warn Rikichi and Takeo.

I reach down into the sword and focus on the seal holding back the blade's power. I feel the tension in myself, Rikichi, Takeo, and in the zanpakuto we wield. We all brace ourselves…but nothing could prepare us for the hell that breaks loose when the seal dissolves and the tormented soul in Byakuya's sword is freed. The shriek rips at our minds and Rikichi's control over the eagle falters, sending us spiraling downward. Zabimaru reacts instantly, wrapping his power around Senbonzakura, building a protective barrier between us and attempting to calm the seething spirit. Spiritual pressure presses heavily against us and Senbonzakura's blade glows pink, small petal blades beginning to break free. Zabimaru's hold on Senbonzakura increases, but quite a few pink petal blades dance on the air around us and the eagle beneath us wavers against the ailing zanpakuto's power.

"It is north and slightly west of here," Zabimaru tells me, "His spirit energy is very low. It seems purposeful. Renji…Senbonzakura thinks that Byakuya is trying to escape. He is trying to connect with Byakuya."

"No!" I warn Zabimaru, "Don't let them connect!"

But it is too late. The spirit energy rages around us. The eagle plunges and spins out of control. Rikichi manages to make it bank sharply and turn into a spectacular crash landing that sends us all tumbling clear. Zabimaru disappears as his control over Senbonzakura dissolves. The petal blades rise and dance all around us, their motion erratic. They flash and burst outward. Rikichi is still stunned from the impact and Zabimaru does not respond. The petals close in around us and the spirit of Byakuya's zanpakuto rages. As the petals reach us we hear a solemn sound rise up. The petals slow in their path as Takeo releases his weapon. The shadow wolf sits calmly before us, facing the incoming rush of blades. A powerful howl causes the blades to pulsate and Rikichi and I watch in stunned surprise as Takeo's zanpakuto shatters Senbonzakura's release.

Obviously, there is a lot more to this kid than meets the eye…

XXXXXXXXXX

Employing a technique I learned from Renji, I work my way free of the bonds that restrain me. I doubt Raiden thinks me the type to possess such questionable skills. I make a mental note to thank Renji for the lesson. I never really expected to use it, but the situation demands it. I stand just inside the room and call for the guard, then drop him in his tracks as he steps inside. I relieve him of his weapon and peer out into the hallway. I follow in reverse the steps my captors and I took upon our arrival, ducking out of sight once or twice to avoid being seen. I am nearly to the edge of the hideout, when I hear the sounds of raised voices and running feet in the distance behind me. I slip into a darkened room and head for the window.

As I move through the darkness, I catch sight of several files on the table that are spread out as though having been perused somewhat recently. I freeze as I recognize the portent of what I see. I am suddenly faced with the fact that the attack on me may have been personal, but it was also the test run for a much more devastating assault on the 13 Court Guard Squads. Looking more closely, I find plans to employ that same compound to wipe out every vice captain, captain and the head captain as well. My experience tells me that their plan is frighteningly viable and the papers before me tell me that preparations are nearly complete. They only await confirmation of my death from the poison. If it turns out to be true that the poison I was given has no cure…this could actually work. It would throw the Sereitei into chaos and Sosuke Aizen would be cleared to take control. I take a moment to take note of their carefully placed operatives, then step across the room to the window. I slide the window open and drop down into some bushes, reaching back to close the window behind me. I hear noise coming from the room I just left and the window just above me fills the area with light. Carefully, I shift so that I rest more in the shadows.

My eyes adjust to the darkness as I search the area for guards. I see several in the open area ahead of me and I sense that there are at least two on top of the building I just exited. To break free of the hideout, I have to move down along the building I am resting beside, then find a place to move across the open ground to the metal fence. There are a few trees near the fence that if scaled should allow me to drop down outside the fence and make good my escape. I slip quietly through the bushes, keeping to the shadows as I near the open space I will have to cross. There is more commotion now as guards search the grounds for me. Most of the focus appears to be on the inside of the building, but there are more guards appearing outside now as well.

I study the area I am in carefully. It is another Inuzuri warehouse, but in a different area than the one Renji and I discovered. It makes sense. Raiden knows that Takeo is his enemy now. He must have abandoned the other outpost knowing that Takeo could lead the stealth force right to it.

I reach the edge of the building and read the reiatsu pulses all around me. It is a tricky thing choosing the proper moment to step out into the open. It requires that I first read the motions of the nearest guards, then search for a moment in the pattern of their combined movement when I am least likely to be seen and make my move. I am uncertain as to whether my flash step will work. It failed earlier, but I have rested and eaten. I think I might be able to manage it. But using a flash step may catch the attention of any higher- level soul reapers in the vicinity. It is a calculated risk. If I use the flash step, I need to escape the area quickly after that.

The reiatsu shifts and sways in a hypnotic dance. I play it through in my mind as I wait for my opportunity to move. There is still more activity inside the building than out here. This should work. I just need a moment to get to the tree. I locate a place in the reiatsu dance that should work. I gather myself as the moment approaches.

Just as I am preparing to move, I hear a familiar voice and reiatsu rise up inside my mind. I freeze with wide-open eyes as Senbonzakura's maddened scream penetrates my thoughts, scattering them and breaking my concentration. My body shakes as the spirit within my zanpakuto cries out to me. The spirit is in pain, dying, and desperate for relief. This contact with my zanpakuto is crushing. It ravages my mind and sends me to my knees, struggling to shut out the unbearable assault. As I drop to the ground beneath the bushes, I reach out to the dying spirit, seeking to offer whatever comfort I can. The spirit senses the reconnection and reaches back. The contact is sudden and unforgiving. It breaks against my mind relentlessly and the impact forces a gasping cry from me. Guards begin to turn in slow motion all around me. It is now or never. On the verge of being discovered anyway, I roll to my feet, engage my flash step and barely have the ability to register that it works. I am in the tree and dropping down outside the fence as the guards lay eyes on me. Kido flies around me and I flash step again. This time is depletes my strength noticeably. Senbonzakura rises up in my mind again, shrieking wildly and distracting me. As I reel from the impact, a kido spell connects and sends me crashing to the ground. A second kido strike seals my fate.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are you guys okay?" I ask quickly.

Rikichi is a bit shaken up, but seems fine. Takeo seems relatively unruffled. Our three zanpakuto have locked their power around Senbonzakura and replaced the broken seal. The furious assault of the dying zanpakuto dies away.

"Damn! Sorry about that!" I tell Takeo and Rikichi.

They're nice enough not to say 'I told you so.' Rikichi slides Hiwashi back into its sheath and brushes the dust from his shihakushou. Takeo does the same. Zabimaru hisses angrily.

"Idiot!" he growls, returning to his sealed form.

We look around questioningly.

"I think we are close," Rikichi says, "This way."

We turn and follow him into a maze of streets that house an industrial area. There are tons of beat up warehouses and a couple of factories. As we move north, we hear a commotion ahead of us. My breath catches sharply as I spot the source of the sound.

"Get down!" I hiss, dropping to the ground and watching.

I see several men lifting someone up off the ground. The flash of a white captain's haori stops my breathing. Takeo starts to break into a run, but Rikichi grabs him and forces him back down.

"Wait," I warn him, "I want to rescue him as much as you do, but we need to assess the situation before we go charging in."

We watch as Byakuya is carried back into the building.

"At least we know where he is," breathes Rikichi.

As we start to move forward, a hell butterfly appears. Mayuri Kurotsuchi's voice sounds in the air around us.

"Renji Abarai, the stealth force has delivered to me a recipe for a possible cure to the poison that was found in the remains of the abandoned warehouse. It was delivered to me and I am developing samples to test in my laboratory. When the samples are complete, I will contact you and give you instructions on where and when to meet to give Captain Kuchiki the counteragent. I have sent the recipe to Kisuke Urahara for his study as well. With any luck, we will be in possession of a cure very soon."

The hell butterfly fades.

"I just hope they finish that counteragent in time," I mutter.

We turn our attention back to the base. Night will be here soon. We conceal ourselves as close to the warehouse as we can safely get and wait for it to arrive. I rest my hand on the hilt of Byakuya's embattled zanpakuto. I can feel the troubled cries of its spirit held down beneath the seal.