Chapter 14: Pride of the Young Wolf
Takeo stood quietly beneath the old gnarled oak tree, staring blankly down at the place where Raiden had placed his mother, and later, his captain. His mother was dead and he didn't yet know the fate of his captain…but whatever Captain Kuchiki's outcome, Raiden had done too much evil to be allowed to live. And while he wasn't certain he had what it would take to defeat him, Takeo felt a rage inside that thirsted for justice, one that could only be fed with the spilling of the evil one's blood. And it was only right, he thought, that Raiden's blood should be shed here, where his evil tainted the very ground.
He sensed Raiden's eyes watching and knew he would show himself soon. Then the moment would come…the moment he had promised himself.
"I was wondering who you could be that Captain Kuchiki and Renji Abarai would concern themselves so strongly with your fate."
Raiden's voice rose out of the mist on the far side of the tree. Takeo rounded the tree and took a stance opposite his mother's killer.
"I should have figured it out sooner. You do favor her, you know."
"I'm more like my father," replied Takeo in a low growl.
"Your father…" Raiden said dismissively, "Your father is a dog from the Rukon. He was a gutter rat with nothing at all to offer her."
Raiden suddenly found himself having to rapidly draw his zanpakuto to defend himself against a blistering volley of sword strikes and kido.
"Do not ever speak of Renji Abarai that way!" Takeo raged, "He was far more worthy of my mother's love than an evil worm like you!"
Raiden's eyes flashed with deadly fury.
"You insolent whelp!" he hissed, "Well, you asked for a worm, young pup, but what you will face is a snake…one with more power than a little one like yourself can manage. You should have remained hidden in the Rukon, Takeo. You should have allowed Renji to live in blissful ignorance of your existence, because when you took the first step in my direction, you signed your own death warrant! Prepare yourself, Takeo, you are about to die…but don't worry, you will not die alone. I planned this fate for you and I planned the fate that will meet the ones who follow you."
"What do you mean?" asked Takeo warily, "How did you prepare for this?"
Raiden's eyes flashed red.
"Take note, Takeo…but be swift in your comprehension or you will die before you understand my answer to that question!"
Suddenly, the ground rumbled under Takeo's feet and tendrils crept up from beneath Takeo's feet, wrapping around the astonished boy's legs. At the same time, branches from the old oak trailed down from the tree, capturing the boy's arms as he tried to slash at them with his zanpakuto. Within less than a minute, Takeo was held completely motionless, defenseless against whatever attack Raiden might launch next.
"I called you a worm before?" said Takeo disdainfully, "I was being too kind! Even a worm has more honor than this! Release me! Release me and fight me like a man, not some cowardly snake!"
Raiden laughed softly.
"Takeo…young Takeo! You are just like him. You think everything is fair and just, and that we should all engage in battle with stiff rules and useless requirements of honor. Boy, I do not care about any of that. I seek power. My master is Sosuke Aizen, and he does not see the need for such useless affectations either. Simply put, I will defeat you…with no nod to fairness, fair play, or your useless honor. What I need to do, I will do. It is a ruthlessness and a resolve that one like you…and one like your mongrel father cannot understand."
"Bastard!" screamed Takeo, straining against his bonds, "Meet me in civilized battle, you coward!"
Raiden stepped forward and stood studying Takeo for a moment, then slapped him soundly across the face.
"That," he hissed, "is for your defiance. Do not dare to speak to me that way again. As a matter of fact, do not speak at all!"
He forced a gag into Takeo's mouth and fastened it carefully, and then took hold of his hair and pulled his head back.
"Now, little dog, you are going to prove yourself useful before you die. You will bait the trap for your mongrel father so that when I kill you, I will kill you both! Relax for a bit. I will be back"
He slipped back into the mist, concealing himself.
Takeo strained against the bonds holding his limbs and worked madly to loosen the gag, but both were tightly wrapped around him. He tried using kido, but as he invoked the spell, the tendrils and branches that restrained him flashed dimly and the spell failed. His zanpakuto now lay on the ground at his feet. He refocused his energy on conserving his strength and listening deeply, reaching out with his reiatsu, trying to warn his father of the trap that awaited him.
He didn't have to wait long. Just a half hour or so after Takeo's arrival, he felt the approach of Rikichi's eagle, which he could sense carried both the third seat and Renji Abarai. Now, he just had to find a way to warn them before the trap was sprung. He renewed his assault on his bonds as footsteps sounded nearby and Renji's voice broke through the mist
"Takeo! Takeo, I know you're here! Where are you? Takeo!" Renji called.
Takeo screamed through the gag, but only succeeded in choking himself. He watched in horror as his father and Rikichi rounded the tree and suddenly stumbled upon him. As their eyes met, Renji and Rikichi's widened in realization, but before they could react, tendrils and branches burst out all around them, wrapping around their arms and legs as they fought to resist.
"Roar Zabimaru!" Renji cried, but as the weapon began its release, tendrils wrapped around it as well, halting its release. Rikichi's release was stopped in the same fashion. Soon all three hung facing each other, their faces pale and their eyes wide. Raiden stepped toward them, smiling wickedly.
"Well," he said softly, "I've snared the pack, haven't I? Now all of you are here and I can rid myself of your annoying existence! I shall have everything I wanted. Captain Kuchiki, the strongest of the soul reapers is dead, your backstabbing mother is dead, you three will now die, and then I will launch an attack on the Sereitei that will bring the 13 Court Guard Squads to their knees! It is a shame that you won't be here to see that…but I can no longer allow you to live. You have become too much trouble for your own good.
The entrapped soul reapers stared as he drew his zanpakuto.
"I think," he said softly, "you have all learned a valuable lesson only a scant moment to late to save your lives. Life is not fair. Justice is not a guarantee. And simply because you call yourself a hero, does not mean you will win! Always, superior intellect and power will prevail. Get ready to feel the sting of that lesson!"
Raiden's zanpakuto glowed as he began its release.
"Hado #33, Soukatsui!"
Blue fire flashed, striking the zanpakuto and halting its release. Raiden's furious eyes rose to meet those of the source of the interference, and then went wide with recognition.
"Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
A thousand pink swords lit the mist, encircling Raiden, his captives and the not-so-dead captain of the 6th Division. They rotated slowly, humming with the promise of death. Byakuya stood facing Raiden, his dark eyes calm and stern.
"Byakuya," Raiden whispered, "but I felt the moment of your death. How is it you are here? This can't be real. There is no counteragent. You should be dead."
"Yes, well, be that as it may," Byakuya said calmly, "you yourself said that superior intellect and power will prevail. Your attempt on my life has failed, as will your plan to attack the captains of the 13 Court Guard Squads. The very existence of your group is threatened by the information you, yourself, placed at my throat when you set my body on the ground at the base of this tree. You are undone. There is nothing left that you can do. But do not worry. I do not intend to seek surrender, not from one such as you."
The weight of the captain's words sank down on Raiden and he stared hatefully back at Byakuya.
"The chip was in the pendant…and you saw the plans the day you tried to escape…"
"And after I memorized the content of your plan, you sent plan and pendant to your enemies so that you, in fact, helped justice to prevail. I can imagine the torment you must feel knowing how your own actions have brought you to ruin. But you will not suffer that torment for long. You attempted to kill me…and yes, I tasted the bitterness of that death for the briefest of moments. But when you meet your death today, it shall hold on to you, and unlike me, you will not escape it."
"You are going to kill me?" Raiden asked, a smile creeping across his face.
"No," Byakuya said softly, "You are not a worthy opponent for me. As you said, I am not your enemy, I am a means to an end. You saw me as a means of testing your poison, but now I am the means of ensuring your destruction. Yet it will not be my hand that takes your life. You are beneath me and I will not suffer my blade to be poisoned by the touch of your blood. Your blood is tainted…and it will coat the fang of the young wolf you sought to use against me."
He turned toward the captives.
"Hado #33, Soukatsui."
Tendrils and branches exploded into nothingness and the three captives broke free. Immediately, Renji brought forth his zanpakuto. As he began to release it, his arm was stayed by a pale, gloved hand and the meaningful gaze Byakuya focused on him. Renji froze.
"This is not our battle. It has been claimed by your son and you must honor his right to it. This Senkei and our presence here will ensure a fair and honorable battle. Can you satisfy yourself with this, Renji?" Byakuya asked, his hand still warm on Renji's arm.
Renji met Byakuya's gaze for a long moment, then nodded and lowered his weapon, sighing softly. Renji and Rikichi took their places at the captain's side, while Takeo retrieved his sword and took a stance in front of Raiden.
"You killed my mother…You sought to use me against my father and my captain…You sought to destroy the captains of the 13 Court Guard Squads. You will die for those crimes…and I will be the one to kill you!"
Raiden laughed, drawing his own zanpakuto.
"You are pathetic, little dog…just like the mongrel who fathered you. Go ahead then. Attack me. I will enjoy killing you here in front of him. And when I finish with you, I will kill him too. Then the two of you can be with your dear Kasumi once again!"
"Houkou, Kageookami!"
"Dageki, Koburakokuou!"
Takeo's shadow wolf burst out of his extended zanpakuto and flash stepped toward Raiden, launching himself at the enemy's throat. Mid-leap, he was suddenly caught in the teeth of a huge cobra that rose out of Raiden's zanpakuto. It held the shadow wolf in its fangs and bit down.
"Now watch your little wolf die!" laughed Raiden, "My cobra's venom will poison it and it will die!"
He was astounded to see Takeo smile.
"Not so fast, snakemaster!" he countered, "My wolf is born of shadow…It is not vulnerable to your poison…and it will not be held for long! Kieuseru!"
Raiden stared in shock as the cobra's teeth snapped shut on empty air and the shadow wolf appeared next to him, tearing at him with bared fangs.
"Hado #4, Byakurai!" shouted Raiden as he fell backwards and used the wolf's own weight to send it tumbling away. The cobra curled around him protectively. It turned its head toward the shadow wolf and released a spray of fluid. The wolf flash stepped clear and leapt onto the snake's back, racing upward as the beast struck at him again and again. He reached the snake's throat and clamped down in a death grip. The cobra reared back, snapping its head madly back and forth until the wolf let go and flash stepped away again. Raiden made a hissing sound and the snake turned away from the wolf, releasing a spray of its poison at Takeo, who rolled away and slashed at the snake's body with his sword. The snake's head turned and struck at the boy, catching his hand as he rolled away again.
"Takeo!" cried Renji, "The poison!"
But the boy was already swaying. The cobra turned and began to sway, focusing its red eyes on the stricken youth. As the snake danced, Raiden moved closer to Takeo.
"Don't worry, Renji," he said with a wicked smile, "The spray only confuses the senses and hypnotizes the mind. The toxin is not deadly…though the snake is!"
The snake struck at Takeo, but was sent off course by the lunging shadow wolf.
"What?" Raiden said, "The wolf should have disappeared when the hypnosis took effect!"
"I guess it didn't work!" sneered Renji, "I guess this little wolf is better than you thought!"
And Takeo was moving again. Renji watched in astonishment as his son used his first flash step and slashed at Raiden, sending a spray of blood up into the air. As he flash stepped away, Raiden's sword connected, catching the boy's arm.
"Good thing it wasn't his sword arm," commented Renji, "Hey, Byakuya, did you know he could flash step?"
Byakuya shook his head, his eyes still focused on the battle.
"He must have acquired it recently."
The cobra struck out at Takeo again and the shadow wolf threw itself between them again. Raiden growled with rage.
"Bakudo #61, Rikujokoro!"
Renji gasped in dismay.
The shadow wolf turned and brought Takeo to the ground just in time to avoid capture in the Six Rods Prison of Light.
"Hado #33, Soukatsui!"
The blast struck the shadow wolf, causing it to shimmer. Another flash of blue fire shattered the wolf, destroying it in a burst of dust and flame. Takeo closed the distance between himself and Raiden, slashing at lightning speed with his zanpakuto. The cobra swayed, unable to strike while Raiden was in the way. Raiden met Takeo's blade stroke for stroke now. Both landed solid blows and their blood trickled on their skin, spattering onto the ground around them. Raiden moved suddenly and forced Takeo to the ground, bringing his weapon slashing downward. Takeo blocked the move, but blood burst from his shoulder.
"You are dead, young dog!" Yelled Raiden, raising his sword again, but then surprise lit his face as Takeo's sword rose up and pierced his chest.
"H-Houkou…Kageookami!" gasped the boy.
Raiden's eyes widened as the shadow wolf burst from the boy's sword and latched on to his throat, twisting and tearing until Raiden lay limp and lifeless in its grasp. The shadow wolf dropped him and disappeared. Takeo rolled over slowly, staring at his fallen enemy. He tried to rise, almost fell, and suddenly felt strong arms take hold of him.
"Easy, kid, you did what you had to do," Renji said softly, "Let us heal you, okay?"
Takeo nodded, his head still spinning. He rested quietly on the ground as Renji healed him. Byakuya knelt next to Renji and his dark eyes fastened on Takeo.
"You fought well and honorably. You have made your captain proud, Takeo," he said, holding the boy's gaze, "You not only made Raiden account for the murder of your mother, you avenged the attack on your captain, as well. You are to be commended."
"But I still set you up to be poisoned," Takeo objected.
"Even so," Byakuya went on, "You did not realize the nature of what was being done and you not only admitted to your actions, but you took actions to correct your transgression. In addition, you accepted responsibility for your actions and showed a willingness to accept the consequences for your actions. I will pursue no action against you…and I will speak to your accomplishments if any others question my decision."
"You mean…I don't have to be imprisoned?" Takeo asked, surprise in his eyes.
"No…there will be no imprisonment," Byakuya assured him, "However…I do expect that you will refrain from further transgression. I may not be as lenient with you next time. A soul reaper must always be mindful that actions beget consequences. When you take a course of action, you determine your consequences…good and bad, Takeo. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Captain Kuchiki," he replied softly.
"Then we needn't speak of this again."
"Sir," said Rikichi, "the stealth force has arrived.
Byakuya nodded and stood, brushing the dust from his uniform.
"I will see that their questions are answered and I will see you and Renji at home. I hope you will choose to stay with us, now that you and Renji have found each other."
Takeo stared.
"You would have me come to live with you…even after…"
"I said, we needn't speak of that anymore. All is forgiven and you have paid whatever debt there might have been. You are welcome in our home. You are, after all, family."
Takeo couldn't think of the right words in answer, but his expression spoke volumes.