Chapter 7: Obsidian Hearts
Byakuya stared at the hand that continued to hold his gently and the troubled look in Katashi's powerful, golden eyes.
"This is about more than your survival and mine," the Kuchiki leader argued, "This about all of us who are threatened by the continued existence of the Pureblood Protectors! Rukia, Tetsuya, Renji and I have all been endangered, not to mention that each of these incidences could have killed or injured others who have no connection to any of this. You have indicated that others you care about are threatened too. We need to do something about all of this. But for that to happen, we have to be honest with each other. I know you have made a commitment…"
Byakuya stiffened and went silent as Katashi closed the distance between them and captured his lips in a staying kiss, then pulled away slightly, gazing warmly into his smoldering grey eyes.
"I must keep that commitment," Katashi said apologetically, "I am sorry."
"Do not try to distract me by playing games," Byakuya said coldly, "If you think for a moment…"
"I wasn't trying to distract you," Katashi assured him, curving a warm palm around one smooth, porcelain cheek and making it blush, "I was apologizing for not being able to help you in that way. That way is closed, Byakuya. Now, we have an entire archive to explore for information."
"You think I haven't been through the archive, looking for this kind of information before?" Byakuya said angrily, "I know there isn't much to be gained, but it is all we have right now. If you are holding back…"
Katashi shook his head firmly and gave Byakuya a surprisingly vulnerable look.
"I know nothing more than you do, I am afraid. Delving into my past is not an avenue that will yield the information and proof that we need. We must find another way."
"What other way is there?" Byakuya said, shaking his head in confusion, "We are finding nothing here. You know that we are probably not going to."
"Now, you don't know that," Katashi countered, "Honestly, there may be something useful, and we'll overlook it if we don't finish the search."
Byakuya let out a frustrated breath and turned away, only to be stopped by Katashi's warm hand coming down on his shoulder. He turned back to face the Saito leader, scowling, but holding his silence.
"Byakuya, I promise you that I am every bit as committed to this investigation as you are, and I have plenty to lose, just like you do. I will help you finish the search here, and we'll make it a thorough one so that, by kami, we'll know everything there is to be found. And while we work, I will do some careful thinking and see if I can come up with anything helpful that I can tell you. Will you accept that for now?"
Byakuya's dark eyes continued to spark with anger, but realizing that further argument was not likely to change things, other than to lengthen the amount of time it would take to search the archive, he relented.
"I will," he said solemnly, "But just because I am leaving off asking questions for now, does not mean the matter is settled."
"I understand," Katashi said approvingly.
The two men separated, Byakuya returning to the clan leader diaries, while Katashi examined the Central 46 documents. They worked for several hours, pausing from time to time to share notes on their explorations and gathering their references onto one of the reading table, cataloguing useful pieces, then creating an organized log of references. They left off mid-day to share a quick meal in the Kuchiki Manor gardens before returning to their labors and working until late afternoon, when Torio's arrival in the archive brought their efforts to a stop. Byakuya felt his stomach drop at the urgent look in his attendant's eyes and his frightened expression.
"What is it?" he asked quickly.
"Byakuya-sama, word has just come from Karakura Town that Urahara Kisuke's shop was attacked!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Tetsuya woke to the feeling of being chilled to the bone and his head pounded painfully. His mind still fogged from the kido spell that had rendered him unconscious, he forced his eyes open and felt instantly as though he had been transported backwards in time. His own clothes had been replaced with a barely serviceable yukata that was tied at the waist with a small length of thin rope. His feet were bare and he rested in a thin, hard mat in the corner of a stone cell. A few dim lights outside his cell illuminated others nearby, and also awakened Tetsuya to the presence of Abarai Renji, who laid, still unconscious, beside him on the mat.
"Renji-san!" he whispered urgently, wary of any nearby guards, "Renji-san, please wake up!"
He shook the redhead gently and patted his face lightly.
"Renji-san?"
Renji flinched and groaned, shuddering as he sucked in a sudden breath and sat up, looking around him and wearing an expression that suggested he thought he might still be trapped in a nightmare.
"Wh-what is this place?" he gasped.
Tetsuya moved closer to him, putting a hand over the redhead's objecting mouth and quieting him.
"Can't you see?" he whispered, "This is a prison! This is one like the one I was kept in."
"What the hell?" Renji breathed, "What the fuck is goin' on here!"
He pushed away from Tetsuya and staggered to his feet, holding his head with one hand while he grabbed at the cell bars with his other and rattled them loudly.
"Renji, stop!" Tetsuya warned him.
"HEY!" Renji shouted, "WHO THE HELL LOCKED US IN HERE! LET US OUT! I'M A GODDAMNED FUKUTAICHO, FOR KAMI'S SAKE. YOU CAN'T LOCK ME IN HERE!"
"Renji, please!" Tetsuya gasped, hurrying to his side and taking him by the arm, "These places aren't run by our military. They are run by nobles!"
"Nobles or not, they fucking can't lock up a Gotei officer!" Renji insisted, "This is bullshit!"
"I don't disagree with you," Tetsuya assured him, "but you have to understand…"
"What I understand is that these assholes are breaking the law! Let us outta here!" Renji yelled, rattling the bars again.
Tetsuya's face went white and he shrank back, pulling desperately on Renji's arm as two armed guards approached the cell, carrying large, pointed sticks with glowing tips on the ends. One of the men jabbed at Renji's chest, making his body jerk and crash to the floor as a kido shock jolted him. The second poked at Tetsuya, sending him tumbling to the floor at Renji's side.
"R-renji-san!" Tetsuya panted, "Don't resist them. They will kill you…or worse!"
Tetsuya cooperated quietly as the guards entered the cell and one dragged him to his feet while the other stood over Renji, holding his kido staff ready.
"You're a fukutaicho, huh?" the guard standing over Renji sneered, "Well, you're also a disgusting, useless mongrel. And we don't take orders from refuse!"
"Fuck you!" Renji seethed, grabbing at the guard, who kicked him away, freezing his body with another hard jolt.
He nodded to the guard holding Tetsuya on his feet.
"Give him a lesson."
The guard holding Tetsuya forced him back against the wall, then struck him across the face and drove a fist into his stomach, making him pitch forward into his aggressor's arms.
"Hey! What're you doing?" Renji objected, "He didn't do anything. It was me. I was the one who…!"
Renji's words were forcibly stopped as the guard poked at him again, sending another shock through him.
"F-fuck! Stop it!"
The guard holding Tetsuya shoved him away, sending him crashing into the stone wall, then he watched as Tetsuya collapsed and poked at him with the kido staff. Tetsuya's body twitched ominously, then went still.
"Goddamn it!" Renji howled, "Stop! I'll stop, okay? Just don't…"
Something struck him across the face, making stars explode in front of his eyes and he crashed down again, his eyes wide as they spotted blood leaking from the corner of Tetsuya's mouth. One of the guards dragged the redhead roughly to his feet, while the other struck him in the stomach repeatedly until he couldn't stand and he sank down heavily onto his knees, gasping for breath.
"Consider this your first and only warning," the guard that had held him said scathingly, "You are now a guest of The Pureblood Protectors. You will shut up and do what you're told or you and your pretty cellmate will pay. Whatever you might have been out there, you're nothing in here. You were born a Rukon dog and that is how you will die!"
The man's foot kicked out, bringing Renji down again and leaving him collapsed on the cell floor as the guards exited and locked the cell door behind them. He listened to the sound of their retreating footsteps, and when he was sure they were gone, he crawled to Tetsuya's side. He turned the noble over, laying Tetsuya's head gently in his lap and examining him carefully. He was relieved to find that, although he wore a limiter that repressed his reiatsu, it didn't seem to affect his ability to employ healing kido directly through his hands. He laid his palms gently on Tetsuya's chest, infusing him with restorative reiatsu and carefully healing his bleeding wounds. After several minutes, Tetsuya coughed and began to regain consciousness.
"Easy," the redhead warned him, "Those guys were pretty rough with you."
He hesitated as Tetsuya's blue eyes blinked and began to clear.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, curving a hand around Tetsuya's pale cheek, "I freaked out when I woke up and we were here. I just…I wasn't expecting something like this. I reacted impulsively and I could have gotten you killed."
"It wasn't your fault," Tetsuya reasoned with him, sitting up slowly as Renji put an arm around him to support him, "You were taken by surprise and you are a fighter. You have the heart of a warrior. It is natural for you to resist."
"You didn't," Renji said, frowning, "You knew exactly what to do. I should've listened to you, Tetsuya. You've been in a place like this…with people like these. I don't know what I'm doing. My Rukon childhood only taught me to fight. But it seems like there's no way to fight here without getting us killed. Look, I think that if we work together, we can escape."
"Maybe," Tetsuya said doubtfully, "but it might be that we will have to depend on someone to find us. We can look for an escape, but we must have as our priority, keeping ourselves alive so that we can be rescued."
"That makes sense," Renji agreed.
He glanced down at Tetsuya's hand and frowned in disapproval at the signs of seeping blood.
"You've opened up that wound again," he said worriedly, "We should…"
Footsteps sounded in the corridor outside the cell and Renji pulled Tetsuya close to him, burrowing into a corner of the cell. His brown eyes narrowed and his face took on a hateful expression as Orochi approached them. The black clad man stood in front of the cell door, his dark eyes focusing on Tetsuya.
"I heard there was some trouble," he said in a low, disapproving voice, "Is there a problem?"
Renji gazed back at him quietly and gave no answer as Tetsuya burrowed more deeply into his shoulder.
"I understand that my cousin was injured," Orochi went on, "Tetsuya, come with me. I will see you are healed."
"I am fine," Tetsuya answered, keeping his eyes carefully lowered.
"You're not fine," Renji whispered, "Tetsuya…"
"Nonsense, you're a mess. Come," Orochi ordered him.
Tetsuya swallowed hard and stood, pulling away from Renji reluctantly and giving the redhead a look of warning.
Don't resist.
Renji remained in the back of the cell as Tetsuya walked to the cell door and Orochi let him out. Tetsuya shivered, but said nothing as Orochi's arm fell around his shoulders. Renji's eyes darkened, but he forced himself not to say anything.
"There now, I'll be sure you're cleared by a healer before we get reacquainted," Orochi said smoothly.
Tetsuya's face went a shade paler, but he still did not speak.
Orochi frowned and raised his chin with two fingertips.
"Don't you have something to say?" he asked Tetsuya, "I am making sure you are treated. The others would just as soon leave you like you are."
"Hey," Renji said in a low, angry voice, "They beat him up pretty bad. Go easy on him, all right?"
He felt an inward chill at the aroused look that came into Orochi's black eyes.
"Don't worry," Orochi said smoothly, "I will take care of my cousin…and you will see yourself how, when you are brought to join us."
Renji's lips stiffened and he ached to give the man an obscenity laced reply, but Tetsuya's worried eyes stopped him, and Renji deflated. He watched numbly as Tetsuya was led away, then sat down roughly on the mat, his heart pounding with fury.
Damn it! What are we gonna do?
XXXXXXXXXX
Katashi flash stepped quickly to keep up as Byakuya led the way through the precipice world, heading for Kisuke's shop. Both wore serious expressions and neither spoke as they traversed the echoing corridor, then dropped down into the underground training room beneath the shop. They found healers leaning over Kuchiki Koji, as well as Kisuke, Tessai and the two children who lived with them.
"Are they all right?" Byakuya asked hastily, "Where are Renji and Tetsuya?"
"We were only able to speak to Urahara-san briefly," Isane informed Byakuya, "They will be all right with proper care, but they were all affected by a powerful nerve agent that was pumped into the shop last night. We only received word after Urahara-san woke enough to summon a hell butterfly to call us here. We haven't had time to track Abarai fukutaicho and your cousin, but we did see signs that they escaped into the precipice world."
"Then, that is where we will look for them," Byakuya said, turning back.
The Kuchiki leader sensed the area around the senkaimon, picking up his cousin's reiatsu traces, then following them into the dark corridor, with Katashi on his heels. The two men searched thoroughly, scanning repeatedly and picking out the haphazard path that the two had taken, even managing several places where the cleaner had passed by, erasing some of the signs. They passed through several areas with doorway that led into pocket dimensions, but failed to find any sign of entry. They looked, then, for signs that the two had left the precipice, but found nothing to indicate either way.
"This can't be," Byakuya said, frowning, "There must be something…some hint of where they went."
"Or where they were taken, if they were caught," Katashi added.
But even more searching led to no result, and finally the two men headed back to Urahara's shop to find that the shopkeeper was back on his feet, albeit pale and a little rocky.
"Did you find anything?" Kisuke asked in a concerned tone.
"No," Byakuya answered, "Their trail ended suddenly, and we lost track of them. We searched as well as we could, but they have disappeared."
Kisuke's face reflected deep worry.
"That's really not good," he mused, shaking his head, "Byakuya, those guys broke in looking for your cousin and Renji. They just wanted the rest of us out of the way. If they've got them, they're not planning to give them back alive. We need to find them…quickly."
A messenger appeared out of the senkaimon, interrupting them before Byakuya could answer.
"Kuchiki taicho, I have a message from Central 46, sir," she panted, presenting him with a coded hell butterfly, "They wanted me to ensure it reached you without interference."
Byakuya nodded and the fluttering insect delivered its message.
We have received word of the attack at Urahara Kisuke's shop and have had a search of the surrounding areas conducted. In that investigation, we found an article of clothing that had traces of Kuchiki Tetsuya's blood and Abarai fukutaicho's reiatsu. The tunic was marked with the crest of the Saito clan! We have scheduled a hearing to discuss the matter and will present the article in question at that time.
Byakuya's eyes turned to look at Katashi, whose handsome features were overwritten with fury.
"You know what this is," he said darkly, "Byakuya, they're going to try to set me up to be blamed for Tetsuya and Renji's abduction! And if anything happens to them, I'll be blamed for that too!"
"Yes," Byakuya agreed in a low, challenging voice, "and that means that the time for your secrets has ended. Saito Katashi, I need to know everything that you do…and I need to hear it now!"