Chapter 5: Breaking
(For Henka-chan! To bring a smile. Enjoy the chapter!)
Kisuke watched with concerned eyes as Orihime's golden light surrounded the collapsed bodies of Tetsuya and his stallion, and infused the two quickly with her power. Byakuya and Ichigo stood nearby, watching closely. And a teary-eyed Rukia observed from where she sat at her human friend's side.
"Are they going to be all right?" she asked shakenly.
"I can heal them," Orihime assured her and the others, "The reiatsu around them is difficult to penetrate, but I can do it."
"They weren't showing any signs of life when they appeared," Ichigo mused, keeping an arm around his anxious noble lover as Byakuya gazed intently down at his cousin, "Are they...?"
"They are alive," Orihime assured him, "I got them breathing again and their hearts are beating. I just have to stabilize them and they should be all right. But..."
"What is it?" Kisuke asked, frowning, "Is there something wrong?"
"Well," Orihime said, gazing down at Tetsuya, "Their bodies are functional, but the reiatsu that is affecting them still seems to be affecting their minds. I have to break the hold of that power on their minds before they can wake up."
Comprehension flickered in Kisuke's gray eyes.
"I may be able to help you with that. You focus on healing their bodies and I'll go and set a few things up in my lab. I'll be back."
Ichigo's eyes followed the shopkeeper as he ascended the training room ladder and moved back into the shop above them, then he turned his gaze on Byakuya's unhappy face and kissed him to get his attention.
"Hey, they're gonna be all right. Orihime kept them from dying and Kisuke will wake them up."
"I know," Byakuya said softly, his eyes still on Tetsuya's still form, "but what worries me is that boy."
"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, "He didn't seem like a bad person. It just seemed like he wanted to get away. But he almost killed Tetsuya and Arashi..."
"And that does not meld at all with the kind of person he seems to be," Byakuya concluded.
"So, you're worried that he might have been deceiving us about what kind of person he is..."
"That, or if not, then there is a more disturbing possibility."
"And that is?"
"If he was deceiving us and he truly wished us ill, he would have hit my cousin with his full power."
"It kinda looks like he did, which doesn't bode well."
"But, if he was being honest with us before and he really is not a violent person, then that means he did this much damage to Tetsuya while holding back."
"Shit..." Ichigo breathed, studying the injured shinigami, "If that's the case, then we're talking about some damned serious power!"
"Yes," the noble agreed, his frown deepening, "And if indeed, he is that powerful..."
"Then he's dangerous to anyone who crosses his path."
"Yes. And that being the case, if Central 46 hears of him causing deaths, then he will become a fugitive, whether he meant to hurt anyone or not."
"Damn...what do we do?" Ichigo mused.
"We need to find him," Byakuya said, his head turning as a flash step sounded and Renji burst into the training grounds.
"Taichou!" he cried frantically, "It's Tetsuya. He...!"
The redhead broke off, staring at the younger noble and his collapsed stallion.
"How did he get here?" Renji queried. looking confused.
"What happened in the Rukongai, Renji?" Byakuya asked quickly, "Do you know what happened to my cousin?"
"I don't know!" the redhead said, shaking his head, "One second we were watching over that kid's folks and the next, Tetsuya started to just...fade out! He didn't know what was happening, except that he said it felt like he was being pulled inward."
"Inward," Byakuya repeated.
"What does that mean?" Ichigo wondered aloud.
"It could mean that he was taken to his inner world," the noble suggested.
"Maybe they both were," offered Ichigo.
"And if so, then that may be where Ren went when he and Arashi disappeared."
"Kuchiki taichou," Orihime said suddenly, bringing the men to Tetsuya's side, "There is something that I noticed about Tetsuya-san and Arashi's injuries."
"What is it?" asked Rukia.
"The reiatsu around their wounds," the human girl stated, "Some is from Ren, but some isn't."
"Then, whose is it?" Byakuya asked worriedly, "It wasn't Aizen's!"
"No," Orihime said, frowning, "This is...it appears to be reiatsu from their own zanpakutou!"
"What?" Ichigo, Renji and Rukia gasped together.
"Then...Re-kuhime also attacked them?" Byakuya queried, disbelievingly, "Why would she side with their enemy? Could this be the boy's power? He enters the opponent's inner world and overtakes the will of the person's own zanpakutou?"
"But his own reiatsu is in them too," said Orihime, "And as I said before, it is doing something to their minds. They are both really frightened right now, even though they are not awake."
"Frightened..." Byakuya whispered, "Their minds are being besieged, but by what?"
"I can't say," Orihime said worriedly, "but it seems like they're having nightmares."
"Nightmares?" Ichigo queried.
"From which they cannot awaken," Byakuya breathed anxiously.
"You can wake them, can't you?" Renji asked urgently, "Orihime?"
"I don't know," the girl said, shaking her head, "The reiatsu around their minds is difficult to reject. It reminds me of when Ichigo fought Ulquiorra. I could not reject reiatsu that strong."
"You have to wake them," Renji said, taking Tetsuya's limp hand and bringing it to his lips, "Please, do all you can."
"It may be beyond the scope of Orihime's reject power," Kisuke said, dropping down into the training area and approaching the gathered shinigamis, "But I think that with time I can break through it. They seem stable physically now. Let's bring them upstairs."
"Okay," Renji said, kissing Tetsuya on the forehead, then lifting his unconscious boyfriend into his arms, "I'll carry Tetsuya. You guys can deal with how to get his horse up that ladder!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Ren sighed wearily as he entered a town in the west 64th district and headed for what looked to be the gathering place in town, a small, friendly looking bar and inn. He passed through the doors, looking around and spotting an empty seat at the bar. He crossed the room and sat down, noticing right away that the barkeep was eyeing him with more than a passing interest.
I have to conserve money, and this looks like an opportunity to do that.
He smiled at the man as he approached and observed the younger man with an approving expression.
"What can I get you?"
"The house brew," Ren said easily, leaning forward slightly to rub his feet and giving the other man a nice view of the dragon tattoo that ran around his throat and the area beneath his shirt.
"You've been on your feet for awhile, ne?" the man surmised, "Would you like a room for the night?"
"Maybe," said Ren, lowering his eyes, "but I am short of funds. I did notice that you walk with a limp. I have some healing skill and I am trained in deep massage. Could I convince you to let me exchange those services for a night's room and perhaps dinner?"
The barkeep thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Fair enough."
He turned to the cook that was working in the back.
"Nobu, an order of the stew and some fresh bread."
He winked at Ren and the younger man smiled gamely.
"He looks half dead from walking all day."
The man set Ren's drink in front of him and continued to converse casually with him as other customers came and went. Ren devoured the stew and bread hungrily, then downed several glasses of ale before yawning sleepily.
"It's time for me to be off," said the barkeep, "My relief just got here. Come on, you can give me that massage and we'll call it even, okay?"
"That sounds fair," Ren answered, getting up to follow the man down the hallway.
They stopped at a room at the end of the hall and the barkeep unlocked the door.
"By the way, the name's Toru."
"I'm Ren."
"I'm glad you came through town, Ren. My back and leg have been bothering me for a while and nothing seems to help. It's another week until the healer comes through, so, I could really use some relief."
"Well," Ren replied, eyeing the man somewhat flirtatiously, "I think I can help you."
"Good," Toru answered, waiting as he entered the room, then closing and locking the door behind him, "Bathroom's in there. There should be a clean yukata hanging on the back of the door."
"Thanks," Ren said, stepping into the bathroom and closing the door.
He slipped out of his clothes and into the more comfortable yukata, then returned to the bedroom to find Toru undressed and sitting on the bed.
"Take off your yukata and lie on your stomach," Ren instructed him, "I'll start with a basic massage, then hone in on the trouble areas.
"Hmmm..." Toru sighed sleepily.
He groaned contentedly as Ren began working at the muscles of his neck, shoulder s and back, carefully locating the tender spots and infusing them with healing power.
"Are you with anyone, Ren?" the man asked quietly.
"Not at the moment. No."
"Hmmm."
Ren's fingers flared softly with increased healing power, and he returned to the painful spots and carefully infused them, then began a deeper massage.
"Kami, that feels good," Toru sighed, "Those are some magical hands you have, Ren."
"Thanks," Ren said, letting his fingers run lightly down the man's back, then working at the trouble spots a final time.
"That's the best I've felt in weeks," Toru said in a lower, more relaxed voice,"I am grateful. Now...why don't you let me thank you."
Ren smirked knowingly and allowed the man to bring him down on his back, then smiled up at him.
"And how do you plan to do that?" he asked seductively.
Toru answered with a barrage of warm, biting kisses down the side of Ren's face and neck.
It's not bad, I guess. He's good looking and seems like a good guy. Neither of us is bound to anyone and it's kind of nice not to feel alone.
He relaxed as the man undressed him and began a slow exploration of his beautifully tattooed body.
"You're quite the work of art," Toru said, admiring the snake tattoo that meandered around his slender hips and the flushed and aroused genitals beneath it.
He lowered himself between the younger man's thighs, pleasuring Ren's nether region as his fingers began to prepare him.
"I want to see those things dance," Toru panted, rolling onto his back and coaxing Ren into mounting him.
Ren settled onto the man slowly, lacing his fingers together with Toru's and grinding erotically against him. Toru's eyes darkened and he thrust wantonly into the younger man, grabbing at his undulating hips and moaning appreciatively.
"Oh! Oh gods...s-so good!" he panted, thrashing beneath Ren as he approached climax.
Ren clenched at the bedding with his fingers, groaning indulgently as the two of them finished together and fell into a final flurry of hard, wet kisses. Ren dropped down beside the older man, his body still humming with pleasure and his lips smiling.
"That was some healing," Toru said, coaxing Ren onto his chest and letting his fingers run lightly along his back and over his bare bottom as he yawned and blinked sleepily.
"I enjoyed it as well," Ren agreed, "But I am really tired now. I think I'll need the key to my room.
"Why don't you just stay with me?" Toru offered, "Go on to sleep. No need to get up."
"Are you sure I will get any sleep here with you?" Ren laughed lazily, "I think you might keep me up all night."
"So, you can sleep in as late as you want, free of charge," Toru offered, "Wait, think about it for a minute. I'll go and make some tea."
Ren chuckled and rolled onto his belly, pretending to sleep as the other man walked across the room and began to prepare the tea. Out of the corner of a mostly closed eye, Ren saw the man glance over his shoulder, then add something to one of the cups.
Great...just when I was really beginning to think this was a genuinely nice guy too...
He pretended to doze as Toru returned and set the tea on the nightstand, then accepted the cup and made a sound of dismay as he let it slip from his hand and onto the floor.
"S-sorry!" he apologized hastily.
He recovered himself quickly, nicking the cup out of Toru's hand and sipping at it, then handing it back to him.
"We can just share. You don't have to make more. I'm too sleepy to drink more anyway," Ren said, laying down.
Toru chuckled and stepped away again, watching as Ren appeared to drop off to sleep again. He washed the dirty dishes slowly, glancing back at the apparently sleeping man in his bed, then slipping his hands into a drawer and removing a set of handcuffs, a length of rope and a handkerchief to use as a blindfold. He crept back to the bed and sat down carefully, reaching for one of Ren's wrists, then moving to close a handcuff around it.
"What are you doing?" Ren gasped, tearing his hand away and backing up against the wall as Toru smiled seductively.
"Sorry to startle you," he said calmly, "I was just wanting a little bit of gentle kink...you know, a little binding to liven things up?"
"I don't think so," Ren answered, his eyes glinting, "I think I'm gonna go now. I have a ways to go."
"What're you rushing off for?" Toru asked, "Didn't you like having sex with me? It was good, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't like my tea being poisoned with sleep remedy and someone wanting to tie me up and do kami knows what with me. We had a deal. I held up my end. Hell, I even liked that we ended up having sex. But no one ties me up without my okay."
"You're pretty spirited," Toru said appreciatively, "With a little bit of work, you'll make a real good whore. I can make a lot of money off a beauty like you, so...I think you're gonna stay here!"
Toru lunged forward, tackling Ren and struggling to capture his wrists. The younger man struggled and twisted madly, starting to pull free, but then gasping as Toru dragged him down again and struck him across the face. Stars exploded before his eyes and he felt his consciousness slipping. Panic flooded his veins and he felt the core of his power flutter, then surge.
Light flashed around the two men and Ren heard Toru scream in terror. Opening his eyes, he saw the barkeep had fallen onto his back and was thrashing and screaming as though something horrible was happening. Ren grabbed his clothes and climbed out a window as something crashed into the door and several people burst into the room he had just exited.
Toru's screams died down into a pained gurgle, then stopped.
"What happened to him?" said a feminine voice, "Is he all right."
"He's not okay," said a second voice, "He's dead."
Dead? Ren mused, My power...killed him?
He saw a flash image in his mind of Tetsuya, trying desperately to shield Arashi and himself as Ren's power came down on them.
Does this mean that...I might have killed Tetsuya-san too?
I didn't mean to! Not even this guy who attacked me. I didn't want to!
What is this power I have? Is this why Aizen wants me? He wants to control this power?
"I saw him come in here with that young guy with the black and purple hair and dragon tattoo around his throat."
"We should call Yoshinori to investigate. I don't know what that kid did to him, but he's stone cold dead!
My power killed somebody. I can't control it! What do I do?
What the hell do I do now?
Ren fled the town, tears of dismay streaming down his face and with no idea where he could go to hide from himself.