Chapter 6: The Fugitive

(My deepest gratitude to Henka-chan, once more for this storyline. This is really turning into a good story. Ren is making a great showing, despite the fact that some people don't give OC's a fair chance. As my experience with Tetsuya proved, there are exceptions, and Ren is quite exceptional to write. If you enjoy him here, you might also want to check out the AU Bya/Ren/Bya story, Naked Truth that also updated today. He (and a few other sexy Bleach guys are strippers who get caught up in drug kingpin, Sousuke Aizen's shenanigans. Hop on over and check that out. Ren first appears in Chapter 2 of that. He will be one of many characters appearing in the story! Thanks to Henka-chan, Picklez80, Kittykins, Winterheart2000, Anelir-Sensei, Purple Light Snow, and Anon for their enthusiastic support. You guys are wonderful! Enjoy the new chapter!)

"Kuchiki Rukia," said Kyouraku soutaichou, nodding in the young woman's direction as she knelt to give her report, "What is the situation with the young man that Kuchiki taichou's team found in Hueco Mundo? I understand that he attacked your cousin. Is Tetsuya-san all right?"

"Tetsuya was still unconscious when I left," Rukia explained, "but Kisuke said he was sure now that both Tetsuya and his Arashi will make a full recovery. Kisuke also said that it was clear that the boy, Ren did not intend to do serious damage to Tetsuya and Arashi. It seems that he was simply trying to get away and thought to use his powers to warn off any pursuit. Unfortunately, as his powers are new to him, he is not able to fully control them. My brother says that he is sure with proper guidance, he can bring Ren's powers under control."

"That is good," Kyouraku replied, "but...until they are under control, he is dangerous. And unfortunately, word has reached Central 46 about an incident in the lower Rukongai. A man was killed after being seen with the boy."

"What?" Rukia queried, alarm rising in her eyes.

"We aren't sure what the situation was exactly. Apparently, he and the man, a barkeeper at a local inn, went to the barkeeper's room and were intimate with each other. Then...something happened. There was some kind of scuffle, and something killed the barkeeper."

"Something killed him?" Rukia repeated, blinking.

"The boy, Ren's, reiatsu was sensed around the dead man, and the ones who found his body said that it looked as though he had died of fright."

"That's horrible," Rukia said softly, her eyes troubled, "But Kyouraku soutaichou, we do not believe this boy is inherently violent. If he killed that man, it must have been in self defense."

"That may be," Kyouraku sighed, "but the Central 46 council isn't so sure. And we have a death on our hands. The council has ordered me to issue a warrant for the boy's arrest and detainment for questioning."

"But...!"

"Kuchiki Rukia," the captain commander said, eyeing her meaningfully, "The order will leave my hands in one hour. After that, if he is found by our forces, he must be turned over to Central 46. Be sure that your brother understands this, okay?"

"Ah!" Rukia said, comprehension lighting her face, "Yes, of course, Kyouraku soutaichou. I will make sure that Kuchiki taichou is informed at once of the situation!"

"You do that," Kyouraku chuckled, watching Rukia flash step away.

"Is there trouble?" asked Juushiro, entering the first division headquarters, "That was Rukia, ne?"

"Yes, it was. It seems that the boy they found in Hueco Mundo's sprouting some pretty serious powers. Central 46 wants him apprehended."

"And you?"

"I think we need to take our time about this and find out what the deal is with this kid before we go off half-cocked and they just either throw him in the Maggot's Nest or have him executed."

"They do tend to act very quickly," Juushiro agreed, "And there's a time for that, but..."

"There's something else strange about this whole thing. I don't know for completely sure yet, but the initial results that Kurotsuchi taichou obtained have matched Urahara Kisuke's initial results."

"What?" Juushiro queried, looking alarmed.

"Yeah it's wierd," Shunsui said, shaking his head and frowning worriedly, "So, we're checking again for final confirmation, but, barring some strange twist, it's probable that it will be confirmed that the boy is the child of both Aizen Sousuke and Urahara Kisuke."

"But, how is that possible when we know that Kisuke would never have joined Aizen to do something like that? They have never seen eye to eye, even before Aizen's betrayal and defection. Why would Kisuke ever do something like that? Some strange case of opposites attracting?" Juushiro mused darkly.

"I think it's more likely that Aizen was using his illusions for more than just hiding his betrayal and the path of his research. I'll just come out and say it. If the kid's Aizen's and his, then what brought those two guys together was nothing like love."

"You think Aizen raped him?"

"Well, I don't know," Kyouraku concluded, "But whether or not he raped Kisuke, he may have caused the birth of this boy, Ren somehow. And now Ren is beginning to exhibit very strong powers that he can't really seem to control. He disappeared from his hometown and was found in Las Noches, with no clue as to how he got there. Harribel claims not to know him."

"Do you believe her?" Juushiro inquired, "I know that they're our allies since the quincy war, but..."

"But that doesn't mean that we're best buddies or that she wouldn't conceal what she knew to protect her own people. So, I'm gonna conclude that Aizen grabbed the boy and took him to Las Noches. He may have tried to jigger with Ren's mind or powers and unlocked whatever had been holding back his powers until now. That tells me that Aizen had a plan for Ren from the start."

"And that means that he isn't going to give up for the asking. He's going to try to get to the boy, wherever he goes. And the fact that Ren attempted to run suggests that he's aware Aizen's gunning for him."

"Yeah, and correct me if I'm wrong, but Central 46 has kind of a bad record of keeping their 'persons of interest' safe and alive. I want to know what's going on with that boy, and I want Aizen caught and brought back. We've just been through two pretty costly wars and we don't need a third, you know?"

"You can say that again!" Juushiro agreed.

"Come on," Shunsui said, smiling wearily and slipping a hand into Juushiro's.

"Where are we going?" the white haired shinigami asked, smirking slightly.

"I need to do some thinking, and I think better after I've been fed. You know that," the captain commander answered, seeking Juushiro's smiling lips.

"Hmmm, yes, I do," the thirteenth division taichou laughed softly, walking backwards as they kissed, "Me too."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, come on, beautiful," Renji said worriedly, "You've been sleeping for a really long time. You wanna open your pretty blue eyes for me?"

Tetsuya stirred very slightly, bringing a sad smile to the redhead's lips.

"That's good," he whispered, leaning forward and placing a tender kiss on the noble's frowning lips, "Come on, Tetsuya, wake up, please? I need you to wake up."

"R-ren...ji?" Tetsuya breathed almost senselessly, his eyes beginning to crack open.

"That's right, gorgeous," Renji said, kissing Tetsuya's lips and making them smile sleepily, "I'm right here with you. I'm not gonna leave you alone for a second."

He grinned and chuckled to himself.

"You and that fleabag horse of yours get into way too much trouble!" the redhead concluded.

"Renji!" Tetsuya gasped, coming fully awake and seeking the redhead's arms frantically.

He closed his eyes tightly, a haunted look on his youthful features, "Oh, Renji, it was horrible! Is...is Arashi all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry," Renji said, finding Tetsuya's lips and caressing them soothingly with his, "You're both gonna be fine, okay?"

"But, Ren? Wh-where...?"

"We don't know," Renji said, shaking his head and frowning, "Taichou and Ichigo went looking for him."

"That is best," Tetsuya sighed, "He has a very dangerous power."

"Yeah, we figured. But we needed you to confirm things. Look, I'm gonna go for a second and get you some fresh tea, and also call Kisuke in here. You be okay for a minute?"

"Yes, I'll be fine now, Renji. Thank you for your concern," Tetsuya said, blushing, "I feel much better."

"Yeah, well, lie back down until I get back, all right? You just woke up and you've been through a lot, so take it easy and don't rush to be up and around."

"I won't," Tetsuya chuckled softly, "I will stay right here. I promise."

He watched as Renji left, then laid back on his pillow, blinking as he looked up at the white ceiling and couldn't help remembering. Flashes of fear nagged at him as he recalled the conflict in his inner world, and Tetsuya shivered and tightened his closed eyes as the memory of the nightmares attacked his mind and brought tears to his eyes.

It was horrible! It was so real. I knew it wasn't real, but it felt that way anyway. So awful!

Tetsuya felt the touch of concerned eyes and opened his, wondering who it could be. He sucked in a surprised breath and his eyes rounded as he found himself looking at the young man who had attacked him.

"What are you doing here?" Tetsuya demanded, his voice and body shaking, "G-get away from me!"

"No, no, Tetsuya-san, I didn't come here to hurt you! Please," Ren pleaded, "I was...worried."

Tetsuya noticed then, that the younger man was looking down at his hands and that his hands were shaking too.

"I was...s-scared, you know?" he said, his breathing quickening, "I told you I only wanted to get away. B-but, I really hurt you and I didn't mean to do that, Tetsuya-san. Please, you must believe me!"

Tetsuya remained stiffened, but looked back at Ren and waited silently for him to go on.

"I'm not used to having any kind of powers," Ren explained, "and when I was taken to Hueco Mundo, I think Aizen Sousuke must have done something to unlock them. Now, it seems like they can overcome my will! If I feel threatened, they can make me kill. But I don't want to do that. It's just...something happened in the Rukongai. A man attacked me, and it made my powers go out of control. I think I killed him. And even though I was defending myself, I swear, I didn't want to kill him."

He paused, shaking harder and breaking out in a nervous sweat.

"I ran from that place, but as I ran, all I could think about was if maybe I had killed you too, Tetsuya-san! I was tormented by that because you didn't even try to hurt me. I don't know how to convince you I'm telling the truth, but...there is something I can do to help you."

"What? N-no, don't!" Tetsuya cried, a haunted look in his sapphire eyes as he cringed and leaned away.

"Shh, it's all right," Ren said, gently touching the other man's face and loosing a small flicker of his reiatsu.

Tetsuya recoiled, then the terror that had risen in his dark eyes calmed, and he fell back, a peaceful, calm lassitude taking over as comforting sleep claimed him again.

"I didn't realize that this was related to the powers I have. This is an ability I used to soothe the other children at the shelter where I lived when they would have bad dreams. This power is not harmful, but is a type of healing I am familiar with. Please rest now. Your dreams should only be pleasant."

He caressed the sleeping noble's cheek lightly, a relieved look on his face as he felt the hold his power had exerted over Tetsuya weaken and fade.

"I am sorry, Tetsuya-san," he whispered, "Please believe me, I am so very sorry I hurt you and your Arashi."

"What are you doing to him?" Renji's voice demanded from the doorway, startling Ren and making him rise and back away from Tetsuya, his hands raised defensively.

"I'm not hurting him, I swear!" Ren said quickly, "Renji-san, I came back because I wanted to make sure that I hadn't...that my powers hadn't..."

Tears leaked onto the young man's face as he looked back at Tetsuya.

"You can see for yourself. I didn't hurt him. I only removed the lingering traces of my power from his body and gave him a more peaceful sleep. I felt bad about hurting him. I was just trying to get away before. But...I..."

Renji's narrowed eyes glared at him for a moment longer, then softened.

"Something bad happened while you were in the Rukongai, didn't it?" Renji asked.

"Y-yeah," Ren confessed, wiping away a tear, "I met a guy who ran a bar. He seemed nice and I was lonely and just trying to get away and forget everything. I knew Aizen would be looking for me, so I tried not to use my powers or anything. But...the guy and me...we went to bed together and I was just going to stay for the night. But, he tried to tie me up, then he hit me and I started to pass out."

Ren's face paled as the memory returned forcefully.

"I don't know what happened. It was like I lost all control and I couldn't think straight. My powers just took over, and the next thing I knew, the guy was dead and I was running and didn't know where to go. I kept thinking about Tetsuya-san and how I used my powers on him. I was scared that I might have killed him too. I also heard that I was going to be arrested if anyone recognized me. I came back here because I really had nowhere to go!"

"I think that was a wise decision, kid," Renji said, looking up as the door opened and Kisuke, Byakuya and Ichigo walked in.

Ren stiffened and pressed his back to the wall, but remained in place.

"Taichou!" Renji exclaimed, "He came back on his own. And he helped get his reiatsu out of Tetsuya, so that he would recover better."

"I treated Arashi as well," Ren informed them, "I hope that you will believe me that I really am sorry for hurting them."

"We believe you," Ichigo said, nodding.

"Ichigo is correct," Byakuya affirmed, "Everything at the crime scene in the Rukongai suggested that you were being assaulted by that man and acted in self defense."

"So that means that...?"

"There has been an order issued for your capture, arrest and interrogation," the noble went on.

Ren deflated slightly, but remained where he was.

"I suppose I understand," he said softly, "With my powers like they are, I am a danger, even though I don't mean to be."

He studied the faces of the others, biting at his lips nervously.

"So, what are they going to do to me? Will they lock me up?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"We aren't going to let that happen," Ichigo said, glancing at Byakuya, then looking back at the frightened young man, "Kisuke has a place for us all to go, and Byakuya and I are going to help you get a handle on your powers."

"It will also allow us to protect you while we try to discover how Aizen was seeking to use you."

"But...you all look like something really serious has happened," Ren surmised, "Has it?"

"You could say that," Kisuke sighed, "You see, you remember, don't you? I took samples of your blood and reiatsu and ran full analyses to determine some things about your power and to check if you might be related to Aizen."

"But you said that the results were inconclusive because they were unreliable."

"Yeah, that was my conclusion," Kisuke agreed, "So, I sent the information to the twlefth division taichou and had him run the tests again, as well as several others."

"And what did he find?" Ren asked warily.

"I don't know how it can be," Kisuke said, shaking his head, "None of us can figure out how it's possible, but, the test results confirmed that you are..."

"Aizen Sousuke's son?" Ren queried shakily.

"Yeah," Kisuke answered, moving forward and gazing into the young man's widened eyes, "You're Aizen Sousuke's son...and mine!"