Chapter 4: New Morning
(I'm in Cell Hell and signal keeps cutting out, so I'm trying repeatedly and hope this one gets through. Having a wonderful vacation in a forested heaven, but wanted to get this out for my number one Aizen-lovin' buddy, Sariniste! Lots of love, and yes, an update of A Little Indiscretion is on the way. All you other Aizenfans, be sure to PM your requests for chapters. Enjoy this one. Spunky loves you! *Crosses fingers and pushes 'Save and Post' buttons*)
Tetsuya came awake again to the now familiar chill of finding himself still bound tightly and lying in darkness, uncomfortably near the nameless criminal who had promised to help him escape. He wasn't sure how to address the man, so he turned his attention to testing his restraints carefully for any weakness he could exploit. Finding none, he turned his mind again to the puzzle of how he had once broken such restraints and freed his powers.
I was in fear for my life and for Byakuya-sama's, he remembered, Death came for us, and my mind froze in that moment. I knew that I hadn't waited all of that time for Byakuya-sama to arrive, so that he could die in front of me. No, I had survived for more than that. In that moment, I just knew. I just acted...and the bonds shattered.
He turned his focus inward, trying to sense the condition of his spirit centers.
It is hard to see inside oneself like this, but it does seem that my spirit centers are very sensitive, and probably it is the resultant stress of whatever was done to subdue me.
He flinched as he remembered standing outside the barrier that protected the Kuchiki family from the quincy invaders.
An odd flicker of something being wrong made him stiffen and listen closely. He heard a soft footstep and turned. Instantly, his eyes widened in distress.
"Orochi!" he gasped, raising his weapon to meet the one that crashed down onto it, "What are you doing? Stop!"
Tetsuya jolted out of the memory, panting softly and even though he couldn't see, he felt that the other man was awake and aware of his discomfort.
"Are you all right?" the man asked.
"I was just remembering," Tetsuya said softly, "It was shocking when I realized that it wasn't the quincies who were attacking me and the others guarding the family."
"It was your cousin, Orochi," Aizen said, sounding certain.
"Yes," Tetsuya confirmed, "and once I knew it for the betrayal it was, I felt that same desperation that I felt when Byakuya-sama was trying to help me escape, and we were about to be killed."
"Are you saying that he cast some kind of bindings on you, and you broke them?"
Tetsuya paused, straining to remember.
"I wasn't bound...just...frozen. Orochi's power is a snake that uses poisons. It was poison that just froze me in place so that he was able to impale my heart."
"Hmm," the other man mused, "But if he could use poison, why not just kill you with that?"
"It would be traceable as the cause of my death," Tetsuya explained, "The one that freezes, dissipates as it wears off. The one that kills must remain for a longer time to ensure death. Besides, Orochi knows that I know how to alter my waterform ability, using the command Shussui to slow the advance of poisons in my systems."
"A useful power, to be sure. You didn't mention it before," Aizen said quietly, "Is there more about you that you haven't said? Because I haven't heard anything from you that explains why you were able to avoid injury when your cousin impaled you. You told me before that you couldn't shift between waterforms at that moment and you don't remember doing anything."
"I heard my stallion, Arashi, scream when Orochi struck," Tetsuya remembered, "and I did feel a great burning inside. But I thought that it was just the sword cutting into me."
"You felt it in your heart?" Aizen inquired curiously.
"Yes," Tetsuya confirmed, "It felt like it radiated out from my heart. I didn't think it was a power..."
"But," Aizen concluded, "even if it wasn't a power you were manifesting, it could have been the beginnings of one."
"You think that...?"
"You were in desperate situation," Aizen recounted, "You could not move and your familiar could not stop the attack, correct?"
"That's right."
"Did you feel any other effects? Any increase in light or reiatsu around you? A change in the temperature? Something you saw, felt, heard or tasted?"
"It did seem to grow brighter," Tetsuya recalled, "So bright that my eyes went hazy. I thought at the time, I was just passing out because I was fatally struck and dying."
"But you may have been responding to your desperation with either a previously undiscovered application of your powers...or a greater one."
"But I already have three manifestations of bankai," Tetsuya mused, "If I keep the water liquid in bankai, it spins and makes a cyclone. If I compact the individual waterforms, they become tiny, powerful blades and can either spin in a cyclone or be fired directly at something or someone. If I freeze and compact them all into one, they make an ice blade that causes freeze damage to whatever it touches. Byakuya-sama, himself, only has four manifestations of his bankai, and I am not as powerful or talented as he is."
"It may be a fourth manifestation of bankai or..."
Aizen paused, thinking.
"Tell me everything you felt when you woke here."
Tetsuya thought carefully.
"When I woke, my head was throbbing and I felt sick to my stomach. I reflexively tried to use my powers and the centers through which the power runs burned like fire."
"That would suggest two possibilities," Aizen posited, "One, that Orochi did something, used a poison or a power that caused these things as an after-effect. Or two, something happened inside you, a new protective power that you used without thought, perhaps that your zanpakutou knew about but hadn't instructed you in yet. Have you been able to speak to your zanpakutou?"
"No," Tetsuya answered, shivering, "I feel powerful head pain and my spirit centers burn when I try to enter my inner world. That's why I couldn't escape mentally when Orochi was r...er...hurting me."
"Do you know if Orochi's power is capable of causing any of these kinds of lasting effects that you have?" Aizen asked.
"I don't know of them being like that," Tetsuya replied, thinking harder, "He sometimes will send a snake into a target's body for longer term effects, but if someone discovers the presence of the snake, he would be vulnerable to identification. Still, I don't know very much about that application of his powers. I suppose it's possible that he used a power on me."
"Except that doesn't mesh with what happened. He says he stabbed you in the heart and you weren't affected. He doesn't say that he then used another power or method that failed."
"That's true," Tetsuya agreed, "So, you think that I am developing some other power?"
"I think that is the most likely answer," Aizen confirmed, "And maybe exploring that is an avenue to both of us escaping this place. Now, I have been thinking. Have you tried to freeze your bonds, then shatter them?"
"I have tried," Tetsuya said solemnly, "but freezing to the extent needed to shatter them takes more power than I can manage when bound like this. Normal bonds wouldn't hold me, but Orochi knew to make these invulnerable to my freezing ability. He is not a stupid man."
"Except that he underestimated you," Aizen chuckled, "That is why we are going to escape."
"You sound so sure," Tetsuya said uncertainly, "What makes you feel that way?"
Aizen paused, then loosed an answer that sent shivers up and down Tetsuya's restrained body.
"Fate. I feel very much that fate has brought us together, Tetsuya."
XXXXXXXXXX
Ichigo returned slowly to wakefulness and became aware that something was pressed up against his back and purring contentedly.
I didn't know Byakuya kept cats around. He sure doesn't want Yoruichi hanging out here. Wait, is this...her?
He scowled as he turned over and started to push the intruder away.
"Yoruichi, you should know that I don't...!"
He broke off as he found himself facing a surprised and extremely sleepy looking Grimmjow.
"What the hell?" he grumbled, "What're you yelling about? You're going to wake up the whole damned planet with that noise! You wanna get us kicked outta here, stupid?"
"Hey!" Ichigo objected, sitting up, "I said no touching! You were all pressed up against my back...and you have a hard on!"
"What?" the hollow exclaimed, "No shit, I have a hard on. You have a hard on. Every guy has a fucking hard on in the morning. I can't help that. And I didn't decide to curl up with you. I guess I was cold in my sleep. Sheesh, you little prude! Fine, I'll go back to my room. But I wasn't trying anything. I was asleep."
"Huh," Ichigo huffed, blushing, "You were purring and holding onto me like a stuffed toy. Do you sleep with one at home?"
"What? What the hell?" Grimmjow said in a startled tone, "No, I don't sleep with a stuffed toy."
"Are you sure? You seemed to like squeezing me."
"What do you expect, being all warm and dressed in soft clothes. I mistook you for a lumpy pillow."
"Yeah, right."
Ichigo looked up at Grimmjow's back as the hollow climbed out of the bed and started towards the door.
"Hey uh, thanks, Grimmjow," he said tentatively, "I did sleep better last night after you decided to stay."
"Great thanks I get for that, getting snapped at before I'm all the way awake and kicked outta bed," Grimmjow complained, "I think you need ol' Byakuya to give you some lessons in manners."
"Yeah? I'd say you need'em more than I do," Ichigo said, scowling.
"Hey, I offered to help you sleep, didn't I? I coulda just yelled at you."
"You did, at first," Ichigo pointed out, smirking.
"I...you...you know what, just shut up, okay? I've got better things to do than sit here and get accused of molesting you."
"Oh yeah, what? Everything's blown to crap here and in Hueco Mundo. What are you gonna be doing? Clean up? That's better than sleeping with me? I think I'm offended," Ichigo joked.
"I wasn't sleeping with you, you moron!" Grimmjow snapped back irascibly, "I got shoved out of bed and yelled at for nothing!"
"Sorry, I just don't have cats at home, so the cuddling and purring surprised me," Ichigo teased.
"Pfft!" Grimmjow hissed, "Whatever, I'm outta here."
Ichigo watched as the hollow disappeared out the garden doors, then he piled up the pillows behind him and sighed softly, looking out into the partially restored gardens.
"Man," he whispered, shaking his head sadly, "It's going to be weird not seeing Tetsuya and Arashi around here. So many other people died too. It's awful. Things are never going to be the same."
He heard a soft footstep and spotted a youthful male attendant.
"Hey Akio," he greeted the attendant, "How is Koji doing this morning? He was pretty broken up about Tetsuya."
"Yes, he has served Tetsuya-san ever since Byakuya-sama rescued him and brought him to Kuchiki Manor."
"That's got to be tough," Ichigo said sympathetically, "Tetsuya was pretty special. And Arashi was just cute, even when he teased the hell out of Renji and me."
"He did love to do that," Akio agreed, brushing away a tear, "I think all of us will miss them both terribly."
"Yeah."
Akio was quiet, just watching as Ichigo looked out into the gardens, contemplating without words for several minutes.
"Ichigo-sama," he said finally, "would you like me to bring you breakfast in privacy or do you feel like joining Rukia-chan, Renji-san and Byakuya-sama in the gardens?"
Ichigo smiled.
"I'll go out and have breakfast with the others," he decided, "I think that's best, don't you? We're all kinda thinking the same things...missing the same lost friends. We've been through a lot."
"Yes," Akio agreed, "we have. Very well, breakfast will be set out in an hour."
"That's late," Ichigo noted, "Not that I'm overly hungry, but isn't Byakuya up earlier usually?"
"Yes," Akio said, his head bowing, "but when he rose early, it was to meet Tetsuya-san for training in the large field, by the lake. He is sleeping late today...for the first time in years."
"Mmm," Ichigo sighed, curling his arms around his bent knees and setting his chin on them, "He sounds bad. It's good he's got Renji taking care of him. Byakuya pretends to be not affected by things a lot, but..."
"But there is much that he experiences that no one sees...except perhaps, Renji-san. He has a lot of insight into Byakuya-sama's thinking."
"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, his smile fading slightly, "Loving someone makes that happen, doesn't it?"
XXXXXXXXXX
Renji laid, wrapped around Byakuya's curled, sleeping form, his face resting against the noble's cheek and pillowed on soft, sakura scented hair. His fingers remained as they had been all night, laced together with Byakuya's and moving gently now and then, as though to remind his sleeping friend that he was still there. Byakuya took a deeper breath and opened his eyes, then squinted in the too bright morning light and groaned.
"Regretting drinking all that sake last night?" he chuckled, sitting up with Byakuya and taking a position behind him. He rubbed the noble's temples gently and kissed him on a warm, flushed cheek.
"I think it's a little useless to waste time with regret, and right now, I haven't the energy for it."
Torio stepped into the room, bearing a tea tray, and Byakuya grimaced and turned away.
"Please, not now, Torio."
"It's ginger tea," the attendant said in a quiet, careful voice, "It should calm your stomach."
"Ah, arigatou," Byakuya managed, taking the cup from the tray and sipping at it, "It is good. Thank you, Torio."
"Do you think that you'll be feeling up to some breakfast?" Renji asked.
"Give me a few minutes," Byakuya sighed, "until my head stops spinning and my stomach stops turning. I suppose I should eat something. But make it plain, just rice and nothing spicy with it."
"Sheesh, you must be feeling awful," Renji commented, "If you're passing up spicy food."
"You have no idea," Byakuya said, shaking his head.
"I will go and see to your breakfast, sir," Torio said, bowing.
"Wait," Byakuya said, stopping the young man and making him look back questioningly, "Torio, how is your brother?"
"Koji," Torio answered, his voice betraying a note of sadness, "He is coping. He is up and about today, but he's very quiet. He isn't himself."
"And who would be?" Byakuya said sympathetically, "Would you like me to speak with him?"
"Do you think it will help?" Torio asked, "I don't know what might help him feel better. His world was built around serving Tetsuya-san."
"Do you think it would help to have him see Tetsuya's adoptive family?"
"Sadao-san and Mai-san?" Torio considered, "They are also very much missing Tetsuya-san. Maybe it could help."
Byakuya nodded.
"I was thinking of having him stay with Sadao and Mai to help out with things. I learned that their daughter, Tetsuya's sister, Aratani, lost her husband in the war, and that she is about to have their child. She is staying at Sadao and Mai's home for the birth, but perhaps that would give him something to focus on."
"Maybe," Torio said, considering, "Would you like me to ask him?"
"Hmm," Byakuya said, thinking quietly for a moment, "Send him to me. I will talk to him."
He paused and rolled his eyes, wincing as a hell butterfly flitted into the room.
"Ah...just a moment," he said, nodding at the fluttering insect.
Byakuya, said the stately male voice of the head elder of the kuchiki clan council, we wish to say again how very sorry we are for the loss of our cousin and kinsman, Tetsuya. We are very concerned that his absence may compromise your safety and have added to this morning's meeting agenda a discussion of how to address security at Kuchiki Manor during the rebuilding and beyond.
"Oh..." Byakuya groaned, rubbing his temples, then sighing in relief as Renji took over rubbing them, "It slipped my mind that there was a meeting. I don't know how..."
"I do," Renji said, hugging him from behind and resting his chin on Byakuya's shoulder, "You're really stressed out. Maybe you should just tell them you're not up to it."
"Perhaps," Byakuya said, considering, "but...he is right that security is a concern. The measures Tetsuya put in place are still functioning, but we do need to consider the possible dangers presented by having additional people on manor grounds during the rebuilding."
"You want me to help with that?" the redhead asked, "It's the kind of thing I do all of the time at the office."
Byakuya turned the idea over in his recovering mind and slowly nodded his approval.
"I think your expertise would be a good thing. We don't have time or resources for searching for a trusted person. You're already both experienced and trusted. I will present that to the elders."
"But you'd better get dressed now if you want to eat and get there on time," Renji said, shaking his head.
"Yes," Byakuya said wearily, "Torio, do you mind?"
"Not at all, Byakuya-sama. Your clothing is already prepared."
"Hmm, it is good that my own muddled thinking is mitigated by capable staff," he complimented his attendant.
"You are mourning Tetsuya-san," Torio reasoned, "and it seems there is little we can do but try to ease what burdens we can, sir."
"Again, arigatou, Torio."
Byakuya slid out of the bed, but went still a moment later as Koji appeared in the doorway, his eyes still red and unbearably sad.
"Koji?" Byakuya inquired.
"I've come to assist Renji-san with his uniform, sir," the attendant said solemnly.
"Aw, you don't have to do that," Renji said, giving him a sympathetic smile, "I know you're going through a rough time."
"But it's good to be able to help someone," Koji insisted, smiling tentatively, "and you are...were...a good friend of Tetsuya-san's."
Renji gave him a gentle look of reproving.
"Hey, I'm not just Tetsuya's friend," he said standing and reaching out to squeeze Koji's hand, "I'm your friend too. I hope you know that."
Fresh tears rose in Koji's eyes, but he blinked them back and cleared his throat softly.
"Thank you, Renji-san. If you please, I will dress you now."
"Thanks, Koji," Renji said, following the attendant into the dressing area.
Thank you, Renji, Byakuya mouthed as he joined Renji and the attendants, He needs you.
The rest, he thought, went without saying, but he touched Renji's hand in a gesture that spoke volumes.
I don't know what any of us would do without you.