Chapter 2: Black, White and Red
Shunsui knelt quietly at the bedside of his longtime friend, gently holding Juushiro's pale hand in his and smiling down at him.
"You have no idea how glad I am that you could be saved," the captain commander sighed, "And now, maybe when you wake, you will reconsider about what we talked about before…when you thought you were doomed to death. Things are a mess right now, but there are lights burning now that will bring us all through. Juushiro…"
"Kyoraku sotaicho," Nanao said solemnly as she stepped into the room alongside Kiyone and Sentaro, "these two have been healed and say they are ready to answer your questions about what happened to Ukitake taicho on the battlefield."
"Ah, come in, come in!" Shunsui said, grinning up at the two, "I wasn't sure how long it would be before you were up and about. Sit down here and we can talk."
"Sir," Nanao went on, "Akon of Squad 12 reports that a repositioning of the shakonmaku has been completed, and that it will now resolve the problem of the quincies being able to open direct doorways into Soul Society."
"Ah, good," Shunsui chuckled, "So, now if they want to come in, they'll have to knock, eh?"
"Very funny, sir," his fukutaicho said dryly, "We have put the entirety of Soul Society on lockdown, as you ordered, and Akon has left the quincies only the ability to flee."
"Well, the ones that are left are really just the rank and file," Shunsui mused, "They are still enough to cause trouble while we are gathering ourselves and reorganizing. It's better that we let the ones leave who will, and only engage the ones who are still trying to attack us."
"I agree," Nanao said, nodding briefly, "although, at this point, there isn't much left in the Seireitei to attack. They leveled most of it."
"It'll be awhile," Shunsui said calmly, "but we will rebuild."
"Resources are being gathered and counted. We'll prioritize after that. Central 46…well, the few noble elders who survived the slaughter there, they've issued curfew orders, and fast approved necessary repairs to the prison and healing facilities."
"Has Aizen been recovered yet?" Shunsui asked.
"No, sir," Nanao reported, "The recovery teams have not found him. We know that Urahara Kisuke went out into the battlefield when he returned, but he has not reported in yet."
"Okay, thank you."
Shunsui turned his attention to the two officers who had joined him at Ukitake's side.
"Now then, why don't you two tell me, did you see how Juushiro was healed? Do you know who did this healing?"
The two younger officers exchanged glances, then nodded together.
"Sir," Kiyone said with widened eyes, "the man who healed Ukitake taicho said he was from the Kuchiki encampment. He identified himself as Kuchiki taicho's personal healer and bodyguard, Kuchiki Tetsuya."
"Tetsuya-kun?" Shunsui asked, rubbing his chin and tilting his head.
"You know him, sir?" asked Kiyone.
"We've met," Shunsui confirmed, "He is a shy person, who usually stays out of sight, but he has Byakuya's confidence. I'd heard that he was responsible for evacuating the Kuchiki properties and subfamilies to the encampment. He and the Kuchiki house guards were protecting the encampment."
"Tetsuya-san told us that he had sensed the very odd reiatsu in our area," Sentaro explained.
"He felt Mimihagi-sama's reaitsu!" Kiyone added.
"And he left the other guards to come and investigate. When he saw Ukitake taicho struggling to breathe and learned he was dying, he knelt at Ukitake taicho's side and he said that all he could do was to make our taicho's passing more painless and calm. But…when his power touched Ukitake taicho…eh, something really strange happened!" Sentaro exclaimed.
"Tetsuya-san looked surprised for a second, and his body began to glow," Kiyone said excitedly, "Then, the power that came out of his hands changed from the usual healing green to blue, then to perfect white."
"His eyes looked scared, sir," Kentaro reported, "and we heard Mimhagi say something to him, but we couldn't understand the words."
"Well, we did catch one word," Kiyone corrected him, "The word was truthbearer. We don't know what it all meant."
"And before we could really talk about it, we felt the blast of Ywach's power as he was struck down. Tetsuya-san told us to stay down, and he placed himself in the path of the oncoming wave. He was shielding us."
"We yelled at him to get down with us, but he braced himself. And we saw a black horse come running to him that also poured power into the shield," Kiyone recalled.
"We were sure that it would shatter, and he'd be blown away," Kentaro said, frowning as he remembered, "When the power struck, there was blinding light."
"And we heard Tetsuya-san and the horse screaming…not like pain, but more like determination."
The power that struck was so violent, that even protected like we were, we lost consciousness. We don't know what happened to Tetsuya-san. We passed out and didn't wake up until we were here."
"Hmm," Shunsui mused, "it sounds like I need to talk to Tetsuya-kun. Nanao, will you please get word to the Kuchiki encampment? I want Kuchiki Tetsuya brought to the first division as soon as you can find him."
"Sir!"
XXXXXXXXXX
The badly garbled sound of a familiar male voice began to reach through the blackness around the sixth division fukutaicho, but he found, as he tried to force out a reply, that neither his speech faculties nor his body appeared to be working properly. While it was good in that it meant pain from his body's receptors wasn't reaching him, it was also disturbing not to know the exact state of his damaged body. He tried again to make his lips move and his voice sound, but all that came out was an ugly gargling sound. The voice of the man with him cleared enough to hear as he instantly objected.
"Be quiet and stay still, Renji. You are safe. A curfew is in effect for the area and we are on lockdown. We are sheltered for the night."
Taicho.
When did he get here?
"I have given you a pain block and healed what I can, but you need to lie still and be calm. There are likely still some enemies in the area. The heavy reiatsu from the quincy king's body is making it hard to sense incoming souls."
"I-Ich-go…"
The grating, gurgling sound of his voice was awful, but the redhead ached to know.
"I have not heard anything yet," Byakuya informed him, "but there was no sign that he died during that blast or after, so I believe that he is alive. Rest now. I have placed a negative reiatsu cage around us, so that both of us can sleep. We will need to sleep close together to keep each other warm enough. It is icy cold tonight."
What did he just say?
Fuck! I still can't open my eyes and I can't feel properly, but…is that…?
He felt warmth radiating on the right side of his body, then something soft and lightly sweet smelling touched his face and shoulder.
I feel that!
Is that him?
Renji's heart pounded as a shocking thought occurred to him.
Oh man, what if I'm getting excited by him? Shit! How can I tell? I barely can feel anything…just…he's so close!
What if I get hard?
What if…?
"Renji," Byakuya's voice rumbled sleepily in his ear.
This is torture! I mean, what if he…? What if I offend him? What if he gets the wrong idea? Or…oh god, what if he gets the right one?
"Your reiatsu is getting riled. Are you having a nightmare?" Byakuya asked.
You have no idea!
"If you get any more restless, I will have to put a sleep kido on you so that you do not give us away. Calm down, Renji."
That's easy for him to say. I'm paralyzed, next to the most beautiful shinigami in Soul Society and he tells me to be calm?
"Very well, if you are going to be so stubborn, Abarai," Byakuya sighed.
Renji felt a little, warm throb of his taicho's power that entered his body and instantly sent his mind into a spin.
So not fair.
The one I most admire, the one I secretly love is holding me while I sleep…and…I…can't…fucking…move!
Damn…how bad am I hurt?
XXXXXXXXXX
"Damn, Kurosaki!" Grimmjow complained as he carried the stunned shinigami into a little cave and lowered him to the stone floor, "Making me carry you all of this way. Well, there's a sandstorm out there, so we can't go any further. I did manage to get into Hueco Mundo before the shinigamis locked everything down. This place is wrecked too, but, you're in luck. I happen to have a little hidden oasis, where there's everything we need to recover and knock some sense back into you."
He glared down at Ichigo's still stunned expression.
"Are you hearing me at all, asshole?" the blue-haired hollow yelled, "I don't wanna have to carry your big butt all of the way there, so you need to wake the hell up and pay attention!"
Ichigo remained motionless, his unseeing eyes aimed up at the ceiling of the cave.
"Damn it, will you wake th'fuck up?" Grimmjow steamed, kicking him and sending him crashing into the stone wall at the back of the cave.
He watched in mingled fascination and dismay as Ichigo struck the wall, hard enough to knock bits of the stone loose, then he collapsed onto the floor like a rag doll.
"GODDAMMIT!" the hollow roared, stomping to the back of the cave and dragging the unmoving shinigami onto his knees, clenching the front of his tattered shihakusho.
His blue eyes stared icily into Ichigo's, searching almost desperately for any sign of cognizance.
"ICHIGO!" he screamed in the young man's face, "FUCKING-WAKE-UP!"
For one breathless moment, Ichigo remained perfectly still, then his staring eyes blinked slowly, and began to clear. The shinigami substitute's golden brown orbs found Grimmjow's blue ones and blinked again.
"Grimmjow?" Ichigo managed shakily.
The former Espada almost smiled, but then stiffened and shoved the other man away.
"It's about fucking time you got your act together," the blue-haired hollow huffed, "Tch, making me carry you like some goddamned princess."
Ichigo blinked again and rubbed his eyes, then looked around questioningly.
"Wh-where are we?" he asked, giving the hollow a confused look.
"Where the hell do you think we are?" Grimmjow scolded him, "You should be able to tell we're in Hueco Mundo."
"Why did you bring me here?"
Grimmjow drew in a long breath and let it out slowly.
"Urahara said that it wouldn't be a good idea for you to stay in the Seireitei. Even the Rukongai isn't safe for you."
"Why not?" Ichigo asked, "Isn't Ywach dead?"
"Yeah," Grimmjow answered, settling on the ground and leaning against a stone wall, "and there are quite a lot of quincy survivors who are kinda pissed about that."
Ichigo's eyes dropped and a troubled look came onto his face.
"And why the hell would they care about that?" he mused, "The guy used all of them to kill the king and take the throne, then he destroyed his own people."
Grimmjow shot him a meaningful glare.
"Not that the rank and file down here know that," he said skeptically, "To them, they just sensed that the king recalled the power he gave those guys. Hey, it belonged to him. Nothing wrong with him taking it back, right?"
"Except for the fact that their lives went right along with it," Ichigo said sadly.
"A bastard's justice," Grimmjow said dispiritedly, "We got the same treatment from Aizen when he was done with us."
Ichigo studied the blue-haired hollow's weary expression for a moment.
"I'm sorry."
Grimmjow huffed out a scoffing breath.
"Don't be. You had nothing to do with all of that. You stopped them both."
Ichigo gazed at Grimmjow silently.
"So, how does that feel…savior of the three worlds?"
XXXXXXXXXX
"Well," Aizen said, looking up from the examination table he laid, restrained, on, "this is an interesting choice you've made. A locked and coded dimension within the precipice world? Are you sure it's stable?"
"Yup," Kisuke affirmed, smiling down at the former taicho as he finished healing the damage to Aizen's ruined chest, "I found it during my banishment and made sure to list it as dangerous, so that the Gotei 13 would avoid it. It's where I do some of my more…interesting research."
"I would say, dubious," Aizen mused, "Are you going to leave me without an arm?"
"Can't seem to fix that," Kisuke said, studying the stump of the limb, "That was a direct hit. The hole in your chest was a glancing blow. The reiatsu wasn't as cooked there."
His fingers brushed against the bandaged edge of the stump and he frowned.
"I think even Orihime's power won't be able to help…not that I'd put her within a mile of you, but transcendent reiatu is tricky…and although, as you once said, her ability treads on the toes of the gods, it doesn't overpower their direct reiatsu strike. I'm going to need to think about this some."
"You're going to some effort," Aizen noted, "Why? Do you have some nefarious plans for me? Or…are you just going to use me to find answers, then send me back?"
"Well," Kisuke said, smirking, "can you really blame me for not wanting to loose you on poor ol' Soul Society again? I mean, Karakura Town barely escaped being destroyed just to make you a key to the royal realm. You don't think I'm going to let you loose to wreak that kinda havoc on everyone, do you?"
"How disappointing."
"You didn't like the treatment you got in Muken?" Kisuke chuckled, "There's a surprise. You said Mayuri tortured you?"
"I did."
"Did you enjoy it?"
"No."
"Well, maybe before you try to kill the king again, you'll think about the consequences, ne?"
"I know the king is dead."
Kisuke paused for a moment, looking down into Aizen's quiet brown eyes.
"When I send my reiatsu into a person to use my power, I can read what their senses have taken in," Aizen explained, "I saw that Ichigo is suffering, because the quincy king forced Ichigo's hand to end the king's miserable, imprisoned life."
"Ironic, huh?" Kisuke mused, shaking his head, "You can't do it, yourself, even in a transcendent body, but the reiatsu monster that your dastardly deeds created…finished the job for you."
"I'll have to thank him when I see him. He did survive, didn't he? I didn't sense his death."
"Ichigo's alive."
"Good."
Kisuke's grey eyes reflected a little moment of surprise, earning him a warmer look form the man on the examination table.
"Who would have thought that all of my wickedness would create something pure? Who would have thought there was a reason for everything that happened before."
"You've lost me," Kisuke said, studying him more closely, "What are you trying to tell me here, Sosuke?"
"Don't you understand?" Aizen asked more softly, "Everything exists in a delicate balance. Everything."
XXXXXXXXXX
Rikichi kept his eyes on the floor of the large hospital ward as his quincy handler led him into a room, where three men laid in beds with monitors hooked up to them. An aged quincy leaned over one of the men, another quincy with long, blonde hair. Rikichi heard his brother give a little gasp and squeezed his hand warningly.
"That's the one who attacked my division," Ryuu managed to whisper to him, "He was with the quincy king."
"I heard his name was Haschwald," Riki whispered back.
"Be quiet, you two!" their handler snapped, "Get over there and help him."
The two youths approached the quincy physician, who gave them a curious look, then glanced back at their handler.
"These two will be of no use until they've been fed. They're nearly starved. Get them some food, Deryk."
Their handler scowled but stomped away to bring the food. The doctor looked down at the two youths and smiled.
"Are you injured, yourselves?" he asked.
"N-no," Rikichi answered.
He stiffened and stared as he spotted Tetsuya on the third bed in the room. The doctor followed his gaze, then gave Rikichi a questioning look.
"You know that shinigami?" he asked.
"Ah…"
The doctor's smile warmed.
"I ask because I am having trouble determining his injury. We can't wake him, and neither can we read his reiatsu. If you know this man, can you tell me if that is normal for him?"
Rikichi paused, struggling inwardly.
He's being nice now, but we're here in quincy territory. These are enemies. And…I don't know if this doctor will stick to an oath like the ones our healers take. I don't know if I can trust him.
He looked past the doctor to Tetsuya's troubled sleeping face.
But if I don't say anything, how will I help him? We need Tetsu-chan's help if we are to get out of here! I need to think of something!
"I know why you hesitate," the old doctor assured him, "I am an enemy to you. And I can't promise to help you. I will promise not to hurt you or your friends. I just want to understand what I am looking at. This man…is not a normal shinigami. Can you tell me what he is?"
"I…I don't really know about all of that," Rikichi managed finally, "I only know that he is a healer."
He glanced at the two men lying in the other beds.
"He's a really good healer…a gentle person. If you help me to heal him, then I know…he can heal those two officers, there."
The doctor glanced at the two injured quincies, then looked back at Rikichi.
"We need their strength if we are to survive," the doctor confided, "The blonde man is Haschwald, the right hand of Ywach, and the red-haired man is Bazzard Black, a son of one of the old quincy noble houses. So, if you will help me, I will help you. Tell me what you can about this man, and I will try my best to awaken him…but when he wakes, he must heal those two. They are beyond my ability. But if this man is a powerful healer, like you say, maybe he can heal them."
Rikichi nodded.
"All healers in Soul Society are sworn to heal any who they can. I promise you, if you can awaken Tetsuya-san, he can heal those men!"