Blood and Ashes
A brand new story collaboration by Wildwind13 and Spunky0ne!
~xXx~
The war with the quincies has left more than just the Seireitei in ruins. As the war ends, Kenpachi, Renji and Kisuke struggle with damage to body, mind and heart…MxM, maybe mpreg later?...Kenpachi/Tetsuya, Byakuya/Renji, Kisuke/Ichigo
~xXx~
Chapter 1: In the Rain
The sound of falling rain was the first thing to reach into Kenpachi Zaraki's mind as he laid in the muddy wreckage of the Seireitei. As the sting of his many wounds began to break through, he recalled his recent return to the Seireitei via the long, winding staircase that led down from the royal realm. One minute he'd been on his feet, running, then remnants of the defeated quincy king's army had attacked from out of nowhere, blasting the steps out from underneath them and sending the eleventh division captain and his comrades tumbling down into the abyss. The dry, aching feeling in his throat and feverish burning on his skin informed him that he must have activated his bankai reflexively and turned himself into a red demon, a creature much more suited to the task of falling from such a height and surviving. He wasn't sure where his fellow officers were, but he did feel the presence of someone leaning over him.
At first, he thought that the flowery scent around him belonged to the leader of the Kuchiki clan, but then he caught the scent of leather beneath it.
Not Byakuya then, but a Kuchiki.
"Please hold still," a male voice requested, "You've lost a lot of blood and reiatsu. It will take some time for me to restore it."
"Ungh," Kenpachi grunted, "Yer voice is as pretty as yer scent, healer. Kinda reminds me of Byakuya. You a Kuchiki?"
"I am Tetsuya Kuchiki," the healer answered, "I am Lord Byakuya's healer and bodyguard."
"H-healer and bodyguard, huh?" the injured captain coughed, "How's that work?"
He strained his ears to hear the answer, but the healer's warm touch on his face brought with it a swirl of drowsiness that Kenpachi was more than happy to sink into to avoid the pain that was jolting his body. Tetsuya gazed down at his patient, his worried frown deepening as he carefully examined Kenpachi's injuries again.
Not only is there damage to the bones and joints, there is a chaotic reiatsu present in the muscles and nerves of his back and legs. I'm surprised he could talk to me. I'm not surprised at all that he didn't seem able to move his limbs. He needs surgery right away, but his condition is so unstable…
Tetsuya examined the area around them, a hellscape of scorched and tumbled earth blotted with shattered, mud splashed stone and the skeletal remains of now blackened trees.
The war with the quincies destroyed much of the Seireitei. Everything, even the fourth division was targeted. The quincy king truly sought the complete end of all of us shinigamis.
"Angel?" Kenpachi groaned, drawing Tetsuya's blue eyes back to rest on him, "You've gotta get me back on my feet. That bastard, Ywach, may be dead, but look around you. The quincy soldiers who survived know that they're screwed now. They are gonna run for the shadows to survive like they did before, but they know they've gotta take out as many of us as they can while they're leavin' the Seireitei. Fight's not over. I've gotta…"
Kenpachi's eyes widened as he spotted a little group of white clad figures heading through the pouring rain, hands reaching for their weapons as they approached.
"Hurry up," he coughed, trying to rise, only to feel the younger man's hand push down on his chest, "What're ya…?"
Tetsuya rose slowly to his feet, one slim hand reaching to loose his sword from its sheath. He faced the small band of quincies as the skies opened up above them and the rain pounded down relentlessly. Kenpachi struggled fiercely, howling in agony as he forced himself onto his hands and knees, his back and legs shaking madly at the continued use.
"Tetsuya!"
The barbarian captain's rain-splashed eyes blinked and he gritted his teeth, snarling as he managed to wrap one hand around the handle of his broken sword.
"Nozarashi," he grunted, his head going into a hard spin that seemed to steal away what strength was left in his quaking limbs, "Fuck!"
As his body splashed down in the mud again, he heard the garbled pounding of approaching hoofbeats and an equine war scream. The last thing he saw as he lost consciousness was Tetsuya's slender body bathed in blinding blue light and beside him, a rearing black stallion with the same brilliant sapphire eyes. Tetsuya's calm voice seemed to reach through the heavy thunderclaps and the shouts of the oncoming enemy, assuring the injured captain that this young man was far more than he seemed.
Shinigami Tenba.
A roar of blinding colors erupted around the younger man and his stallion and instantly Kenpachi Zaraki was thrown into deep, impenetrable blackness.
~xXx~
Renji…
The voice sounded far away, garbled by the shaky hiss of returning consciousness. It felt like the name was familiar. He knew that whoever was saying it sounded as familiar as the name itself, but no matter how he strained his mind, he couldn't connect all of the pieces together. He had no sense of his own body, just a strange feeling of being tilted this way and that, a dizziness he was sure would have prompted him to feel nauseous if indeed it could reach his frozen body.
Fuck…what happened to me?
He thought he might have heard a little whimper and cringed as a warm hand squeezed his and he realized that the pathetic sound must have come from him.
"Renji."
The voice was closer this time, closer and radiating with concern.
Who is that?
The fingers that brushed against his face felt smooth and his healer's reiatsu strong, but expertly controlled. The man's voice was as silken as his touch.
"Hold still, Abarai. We are safe now…or as safe as we can be for now. I was able to send a hell butterfly requesting evacuation. Help will be here soon."
"Wh-who…?" he managed, his voice croaking oddly.
The other man let out a long breath.
"It was retreating quincies attempting to slow our return from the royal realm," he answered, clearly misunderstanding.
"N-no…who are…you?"
A muted gasp escaped his rescuer and that warm, smooth hand touched his face again.
"Don't be troublesome, Abarai," the man chided him, "We must be quiet and remain concealed until we can be evacuated. Rest now."
"But…"
"Rest," the other insisted, a little caress releasing a swirl of sedative reiatsu that sent the injured man tumbling back into sleep.
~xXx~
I failed.
Kisuke's pale grey eyes scanned the bleak, chaotic landscape, a mass of stark black bones of destroyed buildings, tumbled and scattered remnants of nearly unidentifiable items, thrown together with countless fallen bodies. He knew exactly where he was standing, and how it should have looked…how it had looked before. The maze of streets that would have been calm at the beginning of the day, strong buildings kissed with morning light rising behind them, soldiers of the early watch moving about to keep the peace, vendors beginning to open their doors as warm, delicious smells of cooking food filled the air.
All of it is gone.
Kisuke swallowed hard around the knot in his throat, unable to force down the harsh ache and bitter taste of his regret.
Sure, Ywach is gone. I was able to help find the path to victory over him, but…what good is victory if this is the result? Our homes reduced to rubble, whole families obliterated and the survivors in anguish over the ones we've lost. Blood and ashes covering everything in layers so thick we can barely dig our way out. We can't get the filth out of our lungs. Ywach wanted to shatter this world and he did do that. Even though he's gone, the devastation remains.
We're alive and suffering far more than if we'd failed and died.
A warm hand came to rest on his shoulder.
"Kisuke."
The voice brought a sad little smile to the shopkeeper's lips, but even that small joy couldn't light his eyes.
"Hey Ichigo."
"What're you doing out here all by yourself?" Ichigo asked, giving him a sideways glance as he slowly followed the elder shinigami's gaze to the ruined landscape, "You're still supposed to be resting…healing."
The shopkeeper let out a little agnostic huff of breath.
"Huh, I'm not the only one. You're more wrecked than me."
Ichigo paused, considering his words.
"Maybe my body's more wrecked than yours, but it looks to me like you're in your head still doing more damage. You should stop it. You did all you could, just like everyone else."
"Lot of good it did. Look at this place, Ichigo."
For a moment, Ichigo was quiet, just holding that one hand on his mentor's shoulder and studying the hellscape in front of them.
"It's pretty destroyed, yeah," he agreed solemnly, "but the thing is…Ywach was a really powerful enemy. He was set on destroying everything and everyone in his path. Then, he would have just gone on creating people and things to fill the space, then sweeping them away again to steal their power to keep himself going. We're suffering, but we're going to rebuild here and we're going to keep going."
"Until the next Ywach comes along and knocks it down, and the next and the next. Does it really matter if either way, we keep getting broken?"
Ichigo stepped around in front of him, blocking out the troubling view and filling it with the only thing that could bring comfort to the former Seireitei exile. Messy ginger hair, proud golden-brown eyes with warmth that seemed to spill out and find it's way into Kisuke's frozen heart. And Ichigo's smile, even a sad, sympathetic one so heartbreakingly beautiful it brought tears to the shopkeeper's eyes.
"Hey, things are messed up. We're messed up, but we're still here and we're gonna be okay."
It was such a sweet outpouring and he wanted to cave in and let himself be reassured.
But…I wanted to save everyone, and too many have died. Can we really call this winning a war?
"We wouldn't be here at all if we hadn't all pulled together for the fight," Ichigo went on, seeming to read his mentor's thoughts, "Maybe we didn't save everyone we wanted to, but we stopped him from killing everyone. We protected the future for the ones of us who survived…and the ones who aren't even here yet. Give yourself a break. You're always telling me not to be too hard on myself. Take your own advice. Come on into the shelter with me and let's clean up, get some dry clothes and eat some hot food. We need to get our strength back. We're gonna need it."
Kisuke glanced briefly at the guards standing watch around the fourth division shelter.
"Yeah, you're right about that."
He felt strangely numb inside, a shadow of himself as he turned with Ichigo and walked back into the shelter. He barely felt the increased warmth inside the main tent and he was tempted to go and join the rotation of healers working at saving the injured. But Ichigo tugged on his arm and he followed quietly, trying to let everything fade into comforting quiet in his tortured mind.
But every beat of his heart ached with that same soulful regret that he couldn't shake. It continued to eat away at him as he partook of the relief offered in the shelter. The hot water of the shower and the fresh clothing should have done something to take away the chill inside, but it seemed like nothing could reach him…nothing but that warm hand that continued to find reasons to touch him, the calm, patient voice of the younger man and the lips that found reason to smile even amidst the worst devastation.
"Beds and bedding are short, so we've gotta bunk together."
The words cracked across Kisuke's mind like a thunderclap.
"What?"
Ichigo laughed and tugged on his arm.
"C'mon, I don't bite. I promise."
And all of a sudden, his own lips were smiling. He followed Ichigo to the small, partitioned bed they'd been assigned, thanking his lucky stars he wouldn't be sleeping alone. He fell onto the cot, exhausted and barely able to drag himself over so that Ichigo could follow. Out of the corner of an eye, he caught sight of a little blush on the younger man's cheeks, but it could, he thought, have been brought on by going from the chill outside to the warmth in the shelter, or the hot showers or food. The closeness of Ichigo's presence, the solidity of his body next to the shopkeeper's brought back a measure of realness, of feeling. It was a guilty pleasure, but he wasn't going to deny himself that. Instead, he laid still, breathing in the little hints of the younger man's pleasant scent and stole a peek at his handsome sleeping face. His eyes blinked several times, then closed as he began a slow fall into sleep.
He wasn't sure how long he slept before a little gasp and movement of the cot brought him awake again. He turned to find Ichigo sitting up in the bed, quivering and panting softly, trying to be quiet.
"Hey, are you all right?" Kisuke asked, sitting up and slipping an arm around the substitute.
"S-sorry," Ichigo managed shakily, "It was…just a bad dream."
"Yeah," Kisuke affirmed, pulling him closer, "I've got you."
Ichigo worked to slow his breath, his heart still pounding and throbbing with memory.
"I know it's normal."
"It is. I'm having them too," Kisuke reflected, "but we're okay now. We're safe here."
Ichigo's tremoring lips found their smile again.
"Right."
It's really stuff like this that makes us see the truth, Kisuke mused inwardly, We're never really safe, are we, Ichigo?
But he could fool himself, at least for as long as Ichigo clung to him, pushing the fear away and forcing himself to see the bright side.
We just have to keep moving and make the best of things.
~xXx~
Byakuya gave a little sigh of relief as he sensed a group of healers approaching and he stepped out of the little shelter he'd sought with Renji after the fighting.
"Captain Kuchiki!" one of the healers called out, running forward to meet him, "Are you all right, sir? Do you have any injuries?"
"I am fine," Byakuya assured the youth, "but my vice-captain has been injured. We'll need to evacuate him to the nearest shelter."
"Yes sir," the healer answered as the second caught up.
"Renji has several injuries that I've bandaged," Byakuya explained as they approached the little shelter, "The worst seems to be a head injury. He was awake, but he wasn't making sense. He didn't seem to know me. He lost consciousness about a half hour ago. He seems stable, but…"
He trailed off and shook his head.
"Take care of him."
"Of course, sir."
The second healer, a young woman, approached him, looking a little wary of him, but wearing a determined expression.
"Sir, please let me examine you."
"I said I am fine. Renji is the one who needs your assistance."
Sweat broke out on the healer's forehead, but she persisted.
"We are required to examine all soldiers we come across, whether they think they're fine or not…captains especially…"
He was ready to scold her for her disrespect, but for some reason, the woman's dark hair and gentle blue eyes reminded him.
"Let me clean that up for you, cousin," Tetsuya insisted.
"I told you, I'm fine."
"Mmhmm," Tetsuya agreed, shifting his body to block any attempt for his stubborn elder cousin to leave the edge of the brook where they'd stopped to clean up after their training, "I know. I just…want to take care of you. It's what a healer does, after all. Please, let me."
"Tetsuya," he whispered too softly to be heard.
I wonder if you are all right. I felt your reiatsu and it felt like you were fighting. I know you only fight when you have to. Your heart is the heart of a healer, and your desire is to save lives, not to take them. But…you do not hesitate to fight when it's what will save lives.
I wish I could help you.
He took a steadying breath and gave the female healer a little nod, allowing her to approach and to begin to address the wounds he'd been ignoring.
"Thank you," he said quietly, making the lady healer smile as she continued her work.
"It's no problem, sir," the young woman assured him, "I'm glad to help."
"I'm more concerned about my vice-captain," Byakuya confessed, looking over to where the male healer leaned over Renji, "Is the head wound severe?"
"It's definitely significant," the healer admitted, "but I can stabilize him and once we reach the emergency shelter, our captain…"
He broke off, a sad look overtaking his expression.
"Our…vice-captain will assess his condition and will take care of any procedures that are necessary."
"Renji has lost a lot of blood and his reiatsu is nearly depleted. I've attempted to restore some of his reiatsu, but he may need blood. Our blood types are different."
"We will have blood for a transfusion at the shelter if he needs one," the healer reassured him, "Before the conflict began, the captain commander warned Captain Unohana to prepare for a dire emergency. We are well prepared."
Byakuya nodded approvingly, relaxing slightly as he watched Renji's healer work.
Thank goodness for the late head captain's foresight. Things are bad right now, but they could have been even worse.
His dark grey eyes locked on Renji's unconscious body and his heart flickered in his chest.
Things could have been much, much worse.