Bleach 1. The Way of the Snake

**Stolen Seedling**

**By Spunky0ne**

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**(I have to give thanks to ****_I have the balls to be queer_**** for requesting a story like this one. I appreciate the suggestion and hope you'll enjoy this idea that came to me after that request. Happy reading! And don't forget to review! I'm anxious to hear what you think! Oh, and just so you know, I'm playing with the characters' ages slightly, making Byakuya and Renji a bit closer together in age than the anime does. I also play a bit with the timeline, so it's a little AU, but still a good story!)**

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**Chapter 1: The Way of the Snake**

Orochi watched through gemlike green eyes as his eighteen-year-old cousin and future clan leader laughed and joked with half-noble cousin Tetsuya and several others in the sweet-smelling gardens of Kuchiki Manor. All around them, wealthy relatives dressed in formal kimonos talked, laughed and enjoyed offerings of fine food and drink, the lovely environs and the company of the one they had gathered to honor.

"I only wish my father could be here," Byakuya admitted to Tetsuya, who nodded and smiled sympathetically.

"I know what you mean," he said bracingly, "Being in somewhat the same position as you, I do often think about what my parents might have felt as I take each important step forward. But you _do_ still have your grandfather, ne? And he makes no secret of how proud he is of you."

"I know," Byakuya said quietly, turning out of the gardens and moving with Tetsuya out onto the forest path, "And I appreciate having my grandfather's support, of course. But my father was…different. He didn't see things the way everyone else does. He always seemed to find the good in everyone. And when he looked at me, he really seemed to see me, not just as the heir and future clan leader, but as his son. I miss that Tetsuya-san."

"Of course you do," agreed his cousin, his blue eyes scanning the area around them and settling on a cluster of brush near them.

He turned his head slightly.

"You might as well come out, you idiot," he went on, "I sensed you before we left the gardens."

The bushes emitted a soft, equine squeal and a large black stallion emerged from behind them. Tetsuya and Byakuya approached the huge horse and Tetsuya bounded onto his back. He reached down and pulled Byakuya up, and the heir settled onto the horse's back behind him.

"Let's have some fun, Arashi," Tetsuya said, grinning as the stallion reared, then shot forward, his long mane and tail flowing in the breeze as he ran.

He made the trail they were on disappear in a flash, then as they reached the end of the trail where a stand of sakura trees stood next to a large waterfall, he gathered himself and flew over the edge, carrying the cousins into the air over the lake beneath the waterfall. Arashi soared over the water as the cousins looked down and saw their reflections in the moonlight on the lake's softly rippling surface. Arashi landed smoothly at the water's edge, then launched into a wild run across the expanse of the meadow beyond. They found another trail and followed its path deep into a grove of oak trees, watching glimpses of the starry skies overhead as the horse beneath them continued to run. As they worked their way through the darkest part of the grove of trees, Byakuya's sharp eyes spotted a set of ruins, and he called out to Tetsuya to stop. They turned Arashi and angled closer, then stopped in front of the old gray castle.

"What is this place?" Byakuya asked softly, "I thought that I knew every place on Kuchiki land, but never noticed this."

"That's Itamigiri," Tetsuya said, nodding in the castle's direction, "It used to be the place where the council would imprison and punish family members who transgressed. There are wild stories about the things that happened there, of course. For all that we are a civilized clan, there are dark things in our past, as with most, Byakuya-sama."

Byakuya smiled at his cousin.

"How did I know you would know about it, Tetsuya-san? You seem to know about everything. Do you do nothing but pore over our histories and journals? Surely there are more interesting things…like that girl from the Yamashina clan, Aratani-chan!"

"Don't tease," said Tetsuya, slapping him lightly on the shoulder, "You_ know_ that the noble women are off limits to me. If I ever want to marry, then I will have to take a peasant wife. You know that."

"I know," Byakuya sighed, "but I wouldn't give up all hope. I mean, your parents managed to stay together and were able to have you. So some noble and peasant relationships work out. There _is_ hope for you and Aratani then, ne?"

"Not likely," chuckled Tetsuya, "but I wouldn't pass on the opportunity if it presented itself, you know."

"Then we shall hope for that. Come along Tetsuya. I want to explore."

They slipped down off of Arashi's back and Tetsuya sent the horse trotting away to return to the meadow to graze. They lit kido lights in their hands and passed slowly through the aged remains of the castle, shivering slightly at the coldness of the environs, and studying the implements of torment they found with wide eyes.

"I can't believe they actually did this to our own family!" Byakuya hissed softly, "I'm glad that things are different now!"

"Me too," laughed Tetsuya, "In those times, my father would have been imprisoned here and my mother would have been sent back to the town she came from, after they drowned me before I took my first breath. We half-bloods are still looked down on, but not with the vehemence that we were before."

"Thank kami for that!" Byakuya said, shaking his head, "I don't know what I would do without you to inject some actual fun into my life, Tetsuya-san. It seems if they could tie me up and only let me live and breathe as they chose, that stuffy old council would do it!"

"I don't think they're that bad!" said Tetsuya, turning them back in the direction they had come.

"This place is spooky," commented Byakuya as they returned to the entrance, "I think it would be that way even during the day."

"I think so too," Tetsuya agreed, looking around and preparing to whistle for Arashi.

He inhaled sharply as a dark form appeared before them, but then relaxed somewhat as he recognized Orochi.

"Great," Byakuya muttered under his breath, "Can't seem to get away from him today, it seems."

"Byakuya-sama," Orochi said in greeting, "I thought I sensed you had come this way. Was the party so boring you had to run away?"

"It wasn't the most interesting occasion," Byakuya admitted, "but we had already made the rounds several times, so it wasn't rude to wander off for a bit, as long as we return in time to farewell the guests."

"Ah," said Orochi, nodding and removing a bottle from his sleeve. He sat down and conjured a small fire, then removed a set of sake cups and set them down, "Come then, I have something to share with you in honor of your coming of age."

Tetsuya and Byakuya exchanged glances of misgiving, but led by rules of propriety, they sat down with their cousin and waited as he warmed the cups of sake and handed them to Tetsuya and Byakuya. He held his cup up and the other two youths did the same.

"To our future leader. May he always lead wisely and well," Orochi said quietly.

He took a sip of his sake and watched as Byakuya and Tetsuya sipped at theirs as well.

"I saw that you were admiring Aratani again," Orochi said to Tetsuya, "Not to be rude, but I do wish you'd quit ogling her like that. She _is_ likely to be paired with me."

"Peace, Cousin," said Tetsuya, his eyes looking oddly sleepy, "I know my exact chances of ever taking a noble wife. I do not delude myself, and if she is not meant for me, I will be content to admire her from a distance…and always in an honorable fashion."

"Ah," said Orochi, watching with gleaming eyes as Byakuya yawned and leaned against Tetsuya, "I understand. And I take no offense, of course."

He continued to watch as Tetsuya and Byakuya sagged against each other and eventually collapsed onto the ground. Laughing to himself, Orochi waited until he was sure they were unconscious, then lifted Tetsuya and carried him into the castle ruins. He placed his cousin in one of the dark, cold cells and locked him inside. After using a disruptive kido to make sure he would not remember how he came to be there, he left Tetsuya's collapsed form and returned to Byakuya.

"If you like peasants so much," he hissed softly, "Let's see how you like being taken by one, ne? This is going to be fun...especially when it gets around and you have to face all of the whispers and rumors."

He lifted Byakuya over his shoulder and turned in the direction of the Rukon.

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"Look…I told you, you can't do this. I won't let you!" insisted Renji, taking Rukia by the arm, "I know we're not doing so well, but we're not so desperate that we have to resort to this, okay? We'll find another way!"

"Renji," Rukia said, glancing back at the small group of children sleeping on the floor of the abandoned shack they inhabited, "You know we have to have more food. We are all slowly starving to death! We've put this off for as long as we could. And it isn't like we can keep putting it off. We aren't going to make it if we don't do something. It's almost winter. We need food and we need a way to keep warm if we're going to survive. I have to do something. I know we wanted to avoid it, but it's just a part of being stuck here. You know that!"

Renji sighed and let his hand slide down to take Rukia's. He looked into her eyes for several agonizing minutes, then sighed again in resignation.

"F-fine," he said softly, "but I'll be the one to do it. You stay here. I'll go to Shima-san and I'll come back in the morning with what we need."

"Renji…" Rukia whispered, shaking her head, "It's not right…"

"Like it's any more right for you?" Renji said softly, "At least if I do it, then we won't end up with another mouth to feed here. We can barely manage the ones we have."

Rukia looked back at the other children and squeezed Renji's hands.

"Thank you for helping me take care of them. I just couldn't bear to see them waste away like they were. But Renji, I can't let you do this."

Renji smiled.

"Of course not. I knew you'd say that."

He picked up a white stone from the ground and held it in his palm. Rukia stared at it for a moment, then looked back at her friend in confusion.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly.

"I'm leaving it to fate," he said, closing his hands and slipping them behind his back, "If you pick the hand with the stone, you go. If you pick the empty hand, then I go."

He let the stone fall to the ground behind him, then pretended to shuffle the stone around behind his back. He placed his closed hands in front of him and nodded for her to choose. Rukia studied his hands for several minutes, then selected one. Renji smiled sadly and opened his hand, revealing an empty palm.

"I guess it's me, then," he said softly, moving forward and hugging her as tears rose in her eyes.

"Renji…"

"Don't worry," the red-haired youth told her, "I'll be back in the morning and I'll have what we need."

He let her go and flash stepped away, leaving her there, rubbing her teary eyes and sniffling softly. A moment later, her breath caught as she spotted the white stone sitting on the ground near where Renji had been standing.

"D-don't think I don't know what you did," she cried softly, the tears flowing into her face, "Baka…"

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"Your client is in the next room," Shima told the red-haired youth, who stared down at the floor and tried to calm the hard beating of his heart, "You will both be masked, as he does not wish his identity known, nor to recognize you should he see you again. He is the relative of a very wealthy client, so you will make certain that you satisfy him thoroughly. I…assume you are experienced enough to please him?"

Renji swallowed hard and nodded silently, clenching his teeth. He was lying, of course. He had never been touched in a sexual by anyone. But he couldn't bear the thought of failing Rukia and the other children, so he steeled himself against the sickness inside and walked past Shima and into the bedroom that the brothel owner had indicated. He walked inside and shut the door behind him, placing his back against it for a moment as he came to grips with what he was about to do. After a few minutes, he found it odd that the man in the room had said nothing of him hanging about by the door, agonizing. He looked at the person sitting silently on the bed and caught his breath softly in surprise.

He was masked, so Renji could not see his face, but he could tell immediately that the person before him was a boy who looked to be barely older than he was, and had the delicate look of one of the nobles.

_He almost looks like he could be one of the royals…_

But there was no reason one of _them_ would come to Inuzuri looking for sex. It was surprising that a noble youth like this one would do so, but Renji was aware that sometimes they came to shed their innocence in private…for their own reasons. Perhaps, he thought, it was that way with this young man. He moved closer, admiring the youth's glowing pale skin, the calm, steel gray eyes, slender build and the long, flowing black hair that had been loosed all around him. He rested quietly against the pillows on the bed, dressed in a white yukata that was loosely tied at his waist, his slightly hazed eyes fixed on Renji and a frown on his lips.

"I'm, uh, sorry for staring," Renji said softly, "but I don't often see people like you around here. Not that it's a problem. You're…really beautiful."

The other youth blinked and lifted himself slightly as Renji climbed onto the bed next to him. He smiled at the noble youth, feeling more relaxed knowing that he didn't seem to be the only one who was a bit nervous and innocent. He froze as the other boy's hand reached out and delicate fingers touched his face, then moved on to loose his hair from the hair tie that held it back. He ran his fingers through the freshly washed strands and brought them to his nose to breathe in their scent. Renji found it odd that he chose not to speak, but took it to mean that he didn't want his voice to be recognized. He understood, of course, but as soon as he figured that out, he couldn't help but want to hear the youth's voice. He shook his head at his foolishness, but he couldn't seem to help himself. Not knowing quite what to do, he looked into the noble's gray eyes questioningly.

"Ah…well, you…came here to be satisfied, ne? Would you…like to get started?"

The youth's delicate hand curved around his cheek and brought him in for a surprisingly warm and intense kiss. And as they kissed, the noble's eyes remained fastened on his, looking dreamy and half-focused. A hot, and deliciously sweet tongue invaded Renji's mouth and the other youth's arms wrapped around him, bringing him down onto the noble's body. It felt strange, feeling the hardness of another male's arousal touching his through the thin yukatas they wore, but the contact was not unpleasant. In fact, Renji couldn't help but fasten onto the older boy's sweet mouth again and kiss him harder as they rubbed against each other, and both broke out in a sweat and slowly became breathless. He marveled at how the noble youth continued to hold back from making a sound…to the point where he seemed ethereal…only half real. He wondered if he had just drifted off and was dreaming, but found that the body that thrust upward into his was warm and alive and the youth's kisses were hungry and fierce. His reiatsu burned white-hot around them, sending Renji's thoughts into a beautiful spin as a pale hand moved to loose the ties at their waists and their yukata's fell away.

The noble sat up and pulled Renji onto his lap, still attacking his mouth furiously and loosing a beautiful, light moan that made the redhead rock hard and restless to take things further. He rubbed harder against the other boy, making him thrust heavily upward and tighten his hands on the redhead. He groaned, wanting more than anything to push the noble down and love that beautiful body until he screamed with pleasure. But he wasn't allowed to take a client without permission. And he wasn't allowed to ask…only to give what was asked of him.

But the youth had come to be pleasured, and despite how he had felt before, Renji couldn't help but enjoy this joining with such a lovely being he would never be allowed to touch in any other situation. So he climbed off of the youth's lap and buried his face in the soft skin of the noble's throat, loving the sound of his gentle, pretty sighs as Renji bit down on his throat and reached down to stroke his swollen member. He pushed the youth into a more reclined position and crawled down his body, touching and tasting every inch of that porcelain skin. He traced the perfect lines of the youth's slender torso, gently tormented his erect, pink nipples, then descended the rest of the way until his flushed face rested on a creamy inner thigh, just inches from the noble's aroused length. He felt a shiver move through the noble and looked into his eyes, wondering at the haze of confusion he saw there.

_He probably took something to ease his nervousness. That's why he seems a little off…_

Smiling up at the noble, he turned his head and gazed at the other youth's flushed nether region. All of a sudden, Renji's nervousness returned. He had never been with another guy…had never really thought about what it would be like. He wondered if it would be unpleasant, but before he could get too anxious about it, that soft, pleasant hand touched his face and he found himself moving forward. Ignoring the tickle of fear that shot through him, he closed his eyes and began a warm stimulation. His tongue encountered slightly salty fluid, but he found that it didn't have an unpleasant taste. He continued his ministrations and the youth made a sound of intense arousal. Pleased to know that he was succeeding at pleasing his client, he moved faster, intensifying the contact. The noble quivered beneath him as Renji placed his hands on the soft inner thighs, opening them wider and continued his amorous attentions as the youth moaned and writhed fitfully.

_Gods, he's beautiful! I've never seen anything like him…and I don't think I ever will again. I guess if I had to be with someone like this for money…for survival, I couldn't have fallen into sweeter arms…_

The noble turned and pushed Renji down on his back, then plunged into the redhead's mouth, seeking the pleasantness of their mingled tastes. His hips ground into Renji's roughly and his hands slipped down to position himself at the redhead's entrance. Renji held his breath and clenched the older youth's shoulders, waiting for the shock of pain, but the noble youth showed gentleness and restraint, moving slowly in slow, measured thrusts until he was fully buried in the redhead's body. The pretty gray eyes sought his again and the lovely body on top of Renji's began to move…slowly at first, then with increasing speed and depth as their arousal intensified. And even though Renji had thought it would be embarrassing, he couldn't stifle his loud moans, or his hungry cries as the noble struck the pleasure center inside and had him almost instantly seeing stars. He hadn't been able to think about what it would be like before. But the reality of it was amazing and heartbreakingly beautiful when the one he was with was like this boy…shy and reserved, calm and gentle, delicate, but beautifully strong. He felt tears in his eyes thinking that this would be their only time together…that this youth was just there to leave his innocence behind and then to return to normal life as though it had never happened. But Renji couldn't be with someone like that and just forget afterwards. He knew he would remember this night and this other beautiful boy forever.

The noble's hips thrust deeply into his and Renji's cries of pleasure grew and peaked in a hard scream of completion that he was sure must have been heard all through Inuzuri. Renji screamed again at the explosion of heat inside him and the burn of strong reiatsu around them. The noble's heaving body collapsed heavily onto Renji's and the two exchanged a flurry of intense, biting kisses before settling in each other's arms and drifting off to sleep. Renji woke later and found the noble still sleeping peacefully in his arms. He smiled and studied the carefully masked face, longing to see what he looked like. But as he started to reach for the mask, a tap sounded on the door and Shima entered the room. He looked at the two entwined forms on the bed and nodded in approval.

"Very good," he said softly, "His cousin is here to retrieve him."

Regretfully, Renji pulled free of the noble's sleeping body and accepted the money that Shima held out to him. He was shocked to find that it was enough to get them through the long winter months, and then some. He turned back to gather his things as Shima left the room. He started to leave, but then turned back and placed a last, gentle kiss on the noble's soft lips.

"Arigato," he said in a choked voice, "Because of you, our whole group of kids will have a warm place to stay and food for the winter. I'm very grateful. I know we'll never see each other again…but…I want you to know…it was…amazing being with you. I'll never feel anything like this again, I know. But it's worth it to have had just this small amount of time with you."

He kissed the noble youth harder and felt tears form in his eyes. The gray eyes opened and met his, looking lost and deeply confused. Unable to bear the swell of emotions inside him, Renji fled the room, leaving the youth looking after him.

Byakuya watched the door close behind the other boy and stared at the closed door, trying to remember how he had come to be in that place. His head ached fiercely and his body shook all over. He looked down at his exposed body and smelled the heavy scents of sakura and lovemaking. A shudder went through him as he realized what had happened to him. He rose and moved to the door, listening.

"He seemed very satisfied with the service. He's in there."

Byakuya didn't wait to see who had come for him. Terrified of the dishonor of being found in such a state…in such a place, he climbed out the window and flash stepped back to the Seireitei. Upon his arrival in the meadow near the manor, he heard Arashi's pealing cry and waited as the stallion ran to him and slid to a stop.

"A-arashi," he said uncertainly, "Arashi, what's wrong?"

He remembered then, being at the castle ruins with Tetsuya. He remembered nothing beyond coming out again and meeting someone. But he didn't know who had met them or how he had ended up in the Inuzuri brothel afterward. What he did know was that he was going to be in awful trouble with his grandfather.

"I have to find Tetsuya-san and get back home…" he said softly.

He climbed onto the stallion's back.

"I need to find Tetsuya-san," he told Arashi, "Take me to Tetsuya-san."

The black horse jumped forward and flash stepped away, moving back in the direction of the ruins of Itamigiri. They reached the ruins quickly and Byakuya slid down off of the stallion and conjured a kido lamp. He went back into the ruins and searched them carefully, calling out Tetsuya's name. Finally, as he searched the prison cells, he heard a return cry and found his cousin locked inside one of the cells.

"What happened?" he asked, shattering the lock on the cell and freeing his shaken cousin.

"I don't know," Tetsuya said, shaking his head, "I only remember us coming out of the castle and meeting someone. I don't remember who it was or what happened after that! What happened to you?"

"I'm fine," Byakuya assured his worried cousin, "but we have to get back. I am going to be in the worst trouble of my life!"

They left the ruins and climbed on Arashi's back, racing through the oak grove, through the meadows and back up the cliff to the forest path. They climbed off of Arashi and left him there, flash stepping back into the gardens and finding the place in a fit of activity. The head of security spotted them and gave a gasp of relief.

"Kuchiki-sama!" he cried, "Thank goodness you are safe! We weren't sure if maybe you had been injured when the hollows attacked!"

"H-hollows?" Tetsuya began, but Byakuya cut him off.

"Where is my grandfather?"

"He reported to the sixth division after the attack to go after the one who sent the hollows. It seems it was directed at killing you. But I will send a message to tell your grandfather that we found you and you are all right."

"Come," said Byakuya's attendant, flash stepping forward, "Let's get you bathed and comfortable."

"Arigato, Torio," Byakuya said, turning to follow the servant, "Tetsuya, come along. You should spend the night."

"Ah…certainly," his cousin said, falling in with them.

"Kuchiki-sama," said Torio, "What happened to your clothes?"

Byakuya looked down at the thin white yukata he wore and shook his head.

"Nothing…it's not important," he said quietly.

_No one knows what happened except the boy in Inuzuri and me…and we were masked. Someone drugged me and set me up to be found there…to be dishonored. I wonder who would do such a thing…_

Orochi stood in the distance, watching as his cousins followed Torio back inside and wearing a devilish, self-satisfied smirk.


	2. A Night to end all Regrets

**Chapter 2: A Night to End All Regrets**

**(Years later…After Aizen's fall…)**

Renji dropped down at his desk, trying hard to ignore the continued aching in his abused body and wondering briefly when his taichou would return from the first division. He hadn't seen Byakuya since catching sight of the noble as he drifted in and out of consciousness, following his battle with the big Espada it had taken (he heard) both Byakuya and Zaraki taichou to bring down. Knowing that fact brought some much needed healing to his wounded pride, but he still didn't feel like he had done enough. He had fought hard, yes. And he had made some brilliant moves. But he hadn't, in the end, triumphed over Szayel Aporro or the monstro Espada, whose name kept eluding him.

"Shit," he muttered, shaking his head.

Rukia had nearly died, but she had taken down the ninth Espada, and Ichigo had, after dying and being revived a few times, triumphed over Grimmjow, Ulquiorra and, in the end (with a little help from Kisuke) Aizen, himself. It seemed that everyone who had gone after Orihime had done more to aid in her rescue than he had. He tried to turn his mind to other things, but it was an inescapable fact. Despite his considerable power, despite his time at Byakuya's side, growing stronger and mastering his ban kai, he still fell short. He shook his head, unable to make the thought go away and found himself reaching for the bottle of sake he'd hidden in his desk.

He only relied on it when things got really bad, but things, it seemed were bad enough now, given the letdown of having been unconscious during the bulk of the fight leading to Aizen's fall. Only after the big Espada had fallen, was he revived and sent back with Rukia to join the others, who gathered around Ichigo as he learned that he was going to lose his shinigami powers.

"What a huge, fucking waste…" he whispered, his fingers finding the glass bottle in his desk, "The kid's a damned miracle of reiatsu power and soon he'll be nothing again…"

But at least, he thought, Ichigo got the chance to _be_ something before that. He had gone all out and, in the end, given everything to protect the ones he loved. And he'd been successful in it…unlike…

He would have continued to batter himself as he drank his way slowly into oblivion, but before he could even unscrew the cursed cap on the bottle, the door flew open and Rikichi scampered in.

Renji stared, oddly entranced at seeing something so unbelievingly normal, something he'd seen repeatedly, ever since the little fuck up had joined the sixth division. Rikichi flew past his desk, in desperate pursuit of a hell butterfly, making a breeze that sent half the papers on Renji's desk fluttering away…tripping over the trashcan and tumbling awkwardly to the floor. And as if to punctuate things, the door opened again and Byakuya walked in, paused, then turned a stern eye towards Renji.

"I see things have returned to their normal state here," he commented dryly, "You know Abarai, those reports are not going to get done if they are scattered all over the floor…"

"Yeah…yeah, I know, Taichou," Renji said, starting to rise.

He paused as Byakuya's hand motioned for him to sit again.

"Let the boy do it," he said, off-handedly, "You've barely been put back together. Rikichi…"

"Ah…" Rikichi said, almost freezing under Byakuya's gaze, "Hai, Kuchiki taichou. Sorry, it was my fault, sir, not Renj…um, Abarai fukutaichou's and…"

"The damage will be undone more quickly if you cease explaining and start moving the papers."

"Y-yes, of course, Kuchiki taichou!" Rikichi said as the hell butterfly fluttered to Byakuya and landed on his fingertip.

Renji watched as Byakuya sat down at his desk and Rikichi slowly began picking up the papers that had fallen. He felt bad for the kid being embarrassed like that right in front of Byakuya. It seemed the kid spent a hell of a lot of the time being embarrassed and screwing up. It made Renji wonder why out of all of the candidates in Rikichi's class at the academy, Byakuya had overlooked several others who were more powerful and selected this gentle, brown-eyed orphan boy that had only requested placement in Squad Six.

A pang of guilt passed through Renji as he thought about why Rikichi had done that.

Renji joined Ikkaku, Yumichika and the other blood-covered survivors of the eleventh who had gone into the Rukon to fight off a massive horde of particularly nasty hollows. As was normal for the eleventh, casualties on both sides had been high. It had hurt Renji inside to watch his comrades fall and die in front of him, but Zaraki taichou had no sympathy for them. In his opinion, if they couldn't keep themselves alive, then they weren't worth having in the division anyway. Battles were just a way of weeding out the unworthy. Renji's upbringing in Inuzuri had made him hard enough inside to bear the losses, but he felt them much more deeply than his taichou.

_But what Renji thought, he kept carefully to himself. After all, he hadn't chosen to be placed in the eleventh. He still didn't understand why, but Aizen taichou of the fifth division had arranged for his transfer to the eleventh. It was a promotion from his position in the fifth, but even before Aizen's betrayal, Renji had sensed that the man seemed not to like him so much. And everyone knew that when another taichou transferred a squad member to the eleventh, he was sending the person there with reasonable assurance he would die. It still chilled Renji that Aizen had thought that way about him, while treating him so gently on the surface. But that was Aizen…calm and gentle on the surface and deadly underneath. Renji was pleased now that even then he had defied Aizen by living long enough and growing strong enough to be noticed by the sixth division taichou he wanted so much to surpass._

_In any case, on that particular day in the Rukon, one of the villagers of the town they were in came up to him and handed him a clay cup filled with cool water. His gentle brown eyes fastened on Renji and then widened as he took in the sight of his tattoos and his zanpakutou._

"_Abarai-san!" the boy said, sounding nearly breathless, "Arigato, for saving our town, sir! We are very much in your debt. If you like, I will heal your wounds. I have some healing power."_

_Renji grinned at the boy, thinking how good it was to encounter such innocence and to know that the fighting and dying that went on around him actually had meaning beyond the one Zaraki taichou referred to…having fun and spilling blood. Renji had different feelings about why he fought…but to protect himself from failing in his taichou's eyes, his kept his thoughts inside. Well, except for moments like that…moments that reminded him that he fought to protect people. He heard Ikkaku snicker at the kid's words and reached back to smack him for his rudeness. He smiled down at Rikichi and patted him on the head._

"_I'm fine, kid. But thank you for offering."_

_He started to turn away as his group moved on, but then paused and gazed down at the boy for a moment. He looked back at Renji with wide eyes and a stunned expression._

"_Hey," he said softly, "If you have healing power…any power, in fact…and you want to help? You practice your abilities and get stronger. And when you are old enough, go to the shingami academy. We need healers and fighters, kid."_

"_R-rikichi," the boy said quietly, "My name is Rikichi. And I will do that, Abarai-san. And maybe someday, I'll be a strong fighter like you!"_

_He turned and ran before Renji could answer, leaving the redhead scratching his head and grinning._

"_He really likes you," commented Yumichika, smirking._

"_Shut up," Renji muttered, shaking his head and rejoining his group._

He had been taken by surprise upon seeing Rikichi's face among the group Byakuya had chosen out of a huge file of applicants, some years later. He remembered picking up the file and noting that the kid had respectable power and could usually get his shikai to operate, but he was outclassed by every other applicant Byakuya had selected. At the time, he had been too nervous about even talking to Byakuya when the man had not addressed him, so he kept his questions to himself and never asked why. He welcomed Rikichi with the rest of the recruits and later took him aside and welcomed him personally. He'd found himself smiling again at Rikichi's nervousness, and that cute, wide-eyed look he gave his superior officer. And then he saw the tattoo over the kid's eye and asked about it.

"You are the reason I reason I made myself stronger and qualified for the academy," he had told Renji, "I told that to my counselor at the academy and he put that there so that I would remember my reason for becoming a shinigami. I want to be able to fight…to defend the villages like you do."

He noticed right away that the kid was floundering and quietly assigned a couple of junior officers to work with him so that he wouldn't embarrass himself. And Rikichi improved enough that no one questioned why he was in the squad, but he was still unseated, still just considered fodder for the battlefield.

But he hadn't died yet, so there was still hope for Rikichi. He could still fight and protect as Renji did. But hopefully, he wouldn't be as much of a fuck up as Renji thought himself to be. He watched as Rikichi picked up the papers from the floor and piled them neatly on Renji's desk. A hell butterfly fluttered into the room and Rikichi moved to catch it, missed again and fell against the desk, upsetting the papers again. Byakuya went on blithely with his work, as though nothing had happened. Renji watched quietly as Rikichi sighed, lowered himself, and began picking up the papers again. Renji leaned back, stretching his still-aching body, then rose and moved to help Rikichi.

"Abarai," said Byakuya, without raising his eyes.

Renji froze, then gave Rikichi a sympathetic look and returned to his desk. His reiatsu flared softly and he couldn't help but be a little pissed at his taichou for calling him out just for trying to give the kid a hand. But he understood that he was a fukutaichou and had to act like one, so he sat down and frowned down at the papers in front of him, calmly ignoring Rikichi until the last paper was set back on his desk. As the youth set the papers down, Renji touched his hand lightly and offered him a smile and a short nod. Rikichi smiled, bowed and left the room, wearing a much happier expression.

Renji addressed his work again, but found his head and back aching so much from his injuries that he could barely see straight enough to read. He managed for as long as he could, biting his lips as he worked to keep the pain inside. But as the pain began to overwhelm him, he stole glances at his taichou to make sure his disturbed reiatsu wasn't bothering him. It was then that he noticed that Byakuya was sitting differently than normal. In addition to that, his movements were shorter and lacked the usual grace.

_He's in pain. He's in a hell of a lot of pain for it to be affecting him like that. I know he and Zaraki battled each other after they defeated the Espada. They fought each other until Aizen fell, then had to leave it in a draw, because the way was opened for us to return home. I knew he was hurting, but I figured he would go to the fourth division for more healing after. I wonder…_

"Is there a problem, Abarai?" Byakuya asked, startling him out of his reverie, "You were staring."

"Oh, sorry, I uh…was just…lost in thought," he stammered, groaning inwardly and feeling as pathetic as Rikichi.

Gods, no wonder I like the kid. We are a lot alike…just a couple of fuck ups that got a lucky break being assigned here.

"Daydream after work hours," Byakuya said, his voice betraying a touch of the pain Renji knew he was feeling.

Renji let out a short breath and started to go back to work. But as he continued to try to concentrate, he kept noticing how uncomfortable Byakuya looked. And he knew he had to say something when he saw sweat break out on the noble's skin. He stood and walked to Byakuya's desk, sitting down in the chair beside it. Byakuya continued to work, as though not noticing he was there. Renji shook his head and tightened his lips, forcing himself to speak, even though he knew he'd probably be chided for it.

"Taichou, I apologize for interrupting you, but…your reiatsu is very disturbed, and I couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable you seem. I know you and Zaraki taichou…"

"You are not to speak of what you saw take place between the eleventh division taichou and me. It is between us and does not concern…"

"I know. I won't say anything. But…shouldn't you have gone to the fourth division for healing when you returned?"

"I was ordered not to."

Renji's eyes widened.

"Wh-what?"

Byakuya looked up at him and Renji went breathless at the amount of pain he could sense Byakuya was in. His own pain shrank away in the face of it, and he swallowed hard, staring.

"Pain is a consequence of failure. I did not perform as expected of a taichou, and so was left to feel the pain of my shortcomings."

"S-soutachou would not let you be healed?"

"Neither Zaraki taichou or me," Byakuya said quietly, "Though I believe he was more infuriated by us losing our haoris in the fighting than he was about us engaging in a personal duel at what he considered to be an inappropriate time and place."

Renji caught his breath sharply.

"He knew?" the redhead gasped, "How…?"

He had never seen his taichou roll his eyes before and had to bite his lips to keep from smiling in an inappropriate situation. After all, Byakuya was in a lot of pain.

"Of course Soutaichou knew," Byakuya said reprovingly, "He certainly wasn't made Soutaichou for his looks and charm, Renji. He sensed it. And he expects that we should manage the results of our misbehavior to remind us not to act so foolishly again."

"I get what he's saying, but that's pretty harsh, Taichou."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Would you like me to heal you, Taichou?" he offered, "I know it's against the rules, but come on…you're barely able to function."

"I will not disobey the direct order of my superior officer," Byakuya said firmly, "Nor will you."

Renji gazed at him quietly for a moment, then stood and turned away.

"However," Byakuya said softly, "I do not believe it would be disobeying him to indulge in a cup of hot tea…perhaps with a bit of that sake you keep in your desk. It _is_ after hours now."

Renji looked back at Byakuya, a smile crawling across his face.

"Sure thing, Taichou," he said, moving to his desk and retrieving the sake.

He carried the bottle down the hallway to the squad kitchen and prepared two cups of tea that were not so much tea as sake, then returned to the squad room and set the tea in front of Byakuya. He sat down again in the chair beside Byakuya's desk and sipped at his own cup as Byakuya picked his up and breathed in the vapor. His eyes blinked slowly and he took a sip, then a deeper swallow as he realized that the tea was cool enough to manage without waiting.

"I don't think I've seen you drink sake before, Taichou," Renji commented as he filled Byakuya's empty teacup with sake.

"I don't…except at special occasions," Byakuya admitted, "but it does seem to be taking the edge off."

"Good, now chase it with that," Renji suggested.

Byakuya lifted the cup and sipped at it.

"No," said Renji, "That's how you drink at your cousin's formal wedding. If you want the pain to go away, you have to do it like this."

He raised his cup and emptied it, then set it on the table. Byakuya eyed him for a moment, then reached for his cup and emptied it as Renji had his, catching his breath slightly and coughing as he finished it.

"That does seem to be helping," he said, nodding and starting to look drowsy, "Pour another."

"Ah, I'll give you one more," Renji said, but this is really potent and you're not used to it, so no more than that, okay?"

But after his second cup, his mind lost track of things and before he knew it, the bottle was empty and Byakuya was collapsed and leaned forward sleeping on his desk.

"Well, said Renji, "That's not good. L-less get you into bed 'kay?"

It turned out to have been a good thing that the pain was dulled as Renji dropped him several times and bumped him into the walls here and there as he carried his drunken taichou into his bedroom. He set the noble in his bed and started to stagger out of the room. But he felt too bad to leave as Byakuya leaned over the edge of the bed and threw up on the floor.

"Shit," he muttered, moving to assist the noble, "That's not good."


	3. Unremembered

**Chapter 3: Unremembered**

Renji knelt on the bed behind his stricken taichou, his arms wrapped around Byakuya's slender body, holding him steady as he threw up repeatedly into the trash bin by the bed, until finally Renji was sure that there couldn't be anything left inside the man's stomach and he fell back against Renji, mumbling incoherently.

"Oi, sorry Taichou," he said, shaking his head, "I didn't mean to make things worse."

Because even as drunk as he was, Byakuya was making soft sounds of discomfort as the pain of his injuries and his lowered defenses collided. Frowning, Renji laid Byakuya on his side, propping him comfortably with pillows, then he examined the noble's battered body, sensing out the most painful of his injuries and quietly healing them.

_I don't give a shit that fighting with Zaraki was out of line or that it breaks the rules. No one should be left in so much pain._

Byakuya's body relaxed under his hands and he seemed to drift off. Renji removed the tainted trash bin from the room and left to make tea. He returned to find Byakuya missing from the bed, but discovered him a moment later, collapsed on the bathroom floor. He lifted the man into his arms and returned him to the bed, noting briefly how much smaller and lighter he was than he looked when he was fully dressed and accessorized. He had removed the noble's haori and scarf before bringing him into his quarters, and now carefully removed the kenseiken from the black, silky hair, drawing a slightly sharpened breath at the impact of its touch on his hands, then removing the noble's gloves, and then his shihakushou top.

He paused, not quite able to ignore how perfect his skin was, or how it glowed softly from the moonlight streaming in through the window. It took him a while to manage to work the hakama off, and he felt a hot flush on his skin, leaning over his now nearly naked superior and hastily dressing him in a comfortable yukata from the closet. He adjusted the pillows more comfortably and sat in the moonlit room, sipping at his tea and looking out at the stars as Byakuya shifted uncomfortably and mumbled absently in his sleep. He seemed to be a little feverish, so the redhead washed his face with a cool cloth, then attempted to rouse him slightly to give him a pain reliever.

Byakuya's eyes blinked open and regarded him quietly, then he frowned and reached out a hand, first squinting and touching Renji's face, then moving suddenly to release his hair from the hair tie he wore.

"It's…you…" he sighed sleepily, "How? How…did you…f-find me?"

"Huh?" Renji muttered, smiling briefly and shaking his head.

He started to climb off of the bed, but found himself being brought down onto his back and held beneath Byakuya's body. The noble groaned and collapsed onto Renji's chest, then went still, drifting off again. Renji made sure he was asleep, then nudged him off of his body and started to climb out of bed.

"N-no…don't go…" mumbled Byakuya, taking hold of Renji's arm with a trembling hand, "How will I…find you again?"

"T-taichou?" Renji queried, looking down at the noble's troubled face, "I'm stayin' right here. I'm not going anywhere."

The dark eyes blinked and cleared slightly and his hand fell away.

"I am…sorry, Renji," he said softly, "I imagine I sounded odd."

Renji leaned over him, washing his face and smiling affectionately.

"I'm the one who's sorry," he said penitently, "I shouldn't have let you drink so much. You're really trashed, which is the last thing you need, considering."

"But you must think I've lost…my mind. And indeed, I cannot think straight. I look at you…and I keep remembering…"

"Remembering what, Taichou?" Renji asked.

"It was on my eighteenth birthday," Byakuya rambled on, "and we…Tetsuya and I, we were at Itamigiri."

"Itamigiri?"

"Yes. It is an old family prison, lost in the woods on the Kuchiki estate. It was used to imprison family members who trans…greshed. We were exploring the ruins."

"That sounds like fun," Renji commented.

"It was," said the noble, slurring the words, "Though Tetsuya and I were glad that it was no longer being used by the family. Did you know that my cousin would have been killed at birth for being a half-breed, back then…in the old days, the days of Itamigiri?"

"What? Really?" Renji asked, looking surprised, "I knew they didn't like peasants, but really!"

"It was awful," Byakuya drawled, "h-horrible, those days. I loved my cousin. I couldn't stand if he was hurt…or Rukia…or you."

"Me?" Renji said, grinning at the confession he knew the stoic taichou would not ever have made if not for having his tongue loosened with drink, "Aww, Taichou…"

"Anyway, we were exploring, and I don't really know what happened, but I…I seemed to lose awareness, and when I woke up, I was lying in a bed…and there was a boy there."

He reached up and touched Renji's hair gently.

"Do you know that's one reason I chose you?" Byakuya asked, gazing up at Renji through dizzy, clouded eyes.

"What? Because I looked like some kid who helped you when you passed out? That's kinda cute, Taichou."

"I am _not_ cute," the noble said, frowning, "and anyway, he wasn't there to help me because I lost consciousness. We…we had sex."

Renji's eyes widened.

"You and some stranger…had sex?"

"I felt…like this, Renji. I felt heavy and lost, and so tired. But that boy was there and he told me that he was there because he was supposed to…we had sex. It was…my first time."

"You lost your virginity…with someone who looked like me, Taichou?" Renji asked, feeling an odd jolt inside as he remembered.

"I…I couldn't see his face. Just his red hair and his…tanned skin. He had…warm hands, like yours when you heal me. Th-that's why I chose you. You remind me of that day."

He fell still again, his head dropping onto Renji's shoulder as he drifted off. Renji held the passed out noble against him, his mind reeling.

_Could it have been…him? Could my taichou be the one I was with that day? He was beautiful like Taichou and had his hair and eyes. His age seems right. His story seems…_

"I wonder where it happened," he mused aloud.

"Inuzuri," Byakuya breathed in his sleep, "S-somehow, I ended up in Inuzuri."

"Inuzuri?"

"A…a brothel. But I…don't remember going there."

"Y-your cousin brought you?" Renji whispered, remembering seeing the stern looking youth on his way out of the brothel.

Byakuya's breast heaved softly and his hand found Renji's and held on.

"I…I heard him, outside the door. It would have…been a disgrace to be seen there, so I ran. I found Tetsuya. I never…told anyone. I was…afraid if they knew…"

He trailed off again, leaving Renji's head spinning in mad circles.

I had sex with Kuchiki Byakuya? We were each other's firsts? Kami…I don't…"

"It was fortunate that…he…that only I was virginal because when a clan leader shares his first time with another virgin, it produces the heir," Byakuya said, sending a hard shock through Renji.

But I didn't…

He thought back to the winter that followed…and how he had been so ill. It had gone away after a while, but then…

_Then there was that night when I got so sick and Rukia and I thought I was dying. I left to go to see the town doctor, but…something happened on the way. I think I collapsed…or no…I met someone? I don't remember. I only remember waking up and Michi saying that someone had left me in front of the building. Shit…what if…?_

He gazed down at Byakuya's sleeping face and tried to imagine the mask over his face. And it did seem that he very well could have been the one. And there were too many things about his story that fit.

_It has to be, but it's just so…so unbelievable…Taichou? And me?_

He was distracted out of his thoughts as Byakuya groaned and tried to get to his feet, then collapsed and had to be carried into the bathroom. Renji wrapped his arms around the noble, supporting him gently as he threw up, then fell back against Renji, moaning unhappily.

"Damn," sighed Renji, "I'm sorry, Taichou."

He couldn't be sorry, however, when he returned the noble to his bed and Byakuya regained enough awareness to insist that if Renji was responsible for getting him drunk, then he had an obligation to either see him through the night or kill him honorably.

It didn't take the grinning redhead long at all to decide which course to take…

As Byakuya sank quietly back down into oblivion, Renji curled up next to him on the bed admiring the noble's calm, sleeping face and breathing in the sweet, pleasant scent of sakura.

XXXXXXXXXX

Renji woke later than usual, not at all surprised that although he was usually an early riser, his taichou had overslept. He remained rested against the noble for a long last moment, enjoying the warmth and scent of his body, then reluctantly dragged himself away and left to make tea. When he returned, Byakuya was still sleeping soundly, but had rolled over into the warm spot Renji had left behind and was curled up around several pillows, with one positioned to block out the light that was seeping into the room through the window.

Chuckling sympathetically, Renji adjusted the curtain so that the light was blocked out, then returned to the bed and set the tea on the nightstand. He leaned over the noble and touched him lightly on the arm. To his surprise, the sleepy noble merely took hold of the offending appendage and pulled him onto the bed.

"Oof!" Renji said as he landed, somewhat gracelessly next to his slowly waking taichou.

"Abarai," Byakuya groaned in a soft, pained voice, "You'd better have a damned good reason for waking me at this time of night…"

"Um," Renji said, sitting up and brushing the hair out of his eyes, "Taichou…it's not nighttime anymore."

"Ungh," moaned the noble, lifting his head off the pillow, then letting it drop back and catching his breath at the pain the motion caused.

"Why don't you have some tea, Taichou?" Renji suggested.

"Get away from me, Renji," the noble growled, "or so help me, I will get up and slice you into pieces!"

"Come on, Taichou. You'll feel better once you have a few sips."

"I have a taichou's meeting."

"You missed it. I sent a hell butterfly and got a message back saying…well…not in so many words, but 'It serves you right.' I think he was talking about the fight with Zaraki taichou, not…"

"I know damned well what he was talking about, Abarai," Byakuya snapped, hurling a pillow at him, then making a sound of pain and collapsing again.

"You are one mean drunk, Taichou," Renji said, evading the marauding pillow, then sitting back down, "Now drink the tea, please? I made it just for you. It will help you feel better, I promise."

"Liar," the noble hissed, dragging himself into a seated position and groaning again, "That's what you said last night."

Byakuya realized what he had said and blushed furiously.

"About the sake," he added hastily.

"I know what you meant," Renji said, smiling and handing him the tea, "Come on, now. Drink it."

Byakuya sipped at the tea, then looked up sharply as Renji lifted a finger to his lips and shook his head warningly.

"I told you that you weren't to disobey Soutaichou's orders," the noble said sternly.

"Yeah, well, I got you more drunk than I meant to and you had more pain because of it, so you were really hurting more than Soutaichou said you should, ne?"

"Oh god, I must be dying," Byakuya groaned, "because that almost made sense…"

"Anyway, I just added a few herbs and a few drops of something Kisuke gave me when I got back from Hueco Mundo. He said it would speed up my recovery. I figured I owed it to you to share."

"How kind of you," The noble said dryly, "It almost makes up for you trying to kill me with sake."

"Not nice Taichou. Now, lie down for a little longer. I cleared your schedule and I have Rikichi helping me with things in the office."

"Oh, don't tell me that…"

"He's finished the new training schedule and did better on it than I would have. Look, if it doesn't involve hell butterflies, the kid is fine, Taichou. He's getting better every day. And hey, if you don't think he can do this stuff, then why did you choose him, anyway? You had other choices."

"I know."

"Then, just out of curiosity, why _did_ you choose him?"

Byakuya sighed.

"I had a feeling about him."

"And?"

"And I still do. It just may take some time to learn exactly how he will grow."

"So you don't think it was a mistake?" Renji asked quietly.

"Not usually, no. Just…whenever a hell butterfly enters the room. Now, can I do anything else to cure you of your damned curiosity or are you going to leave me alone now?"

"You sound better, Taichou."

"Shut up and get out, Renji."

"A lot better. That stuff really works, eh Taichou?"

"Get out _now_, Renji."

"You look a lot better too."

"GET OUT!" Byakuya yelled, hurling pillows until Renji retreated.

He went back to the office and sat down at his desk just as a hell butterfly fluttered in and Rikichi charged after it.

"Hey, slow down, you're gonna scare him to death."

"S-sorry, Renji," Rikichi said, blushing, "I just didn't want him to get away."

"Yeah, well, they'll be less likely to flutter away from you if you calm your reiatsu, okay?"

"Y-yeah…sure, sorry."

"Did you finish the reports I assigned you?"

Rikichi nodded.

"They're on your desk."

Rikichi sat down in the chair next to the redhead as Renji read through the reports and signed off on each of them.

"Good," he said, nodding, "I'd better watch out or Kuchiki taichou will give you my seat, ne?"

"Oh!" said Rikichi, going wide-eyed at the suggestion, "I could never be as good…"

"I was _kidding_, Rikichi," Renji said, shaking his head, "Now go and get your zanpakutou and meet me in the training grounds."

"Wh-what?" said the youth, staring.

"You heard me," Renji said, glancing at him, then looking back down at his work, "Get your zanpakutou and get your ass out on the training grounds. Move."

Rikichi stared at him for a moment longer, then turned and flash stepped out of the room.


	4. Punishment

**Chapter 4: Punishment**

Byakuya sat quietly at his desk, relieved at the lessening of the pain that had afflicted him ever since leaving Hueco Mundo.

_Though I should punish Abarai for disobeying Soutaichou's orders and healing me, I cannot help but feel grateful…_

He glanced up at Renji's empty chair for a moment, then looked back down at the papers in front of him.

_I should punish him for getting me drunk too…except that I asked for the sake, myself. Kami, I hope I didn't say anything embarrassing. The way he was looking at me when I woke up this morning made me think I did, but…_

He was distracted out of his thoughts as Renji and Rikichi entered the office from the inner hallway. Renji sat down in his chair and Rikichi took the chair beside it, facing him. Byakuya looked back at the report he was working on and pretended not to hear as the two talked.

"Your shikai looked really good today," Renji said to the youth, "You need to make the eagle more stable in size, because sometimes it was big enough, but once or twice, it looked more like a hummingbird than an eagle, and that's going to get you killed if it happens at the wrong time. I thought it was strategically good when you used it to lift you into the air to attack, but again, if the stability isn't there…"

"I fall like a rock," Rikichi sighed, rubbing his knee, "I remember, sir."

Byakuya bit his lip gently to avoid smirking.

"You kido is good," Renji went on, "Yours is actually more stable than mine. You just need to focus harder on your target so you don't miss at a critical moment…"

"Like when your skeletal snake is heading for me?" Rikichi chuckled.

"You loosed a _ban kai_ on an unseated officer?" Byakuya said, before he could stop himself.

Then he did a doubletake.

"Was he able to dodge it?" Byakuya asked, figuring that the damage was already done.

Renji stared at him in surprise for a moment.

"Actually, Taichou," the redhead said, "while I used my ban kai, it wasn't at full strength."

"Oh," said Byakuya, looking back at his work.

"But," Renji went on, "It _was_ at full _speed_."

Byakuya looked up at him again, a fine eyebrow curiously raised.

"I see…"

"And yes, sir, Rikichi was able to dodge it."

Byakuya sat back, furrowing his brow for a moment, thinking.

"And you say that his kido is respectable?"

"Yes sir," Renji answered.

"Hmmm," Byakuya muttered, looking at Rikichi out of the corner of one gray eye.

Rikichi swallowed hard and blushed.

"Twelfth seat," Byakuya said, finally.

"What?" Renji blurted out, blinking.

Byakuya raised his reiatsu slightly and glared softly.

"We have an opening for twelfth seat. Rikichi will fill that position," he said, looking back at his work and mentally dismissing the two.

Renji broke into a wide smile.

"I guess you just made twelfth seat," he said, nodding.

"M-me?" stammered Rikichi.

"Sounds like," Renji said, "But if you are going to be twelfth seat, there are some things you'll need to work on."

Byakuya half listened to the two as a hell butterfly floated in and the voice of Soutaichou's fukutaichou rose up out of it.

"Kuchiki taichou, word has come to us that the old training base has been used by some hollows as a crossover point. Soutaichou has ordered that you should take an exploratory team and seal off their points of entry."

Byakuya frowned.

_So, it begins. A team of unseated officers could handle such a mission, but he sends me personally. He just cannot let this go…Ah well…_

"Renji…"

The redhead broke off his discussion and looked up at the noble.

"We have been ordered to seal off the points of hollow entry in the old training camp."

"But," Renji objected, "We could just send a team of unseated officers to do that, ne Taichou?"

"But then we could not test the abilities of our newly appointed twelfth seat."

_If we're going to waste time on meaningless missions as punishment, we might as well do something useful with the time…_

"Oh…right, Taichou, of course!" Renji said, nodding at Rikichi, "You heard Taichou. Get your weapon and let's go."

"I am going as well," said Byakuya.

"Uh…" Renji grunted in surprise, "You, Taichou? Why?"

_Oh…I am not going to say it out loud…_

"I need to stretch my legs."

_This is humiliating…but that is the intent, ne?_

S-sure thing, Taichou," Renji said, reaching for Zabimaru.

Byakuya lifted Senbonzakura from the stand near his desk and slid the weapon into his belt.

_Not that I'll need it…_

He walked out the front door of the division and waited until Renji and Rikichi joined him there. They walked down to the end of the street, then out to the edge of town, where Byakuya broke into flash steps, moving in the direction of the old training camp. He felt Renji and Rikichi keeping pace with him and felt a touch of self-affirmation.

_His flash step has improved._

He reached the edge of the camp and flash stepped to the top of a small rise, stopping as the dilapidated gray building came into sight. He felt an odd touch of memory…

_"What is this place?" Byakuya asked softly, "I thought that I knew every place on Kuchiki land, but never noticed this."_

_"That's Itamigiri," Tetsuya said, nodding in the castle's direction, "It used to be the place where the council would imprison and punish family members who transgressed. There are wild stories about the things that happened there, of course. For all that we are a civilized clan, there are dark things in our past, as with most, Byakuya-sama."_

"Tetsuya…" Byakuya whispered, his heart aching softly as he whispered the name.

He pushed the memory of his cousin away and focused on Renji and Rikichi, observing silently as Renji instructed the youth about how to locate and seal off the crossover points, then sent him to complete the task of finding and sealing the rest on his own. He flash stepped back to where Byakuya waited, and the two observed as Rikichi worked at the task he had been given.

"So…" said Renji, "Sir, are you going to tell me the real reason you came along or do you plan to just keep it to yourself?"

"Hmmm," murmured the noble, disapprovingly, "You mean you haven't figured it out on your own?"

Renji thought for a moment, his eyes following Rikichi.

"Oh!" he said, after a moment, "Yeah, I get it."

He shook his head softly.

"He's giving you shit missions to punish you."

"As though the withering reprimand and lack of healing weren't enough," muttered the noble.

"Damn, Taichou, he's really pissed at you. I mean, I know you broke the rules fighting Zaraki taichou like that but…"

"I was reprimanded also for parting ways with my haori, remember? I think that, and my response regarding the lack of quality in the haori itself, put him off."

He sighed softly.

"However, the good news is that I have secured permission for my own staff to design my replacement haori. Soutaichou initially resisted, but in the end agreed, as it would make me less likely to part with it so eagerly in the future. I think he became weary of trying to impress upon me the intrinsic value of that piece of cloth."

Renji went quiet, one eye still on Rikichi, but the other on his taichou, who he sensed was becoming reflective.

"In truth, the only function it served in that place was to make the one wearing it an easier target."

"Yeah," chuckled Renji, "I think you're right."

The two quieted, still watching Rikichi.

"He is doing well," Byakuya commented, "He has found all of the places where hollows have crossed over, and even a few weak places, where they were likely to break through."

"So you think making him twelfth seat was a good decision?" Renji asked.

"If making him twelfth seat was not a good decision, I would not have promoted him until it was. He was ready…end of story."

"Yeah."

Renji studied the old fortress for a moment and shivered.

"This place is kinda creepy. Look at the way the mist curls around everything…creepy," the redhead said.

"It reminds me of an old fortress near the manor," commented Byakuya, "Although this place is much more benign than that."

"Are you talking about Itamigiri?" asked Renji.

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"Did you say…Itamigiri?" he asked quietly.

"Y-yeah," said Renji, "the old fortress near your house that you said you and someone named Tetsuya explored before."

Byakuya caught his breath in surprise.

"I mentioned Itamigiri? And Tetsuya?" Byakuya asked, looking distressed.

"Yeah, why? Who's Tetsuya?"

Byakuya lowered his eyes for a moment.

"My cousin," he answered softly, "My late cousin."

"Wh-what?" asked Renji, looking confused, "You didn't say he died. You said you couldn't stand it if he got hurt."

Byakuya kept his eyes lowered.

"I was speaking in the past tense…and did it clumsily, likely because my mind was clouded with drink. I will ask that you not repeat anything I told you."

"Okay…sure, Taichou," Renji agreed, "I won't say anything."

He couldn't help but notice the misted look in Byakuya's eyes.

"Sir…not to pry, but…you've never mentioned Tetsuya before. Did he die a long time ago?"

"Yes," the noble said solemnly, "When we were still teenagers. It was about a year after we found Itamigiri."

"What happened?"

Byakuya shook his head.

"No one knows, really," he said, looking off into the distance, "I was involved in a meeting with our council and while I was gone, he left. He left no word about where he was going…and the servants said that he left in a hurry. He said something about protecting my honor. But…he never came back. His reiatsu was sensed briefly in the Rukon, but then disappeared completely. Neither he nor his stallion, Arashi, were seen again."

"Shit…sorry Taichou," Renji said sadly, "Sorry I pushed you to talk about it. You said last night that he was special to you."

The redhead tactfully left out how Byakuya had compared his missing cousin to Rukia and him.

"I can hardly blame you for being curious," commented Byakuya, "I apparently become quite talkative under the influence of sake."

"Yeah, well, we can just forget what you said."

_I don't think this is the right time to be admitting I was the one he slept with. But hell…when would be a good time to say something like that? Never?_

"That would be best, I think," Byakuya said as Rikichi rejoined them.

"Good work, kid," Renji said, patting the youth on the shoulder, "You got them all."

They turned to leave, but as they started to move forward, a garganta opened suddenly, and three menos grande passed through it, then, seeing the shinigamis in front of them, attacked instantly.

Rikichi immediately raised a kido shield as incoming ceros bore down on the three.

"Howl, Zabimaru!" cried Renji.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," said Byakuya.

"Kassou, Hiwashi," said Rikichi.

The ragged edge of Zabimaru slashed the first of the hollows and Byakuya's petal blades destroyed the second. Rikichi's eagle screeched and loosed a flash of golden fire, then attacked the final menos with its sharp beak and claws. The menos howled in fury and loosed a cero at the youth. Rikichi dodge the cero and raised his blade to attack. But before he could complete the finishing move, Byakuya's petal blades slashed at the menos and destroyed it.

As soon as the last enemy fell, Rikichi flash stepped to where the garganta had opened, and placed a heavy seal over the area. He returned to his two senior officers, looking flushed and panting softly from exertion.

"They won't be coming through there anytime soon," he commented.

"No," agreed the noble, "However, as the hollows still seem to favor the area, you will note for the field report that we recommend that the area be monitored for activity."

"Yes sir!" said Rikichi.

Byakuya sent Rikichi flash stepping back to the office to see to the report, then started back at a more leisurely pace, with Renji at his side. The redhead was smiling to himself, and it didn't take much thought to know why.

"He did really well," Renji commented, "both with the seals and the combat."

"Except that we both know his sword wasn't strong enough yet to finish the last hollow."

"Which is why you finished it off, ne?"

"Yes. You will have to adjust his training so that he learns what strategies to use for different types of opponents, and how to assess and alter battle strategy as he fights."

"Sure thing," Renji said, nodding, "I'll get started on that right away."

They arrived at the sixth division and found the completed report already on Byakuya's desk, waiting for his signature.

"Well?" queried Renji.

"Clear," Byakuya said, studying the report, "to the point, and has all of the appropriate information…_without any unnecessary embellishments_."

"Hey!" objected the redhead, "I don't _embellish_. I just describe things in detail!"

"Hmmm," muttered Byakuya, sitting down at his desk and signing off on the report, "I don't know that _'We beat the living hell out of them and left them in smoking piles of ash_,' qualifies as detail and not unnecessary embellishment."

"Aww, come on, I saw you smile, Taichou," Renji said, smirking.

"Are you saying that you do this on purpose to amuse me? If so, then it is not necessary."

"I don't do it for you," Renji said, sitting down at his desk, "It's just my own personal style. We all have a personal style, right? You are clear, and to the point and you do everything elegantly. I do what I have to, and try to make it exciting. And Rikichi…"

He broke off as the door opened and Rikcihi dashed in, scrambling after a hell butterfly and reaching for it with both hands, then tripping and falling gracelessly to the floor.

"…is Rikichi," the noble sighed, "I understand."


	5. Honorable Pain

**Chapter 5: Honorable Pain**

**(Thanks to RedSnow4 for requesting!)**

Orochi wrapped himself in a black cloak and pulled the hood into place, then slipped out his window and flash stepped away from his house. He remained in the shadows, sensing the reiatsu around him to carefully avoid being seen, as he flash stepped through the trees and came to the broken fence at the outer edge of the Kuchiki family estate. He squeezed through the fence and turned towards an old weed choked trail. He reached the old prison in minutes and slipped inside. He paused, looking around quietly to be sure he was alone, then found the secret release switch and opened the way to the concealed inner room.

A small red kido light formed around his hand, and lit the way as he walked slowly down the stone steps and into the hidden cellblock. Inside one of the cells ahead of him, the lone living inhabitant of the old prison laid still within his bonds. He flinched and stirred as the sound of Orochi's relaxed footsteps echoed around him.

Orochi stopped and glared down at the tightly bound form he had left on the torture table. The dark haired man within the bonds knew it was of little use to struggle, and so he forced himself to wait quietly as the other man removed the gag from his mouth and offered him a few small sips of water so that he would be able to speak clearly.

"Now then," Orochi said in a calm, silken voice, "I hope that you plan to be more tractable this time. If you are, then we can avoid painful consequences like those you have already experienced. My question is simple. You know what I will ask you. Give me the truth and I will free you. Continue to resist, and I will make you as sorry you were born as I am. Tell me, where is the heir? Was it that ratty looking boy you sent scurrying away when I found you?"

"I t-told you," the dark haired man said, his body trembling from the coldness of the cell, "I don't know what you are talking about. There was no child."

"You are a horrible liar," Orochi went on, "I _know _that you are lying to me. I will hurt you if you do not tell me what you did with the child."

"There was no…"

The bound man gasped in pain as a heavy whip snapped across his back, cutting him through the thin cloth of his already torn and stained shirt.

"_LIAR!_" Orochi hissed, "I am not stupid. I know you were there that day, that you got there ahead of me. It took me all of these years to track you down. You would have had no reason to stay away all of these years, except if you were guarding the heir."

"I told you that there was no heir! The boy miscarried. You know that it happens sometimes. And I stayed away because I was weary of intolerant bastards like you, Orochi!"

"How dare you even let my name touch your foul lips!" Orochi snapped, striking his captive across his already bleeding and bruised back, "Worthless peasant! I should just give up this nonsense and kill you!"

The whip snapped across his back again, making the man bite back a cry of pain and his chest heave softly as he sought to keep himself under control. He quivered as Orochi touched his bindings and sent a small, warning shock into his body. Then, swiftly, he struck with the whip again. The dark haired man clenched his jaw and his fists tightly.

"Go ahead," the captive hissed, straining in his bonds, "I do not fear you…and I do not fear death!"

Orochi sank his fingers into the other man's long, black hair and tightened them painfully.

"Well," he said in a silken voice, "You may not fear me and you may not fear death, but I can keep you here and leave you pain indefinitely. It's what you deserve, you half blooded freak! Your kind should have died out long ago, when they were made prisoners here. They should have killed all of them!"

He leaned close to the dark haired man until his breath touched his captive's soft, pale skin, sending a chill down his spine.

"Had I lived back then, I would have made sure our family's pure blood had stayed pure, and not been muddied by the likes of you!"

"That's amusing coming from you, you foul snake! You speak of corruption of the blood, but you scheme against your own leader! My blood may be mixed, noble and peasant, but it only knows loyalty and honor, and I took pride in wearing the Kuchiki name."

"Hmmm," mused Orochi, "But if you are so proud of being one of us, then why did you abandon us so suddenly?"

He tightened his fingers in the man's hair again, making him wince and grunt in pain.

"Why did you leave us and relinquish the name you so loved? The leader who loved you like a brother? It must have been something important."

"I _told_ you…!"

His words became a sharp cry of pain as a kido spell shocked his bound form and the whip snapped across his back again. Orochi stopped speaking to him then, and struck him repeatedly. Alternating between the heavy snaps of the whip and the stinging kido shocks. The bound shinigami stubbornly held back his cries, only loosing harsh gasps of distress as Orochi continued to beat him. When he stopped, his captive fell still, his panting breaths echoing oddly around them. He went limp in his bonds and seemed to have lost consciousness. Orochi struck the wall next to the prisoner, upsetting a shelf full of various items that crashed down onto his captive, and onto the floor. He brushed off the ones that had landed near the bound man and struck him hard in the ribs, but the captive made no sound and remained still.

"Useless," Orochi muttered, shaking his head, "But I think remaining here will wear you down. And when I return, perhaps I will introduce you to some of the implements that the jailors here left behind when Itamigiri was liberated. We'll see how you enjoy screaming in agony. You will crumble and fall apart…and you will tell me everything…Kuchiki Tetsuya!"

Tetsuya held perfectly still, only slowly drawing and releasing breath as his captor made a sound of annoyance, extinguished the kido lamp and left him. Only once he heard the other man's footsteps fade, did he move. He opened the hand that had wrapped around a piece of broken glass from something on the shelf that had broken and fallen onto him. He had pushed it underneath him, cutting himself in several places in the process, but leaving himself a means of escape.

He worked slowly at the bindings, flinching when the glass slipped and cut him and making painfully slow progress. He had no sense of whether it was day or night, and wasn't sure how long he had been held in the old prison. All he knew was that he had to escape.

"I cannot let him reach you," he whispered, catching his breath as the broken glass slipped and cut into him again, "He will kill you if he finds you…and then he will kill Byakuya-sama. I cannot let that happen!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"So where did you say you were going?" asked Renji as Rikichi handed him the last of the finished reports.

"Oh," said Rikichi, "I have some friends that I meet with in the mid-Rukongai, 33. Once a year, we go back to the old district and because we don't know when our birthday's are, we celebrate them all at the same time. "

"Ah, that sounds great," said Renji, nodding, "Happy Birthday, then."

"Thanks, sir," Rikichi said, smiling, "Will there be anything else before I go?"

"No," Renji began.

"Actually," said Byakuya, without looking up from his paperwork, "There is something I need seen to…a delivery to mid-Rukon 31"

"Taichou," Renji objected, "You aren't going to inflict that…"

"Annoying task?" Byakuya supplied.

"Yeah," the redhead agreed, "That one's a pain in the ass…and besides, I thought that the hell butterfly said that it was to be handled personally."

"Um, what are we talking about?" Rikichi asked, furrowing his brow.

"Nothing too taxing," Byakuya said, giving Renji a soft glare, "Just something that I was asked…"

"…_ordered…_" Renji muttered under his breath, trying not to smile.

"…_asked_…to do. It involves escorting a member of one of the noble clans to a meeting of some importance."

Renji coughed to avoid laughing.

_If you can consider a trip to the hunting grounds important. Face it, Taichou. Soutaichou's still pissed at you…_

"I think that, you being somewhat more his peer, he might enjoy your company."

_In other words, you hope he'll annoy Rikichi instead of you and me, ne Taichou?_

Renji cleared his throat and looked away to avoid Byakuya's scathing glance.

"Okay," said Rikichi, nodding, "Certainly, Kuchiki taichou. When do we leave?"

"Now," said Byakuya, standing and slipping Senbonzakura into the belt at his waist.

Renji turned back to his desk and picked up Zabimaru from the stand, then gave Rikichi a questioning look.

"You going to bring your weapon? Or are we just using kido and hakudo today?" he asked, smirking.

"S-sorry, sir. I'll get that right away!" he said, flash stepping into the hallway.

Renji bit at his lips for a moment, but found himself unable to hold back.

"A _clan leader_ escorting a clan prince on an outing?" he asked.

"Shut up, Abarai," Byakuya said, frowning.

"Especially _that_ little…"

Byakuya cleared his throat sharply, giving Renji another seething glare, as Rikichi returned to the room.

"I'm ready now, sirs," he said, taking up a position a step behind Byakuya on the left, while Renji stood on the noble's right side.

They left the sixth division and flash stepped down several streets, before turning in the direction of the second division headquarters. Byakuya's frown continued to gradually deepen and his reiatsu sparked more and more fitfully, the closer they got.

"Taichou, I'm pretty sure _she_ isn't going to be there. I'm sure that she has better things to do than to annoy you."

"One would think so," Byakuya sighed.

"Oi, Byakuya-bo! What a surprise. I had _no idea_ that my nephew's outing would net an escort of such importance!"

Byakuya raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Yoruichi laughed and looked around.

"Eh, Kisho? Your escort is here. Are you going to hide all day? Kuchiki taichou took time out of his considerable duties to come and take you on your outing. The least you could do is be polite."

Byakuya moved aside suddenly as a dark shape dropped from the branches of a tree. The beast landed instead, on an unsuspecting Rikichi, who had stepped into his path, and the two tumbled to the ground. Rikichi suddenly found himself lying on his back with a large, beautifully colored wild cat on his chest. Rikichi stared, rapt, into the cat's golden eyes, his face lighting in wonder as the cat rested, sprawled across his chest.

"Are you…a clouded leopard?" he asked, wide-eyed, "I've seen pictures before in books, but I never saw one up close before."

"Shihoin Kisho," Byakuya said sternly, "Get off of my twelfth seat at once!"

Kisho gave Rikichi a lazy smile and leapt lightly off of him. His body shimmered for a moment, then the lovely leopard form disappeared, and a smiling, tawny-haired, golden-eyed youth appeared in his place. He reached down and offered Rikichi a hand.

"Sorry," he said still smiling at Rikichi, "I wasn't actually trying to flatten _you_. But he moved and threw me off."

"Oh, no problem," Rikichi said, still thinking about the leopard, "I was sort of clumsy, getting in your way like that."

"Come," said Byakuya, stiffly, "We haven't all day to spend exchanging pleasantries."

"You're in a foul mood," observed Yoruichi, "But I understand. Soutaichou can be very unforgiving sometimes, ne?"

"Get out of my way."

"You _are_ in a nasty mood aren't you?"

"Let's go," the noble said shortly, flash stepping away.

Renji shook his head and followed, with Rikichi and Kisho on his heels. They flash stepped away from the Shihoin estate and second division, then slowed and walked at a more leisurely pace towards the main gate of the Seireitei. Rikichi continued to steal curious glances at the noble prince who walked serenely at his side.

"So, you are a seated officer?" Kisho asked suddenly, startling Rikichi.

"Um, yes. I was just given a seat recently. Are you in one of the squads?"

"Actually, no," said Kisho, a note of regret in his voice, "I am what you'd call a 'spare heir.' My cousin is the actual heir, but being the next most powerful, I would have to assume that place, if anything happens to her before she mates and has another heir."

Rikichi gave him a surprised look.

"But…I didn't know that Yoruichi had a daughter…"

"She doesn't," laughed Kisho, "Our clan is a little different in how we choose the heir. It can be any clan member, but must possess the proper qualities of leadership. We're a little less focused on blood ties," he said, glancing at Byakuya, who acted as though he didn't see and continued walking, "and a little more relaxed. I think that gets to some of the more stuffy clan members. But in any case, the heir and the spare are not allowed to enter the military."

"Oh, I see," said Rikichi.

"They seem to be getting on pretty well," Renji commented, glancing back at the two youths that trailed behind them.

"Rikichi has a calming presence. It creates a useful balance, much like the one between you and me," commented Byakuya, "That is why I asked him to come along."

"Huh…wait a second," Renji said, frowning, "Did you just compare me to that little…"

Byakuya started to answer, but broke off as a panicked looking youth ran towards them.

"Rikichi!" he cried, "Rikichi, I've been looking all over for you!"

"Miki?" Rikichi called back as the dark haired youth approached him and slid to a stop, "Miki, I was just coming to meet everyone. I just have something to finish first."

"I need your help!" Miki said in a desperate tone, "It's Tadao. Something bad happened! A man attacked us while we were coming to meet you. Tadao distracted him and told me to run, but we can't find him now!"

"Who is this boy?" Byakuya asked, Rikichi, "He is one of the friends you were meeting?"

"Yes sir," Rikichi answered, "The ones of us meeting today are all from the same orphanage. And all of us were saved by Tadao, at one time or another."

"He is another of your friends?" the noble queried.

"Yes," said Rikichi, "but more your age. We don't know exactly where he lives, but he watches out for children. He was supposed to be there today. He always comes when we celebrate our birthdays."

"That sounds serious," said Renji, looking down at the two boys.

"Your fukutaichou is right," said Kisho, "We should help them."

"Renji," said Byakuya, "You will see Shihoin Kisho to his arranged meeting place, then find me in the mid-Rukongai…"

He glanced at Rikichi.

"33," said the youth.

"You will meet us in the mid-Rukongai, 33, then."

"But, I would like to help," said Kisho, "It sounds like it shouldn't wait."

"Come, Shihoin Kisho," said Byakuya tersely, "You are wasting time."

The youth scowled, but fell in with Renji.

"I thought Soutaichou told you to handle it personally," complained Renji.

"It was a low level mission, and it is superceded by any dangerous situation that arises."

Renji sighed in frustration as he watched Byakuya and the two youths disappear into the crowded street.

"Great," he muttered, "Well, I guess we should go."

Not hearing an answer, he looked around, and was surprised to find himself alone.

"Damn kid!" he hissed, shaking his head, "The only thing worse than these stupid assignments is fucking up a stupid assignment. Taichou is going to be pissed…and Soutaichou is going to have us doing the fourth division's laundry! Damn…"

He disappeared in a blistering flash step, headed for the mid-Rukongai.


	6. Traces

**Chapter 6: Traces**

**(Thanks so much to Northern Wind, Finalay, Bleached-whale, Nitinha56, Stremi da la Saeta, Reader, anon, Liv2luv, MaLingLiu, Daiishaa, Cptn. Suz and Love Psycho for your kind reviews. I will have another update for you soon! Thanks. Love, Spunky) **

"Rikichi," Byakuya said, looking up at the youth where he waited beside Miki, "I have enough to begin with. You are excused to meet with your friends. You may follow up with me about our investigation of Tadao's disappearance when you return."

"Yes, Kuchiki taichou," Rikichi said, bowing and leading his friend away.

Byakuya looked down at the disturbed grass and bushes in the clearing, then glanced up as Renji flash stepped into view.

"That was inordinately fast," the noble commented, looking back down at the ground in front of him and studying the reiatsu signatures carefully, "He didn't give you any trouble?"

"Erm…actually, Taichou…"

"No," said Byakuya, "Realize that if you give me any answer other than 'no,' I will not be able to show my face in the next taichou's meeting. Now, you were saying?"

"Taichou, the kid disappeared before I even turned around."

"Then go and find him," Byakuya said, off-handedly, turning back to his observations, "I am surprised that you didn't think of that on your own."

"I did," Renji said, "The last thing the kid said was that he wanted to come along and help. So, I figured that if I found you and Rikichi, I would find him."

"I see. Well, I am here and Shihoin Kisho is not. Rikichi left with his friend to attend the birthday celebration at the orphanage in town. The woman who runs the orphanage is Noa. Her husband, Michio, is the town healer. If the Shihoin prince was so interested in following us, but is not here, it stands to reason that he may have followed Rikichi and his friend into town. But if you, perhaps extend your senses, you might be able to sense his direction. You _did_ get an impression of his reiatsu when we met him at the Shihoin estate, ne?"

Renji blushed.

"Taichou, you know that I suck at reiatsu sensing. And this is kinda important, in that you and I are likely to both be assigned to some _really_ lousy missions if we screw this up…"

Byakuya let out an annoyed breath and closed his eyes, extending his senses around him.

"He is making a rather careless attempt to conceal himself somewhere in town, so perhaps he followed Rikichi. Go and collect him and take him back to Rukongai 31."

"Y-yes Taichou," Renji said, flash stepping away.

Byakuya turned back to the area he had been searching and extended his senses. A drop of blood that had fallen on a bush in front of him, caught his careful eye. He moved forward and inspected it closely. He was momentarily distracted as a mental image of his late cousin invaded his mind, but pushed it away and continued to scan the area.

"Whoever cleaned up this area knew exactly what to do…but…why be so exact? Who was this peasant man that someone would go to such trouble, not only to take him, but to conceal the abduction so carefully? Odd…Rikichi said that he looked out for the children…"

He shook his head in frustration and continued examining the area.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya gave a soft sob of relief as the last of the bindings fell away and his hands were freed. He turned and loosed the bindings on his ankles, then slid off of the torture table and onto his unsteady feet. His head swam as he righted himself, but he took slow, calming breaths and started towards the door. He knew where it was, even in the dark, having spotted it when Orochi had been there and had lit the room with a kido light.

_I wish I had that light now…_

But even in the darkness, he was desperate enough that he knew he would find an escape. Still, time was ticking by, and he knew he had to escape before Orochi returned.

_I have to get back to him. If he finds out where we were going, then he will know. It is only one short step from there to Byakuya's child!_

His mind froze as Orochi's footsteps sounded in the cellblock outside the secret room. Unable to find a suitable weapon, he positioned himself behind the door, waiting as Orochi opened it, then kicking it hard into his cousin and sending him crashing into a table full of implements of torment, which struck the wall with him and then fell to the floor all around him.

Tetsuya was out the door and into the outer cellblock in an instant. He thanked his stars that Orochi had been so sure of himself that he hadn't thought to merely lock them both in. He ran out of the cellblock as Orochi burst into it and fired a kido blast at him, striking the wall next to him as he slammed and locked the gate at the end of the corridor. It barely seemed to slow him as he blew the barred gate off its hinges.

"You won't get away!" Orochi howled, "You have no powers and no one to help you!"

_Arashi…_

He was chilled at the silence in his mind, and wondered what Orochi had done to the stallion. He emerged from the old prison and turned for the nearest cover, a copse of trees that ran along the edge of the property and led back in the direction of Kuchiki Manor. He sensed Orochi following and headed deeper into the trees, finding a thick cluster of brush and taking cover within it.

_This is where him sealing away my powers will work against him. It will make me harder to sense…_

He watched as Orochi passed by and continued on in the direction of the manor. Tetsuya waited until he was sure that Orochi was far enough away, then turned back towards Itamigiri and used its position to angle himself in the direction of the Rukongai.

_Arashi…_

He felt the brushing of the stallion's mind against his and saw a sudden mental image of a small gully near the prison. He turned back again, heading towards the gully, reaching it as a soft rain began to fall.

"Arashi?" he called softly.

A weak neigh reached his ears, sounding from a position partway down the steep drop into the gully. He saw an area that looked disturbed, and a set of hoofprints near the edge.

"Arashi!" he cried softly, moving forward and stopping carefully at the edge.

He looked down and spotted the black stallion standing on a small ledge below him. Looking around, he found what looked like a fairly safe path down. He slid down a short drop and began to make his way downward, speaking quietly to the restless stallion as he went. As he moved closer, he could see the dried mud and blood on Arashi's sides, legs and face. He limped forward as Tetsuya dropped onto the ledge, and nuzzled the blue-eyed shinigami's face gently.

"There now, I'm here," Tetsuya said reassuringly, "We'll be all right now. But could you do me the favor of releasing me from the seal on my powers?"

A soft glow rose around the stallion, and he touched his extended nose to Tetsuya's wrists. A look of relief passed over the noble's features as the seal gave way and the reiatsu began to flow within his body again.

"Thank you, Arashi," he said gratefully, patting the horse on the neck, "Now, let's see about getting ourselves out of here!"

He caught his breath sharply as the stallion made a sound of warning and set himself between Tetsuya and Orochi, who now stood at the top of the incline, looking down at them.

"Stop!" Orochi called out in warning, "The ledge you are on is…"

He broke off and dove aside as Arashi reared and loosed a hail of ice blades from his nose and mouth that struck the ground where he had been. The hillside shook ominously.

"No, damn you!" yelled Orochi, "I need him!"

The ledge underneath Tetsuya and Arashi gave way suddenly, sending the two tumbling out of control down the steep drop, over the lower edge and crashing down into the fast moving river below. Orochi rolled to his feet and flash stepped away as a large section of the hillside gave way and tumbled down into the water below him. He watched with dark, enraged eyes as the river swept the debris away, but saw no sign of the shinigami or his horse.

"Unfortunate," he muttered, "but I learned enough that I likely don't need you anymore. The hollows I sent to the Rukongai will take care of that ratty boy you were with, and with any luck, you are dead…or will be in a few minutes. I'm glad to be rid of you. You are better off dead, half blood!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are you all right, Rikichi?" asked Miki, placing a hand on the other youth's arm.

Rikichi looked around the nicely decorated room, his eye touching on each of the other boys gathered for the celebration.

"Yes," he said absently, "I'm all right. I just…I feel bad for doing this while Tadao is missing. It feels wrong to celebrate while the person who was responsible for all of us being here is in some kind of trouble."

"I know how you feel," Miki said, looking around at the other youths in the room, "I think all of us are worried about him. We owe Tadao so much, and now he needs us, but there's no way to know where he might have been taken. We…"

He broke off as the reiatsu rose around them, and they heard the screech of a hollow somewhere nearby. Noa appeared in the doorway.

Come with me into the cellar, quickly!" she exclaimed, "Those of you who are older, help the younger children!"

"Go on, Miki," Rikichi said to his friend as he drew his zanpakutou, "I can handle this."

"No way!" the dark haired boy next to him said resolutely, "I may not have become a shinigami like you, but I _can_ fight hollows!"

The two youths ran out the front doors of the orphanage, taking positions in the street, in front of the two advancing hollows. Rikcihi studied them carefully for a moment.

"These guys are pretty strong," he warned Miki, "Stay behind me."

He raised Hiwashi, pointing the tip into the sky.

"Fly, Hiwashi!" he cried.

Light flared around Rikichi's extended blade and a large golden eagle launched from the tip and flew into the face of the first hollow, screeching and tearing at it with claws and beak. Blue kido blasts erupted from Miki's hands and pounded the second hollow. The hollow being assaulted by Rikichi's eagle howled and tried to tear the bird away with its clawed hands, while the second hollow blocked Miki's kido fire and began gathering power to launch a cero. Rikichi saw the hollow was about to strike and flash stepped away, dragging Miki with him. They reappeared a short distance away and attacked again.

"Oh no!" gasped Rikichi, as the second hollow turned away from them, "It's going to hit the orphanage!"

He tried to move between the hollow and the building, but was stopped as a cero fired by the first hollow struck the ground in front of him, throwing him off his feet and away from his friend. The first hollow bore down on Miki, while the second closed in on the orphanage.

"Miki!" cried Rikichi, rolling to his feet.

The hollow glared down at Miki.

"You are the one…" it growled, loosing another cero.

As the red light flared and headed towards Miki, Rikichi flash stepped to his friend and raised a kido shield, then dragged Miki to the ground and held him down. The two youths heard a catlike scream, then the attacking hollow howled again and reared back, tearing at something holding onto its throat and clawing at its chest. The hollow gave a last, dying scream and dissolved into spirit particles, and the beast that had attacked it landed lightly on the ground. Rikichi stared in surprise.

"K-kisho?"

"Come on!" growled the leopard, "We have to stop the other one!"

The three flash stepped towards the orphanage, Rikichi and Miki shielding the building as Kisho placed himself in the path of the cero and raised a heavy shield. The light from the cero glowed all around the youths, but just as it reached them, they heard the rough screech of Renji's skeletal snake. The snake curled protectively around the orphanage, and a shield of pink petal blades rose up in between the youths and the remaining hollow. A second volley of petal blades turned the attacking hollow to ash.

Byakuya and Renji flash stepped to where the three boys stood, gathering themselves. Rikichi helped Miki to his feet and the two stood, brushing the dust off their clothes as Kisho shifted to shinigami form and joined them.

"Are you two all right?" he asked.

"Yes, I think so," said Rikichi, "Thanks for jumping in like that! I didn't realize those two were going to be such trouble."

"You are damned lucky none of you were hurt!" Renji snapped, flash stepping to the boys and recalling Zabimaru.

Byakuya turned to Kisho, frowning.

"I gave you explicit instructions to go with Abarai fukutaichou to your meeting point. You should not have come here."

"Eh, sorry Kuchiki taichou," Kisho said, a little too contritely, "I don't know what possessed me."

"I think I do," Byakuya said dryly, "Now, go with Renji. He will take you back to Rukongai 31."

"Sorry, but I can't do that," said Kisho, brushing a handful of stray hairs out of his golden eyes.

"What did you say?" asked Byakuya, his reiatsu flaring.

"I witnessed the attack on the orphanage," said Kisho, "I am sure you will want to question everyone who was involved, ne?"

"Inside, then," Byakuya said, his frown deepening and his reiatsu sparking warningly, "We've attracted enough attention."

"Are you boys all right?" Noa called, peeking out the doorway of the orphanage, "Quickly, come inside and let Michio have a look at you!"

"I'm fine," Rikichi assured her, but I think Miki was hurt when I knocked him down."

"No," said the other youth, shaking his head, "I am fine, really. It's just a scratch."

"It seems that this was an isolated incident," observed Byakuya, "I do not sense additional hollows in the area."

Rikichi blinked and scratched his head, thinking.

"What is it, kid?" asked Renji, "You hurt?"

"N-no," Rikichi said, thinking back through the battle, "But…"

_The first hollow bore down on Miki, while the second closed in on the orphanage._

"_Miki!" cried Rikichi, rolling to his feet._

_The hollow glared down at Miki._

"_You are the one…" it growled, loosing another cero._

_As the red light flared and headed towards Miki, Rikichi flash stepped to his friend and raised a kido shield, then dragged Miki to the ground and held him down._

"Rikichi?" Miki said, tilting his head questioningly.

"Is there something bothering you about the hollow attack?" asked Byakuya.

"Yes," said the youth, swallowing hard, "One of the hollows said something to Miki."

"Do you remember what it was?" Byakuya asked.

"H-he looked at Miki…and he said, 'You're the one,' then he attacked."

Renji's eyes narrowed.

"All of a sudden, this doesn't seem quite so isolated, ne Taichou?" said Renji.

"No," replied Byakuya, turning a curious eye on Miki, "Do you have any idea what that hollow meant? Have you seen it before?"

"No," said Miki, shaking his head.

"I think it interesting," Byakuya went on, "that you were also involved when your friend, Tadao, was abducted."

"Y-you think I was involved?" exclaimed the youth, "I'm telling you the truth! I didn't know that hollow, and I didn't have anything to do with Tadao getting taken."

"It might not mean you were involved," said Renji, "but somebody obviously sent those hollows after you. We're just trying to find out who."

"And until we know more, we will need to take you back to our division, for your protection. Rikichi can watch over you until we clear this matter up. You can stay in the sixth division barracks, if you have no objection."

"Well…no, I guess not," Miki said, wide-eyed.

"Come then," Byakuya said, turning, "We must return to the Seireitei immediately."

The youths exchanged glances, then fell in together behind Byakuya and Renji. They flash stepped away together as the clouds over them darkened and a light rain began to fall.

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya walked slowly home, pulling his hooded cloak close around him to ward off the rain. His mind continued to run through the details of the abduction of the man called Tadao, and the hollow attack on the orphanage that might or might not have been related.

_It is frustrating that, even as carefully as we questioned them, Rikichi and Miki could add little more to what we already know._

He walked on, hardly noticing as passers-by spoke greetings to him and he closed in on the manor.

_The only good thing to come out of this is that, us being the first responders, Soutaichou has to let up and actually let us handle something of importance. It is a small victory…and short-lived if we do not make headway on this situation soon._

He nodded briefly to the guards who greeted him at the gates of Kuchiki Manor. As he passed through the courtyard and entered the gardens, he was suddenly distracted by a low, quivering neigh, and the sight of a ragged looking horse bearing a slumped rider. Byakuya's eyes went wide and his breath left him as the horse lifted his head and fixed a weary blue eye on him.

"Arashi…" he whispered, the shock of what he was seeing, freezing him momentarily.

He flash stepped forward as the horse's legs gave way and the tall stallion collapsed onto the grass. He took hold of the rider as the horse landed, and he pulled him carefully out of the way, then knelt on the wet grass, staring down into the guileless face of his thought-to-be-dead, cousin.

"Tetsuya…" he whispered, his body numb with shock, "Watashi no itoko…you are alive!"

He shouted for the house healers then pulled Tetsuya's senseless form close.

"You are alive…" he whispered into his cousin's ear, "I have you now. You'll be safe here. I won't let you be hurt again, Tetsuya!"


	7. Missing Pieces

**Chapter 7: Missing Pieces**

Byakuya felt his cousin's fingers move where his own curved around them, and he sat up straighter in the chair he had occupied all night.

"Tetsuya?" he called softly.

His cousin moaned distantly and shifted in his sleep, his lips moving and faint, unintelligible words forming there. Byakuya tightened his hand on his cousin's and leaned over Tetsuya, bringing his free hand to the unconscious man's face.

"Tetsuya, watashi no itoko, please wake up!" he whispered urgently.

Tetsuya went still again, and Byakuya sat back, sighing softly and rubbing his eyes with one hand as the other continued to hold his cousin's.

"There have been no changes through the night?" asked the clan healer.

"No," Byakuya said, shaking his head gently, "He is the same. Yasuo, is there nothing more that you can do?"

The clan healer shook his head.

"I have healed his injuries to the best of my ability," Yasuo admitted, "The rest is up to him. But I can, perhaps, shed some light on what he has endured recently."

Byakuya nodded.

"What did you learn?"

"There were injuries to his wrists and ankles, indicating that he had been bound, and odd cuts on his hands, arms and legs that suggested that he cut the bonds with something sharp. There were healing marks on his back, as well as signs of disruption in his reiatsu, suggesting that he was beaten. There were no signs of sexual assault. He was not extraordinarily thin nor was he dehydrated, so I do not think that he was held for long by his captor."

Byakuya's eyes flared at the healer's description.

"Were you able to identify the reiatsu of his captor?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"Not yet," said Yasuo, "His captor was powerful, and had the foresight and knowledge to anticipate and plan for covering his tracks in case your cousin escaped. But…there is something that he could not cover up."

"And what is that?" asked Byakuya.

"Your cousin's clothes and body were damp when he arrived here. I have taken samples from his clothes and skin cells, and have determined from the trace evidence that he was submerged in a river and tumbled in a strong current. Bruising on his body supports this. And the only river close enough for him to have emerged from and arrived here wet, is the one that runs through the manor property and then goes out and into the Rukongai. That suggests that he was being held on or near the estate."

"Very well. I will have our security forces scour the grounds for any sign of where he might have been held. I want to know who did this to him and why! He has been missing for years, and I suspect that this person who captured and tormented him knows why!"

He squeezed his cousin's hand gently and whispered an assurance that he would return. He left the room and summoned the head of house security.

"Tsutomu, have you had any word back from the trackers that you sent out last night?"

"They arrived a short time ago," Tsutomu said, nodding, "but they were unable to find anything definitive."

"I see. Our healer has found evidence that Tetsuya fell into the river that runs through our property. I want another team to scour the riverbanks and to let me know immediately if they find where he entered or exited the river."

"Yes sir," the man replied, "I will see to it personally!"

Byakuya watched him leave, then flash stepped to the barn, where a healer stood next to a weary looking Arashi.

"How did he fare last night?" he asked the healer.

"Well enough, considering," the healer said, patting the stallion on the neck and feeding him a horse cube, "He was dehydrated and had injuries suggesting a fall of some kind. He was damp, so it seems that he fell into water a short time before he was found. But he may have been trapped or confined before that, where there was no access to food or drink. If he was confined, he was meant to starve to death. I found a lot of bruising and some cuts from the fall, but he did not suffer any broken bones."

"Thank kami for that," said Byakuya.

"I healed his injuries and now he really just needs proper food and rest. I have instructed an attendant, who will care for him."

He started to go on, but was interrupted by the arrival of a hell butterfly.

"Taichou," said Renji's voice, "I received word this morning that there was a break-in at the orphanage in Rukongai 33 last night. I came to investigate and found that the only thing that was taken were five files on orphans who lived here. Taichou, the five boys whose files were taken were the same five that were meeting yesterday to celebrate their birthdays. I sent word back to the division to put Rikichi and Miki under guard. I was concerned because last night, three of the five boys who were at the party disappeared without a trace…and without giving any indication they were leaving. I have groups investigating each of their homes for clues, and I will report to you as soon as there is any information."

Byakuya frowned and let out a frustrated breath.

"Continue to see to my cousin's mount," he told the healer, "I will return later for an update on his condition."

"Of course, sir."

He flash stepped back to his bedroom, pausing for a moment to check on Tetsuya, then hurriedly dressing and heading for the division office. He was just arriving as the division alarms sounded and the shriek of a powerful hollow shattered the peace of the morning.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rikichi blinked sleepily and yawned, loathe to leave the warmth of his bed. He pressed closer to what seemed to be a pillow pushed up against his back, but the warm pillow seemed to move, startling the youth into sitting up quickly.

"Wh-wha…?" he stammered.

He found himself looking into the wide golden eyes of Kisho's clouded leopard form.

"Oh, it's you!" Rikichi laughed, as Kisho shifted to shinigami form.

"Sorry for surprising you," said the Shihoin prince, smiling at him, "I tried to curl up at the end of the bed, but got a bit cold in the middle of the night. I hope I didn't offend you."

"N-no," said Rikichi, his cheeks flushing slightly, "It's fine."

Miki sat up on the sofa, across the room from them.

"Is it morning already?" he asked, "It must be. I'm starving!"

"I'm pretty hungry, myself," said Rikichi, "We can go to the barracks kitchen for breakfast, or because I'm a seated officer now, we can stay here, make our food in the squad kitchen and bring it to my private quarters."

"Hmmm," said Kisho, "Perhaps until we hear from Kuchiki taichou regarding what happened yesterday, we should stay here."

"I think Kisho's right," said Rikichi, slipping out of bed and retying the belt at the waist of his sleeping yukata, "I'll go and make us something."

"Would you like some help?" asked Kisho, "Though I don't know what help I'll be, because I've never cooked anything for myself."

"Really?" asked Rikichi and Miki together.

Kisho nodded.

"I wasn't allowed to because I'm an heir. My attendant always tries to do everything for me. Yesterday and today are the longest I've been without him constantly bugging me! Though…it's not a horrible problem to have," he said, his golden eyes studying the other two youths, "I imagine that you two had it pretty rough, living in the Rukongai, ne? Mid-Rukon, I've heard, isn't as bad as lower Rukon, but it can be rough…"

"It was sometimes," said Miki, glancing at Rikichi, "But Rikichi and I, and our other friends all had each other. And thanks to Tadao, we had Noa at the orphanage to care for us. We didn't mind doing things for ourselves, because she taught us how to survive."

Kisho laughed good-naturedly.

"You see? That's what I keep telling them at home! If our servants ever revolt, I think half the noble clans would not survive!"

"Well," chuckled Rikichi, "We can't have _that_. You are just going to have to come with me, and I'll teach you how to cook for yourself."

"Really?" asked Kisho, looking impressed, "You think you can?"

"I don't know," shrugged the youth, "But it will be fun trying. Miki, do you want to join us?"

"Actually," said the other boy, "I would kind of like a hot shower before we eat, if you don't mind. Half the time, our hot water doesn't last long in the apartment where I live."

"See," said Rikichi, "I told you that you should become a shinigami. Even in the regular barracks, the food is always good and hot, and the showers are always nice and warm."

"Huh…maybe you're right. I don't know, though. I'm not so powerful…"

"You did really well against the hollows yesterday," said Kisho, "and I sense respectable power in you. You should apply."

"Maybe I will," said the youth, "but _after_ I take that warm shower."

Rikichi and Kisho exchanged amused glances as their friend walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Kisho followed Rikichi to the kitchen and watched as he gathered the ingredients for their meal.

"We'll make pancakes," Rikichi suggested, "I know the recipe by heart, but it's right here in this book, so you can help prepare it."

"Okay," said Kisho, grinning, "But just remember. You're being helped by someone with two left paws!"

"Two left…_paws_?" Rikichi repeated, blinking.

"Sorry, bad joke," said Kisho, "and it's really related to dancing, not cooking…but, go ahead."

"Why don't you measure out the flour?" Rikcihi suggested.

He turned to the refrigerator and scanned the shelves for eggs, not noticing how Kisho watched him out of the corner of an eye. Rikichi returned and cracked the egg, then let the inside fall into the flour, as Kisho read the list of ingredients and slowly added them. He watched quietly as the gentle brown-eyed youth stirred the mixture, then portioned it into a pan that had been greased with melting butter.

"You see the bubbles that are forming on top?" asked Rikichi, "You just wait until they pop, and the edges look a little dry, then you flip them over and cook the other side."

Kisho stood beside Rikichi, enjoying the closeness with the other boy and carefully watching the pancakes.

"They look ready now," said Rikichi, handing him a spatula, "Go ahead and turn them. Just flip them over one by one."

Kisho slipped the spatula beneath one of the pancakes and lifted, then turned it, but missed the pan as he let it fall. The two youths watched as it fell to the floor.

Kisho blushed.

"Oops…sorry," he said, ruefully.

"That's okay," said Rikichi, grabbing a towel and dropping to his knees in front of Kisho.

Kisho felt an odd tickle inside, looking down at Rikichi's bowed head, at the colored beads resting on his shoulder…at the slender, graceful hands that mopped up the mess he had made. He dropped to his knees and placed a hand on Rikichi's.

"No, let me get…"

Rikichi looked up and the words froze in the Shihoin prince's throat.

"…th-that…" he managed, staring.

Rikichi swallowed hard, his heart pounding strangely at the touch of the other youth's hand.

"Um…" he stammered, pulling his hand away, "Um…it's okay. I've got it."

He turned away quickly and ran the ruined pancake down the garbage disposal in the sink.

"Go ahead and turn the others," suggested Rikichi, feeling a hot blush on his cheeks as he washed his hands and dropped the dirty kitchen towel into a laundry hamper.

He walked back to the stove and watched quietly as Kisho turned the remaining pancakes.

"That's pretty good for your first time," said Rikichi.

Then he realized what he had said, and blushed a deeper red as Kisho bit his lip and pretended not to notice. Rikichi cleared his throat softly and went quiet until the pancakes were done, then lifted them out of the pan and set them on a waiting plate.

"The butter and syrup are over there," Rikichi said, dropping more batter into the pan, "Go ahead and eat those. I'll make some more."

Kisho smiled as he spread butter onto the pancakes and dribbled syrup generously on top. He ate slowly, his eyes watching Rikichi's back as the other youth continued with the cooking.

"These are better than the ones our cook makes," he commented.

"Hmmm," said Rikichi, glancing back and meeting his eyes for a moment, "Maybe it's just that we made them ourselves and ate them right away."

"Maybe," agreed Kisho, "But…"

He broke off and dove to the floor, dragging Rikichi down with him, as the screeching roar of a hollow sounded outside, and the kitchen wall suddenly exploded inward. Heat and debris rolled over them, throwing them back against the wall and scorching their skin.

"What in kami's name…?" Rikichi gasped as Kisho shifted to his leopard form.

"Get on!" he growled as fire erupted around them, "Rikichi, hurry!"

Rikichi wiped a tumble of bloody strands of black hair out of his eyes and dragged himself onto the leopard's back.

"I didn't know clouded leopards…got this big!" gasped Rikichi, trying to lighten the mood as Kisho leaped and crawled through the debris.

"They don't, baka. But I had to carry you!"

Rikichi laid down on the big cat's back and wrapped his arms tightly around Kisho's neck, closing his eyes and burying his face in the leopard's shoulder to stave off the heat of the fire.

"Wh-what about Miki?" he cried.

"We can't get down the hallway!" Kisho called back to him.

He broke free of the building and slid to a stop as he found himself directly in the path of a huge hollow. The hollow's dead eyes found Rikichi and flared red.

"DIE!" growled the hoarse voice, as it's bony hand rose and loosed a cero.

"Kisho!" Rikichi screamed as the leopard disappeared in a flash step and burst past the hollow.

"No! We can't leave Miki!" cried Rikichi.

"I'm not going to, but…!"

Kisho gave a harsh, catlike screech as a second hollow dropped down in front of them and swung a huge, armored fist at them, throwing the leopard off his feet and sending Kisho and Rikichi tumbling away. Rikichi crawled onto his hands and knees, his body shaking and dripping blood. The hollow advanced, raising his huge fist again.

"Oh…!" gasped Rikichi, shrinking back and raising his hands to fire a kido spell.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," said Byakuya's calm voice.

Rikichi dragged himself towards the Shihoin prince, who was struggling to rise as a cloud of pink petal blades swirled around the attacking hollow and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Shihoin Kisho," Byakuya called to the leopard, as it climbed to its feet, "Take Rikichi to Kuchiki Manor immediately! Wait for us there."

"B-but Miki!" Rikichi objected.

"He is with Renji," the noble assured him, "Go now, and do not stop until you reach the manor!"

"Hai!" Rikichi cried, crawling back onto Kisho's back as another storm of petals struck the remaining hollow.

Kisho flash stepped away, with Rikichi clinging to his back. He disappeared down the street, turned and ran on, then turned several more times as Rikichi laid down on his back and held on tightly.

He had nearly reached the manor gates, when he heard a ripping noise and saw a garganta opening ahead if them.

"What the…!" he gasped.

"K-kisho!" yelled Rikichi.

"Menos grande in the Seireitei?" Kisho said breathlessly.

"Look out!" Rikichi cried, raising his hands and loosing a kido blast as one of the menos took aim on them, "These things are following us!"

"Well, they won't follow for long!" cried Kisho, flash stepping away.

He turned away from the manor, at the same time, masking the spiritual pressure around the two of them.

"They won't find us now!" the Shihoin prince said, glancing back, "I know a place we can hide out."

"Well, obviously, going to the manor isn't going to work!" Rikichi called back.

"Hang on," said Kisho, "We'll be there in a flash."

The two disappeared into the brush, leaving the attacking menos, staring blankly at the place they had been.


	8. Lost Ties

**Chapter 8: Lost Ties**

"Hold still," Kisho said, tearing off a part of his sleeve and wetting it in the river the two youths had collapsed beside to rest, "The place I know about isn't much farther, but we need to stop this bleeding or all those hollows will have to do is follow the trail."

He leaned close to the brown-eyed youth, cleaning away some of the blood on his face, then handing Rikichi the compress to hold against the wound on his forehead. His fingertips touched the area lightly and a soothing green glow rose around them.

"It's fine, really," Rikichi assured him, "Head wounds always tend to bleed a lot and usually look worse than they actually are. And besides, I'm not the only one who was injured.

He tore one of the pockets off of his yukata and leaned forward, pushing Kisho's yukata down off one shoulder and examining a long gash.

"It's not so bad," Kisho said, flinching as Rikichi cleaned the wound and sent healing reiatsu into the area, "I guess one of them got me with a claw as I ran past."

"You're lucky it wasn't any deeper," said Rikichi, giving him a kind smile, "Those hollows were very powerful to have managed to attack our headquarters."

"Yes," said Kisho, "That's been bugging me. I mean…what sense is there in them attacking that place? They didn't even hit the part of the headquarters where the bulk of the shinigamis were. They struck right where we were, almost as though they meant to."

"But that's silly," said Rikichi, shaking his head.

Then he remembered the look that the hollow had given him, and how it spoke to him.

"Then again…when the hollows attacked the orphanage yesterday, one of them spoke to Miki," he added, "And today, one of the attacking hollows spoke to me. I wonder what that means."

"I'm not sure," said Kisho, "but I think after a little rest here, we should try to reach my aunt Yoruichi in Karakura Town. We can find her at Urahara Kisuke's shop, I think."

"But Kuchiki taichou will be…"

"I think that your taichou will understand that considering that we were obstructed by menos grande, we could not safely reach Kuchiki Manor."

"Well, I think we're on the property, but it's so big, we're a ways off from the manor itself," said Rikichi, "But if the hollows knew that's where we were going, they could be watching for us. Maybe your idea is better. But…we should get going."

He started to stand, but then put a hand to his head and swayed dizzily. Kisho wrapped an arm around him and helped him sit down again.

"I think we need to find a better place to rest," he commented, shifting to cat form, "Climb on and I'll take you to the place I was thinking of. It's abandoned, but we might be able to find some warm blankets…and I know there's an apple tree."

Rikichi nodded briefly and scrambled onto Kisho's sleek back, wrapping his arms around the leopard's neck and resting his head on the big cat's shoulder. His eyelids drooped and he drifted off to sleep as Kisho carried him away from the river and into the woods. A few minutes later, they emerged near a set of old ruins.

"This is Itamigiri," he told Rikichi, "It's an old prison where they used to hold the half bloods a long time ago. The prison is pretty run down, but there is an officers' wing that is still in pretty good shape."

He glanced over his shoulder, curious at hearing no answer from the other boy.

"Rikichi?" he queried softly.

The other youth answered with a soft snore. Kisho smiled.

"I told you that you needed rest," he said, turning towards the wooden building.

He carried Rikichi inside, then shifted to shinigami form and carried the sleeping youth into one of the bedrooms. He set Rikichi gently on a sofa, then located some relatively clean bedding and made the bed in the room. He lifted the sleeping shinigami and placed him in bed, then left to gather apples from the tree outside. He returned with the apples and raised a protective reiatsu chamber to hide their presence. Climbing onto the bed, Kisho ate one of the apples then laid down next to his friend. He watched quietly as clouds gathered in the sky outside and the air chilled. Rikichi shivered in his sleep and moved closer to Kisho, mumbling something unintelligible. Laughing softly, Kisho shifted to cat form and wound his feline body warmly around the sleeping youth. He dozed as Rikichi slept, his eyes closed, but his ears perked and listening for the slightest sound of anyone approaching.

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya stood in the ruins of the squad six headquarters, grimly surveying the damage to the officers' section and thinking deeply. He heard the sound of a flash step and sensed Renji's reiatsu and turned towards the redhead.

"How is the boy?" he asked quietly.

"He's all right," Renji reported, "Just kinda shaken up, But Unohana taichou wants to keep him there for a little while to make sure. The part of the building he was in came down pretty suddenly. Damn…those hollows really hit the place with a vengeance, ne?"

"Yes," agreed the noble, "And while one could make sense of them striking the officers' quarters to disrupt the response, the very brashness of attacking a military installation, and the placement of the strikes bother me. What is more is that, if what you told me about what happened in Rukongai 33 last night is true…then despite looking like an attack on our squad, this may have been aimed at Miki and Rikichi. Remember that they were both at that party and their files were among the ones stolen from the orphanage."

"And," Renji added, "All five of the kids whose files were stolen, arrived at the shelter within the same time frame, and Noa said that Tadao was the one who brought them there."

"We need to know more about this 'Tadao,'" Byakuya mused, "Was Noa able to give you any more information about him?"

Renji nodded.

"Some. He appeared just around the time those five boys arrived at the orphanage. The boys arrived on different days, and were all orphaned at different times in different ways, but ended up in some kind of trouble, and this man rescued them and delivered them to the orphanage. Noa said that he was a quiet person, who would come to give the kids lessons in gardening and horseback riding…and sometimes he would bring books and clothing he collected for the kids in the orphanage."

"Did you get a physical description?" asked Byakuya.

"About your height," answered Renji, "Black hair, white skin, good hygiene and, according to Noa, sad looking blue eyes. No one I talked to knew more than that. Apparently, he didn't talk much about himself. What I think is kind of telling is that he remained relatively close to the orphanage, though he never gave the impression that there was a reason beyond his dedication to helping the children there. Noa also said that he carried a zanpakutou, although he did not wear a shihakushou or anything that seemed connected to the Gotei 13."

"Hmmm," sighed Byakuya, "That isn't much to go on. I would have you look into this in more detail, but I am concerned that once the person or people who sent the hollows know that Miki and Rikichi survived the attack, they will come for the boys again. Whoever this is, is very determined that those boys should die."

"That doesn't bode well for the ones who are missing," said Renji, shaking his head.

"No," agreed the noble, "I have an exceptional team in the Rukongai now, working on that end of things, but we need to see to the boys' protection and follow up on this person, Tadao."

"We could send the boys to Kisuke," suggested Renji, "Then you and I could focus on finding out who Tadao is, and where he disappeared to."

Byakuya nodded.

"I agree. That would be a safer place for them while we investigate this. I want you to escort them, Kisho too, to Urahara's shop."

"Kisho too?"

"Yes," said the noble, "He is not one of the five, but he is a witness to some of the things that have happened. He is their peer and seems comfortable with them. And he is powerful enough that, if trouble finds them, he will be useful in protecting them."

"Good thinking," said Renji, "All right. I'm going to get Miki from the fourth division."

"I have sent Kisho and Rikichi on to Kuchiki Manor. You can meet me there. I need to check in on my cousin, and then I want to do some investigation on whether there might be any further links between these boys than the ones we already know."

"Your cousin?" queried Renji, furrowing his brow, "Which one?"

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"Ah, in all of the confusion, I must have neglected to mention, my cousin Tetsuya returned to Kuchiki Manor last night."

"Tetsuya?" said Renji, "You mean, the one you all thought was dead? Is he okay? Where has he been all of this time?"

"We don't know anything as of yet, because he was unconscious when he arrived. But we have determined that he and his stallion, Arashi, recently escaped some kind of captivity. They were injured in the escape, and Tetsuya has not yet awakened to tell us where he has been. Still, it is a great relief that he is back. He and I were very close as children."

"Well, I'm glad for you, Taichou. I know he was special to you."

"Yes…well, there's time enough to see to our grander reunion later, when he has had some time to recover. In the meantime, we must see to our mission. The lives of these boys are at risk."

"You've got it, Taichou. I'll meet you back at Kuchiki Manor."

"Arigato, Renji."

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya moaned softly and opened one blue eye, trying to focus on the room he was in. Something about the scents around him, and the slowly resolving scene he found himself in seemed oddly familiar, but he found himself unable to fully recognize it. He sat up slowly, placing a hand on his aching head, and closing his eyes tightly against the instant dizziness that struck him. Vague memories of intense pain, of fear, and of falling struck him in turns, leaving him confused as he continued to survey the room he laid in. His eyes found a mirror, and he caught his breath softly at the sight of his own face.

"Oh…" he gasped softly, "What's…wrong with me?"

He touched his face with light fingertips, then slid out of the bed onto shaky legs that threatened to collapse beneath him. A man entered the room, carrying a tray bearing tea and soup. Tetsuya staggered back, wide-eyed, bracing himself against the wall, so as to stay on his feet as the man set down the tray and met his eyes apologetically.

"Master Tetsuya, I am so sorry I startled you!" the other man said quickly, "But it is good to see you awake. Lord Byakuya will be so pleased."

"D-do I know you?" Tetsuya asked in a trembling voice, "You look familiar, but…"

"I am Torio," said the man, smiling at him, "I may look a bit different, because I was a boy too, when we knew each other. Don't tell me that you have forgotten…"

"I…I don't…know," Tetsuya stammered, "Everything is very…fuzzy. I know I have been here, but I don't remember exactly."

"Come back to bed, Master Tetsuya," Torio said kindly, "I will bring Lord Byakuya, and I am sure that the two of you will make sense of things. I am so happy that you have come back. Lord Byakuya was devastated when you could not be found. He searched endlessly for you…for many years."

"I have been…missing, then?" Tetsuya asked softly, his body relaxing slightly.

"Yes…for many years. You appeared last night in the courtyard, but you had been hurt. You will be all right now. And do not worry, I am sure that Lord Byakuya will clear things up for you. Rest…have some tea. I will be right back."

Tetsuya moved to the edge of the bed and sat down. He picked up the tea and sipped at it as Torio left the room.

"Lord…Byakuya," he whispered, "Torio?"

He heard voices outside in the gardens, and walked to the opened garden doors. A tall, raven-haired man in a shihakushou and taichou's hoari, and wearing a kenseiken and a long flowing scarf, stood facing another house attendant.

"What do you mean, they never arrived?" he asked the servant, sounding deeply concerned, "I ordered them to come straight here."

"But sir," said the servant, "They never arrived here. There was a disturbance outside the gate…m-menos grande!"

"What?"

"The house guards fought them off, and they left through a garganta. It has been quiet since then, but no one arrived, before or after that, sir."

"I see," said the raven-haired man, worry clouding his strangely familiar features.

A flash step sounded and a tall red-haired man appeared in front of the two with a dark-haired boy at his side. Tetsuya staggered back, his eyes going wide as a vision flashed in his mind.

_"You are going to be all right," he said softly, lifting the semi-conscious red-haired youth into his arms, "I will take you to someone who can help you!"_

"_B-but…that guy t-tried to…!"_

"_He is gone. I won't let him find you again."_

"What is this?" Tetsuya gasped, his legs giving way, and a harsh blackness enveloping him, "Who is that man?"

His body struck the floor heavily, alerting the nearest house guards.

"Lord Kuchiki!" one of them called to Byakuya, "Sir, your cousin!"

Byakuya's head turned sharply and caught sight of the guards leaning over Tetsuya, where his cousin had collapsed just inside the bedroom.

"Stay here with Miki in the gardens," he said tersely to Renji, flash stepping towards his room.

He reached the place where the guards leaned over Tetsuya and dropped to his knees at his cousin's side.

"We don't know what happened exactly," said one of the guards, "We heard him speaking to Torio, and then he came over near the doors…and just collapsed."

Byakuya lifted Tetsuya and carried him back to the bed, then sat down beside him. Tetsuya stirred sluggishly and his large blue eyes opened again and fixed on Byakuya.

"Are you all right?" Byakuya asked calmly.

"I think so," said Tetsuya, "except for being very confused."

"What is confusing to you?"

"I…feel like I should know this place…that attendant, Torio…you…myself, but I can't remember!"

"So…things around you feel familiar?"

"Yes. But I don't know why they are familiar," Tetsuya explained.

"You were in some sort of accident…we think, while attempting to elude someone who had abducted and held you prisoner near here. We do not know the circumstances that befell you, nor why you disappeared all of those years ago. But things will be all right now. You are home now, Tetsuya. And I will not let harm come to you here."

Tetsuya managed a weary smile.

"That is a comfort…erm…"

"Byakuya," the noble supplied.

"That is a comfort, Lord Byakuya."

"Good," said Byakuya, nodding briefly, "Now, I will ask that you remain here and rest until you are stronger. My attendant, Torio, will see to your needs. Unfortunately, something of some importance has occurred and I must see to that. But I will return to speak to you again soon."

"Thank you, Lord Byakuya," Tetsuya said, settling back against the pillows and taking another swallow of tea, "I am very grateful."

"And I am very relieved that you are all right," said Byakuya, "I have missed you, and when things come back to you, we will get to the bottom of whatever it is that took you away from me. We will find answers together. Rest now, Tetsuya. I will be back soon."

Byakuya gave his cousin's hand a gentle squeeze, then he rose and walked back out into the gardens.

"Is your cousin all right?" asked Renji.

"Yes," Byakuya answered, looking back at the open garden doors, "He will be fine. But right now, we have to concentrate on keeping Miki and Rikichi out of harms way."

He looked down at Miki questioningly.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.

Miki nodded.

"I wasn't really very hurt," he explained, "Everything just kind of collapsed around me, and I was trapped. I just had some cuts and bruises. Luckily, the hollows didn't see me where I was trapped. But what about Rikichi and Kisho? Where are they?"

"They escaped the hollows," said Byakuya, "but it seems that they encountered more when they tried to reach the manor. There are no signs that the hollows harmed them. I suspect they may have concealed themselves and will emerge soon. While we wait for that, you will proceed with Renji to Karakura Town. I want you to remain there with Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yoruichi until we find Rikichi and Kisho."

"You're not coming?" asked Renji.

"I am going to start tracking Kisho and Rikichi. I think that we can agree that I am better suited to reiatsu sensing than you, ne?"

"That's not nice Taichou," complained Renji as Byakuya flash stepped away, "It's _true_, but it isn't nice to go and point it out like that!"

Renji heard Miki laughing and scowled down at the youth.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Well," said Miki, biting his lips to stop himself from smiling, "It kind of reminds me of Rikichi and his problem with hell butterflies!"


	9. Cornered

**Chapter 9: Cornered**

**(My apologies for any errors. I will fix when I get home from work. Just wanted to post soon for a friend. :) Enjoy!)**

Orochi waited until darkness had fallen, then slipped in through the broken fencing and turned in the direction of the main building of Kuchiki Manor. His ears still rang with the worrisome news of Tetsuya's retrun to Kuchiki Manor. He had been poised all day to make his escape, but Byakuya had made no move to come for him. By late afternoon, he was nearly frantic, but then had come the news from his spy at the manor.

_He was injured somehow. He has no memory of who he is, where he has been, or how and why he returned._

"And that makes sense," the Kuchiki cousin muttered to himself, "After all, knowing I would come after him, he wouldn't have just waltzed into Kuchiki Manor. He would have been more secretive. Well, before he can remember enough to be a threat, I am going to silence this little annoyance!"

He was careful as he reached the gardens, to avoid the eyes of the guards. He skulked around, waiting as an attendant entered Byakuya's bedroom, bearing a tray of food.

"He's being careful," mused Orochi, "But he is about to find out that careful isn't good enough…"

He remained hidden in the shadows until the servant left the room, then watched quietly until another came to pick up the food tray. When all was quiet, he slipped onto the walkway and entered Byakuya's room on silent feet. He moved slowly towards the bed, his lips curling into a cruel smile as he recognized Tetsuya and found him to be asleep. He slipped a wicked looking dagger out of his clothes and stepped towards the bed, listening to make sure no one would hear. The man in the bed stirred and Orochi hastily shoved the dagger back into its sheath. Tetsuya's blue eyes opened and found his in the darkness. For a moment, neither said anything. Then Orochi cleared his throat softly.

"My apologies, Tetsuya. I didn't mean to wake you."

Tetsuya sat up and rubbed his eyes, then turned on a light and looked more closely at Orochi. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"It's…all right," Orochi said, smiling warmly at him, "I know that you don't remember me. I am your cousin, Orochi. I heard that you had come back, and I wanted very much to see you for myself. Our fathers were brothers, so you and I spent quite a lot of time around each other.

"Ah," said Tetsuya, giving him a tentative smile in return, "I don't know quite what to say. You do look familiar, but…"

He shook his head gently.

"But things are still very fuzzy. I would like to know more, though."

"Would you?" asked Orochi, "I would be happy to take you to the home you grew up in. I know it's somewhat late, but you must be anxious to remember."

"I am," Tetsuya affirmed, "However, Lord Byakuya has told me to remain here until he returns."

"Ah, do you know where he has gone?" Orochi asked quietly, his green eyes glittering softly.

"N-no, I am sorry," admitted his blue-eyed cousin, "He didn't say where he was going. He only said that it was something important. I overheard something about a hollow attack, and I heard the name of a place…but I cannot remember what it was. My apologies."

"Oh, no worries," Orochi assured him, "Perhaps another time, then. Farewell, Tetsuya. Welcome home."

"Arigato, Orochi," Tetsuya said, yawning and closing his eyes.

Orochi hesitated for a moment, his hand on the dagger.

_But I still need to find those two boys. Once I do, I can come back for you, Cousin._

He left the room and slipped away into the blackness.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kisho opened his eyes and paused for a moment, brushing his feline lips against the cool, colored beads that rested gently on the other youth's cheek as he slept. Rikichi gave a small, sleepy sigh and began to snore softly again. Watching the other boy carefully, Kisho slowly changed to shinigami form, smiling at how good it felt to press up against Rikichi's warm back, and to breathe in his soft, almost flowery scent. He tried not to move, but felt a warning twinge in his loins and let out a quiet breath. His heart skipped and pounded as Rikichi moved in his sleep, turning his head slightly and stopping with the soft, pale shell of an ear gently touching Kisho's lips. Kisho's arm seemed to move of its own accord, curling lightly around Rikichi's slender waist. Rikichi shifted again and Kisho felt his fingertips brush against a soft, white thigh. His heart skipped painfully and the ache in his loins intensified.

He saw Rikichi's eye blink, and froze, making his body completely limp, as though he still slept.

Rikichi felt something touching his thigh and looked down to find Kisho's arm wrapped around his waist and his hand resting lazily on his thigh. He stiffened for a moment, turning his head, but found that the other youth appeared to be asleep.

_Perhaps sometimes he changes while he sleeps, and isn't aware of it_, Rikichi reasoned.

Not wanting to embarrass his new friend, Rikichi decided that the best thing to do was to pretend he hadn't awakened and noticed. He relaxed his body in the other boy's arms and closed his eyes again, intending to let the situation go.

But he realized two unnerving facts very suddenly. The first was that his movement, when he had first awakened had caused Kisho's hand to move slightly, bringing it close to Rikichi's partially exposed genitalia. The second was that a twinge of arousal had risen up inside him, and his body was quickly responding. He sat up suddenly, startling Kisho awake, then staggered to his feet and stood by the bed, all of a sudden realizing he didn't have a plan for what to do next. Kisho stared up at him, blushing furiously.

"I am…so sorry, Rikichi!" he said quickly, "Sometimes I change if I have a strange dream or something. I…I hope I didn't offend you."

"N-no," said Rikichi, shaking his head and swallowing hard, "I understand. I was just…startled is all. It's no problem."

Kisho smiled at him gratefully.

"Good," he said amiably, "I like being around you, Rikichi. I wouldn't want to make you dislike me."

He glanced away for a moment, then looked back at Rikichi.

"I have to confess. I don't have that many friends," he admitted softly.

Rikichi's gentle brown eyes softened in sympathy.

"Really?" he said, looking back at the other youth, "Why?"

Kisho gave a soft, disarming chuckle and motioned for Rikichi to sit down next to him. Rikichi hesitated for a moment, then sat down and looked at Kisho questioningly.

"Well," said the golden-eyed boy, running his fingers through his sleep-mussed hair, "First, there's the fact that I am from a noble clan. That comes with a little bit of baggage. Because right away, people make judgments about me. Some of them might be true, but a lot of them aren't. Like thinking that we look down on others who don't come from noble families. The ones from our clan really don't…which brings me to reason number two. The Shihoin clan is a little bit looked down on by some other clans. Part of it is that we are rather lax in our ways, and part of it is that we are shapeshifters. A lot of people don't like shapeshifters. They automatically think we're up to something, even when we're not. And the last part of it, is another reason why I don't have so many friends. Our clan is usually led by a female. It's odd to have a male with strong family abilities like mine. The female members of the family don't like me because of that, and the male family members think it mean's I'm too feminine."

"You don't seem that way to me," said Rikichi, "And even if you were, you don't choose those things. You don't choose your family, your powers or where your power level places you in the family. And those things shouldn't decide how people treat you. You are funny, kind, and I can tell you're the kind of friend a person can really trust. That's why when those hollows showed up yesterday, I was really glad that you were there. I was scared, especially when that one hollow spoke to me. But knowing that you were there, I felt like things would be all right."

"They will be," Kisho promised, "I won't let anyone hurt you, Rikichi."

He smiled and handed the brown-eyed youth one of the apples he had collected.

"Here, eat something, you didn't have anything to eat yesterday. I at least had those pancakes we made, and an apple."

He couldn't look away as Rikichi accepted the apple from his hand and bit into the fruit gently.

"So…what do we do now?" he asked between bites.

"We should go to Karakura Town," suggested Kisho, removing the barrier he had placed the night before to protect them, "Urahara Kisuke and my aunt should be able to keep us safe from any hollows."

Rikichi nodded.

"I can have Kisuke contact my taichou and tell him we are safe."

"Come on, then," Kisho said, turning towards the bedroom door, "Let's get out of here before the hollows find us again."

They started out off the building, but paused at the door as lightning flashed brightly across the dark, cloudy sky and thunder cracked loudly. As they watched, rain began to come down, slowly at first, then growing into a torrential downpour.

"Ah," said Kisho, "Erm…I think maybe we should plan on staying a little longer, ne? Unless you like getting wet…"

Rikichi laughed good-naturedly.

"It will just give us time to explore the prison here before we go," he said, shrugging.

"Sounds good to me," said Kisho, nodding, "But I hope you like apples and water because that's all we've got."

"Well, we could look around for a pantry. They have to have kept some canned foods. Maybe we can find something else."

"You bring a can opener?" asked Kisho, "I think the ones here will be old and rusty."

"But you forget," smiled Rikichi, "I grew up in an orphanage in the Rukongai. There's plenty of 'old and rusty' there, so it doesn't bother me as long as it means I won't go hungry, ne?"

Kisho laughed.

"Okay, now I feel like a spoiled brat…" he mused as he followed Rikichi to the kitchen.

The two quickly scavenged through the cupboards and an old, previously plundered pantry they found.

"Looks like someone else had the same idea we did, at some point," said Rikichi.

"That's too bad," said Kisho, shaking his head, "But I guess we could look inside the prison itself. They had to have a kitchen somewhere in there."

Rikichi started to reply, but froze and looked around quickly as he sensed the presence of hollows. Kisho shifted to cat form and nudged Rikichi towards a dark corner.

Footsteps and odd, guttural noises sounded outside the building. Rikichi climbed onto the leopard's sleek back and Kisho silently carried him out the back exit. A loud screech broke through the air as the leopard slipped out into the rain and contemplated which way to go.

"We'll never make it past them," Kisho said with certainty, "We have to hide somewhere and conceal our reiatsu."

He slinked along the side of a dilapidated outbuilding, then found a broken door that led into the old prison.

"This place is huge," Kisho observed, "There are plenty of place to hide in here."

Rikichi climbed off his back and followed as Kisho led him into the cellblock. They had only gone a few steps in when the boys froze, hearing a male voice outside.

"I don't care if you have lost the scent. You are to kill those boys. That was our agreement! Now, keep looking for them! They won't have gone far since we sensed them. I doubt they have left. Get in there and find them!"

Kisho pulled a stunned Rikichi into an alcove, placing a restrictive hand over his open mouth, as one of the hollows suddenly stepped into the cellblock. They waited until the creature had passed, then started back towards the entrance. They had almost reached it when footsteps sounded both in front of them and behind them.

"Get on!" hissed the leopard.

"But the storm!"

"It's better than being caught by them here and now!" Kisho insisted, "Trust me!"

"I do, but…"

"Then, get on!"

Rikichi flew onto the leopard's back and Kisho dashed out of the shadows and towards the cloaked and hooded shinigami that had been speaking. The man raised his hands as Kisho flash stepped at him.

"Hado #33 Soukatsui!" cried Rikichi, launching a blast of blue fire from his hands.

The shinigami fired his own spell while flash stepping away, scoring a glancing blow that threw Kisho to the cold, stone floor as Rikichi leapt off and raised his hands again.

"You are going to die, boy!" the man snarled, closing in on a stunned Kisho, and gathering his power, "Let's see you two escape now! Bakudo # 4, Hainawa!"

Golden kido ropes snaked around Kisho and tightened, holding the struggling leopard in place. The shinigami drew his sword.

"Ye lord, mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man. Truth and temperance upon this sinless wall of dreams, unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws…Hado #33, Soukatsui!" howled Rikichi.

A stronger blue light emerged from the youth's palms, sending the man flash stepping away from the fallen Kisho. Rikichi flash stepped to his friend and positioned himself in front of Kisho as the hollows they had heard before stepped into the room. The shinigami held his sword ready and gazed at Rikichi questioningly.

"Go ahead," said the man, "Loose another useless spell. You probably aren't him, but to be sure, I have to kill all five. Your three missing friends are all dead. I had them slaughtered, and you will die too."

"Why?" Rikichi asked, his voice shaking, "Why did you kill them? Did you kill Tadao too? Why are you doing this?"

As the man began to answer, Rikichi lowered his head slightly and began a very soft incantation.

I don't know if I can do it. Lower officers aren't supposed to, but…we'll die if I don't! This has to work…

_"Ye lord, mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man…"_

"You want answers?" the man said in a falsely gentle voice, "It matters little. You will die anyway, so you may as well know why."

_"On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus…"_

"The answer is…power. Clan power."

_"In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens…"_

"One of you four is the heir…his son…"

_"Hado #63 Soren Soukatsui_!" screamed Rikichi.

The old prison shook madly and began to come down around them as twin blasts of kido flared from Rikichi's extended hands. The shock wave destroyed the bonds holding Kisho and Rikichi leaped onto his back.

"Get us out of here!" cried Rikichi.

Kisho ran for the entrance, but slid to a stop as a kido blast hit the ceiling above them, and debris rained down on them. Rikichi fell, sent to the ground by a sharp blow to the head. Kisho shifted to shinigami form and dragged the youth into his arms as The man and the two hollows closed in.

"It looks like we've found the heir," the man said calmly, "Thank you for making it so easy for us to kill him!"

Kisho's eyes widened as the man's sword rose over them, and began to fall towards them in slow motion.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura…" said Byakuya's voice from outside the collapsed doorway.

Kisho threw himself down on top of the unconscious Rikichi as the debris behind them shattered and broke apart. He had a momentary glimpse of sharp flashes of kido fire, then he sank to the floor, holding Rikichi tightly in his arms.


	10. Tea and Cookies

**Chapter 10: Tea and Cookies**

"Are you all right?" Miki asked, his calm, brown eyes looking down into Kisho's as the Shihoin prince's eyes slowly opened and tried to focus.

"Wh-where is Rikichi?" he asked quickly, remembering that he had been holding the unconscious youth close to him when…

"He is resting over there," Miki said, indicating a second bed in the room.

Kisho turned his head and spotted Rikichi in the bed and started to get up. Instantly, strong hands caught him and pushed him back down. He found himself looking up into Renji's red-brown eyes.

"Abarai fukutaichou?" he mused, "I didn't see you there. Where is Kuchiki taichou?"

"Lie back down, kid," said Renji, frowning at him, "You're still healing. Don't worry about Rikichi. He's going to be fine. He just took a really bad knock on the head and is going to be out for a while longer is all. Kuchiki taichou had to return to Soul Society after bringing you here. He had to meet with our team in the Rukongai. They made some kind of discovery about the missing boys."

Kisho caught his breath sharply, remembering.

_"Go ahead," said the man to Rikichi, as the youth positioned himself in front of the fallen Shihoin prince, "Loose another useless spell. You probably aren't him, but to be sure, I have to kill all five. Your three missing friends are all dead. I had them slaughtered, and you will die too."_

_"Why?" Rikichi asked, his voice shaking, "Why did you kill them? Did you kill Tadao too? Why are you doing this?"_

"What is it?" asked Renji, "You okay?"

Kisho's eyes darkened and grew troubled.

"Th-there was a shinigami with the hollows that attacked us," he explained, "He said some things to Rikichi. He said that he had those boys killed!"

"What?" Miki gasped, tears coming to his eyes, "N-nao, Shig and Yuu are…?"

Renji lowered his eyes and nodded.

"We don't know the full details, but…the report that came back was that the place of death had been sensed. Odd thing was, though they were kidnapped separately, they were killed together, by someone who obviously knew what he was doing. What we need to know, is why?"

Kisho frowned and strained his mind, thinking. His head ached fiercely and sweat beads formed on his forehead as he struggled to remember. Finally, something came back to him.

"That man," he said, putting a hand to his head, "The one that was with the hollows said something to Rikichi about an heir."

"What?" Renji asked, his eyes growing intense, "An heir? What else did he say?"

"I…I'm not really sure," said Kisho, furrowing his brow and wincing at the pain that flashed in his head, "I was kind of out of it at the time. That guy hit me with a kido blast and I fell. Luckily, Rikichi kept him from getting to me while I recovered. It almost shocked the fur off my leopard form when he fired that high level kido spell. I didn't know Rikichi was that powerful."

"H-high level kido spell?" mused Renji, "Which one?"

"Hado #63."

"What?" Renji demanded, "I didn't even know the kid _knew_ that spell, and at his level, he had no business using it in battle! He's damned lucky it didn't blow up in his face and kill all of you!"

"Well," said Kisho, giving the unconscious youth an appreciative glance, "If he hadn't bent the rules and used it, I think we would have died before Kuchiki taichou arrived."

"Huh," huffed the redhead, "You almost got your asses fried anyway. You would have if Taichou hadn't shown up when he did. What were you two thinking, going to that old prison?"

"Well," said Kisho, his golden eyes sparking aggressively, "I think we were thinking that we needed to find a place where the hollows wouldn't find us. After being attacked at the sixth division and at Kuchiki Manor, where you and your taichou _sent _us, you will have to excuse us for having to get creative about where we chose to conceal ourselves."

"All right. Sheesh, don't get your fur in a frizz, cat boy…"

"Oh," said Kisho, glowering, "That's good, coming from you. You're a fukutaichou and your kido _still _blows up in your face. You should worry less about what spells Rikichi uses in battle and learn to use a few yourself!"

"Why you little…" Renji began, his reiatsu flaring around him, "I'll show you kido! I'll burn your little princely ass!"

"Hey…guys," said Miki, placatingly, "Did you forget, Rikichi's still healing? Keep it down, okay?"

"Wh-what's going on?" Rikichi said, rubbing his bandaged head and trying to sit up.

Kisho flash stepped to his side and eased him back down onto the pillows.

"Hey," he said, smiling gently, "You shouldn't be up and around yet. Lie down, okay?"

"What was all of the yelling about?" Rikichi asked, touching the bandage on his head and wincing.

Kisho smiled.

"Aw, nothing really," he said, ignoring the scathing look Renji gave him, "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone used my head for target practice," Rikichi chuckled, relaxing against the pillows.

"Do you remember what happened at the old prison?" asked Renji.

"Give him a break," Kisho said, frowning, "He just came to. Let him take a breath or two before you start interrogating him."

Renji's red brown eyes flared in annoyance.

"No one is interrogating anyone," he snapped, "But in case it went over your head, someone wants these two kids dead. According to what came back from our investigative team, they've already killed Rikichi and Miki's three friends."

He paused for a moment, seeing the intense distressed look on Rikichi's face. Miki's eyes dampened and he slipped a sympathetic hand into the distraught shinigami's. Kisho's golden eyes took on a soft, threatening glow and his body shimmered warningly.

"Hey, back off," he said, placing himself between Renji and Rikichi, "He's got enough to deal with without you making things worse! I know you have questions, but…"

"It's okay, Kisho," Rikichi said, sitting up higher and rubbing his eyes to clear them, "Renji is my superior officer. He's supposed to ask questions. And besides that, he's trying to help."

Kisho's frown deepened.

"But you shouldn't let him talk to you like that," the Shihoin prince insisted.

"Kisho," Rikichi said quietly, "I told you. Renji is my superior. If he wants answers, it's my job to give him answers. I know you think differently, because you're from a noble family, but I'm from the Rukongai. I'm used to the way people treat me."

Kisho put a hand on the other youth's arm and met his eyes squarely.

"This isn't about you being a peasant," he said, "It doesn't matter whether you're a peasant or a prince, those guys are your friends, and he…"

"I know, but…"

"No, he's right," said Renji, his expression softening, "I do have questions, but you've been through a lot."

"Don't worry about it," said Rikichi, "I'll do my best to answer your questions. It's still kind of fuzzy, but I do remember."

"Okay," said Renji, nodding, "Just tell me what you can…anything you remember."

"I didn't know the guy who was with the hollows, but he did say that he was looking for the five of us, and he killed our three friends because one of us was…"

He stopped for a moment, furrowing his brow.

"It's hard to remember because I was focused on the incantation for a kido spell, but I remember him saying that it was about an heir."

"An heir?" said Renji, "An heir to what?"

"I don't know," said Rikichi, "I don't have any idea what he was talking about. I really don't. We're all orphans. If one of us is the heir they're looking for, then we don't know anything about it…ne Miki?"

"He's right," said Miki, "I don't know anything about it…and I never heard any of the others talk about any such thing either."

"But if he was talking about an heir, then it means that one of you five must have come from a rich family of the upper Rukongai, or maybe one of the noble families. That brings us back to Tadao. He may have been the person you remember, the one who saved all of you from bad situations and watched over you…or he may have been a kidnapper, who stole the heir and was concealing him for all of this time."

Miki and Rikichi shook their heads firmly.

"There is no way that the man that we all knew was a kidnapper," Rikichi said with certainty, "Anyone who ever met Tadao would know that he wasn't the kind of person who would kidnap a child and keep him from his family. He's a good person, Renji. We are very close to him."

"But he never told you anything about his past?" Renji asked, "And you didn't think that was odd?"

"We come from the Rukongai," Miki said, shaking his head, "If a person doesn't talk about his past, people just figure he likes his privacy and it's not their business to ask."

"When he was with us, he would just tell us stories, teach us about gardening, survival skills, astronomy, things like that. He was well educated," added Rikichi, "And he was protective of all of the kids in the orphanage…not just us."

"Okay…" said Renji, "It's not a lot, but we'll just have to work with what we have. I'm going to go and report this to Kuchiki taichou in the Rukongai. You kids are to stay here with Kisuke. He and Yoruichi are more than a match for most shinigamis and hollows. You'll be safe here. And there's something that I'll ask Kisuke to do. I will have him test your blood and reiatsu. If either of you is the heir of a noble clan, then we're going to find out about it. Then from there, we should be able to figure out who's trying to kill you…and why."

XXXXXXXXXX

"What were you able to learn?" Byakuya asked the sixth division third seat, who was standing beside the open trench, where traces of the missing youths had been discovered.

"There were three different hollows," the third seat reported, "It seems that each was sent to collect one of these three boys. They met here and killed the boys, one by one, then devoured them. That we were able to find any sign of them is surprising. This was a well-planned operation."

"But it doesn't explain why someone is trying so hard to kill those last two boys…or why any of these boys were targeted. But if I read this right, these hollows were trained assassins. So, they did the killing, but they are not the ones who wanted the boys dead. It has to be _him_…that shinigami I saw at the old prison…cloaked, hooded and his reiatsu masked, I could not recognize him. But I know it must be him."

"Sir?" queried the third seat.

"Finish up here," Byakuya said quietly, "Then proceed to the ruins of Itamigiri. I was a full report of anything you find there. There are the bodies of the two hollows I killed, and I want you to scour the cellblock in case the shinigami who was with them left any kind of sign!"

"Hai, Kuchiki taichou," said the third seat, bowing briefly.

Byakuya watched as the man returned to his work, then flash stepped away, moving in the direction of the old prison.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'm sorry, Abarai fukutaichou, but you just missed Kuchiki taichou, and I don't know where he went. He ordered us to examine the area around the old prison, Itamigiri, when we finish here. He may come to see us there, or he may have gone back to the division, or perhaps Kuchiki Manor."

"Thanks," Renji said, nodding, "Carry on, then."

He walked away from the crime scene, slowly making his way back towards the Seireitei. His mind turned in circles, poring over the clues, but not finding any answers.

"Abarai Renji," said Noa's voice, startling him, "So, they found the missing boys? And from what I see in your eyes, I imagine that the news is not good."

Renji looked up at the woman sympathetically. He shook his head gently.

"I'm…really sorry. I know that you raised all of them."

He looked around the orphanage grounds briefly, then back at Noa.

"It looks like they had a wonderful home with you and Michio," he said softly.

"Oh," said Noa, her eyes sad and weary, "It isn't so much. But there is a lot of love here."

Renji smiled sadly.

"They were really lucky to have you," he said meeting the old woman's eyes.

Noa sighed.

"I can still see the boys, out there in the yard, running and playing, stubbing toes and scraping knees, scaring me half to death when they would ride Arashi, though he was a good horse, always so gentle with all of the children."

"You had a horse?" Renji asked, "I don't see a stable. Where did you keep him?"

"Oh," said Noa, smiling, "Arashi wasn't mine. He was Tadao's mount. He told me that Arashi was one of the wild spirit steeds, but that one day when he was hurt very badly and alone in the forest, Arashi appeared and somehow healed him, then refused to leave him. It was the closest I saw our Tadao get to anyone. Poor lad. If he had come to us as a child, he would have been like these we cared for, just another lost child. He was young, a mere teen, when he first brought them, and we offered him a place to stay, but he very politely refused. He was used to taking care of himself, he said. Still, there was always a sadness about him, and sometimes, when I would show him kindness, he betrayed a longing, like he really wanted to stay, but that, for some reason, he felt that he couldn't. But he watched over the children, always, especially those five boys."

The old woman wiped a tear away from her eye.

"Like I said before," said Renji, placing a hand on the old woman's shoulder, "They were really lucky to have had you. It's a good thing you're doing here."

He started to turn away but Noa's voice stopped him.

"Abarai fukutaichou, are Miki and Rikichi all right?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," Renji answered, "They are alive and we are protecting them."

He looked into Noa's eyes meaningfully.

"We won't let anything bad happen to them. I promise."

"Thank you, Abarai fukutaichou."

"Ah, you're welcome. No problem. And call me Renji."

"Very well, Renji. Michio and I appreciate you looking after our boys. And we thought it was wonderful when our Rikichi was taken into the sixth division. We know he had a long way to go as a shinigami, but you really made a difference in his life when you encouraged him. He was just a sweet, gentle lost soul before that. Alone and quiet. He seemed lonely, even though he had the other four his age. But after the day you came through town, he seemed to find his direction. He trained hard, and we were very proud when he was placed in your division."

"Well," said Renji, "He seems to improve every day. I don't know if he told you, but he was promoted to twelfth seat."

"He mentioned that at the party," Noa said, smiling, "He also told us how you had been helping him train."

"Well…erm…" Renji stammered, "I guess, considering I encouraged him to become a shinigami, I felt like I should help him along."

"You are a good friend."

Renji chuckled.

"Hardly," he answered, "I push him hard and I'm on his case all of the time. I may be okay as his superior officer, but I'm a crappy friend. But he seems to really be connecting with Shihoin Kisho."

"The prince that was with them during the attack?" said Noa, "I noticed a real spark between them. There was something between them that seemed to shine a little brighter than a simple friendship. Call me an old fool if you want, but I have the feeling that our Rikichi and this princeling are falling in love."

Renji gave a hearty laugh.

"Don't tell Taichou that," he mused, "I think he's had his fill of that little brat. It would drive him crazy to have Kisho hanging around the sixth division, fawning all over Rikichi."

"And you agree?" asked Noa, smirking.

"Well, Kisho is a bit of a smartass," Renji said, shaking his head, "but from what I've seen, he's quickly becoming the best friend Rikichi has…and since they've been around each other, Rikichi is taking some serious strides forward as a shinigami. Yeah, they are good for each other. I don't know about the rest of us though!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"You know," said Rikichi as Kisho set a cup of tea in his hands, "you don't have to fetch tea and food for me all of the time like this. You_ are_ a prince, after all. Kuchiki taichou just asked you to help look out for me not to be my personal servant."

Kisho smiled, and Rikichi felt an odd tickle inside.

"I happen to like taking care of you. And I'm not doing it for your taichou," he said, narrowing his eyes, "I'm doing it because you're my friend…and prince or peasant, that's what friends do, ne?"

Rikichi couldn't stop the smile that lit his slightly flushed face.

"Yes, it is," he agreed, "And you are a good friend, Kisho. With what's going on, I'm really grateful to have your friendship, though it would be nicer to have the friendship without the danger."

"I have to agree," said Kisho, watching as Rikichi sipped at his tea, then, blinked and caught his breath.

A pleased look appeared on the Shihoin prince's face.

"You…like it?" he asked, sounding oddly shy, compared to his usual brash self, "I made it myself. Kisuke told me how, because he was kind of busy, so…"

"It's…good," said Rikichi, his eyes watering slightly as he swallowed it.

He took a sip of water, then contemplated the cookies on the tray.

"I made those too," said Kisho, "Try one."

Rikichi's smile quivered slightly, but he took a cookie and bit into it gently. To his surprise, it was perfect, and more than made up for the shockingly bitter tea.

"This is great, Kisho," he said, devouring the cookie and reaching for another, "You are pretty good for someone who just started learning."

"Well, actually, Miki helped me a bit with the cookies, but the tea was all me."

Rikichi bit his lip to keep himself from laughing, and his tearing eyes twinkled.

"This was really great, Kisho," he said, picking up the tea and drinking deeply, "Arigato."

"You're welcome," said Kisho, reaching over to brush cookie crumbs off of Rikichi's yukata.

He spotted a crumb stuck to the brown-eyed youth's lips and leaned forward to brush it away. He felt a hard jolt inside as his fingers made contact with Rikichi's lips, then realized that the other youth had frozen like a startled deer. Kisho's golden eyes fixed on Rikichi's, reading his expression carefully, then he leaned forward very slowly, slipping his arms around Rikichi and burying his face beneath the other youth's chin. He felt Rikichi's body stiffen for a moment, then relax against him. Rikichi's heart quickened as Kisho's breath warmed the skin of his throat, sending a light, fluttery feeling all through him. He placed his arms gently around the other boy, moving his head slightly so that their cheeks rubbed against each other. Then, maddeningly slowly, Kisho lifted his chin and let his lips brush Rikichi's throat, slide up, over his jaw, then paused, looking into Rikichi's brown eyes, with their lips a bare inch shy of each other. His eyes drifted shut and he closed the distance.

Rikichi's body shivered for a moment as their lips met, then Kisho felt the lovely warmth of his return kiss. Their lips separated for a moment, then met again, still very lightly. Kisho opened his eyes again and watched as Rikichi's opened. They leaned towards each other again, with their eyes open and locked as they kissed again. Kisho's lips parted, and he ran his tongue along Rikichi's lips, coaxing a sweet sigh from the other boy and teasing his lips into parting. His tongue slipped into Rikichi's mouth and sought the other boy's tea-warmed tongue. He slid his tongue gently along Rikichi's and felt another jolt inside as Rikichi's tongue curled around his. They parted slowly, looking into each other's eyes, both uncertain what to say. Finally, Kisho smiled and let out a shaky breath.

"Baka!" he scolded Rikichi, "That tea was _horrible_!"


	11. The One Protected

**Chapter 11: The One Protected**

"You've been kind of quiet since...earlier," Rikichi said softly, watching Kisho as the tawny haired youth gazed out the window at the stars and moon, "Is something wrong?"

Kisho turned back towards Rikichi, his golden eyes catching the moonlight and glittering brightly.

"I was just thinking about what that man said...that one of you five must be the lost heir."

"Huh," huffed Rikichi, "Lost heir of what?"

"He didn't say," acknowledged Kisho, "But it must a noble clan...or at least a wealthy family of the Rukongai."

He reconsidered for a moment.

"No," he went on, "For this guy to be so determined to kill all of you, it has to be either a noble clan...or maybe the royal family."

"You think so?" Rikichi said, his brown eyes widening at the thought.

He tried to think of himself as royalty and started to laugh. Kisho smiled, enjoying the moment of light-heartedness, then sobered slightly.

"What is it?" asked Rikichi, "What's bothering you, Kisho?"

The other youth returned to Rikichi's side and knelt next to him on the bed. He reached out with one hand and touched Rikichi's face lightly.

"I was thinking that...if you did turn out to be this lost heir, well..."

Rikichi frowned and caught Kisho's hand in his.

"Well, what?" he asked softly, squeezing the young prince's hand gently.

"Well, then..."

Kisho let out a breath and met Rikichi's eyes meaningfully.

"Then...this...what happened with us. It couldn't happen, Rikichi."

"What?" Rikichi asked.

His eyes widened as he realized.

"Oh! Because of being expected to have a baby?" he asked.

"Male noble couples can have babies, but it is more rare, so the clans kind of frown on it. And most noble couples are arranged. I told you before that my clan is sort of looked down on by many of the others. And if you are heir of a clan we aren't on good terms with, then you could be given in marriage to someone else. A few, like Kuchiki taichou, rebel against the rules, but..."

Rikichi smiled and surprised Kisho's lips with a warm, lengthy kiss.

"Then if it turns out that way, I will rebel against the rules to stay with you...Kisho. You are the best friend I've ever had, and I..."

He froze, staring into Kisho's much happier eyes. He couldn't force the last words out as Kisho wrapped his arms around him and brought their mouths together. Rikichi closed his eyes and sank hungrily into each sweltering kiss, shivering inside as his heart pounded fitfully and he felt an increasing ache in his loins. He felt Kisho's hand touch his abdomen and felt like pleading for him to move it lower, to touch him 'there,' to caress him, to make the pleasure resonate through his whole body. He flushed brightly at the thought and stole a glance at the other youth. He caught Kisho blushing and peeking as he was, and suddenly the two broke away from each other and began to laugh.

"I think I'm in love with you, Rikichi," Kisho said suddenly, sending a wonderful, sweet jolt all through him.

The Shihoin prince's golden eyes struck Rikichi with the force of a kido blast and he released a soft, unbidden sob of surprise and happiness.

"What?" asked Kisho, looking nervous, "Did I...I didn't make you feel uncomfortable, did I?"

"No," said Rikichi, his blush deepening sweetly, "You made me really, really happy, Kisho!"

Kisho reached out and brushed away a tear that had formed in the corner of Rikichi's eye.

"Then...you..." Kisho began.

"Yeah," Rikichi said, nodding and hugging the other youth with shaking arms, "I think I'm in love with you too."

He swallowed hard and lowered his eyes as he went on.

"No one has ever...said that to me, Kisho. That's why I reacted like that. I'm sorry you thought for even a minute that I didn't love you back. I just...was really surprised. I don't know why. Maybe I just couldn't believe anyone would look at me like you do...would want to be close to me...put his arms around me. When you touch me, I feel it everywhere. And I feel like I've stopped breathing."

He looked down at where Kisho's hand still rested lightly on his abdomen.

_I want you to touch me, Kisho, _Rikichi thought, trembling softly, _but how do I say the words?_

His face felt hot and flushed, and his blush deepened as his eyes met Kisho's again. To his surprise, the usually bold youth looked as nervous as Rikichi felt. His fingers moved slightly on Rikichi's abdomen and the brown-eyed youth quivered. Kisho's golden eyes softened, and he leaned forward and kissed Rikichi again. The brown-eyed youth took a soft, hissing breath as Kisho's hand slid down and touched him tentatively through his clothes. A light, hungry moan escaped Rikichi's lips and he opened his mouth, sucking the other youth's tongue into his mouth and curling his tongue around it, as Kisho's hand gently rubbed his aroused privates. The golden-eyed youth pulled away slightly and smiled at Rikichi.

"I hope it was okay for me to touch you like that. I mean...I want to...do more, but I think that I might not be able to stop once I started. I really like you a lot, Rikichi."

Rikichi's lips curved into a bright smile and refused to stop smiling.

"I feel the same," he said, the flush still on his cheeks.

The two went quiet for a moment, both looking out at the moon and holding hands. Rikichi stole a glance at the other youth, out of the corner of an eye.

"Kisho?" he said, trying to force his voice not to shake.

The Shihoin Prince's golden eyes swung away from the moon and struck his forcefully, making him lose his nerve to speak. He stared for a moment, wishing the other boy could just read his mind...or that the words could just come easier. Kisho looked into Rikichi's flustered expression and smiled, then reached down and opened his yukata.

Rikichi stared breathlessly as the prince's hand reached out and loosed the tie on his yukata as well. And without further words, the two youths laid down together and curled comfortably into each others' arms.

Rikichi ached to be able to say something, to tell Kisho how good it felt to press their warm, naked bodies together and let their skin touch like that. He shivered when he thought about going on to more sexual touches. It was exciting, but a part of him wanted to move cautiously. And so, he rested his head on Kisho's shoulder and closed his eyes, letting the other boy's pleasant scent play over his senses. Kisho smiled and rested his chin on top of Rikichi's head.

"Being with you like this, doesn't just feel good," said Rikichi, "It makes me feel very, very safe, Kisho."

Kisho smiled warmly and shifted slightly to kiss him.

"You will always be safe with me, Rikichi," promised Kisho, closing his eyes and holding the other boy tightly in his arms.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Matsuko," Renji said cheerfully to the Byakuya's housekeeper as she opened the door, "Kuchiki taichou told me to meet him after I finished up some things. Is he here?"

"Not yet," said the housekeper, "but we've received word that he will be here shortly, and he is expecting you. Come, I will serve you some tea in the gardens."

"Oh, hey, I know how to get there. You don't have to escort me," chuckled Renji, "I promise, I won't steal anything on the way."

"Really, Abarai-san..." Matsuko laughed.

"How many time to I have to tell you...it's Renji," the redhead corrected her.

"Very well, _Renji-san_, if you will wait in the gardens, tea will be served in a few minutes."

Renji nodded and followed the outdoor walkway down the side of the main wing, then turned right at the end. As he rounded the corner, he realized suddenly that someone else was coming around the other way, and stopped short to avoid a collision.

"Ah...sorry, I..."

Renji froze, staring into the man's sapphire eyes as the man stared back at him.

"Oh...you must be Tetsuya-san, ne?" the redhead said finally.

Tetsuya gazed back at him intently, as though trying to place him.

"It's...okay," Renji said, extending a hand, "You don't know me. I'm Abarai Renji, Kuchiki taichou's fukutaichou at the sixth division."

"G-ginrei is...?"

"N-no, not Kuchiki Ginrei...Kuchiki Byakuya."

"Ah, my apologies," said Tetsuya, "I don't know if Byakuya-sama told you, but I was injured and cannot remember very much. I feel, though, that you are familiar. I have seen your face before. I know I have. I just don't know where...the Rukongai, perhaps, when you were younger?"

Renji frowned and thought back. He caught his breath softly, and his eyes widened. He started to answer, but went silent as something struck the back of his head and pain exploded through the area. He caught a glimpse of someone grabbing Tetsuya from behind, and holding a cloth over his nose and mouth. As Renji hit the ground, he saw Tetsuya's legs give way, and someone dressed in dark clothes starting to drag him off.

"S-stop!" he gasped.

"You shut up and don't involve yourself," said a low voice.

Before he could protest, a second blow sent him plunging into blackness.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Renji?" said Byakuya's voice, sounding concerned.

"Is...is Renji-san all right?" asked Matsuko, sounding scared, "I sent him here to sit down for tea, and to wait for you. But when I arrived with the tea, he was collapsed on the walkway. And I saw Tetsuya-san's wrap on the ground."

"He will be all right, but go and summon a healer."

"Hai, Kuchiki-sama!"

Renji flinched and groaned as a horse's whinny sounded practically over his head. Running footsteps sounded on the walkway.

"Kuchiki-sama!" said the house guard, "Tetsuya-san is not in his room."

"Then find the guard on duty," said Byakuya, "And begin a search for my cousin at once!"

"Sir..." said the guard, panting softly, "We found the guard unconscious. That's probably how they were able to catch these two off guard."

"Very well, double the guards on duty as well."

He turned back to Renji, whose eyes were opened and looking up at the tall stallion whose head was lowered and nudging him.

"What the hell?" gasped Renji, "Who are you?"

"Ah," said Byakuya, looking relieved to see that the redhead was awake, "That is just my cousin's mount, Arashi. He is harmless. He is just worried about Tetsuya, so he is out of sorts right now."

"Oh," said Renji groggily, sitting up slowly and rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you all right?" asked Byakuya.

"Y-yeah...I think so," Renji answered, looking up at Arashi again, "D-did you say...Arashi?"

"Yes," the noble confirmed.

Renji frowned and thought back to what Noa had said.

_"I can still see the boys, out there in the yard, running and playing, stubbing toes and scraping knees, scaring me half to death when they would ride Arashi, though he was a good horse, always so gentle with all of the children."_

_"You had a horse?" Renji asked, "I don't see a stable. Where did you keep him?"_

_"Oh," said Noa, smiling, "Arashi wasn't mine. He was Tadao's mount. He told me that Arashi was one of the wild spirit steeds, but that one day when he was hurt very badly and alone in the forest, Arashi appeared and somehow healed him, then refused to leave him. It was the closest I saw our Tadao get to anyone. Poor lad. If he had come to us as a child, he would have been like these we cared for, just another lost child. He was young, a mere teen, when he first brought them, and we offered him a place to stay, but he very politely refused. He was used to taking care of himself, he said. Still, there was always a sadness about him, and sometimes, when I would show him kindness, he betrayed a longing, like he really wanted to stay, but that, for some reason, he felt that he couldn't. But he watched over the children, always, especially those five boys."_

"Taichou," Renji said, his suspicions growing, "how did Tetsuya-san and Arashi meet?"

Byakuya frowned.

"Tetsuya was injured one day and Arashi found him and healed him. They formed a strong bond. That is why Arashi's eyes are the same color as my cousin's. Arashi also is capable of wielding Tetsuya's zanpakutou attacks."

"Was he one of the wild spirit steeds?" the redhead asked, already suspecting he knew the answer.

"Yes...how did you...?"

"Taichou...Taichou, I think that...Tetsuya is Tadao!"

Byakuya blinked and stared at the redhead.

"What?" he asked, his frown deepening, "How do you...?"

"Noa...the orphanage lady, she said that when the boys were younger, Tadao would bring his mount, Arashi, for the kids to ride!"

"Hmmm..." said the noble, "But they could have just shared the name."

"But the story she gave me about how Tadao met Arashi is the same as the one you just told me. And...Tadao's approximate age is right."

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"B-but...why would my cousin have left home and gone to the Rukongai? And why would he be watching over those boys? The servants only said that he said something about protecting my honor. How could that...?"

"Taichou," said Renji, interrupting the noble, "There's something that I figured out...that night we got drunk together."

"Don't remind me of that night," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "I didn't know what I was saying."

"But you admitted that somehow, sometime before your cousin's disappearance, you had an odd night where you somehow ended up in a brothel in Inuzuri."

"So you think that perhaps someone was going to spread the story? Perhaps Tetsuya was being coerced to leave?"

"There's...something that you should know."

"What?" the noble said, an idea beginning to rise in his mind.

"Taichou, the truth is...I was the one with you that night...at the brothel."

Byakuya froze.

"Y-you?" he asked in a stunned voice.

"Rukia and I were taking care of a group of children that we felt responsible for. We were almost out of food, and winter was coming. Rukia was going to go to the brothel to earn some fast money so that we wouldn't all starve. But...I convinced her to let me go instead. I was only there that once...and the money I made that night, kept us alive well past the end of that winter."

Byakuya knelt silently next to Renji, his expression unreadable.

"Taichou...I was a virgin."

The noble gave a small, surprised gasp.

"And you said that if we were both virgin, then the heir would be made, ne?"

"I did," Byakuya whispered, "And if Tetsuya somehow found out that I had a child out of wedlock, he might well have protected him...and, by staying away, he would have been protecting my honor. But...you don't remember having a child? And if there was a child, who would he need protection from?"

"I don't remember having a child," said the redhead, "But I do remember being really sick and trying to go to a healer. Someone tried to kill me that night. He didn't even say why. But when I saw Tetsuya today, I recognized him as the one who fought off that guy who attacked me, and took me to a healer. I was out of it. I wouldn't have known if I did give birth. If I did, then I think Tetsuya took the kid and meant to protect him from whoever attacked me. That's why he stayed away. Then, whoever my attacker was, caught up with Tetsuya and abducted him before. He escaped, but the one after him is still trying to find the kid. I think that whoever attacked me, and abducted him today, is the same guy that killed those three boys, and is trying to kill Miki and Rikichi. It all fits!"

"It does," said Byakuya, "And it means that if Tetsuya is not found before that person reaches those boys, he will be killed."

"He may figure on killing them together, like with the other three boys. But whatever, we know where he's going to go..."

"We need to protect our son," Byakuya whispered, "and we need to find Tetsuya before it is too late!"

"Well, let's go then!" exclaimed the redhead, climbing to his feet.

He inhaled in surprise as Byakuya caught him by the arm.

"You are not going anywhere. You were injured. Let my attendant take care of you."

"Are you nuts?" said Renji, shaking his head, "I'm not lying around while some psychopath kills our kid and your cousin, who was protecting him for us! I'm going!"

He was surprised again by the odd, affected expression on his taichou's face.

"Renji," the noble said quietly, "When this is over and our son is safe, we really must have a long discussion about all of this..."


	12. Opening Flower

**Chapter 12: Opening Flower**

**(Another bit of Redstravaganza! Thanks to Sumeragix and Alabirdie for requesting! Don't have time to edit now, but will check for errors when I get back! Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. You guys are the best!)**

Rikichi's eyes opened, blinked and settled on the golden eyes of the clouded leopard that laid, pressed up along his side, his upper body rested on Rikichi's bared chest, head rested on crossed paws and a sweet feline smile on his face.

"Kisho," the youth whispered, one slender hand sliding down the leopard's sleek back, "Did you transform while you were sleeping?"

The big cat's eyes blinked slowly.

"I had to change forms because I found you too tempting when I was in shinigami form," he whispered back, "I wouldn't have been able to resist making love to you. I love you too much, I think. It feels like a fever, Rikichi."

Rikichi smiled and kissed the leopard's nose gently.

"Then, I have it too," he admitted softly, "I love you, Kisho. I want very much to be with you like that."

"But we mustn't," said Kisho, firmly, "We still don't know if you are the heir that the man was talking about..."

"It doesn't matter," Rikichi insisted, touching his fingers to the leopard's mouth to stop him.

Kisho froze.

"Whoever I turn out to be, there is never going to be anybody else."

The two stared into each other's eyes for a long, silent moment before Rikichi went on.

"You remember when you told me that your clan was kind of looked down on? I know how that feels. I've been looked down on too. And a lot of the time, I don't like myself very much either. I'm not so skilled or powerful as the others in my squad. I know that...Kuchiki taichou had better choices than me. I was just lucky that Renji came through my town when he did, and he inspired me, then Kuchiki taichou took a chance on me. But...even though I got better with their help, I never felt very strong. I only felt that, once I met you. You gave me someone to love and protect...someone who loves and protects me too. And because we have had to fight together to stay alive, we are going to always be connected. It doesn't matter if I'm heir to one of the clans...or even royalty. Some things are more important than that. _You_ are more important, Kisho."

Kisho's golden eyes rounded, then his feline form flickered, and he shifted back to shinigami form. He laid across Rikichi's bare chest, gazing into the other boy's gentle brown eyes almost dazedly.

"Rikichi," he said softly, "I am sorry. I thought that...remaining in my other form would make me able to restrain myself...but I can't anymore. I want too much to be with you. Is that...okay?"

Rikichi smiled and took the other boy's face in his hands.

"Of course, _baka_, that's what I was telling you!" he laughed.

"Okay," Kisho said, his voice trembling slightly as he shifted so that he laid on top of the other youth.

Rikichi closed his eyes and relaxed, letting Kisho's strong body slide down between his parted thighs. He met the other boy's kisses open-mouthed, welcoming the spirited thrust of Kisho's impatient tongue, and the deep, pleasant exploration that followed. His hands slid down the Shihoin prince's long torso, shaking slightly as they settled on the other youth's handsomely tanned bottom. He rubbed the soft flesh as their kissing continued, and clenched to encourage Kisho's hips to push forward against him. Rikichi closed his eyes and moaned as Kisho moved his hips in response, rubbing their aroused members together and leaving the two sweaty and panting softly. The Shihoin prince sucked warmly at Rikichi's mouth, distracting him gently as a hand slid down to provide additional pleasure while their bodies moved against each other. He pushed his fingers down deeper, chuckling into Rikichi's biting mouth as he gently sought his lover's virgin entrance, and Rikichi flushed cutely, releasing Kisho's name in a passionate moan.

He broke away from Rikichi's mouth and kissed his way down the youth's slender, pale body, slowing as he reached his nether region. He contemplated Rikichi's swollen and sweetly blushing member for a moment, then captured it, fastening his lively golden eyes on Rikichi's gentler brown ones as he teased the other youth, making him gasp and writhe restlessly.

"K-kisho!" he moaned, "Kisho...I w-want you...I want you so much!"

The Shihoin prince's hot mouth smiled as he kissed his way downward, pleasuring shamelessly until Rikichi's chest heaved with uncontrolled moans and his eyes became hazed and nearly senseless. Then he crawled back up to his lover's mouth and sank into it again, laughing as the other youth licked his lips and thrust into his mouth, eagerly seeking to share in the wanton flavors of his explorations. Kisho shifted his body and positioned himself at Rikichi's prepared entrance. But as he began to push forward, the grating screech of hollows rose up outside the window, making the lovers break away from each other and roll to their feet as the window and wall shattered, and the attacking hollow reached for them through the falling debris.

"RUN!" screamed Kisho, shifting to cat form and launching himself at the hollow's masked face.

"I'm not leaving you!" Rikichi yelled, raising his hands and firing a kido spell at the beast as it tore Kisho away from it's face, lifted him into the air and slammed him down onto the broken bedroom floor. His feline body flickered fitfully, then slowly reverted to shinigami form.

"KISHO!" Rikichi screamed, raising his hands as the hollow screeched and raised a huge foot over the fallen prince, "KISHO!"

Rikichi felt something odd, deep inside, a sensation of something shattering and breaking apart. Kido exploded from his hands with a fury he had never thought himself capable of unleashing. The kido strike hit the beast squarely between its feral yellow eyes, incinerating its head and sending the decapitated body crashing to the floor.

"Kisho!" Rikichi sobbed as the door opened and Kisuke and Miki ran into the ruined bedroom, "K-kisho!"

The youth bent over the Shihoin prince, touching his bloodied face with shaking hands as he pleaded for the other boy to wake.

"Kisho, can you hear me?" he asked, oblivious as Kisuke and Miki moved out through the shattered wall and attacked the remaining hollows, "Kisho, wake up!"

The Shihoin prince groaned senselessly and his eyes blinked and tried to focus.

"Rikichi! Kisho!" yelled Miki, "Look out!"

Rikichi grabbed Kisho and flash stepped clear as another huge hollow stepped down where they had been.

Miki's kido attack took the beast off its feet as another large hollow began to corner Rikichi and the injured youth he held tightly in his arms. A fiery blast from Kisuke's hands threw the hollow off its feet and swallowed it whole.

"Run, you three!" Kisuke shouted, positioning himself between the hollows and the three boys, "There's too many. Get out of here!"

Yoruichi, Byakuya and Renji appeared suddenly at Kisuke's side and added a hail of fiery attacks to the shopkeeper's. Miki grabbed Rikichi by the arm and dragged him along as the fight continued behind them.

"C'mon!" Miki cried, his gray eyes locking on Rikichi's as the other boy held the semi-conscious Kisho against him, "We have to get away! We can go to..."

He broke off as Rikichi howled a warning, then froze in shock as a clawed hand tore into his back.

"NO!" screamed Rikichi, dropping Kisho and raising his hands.

The hollow took aim on him, firing a cero at him from nearly point blank range.

Time seemed to slow as Rikichi's zanpakutou suddenly appeared in his hand, and his eagle exploded from the tip, rising up in front of the three boys and opening its beak in a shriek of defiance. Rikichi screamed in terror, expecting the eagle to be incinerated, then watched in surprise as the great bird swallowed up the cero and grew larger. Red light rose around him, and the eagle's eyes glowed with power. Rikichi felt something rise up inside him and let it pour out without thinking.

"Bankai! Hiwashi...Tenrai Hishou!"

Rikichi's eyes went wide and disbelieving as the eagle's feathers darkened, and his golden eyes flared, then a moment later, the bird's lovely avian body caught fire. The flaming eagle rose into the air and turned towards the group of attacking hollows, taking aim as Kisuke, Yoruichi, Byakuya and Renji stared wordlessly. The fire eagle's beak opened and loosed a sweeping, roaring inferno that swallowed up the remaining hollows and sent the watching shinigamis flash stepping away in surprise. Rikichi felt the seething heat of the fire eagle's power overwhelming him and screamed again in pain.

"Wh-what's wrong with...me?" he gasped, his sword sliding from his nerveless hand and clattering to the ground.

He heard garbled voices and saw movement around him, but could no longer make sense of what was happening. He staggered and fell, then his hands found Kisho's collapsed body, and he pulled the other boy close.

"I'm going to get you out of here," he whispered dizzily, tears running down his face as he spotted Miki lying motionless in a puddle of blood, "No one is going to hurt us anymore..."

"Rikichi!" Renji cried, flash stepping towards the youth, but sliding to a stop as errant golden fire from the fading eagle blocked his path, "Rikichi, stop! Come back!"

The youth held on to the Shihoin prince and ran blindly, bursting into flash steps and passing through a senkaimon that somehow opened, as though triggered by his will alone. He fled through the precipice world, sobbing as the smiling faces of his dead friends passed through his tortured mind. He exited the senkaimon and ran into the woods somewhere in the Rukongai, uncaring of everything except holding on to the last thing he had left. When he was finally able to stop himself, he found himself alone, deep in the forest, lost in a thick growth of pine, alongside a rushing creek. He swallowed hard, looking around and starting to come back to his senses.

_It hurts inside._

_When...when I said those words...the ones that just came into my head...when the eagle caught fire, I felt like I was burning inside._

_I don't think that I was supposed to do that. Usually, a person must train to manifestation, then conquer the spirit in the blade. But...perhaps my desperation...seeing Miki fall, and worrying about what was going to happen to Kisho and me. Maybe all of that made it happen._

_But it hurts inside now._

_It hurts so much!_

_What did I do?_

He looked down at his hand and tried to summon a small kido flame, but recoiled in shock as the small use of power burned him inside.

_I've heard of this...of that burning feeling. I must have burned my spirit centers using a bankai without the necessary training and preparation. I could get threshold sickness._

He looked around and spotted a small cave that overlooked the area, and he carried Kisho inside and laid him down gently, then knelt next to him and tried to summon healing power. A gasp escaped him as his burned spirit centers throbbed to hotly to allow him any use of his powers.

"Oh no..."

_We're alone here. _

_I have no powers to heal him or to protect us with._

"Kisho?" he whispered tremulously, "Kisho, please wake up. Please...I need you to wake up. We're all alone, Kisho. Kisho?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya knelt beside Miki, adding his healing power to Renji's as the two worked to save the boy's fading life.

"Hang in there, kid," Kisuke said, looking down at the injured youth from where he kneeled next to the other two shinigamis, "Yoruichi will have Orihime here real fast. You're gonna be okay."

He went quiet, watching as the other two men's power flared around Miki's body, holding him scant inches from death. Renji waited until the youth stabilized somewhat, then looked up at Byakuya.

"Did you fucking _see_ that? What Rikichi did? That..."

"A bankai, yes," Byakuya said softly, his hands touching Miki's abdomen, "but did you notice the way it behaved?"

"There was something off about him, just before," the redhead agreed, then he let go with that huge kido blast. Taichou, you and I both know that kido blast was at a level well above what we knew him to posses."

"Yes," said the noble, looking back into Renji's eyes, "I had the impression of something breaking...a seal...one that may have holding his powers back all of this time."

Renji's eyes widened.

"Th-that's it, then," he said in a startled tone, "Rikichi...he's our kid, right?"

Byakuya's hand captured Renji's, making the redhead inhale sharply in surprise. He placed Renji's hand on Miki's abdomen.

"Your hand is over his core spirit center," Byakuya whispered, "What do you sense?"

"Oh my god!" Renji breathed, "This? This is another seal?"

"Yes," the noble answered, "And although I cannot say for certain while it remains in place, I think that this means..."

"Shit..." whispered Renji, "I had two."

"Um," said Kisuke, "Congratulations guys, but..."

"We still need to find Rikichi and Kisho...and we must find Tetsuya," said Byakuya.

He sighed in relief as Yoruichi arrived with Ichigo and Orihime at her side. Orihime's power activated immediately, forming a golden oval over Miki's body. Byakuya, Renji and Kisuke stood and joined Yoruichi and Ichigo.

"I heard there was trouble," Ichigo said quickly, "What can I do to help?"

"Renji and I must go in search of our other son and the Shihoin prince...and we must also find my cousin, Tetsuya, who has been abducted."

"But we need someone to keep our son, Miki, safe, too."

"Wha...?" said Ichigo, blinking, "You guys...?"

"It's a long story," said the redhead.

"And we do not have time to tell it," added Byakuya, "We must go immediately."

"I'll stay here with Miki and Orihime," said Kisuke.

"And Ichigo and I will look for Rikichi and my cousin, so that you and Renji can find Tetsuya."

"But," Byakuya began.

"You must focus on Tetsuya," insisted Yoruichi, "Rikichi was not being pursued when he ran."

"But he could be, now that he his powers have been revealed."

"Byakuya," Yoruichi said urgently, "If whoever is behind this senses Rikichi's freed power and assumes that he, and not Miki, is the heir, he will likely feel that Tetsuya's usefulness has come to an end. He will kill your cousin. You have to find him before that happens. We have to separate so we can see to both."

"She's right," agreed Renji, "I care about the boys too. But Tetsuya is the one who is most in danger right now. Come on, Taichou. Let's go and find him!"

Byakuya gave the unconscious Miki a troubled glance, then nodded briefly and followed as Renji flash stepped away.

"Come on, Ichigo," said Yoruichi, opening a senkaimon, "Rikichi passed through the precipice world, and when he did, his bankai power was still leaking through. We should be able to follow him...at least for part of the way, until his reiatsu calms and we lose track of it."

"But if we can follow, that means that whoever is trying to hurt them can follow him too," said Ichigo.

"That is why we must find them quickly," said Yoruichi, "We must reach them first or whoever this guy is, he will kill them."

"We're not gonna let that happen," said Ichigo, flash stepping into the precipice world, "We're going to protect them, whatever it takes!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Did you feel that?" said Orochi, reaching down to remove the gag from Tetsuya's mouth, "That power...it is..."

Tetsuya's heart shivered inside him, but he steeled himself.

"It is the heir," Orochi said, a smile coming to his lips, "He cannot hide from me anymore. And you...you have no more use. I can find him on my own now. That power you sealed away to hide him has been released. I can track him, myself."

He glanced down at the bound shinigami and curled his hand around the handle of his long knife. He drew the weapon and held it so that the small shaft of light coming in from between the slats on the boarded up window of the dilapidated old building reflected on the metal surface of the knife and shined painfully in Tetsuya's widened eyes.

_Master...I am here._

Tetsuya was careful to show nothing on his face.

_Arashi, he is going to kill me. Quickly, please!_

Fear lanced through the noble's veins as his cousin closed in, angling the knife threateningly.

"You know...I have wanted to do this for a very long time," Orochi whispered, "I have despised you and wanted you dead ever since we were teens."

"Why? What did I ever do to you?" Tetsuya asked, trying to stall him, "I only protected Byakuya from you...and then, his sons."

He caught his mistake a moment too late.

"His..._sons_!" Orochi repeated, halting the knife and leaving it suspended above Tetsuya's bound form, "_Sons?_ There were...two, then?"

"I'm not telling you _anything_!" Tetsuya cried, "Go ahead and kill me! I don't care. I protected Byakuya's children from you, and even if you kill me, he knows about them now! He won't let you hurt them!"

Despite the anger that flared in Orochi's eyes, he remained icily calm. He sank his fingers into Tetsuya's long hair and pulled his head back, baring his throat. Tetsuya caught his breath painfully and closed his eyes.

_Arashi!_

He felt Orochi shift and start to move the knife into position, but then heard and felt the deafening roar of a hard volley of ice blades that blasted the door open and forced the other man away from him.

"Arashi!" Tetsuya cried as the stallion raced into the room, rearing and striking at Orochi, while sending a flash of kido through the bindings holding the noble.

Tetsuya rolled to his feet and leapt onto the black stallion's back.

"You filthy, half-blood!" sneered Orochi, "You may have escaped death this time, but now I know who those boys are! I will get to them first and I will kill them! Then, I'm coming back for you and our wretched leader! You are all going to die! And I will lead the clan, as I should have from the beginning!"

Tetsuya looked on in horror as Orochi flash stepped away.

"Hurry, Arashi!" he cried, nudging the stallion into motion, "We must find them quickly!"


	13. Clinging

**Chapter 13: Clinging**

Kisho stirred and opened his golden eyes, and he found himself lying on hard ground, but delightfully wrapped in Rikichi's arms and curled around the other youth's body. Blinking several times cleared his vision, and although his head still ached badly, he could see that they were in a small cave, within a forest, and a pounding rain was falling outside.

"Rikichi?" he whispered, seeking the other boy's lips, and smiling as the other youth's brown eyes opened and fixed on him, then went wide and filled with tears.

"Kisho!" he gasped, tightening his arms around the other boy until he grunted and struggled.

"Ow! Be careful, baka!" Kisho laughed, "That hurts!"

"S-sorry!" Rikichi said hastily, burying his face in Kisho's shoulder and trying to hide his tears of relief.

Kisho smiled gently and captured his face, then brushed his tears away.

"What is it?" he asked, "What happened that has made my Rikichi so tormented?"

"Well," said Rikichi, swallowing hard and rubbing his hands over his face, "You were hurt! And...the hollows, there were so many! We barely escaped and I was hurt. I have no powers, and we were alone...and you were still unconscious. I couldn't protect us, and I couldn't wake you up. I was scared to death, Kisho!"

His shaking eased as Kisho held him tightly and kissed him comfortingly.

"It's all right now," Kisho assured him, "I am awake and I can protect us now. But tell me, how were you hurt? What happened? I don't remember anything after that hollow slammed me into the ground."

Rikichi hesitated.

"There were...too many hollows. We were outnumbered and fighting really hard."

He paused, his mind reeling as he remembered his eagle bursting into flames and the horrific power it released after.

"My...spirit centers were burned," he explained, carefully neglecting to mention anything about his spontaneous use of bankai, "It really hurts to use any powers."

"Your spirit centers were burned!" exclaimed Kisho, touching his hands to the other youth's chest and abdomen and examining the damage quickly, "You are right. But...if you rest them for a while, then you should be all right. Just depend on me. I'll protect us."

Rikichi lowered his eyes.

"I wonder if anyone really can protect us," he said, tears returning to his eyes, "Whoever is after us...keeps finding us, no matter where we go, Kisho! Even at Urahara Kisuke's shop we were not safe. You got hurt...and I...I don't know how we got away! Kisho...!"

"Shh," the Shihoin prince said, kissing his lips to quiet him, "Be calm now. Your reiatsu is quiet now, and I am concealing mine. We are deep in the forest, hidden away. And no one will come here in this storm. It is dark anyway. We have to wait here until it is light and the storm has passed. It will be all right. I won't let anything happen to you. I'm sorry that I got hurt before and you were alone facing our enemies, Rikichi. But you were strong and you got to safety. And I'll be all right now. We're both going to be all right now. I promise!"

"You don't know that!" insisted Rikichi, pressing more tightly against him, "You can't know that!"

Kisho smiled and brushed away his tears again.

"You worry too much," he whispered, making Rikichi's words disappear into more amorous kisses, "We'll take care of each other, and whatever happens, we won't lose each other! I promise we won't!"

Kisho's hand slid down and released the ties on their yukatas, making them fall open, then pressing his warm, naked flesh to Rikichi's. Rikichi's mouth sought his desperately, and the Shihoin prince smiled and returned his kisses eagerly. He moved over Rikichi's bared skin, placing comforting kisses everywhere and whispering repeatedly his promise to keep them both safe.

"But they're gone!" Rikichi sobbed softly, "All of my friends that I grew up with were killed! Even Miki. I saw. There was...so much blood!"

"Shh." Kisho said, kissing him harder and running his fingers through the other boy's hair.

"I can't stand it!" cried Rikichi, "It feels like it's too much! There is...nothing we can do...nowhere we can go where he won't find us!"

"Shh...shh...be calm, my love," Kisho said soothingly, "I told you that we will be all right. And if you need a place where you can feel safe, then feel safe here, in my arms. My arms will keep you safe. I will die to keep you safe!"

"No! Don't talk about dying for me!" Rikichi sobbed, pushing him away, "I don't _want_ you to die for me! Don't you see? It's all my fault! That guy was looking for me all along, Kisho! He killed them all because of me!"

"But...you don't know that you are..." Kisho began.

Rikichi shook his head and burst into tears again.

"Didn't it seem strange to you that I burned my spirit centers and lost my powers? Even in the worst conditions, didn't you realize that shouldn't have happened? Because...the only reason it would is if great power suddenly shocked my system. The only thing that could shock my system that way...is a bankai!"

Kisho's eyes widened.

"A...bankai?"

"Yes!" Rikichi managed, wiping his eyes, "We were going to be killed. A hollow fired a cero at us, Kisho, and I released my shikai. But...something strange happened, and I released a bankai that destroyed all of the hollows that were attacking us. Wh-when it was over, I couldn't think. I just took you and ran and ran, until I reached this place. Maybe I should have stayed there...I don't know..."

Kisho shook his head.

"It would have been too dangerous," he suggested, "If your reiatsu was high enough to make a bankai, then it would have been easy for them to find you."

"But won't they just follow me here?" asked Rikichi, "We would be facing them alone..."

"No," Kisho assured him, "Your reiatsu declined because of your injured spirit centers. It should be harder to find you. But...my cousin, Yoruichi should be able to track me, so that when we are found, it will be by someone who will help us. Don't worry, Rikichi. We will be all right. We will be fine. We just have to wait out this storm and then my cousin will find us."

Rikichi looked as though he wanted to argue, but swallowed hard and gave a shuddering sigh. He settled against the tawny-haired youth's bare body, calming as Kisho's mouth found his again.

"Kisho?" he whispered, between kisses, "Will you promise me something?"

"Hmmm?"

"If we do get out of this and we are okay, promise that you won't leave me."

Kisho paused, his lips tightening.

"Rikichi..."

"No," said the brown-eyed youth, shaking his head, "I don't care if I am their heir. I am not giving you up...not for anything!"

"B-but..."

"I don't care!" Rikichi yelled, pushing Kisho down and throwing himself down on top of the other boy, "I am going to stay with you, no matter what!"

Kisho's golden eyes stared into Rikichi's, and the Shihoin prince's heart raced as Rikichi shifted and positioned himself over his lover.

"Rikichi!" he objected, gasping as the other youth's mouth attacked his, and Rikichi's body sank down on his length, recoiling as their bodies joined, "Rikichi!, what are you...?"

_Stop, you fool! Stop! _Kisho's mind screamed, _Don't be so reckless!_

He tried to keep his eyes closed and pull away, but he heard Rikichi make a lovely, passionate sound that made his heart catch, and his eyes couldn't help but open. And when they did, they found Rikichi, perched on top of him, his slender hands tightly clenching Kisho's strong shoulders, his head lowered and his brown eyes beautifully hazed. His body shook with each lovely, grinding thrust, and his parted lips breathed Kisho's name like the word was sacred to him.

"R-rikichi..." Kisho said weakly, unable to stop himself from moving with the adorable, beloved person on top of him.

He closed his eyes, but then had to look again, so as not to miss a moment of receiving the other youth's professed love. He stopped trying to speak, giving himself over to their lovemaking, capturing Rikichi's slim, sweating hips and holding onto them as they moved. He bucked upward, striking that sweet, wonderful untouched place inside his lover, and making Rikichi gasp and quiver.

"It...feels good?" he panted, smiling up into Rikichi's dazed expression.

"Ah!" Rikichi moaned, closing his eyes, "It...feels..._amazing_!"

Two more powerful thrusts brought the two careening into pure, breathless bliss. Rikichi's moaning gasp of delight blended sweetly with Kisho's throaty howl of pleasure. Rikichi collapsed onto Kisho's damp chest, his seed spilling out onto their skin as the prince's blazing release filled him inside, burning hotter, he wagered, than the reiatsu that had singed his spirit centers. He groaned contentedly, seeking Kisho's hot, wet mouth again and exchanging a slower, more penetrating barrage of kisses as their piqued bodies gradually calmed.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much you've complicated things?" Kisho asked reprovingly, "If you are the heir..."

"It doesn't matter," Rikichi insisted, resting his head on a tangle of tawny hair, "Kisho...hardly anyone even noticed I was alive before. You and Renji and Kuchiki taichou were really the only ones. I don't have to care what anyone else thinks. I grew up invisible, and I'm not going to forget the first person who really saw me...even if I suddenly become visible to everyone. You are all that matters to me."

"Idiot," Kisho said, running his fingers through Rikichi's riled hair, "You think you can just ignore that you might be..."

He paused, looking deeply into Rikichi's happier eyes and smiling roguishly.

"Naw...you're right," he said, more flippantly, "They weren't there while you were toughing it out, growing up. You shouldn't have to let them take over your life and tell you what to do...no matter who you turn out to be."

Rikichi smiled.

"That's why I love you, Kisho," he whispered, seeking the other youth's mouth again, "You really do understand."

They started to kiss again, but paused and turned to look out the entrance of the cave as the sharp crack of a twig breaking alerted them to the arrival of someone else.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Damn..." Renji muttered, walking over to where Byakuya stood, gazing out the window of the small room they had taken in a mid Rukon inn to get out of the rain, "I hope they're not out there in that. I mean...Rikichi grew up around here, so he's probably found them someplace."

"And Tetsuya may have found them. I did sense him briefly, and although he seemed agitated, he did not seem to be endangered himself."

"Well, I hope he's not out in this either. The wind alone would take a guy off his feet. It's really bad out there..."

He stopped talking for a moment, studying Byakuya's dark, worried eyes.

"Well, we're stuck here until this lets up enough to allow for a search, so...maybe we should talk, Taichou."

Byakuya blinked slowly, seeming to come back from wherever he had been while contemplating the rain. He met Renji's eyes stoically, but the redhead didn't miss the flash of uncertainty that appeared, then disappeared just as quickly.

"Where do we begin?" the noble said quietly, soft thunder punctuating his words.

Renji handed him one of the two cups of hot green tea he had made and nodded in the direction of the bed.

"Why don't we sit down and relax a little? Looks like we're going to be here for a while."

He sat down and crossed his legs, then watched as Byakuya slipped the haori off of his shoulders and unwound the scarf from around his white throat. He set them beside the bed and loosed his hair from the kenseiken, then set that on the night table with the other things. He joined Renji on the bed, kneeling, facing the redhead.

"So...first off, what happened that day?"

Byakuya shook his head, riling his released hair.

"I do not know. It was my eighteenth birthday and my official naming as heir. There was...a party at the manor. I remember leaving with Tetsuya to go to an old secret prison on the estate. _Someone_ approached us while we were there, but...I cannot remember who, nor what happened, nor how I ended up in Inuzuri at that brothel. I was...with Tetsuya...and then, I was there...with you."

Renji bit his lip gently.

"You seemed kinda out of it," he said, glancing out the window at the rain again, "At the time, I thought that you were just there to...you know...to lose your virginity. I thought you might have taken something to keep you calm or to dull any pain. S-sorry...I didn't know you back then. Of course, I know now that you would never do anything like that."

He stopped and took a steadying breath.

"Do you...remember...you know, _during_?"

Byakuya looked down into his teacup, remembering.

"Do you think that if I had forgotten, I would have been affected enough to make such an inappropriately emotional decision in choosing you as my fukutaichou? Do I remember 'during?' Yes...although it is hazy, and there are gaps in my memory. And to answer your next question...yes, I was..._affected_ by being with you. It _was_ my first time as well as yours, Renji."

"Yeah," Renji said, a smile touching his lips, "If it hadn't been for either of us, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in."

Byakuya sighed, and his eyes closed for a moment, then opened and sought Renji's.

"Do you understand that...if I had not felt something immediately, not even the drug I was given could have made me act that way with you?"

"So...what, are you saying that it was love at first sight or something? Really, Taichou?"

Byakuya shook his head firmly, then sent a delighted chill through Renji with his next words.

_"I'm sorry for staring, but I don't often see people like you around here. Not that it's a problem. You're…really beautiful."_ Byakuya repeated from memory.

"You remember what I first said to you..." Renji mused.

"Because I was thinking the same thing," said the noble, "I could barely think at all. But...I do remember thinking that you were one of the most exotic and beautiful people I had seen."

Renji felt a blush rise on his cheeks.

"So...I guess we can define what happened as 'unexpected,' 'manipulated,' but..."

"Not unpleasant," finished the noble, "In fact...memorable...even."

"Memorable enough so that you chose me to be your fukutaichou because I reminded you of that person, ne?" Renji said, his smile widening.

"Not entirely," the noble stated, frowning, "You were, in all honesty, the best applicant. Just...it was in my mind."

Renji sighed and chuckled softly.

"What made it like that for you?" he asked, "Was it really what I said first?"

"That...and what you said as you left me," Byakuya confessed softly, "_Arigato. Because of you, our whole group of kids will have a warm place to stay and food for the winter. I'm very grateful. I know we'll never see each other again…but…I want you to know…it was…amazing being with you. I'll never feel anything like this again, I know. But it's worth it to have had just this small amount of time with you."_

Byakuya paused, searching for the right words.

"I felt horrid, finding myself in that place unexpectedly, having done something so...wrong. But...with those few words, you took some of the weight off of my heart. Because whatever happened to bring me to that place and time...it also brought you. And you were not just some..."

"Prostitute?" Renji supplied.

Byakuya took a cleansing breath.

"You were in need...and I helped you. I didn't plan it that way, but I was glad that it _happened_ that way. And when you said how you enjoyed being with me, how you would..."

"...never feel anything like that again," Renji finished.

"Yes. But your last words to me were haunting. They never left me. I...wondered if it was true of me as well...that I would never feel anything like what I felt when I was with you."

"Erm...it can't have been that great, you know," Renji said, somewhat sheepishly, "It was my first time too. I couldn't have been that great."

He caught his breath, not just at the soft blush on Byakuya's lovely face and throat, but at his sweetly flustered expression.

"I had nothing to compare it to," he said, his blush deepening, "but..."

He paused, searching for the right words.

"Forgive me," he said, lowering his eyes, "I have no desire to dishonor the woman who I married."

"Oh...of course not, Taichou," Renji said, smiling, "Hisana was a real sweet and pretty girl."

"Lovely...gentle...and very fragile," Byakuya admitted, "Always, I was exceedingly cautious not to hurt her. That makes it unfair to make comparisons as I could relax with you in a way I could not with her. But that isn't..."

"I understand," said Renji, "You want to tell me that it was good...without insinuating that there was anything wrong with your relationship with your wife. I get it."

"The two are different," the noble affirmed, "With Hisana, I loved and cared for her. But that day I was with you, I learned what it meant to love someone passionately...to indulge without holding anything back."

He paused, fighting with himself to force the words out.

"And honestly?" he said, not daring to look up at the redhead, "for me...it was the only time I felt that kind of unrestrained passion. Soon after, I began to shoulder more and more responsibility. My situation demanded it, and I was determined to honor my parents and my grandfather by pouring all of my effort into the proper leadership of the clan. Passionate love...strong emotions...recklessness...all were forced out of me as I became the person I was expected to be."

"But...and don't get pissed at me for saying this," Renji added, "People closer to you know that there's more to you than commitment to the clan and to your duties as a taichou. Rukia knows it..."

Byakuya met his eyes fleetingly.

"And you do as well, ne?" he said tentatively.

Renji smiled.

"I like to think so," he said, "I know that my intentions at the beginning were not the best, but they gave me a front row seat to just how much more there is to you than what's on the surface."

"I see," Byakuya said quietly, "And so...based on that...do you still hold the same opinion of me that you did that first day?"

Renji's smile widened sweetly.

"No."

Byakuya gazed at him questioningly.

"I know you're even more beautiful now that I know you on the outside and inside too."

The noble shifted uncomfortably as Renji moved closer and slipped a hand into his.

"Don't worry," he assured the Kuchiki clan leader, "I'm not going to overstep. But I will say that I'm not going to have a hard time with the fact that you and I made two great kids together. I wish that I could have watched them grow up. And now that we know Rikichi is ours, I can't wait to see what happens next. Sure, it's complicated, and they're in danger right now. But when this is all over and we can relax, I will enjoy seeing what happens next."

"With our sons?" Byakuya said in an even quieter tone, "But..."

Renji looked him squarely in the eyes.

"We are family because of the boys," he said firmly, "But...what we turn out to be to each other is something that I think will take a little more time, ne Taichou?"

"I agree," said Byakuya, "The elders will not dispute our being together if that is what we choose, but in all honesty, I do not think that we should be together solely because of this situation. If we are to...be together, it needs to be because we feel we have a future of our own together. As much as we might 'be together for their sake,' it will do them no good if they see us forcing ourselves if it isn't our choice and we feel trapped."

"I don't think I'd feel trapped," said Renji, "But I can't speak for you. That's something you'll have to think through."

"Hmmm," Byakuya sighed.

"So...what will happen as far as naming an heir?" Renji asked.

"Once they are out of danger," Byakuya answered, "they will need to be presented to the elders, and the heir determined."

"Isn't it whoever was born first?" asked the redhead.

"Not always," Byakuya explained, "If one is significantly more powerful, he may be chosen over the other."

"Damn...speaking of power, I hope that Rikichi's okay after having that bankai pop out of him unexpected like that."

"I feel the same," said the noble, "But...he likely has burned his spirit centers and may have reduced or no ability to manage reiatsu flow. It is very important that we find him soon."

"We will," Renji said, squeezing the noble's hand and turning to look out at the rain, "As soon as this lets up and we can, we'll find him...and Kisho and your cousin, too."

"Yes," agreed Byakuya, his mind still partially immersed in memory, "We will."

_And then what?_

_What will happen then?_


	14. The Storm

**Chapter 14: The Storm**

**(This one's back on the active list! The updated active list is on my profile, so check it out! If you don't see something you want, shoot me a PM to ask. A few high profile stories like Naked Truth, The Hostage and Longings didn't make the list, but have been requested, so I will try to get to them if I can. The active list will be updated every week or two, so keep checking in and be sure to review in support of chapters of your faves. Thanks so very much to everyone reading along. Spunky loves ya!)**

Renji stirred and opened one red-brown eye to find Byakuya positioned where he had been when the redhead had fallen asleep...standing near the window, looking out into the storm, his grey eyes fixed steadily on the falling rain and lit by intermittent flashes of lightning. At first, he only watched the noble quietly from where he laid on the bed. But as time passed and Byakuya's expression darkened and grew more worried, Renji left the bed and joined him, moving up behind him on silent feet and slowly sliding his arms around the slighter man, breathing in that warm sakura scent and feeling a jolt inside as Byakuya said nothing and offered no resistance at all, but instead, closed his eyes and leaned into the redhead's embrace. His hands came to rest on Renji's, and he turned his head slightly, bringing their faces close together.

Renji felt a moment of hesitation in the noble and gave in to the strong impulse to move slightly and bring their lips together. Byakuya took a sharp little breath as their lips met, then he gave himself over to the warmth and pleasance of a long, intense kiss. They held each other more tightly, listening to the pounding thunder and the sound of rain striking the window and driving down into the soaked ground outside.

"I guess we know now why it was that we took a chance on Rikichi, ne?" Renji said softly, smiling into the back of Byakuya's shoulder as he held the noble and they looked out the window together, "We always questioned that decision, didn't we? We talked about it a lot."

"Yes," Byakuya agreed, "and given the presence of the seals on their powers, it must be that we sensed that Rikichi had the potential to grow very strong. He just couldn't do that until the seal was released and his identity was revealed."

"So, given that Tetsuya-san was the one who protected me back then, and who delivered the boys to the orphanage and watched over them, he must have placed the seals, right?"

"I believe so," Byakuya agreed, "It would have been well within his capability to do so. Tetsuya was always talented. He read incessantly and trained tirelessly to become stronger. It was necessary for him to achieve, being of mixed blood and having to fight for recognition within the family. And when the boys were born to you, he would have known that you couldn't care for them, and that it was a danger for you to be near them, as it would make you both easier to find. You may well question his actions, but he knew the dangers all too well and gave everything to protecting our children."

"I get why he took the boys and didn't tell me anything," Renji said, looking more deeply into the rain, "He was right. I couldn't care for them. I would have loved them and tried, of course, but we would have been sitting ducks. They were better off growing up where they did. They didn't have a lot, but they had caring folks looking after them and seeing they grew up right. They're good, responsible kids, and they're strong, even without their powers being at full strength."

"It cannot have been easy for Tetsuya, leaving the family and having to make his own way. But he was always strong and resourceful. And his loyalty to me was unshakeable. Losing him was horrible, Renji. I missed him so terribly all of those years and now that he has returned, there is nothing I won't do to protect him and the boys he sacrificed his place with me to watch over."

"I feel the same about that," Renji sighed, "I'm grateful to him for protecting our kids, and whatever we have to do to keep all of them alive and well, we'll do."

"I am glad you are with me, Renji. This situation is distressing enough, but facing it alone would be unbearable."

"You don't have to worry about that," the redhead said bracingly, "I'm not going anywhere. We're going to find Rikichi, Tetsuya and that little, pain in the ass, Kisho, and we'll keep them all safe, okay?"

Byakuya nodded briefly.

"I think that we should go now. The rain is still somewhat heavy, but I feel danger in waiting any longer. Whoever is working against us knows that he is being cornered. Tetsuya and the boys don't have much time. They need our help now."

"Then, let's go," Renji said, reaching for his uniform and beginning to dress.

The two quickly finished their preparations, then exited the inn and headed out of town.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What do we do?" Rikichi whispered, holding tightly to Kisho as they heard the soft scuff of a shoe on the rock outside the cave entrance.

"Stay behind me," Kisho whispered back, shifting to his leopard form, "Let me protect you. But gather some of those rocks, just in case."

Rikichi nodded and began to pick up several of the sharp stones. They froze and stared at the cave entrance as several soft tapping sounds reached them. Then, a large, dark shape poked in the cave entrance and a soft equine squeal sounded, making them jump back in surprise.

"Arashi!" cried Rikichi, breaking into a smile, "It's Tadao-san's horse, Kisho. He is a friend."

The two scrambled forward, shielding themselves hastily as the stallion slipped into the cave, then shook the clinging water from his body, showering the two with it.

"Idiot!" chuckled Rikichi, moving to hug the tall beast, "But where is...?"

"I am here," Tetsuya said quietly, slipping into the cave and quickly raising a concealing reiatsu cage.

"Tadao-san, you are all right!" Rikichi exclaimed, "We were so worried when you and Arashi disappeared."

"I will be fine."

"But, you are hurt!" Rikichi noted, staring at the cuts on his friend's face and arms, "Kisho, can you heal him?"

"It is all right," Tetsuya began.

"Please, Tadao-san," Kisho said, shifting back to shinigami form, "allow me to heal you. If you want to protect Rikichi, then you need to be at full strength. This person who is pursuing us is terribly powerful...but you know that, don't you?"

"Yes," Tetsuya sighed, settling down on the floor of the cave and sitting calmly as Kisho began to heal him, "Rikichi-sama, it is time for me to come clean about some things. I would have spoken up sooner, but our enemy found us before I could tell you."

"You know who is pursuing us?" Rikichi asked quickly.

"I do," said Tetsuya, "but I must start at the beginning. You need to know who you are...who you...and your brother, Miki are."

Rikichi's eyes widened.

"Miki is my...?"

"He is your brother," Tetsuya confirmed, "I was present when the two of you were born to a teenager of the lower Rukon."

"Y-you were?" Rikichi queried disbelievingly, "But...?"

"My name is not actually Tadao," Tetsuya confessed, "I am Kuchiki Tetsuya, Byakuya-sama's missing and presumed dead cousin. Some years back, I learned that another of our cousins, Orochi, who was powerful and desired leadership of the clan, set Byakuya-sama up to be humiliated in front of the clan. He drugged Byakuya-sama, who was a teen and like a brother to me at the time, and he took him to a brothel in the lower Rukon, and set him up to be discovered there and shamed. The one he was with that night and the one who bore you and Miki, Rikichi...was Abarai Renji."

"R-renji!" Rikichi gasped, his eyes rounding, "Renji is...? But...but how is that possible? Renji and Kuchiki taichou are...our parents?"

"They are," Tetsuya affirmed, "I learned of the situation after the fact and traveled into the Rukon, just in time to stop thugs that our cousin hired from killing Renji. He was very ill and was unconscious when the two of you were born. The healer was a good man, who knew that Renji could not care for you. He agreed to care for Renji and I agreed to see that the two of you were taken care of. I kept the secret of your birth and took you to the mid-Rukon, where I placed you with Michio and Noa. I watched over you for many years, never daring to return home, lest our cousin should use me to find you. Unfortunately, Orochi found me and overcame me. He tormented me, trying to get me to tell him about you. I escaped and reached Kuchiki Manor, but then, he captured me again and Arashi had to help me escape him. He is somewhere out in the storm. I only hope that Byakuya-sama can find us before he does. I am powerful, but so is he. And having been weakened by the torments he inflicted on me, I am still recovering. But, thank you, Kisho, for the healing. Arashi and I will protect you until Byakuya-sama arrives."

"You will protect them?" Orochi's voice hissed, seemingly out of thin air, "And how do you plan to protect them, when I am already inside your defenses?"

Tetsuya gasped and went pale as dark reiatsu flared around his midsection and slowly, the head of a large snake began to slither out of his shocked body.

"Wh-what is this?" he cried, staring in horror.

"I was well aware that if you escaped me, that you would return to those mixed blood mistakes our cousin made with the little tramp from that Rukon whorehouse. So, I implanted one of my snakes in your body, coiling it around your core spirit center, so that when you found them I could transport myself to where you are. In a moment, I will have you all!"

"No!" Tetsuya howled, falling onto his knees, "Arashi, get them out of here!"

"We can't leave you Ta...Tetsuya-san!" Rikichi objected.

"Get on Arashi and go!" Tetsuya ordered them, wrapping his hands around the neck of the emerging snake and screaming in pain as it thrashed about, trying to escape him, "Run!"

Arashi squealed and loosed a blast of kido fire that shattered the protective cave around them.

"Come on, Rikichi!" cried Kisho, "You must listen to Tetsuya-san. You know that we cannot fight that man. We aren't strong enough!"

"But..."

His next words were drowned out by an agonized scream Tetsuya expelled as the snake escaped his grasp and bit down on his arm, then drew back and struck his shoulder.

"Tetsuya-san!" Rikichi wailed, "Arashi, please, save him!"

The stallion gave the youths a panicked look and trembled with indecision.

"It's all right," Kisho said, shifting to his leopard form again, "Protect Tetsuya-san. I will get Rikichi to his fathers! I won't let him be taken. You have my word!"

The worry disappeared from Arashi's dark eyes and he charged forward, placing himself between his master and the coiled snake and stomping at the slithering beast, simultaneously blasting it with a volley of ice blades. The snake coiled more tightly, then slowly began to shift into the body of a darkly dressed shinigami.

"Come on!" Kisho shouted to Rikichi, "We have to get away."

"But Tetsuya-san!"

"Arashi will protect him," Kisho said firmly, "We will do no one any good if we die here, Rikichi! Come on!"

His heart in his throat and misgiving on his face, Rikichi launched himself onto the leopard's strong back, and Kisho charged for the cave entrance, wheeling away as the shinigami near the fallen noble continued to solidify. Arashi buried the emerging man in ice blades, but found most repelled by the man's dangerously strong reiatsu.

_Master! _Arashi called into Tetsuya's spinning mind, _please, you must try to escape! There is a waterform outside. Can you shift to it?_

Tetsuya focused and tried to pass through the set waterform, but felt instant pain in his breached midsection.

_I can't! He did something to me! Arashi, I can't use my powers!_

_Get out, Master! I will protect you._

Arashi surrounded the nearly formed shinigami with another barrage of ice blades, backing towards the cave entrance as Tetsuya crawled to him and staggered to his feet. He threw his tormented body onto the horse's back and urged him out of the cave as Orochi's form finished its manifestation and surged after him.

Arashi dashed out of the cave and turned in the direction of Kuchiki Manor, only to be stricken a moment later with a disruptive kido blast that took him off his feet and sent Tetsuya crashing to the ground.

Tetsuya heard Orochi laugh, and felt his cousin moving closer as the rain pelted down on them, and Arashi struggled for a moment, then fell still. Tetsuya laid still, unable to move as his cousin stalked closer, summoning his power around his curled fingers.

"You are finished, half-blood!" the black-eyed man sneered, taking aim on the fallen stallion and his incapacitated master, "I am going to destroy the two of you, then I will hunt down those boys you worked so hard to protect and I will slaughter them! And if you have any dream of Byakuya being able to stop me, think again. I have been building my power and making my plans for years. That peasant-loving fool is going to die, as are his mongrel fukutaichou and their two little bastards! Goodbye, Tetsuya. This time, you really are going to die!"

Tetsuya's eyes widened as Orochi's power swelled around his hands, coalescing and then bursting free and closing in on them. He closed his eyes against the blinding light, waiting for the end to come. He heard an impact and felt the ground shake, then felt the presence of someone standing over him. Opening his eyes, he saw a flash of ginger-colored hair and met a pair of friendly golden-brown eyes.

"You must be Tetsuya," the young man greeted him.

"Y-yes," Tetsuya sputtered, blinking and staring in surprise, "You...you are...!"

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo," the young man said, extending a hand and helping the injured noble to his feet, "Byakuya sent me to find you, Rikichi and Kisho."

He paused, handily catching Tetsuya as he started to collapse again.

"R-rikichi...Kisho!" Tetsuya managed dizzily.

"It's okay," the ginger-haired man assured him, "Yoruichi has them. And it looks like that guy took off. I don't think he'll be back anytime soon. So, let's get you and your horse back on your feet and go find Byakuya and Renji."

"We're here," Renji's voice said from behind them.

Two swift flash steps sounded and the two appeared in front of the injured noble and the shinigami substitute.

"Tetsuya, are you all right?"

Byakuya asked worriedly, capturing his cousin around the waist and helping him sit back down.

"Arashi!" Tetsuya panted, brushing the rain-drenched strands out of his eyes, "He's hurt."

"I'll take care him," Renji offered.

"We need to transport the two of them back to Karakura Town for healing," Byakuya surmised, "Watashi no itoko, can you call Arashi into your body?"

"N-no," Tetsuya moaned, shaking his head, "Orochi did something to my core spirit center. I cannot channel reiatsu"

"Well, I'm sure as hell not carrying that oversized fleabag back to Karakura Town!" exclaimed Renji.

"Ichigo, will you take care of my cousin? Renji and I will heal Arashi enough so that he can walk back with us."

"What about the boys?" Ichigo asked, "Did you see them and Yoruichi?"

"They already started back towards Kisuke's," Renji reported.

"And we had better get going as well," Byakuya added, "Tetsuya, I need to know everything you have remembered about what happened. You said that this was our cousin, Orochi?"

"Yes," Tetsuya said weakly, struggling to remain conscious, "I didn't know, at first, exactly who it was, but I soon learned that it was part of something Orochi was planning, and I interfered and rescued the babies. Orochi was the one who captured and tortured me to try to get me to tell him where Rikichi and Miki were. I escaped him and Arashi carried me to you. But Orochi knocked Renji-san out and abducted me again. He was going to kill me, but Arashi interceded and helped me get away from him. I found the boys, but Orochi had implanted one of his snakes in me while I was his prisoner. The snake emerged and damaged me. I would have been killed if Ichigo-san had not arrived. I am...very grateful to you, Ichigo-san."

"No problem," Ichigo said, smiling, "Come on. Let's get you back to Kisuke's."

Tetsuya felt a flush touch his cheeks and he tried to climb to his feet, but nearly fell again.

"I am afraid I cannot keep my feet," he said penitently.

He inhaled in surprise and flushed more brightly as Ichigo's strong arms swept him up.

"No worries," the shinigami substitute assured him, his voice sending a pleasant tickle through Tetsuya's shaky insides, "I've got you."

"Th-thank you again, Ichigo-san," Tetsuya said, looping his arms around Ichigo's neck.

"Hold on," Ichigo said, engaging his flash step, "We'll be there in a flash."


	15. Recovery

**Chapter 15: Recovery**

**(This one's for Alabirdie, who I know was waiting, and for ytygr, who PM'd with a request today. See how you guys inspire me? Okay, off to see Mockingjay! Love you all, Spunky)**

Rikichi registered a soft, pleasant purring sound and felt someone's breath tickling his throat and shoulder. He opened his eyes and smiled at finding the freshly bathed Shihoin youth sleeping contentedly, curled up along his side, with his handsome face buried in the Kuchiki heir's hair. He marveled at how Kisho was so silent as he inhaled, yet upon exhaling, he emitted that exotic feline rumbling that seemed to sink down into Rikichi's healing body, bringing about a deep feeling of well-being, as well as relief from the harsh burning that had afflicted his damaged spirit centers. He turned his head and nuzzled the other youth's cheek, then sought his lips as Kisho's eyes opened and instantly left him entranced.

The black pupils had reshaped themselves, more in the manner of his wild clouded leopard's and the golden circles glowed softly with innate power. Even as he woke, the lovely, intermittent purring sound continued.

"What is this?" Rikichi asked, "It...feels like a healing spell."

"This is my healing ability," Kisho explained, smiling at him and warmly returning his kiss of greeting, "Did you know that when cats purr, they not only allow their own bodies to restore themselves, they can also cause their human counterparts to heal more quickly?"

"I didn't know that," Rikichi confessed, "But I've always had a cat around somewhere. We had lots of them at the orphanage and I helped take care of them. They would follow me around and sit on me and purr, every time I sat down. They did that when I slept, too. I just thought it was soothing and it made me feel happy inside. But...your purring sounds a little different."

"That's because my were-form is technically a big cat. They are made slightly different than smaller felines in the physical apparatus that we use for purring causes roaring cats like me to only make that sound upon exhaling. In any case, when I purr, it causes my eyes to change to their feline form and allows me to heal whomever hears that sound. Touching the person while purring intensifies the effect.

Rikichi smiled and looked back at him with playful eyes.

"Touching, ne?" he repeated, letting his fingers play over the other youth's face, "And what happens if you make love to someone while in that state?"

"Ah," the Shihoin prince sighed, blinking slowly, "I should probably stop you, but...we have already stepped over that line, haven't we?"

"Yeah," Rikichi agreed, blushing and seeking his feline boyfriend's lips again.

He plunged deeply into Kisho's mouth, smiling at the soft purring that continued on each exhale and the gentle feelings of well being it brought about. Rikichi's eyes blinked and his chest heaved softly. His hand slid down the other youth's body, then his fingers caught on the tie at Kisho's waist. But just as he started to pull, a tap sounded on the door and the two youths sat up quickly, staring as Byakuya, Renji and Kisuke entered the room. Rikichi flushed brightly, noting that his own yukata had opened in front, and he refastened the tie hastily.

"Rikichi," Byakuya said solemnly, standing back as Kisuke reached the boys and began to examine the injured youths.

He turned a dark, unreadable eye on the Shihoin prince.

"Kisho. It is good to see the two of you have recovered."

"H-how is Tetsuya-san?" Rikichi asked quickly, "He was really brave to do what he did. With that man after us, he came to find us. But he seemed hurt pretty badly when the snake came out of him. Is he going to be all right?"

"Tetsuya's going to be fine," Kisuke assured the unsettled youth, "and so are you and Kisho."

"And Arashi?" Kisho asked, carefully avoiding Byakuya's gaze.

"Arashi's doing fine also," the shopkeeper assured them, "You guys don't seem to need anymore intervention, thanks to Kisho's ability, but Rikichi, I don't want you using your powers at all until I tell you it's okay. I placed a limiter so that in an emergency you'll have your flash step, but other than that, you've got nothing, so Kisho's going to be looking out for you."

"I would have done so anyway," the Shihoin youth said, smiling at Rikichi and trying not to notice the stern expression on Byakuya's face, "Rikichi is more than just my friend, he is my soul mate."

Byakuya studied the two for a moment, then nodded briefly.

"Kisho, Renji and I will need to speak to our son for a while. I believe that Kisuke could use a hand in Tetsuya and Arashi's healing."

"Oh...right, of course," the youth answered, pulling free of Rikichi and giving him an affectionate kiss on the cheek before flash stepping away.

Rikichi looked up into Byakuya's eyes, his heart pounding as he waited for what his parents would say, now that they were alone again.

"Tetsuya told us that he explained the truth of your birth to you," the Kuchiki leader said carefully.

"Yes sir," Rikichi said, trying to exude calm, but trembling softly at what he saw in Byakuya's dark eyes, "I know that you are Miki's and my father and that Abarai fukutaichou...erm...Renji-san gave birth to us. He also told us that he took us and gave us to Michio and Noa so that Miki and I would be safe and well taken care of. And i can tell you that Tetsuya-san, even though he didn't tell us who he was, did everything he could to protect us. He came to spend time with us and helped out at the shelter."

"Tetsuya is a good friend...and your cousin. We are lucky that one of such loyalty learned of your situation and was there for you, as Renji and I could not be."

"L-look, that's not your fault, sir," Rikichi said tremulously, "I was fine. I mean, Miki and I and the others were all really happy growing up there. We didn't have a lot, but we had enough to eat, a good family and a home. If I couldn't be with you from the beginning, I couldn't think of a better place to have grown up...though I wish I could have known I am your son."

"You must realize," Byakuya went on, "the discovery of your lineage is going to change things for you and Miki...although, how much it changes is something you will have to consider. I don't know if you understood what happened to you before..."

"You mean my bankai?" Rikichi asked, "I got the idea when my eagle burst into flames, although I had no clue where a bankai came from."

"There was a seal that Tetsuya-san placed on your powers to keep you hidden," Renji explained.

"But in your desperation to protect yourself and Kisho, you were able to shatter the seal,  
>Byakuya added, "Your powers came to life suddenly and your spirit centers were damaged by its use. Fortunately, Orihime was able to heal you, although you still must wear the limiter and not use your powers until Urahara Kisuke says that you are recovered enough."<p>

"I understand, sir."

"Rikichi, it is not necessary for you to continue to be so formal," Byakuya corrected him.

"Oh, right, but what should I call you then?" the youth asked, looking from Byakuya to Renji and back again, "I have two fathers...what should I...?"

"Well, he's the noble so you should probably call him 'Father' and me 'Dad," Renji suggested.

"Unless the adjustment is too jarring for you," Byakuya said, studying the young man's flustered expression.

"Oh no, it's fine!" Rikichi said quickly, "It's a little strange, but I'll get used to it."

A smile crept onto his lips.

"I like having family. I mean, Michio and Noa are wonderful for what they did for Miki and me. I just...it's different, knowing that you are my parents."

"Yeah, well we're pretty shell-shocked too," Renji confessed.

"Rikichi," Byakuya said calmly, observing his son's face carefully, "there is going to be a period of adjustment for all of us. We have all been taken very much by surprise. I don't expect that everything about your new life with our family will be easy, but I do hope that you and Miki will embrace being part of the Kuchiki clan."

"I will. I know I will!" the young man insisted, "But Father...and Dad, there is something about me that isn't going to change. I can't let it."

Byakuya glanced in the direction that the Shihoin prince had gone, then looked back at his son.

"Kisho?" he said quietly.

"Yes sir. Kisho and I are in love. And like you and Dad, we were..._together_ for our first time."

Byakuya's lips twitched very slightly, but he only cleared his throat softly and exchanged glances with Renji.

"When was this?" he asked calmly.

Rikichi blushed brightly.

"It...it was after we escaped and before Tetsuya-san found us. Father, Kisho saved my life quite a few times, and he was hurt protecting me. He is...my very best friend and I have fallen in love with him. I know you don't always get along with Yoruichi-sama, but I can't leave Kisho...not ever."

Renji's hand slipped into Byakuya's and squeezed gently.

"That doesn't sound like such a bad thing," the redhead said, smiling at him, "That kid might be a pain in the ass, but he is a good person and a great fighter."

He paused and glanced at Byakuya questioningly.

"Tetsuya informed me that you were born first," the Kuchiki leader responded, "And you have also reached bankai, where Miki has not yet. I think that, given those facts, the Kuchiki elders will approve you as my official heir. Great responsibility goes with that, and part of that is having children, Rikichi. I am to assume that you...?"

Rikichi's blush deepened furiously.

"I let him take me," he confessed, his heart pounding so hard he felt faint, "I knew I might be an heir of some kind, though I didn't know I was your son. I just...really love Kisho and I don't want him to be taken away from me!"

"We get it," Renji assured him.

"And there is a way for me to know if you have been impregnated," Byakuya replied.

Rikichi remained frozen as Byakuya approached him and laid a hand on his slim belly. He loosed a flicker of reiatsu and paused, then stared thoughtfully as Rikichi's body glowed softly in response.

"F-father?"

"You are with child," Byakuya said, his eyes betraying a strange mix of worry and wonder.

"I am?" Rikichi asked, swaying slightly as the words struck him, "Then...Kisho and I...?"

"I will not stand in the way of your commitment to each other. Just be aware, by clan rules, you will be required to wed as soon as arrangements can be made."

"Whoa! I...I can marry Kisho?" Rikichi mused, more swells of dizziness passing over him, "He was worried it wouldn't be accepted. That's...that's...I don't know what to say!"

"For now, just attempt to be discreet. Do not be overly affectionate in public until I have been able to explain matters to the elders. You must realize that they may not be approving at first, but if you attempt to work with them, they will come around. That being said, we must deal with the here and now. You understand that Urahara Kisuke had to open the dimensional rift we are in, because there was no other way to conceal you any longer from my cousin, Orochi. He wants leadership, and the surest way to discredit me and to claim it is to bring a scandal. He may well be at it now, poisoning the council against me. And because we are within the protective rift, I can make no communication with them until everyone is recovered and we return together. When we emerge, he will come at us with everything to keep us from reaching the clan. We must prepare ourselves to fight. As soon as you are able, I want Renji to train you in using your bankai more safely. He will help you gradually prepare your body for the strain. Just be mindful that the prior injury to your spirit centers will take time to heal fully, so you should expect the training will be painful. I am going to have Kisho return to continue your healing. His ability seems to be working very well. Also, the infusion of his reiatsu into your body will keep your child's reiatsu stable, which will be important to a healthy birth."

"I can't believe I'm going to have a baby!" Rikichi exclaimed happily, "I can't wait to tell Kisho!"

"You two are too damned young to be having babies," Renji said, shaking his head, "You're barely adult, yourselves. But congratulations, kid."

"Thanks Dad," Rikichi sighed, accepting the redhead's powerful embrace.

He looked back at Byakuya.

"And thank you, Father, for understanding. Kisho means everything to me. We'll do whatever we need to, to make this work."

XXXXXXXXXX

"How are you feeling?" Ichigo asked, slipping a cup of tea into Tetsuya's waiting hand, "You look a lot better now."

Tetsuya smiled gamely.

"I feel rather like I had a very large sword implanted in my abdomen, but that is to be expected."

"It took a long time for Orihime to make sure that guy's reiatsu was gone from inside you," Ichigo remembered, "But it's gone now. He can't reach us here."

"It's too bad that we can't stay here," Tetsuya sighed, sipping at the tea, then setting it down on the nightstand next to his bed, "but we have to go home and stop Orochi from stealing leadership from Byakuya-sama."

"Well, everyone needs to be healed all the way first," Ichigo insisted, "we've got a good start, but you need to rest and Orihime will be back in a while to check up on you."

"I will rest," Tetsuya promised, "but I must give you proper thanks first. You saved my life, Ichigo-san. Orochi was about to kill me when you stopped him. I am very grateful to you."

"It's no problem," Ichigo assured the blue-eyed noble, "I'm glad I got to meet you. Byakuya told us about how you gave up everything to protect those boys. It must have been really hard for you."

"Oh, it wasn't all bad," Tetsuya said, smiling, "I wasn't able to be close to anyone because it wouldn't have been right to have to lie constantly to someone like that. But I stayed close to the boys and had their friendship."

"It was good you had that. And I hope that you know you have friends here now."

Tetsuya blushed.

"Thank you, Ichigo-san."

The door opened and Tessai entered the room, bearing two food trays. He delivered one to Ichigo, then set the other in Tetsuya's lap.

"Thank you, Tessai-san," Tetsuya said politely.

"You're welcome, Kuchiki-san. Let me know if you need anything else. Oh, and Ichigo, the boss asked if you would give Tetsuya-san a reiatsu infusion. Orihime-chan needs to rest and the Shihoin boy is busy with Rikichi-san."

"Are those two okay?" Ichigo asked, echoing Tetsuya's thoughts.

"They are doing well. It is just that Byakuya-san discovered that the new heir is with child, in addition to being injured, so the Shihoin prince is assisting him."

"What? Rikichi is...?"

"Pregnant, sir. Some noble males are able to impregnate others or to be impregnated."

Ichigo chuckled and took a bite of his food.

"Man, this is one of those moments I'm glad _not _to be noble, you know? Not that kids are a bad thing, but that stuff needs to wait! I can't believe Rikichi is going to have a kid."

"He is young, but he is also an adult," Tetsuya concluded, "And the two seem well suited to each other. I am just glad they are all right."

"I'm glad you're all right too," Ichigo said, smiling and setting his food aside.

"What are you doing? You haven't finished eating," Tetsuya noted, frowning.

"He said you need an infusion."

"But you should really finish eating first. You will be drained."

"Naw, I'm fine," the ginger-haired youth said, laying his hands on the noble's injured belly.

Tetsuya looked as though he wanted to argue, but returned to eating as the other young man restored his depleted reiatsu. As Ichigo worked at his task, light sweat broke out on his forehead and his eyes blinked several times. And as he pulled his hands away, he paused and swayed wearily.

"Ichigo-san!" Tetsuya exclaimed in a worried tone, "Ichigo-san, I told you to finish eating first!"

His breath left him as Ichigo collapsed onto the bed and his body trapped Tetsuya's partially beneath it. He gazed into Tetsuya's surprised eyes, smiling and blinking several more times.

"You fool!" Tetsuya snapped softly, shaking his head as the shinigami substitute snuggled close to him, "You could have passed out!"

"Eh," Ichigo mused woozily, surprising the lovely noble's lips with an affectionate kiss, "It was worth it!"

"_Baka_!" Tetsuya laughed, "Byakuya-sama was right about you. You are reckless!"

"Says the guy who protected those boys from that monster cousin of yours all alone," Ichigo fired back appreciatively, "I think I'm in good company."


End file.

Bleach, Drama, Romance