Unsightly Things

By Spunky0ne

(My good buddy Picklez80 requested a story similar to Unscattered or Everlasting Bloom, with Byakuya losing his looks and powers and ending up crashing down in the Rukongai as a sort of survivalist trainer for the street children there, but this time with Kenpachi as his love interest, so here you go, kiddo! Perfect to kick off Kenpachi's birthday month.)

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After sacrificing his physical beauty and greater powers to save the people and home he loves, Byakuya falls deep into the low Rukongai, where he is nursed back to health by an old healer. Months later, Kenpachi goes astray during a mission and discovers the supposedly dead Kuchiki leader teaching street children how to survive and grow their spirit powers. This one is yaoi, mpreg and pairings are Kenpachi/Byakuya, Ichigo/Tetsuya, Shima-Taicho31's Kurushimi/Renji and any others I can think of. Enjoy the new story! November is Kenpachi's birthday month, so there will be lots of Kenny related updates on the way!)

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Chapter 1: Fallen Blossom

Byakuya felt the hard pelting of furious raindrops striking his collapsed body, stinging for a moment as they impacted the deep gashes in his body, then seeped into the jagged lines, cooling the still bleeding wounds. He took a ragged breath and tried to move, only to loose a cry of agony as pain radiated through every inch of his torn body until blackness overtook his vision and everything disappeared into a stolid, silent greyness.

His dark eyes opened again later to find that in his semi-consciousness, he had crawled away from the place where his enemy's body had fallen and dispersed into spirit particles, and that he now laid, partially immersed in the rushing water of a creek that had overflowed its banks. Registering that he was in danger of being sucked away by the current, he shifted his aching body slightly to give him purchase and he clung tightly, looking back in the direction from which he had come.

A spirit demon.

Their very bodies are dangerous to our world and usually one would be held back from entering here. That this one not only escaped the protections meant to keep them from coming to our world, but that his reiatsu was controlled by that token he wore, suggests something very wrong is happening. I just wonder what.

It seems that will be for someone else to discover. I was able to send a hell butterfly at the beginning of our battle, but our final collision stole everything I had left. I could not manage even a flash step. And these injuries…I have read of the spirit demons, and I know that the marks they leave have never been removed from the stricken soul. Even if I manage to survive the deadly poison…

He tilted his muddied sword as lightning flashed, illuminating his reflection in the cold metal. For a moment, Byakuya's breath caught at the sight of the horrible slashes that ruined the left half of his face and shoulder, and others that marked his torso, all of the way to his hip.

But there was no choice.

What is done, is done. I knew when I made that final attack that I was sacrificing everything. I have no regrets. But…I do not want to be remembered this way. I cannot return to Kuchiki Manor or even the Seireitei in this state. As much as my sacrifice would be appreciated, my powers are destroyed and my face and body are permanently scarred. That is the dreadful power of the spirit demon's reiatsu. But it should not be burned into their memories of me. Let them remember me the way I was…

He looked back to the bloody trail he had made as he had dragged himself to the water's edge, watching quietly as the heavy rain poured down, gradually erasing the signs of his passage. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking solemnly of each person he had protected and let that warm his heart as he let go of his hold and slid into the rushing water, letting it wrap around him and carry him away. His fingers crept to a small pendant at this throat and his fingers curled around it affectionately. He held onto it tightly as he was thrown about, clinging to it until the cord finally snapped. Tears burned in his eyes as that, too, was torn away by the riled current. He spun away and on, catching glimpses of the white moon, peeking through the thick clouds and somehow that sight calmed him inside, even as his body was tossed against rocks and stung by sharp twigs. He was rolled over, smashed against a larger stone, and left in blackness again, calm and without regret as he whispered goodbye to everything and everyone he knew.

That spirit demon was stronger than most of us. It would have caused unimaginable destruction. It is hard to say goodbye, but at least I know that my sacrifice protected them. That is all that matters to me. Tetsuya will follow me as clan leader, and with him marrying Ichigo, one of their offspring will be made heir. Tetsuya will protect Rukia's place in the family as I did, and Renji will succeed me as leader of the sixth division. Everything is taken care of. After the war with the quincies, I made sure that it would be, in case of something like this. I have no fears anymore. I have no worries. I have no regrets.

I am…

…at peace with my fate…

The swirling water and spinning debris dragged him down. He thought briefly of the pale blue gem he had lost, a gift from his cousin whose command of water allowed him to share the ability to breathe beneath the surface.

Drowning is probably better than suffering the poison in these wounds. I would not survive that anyway. No one in our known history has.

But even though he lost consciousness, Byakuya did not drown. His body rolled and tumbled through the water and his clothes were shredded and torn away. Sucked far down into the deep west Rukongai, his battered form became entangled with a cluster of thick tree limbs and snagged on the shore. He laid on his back in the shallows, his unseeing eyes looking up into the sky as the rain lightened and slowly stopped.

Some hours later, a black buggy, pulled by an old brown horse, rolled along the muddy trail that ran by the water.

"Whoa," the old man holding the reins called to the horse, who paused and turned his head in the direction his master was looking, "Well, what have we here?"

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"What the fuck happened here?" Kenpachi asked, scowling as Kurotsuchi Mayuri examined several little puddles of blood mixed with rain that had managed to survive the downpour, "Did Kuchiki buy it here? What the hell was he fighting? The devil, himself?"

"I found an opened book in the family archive," Tetsuya managed softly, tears running down his face as Ichigo held him around the waist, preventing him from moving any closer to the bloody scene, "It is clear that he suspected that a spirit demon had somehow gotten past the protections and entered our world."

"Does this belong to Kuchiki taichou?" Mayuri asked, using a stick to raise an odd, dark stone pendant out of the mud.

"No," Tetsuya said, shaking his head.

"I've never seen it before either," Renji said, glancing at Shima taicho in askance.

"Me either," Kuri confessed, "although we probably need to clean it up to see it properly."

"I will take care of that," the twelfth division taichou aid, slipping the pendant into his clothing and continuing to pore over the sodden ground.

"I think Tetsuya should take it," Ichigo said mistrustingly, frowning at Mayuri.

"Oh, is that so?" the masked taichou inquired mockingly, "and why is that?"

"Well," Ichigo answered, reaching up too scratch the back of his neck, "Tetsuya has the entire Kuchiki family archive to search for information on that piece. And we know that Byakuya suspected that this was a spirit demon. Maybe he'll find a description of that thing in the archive."

"I'll send him a picture of it," Mayuri snapped dismissively, "after I get the thing cleaned up so we can see any markings."

Mayuri made a sound of surprise and annoyance as Kenpachi stepped forward and backed him up against a tree.

"What are you doing, you…you…monstrous buffoon!" he snapped furiously, swatting at the bigger man's hands as they invaded his uniform and yanked the stone token free,

Kenpachi handed the piece to Tetsuya, who looked at it more closely.

"Give that back to me at once, or I'll…!"

"What're you gonna do, you little freak-faced nightmare?" Kenpachi hissed, narrowing his eyes, "Prettyboy Kuchiki over there's got a better chance of identifying that thing, and you know it. And I want it identified so that I can go and trash the bastard responsible for this mess!"

"And good riddance!" Mayuri fumed, his lips curling into a sneer, "Does your primitive mind even realize what one of those things would do to the likes of us here, if its powers are not at least somewhat limited?"

"This may be a limiter of some kind," Tetsuya mused, turning the pendant over in his hand, "If so, then someone likely sent this spirit demon here for a nefarious purpose. I wonder if it was given a specific target or if it was just supposed to do a lot of damage."

"It could even have been a diversion for something bigger," Kuri mused.

"I will get this back to Kuchiki Manor," Tetsuya said, turning away and mounting his tall black stallion.

He reached down a slender hand and pulled Ichigo up behind him.

"We will continue the investigation and be in contact with the Gotei as soon as there is news."

Kuri and Renji watched as the two raced away on the horse's back.

"Tetsuya seemed really wrecked about Taichou," Renji said sadly.

"He and Byakurai are very close," Kuri commented, "and not just that. If something really has happened to his cousin, Tetsu-hana will be leading the Kuchiki clan."

"That would ruffle some feathers, wouldn't it?" Renji mused, "The elders mostly like him."

"Mmhmm," Kuri agreed, "but there are some in the family who have other opinions."

"You think Orochi or your old fiancé from hell, Sasune would do something to rock the boat?"

"You can never tell with those slippery ones," Kuri concluded, "I think you and I should stay close to Tetsu-hana, for his protection."

Renji gave Kuri a sly smile.

"I think you just like Tetsuya," he teased.

"You know he is dating Ichibun," Kuri said, smirking, "But, who knows. Maybe I just like you, Ren-ren-nii."

"Come on," Renji urged him, "We should search around here more closely. Maybe we'll be able to find some sign of what happened to Taichou. I just hope that he's okay. Hurt, I can handle. If he's hurt, we can fix him. If he's lost, we can find him."

"We will find him, Ren-ren-nii," Kuri said reassuringly, "He would do the same for us."

"Yeah," Renji said uneasily, "he would."

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(One week later)

An aged healer dressed in plain, clean clothing leaned over Byakuya's damaged body, following the harsh red lines on the unconscious man's flesh with glowing fingertips and soothing the heavy burning sensation that never seemed to stop tormenting his unfortunate patient. Byakuya took short, fitful breaths, groaning softly as consciousness very slowly began to return.

"I don't know if you really want to be waking now," the healer chided him gently, "I know that these wounds are painful. I can only do so much to soothe them. It might be better for you to sleep longer, my boy, if you don't want to lie here hurting."

"Wh-who are you?" Byakuya managed, blinking his stinging eyes and trying to focus.

"I might ask you the same thing, young man," the healer said with mock sternness, "Who are you that you would tangle with a spirit demon and an even more compelling question. Who are you, that you would survive?"

Byakuya stared at the blazing red markings that covered much of his pale flesh on the left side of his body.

"How l-long have I been here?" he asked shakily.

"You have been here, in my home and unconscious for most of the time, for a week, son. Now, will you please tell me your name?"

Byakuya quivered at the awful sight of the damage to his body. His jaw clenched for a moment.

How can I still be alive? No one in our history has been poisoned with a spirit demon's reiatsu and lived. I should have died from the wounds, from the poison, from drowning in that river at least!

Why?

Why am I alive?

And…what am I supposed to do now?

He blinked slowly, focusing on the old doctor's kind face.

"I…I do not remember," he lied, "I j-just remember a horrible red beast on top of me. I…rolled into the water and the current carried me away. How did you find me?"

The healer smiled.

"You were lucky," he explained, "I was returning from the next town, where Noa and I were treating some families come down with a nasty flu. Noa stayed to help while the woman and children were recovering, but I drove my buggy home to restock my supplies. I found you tangled up in some debris in the river. You're very lucky you didn't die too quickly from the beast's poison or from drowning. Someone was watching over you, I suppose."

"S-so it seems."

"I am the Inuzuri healer, Michio," the healer told him, extending a hand.

Byakuya accepted his hand and nodded briefly.

"Thank you, Michio, for rescuing me…although, I do not understand how I survived. That thing was powerful and I could feel the poison it infected me with. I know I should not be alive now. How did you…?"

Michio smiled warmly.

"It was only partly me," he insisted, "You nearly died several times, but just when I was sure you would pass, you seemed to just grit your teeth and go on. You are very brave, young man."

"I was only trying to stay alive. That is instinct," Byakuya sighed, "not courage."

"You are from a noble home?" Michio asked, his light blue eyes fixing on Byakuya's, "a prince of the Seireitei?"

Byakuya shook his head and frowned.

"I have no memory of who I was or where I came from. Everything from before I met that…"

"That spirit demon," Michio prompted him.

"Before I met that spirit demon," Byakuya went on, "is gone."

"But, here you still are, plain as day," Michio mused, "What are we to do with you?"

Byakuya sat up slowly, rubbing his hands over his face and shuddering at the feel of the lines that traveled down the left side of his face.

"I owe you something for your trouble," Byakuya surmised, "Did I have anything with me when you found me? Something I could offer you as payment?"

Michio's smile wavered.

"You were naked as the day you were born, my boy," he said sadly, "But don't worry about payment. Folk down here don't have much, and I am willing to accept a little help if you really feel you need to give something back."

"What kind of help do you need?" Byakuya asked.

"None that you'll be giving me while you're still recovering," Michio scolded him gently, "Now, lie back down and rest. Noa is making some hot soup. You should eat if you want to get well enough to be helping me."

He sat back, taking a deep breath and letting it out again.

"We should have a name for you," Michio decided, "Something better than young man or my boy."

Byakuya looked back at him calmly.

"I am open to suggestions," he answered.

The door opened and an old woman with lovely silver hair swept into a hair tie and bright green eyes entered the room, carrying a tea tray.

"Oh, he is awake," she said, sounding relieved, "We were very worried about you."

"I feel much better now, thank you," Byakuya answered politely.

"The poor boy doesn't remember a thing," Michio explained to the woman, "but his mind seems clear and he is stronger today."

"We'll fill you up with some very good soup and bread and you'll feel even better," Noa said, setting the tray in Byakuya's lap and sitting down alongside her husband.

"Thank you."

The healer and his wife watched as Byakuya tried to be polite, but couldn't help hurrying to eat as he tasted the hot, savory soup and felt his stomach rumble impatiently.

"You have a good appetite…ah…um…" Noa began.

"We were just trying to come up with something to call him until he remembers who he is," Michio explained.

Noa gazed quietly at Byakuya for several minutes as he continued to eat.

"You said that he was injured in a battle with a spirit demon," the old woman recalled, "So, he must have been a soldier, perhaps one of the Gotei 13."

"I do not think I was a soldier," Byakuya said uncertainly, "I do not remember being one."

"Well, you did have very well developed spirit centers," Michio told him, "That is, before the demon's reiatsu burned and damaged them. You could have been a seated officer."

"Maybe we should try to send word to the Seireitei and see if an officer is missing."

"I am reasonably sure I was not an officer or anyone important," Byakuya insisted, "And even if I was, you understand the reception that would await me if I was seen this way? Please, I do not think that there is any use in pursuing this. I am here now, and I have nothing except an opportunity to move forward. I would like to do that."

"Very well, my boy," Michio said, glancing at Noa and receiving a little nod of agreement, "But we need to call you something. What shall we call you?"

"A brave boy like you, who stands up to a spirit demon should have a strong name," said Noa, touching the undamaged right side of his face, "Takehiko?"

"Soldier prince?" Byakuya mused, "I do not look like a prince."

"But of course you do," Noa said affectionately, patting his cheek, "Still, it seems like your injury troubles you so much, Takehiko-san. Would you like me to do something about that?"

"What can you do?" Byakuya asked, "I do not know much about spirit demons, but I do not think these wounds are going to go away."

"They may or they may not," Noa surmised, "But so that they don't cause you so much worry, I will cover them for you."

"C-cover them?" Byakuya repeated, flinching as Noa's fingers traced a line around the edges of his face.

They looked into a mirror together as the old woman used a kido spell to spread a thick layer of sturdy reiatsu over the glaring lines. The result was a soft, pale mask that covered the imperfections.

"Is that better, my dear?" she asked, smiling into the mirror at his altered reflection.

"It is," Byakuya said gratefully.

"I think your clothing can cover the markings on your body," Michio concluded, "Some folks might have a question or two about your mask, but down here, most people don't bother much with others."

Byakuya gazed into the mirror, studying his improved reflection and sighing in relief.

"Again, you have my deepest gratitude for your assistance," he said softly, "and I promise that I will find a way to repay you."