Chapter 2: Symbol of our Love

Kuri sat quietly at Tetsuya's bedside, cradling the younger man's infant in his arms and gazing down at him adoringly as the baby grabbed at the bottle with shaky hands, his large blue eyes blinking slowly as he fed contentedly.

I might have worried that I would be possessed by past memories, trying to do this for Tetsu-hana, but I can feel nothing but pure love as I look at this baby's sweet face.

"Good boy, Nao-nao," he said approvingly, "Eat well and grow strong. You want to make Tetsu-hana proud."

He glanced down at Tetsuya's freshly washed, dressed and comfortably sleeping form, admiring sadly the lovely waves of untangled black hair and remembering the beautiful blue eyes that matched his baby son's. The bottle's nipple slipped out of Naoki's mouth and he whimpered and grabbed at the bottle again.

"Ah, here now," Kuri chuckled, repositioning the bottle so that the boy could latch on, "That's right."

He looked up and smiled in greeting as the Kuchiki clan's elder healer and Tetsuya's assigned attendant entered the room together and made their way to the young man's bedside. Kuri attended closely as the healer examined Tetsuya thoroughly, then loosed a soft, worried sigh.

"Has he shown any signs of waking?" Michio asked in a concerned tone.

"None," Kuri said sadly, "He has not moved except to breathe. But he was injured and also abused and neglected by his captors, so he needs to rest, no?"

"He does need rest," Michio agreed, "but I would feel more confident of his chances if he regained consciousness soon."

"His chances?" Kuri repeated, noticing suddenly that Kuchiki Koji looked to have been crying recently, "You have doubts that he will survive, even now?"

Michio sighed wearily.

"He has been malnourished and badly abused. His body has been subjected to frequent beatings and sexual assaults. He was further damaged during his escape from the prison and the taxing reiatsu swells during the delivery of his child have brought him to the brink. We are seeing too much of this among the ones we freed. Several have died since the raid, and several more are like Tetsuya-kun, unconscious with no assurance they will wake. I am sorry, Kurushimi-sama. I wish I had better news to give you."

Kuri met the infant boy's blue eyes for a moment, then looked back at the healer, frowning.

"He just needs to know there is reason for living," Kuri insisted, "I have seen men in far worse shape survive. Tetsu-hana will pull through. He is stronger than he looks. He proved that in his escape. Also, he has this lovely baby to wake up to. We will wake him, won't we, mijo?"

Koji and Michio exchanged sympathetic glances and the healer cleared his throat softly.

"Your determination to help him is admirable, Kurushimi-sama," he said approvingly, "And Koji, too, is very motivated to help Tetsuya-kun heal. With the two of you watching over him, I am sure that he will respond to the treatment soon and wake. I will be back to check on him in a little while. Koji-kun, please send for me immediately if there are any changes."

"I will," Koji assured him.

Kuri watched as Michio left, then observed as Koji bent over his unconscious ward, tucking the blankets more comfortably around him, then squeezing Tetsuya's hand gently.

"Please wake up soon," he pleaded softly, "Tetsuya-san, we are all so worried about you!"

Kuri smiled encouragingly, holding the baby out for Koji to capture and hold in his slightly shaking arms. Unbidden tears filled Koji's gentle green eyes and one leaked down his face.

"They don't deserve this, Kurushimi-sama," Koji half-sobbed, cuddling the baby close against his shoulder, "The prisoners are innocent people who were torn from their lives and subjected to horrible things! I heard Byakuya-sama say some of the evidence they found…of how they were laid in small holes in the cellar of the prison as punishment, and covered so that they could still breathe, but so that they couldn't see the light."

Koji paused, choking on a hard, silent sob.

"It's awful!" he managed, sniffing and rubbing his eyes.

"It is," Kuri agreed, tickling Naoki's cheek, "I don't blame you for your tears. Truly, that place was wicked. But even though it has had its way with Tetsu-hana, we will heal him, and then you and I will teach this joven hermosa that there are good people in the world who will always stand by him and protect him from ever suffering like that again."

"We will!" Koji resolved, brushing away fresh tears.

"Bueno," Kuri said approvingly, "Now, why don't you put Nao-nao down for his nap?"

"Nao-nao?" Koji laughed, blinking away the remains of his tears, "Kurushimi-sama, your nicknames are so funny!"

""What?" Kuri mused, feigning a lack of comprehension, "Nicknames are more personal. It helps me remember people more clearly, Ko-ko-kun."

"Of course, sir," Koji smiled.

The two were suddenly distracted from their conversation as Byakuya entered the room, still in his nightclothes and wearing a warm robe and soft slippers on his feet.

"How did Tetsuya fare during the night?" the youth inquired, "He seemed restless when I visited before."

"He slept fitfully, but seemed to calm some as the night passed," Koji reported, "Michio is just very worried because he hasn't regained consciousness yet. He is terribly weak and struggling."

"Yes," Byakuya said sadly, "I see."

"But," Koji said, brightening, "Kurushimi-sama has been so kind, sitting at his side and caring for Naoki-chan."

"It was nothing," Kuri said off-handedly, "Tetsu-hana asked me to look after the boy for him. That is all."

Byakuya gave him a skeptical smile.

"You are taking his request quite literally," he commented, accepting the baby from Koji and smiling gently down at him, "But I do welcome the assistance. Whatever we can do to help Tetsuya heal and thrive."

"Well, I don't think he'll be thriving right away," Kuri mused, "but we would settle for waking. Your healer is very worried. Deripie was here last night, and she had the same impression."

"Hmm," Byakuya said, glancing at the attendant and carefully laying the baby in his arms again, "Koji, please make sure that Shima Kurushimi has a guest room at his disposal."

"Yes, Byakuya-sama."

Byakuya sat down at Tetsuya's side and took one of Tetsuya's hands in his, while Kuri captured and gently caressed the other. Koji joined them, laying the baby so that he was snuggled in Tetsuya's arm. Naoki cooed contentedly, his little fingers playing with the soft folds of Tetsuya's yukata. To everyone's surprise, Tetsuya moved slightly and opened his eyes, looking first at his son, then struggling to focus on the people around him.

"B-byakuya-s-sama?" he whispered weakly, his voice shaking, "K-kurushimi-sama? This…this is my N-naoki?"

"It is," Kuri confirmed, "Don't you remember. You were conscious when he was born."

"I, ah, asked you to l-look after him," Tetsuya managed, "and you have. Arigato, K-kurushimi-sama."

"Please, call me Kuri," the caramel skinned man requested, "I have cared for your baby, and I will continue to do so until you are well."

Tears rose in Tetsuya's eyes, spilling onto his flushed cheeks.

"I…I don't know if I will get well," he said honestly.

"Tetsu-hana, don't speak that way," Kuri chided him, "Of course you will get well, and in no time, you will be caring for this precious one, yourself."

"I don't know if I should," Tetsuya said, his voice breaking, "I don't know anything about babies. There were no books and my mother and father were dead. Even Naoki only knew a little, and the healer didn't have time to really explain about what to do when the baby was born. He was more concerned w-with us just staying alive. I want to stay. I love my little Naoki."

Tetsuya brought a shaky hand to the boy's cheek and Naoki squawked and tried to grab his fingers. A little smile graced Tetsuya's face and he started to drift off again.

"K-kuri-sama," he breathed unsteadily, "I…t-trust you will keep your promise and raise my s-son if I die?"

"You are not going to die," Kuri insisted, warming Tetsuya's damp cheek with a curved palm, "You did not remain strong all of this time, just to die now, when you have earned your freedom."

"I n-never knew what freedom felt like," Tetsuya whispered, his voice fading, "I am glad that I got to feel it just this once."

"You will feel this every day," Byakuya said firmly, "for the rest of your life. Tetsuya, we will teach you everything you need to know and you will have a beautiful life now."

Tetsuya's smile weakened and his arm shook ominously where he had it wrapped around his son.

"Even in Itamigiri, there were some beautiful things," he mumbled sleepily, "my Naoki, little flowers, small breaths of fresh air and…s-some people who helped us. S-still, it is all very beautiful, now that I reached your world, Byakuya-sama. There is so much beauty, it makes me cry. And everyone is kind to me. It is…like a story Naoki told me about heaven. I'm not afraid at all. I am warm. I feel loved."

"Love is all around you," Kuri promised, squeezing Tetsuya's hand, "You must cling to that. It is your will that will save you, Tetsu-hana. Your will is strong. It is the part of you that kept you alive through everything. It will help you survive now. Focus on your baby. He needs you."

"Naoki has you," Tetsuya breathed more faintly, "You are kind, Kuri-sama. You will be a good father."

"Tetsu-hana…" Kuri said, blinking at the burning he had begun to feel in his eyes.

The three watched sadly as Tetsuya kissed Naoki on the head, then drifted off again.

"Koji," Byakuya said quietly, "please take Naoki to the nursery."

"Yes, Byakuya-sama," Koji answered, carefully extracting the baby and carrying him out of the room.

Byakuya gazed down at his cousin through worried eyes, touching Tetsuya's face and squeezing his hand comfortably.

"You should rest, Kurushimi," the heir commented, "I doubt you slept at all."

"Eh, how could I sleep anyway?" Kuri answered wearily, "It is in the quiet of darkness that I can only think of the husband I lost and I can only cry, then, not sleep."

"Then, go and lie in the guest bed, across the room for a while. I promise I will not leave Tetsuya's side until you return."

Kuri gave him a relieved smile.

"Just for a while," he agreed.

He rose and stumbled across the room, falling onto the bed and drifting off almost immediately.

Kuri felt a soft hand caressing his face, and he opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back with his head placed in someone's lap. Bright sun hid the young man's face, but he knew instantly the hand that touched him.

"Hideaki!" he whispered, tears welling up instantly.

"Don't cry," his late husband whispered, "Look around you, my love, my Kuri. It is very beautiful here…and there no pain, no hatred, nothing but love. I am safe, Kuri. I wait here for you."

The wind shifted the branches of the tree behind Hideaki, bringing his comely face and gentle brown eyes into focus.

"And look there," he said, reaching down to turn Kuri's head slightly.

Kuri's breath caught as he spotted Tetsuya's brown-haired lover, holding Tetsuya against him and kissing his sleeping face, whispering encouragement in soft, desperate urgings.

"What is he doing?" Kuri asked, "That boy, Naoki. What is he doing to Tetsu-hana?"

"He is trying to help Tetsuya-kun survive," Hideaki explained, "Tetsuya-kun is on the edges of life, barely clinging. And it is you, Kuri, who helps him to live."

"I am not able to anything," Kuri objected, "Tetsu-hana has been unconscious for most of the time since he was freed. I don't know how to save him. He is so weak."

"His body is weak," Hideaki agreed, "but his spirit is strong. He wants to stay for his baby, but he wants also to cling to his lover, who has passed from life. Please, Kuri, you must help him to let Naoki go. Naoki will be here in this beautiful place, and he will wait for Tetsuya-kun, just as I wait for you. We will all meet again, I promise."

"I know we will," Kuri agreed.

"Here now," Hideaki said, helping him to sit up, "Hold our baby for a moment."

Kuri froze as a tiny, lovely baby with Hideaki's mussed hair and Kuri's bright turquoise eyes was laid gently in his arms. Tears ran freely down his face as he kissed the infant's blushing cheeks and rocked him slowly.

"He is perfect!" Kuri whispered, "I knew he would be like this."

"I call him Sora, as we wanted to," Hideaki explained, "You see, we are all right, Kuri. We are safe and we are waiting patiently while you live. But before you join us, you have important things to do. Please, return and help Tetsuya-kun to live."

"But…why?" Kuri asked, looking confused, "Why would you concern yourself with this boy you never knew in life?"

Hideaki smiled warmly.

"We are all connected," he assured Kuri, "and I promise you that if you help Tetsuya-kun, he will grow very strong, and the two of you will do great things in that world. I want that for you! Please Kuri, go back and care for him. It will bring only good things."

"I will," Kuri promised, "but, my love, just a little longer, let me hold you and our child!"

He wrapped his arms around Hideaki and the cheerfully babbling infant, breathing in their sweet scents and crying soundlessly.

"Please don't be sad, Kuri!" Hideaki pleaded, "We are okay. We must remain here because our lives have ended, but I told you we would wait for you!"

"I know. I know," Kuri whispered as his tears continued to fall, "I just miss you so much that it breaks my heart anew every day."

"You can always come back when you sleep," Hideaki reminded him, "But maybe shouldn't if it will only make you sad."

"Of course I will come and I will shed tears for you, my love," Kuri chided him, "You are always in my heart, and my heart aches for you. I will stay in that other world as I must, but I will miss you until I die and we are together again."

"Just please smile again, Kuri," Hideaki whispered, stroking his face and wiping his tears away, "Live a full life and…don't be afraid to love again."

Kuri stirred and groaned, opening one turquoise eye and glaring at the clock on the nightstand before abandoning the bed and returning to where Byakuya sat quietly at Tetsuya's side.

"You did not sleep for very long," the Kuchiki heir commented.

"It was enough," Kuri said dismissively, "Sleeping is difficult when a person's losses are too fresh in his mind."

"Have you sought assistance from a healer? Your sister, perhaps?"

"Pfft!" Kuri huffed, "They just like to try to get me to talk about what is bothering me. I know what bothers me, and I know Hideaki is dead and he's not coming back. I don't need therapy to tell me what I already know, and I will deal with it in my own way, Byakurai."

Byakuya gave him a look of disapproval as Kuri pulled his flask out and took a deep swallow.

"I am sorry for your loss," Byakuya said more quietly, "Hideaki was a kind, gentle person. More the kind that seems right for you. Not at all like my cousin you were almost forced to marry."

"Sasune," Kuri said in a low, angry voice, "I know it was an affront to your clan, Byakurai, but there was no way that I could bind myself to a horror like that man. And your other cousin, Orochi, doesn't seem much better."

Byakuya gave him a conspiratorial look and leaned towards him.

"Did you know? I heard from another cousin I am close to that Sasune is an illegitimate son of Isas, Orochi's father!"

"Where did you hear that?" Kuri chuckled, "It must be real, I'm sure. They are both repulsive!"

"I will not argue with that," Byakuya sighed, "I am certainly not letting Orochi near Tetsuya. There is no conclusive proof as yet, but I sensed Orochi's reiatsu on Tetsuya. I just couldn't sense the nature of the contact the two might have had. Did Tetsuya tell you anything during his escape?"

"No," Kuri admitted, "but there was no time for conversation. Things happened very quickly."

Byakuya observed the Shima leader silently for a moment, watching as Kuri took another swallow from his flask and offered it to the Kuchiki heir. Byakuya hesitated for a moment, then took a sip and handed the flask back.

"The council was not pleased that I only informed them after the rescue," Byakuya confessed, "But to have said anything before would have compromised our safety and that of the prisoners."

"As it was, we lost a few, and your healer told me that some more have died."

"Yes," Byakuya sighed, "It was important to get the mixed blood prisoners out, but it is also disturbing that they are still imperiled, both by their illness and injuries, and that even overcoming that, they still face an uphill battle to prove their case to the elders."

"Forget proving anything," Kuri huffed, looking down at Tetsuya, "We need to keep them alive…and we need to protect them."

Byakuya considered his words carefully.

"I have been concerned about Tetsuya's protection," he said, after a few minutes, "I am taking on more responsibilities and I am not sure I can offer Tetsuya and his child proper protection. Tetsuya trusts you, and from what I see, you have become invested in his progress. That being said, I wish to ask you a favor."

"What do you want me to do?" Kuri inquired, frowning.

"Koji and Torio already know to keep Orochi and the elders away from Tetsuya, and they will manage that. What I would ask you for is assistance in helping Tetsuya to adjust. When he wakes, he will awaken to a world that he has had no contact with during his life. He will need Koji and you to help him adjust. Many things will be confusing for him. You know from marrying a peasant that Hideaki had a period of adjustment, and he depended on you for that."

"Yes," Kuri affirmed, "And Byakurai, I will help him, of course."

"And the baby as well?"

"Yes," Kuri promised, "It is comforting to be able to hold him and care for him. I know he is not mine, but…"

"He may become yours if Tetsuya does not survive," Byakuya said softly.

"What?" Kuri mused, giving him a surprised look, "You mean…you would…?"

"Tetsuya's instructions were clear. Should he die, he wants you to raise his child. I will honor that…unless you do not want that responsibility."

"I will not need to raise the child," Kuri said, shaking his head, "Tetsu-hana will survive…but if he did not, I would take the child in and raise him. But, Byakurai, you look as though there is more in your decision than it being your cousin's will."

"There is," Byakuya confessed wearily, "Kuri, I fear that without your protection, Tetsuya's child would be in constant danger from the ones who still support the poor treatment of mixed blood family members."

"You are saying that someone from your family would kill that lovely child?"

"Yes," Byakuya affirmed, "That is exactly what I am saying."