The Pact

Uryuu glanced around as much as he possibly could while he and Nyx made their way to where Ryuuken was being held. He thought it might be a good idea to have the lay of the place just in case something really bad happened and he had to make a break for it. Not that he had any idea where he could go if that happened but it was better than being a sitting duck considering the circumstances.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to let me do the talking, Uryuu,” Nyx said apologetically. “The guards may or may not listen to me anyway but they’d certainly never listen to a man.”

Uryuu nodded. “I understand. I have questions when we finish this.”

“I’ll answer them if I can. I may not have all of the information though. At the moment we’re only going on hunches and theories.”

Uryuu nodded and they heard voices as they came to the side of a very solid looking building. Nyx held one hand up and Uryuu understood that they needed to be quiet for a moment. She cocked her head a little, listening closely to the conversation going on around the corner.

“Why is it they’re the only ones who get a shot at the Quincy,” one voice said, sounding annoyed.

A soft chuckle came from the other person. “Because, initially Desaria fought and won that right.”

“Yeah, for her not the Commander.”

“Are you saying that you’d fight the Commander for the right to one of them?”

“Oh, sweet, merciful Goddess, NO! Not on a dare! That woman is dangerous on more levels than I care to think about. Still, it might be worth the broken bones she’d give me. The Captain of the guard that brought them in says the younger Quincy is more beautiful than most women she’s seen. She also said you could definitely tell that he and Amaterasu were siblings, even if only half.”

“Hardly surprising. Desaria always said that Amaterasu looked like her father and if the younger Quincy looks anything like his father, he has to be stunning.”

Uryuu made a noise of supreme disgust behind Nyx, who glanced over her shoulder at him and shrugged.

“Oh, gods, yes! Hmmm, speaking of the oh so delicious Daddy, isn’t it time we checked on him again?”

“We did not more than a few minutes ago.”

“Yes. But that always bears repeating as much as possible. I wonder if we could manage to play with him a bit and get away with it.”

Uryuu blinked and his brows drew down in confusion. Nyx had been standing in front of him a second ago and she was gone now. He had a good idea as to where she had gone upon hearing the startled squawk from both of the guards and Nyx’s voice, sounding utterly furious. He peeked around the corner of the building to see Nyx holding both women against the wall by their throats.

“Tell me I did not just hear you even jokingly suggest molesting someone who is chained down and defenseless,” Nyx said, glaring at them as though she’d like the two guards to burst into flame.

“C . . .C . . . Commander, I meant no harm by it,” one of them stammered in obvious terror.

“To even think something like that makes you worse than 99% of the men in the outside world,” Nyx growled. “Now, since I obviously can’t trust either of you, you will find a more appropriate cell for him and get his clothing.”

“B . . . but Commander, the Council . . . they said . . .”

“His powers have been sealed, I see no reason to keep him as he is,” Nyx said, letting them down and releasing them. “I’m going to let his son see him and check for any injuries. Give me the keys.”

“But Commander . . .”

Nyx glared at them and one handed over the keys to Ryuuken’s cell. “Good. Didn’t I just give you orders?”

“Yes, Commander.”

“I meant now!” Nyx said, sending the two guards scrambling to do her bidding. “Come along, Uryuu.”

Uryuu moved cautiously around the corner, only catching a glimpse of the retreating backs of the guards. He came over to stand next to Nyx as she puzzled out exactly which of the keys went to the lock. She glanced up at him and smiled a little.

“Well, that certainly worked out better than I had expected,” she said, finally finding the right key. “Now if we can get your father to cooperate.”

She pushed the door open to the cell, hand tightening on the keys to the point her knuckles went white. She tamped down the anger that had risen in her. How dare they treat someone in this manner.

Ryuuken’s eyes lifted to look at the woman in front of him. “Nyx Tokarev, I must presume.”

Nyx looked taken aback for a moment. “How do you know who I am?”

“We’ve met before, ages ago when you were still a child and I’ve seen photographs of you recently. Eldest daughter of Sergei Tokarev, who is a former KGB agent as well as a Russian mafia enforcer and who is currently the beta to the Volos clan leader.”

“I see you know my father quite well,” Nyx said, moving to one side and again searching through the keys for the locks on Ryuuken’s manacles. “You must be the doctor he called in to keep an eye on the Alpha while she was pregnant.”

“I was.”

“Figures,” Nyx said with a laugh, finally finding the right key.

“What exactly figures?”

“Da said you were one of the best and a colossal ass for it.”

“Your father hardly has room to accuse anyone else of being an ass,” Ryuuken said, glancing to where Uryuu was leaning against the doorframe.

“Yes, well it takes one to know one, I suppose,” Nyx said, getting the last of the restraints off of Ryuuken. She quickly outlined what they thought was going on to him as he sat rubbing his arms and legs to get some of the feeling to return to them.

Ryuuken looked at the woman standing in front of him thoughtfully. It was very much like looking at female version of Sergei Tokarev. Not in any real physical sense other than her coloring because Tokarev was a very big man and his daughter was quite petite. But they did have the same presence, that very strong energy that made it very clear they would follow up on any threat made. She really hadn’t changed much since he’d last seen her at Uryuu’s baby blessing all those years ago. The attitude was certainly the same. She had strode up to the priest who was holding him, looked the baby over thoroughly then turned to her mother and said, “I guess he’ll have to do if this is the last one.” Isshin had laughed himself to tears despite his wife’s complete mortification and attempts to silence him.

Political ties and his wanting to strangle her mother aside, he thought she might indeed be a good match for Uryuu. Maybe. In a couple of years. After he grew a set of balls or at very least let the boys drop. Because he doubted very much that Nyx would stand for Uryuu’s sometimes childish rants about Quincy pride and deliberate misunderstanding of certain things. Yes, this might not be such a bad idea after all.

***

“Would you care to tell me why I should get involved in this matter?” Byakuya asked, shuffling through the paperwork on his desk and not bothering to look up at his sister.

“Because Renji is your second and as such he is technically under your guidance and protection,” Rukia said, sounding utterly exasperated.

“At what point in time has Abari ever given himself over to mine or anyone else’s guidance?”

Rukia paused for a moment since Byakuya did have a valid point in saying that.

“Be that as it may, we can’t just leave him there,” Rukia said. “You know what the Amazon are capable of and he’s certain to annoy at least one of them to the point of wanting to kill him.”

“He annoys me to the point of wanting to kill him,” Byakuya mumbled under his breath. “His return is being negotiated as we speak by Juuyshiro so I see no reason to be drawn into this matter personally.”