Pillars of Sanctuary, a KougaxMuramasa fic

Bleach is not mine. Seriously.

A/N: Yaoi, does not synch up completely with filler anime arc. There's the obvious manxman thing going here, but the theme is more friendship, warmth, and hurt/comfort.

Update: I've decided to create a mini-universe / series for this. You're looking at 'Pillars of Sanctuary', which will cover Kouga-Muramasa friendship. It's accompanied by 'Pillars of Decadence', which is the more mature progression of the relationship. If you aren't into lemons, stay with PoS (this one) - they are interlinked but will be summarized if you don't want one or the other so you don't lose the storyline. If there is one. LOL.

For a zanpaktou spirit that literally lived to control other spirits, Muramasa was surprisingly submissive. First, there was the complete submission to his instincts, the ones that told him that in the great zanpaktou pecking order, he was at the top — wasn't that why Soul Society feared him so?

Then there was the deep devotion he had to Kouga. Whenever he summoned Muramasa, the spirit would break free of the inner world and come into the real world. Those were his favorite moments — it gave him the freedom to kill, to strike down Kouga's enemies. His enemies. They were one and the same — anything that caused Kouga pain was something that needed to be eliminated.

So when Kouga stepped inside the inner world, seething with rage after dispatching those rogue shinigami and being scolded for having such extraordinary power, Muramasa knew what was required.

Those lonely pillars stood all around them, with the water floating along peacefully. Muramasa tried to offer a small smile to his master. "Kouga...your heart."

"...Is filled with nothing but anger for them. How can they do that to me? How can they...after all I have given up...after everything I have done for them..." His voice started out strong and cracked later.

Muramasa faded away and reappeared onto the wide pillar Kouga was standing on. He widened it and offered Kouga a place to rest. Kouga complied, slightly confused by the whispering spirit. When Muramasa sat on the other edge and pulled Kouga to lay against him as a makeshift bed, Kouga whispered quietly, carefully: "What are you doing, Muramasa?"

A light drag of the hand with its long claw-like nails was the only indication Muramasa had heard him. "Maybe you need to understand more about the nature between a Shinigami and their zanpaktou. I am perpetually devoted to you, Kouga. Anything you need...I will provide it for you if it is in my power to do so." The clawed-hand grazed Kouga's face for a moment.

Arms that could only reach out in this world cradled Kouga to him, and ears that picked up the stresses of the heart caught the silent tears that pride wouldn't let come out. "I can't. I hate this. I hate the way they're treating me!"

Muramasa gently traced the kenseikan in Kouga's hair, listening quietly. "Kouga, you are beautiful, strong, and your eyes see much. Your fighting skills make you the envy of Soul Society. I worry they will attempt to take you from me."

Kouga raised an eyebrow at the way Muramasa was touching him. Gently, carefully — it aggravated a part of him that didn't want to admit he could use the comfort.

"I don't need you to console me. I don't need anyone." the words felt hollow and Kouga sighed. "I..."

Muramasa shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's okay. I understand."

As time passed in the inner world, Kouga became less aggravated and more comforted by the embrace his zanpaktou spirit offered so freely.

Muramasa simply continued to loyally hold him close, happy to be useful. He reflected on his release command — whisper. Could he whisper anything that would bring Kouga out of this depression and anger?

"Kouga."

The man looked up at the manifestation of the powerful blade. "What? What is it?"

Muramasa stroked his hair gently. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Kouga thought long and hard for a moment — in the inner world, he could do anything, have anything. He trusted that much. But could he really ask for more right now? He would take things slowly.

He brought his face close to Muramasa's for a moment, taking in the thick brownish purple lines around the spirit's eyes. He cupped that face gently and kissed him carefully on the lips, trying to leave out as much passion as he could. One step at a time.

Muramasa reacted as expected, closing his eyes and letting a slight smile play on his face. The clawed fingers teased Kouga's arms and his then his back, exploring.

Kouga stepped back, breaking the kiss. "We can start there. That was...nice. I wasn't rejected."

Muramasa held onto Kouga and closed his eyes, knowing their time in this world was going to be cut short soon. Kouga couldn't afford to be lost in his thoughts for long, not with so many plotting against him.

"I will never reject you, Kouga. Never."

It was a simple sentence, but it brought Kouga a little peace, if only for the moment.

—-

A/N: The end? I'm not sure yet — I wrote this as a quickwrite because I couldn't sleep, and I just watched eps 250 & 251 again. Yes, it veers off from the filler eps a bit, considering the events in 251 (poor Mura!)

I was challenged to write fluff - this is as fluff as a cat/mouse writer is gonna get, I think. And of course, it morphed into a series. Meh. I knew that was going to happen - I'm incapable of writing oneshots.

I decided to divide this series in half - you're looking at the friendship side. If you want more of the lemon/relationshippy stuff, you'll want 'Pillars of Decadence'. Just click my name and check it out if you like.

If you want to dig more into my brain, you will want to hit up my LJ - marisaserise . livejournal . com - feel free to add me as a friend. :) Yes, I am a self promoting machine - you didn't know? *winks* I AM a marketer for a living, you know...