Everlasting Bloom
By Spunky0ne
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Another dream-fic for enthusiastic Ichi/Bya fans to thank you for your continuous love and support. Thanks also to Shima-Taicho31 for letting me borrow her OC, Kurushimi and his family. Couldn't do it without all of you. This request was for a story similar to my Ren/Bya story, Unscattered, where Byakuya disappears and is sensed years later in the most unexpected of places. Desperate to learn if the rumors of Byakuya's presence in the low Rukongai are true, Ichigo rushes to Inuzuri, where he finds something shocking and possibly deadly. Enjoy! Love you, Spunky
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Chapter 1: Broken Charm
A long black shadow crept in through the open garden doors of Kuchiki Byakuya's bedroom and fell across the moonlit bed, the change in lighting the only warning he received before a warm body pounced onto his and a strong hand covered his mouth before he could object. The invader's head dipped for a moment, his lips smiling and laying soft kisses along the fine skin of the piqued noble's graceful throat. Byakuya loosed a soft, moaning sigh of surrender and the hand fell away from his mouth.
"Ichigo..." Byakuya whispered, his grey eyes locking on his lover's powerful golden brown orbs, "Ichigo, I told you not to come."
"I know," Ichigo answered, frowning at him, "I heard you, and I knew that's not what you want. That's not what either of us want. You tried to pretend it was the best thing, and that you were okay with it...but I know you, Byakuya. I know when you're lying to me."
"I'm not lying!" Byakuya hissed, his head tilting back despite his objection, and his white flesh blushing as Ichigo's mouth bit down voraciously on a pale shoulder, then crawled along a fine collarbone, sliding down over a sculpted breast, pausing to tease a shamelessly erect, pink nipple until sweat broke out on his lovely boyfriend's forehead and throat.
"Ichigo, stop! You must stop now!" he pleaded, closing his eyes against the rising heat in his loins, "I can't let you make love to me. If you...mmmph...if you impregnate me...!"
"I won't," Ichigo resolved, slipping a silver charm around Byakuya's slender neck, "but I have to be with you. C'mon, Byakuya, admit that you want to be with me too."
"Ah!" Byakuya gasped as Ichigo's hand sought his hungry nether region, caressing and stroking until Byakuya's objections faded and he fell onto his back, "Oh...o-oh...Ichigo...anata please!"
"No way," Ichigo breathed hotly in his ear, making Byakuya's breath catch, then stealing it away again with a torrid, scathing kiss, "I'm not letting you get away from me this time. We're going to go all the way!"
He pinned the shocked noble on his back, looking up into the Shiba heir's commanding eyes and reeling under his unrelenting reiatsu.
"I cannot defy the rules of succession, Ichigo!" Byakuya argued, "I promised to follow the rules of the clan!"
"Yeah? Well, I never did," Ichigo said saucily, running his blazing tongue over Byakuya's lips and plunging deeply into his mouth, savoring it before continuing, "I wanna be with you. I'm going to be with you."
"And damned be the rules, or anything I might want?" Byakuya chided him.
"I have everything you need, Byakuya," Ichigo said, holding him tightly in place and sliding his fingers down Byakuya's heavily sweating torso, "I have all that you want."
"I told you what I want!" Byakuya scolded him, his back arching reflexively as his lover's fingers began a slow, purposeful preparation.
"Liar!" Ichigo accused him, "That isn't what you want. It's what you think you have to do. This is what you want! If you can't be honest with me, at least admit it to yourself!"
But if I do...if I let you convince me to defy them, we will pay an unthinkable price!
"Ichigo, please listen to me. I...!"
Byakuya gasped and arched his back again as Ichigo's deft fingers found the center of pleasure deep inside him and stimulated the area teasingly, making speech and even clear thought, impossible.
"Ichigo...f-for the love of kami, ICHIGO!"
The Shiba heir's hot, insistent mouth replaced his fingers, and his tongue teased Byakuya cruelly as the spellbound Kuchiki leader tried desperately to recover himself. He writhed uncontrollably under Ichigo's dominating ministrations, panting hard enough to leave him seeing stars and knowing already the inevitable conclusion.
"Ichigo!" he whispered a last time, spreading his creamy thighs and letting out a long, ragged sigh of submission.
Byakuya's impetuous lover knew better than to hesitate. He positioned himself swiftly and sank deeply into Byakuya's surrendered body, making his jaw clench and his eyes close tightly, refusing to look as he was roughly taken. Pale, slender hands clutched at Ichigo's shoulders and small sounds of mingled pain and pleasure escaped him as Ichigo paused for a few seconds to let him breathe, then began a barrage of heavy, insistent undulations.
Byakuya's objections faded and he plunged headlong into a heady exchange of seething kisses and wild thrusts. For a moment, he forgot everything but how right it felt to share that closeness with this one he loved, and how much he didn't want it to end. Ichigo smiled as he sensed Byakuya's capitulation, and he poured all of his affections into every warm caress and deep, penetrating movement. He was rewarded with the lower, more erotic sounds of Byakuya's intensifying pleasure, then a moan of bliss as he gave in to the heavy shudders of a powerful climax. And the beauty of seeing his lover that way, and feeling the truth of what was between them sent Ichigo also tumbling headlong into a violent release.
The two went still, panting softly and exchanging gentler kisses as they slowly recovered. Gradually, their riled bodies calmed, and Ichigo dropped off to sleep, still deeply engaged in his lover's body.
Byakuya remained awake after Ichigo slept, his troubled grey eyes gazing up at the ceiling, and his heart in disarray at having let himself fall victim again to Ichigo's irresistible lure.
How did I let myself do this?
And why?
I didn't know it was possible to love someone so much. Yes, I love Ichigo passionately and completely. But this simply can't be, and we both know it. As much as we wish to be together, the rules of our houses are clear. Marriages between heirs and leaders are forbidden because they blur the lines between houses. Ichigo and I will be required to wed others who are not either. There is no room for negotiation on that point. It is meant to avoid one clan simply swallowing up another, and it is punishable by imprisonment and lowering of both clans' status.
"You're feeling bad about letting me make love to you, aren't you?" Ichigo asked suddenly, making Byakuya's eyes widen and his breath catch, "You shouldn't."
"What do you mean?" Byakuya countered wearily, "You know the rules, Ichigo. I know your father explained to you. You are an heir. You can't be with another clan's heir or leader. It's that way..."
"I know," Ichigo said, stopping him, "And I don't care."
Byakuya gave him a heartbroken smile.
"And I love you even more for that," he whispered, kissing Ichigo's frowning lips, then pulling free of him, "But we are subject to the rules, whether or not we like them."
"Damn it, Byakuya, don't do that!" Ichigo fumed, "Don't lie to me like you really accept this! I know you're head over heels in love with me, and you shouldn't be pushing me away, you should be fighting for us!"
"At the expense of our families, Ichigo?" Byakuya asked softly, "Your family is rising out of banishment and mine clings to its place atop the great clans because I have made a commitment to obey the rules. If I choose to fight this one, we could be together, but we would jeopardize our hold on those places. And if another clan steals dominance in Central 46, such things as the growing tolerance for powerful mixed bloods like Tetsuya in the families and the inclusion of commoners adopted into families as Rukia was could disappear! My father and grandfather strove for years to grow that tolerance, and to fight the poor treatment of those groups."
"I hear what you're saying," Ichigo sighed, "but I think you have to take chances for some things. You have to be willing to fight for the things like this that matter the most. It seems like you want to give this up without a fight!"
"I don't want to," Byakuya explained, "but I feel I have to. Ichigo, as much as I do love you, I cannot break the rules again and marry you. We can't have children together."
"Byakuya!"
"You...are young and you have so many close friends. I am sure that you will..."
"Don't go there, Byakuya," Ichigo said warningly, "Don't say it."
Byakuya went silent, his devastated eyes locked on Ichigo and speaking louder than words.
"So, that's it then? You're breaking up with me?"
Byakuya's head bowed and he found himself unable to answer.
"Go ahead and say it. It's what you're telling me, isn't it?" Ichigo demanded, climbing out of the bed and dressing hastily.
"Ichigo, please don't be angry with me."
"How the hell am I not supposed to be angry? You're dumping me!"
"No! I told you..."
"Enough already! I'm tired of excuses. I'm tired of you using your obligations to push me away. Fine, you want me out, I'm out."
"Why does it have to be all or nothing?" Byakuya asked, keeping his eyes carefully lowered, "We've been friends for a long time now..."
"I can't just be friends with you!" exclaimed Ichigo, turning his back, "You see how I am when I'm around you. And I'm tired of having you give in to me, then push me away. It kills me when you do this!"
"Do you think I'm suffering any less than you?" Byakuya argued.
"Then say dick to them and marry me! I'll give up being heir if that makes it work for you. I didn't want to be heir in the first place!"
"But that is your place. You are the most powerful heir in your clan's history, as I am the most powerful leader in mine."
"I said it's enough. I get it," Ichigo said coldly, "Fine, have it your way. I'm leaving."
"Ichigo..."
Byakuya stiffened and closed his eyes against the powerful, gripping pain that swelled in his chest as his lover's flash step sounded and Ichigo disappeared from his room. He swallowed hard, the silence sounding deafening in his ears as he felt the icy barbs of Ichigo's intense anger.
Exiting the bed, Byakuya retrieved his wrinkled yukata and wrapped it around his slender body, then he left his room and walked out into the gardens. The cold sent shivers through him, but he followed the darkened path through the growths of flowers and sakura and plum trees. He reached a secluded place, where the moon shone through the tree branches, lighting the path of the tears that escaped onto his face. He looked up into the sky, letting the moon's lovely light fill the emptiness that had opened up inside him.
I've been alone before.
I can manage.
But he didn't remember ever feeling such a weight on his heart before. He ached badly inside, even while being comforted by the beauty around him.
It's because Ichigo has a beauty that is crushing to lose. Why does he have to be so adamant that it's all or nothing? Why can't we go back to being friends like we were?
"Are you all right, cousin?" asked a thin, sarcastic voice, "You look like you're about to freeze to death."
Byakuya turned on the man, who was dressed in black leather that matched his deep black eyes.
"Orochi, what are you doing here? You don't have permission to be here."
"Just passing through," his cousin said casually, "and I felt your breaking heart. Is there anything I can do?"
"I don't know how you got past Tetsuya and Arashi, but I want you to leave!" Byakuya said stiffly.
"I don't think so," Orochi answered, closing in on him.
Byakuya started to raise his reiatsu warningly, only to find that something blocked his use of power.
"What is this, you bastard? What have you done?" Byakuya demanded.
"Only what needs to be done," Orochi said, raising his own reiatsu and drawing his sword, "You've stepped over the lines and gone out of bounds so many times, you can no longer be trusted to put the needs of the clan first. Some of us find that unacceptable, and I was chosen to put an end to you."
"What did you do to Tetsuya!" Byakuya shouted, reeling as his cousin's power wrapped around them, locking them in and keeping the sound of their voices from reaching the nearby guards, "Answer me!"
"I don't answer to rule breaking, peasant loving fools like you," Orochi said coldly, increasing the force of his reiatsu until it began to suffocate Byakuya.
Knowing better than to wait anymore, Byakuya launched himself forward, grabbing Orochi's weapon to hold it at bay as he threw his weight against his cousin's and grappled for control of his weapon.
"You can't win," Orochi mocked him, kicking him in the abdomen and sending him crashing to the ground.
He moved forward slowly, holding his sword ready and making a sound of disapproval.
"You really are pathetic."
"You are not going to get away with this!" Byakuya snapped.
"Of course I am," Orochi said calmly, closing in on him again and suddenly slashing at him.
Byakuya put his fingertips to his stinging cheek, and they came away with blood leaked onto them.
"You don't understand, do you?" Orochi went on, "You're an embarrassment. That's why I'll be able to get away with killing you. But...don't worry about Tetsuya. I won't kill him. I have other plans for him. Now, it is time to put an end to you. Don't worry, I'll make it fast."
He paused, frowning as he noticed the silver charm at Byakuya's throat.
"What is this?" Orochi snickered, "A broken charm? Maybe I shouldn't kill you after all. Maybe I should let the elders see how you've broken the rules, yet again. You won't have a single supporter left, and you know it!"
Byakuya stared in dismay at the broken charm, forgetting for a moment the danger in front of him. Orochi took that moment of distraction to slash at him again, then he made a sound of frustration as Byakuya somehow moved quickly enough to evade the strike, and shoved the blade aside, striking the heavy barrier.
"You are only delaying the inevitable," Orochi chided him, swinging his sword again.
But again, Byakuya evaded his strike, capturing his weapon for long enough to make it strike the barrier. This time, the barrier shattered, and Byakuya called for the house guards.
"They won't come," Orochi warned him, "Did you think I would come here alone? Face it, Byakuya, you are going to die. I am going to kill you, then give this clan the leader it needs!"
Byakuya tried again to summon his powers, but found he had only his flash step. He engaged it immediately, fleeing through the gardens and out into the forest, with Orochi following swiftly and hurling kido blasts after him.
What in kami's name did he do to Tetsuya and the house guards?
A kido blast erupted near his feet, throwing him roughly to the ground. He was on his feet again instantly and flash stepping wildly, barely evading his cousin's strikes as he neared a rushing river that drained out of a nearby lake and into the Rukongai.
I don't think there's any other way to escape him, Byakuya realized.
His heart pounded furiously in his chest as he reached the edge of a cliff over the river, and another kido blast sent him plummeting over the edge. Byakuya crashed down into the rushing water, luckily missing a number of rocks as he landed, but then getting sucked into the current and carried away. He struck his head on something and spotted little trails of blood in the water around him. His vision dimmed and he tried desperately to reach the shore as his consciousness faded.
Byakuya encountered a fleeting vision of the life he wished he had with Ichigo...a home filled with ginger-haired children, years together, watching them grow...even eventually growing old together and walking in the calm gardens.
I wish it could have been that way for us.
I wish it wouldn't end like this.
Byakuya was grateful at how numbness took over his body and both the physical and emotional agony faded as everything around him darkened. He made his lips move one more time, whispering Ichigo's name into the riled water, then the darkness closed in all around him, and everything went black.
