A/N: Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and faved (in particular a few folks from the EHRC, who are being *extremely* tolerant of me messing around with other categories; you guys are the best!~) I was delighted with the reception received by the first chapter, and I hope this story continues to meet (and hopefully exceed) expectations.
Note on Terminology: Although I will not be scattering this work with random Japanese phrases, I will be using the terms Taichou/Captain and Fukutaichou/Lieutenant/Vice-Captain interchangeably, just because I think one will occasionally sound better in context than the other. Also, I will be be using the phonetic '-ou' spellings for most names and terms - please don't harass me about accent marks! (They never translate correctly anyway.)
WARNINGS for this chapter are, I believe, limited to allusions to underage prostitution/sex and mild profanity.
RED DUTY, BLACK HONOR
Chapter 2: Marks
"About earlier - "
The words came abruptly out of a half-hour stretch of silence, and startled Renji badly enough that he spilled the tea he'd been drinking down the front of his kosode. "Ow, shit! Ah, I'm sorry, sir, what were you saying?"
Still sitting in his picture-perfect seiza, Byakuya very calmly passed a napkin across the table, and Renji dabbed apologetically at the tea on his uniform.
"During our... argument... earlier, you mentioned something that I would... like clarified."
The uncharacteristic hesitation in his captain's voice was enough to give Renji pause. Very slowly, he stopped blotting and set the napkin aside. " 'You weren't the one who gave up your goddamn body to some bastard in the streets just to keep her safe'?"
Byakuya nodded slightly. "If you do not wish to discuss the matter, I will not press it. However..."
Renji sighed, tipped his head back and closed his eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was dull, toneless. "It's all right, sir. It was a long time ago.
"We were still kids, half-starved, freezing in the streets. Rukia found a food merchant who wasn't paying close attention, and we took everything we could carry from him, just to keep from starving. But he was paying more attention than we'd thought, and he grabbed Rukia. I knew what he would have done to her, so I offered myself instead. He didn't refuse, and I... couldn't."
Was it his imagination, or had he heard a gasp from the other side of the table? He shrugged it off, keeping his eyes closed, trying not to remember. "It got easier, after the first time."
"After the -"
The shock, the utter dismay in his captain's voice, prompted Renji to open his eyes again. He caught the mercurial gaze over the narrow distance of the table, over the tremendous distance of their histories, and allowed himself a bitter smile. "It was Rukongai, sir. You do what you have to, in order to survive. I was young, attractive, healthy. That was enough."
The horror in Byakuya's eyes didn't lessen, and after a few seconds more, Renji was forced to turn his gaze away and close his eyes again. "It kept us fed. It kept the others protected. That was all I needed to know."
"Renji, I -" the deep voice trailed off, uncertain, and Renji opened his eyes again to glare at his captain.
"Don't pity me, dammit. It's not like I'm the only one - ask Yumi, ask Shuuhei, hell, any of us Rukongai brats. You'll probably get the same story. Like I said; you do what you have to in order to survive."
"Do not mistake admiration for pity, Abarai," came the sharp retort, and Renji stared, incredulous. Admiration? From Kuchiki Byakuya?? "Clearly, you came through such appalling circumstances with exceptional strength of mind and character. I would not presume to deny that by pitying you."
There was another long pause, tense and uncomfortable, before Byakuya spoke again. "I must ask, did Rukia...?"
Renji snorted. "Hell, no. She's as pure as her Zanpakutou. She was always... too good for that sort of thing."
"I said I do not pity you, Renji, and I will not. However, I never again wish to hear you imply that you are any less deserving of respect than Rukia is."
"Yes - I mean, no, sir," Renji answered, feeling rather off-balance. He'd never discussed his history with his captain, not like this. And he'd certainly never expected Kuchiki Byakuya, of all people, to say he admired Renji for having suffered a history as a child whore.
The next few moments passed with no sound beyond the whisper of fabric and the clink of their teacups, but it was a comfortable silence, this time. It was, again, Byakuya who broke it.
"We are indebted to you."
Renji started again, but his cup was nearly empty this time, and he managed to keep from spilling it. "Who's 'we'?"
A slight gesture of one slender hand somehow managed to encompass not only the austerely elegant room they were in, but the entire mansion that surrounded them. "The Kuchiki clan as a whole, and myself in particular. For your defense of Rukia," he added, seeing Renji's questioning look. "Although I had not realized it before today, I owe you a great debt in her honor."
"Forget it," Renji answered tersely. "We protect one another. Like I said, she's a sister to me, too. She - and you - don't owe me anything."
"A noble's debt is not so easily dismissed."
"Fine," Renji sighed, exasperation getting the better of him. "You wanna repay me? Lend me a kosode for the night. Mine's still soaked with tea."
It was a little tight in the shoulders, which wasn't unexpected. It was Byakuya's, after all, and the man was considerably smaller-framed than his lieutenant. Still, it would be quite sufficient for Renji to journey home in.
"Thanks," he offered, grinning sheepishly, as he tucked the trailing hem into his hakama and jerked the ties tight again.
Byakuya didn't answer; he was still regarding Renji with an oddly contemplative expression, one he'd first gained when the other man had unselfconsciously stripped off his tea-soaked kosode and juban, the stark blackness of his tattoos rich against his golden skin.
"Somethin' wrong, taichou?"
"No, nothing. Are all of your marks truly from your Zanpakutou?"
"Eh, yeah. Zabimaru brands 'em on me whenever I reach a new stage in my training. They about doubled when I reached Bankai."
Byakuya nodded slowly, thoughts moving behind his eyes. "I assume you are not aware that only a very few Shinigami ever have the honor of being marked by their Zanpakutou?"
Renji blinked. He hadn't been, actually. Quite frankly, he'd assumed that the marks were something unique to himself and Zabimaru, particularly since the nue had similar patterns in his fur.
"In fact, you are only the fourth current Shinigami I am aware of to bear a mark of favor such as that - and yours is by far the most extensive."
Renji sent a wordless question at Zabimaru and received only a grunt in response; the nue was soundly asleep and had no intentions of waking for something as unimportant as a lecture on Zanpakutou lore.
"Who are the other three?" he asked, genuinely curious, when it was clear the information wouldn't be volunteered by either party.
"Captain Ukitake - he has twin fish, marked on his hips, Captain Kyouraku, whom I believe has a two-headed dragon across his shoulders, and... myself."
"You, captain?!"
An upward twitch of the lips - Byakuya's equivalent of a smile - danced across that elegant mouth for a second. Turning his back to Renji, the noble quietly untucked his kosode and juban and slipped them off, leaving his back bare to Renji's eyes.
Byakuya's skin was not flawless, as some might have assumed. He was an active Shinigami; he had scars. The old ones, delicate silver lines, were almost invisible, but the newer ones, the ones sustained during the War, were still pink-edged, standing out in sharp relief against his alabaster skin.
Renji's eyes skipped across the spiderweb-pattern of scarring on his captain's shoulder, following the silken ripple of muscle down, tracing the curvature of the spine, and it was then that he saw Senbonzakura's mark.
It was wrought entirely in shades of silver and pink, almost vanishing into Byakuya's skin. The delicate, unbelievably intricate tracing of a cherry tree in full bloom was spread across the small of Byakuya's back, the roots dipping below the waistband of his hakama, the highest edges of the branches ending only a few inches below his shoulder blades. It was exquisite.
"Captain, that's.... it's beautiful," Renji whispered, moving forward, dreamlike, on his knees behind the other man, so that he could better see the artistry displayed on his captain's skin.
"Senbonzakura thanks you for the compliment," came the answer, shaded with something like amusement. Byakuya was still facing away from him, bare skin laid tantalizingly within reach...
Zabimaru hissed in his mind. Abruptly conscious of himself, Renji jerked back, pulling away fingers that had been a bare inch from brushing his captain's back. Scrambling backwards on his knees, he returned to the other side of the table, trying to slow his breathing. What the hell had he ben thinking? First shouting at his captain in full view of the squad, then now....
Biting his tongue to stifle a groan, Renji dropped his head in a deep bow, letting the respectful gesture keep him away from his Captain's too-perceptive gaze.
"Thank you, sir, for this evening and allowing me the honor of seeing your mark. And... I should... be getting home, I think."
"As you wish," Byakuya replied evenly, sliding his kosode loosely back over his shoulders. "And I will see you in the morning, fukutaichou."
"Hai, captain!" Flashing the man a jaunty salute, Renji grinned, slipped politely out the door - and then fled, as fast as his shunpo would take him.
"You shouldn't tease the boy like that, Byakuya-sama," Senbonzakura chided from the back of his mind. "One of these days, he will best you."
"I know," Byakuya replied, settling himself back at the table to finish his tea. "There has never been a moment when I have doubted it."
"Oh! Good afternoon, Ukitake-taichou! You're looking much better."
"Given that when you saw me yesterday I was being hauled bodily out of my office by the Fourth squad, I would rather hope I'm looking better," the captain answered dryly, but the sarcasm was softened with a smile. "How are you, Abarai-fukutaichou?"
"Fine, thanks." A bit hesitantly, Renji fell in step beside the older man, swinging the bag containing his lunch aimlessly at his side while turning the question over and over in his mind. Of course, Ukitake was the one to ask - Kyouraku would just wave a sake bottle at him rather than answering - but it was a somewhat impertinent and very personal thing to simply ask outright....
"Did you have a question, Renji?"
Damn it, how did the man do that?! "I'm that transparent, eh? I do, actually, but it's... kinda personal."
"In which case I reserve the right not to answer, but by all means, please ask."
"Thank you, sir. Is it true, that you have a Zanpakutou mark? Two fish?"
"Ah, so you've made up with Byakuya-kun!"
Renji blinked. Maybe it was a side effect of living so long, that allowed the man to jump to conclusions so quickly and so accurately? "Ah, yes, sir. He apologized and we came to terms last night.... I think."
"That's very good to hear, Renji. And yes, Sougyo no Kotowari was kind enough to mark me. As you said, twin fish. I take it, then, that Byakuya showed you his own mark? It is exquisite, is it not?"
"Yes, sir, it's amazing."
"You know, you caused quite a bit of consternation among the captains when it was revealed that your tattoos were Zanpakutou markings. Generally, only the most powerful captains in the Seireitei would bear marks, and yet you first began to gain yours in the Academy, correct?"
"Yes, sir." Only captains? "Kuchiki-taichou mentioned last night that yourself and Kyouraku-taichou were the only others he was aware of having marks."
"Oh, he's mistaken on that matter - Toushirou-kun and Retsu-san both have marks, not that I'd expect him to know that. Toushirou's marks are all snowflakes, quite lovely, really, though I wouldn't mention them to him. But, as I said - until you, it was only captains who ever bore Zanpakutou marks. It's an exceptional honor, you realize - a sign of incredible strength."
Kyouraku. Ukitake. Unohana. The three oldest and most powerful captains in the Soul Society, after Yamamoto himself. Hitsugaiya, the youngest captain in history. And Kuchiki Byakuya - the man Renji had always desired to surpass.
He was in very, very impressive company.
"I hadn't realized that, sir. Thank you."
"My pleasure. And now, I suppose we'd both best be getting back to our divisions; I have two half-panicked third seats to corral, and your lunch is probably getting cold."
The next week passed without incident.
Renji and Byakuya fell into a comfortable pattern of working, training, and talking. The revelation of Renji's history had evidently prompted Byakuya to reciprocate in kind, because Renji learned more over those few days about his captain than he'd ever imagined.
Byakuya was a surprisingly gifted storyteller; his dry, deadpan delivery and sardonic humor was enough to have Renji in fits of laughter on a daily basis. He would talk over their shared lunch, sharing little snippets of his past, and more than once Renji found himself reliving some incident of the noble's youth, generally involving Yoroichi and occasionally featuring guest appearances by Kyouraku's hat, Ukitake's library, or Sasikabe's tea set.
Exactly one week after their argument, a Captain's meeting kept Byakuya from the office for the morning, preempting their usual lunch session. Feeling bored and perhaps a bit lonely, Renji finished his paperwork quickly and met up with Shuuhei, Kira, and Matsumoto instead, hoping their company would distract him.
They were still in the middle of their meals when the messenger appeared.
"Wait, they want us to what?"
"When?!"
Patiently, the man repeated his message. "Lieutenants Abarai of the Sixth Division and Hisagi of the Ninth Division are to report to the Senkaimon tomorrow morning at 09.00 for a one-month training mission to Karakura Town, Human Realm."
"I suppose it hasn't occurred to you people that I have a squad to run? And a newspaper?!" Hisagi snapped, brandishing his chopsticks at the helmeted man as though tempted to be brandishing Kazeshini instead.
"It has been arranged for officers of the Eighth, Tenth, and Thirteenth to handle the affairs of your division while you are in Karakura, Hisagi-fukutaichou."
Raising an eyebrow, Hisagi turned to Matsumoto. "You know anything about this?"
"Hmm." Smiling around her sake cup, she leaned forward, batting her eyelashes. "Shuu-kun, how far are you from achieving Bankai?"
"Bankai?" Shuuhei repeated blankly. "Decades, I imagine. I never pursued it under Tousen, and I've barely had time to keep up my training since I took over the squad. What do you know that I don't?"
"Rangiku-san, you know how upset Hitsugaiya-taichou gets when you read his confidential papers. Particularly when you're reading them instead of your own," Kira scolded from across the table.
"Aw, you're no fun..."
"Does Kuchiki-taichou know about this?" Renji demanded of the messenger, who was doing a very good impression of waiting patiently for them to formally acknowledge the message so that he could leave.
"Hai, Abarai-fukutaichou. At the captain's meeting this morning, Kuchiki-taichou was one of the first to suggest it."
He... suggested it? A dull wave of shock crashed over him, leaving a tingling numbness in its wake. Renji could only stare silently at the messenger, barely aware of Shuuhei finally dismissing the man. He and Byakuya had been on such good terms since the night after the argument - was it only because it had taken this long for his captain to arrange for him to be shipped out? Was this a punishment? Why else would he be sent to the Human World for a month, so soon after their argument?
Barely acknowledging the others, Renji paid for his portion of the meal and headed back to the Sixth as quickly as Shunpo would take him.
"Sir, have I done something wrong?"
"By all means, Abarai-fukutaichou, come in." The words were dripping sarcasm, which Renji ignored, throwing himself to the floor on his knees. It was rare that Kuchiki-taichou used his private office in the barracks - he generally shared the secondary office with Renji - and he certainly wouldn't appreciate Renji barging in on him like this. However, it was unavoidable. Renji needed answers.
"My apologies, Kuchiki-taichou, but I received word while you were at the captain's meeting -"
"That you were being assigned to a month-long training mission in Karakura. This is correct, and please be assured it is no cause for alarm."
"No cause for -"
"You are being assigned, at my suggestion, to help Hisagi Shuuhei achieve Bankai." When Renji didn't respond, he glanced up from his paperwork for the first time since Renji's interruption. "Close your mouth, fukutaichou, or your tongue will begin attracting dust."
Shutting his mouth with an audible snap, Renji continued to stare at his captain for a moment longer while that rather incredible tidbit of information processed.
"Why?" he managed, finally, staggering to the uncomfortable guest's chair and flopping down in it.
"I suggested you because you have prior experience in training of this nature. Your training with Yasutora Sado was highly successful. You have exceptional talent with your own Bankai, and you and Lieutenant Hisagi are, if I am not mistaken, friends."
"That's all true, sir, but... well, why Hisagi? Why now?"
"The Captain's meeting this morning was to debate Hisagi-fukutaichou's elevation to the rank of Captain. In order for us to do so, he must have reached Bankai."
Ah. With that last piece of the puzzle, this began to make a bit more sense. "Does he know?"
"If he does not, he will shortly. Notification was sent to him."
Silently, Renji nodded. "I see. So... I'm leaving tomorrow?"
"Nine a.m. sharp. I will see you off. You may take the afternoon to prepare for your journey."
Renji nodded slowly. So... it was up to him to help his old senpai reach Captain? If it had been anyone other than Hisagi, he might have felt jealous, but... there was no question in his mind that Shuuhei deserved the promotion. And if Renji could help him achieve it, then so much the better. And for Kuchiki-taichou to have suggested this... "Thank you, sir. For... everything."
"Thank me again in a month, fukutaichou. Dismissed."
"So, Captain, huh?"
Hisagi blinked back at him, expression rueful but his dark eyes sparking with humor. "If they've put me in your hands? Not likely."
"Gee, thanks a lot, senpai," Renji shot back, grinning fiercely. "You know, it's not wise to insult someone who's been put in charge of your training."
"I'll keep that in mind," came the sardonic response. "When talking to Urahara."
Renji flipped him off in response.
"Are you always this dignified in the mornings, Abarai-fukutaichou?"
"Taichou!" Hastily folding his hands behind his back, Renji made his best attempt at looking innocent. Renji being Renji, it didn't work particularly well, and Byakuya raised one ever-dignified eyebrow at his lieutenant in response. Anything they might have said, however, was interrupted by Ukitake and Kyouraku's appearance.
"Ah, Hisagi-san, Renji-san, you're early!"
"Didn't want to eat up too much of your time, sir," Renji replied, grinning at the senior captain as he and Shuuhei shouldered their packs.
"I appreciate your consideration. Now then, good luck, both of you, and we'll see you back here in a month's time."
Renji nodded briefly to Ukitake, but his gaze was turned behind the man, to where his own captain stood silent in the morning sun. Just as Renji stepped over the threshold of the Senkaimon, Byakuya silently mouthed the words 'good luck.'
Smiling broadly, Renji stepped forward into the blinding light.