Chapter 2: Doctor's Orders
"Unohana taichou will see you now," Isane said, smiling.
She led them down a short hallway and into Unohana's small, orderly office and motioned for them to sit.
"Let me do the explaining," said Byakuya, "I think it would be best to be direct and say the least amount necessary."
"Hai, Taichou, whatever you think is best," Renji said, smiling.
Byakuya took a calming breath as the healer entered and Isane closed the door behind her, leaving the three alone to talk. Unohana smiled and greeted them warmly, then sat down at her desk and looked up at them expectantly.
"Isane said that the two of you had something to discuss with me," she prompted them.
"Yes, actually," Byakuya said, in what seemed to Renji to be a very even tone, "We've had something rather…odd…occur and we need to handle it as quietly as possible…though I doubt we'll be able to conceal it for long."
"Something…odd?" Unohana said curiously, "What happened?"
"Well, I made an agreement with the Kuchiki Elders that if they would allow me to marry Abarai Renji in an honorable fashion and with their blessing, that I would allow them to see to the situation regarding heirs to my leadership. Of course, I assumed that they would decide upon a son of one of the other Kuchiki households and simply begin preparing him."
"But that wasn't the route they took, I assume…" Unohana finished.
"You can say that again!" laughed Renji.
Byakuya glared at him and Renji coughed and covered his smile.
"We did not discover right away what was done, but to make a long story short, they caused Renji and I to become…well…we are with child…"
"Uh…more like a truckload of children!" Renji said, unable to restrain himself.
"A…truckload…of…"Unohana repeated, furrowing her brow.
Byakuya's glare became dangerous and Renji bit his lip.
"Which one of you is with child?" the healer asked.
Byakuya and Renji exchanged glances.
"Both of us," they said together.
"I see," said Unohana, her smile tightening slightly, "so…they made the two of you fertile and…"
"Actually, only Taichou was made fertile, but because our souls had been switched, he passed the condition to me during our lovemaking and we both took each other, so we both ended up pregnant…"
He trailed off, noting that Byakuya's reiatsu was flaring painfully and he had his face buried in his hands. Unohana maintained her cool, professional demeanor, but her eyes narrowed.
"I think perhaps you had better explain in a bit more detail."
Seeing that it was unlikely Byakuya was going to go on, Renji took the lead.
"You remember that Taichou and I were attacked by a hollow in Hueco Mundo…" Renji began.
"I received a report on the incident from the healer at the base who treated you, of course, but it said nothing about soul switching…"
"We didn't actually switch bodies until we had returned."
"But when you did discover it, why didn't you simply come to me?" she asked.
"Taichou was concerned that…well, that we would be thought to be insane if we made such a claim…"
"And yet, you being in his body and swearing…and saying odd things in our taichou's meeting was expected to be unnoticed," she observed, "Interesting…and it explains a few things."
"Well, anyway, we went to Urahara Kisuke and he helped us figure out that it was the Neko-hineri…so we had to go to Hueco Mundo and catch it…"
"Renji, I don't think she needs to hear about the details of that…" Byakuya said warningly.
"I heard nothing at all about an unauthorized mission into Hueco Mundo…or any rumors of an unauthorized attack on Las Noches."
"I had to rescue Taichou!" Renji exclaimed, "He was captured by Aizen Sou…"
He paused as Byakuya's eyes met his with such malevolence as to take his breath away. Unohana smirked and chuckled very softly.
"What Renji meant to say," Byakuya said, meeting her eyes guardedly, "was that after some research, it was discovered that the attack by the Neko-hineri was responsible for our…unfortunate situation and there was a way to return us to our bodies, which we were able to do."
"I am certain that the story of how must be fascinating!" theorized the healer.
"Well, we had to eat these seeds from the Rukongai to loosen our souls then make love to force out the reiatsu. It was funny because Taichou didn't want to make l…OW!" Renji howled as Byakuya's foot came down on his under the cover of the desk.
"We returned to our bodies and I requested the blessing of the Elders for our marriage, which they gave, after we made our agreement. They used their power to…raise my level of fertility and to make me able to impregnate Renji. We did not realize that the fact that our souls had been switched would cause me to transfer that fertility to Renji as well. And because we both…"
"Received seed?" provided Unohana, nodding.
"Yes," Byakuya went on, "we both became pregnant. And because of the intensity of the Elders' enchantment, there are multiple children in each of us…"
"Ah, that makes more sense now," Unohana said, rising, "Now, if you will come with me, I will have a look at the two of you and we can see just how many children each of you is carrying."
She laughed at the expression on Byakuya's face.
"You mean…you believe us?" he asked, looking mystified.
"Of course," she laughed, "No one could make up a story like that…and besides, I was at the taichou's meeting. We all heard…well, never mind. Let's have a look at the two of you and see how I can help you."
She led them out of the office and into a large examination room.
"Who would like to be first?" she asked.
"Uh…" said Renji, looking nervous, "Taichou, you mind going first? I uh…um…"
"What?"
"I uh…can't stand needles…"
"Well, you're going to have to get used to them…" he trailed off, staring at the expression on his spouse's face.
He frowned and his eyes flared.
"Get onto the table, Abarai!" he said sharply, "You're not getting out of this, so you may as well just get it over with. Watching me will only unnerve you."
"Why? Is it a big needle? A lot of them?"
"Renji, you face down hollows that slash you with blades, teeth and claws all of the time! You're afraid of a little needle?"
"So it's just one?" he asked nervously, "Taichou, I don't feel so well…"
"Then, lie down…now!" Byakuya said in an annoyed tone.
His face pale and his reiatsu swirling, the red head bared himself to the waist and climbed onto the examination table. Unohana rested her hands on Renji's tattooed abdomen, extending her senses and smiling as she encountered multiple reiatsu pulses beneath her hands. She sent pulses of her own reiatsu against each she sensed and each sent back a pulse in return.
"My," she said softly, "I count six individual reiatsu pulses. All seem to be developing very well, perfectly normally. I'm guessing from the stage of development and what you said before that this happened around the time of your wedding?"
"Hai," said Renji, trying not to flinch as the healer's hands explored his abdomen, pressing gently and moving on to another point, pressing gently, then moving on, "on our wedding night to be exact…and what a…"
He stopped, noting the look of warning Byakuya gave him. Unohana pulled her hands away for a moment
"It seems that you are indeed pregnant and having six healthy babies…but that being said, I think with the fact that both of you are male and you have multiple births makes you too high-risk for a normal pregnancy."
Byakuya's eyes took on a look of concern.
"What? You mean that we can't…"
"I mean that I cannot simply allow the babies to grow the normal way. But do not worry. There is a procedure we can use to keep your babies in reiatsu form until they are delivered. Your abdomens will still expand, but not as much as if you were humans with multiple births. It will be somewhat noticeable, but with a little clothing adjustment, can be covered…in case you do not wish to advertise your condition. The procedure also eases the delivery. When it is time, you will go into a state of semi-consciousness and the reiatsu will emerge from your bodies one by one. It can even be done without sedation…so," she said, smiling down at Renji, "less needles for you."
She looked up at Byakuya.
"Would you please change places with Renji now?"
Byakuya shed his uniform top and took the place Renji had occupied. She studied his abdomen carefully, as she had Renji's then smiled down at him.
"I sense four individual reiatsu and all of them seem perfectly healthy as well. I recommend, however as I did with Renji, that we use our procedure to keep them in reiatsu form until after the birth. It is a very safe procedure that has been successfully used many times…although admittedly not for multiple births. We simply haven't had that situation arise. But do not worry. You and your babies will be fine."
"Ten children…" mused Byakuya in a soft voice.
"Plus our Gia," added Renji.
The redhead fell silent as Unohana produced a syringe and drew blood from a calm Byakuya.
"You going to leave some in him?" asked Renji as she filled six vials with Byakuya's blood, then took a sample of reiatsu.
"It's always more at the beginning as there are a few tests to run, just to make sure everything goes well. Not to worry, Abarai Renji. Now, have a seat next to Byakuya, so I can draw your blood."
Growing paler by the moment, Renji took his place next to Byakuya, not quite realizing that he was holding his breath as the needle approached. As it touched him, his body went slack and fell against Byakuya's. The noble chuckled affectionately and simply held his spouse in place as his blood was drawn, then rose and laid him down on the examination table afterward.
"He'll be all right, won't he?" Byakuya asked, a note of worry in his tone.
"Yes," the healer assured him, "Renji only fainted. He'll be fine once he wakes. But while he is sleeping is a good time for me to tell you to keep a close watch on him. He and his babies are healthy now, but even with the procedure I will use on the two of you…because he has so many babies, it is a higher risk. The two of you need to eat a lot of good, healthy food and I will have you come in to have your blood and reiatsu checked weekly for changes. I am placing the two of you on desk duty only for the duration of your pregnancies. I also recommend that you do not attempt to use your powers except for emergencies. You will likely be subject to power flares and fall offs. It is okay for the two of you to engage in intimacy, as long as it does not produce any discomfort or other worrisome symptoms."
She smiled at Byakuya's bemused expression.
"I know I'm throwing a lot of information at you…but do you have any questions?"
Byakuya nodded.
"After the procedure, will we still have cravings and morning sickness…and…um, other symptoms like that?"
"Yes, I'm afraid you will. You will still have chemical changes occurring, so will continue to have such symptoms as cravings, nausea, vomiting, food aversions and increased libido…"
"So he was right about that…" mused Byakuya.
The noble blushed slightly and Unohana chuckled.
"Do you have any further questions, Kuchiki taichou?"
"When will you perform the procedure you told us about?" he asked.
"I can do it right now. It will only take a few minutes for each of you and there is no need for anesthesia…although…it looks as though Abarai Renji wouldn't have required any anyway!"
She turned away and leaned over Renji, placing several monitors on his abdomen, then placing her hands on him and focusing deeply. She released her reiatsu into Renji's body, then looked up at Byakuya and smiled warmly.
"And that's all there is to the procedure…very simple, really."
"That is a relief," commented Byakuya gratefully.
He sighed and gazed at Renji affectionately as the redhead stirred and opened his eyes.
"Ugh…sorry…must have drifted off. Are we done yet?" he asked groggily.
"Almost," Unohana said, good naturedly, "I just need to perform the reiatsu seal procedure on Byakuya and we'll be done."
"Oh…well…I guess that wasn't so bad, right?" he said, still blinking in confusion.
"Not as though you would know," commented Byakuya, helping him to his feet, then lying down on the examination table.
Unohana leaned over Byakuya and quickly set the seal in place, then drew back and looked up at Renji.
"See…we are finished…and nothing in the slightest to worry about."
"Great!" he said, turning to Byakuya, "Hey, can we get out of here? I'm starving! There's a really nice place on the way back that has a tasty sweet and sour…"
"Arigato, Unohana taichou," Byakuya said gratefully.
"You are most welcome, Kuchiki taichou," she said happily, "please accept my congratulations. You and Renji are going to have a fabulous adventure!"
"It has already been quite an adventure," Byakuya replied, his eyes rising to gaze at Renji, "Nothing in my life has been normal or expected since Abarai Renji and I have been together."
Unohana giggled.
"May your marriage always be this adventurous," she said, bowing her head.
"Madam, bite your tongue!" Byakuya said, his eyes twinkling softly.
"Taichou…why must you speak about me as though I'm not here?" Renji complained.
"I believe it is time for us to go."
"Don't forget to book your next appointment on the way out. Remember, I am going to want to see the two of you weekly throughout your gestation…just to be on the safe side…"
"Very well. Come along, Renji. If we hurry, we can pick up something on the way home."
"After you Taichou," Renji said, holding the door open.