Chapter 2: New Bloom
"Ugh," Byakuya groaned, cracking his eyes open, then wincing at the light coming in through the guest room window.
Pain like shards of glass erupted in his face, arms, hands, legs and feet when he tried to move the slightest bit. His chest ached fiercely and his throat stung from being too dry. He heard a footstep in the room and tried to focus on the person who leaned over him, shocking his body, even with gentle touches.
"D-don't touch me!" he gasped furiously, his frown deepening at the odd way the words seemed to carry a hissing note.
"Just a moment, Captain Kuchiki," Kisuke soothed him, "You've got a little problem here. Don't worry about a thing. I just need to have you relax for a second."
"Relax?" Byakuya panted, squinting harder as he realized that he was looking through something that seemed to be placed over his face, "Urahara...!"
"Easy there," Kisuke said, sending a powerful throb of sedative kido through Byakuya's shaky body and sending him tumbling back into a deep sleep, "No way you want to wake up to that."
He stood, silently examining the hauntingly beautiful blue, silver and pink hollow mask that had returned to Byakuya's comely face and wondering at the swirl of mingled emotions it was bringing on.
On the one hand, Byakuya was right to be spooked about what's going on. Even though he's technically a vizard now, and the other vizards have been accepted back into the Gotei fold, he's different from the vizards. They were changed by exposure to the hogyoku. Byakuya was infected with transformative reiatsu that was only kept from changing him completely because of my bankai. We're in brand new territory here, looking at something that has just never happened before. Never before has a transformative reaction been stopped. And that suggests that there is a chance he could eventually completely transform. I need to do everything I can to stop that. Not just because the guy saved my life, he's…
Kisuke laid a hand on Byakuya's slender belly and felt a deep, warm twinge inside as his reiatsu made contact with another that had taken root.
He's got our child inside him. I have no idea how to tell him something like that. First off, Byakuya still blames me for Yoruichi leaving. So, he's already angry at me and doesn't need another reason to be. Secondly, he's a clan leader, and being raised in the Shihoin clan, I know all about what that means. Being an anomaly just isn't okay, and there is a point beyond which the elders of a clan won't go. A hollowfied Byakuya might be more than those old fellas could handle. They could have him killed. I want to think they'd not do it if they knew about the baby, but if Byakuya's a hollow or a vizard, the child will be also. I need to protect him. I need to protect both of them.
I might need protection from Byakuya when he learns what that hollow did to him. I mean, it isn't my fault. I didn't get him bitten. It just happened in battle. What I did was to defy the rules that said I should have killed him so he wouldn't end up a hollow. Still, he technically isn't a full hollow. Yup, we could go round and round on this one. But I've got work to do.
Kisuke leaned over Byakuya's resting body and pulled the covers back, then opened the clan leader's yukata, baring his perfectly formed body. A little swell of giddiness passed through him at being struck with the visual beauty, the impact of which was underscored with the light, sweet scent of sakura. For a moment, he found his mind in too much disarray to think straight. He shook his head to clear it and swallowed hard at the ache that had come into his loins.
What the heck? I know it's not the injuries I got or the effects of the hollow reiatsu or anything. Why am I feeling like I did when the hollow reiatsu took over and made him have sex with me? Damn, this feels dangerous.
He ran his hands over his face and took a steadying breath, but only found himself stymied again by Byakuya's intense beauty, somehow made almost painful to him by the presence of the finely crafted hollow mask that covered his face.
Well, that has to go, he decided.
He took hold of the edges of the mask and pulled hard, breaking it away from Byakuya's face and suddenly bringing the sleeping captain painfully and dangerously awake again. Byakuya howled in pain, a chilling cry that sank down deep into Kisuke's chest, making his heart throb and dance in his chest as he struck with another sedative kido, capturing Byakuya in his arms as the noble tried to launch himself out of the bed, and laying him back down very gently. He hesitated, poised over Byakuya and looking down at his pretty face while the smell of flowers teased him. He took a skittering breath, moving closer and finally succumbing to the other man's beauty. He brushed his lips very lightly against Byakuya's, feeling an unbearable longing to be connected with him again. He settled for a longer kiss and then settled at Byakuya's side, ignoring the hungry pain in his loins and infusing the man's lower abdomen with stabilizing reiatsu.
What am I supposed to do? How will I tell him? And if I can't tell him now, then how will I stay close enough to him so that I can be there to give him the infusions he'll need?
The questions seemed to continue throwing themselves around in his busy mind as he worked steadily at bringing the reiatsu in Byakuya's body back into balance. As he was finishing, a tap sounded on the door. Kisuke stole a last breath of Byakuya's sweet scent, then closed his yukata and settled the blanket back over him.
"Come in."
The door opened and Ichigo and Tetsuya entered the room together, dressed in sleeping yukatas and holding hands.
"Good morning, Mr. Urahara," Tetsuya greeted him, in the young man's unfailingly polite fashion, "Thank you for caring for my cousin through the night. But can you tell me, is Byakuya improving?"
Kisuke smiled wearily.
"He's better this morning, but look, he needs a lot of rest. I'm going to get a clearance today for him to stay here for treatment for the next week or so."
"He is that badly injured?" Tetsuya asked worriedly.
"What the hell happened to him?" Ichigo mused.
"It's not just that he got beat up," Kisuke explained, "He got beat up by a crazy ass hollow with some weird powers and, as I'm sure you'll remember, healing that weird stuff takes more time. I told you he's going to be fine. You two should go on back and inform the Kuchiki elders that he'll be here recuperating for a while."
Tetsuya shook his head firmly.
"I'll just inform them by hell butterfly," he insisted, "I am always to remain with my cousin unless dispatched by him to be elsewhere."
The bedroom door opened before Kisuke could answer, and Tessai entered the room, wearing a deep, concerned frown.
"Boss, a very large group of injured soldiers has arrived through the garganta downstairs. Hanataro is there, assessing injuries, but we will need all of the guest rooms for the most severely wounded."
"Tetsuya and I can stay at my dad's place here with Karin and Yuzu," Ichigo offered.
"I can also help with healing, as I've been trained for basic first aid and field surgery," Tetsuya added.
"Sounds good," Kisuke said, standing, "Hey, Tessai, will you help me move Byakuya to my bedroom? That'll free up this room."
"He could stay at my dad's place too," Ichigo suggested.
"Naw, I don't think he should be moving around that much just yet. I won't be sleeping much anyway, so it's no problem."
"Well, if you think it's best," Tetsuya said, frowning.
"Come on," Ichigo urged him, "We should go and see if Hanataro needs some help."
Tessai joined Kisuke in lifting Byakuya's limp form and they carried the unconscious noble down the hallway to the shopkeeper's room, where they laid him in the freshly made bed and tucked him in. The two flash stepped out of the room and to the long ladder that led down into the training room, where Tetsuya and Ichigo had joined Hanataro in surveying the incoming troops for injuries.
"Thank you for coming to help, Mr. Urahara," Hanataro said gratefully as they arrived.
"No problem," Kisuke assured him, "Glad to help. Just send the ones requiring more serious care to Tessai, Tetsuya and me, and you and Ichigo can take care of basic first aid and minor injuries."
"Hai!" Hanataro said, moving to the next injured man.
The men worked tirelessly through the morning, sorting the injured into groups by medical need, and patching up the less injured to send back to the Seireitei. Ururu and Jinta arrived with food for a hasty lunch, then the five returned to their work for much of the afternoon. As the work slowed, Tessai and the children returned to the upstairs to cook the evening meal. It was already after dark when the injured were fully addressed and the weary healers were able to take hot baths, then settle down to a large dinner.
"Did you have a chance to look in on Byakuya, like I asked, Jinta?" Kisuke inquired.
"Yeah. He was still out like a light," the boy answered, "but his reiatsu felt like it was stable, so I just let him sleep, like you said."
"Good," Kisuke sighed sleepily, "I'll make one more round to check on the ones who are staying tonight, then I'm going to turn in."
"Tessai can just give us a call of he needs any help during the night," Ichigo added.
"Thanks you two," Kisuke said gratefully, "You were a big help today. Tetsuya, we can talk more tomorrow about Byakuya's condition and plan for getting him back on his feet."
"Very well," Tetsuya agreed, "Goodnight, then."
Kisuke finished his meal, then walked back to his bedroom and found Byakuya sleeping soundly, his flesh pale, but not the abnormal white it had been during his near hollowfication. He turned away from the noble to choose a fresh yukata, then walked into his bathroom and turned on the shower. While the water warmed, he looked at his reflection in the mirror, noting the toll the Aizen and quincy conflicts had taken, the darker, more weary eyes, paler skin showing very slight signs of aging, and a dullness in his reiatsu that he was sure hadn't been there before.
"Damn, I need a vacation," he sighed, turning away and climbing in under the hot spray.
He closed his eyes, letting the hot water stream through the strands of tousled, blonde hair, trickling onto his shoulders and back before trailing down the length of his bare body. Taking slow breaths of the steamy air seemed to revive him, and a little smile came to his lips. He hummed a little, cheering himself a bit more, and was just starting to feel like himself again, when he felt another presence close to him. Kisuke opened his eyes, freezing as stark white arms curled around him from behind and the scents of sakura and dark earth struck his senses.
"Oh, you shouldn't do this," he chided the noble, turning and going still for a moment at the sight of Byakuya's chillingly lovely masked face and gossamer wings, "Oh man, not a…"
He broke off as Byakuya's mouth opened, loosing a strange, keening sound that made the shopkeeper's body go still and his heart pound hard and fast.
"Byakuya!" he gasped, struggling to move, but finding himself unable as the partially hollowfied noble stalked around him, settled behind him, then brushed warm lips against the side of his throat, "S-stop!"
He flinched as sharp white fangs plunged into his skin and Byakuya's sensuous mouth latched onto the sensitive spot between Kisuke's neck and shoulder.
"Byakuya…" he whispered, his knees weakening as the noble fed on his blood and reiatsu, draining him until he started to fall.
The noble's strong arms lifted him, carrying him out of the bathroom and laying him on the bed. The shopkeeper's still wet body shivered, not just because of the cold, but due to the icy, deadly eyes that gazed raptly down at him and the intermittent drops of chilly water that leaked off of the noble and fell onto Kiuske's exposed flesh. A tremor went through him as Byakuya slid onto the bed, winding his body around Kisuke's and laying the side of his masked face against the dazed shopkeeper's.
"Don't kill me, all right?" Kisuke managed, closing his eyes as Byakuya's hand curled around his waist and sought his very alert privates, "Take what you need, but try to leave some. You don't want me to die right now. I think you'd be next."
He blinked in surprise as the noble began to emit a soft sound that was somewhere between purring and soft clicking. Whatever it was, it seemed to soothe Kisuke's mind, relaxing him to the point where he was sure Byakuya could have ripped out his throat and he wouldn't have realized he was dying. The noble's graceful hand stroked his chest searchingly, lazily caressing his erect nipples, then traced their way downward, pausing to play in the fine hairs below his navel, then making him groan wantonly as they finally reached his engorged member to offer him even more reason to lose track of everything else. He wasn't sure how the words got past his lips, but he had never uttered them before in that way to anyone.
"Oh my god, I love you!" he gasped, giving himself over completely.
He slid even farther away from reality as Byakuya rose over him and followed the path his hands had taken, with soft, seeking lips and a lusty pink tongue. As though the blonde man's flesh had become a sort of wicked delight, the noble's pouting mouth savored every inch, beginning with his sensitive throat and slowly crawling downwards. Kisuke opened his eyes and moaned on ecstasy at the entrancing sight of the white fleshed, winged spectacle that bowed over him, treasuring him like a precious delicacy, while a red glint in the depths of Byakuya's grey eyes promised certain death at some point.
But not yet.
This is part of the mating ritual. He will continue to do this to keep the reiatsu in his body stable. I can infuse him with my reiatsu to stave off the feeding so that I can recover properly, but I will have to keep him close to me.
Damn, if the hollow form doesn't kill me, his shinigami form will. So I guess if I'm going to die, I should enjoy it, ne?
Kisuke watched raptly as Byakuya licked and suckled hungrily at the hard, raised nubs on his chest, then clenched the shopkeeper's sides with quaking hands as he kissed the soft flesh of Kisuke's belly, sinking teasingly into his navel, then nibbling his way downward to feed voraciously on the blonde man's vulnerable nether region. Kisuke panted harshly, enduring the intense contact for as long as he could before toppling the exotic, winged beauty and entering him from behind, lying on the noble's sweating back and feeling the soft wings flutter erratically in reaction, then slowly settle into a steady, buzzing rhythm. It didn't take long with his hips thrusting, hard and fast, the soft wings tickling his flesh and Byakuya's light, erotic moans teasing him to bring on the moment of blind ecstasy and resultant shudders of completion. Kisuke remained stretched out on the noble's back, offering soft, sleepy kisses on the back of a damp, white shoulder and keeping their spent bodies connected until he started to drift off. With a reluctant sigh, he lifted himself slightly and curved a hand around Byakuya's masked face.
"Sorry about this part," he apologized.
He pulled the mask free and backed off of the bed, watching with troubled eyes as it slowly disintegrated in his hands, and on the bed, Byakuya's body shed its pretty wings and the white skin began to regain its more natural pale color. Byakuya hissed furiously, writhing and snapping viciously at the shopkeeper as he morphed gradually back into his shinigami form, then quivered unsteadily and collapsed on the bed again.
"Phew!" Kisuke sighed, "Captain, you are one dangerous beauty, aren't you? Now…just what the heck am I going to do? This is crazy…really crazy. And I'm used to most kinds of crazy, but this beats it all."
"Ugh," Byakuya groaned, lifting himself and leaning over the edge of the bed to vomit into a nearby trash can, "Wh-what are you going on about?"
Kisuke stiffened for a moment, then relaxed as Byakuya dropped back onto the bed and curled around his pillow.
"Why am I soaking wet? And why am I naked?" making the shopkeeper tense again.
"Eh, you uh…passed out in the shower," Kisuke explained, "I had to uh, bring you to the bed quickly and…"
"And it was necessary for you to be naked as well to heal me?" Byakuya muttered, lifting his head slightly to glare at Kisuke.
"Oh that," Kisuke said, thinking quickly, "After I put you in bed and made sure you were okay, I wanted a shower myself, but I heard something going on out here and rushed out to…"
"Fine," Byakuya sighed, cutting him off and curling more tightly around his pillow, "But why am I in your bedroom?"
"You don't remember?" Kisuke said, smiling sheepishly, "There was a big fight in Hueco Mundo, and injured soldiers had to be brought here. There weren't enough rooms, so I put you in here because I wasn't sleeping anyway."
"I see. Does that mean you are leaving now?" Byakuya asked bluntly.
"That's a little harsh for the guy whose been up all hours taking care of you."
"My apologies for not being more polite," Byakuya said dryly, "It must be the nausea affecting my temperament."
"Oh no, Captain," Kisuke said under his breath as he threw a yukata around himself and headed out of the room, "You're definitely acting like you usually do…at least now you are."
"What was that?" Byakuya growled, turning an angry grey eye on the shopkeeper.
"Nothing," Kisuke said, smirking, "Sweet dreams, Captain Kuchiki."
