Chapter 4: The Morning After
"Oh...oh fuck..." groaned Renji, grabbing his head and forcing his eyes open.
Bright light streamed in through the open garden doors, making him squint. He gave a pained yelp and held his aching head harder as Akitora landed on the bed, sending jolts of pain and nausea all through him.
"Gah!" he managed, jumping out of bed and barely making it into the bathroom before violently expelling the contents of his aching stomach.
Akitora appeared in the bathroom doorway, wearing a sympathetic look on her young face.
"Sorry, Daddy Ren," she said penitently, "I didn't know you were sick. Daddy Bya sent a hell butterfly and asked me to check on you when you didn't get to work on time."
"W-work?" Renji repeated, his stomach lurching again.
He threw up again, then fell back against the wall, groaning pitifully. Akitora frowned at him.
"Let me guess," he said, studying him, "You don't feel good enough to go to work, ne?"
"Ugh," said the redhead, collapsing onto the floor, "I don't feel good enough to move anymore. Could you do me a favor and send a message to tell him I'm sick?"
"You too?" the girl said emphatically, "Both Uncle Tetsuya and Uncle Tomio are sick too!"
"They are?" Renji asked, holding his stomach.
"Mhmm," the girl confirmed, "Matsuko started to make a pot of ginger tea for them, but had to have Mari finish it because she didn't feel so well either. I was worried, but she said that she thinks a lot of people just had too much to drink at the party."
"Yeah," answered Renji, groaning as Akitora helped him to sit up.
"Do you want me to tell Daddy Bya to come home?" she asked.
"N-no," said Renji, "I'll be okay if I just get back in bed, I think."
He climbed onto his hands and knees, but didn't dare try to stand. Akitora chuckled sympathetically and crawled alongside him as he made his way back to the bed and climbed in. Akitora put the covers over him and kissed him on the cheek.
"I will go and see if the ginger tea is ready," she offered.
"Thanks," Renji sighed, sliding down under the covers, "Oh...kami, I feel so awful!"
Akitora flash stepped out the doors, narrowly missing Tetsuya, who stood on the walkway, looking as pale as Renji had and holding his midsection as he talked to Makoto.
"He was gone all night," the animal caretaker told Tetsuya, "Then, he staggered in this morning, looking like he'd been worked over by a bunch of thugs! He was barely on his feet."
"I should go to him," the noble said, starting to move away.
"No, it's okay, sir," Makoto assured him, "I cleaned him up and he is comfortable enough now. He will be all right. I just thought you should know what happened."
"Ah," sighed Tetsuya, "Arigato. Then...if you are sure that he will be all right, I think I will go back to bed. I've already informed Byakuya of my illness, so I am not expected at work today. Thank kami he anticipated that. I feel horrid!"
"Get some rest, then, sir. I will tend to Arashi."
"Again, arigato," Tetsuya said, turning away.
He took a few, staggering steps, then started to collapse, but was caught and gently lifted.
"Oh," he sighed, "Arigato...yet again, Makoto."
"Should I call a healer, sir?" Makoto asked.
"No," Tetsuya assured him, "He would only tell you that I shouldn't have over-indulged. The staff is making some ginger tea for us. We should be fine."
"Very well, sir," said Makoto, carrying the pale and sickly looking noble back down the walkway to his room.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Mmmmph," groaned Rukia, shifting uncomfortably to relieve the odd smothering sensation she felt.
She cracked an eye open and was surprised to find herself lying on top of someone, with her face sunk down between a large pair of soft, feminine breasts.
"Wh-what?" she moaned, "Who...?"
"Oh, Rukia-chan, you are awake," Orihime said, sounding pleased, "I have been awake for some time, but you seemed so comfortable there, I didn't want to wake you. Especially after last night!"
"Eh...?" Rukia grunted, lifting her head and realizing that both she and Orihime were completely naked and tightly entangled.
What?
"Oh...?" she groaned, "Wh-what happened?"
Orihime giggled.
"You don't remember?" she asked.
Rukia blushed and met her eyes, squinting.
"I...I don't really remember much. I drank some champagne punch or something. I must have had too much. But...why aren't you affected?"
"M-me?" asked Orihime, "Oh, I didn't have the punch. I don't really like champagne. But I was worried about you because you looked kind of pale after drinking it. So when you said I should sleep in your room, I agreed."
She blushed cutely.
"I didn't know that Rukia-chan wanted more than to sleep. I was very surprised. But in a good way!" she said, giggling again.
Rukia disentangled herself from the other girl and turned away, her eyes wide and her mind spinning as she came to grips with exactly what they had done. Orihime went quiet behind her, and the smile left her lips. Her eyes clouded over and tears rose in her eyes.
"Oh," she said, penitently, "You...you...didn't mean it? R-rukia-chan...I...I am sorry! I thought that you liked me that way! That is what you said when you kissed me. I didn't know it was just because you had too much to drink. I am sorry! I am really sorry! Please forgive me, Rukia-chan! I...!"
"It's...it's all right," Rukia said, regaining some composure.
She gathered herself and swallowed hard, then turned to face the other girl.
"Orihime...the truth is...I...am attracted to you," Rukia said, her voice trembling slightly, "I actually have been for a while now. But...I hadn't been able to say anything, because I thought that it would make things awkward between us if I told you, and you didn't feel the same. S-so..."
"Oh! Rukia-chan!" Orihime exclaimed, flying into the stunned shinigami girl's arms, "I do like you that way too! I really do! I am so glad that you feel the same as I do!"
A relieved smile blossomed on Rukia's face and she wrapped her arms around Orihime, hugging her tightly.
XXXXXXXXXX
"K-kisuke?"
Ichigo's unhappy groan made the shopkeeper groan and stir, but he stopped moving as nausea passed over him and his stomach pitched warningly. He was out of bed and had staggered halfway to the bathroom before he realized.
We're at the shop? When did we come home? I don't remember leaving...
He barely managed to grab a trash bin before the sickness caught up with him. He heard a flash step and then the sound of Ichigo retching and coughing in the bathroom.
Shit...what did we get a hold of at that party?
He threw up into the trash bin again, then looked up as Tessai entered the room and gazed down at him sympathetically.
"Are you okay, boss?" he asked, "You want some ginger tea?"
Kisuke grabbed his stomach and threw up again, then Ichigo's coughs and heaves sounded in the bathroom again.
"Better make it enough for two," he moaned, abandoning the trash bin and crawling back to the bed.
He smiled weakly at Ichigo as the ginger-haired youth staggered out of the bathroom and joined him in bed.
"You don't have anything you have to do today, ne?" asked the shopkeeper, "Because I'm thinking neither of us is going to want to get out of bed today."
"No," yawned Ichigo, abandoning his yukata and pressing his warm, naked body up against Kisuke's, "We can sleep all day, I guess. I feel like hell, and the last thing I want to do when I already feel like crap is to go home. My dad would have my ass if he knew I'd been stealing cups of the champagne punch."
"Hmmm," Kisuke said, sliding a hand down to fondle Ichigo's private, "I know I've already had your ass more than a few times, and I hate to bother you while we're both hung over..."
He sucked in a surprised breath as Ichigo grinned at him, then disappeared beneath the covers, and began to gently assault the shopkeeper's body.
"Hey, Strawberry," he chuckled, remembering Tessai's offer of ginger tea, "better come out from under there and put your clothes on. Tessai's coming in here with some tea. So unless you're planning to offer to let him join us..."
He broke off as the door opened.
"Oh, sorry, Tessai," he began, then he froze, staring where Kurosaki Isshin stood in the bedroom doorway, "Shit..."
Ichigo's head popped up from under the covers and he tackled the stunned shopkeeper, letting the blanket fall away to reveal their naked bodies as he engaged Kisuke's open mouth in a wickedly intense kiss. He froze as the reiatsu in the room suddenly skyrocketed and building began to shake.
"Oh...oh crap! D-dad?" Ichigo stammered, reaching blindly for his yukata, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was here to bust his ass for giving you booze at the party last night!" yelled the red-faced man, "But...now I have a whole new reason to KILL HIM!"
Kisuke and Ichigo flash stepped away as a kido blast struck the bed they'd been lying in.
"What the fuck? Are you CRAZY?" shouted Ichigo.
"Get your clothes on and go home, Son!" yelled Isshin, "I'll be back as soon as I make sure this guy doesn't have the equipment to commit an offense like that again!"
"Dad, stop! Are you out of your mind?" Ichigo howled, "He didn't do anything wrong! I seduced him!"
"Actually, he did," said Kisuke, blocking another hard blast of kido.
"How...dare...you...have...sex...with...my...son!" yelled the elder Kurosaki, punctuating each word with a heavy kido blast.
The wall behind Kisuke caved in, and the shopkeeper backed into the next bedroom, still blocking incoming kido blasts.
"Aw, come on!" complained Kisuke, "You're making a mess of this place! I just got it cleaned up from that...ow!...hollow attack! Ease up, will you? It's not like I hurt the kid. And he had no issues with it. We were both totally consenting."
He realized suddenly that it might have been the wrong thing to say as Isshin's reiatsu swelled in a glowing red aura around him, and the entire shop collapsed around them, leaving only the people within it unscathed.
"Holy wrath of kami..." mused the shopkeeper, staring at the huge pile of rubble that had been his shop.
He went silent again as Isshin grabbed him by the front of the yukata he had managed to salvage and wrap around himself, and dragged him to his feet.
"You touch my son again and what happened to this shop? It will happen to you!"
He turned to face a white-faced Ichigo.
"Come on, Son. We'll go home and have some tea and talk about this. I can't believe you would do this. Is this what your mother and I raised? This is disgraceful!" Isshin howled, tearing up, "Your mother would be horrified! How will I tell her about this?"
Ichigo gave Kisuke a helpless look as Isshin grabbed his wrist and dragged him away. Kisuke watched in silence at the spectacle of a now sobbing Kurosaki Isshin, leading his half-naked son away from the ruined shop.
"Oh, hell," sighed Kisuke.
"Here boss, maybe this will help," said Tessai, handing him the last unbroken thing in the shop...the cup of ginger tea he'd been holding when the place came down.
"Thanks..." Kisuke muttered.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Kuchiki taichou," said Rikichi, "A message just arrived from Soutaichou. He said that the afternoon taichou and fukutaichou's meeting has been cancelled due to so many illnesses today. Seems like everyone is suffering from too much celebrating."
"Yes," said the noble, shaking his head, "It does seem that way."
He looked over at Renji's empty chair and sighed.
"Rikichi, I am finished here, and will be returning to Kuchiki Manor for the afternoon. Forward any communications or orders there."
"Hai."
Byakuya placed the last of the finished reports in his outbox and posted the training schedules and squad deployments. Then, he left the sixth division and walked back through the oddly quiet streets, his mind puzzling over what he had seen the night before.
"Hey," said Renji, nodding in greeting, "I thought you were out there dancing with Rangiku."
"Well," said Shuuhei, looking around, "Things were starting to wind down, and I wanted to talk to you before I left. I hope that's okay. Here, I brought a cup of the champagne punch. It's really good."
"Thanks," said Renji, taking the cup, "Why don't we take a walk? The kids and Byakuya have all gone to bed, so we don't want to wake them."
"Sure," said Shuuhei, following as Renji started across the gardens.
"Why is this still bothering me?" he whispered, "I trust Renji. I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt Akitora and me. Why won't this leave me alone?"
"That took quite a while," he observed, blinking and squinting at the clock, "Is Akitora all right?"
"Oh," said Renji, curling into his arms, "Yeah, she's fine."
"You smell good," the noble said, breathing in deeply, "You should have told me you were bathing. I would have joined you."
"Eh, I didn't want to wake you, and I didn't want to come to bed smelling like what I'd been drinking at the party."
"Oh."
"I won't think that way," he promised himself, "I am going to trust him. We went through so much, and Renji was with me every step of the way. He won't abandon us."
He forced the concerns away and tried to focus on other things as he neared home. He passed through the gates and hurried down the walkway to the bedroom. He reached it and stepped inside, then stopped, studying the empty bed and carefully made up room. He stood for a moment, lost in thought, then spotted a note by the bed.
Byakuya,
Thanks for not being angry at me for drinking too much and having to stay home today. I know I deserve to have you get pissed at me. Now that I'm promoting, I shouldn't be overindulging and slacking off. I really didn't mean for it to happen, and I will make sure I'm up early tomorrow to help you catch up on things and get Tetsuya settled in.
I felt better, so I went to check in and have Shuuhei show me around the ninth, so I can get to know the guys in the squad and get them used to seeing me there. I should be home in time for dinner. I'm looking forward to seeing you.
Love, Renji
He tried to let the warmth of Renji's words sink down inside, but the presence of the other man's name, and the fact that Renji's first choice had been, not to see to his current responsibilities at the sixth division, but to go to the ninth...
He pushed the thought away and stepped back out onto the walkway and caught sight of Akitora coming out of her room.
"Oh," she said, looking up at him, "It's you. I thought Daddy Ren came back. He went to work with that man friend of his."
"Hisagi Shuuhei was here?"
"Mhmm," said the girl, taking his extended hand and walking out into the garden with her, "He came here earlier and told Daddy Ren that he wanted to show him around where he is going to work. I told him he still looked too sick, but he said he was okay and he went with that guy. But he said that he would be home for dinner."
"Then we will see him at dinnertime," Byakuya said, stopping to examine a newly opened blossom.
Akitora sniffed at the flowers, then looked up at him.
"Daddy Bya?"
"Hmmm?"
"Is it wrong if you kind of don't like someone, but you don't know why?" Akitora asked.
"That depends," he answered, taking her hand again and walking with her out the back gate and onto the forest trail, "Sometimes, we meet someone, and our instincts tell us that we should not trust them. Often, those instincts are right...and we should trust them. But...sometimes, we have those feelings and it turns out they were for some other reason that we don't realize at the time. And sometimes we are wrong."
"So, how do you know whether to listen to your insincts?" the girl asked.
"You should always respect your instincts about people, but before acting on them, you should find out if those instincts are correct or not. Why? Who is it that you are uncertain about?"
Akitora looked uncertain for a moment, then sighed.
"That man who Daddy Ren went with," she answered, "He's nice to me, but I feel quivery inside when he is here. He never did anything wrong or anything, but...I just don't like him."
"But he is your father's friend, and they are going to be working together," Byakuya said, as they reached the top of the waterfall and looked out over the lake and the open meadow, "So you do need to be respectful of him when he is here. But you do not have to be overly friendly. You can simply be cordial."
"C-cordial?"
Byakuya smiled.
"Greet him when he arrives, then excuse yourself and go elsewhere while he is here. And be sure to say a polite farewell when he leaves. That is all."
"Okay," Akitora said, waiting as he sat down, then settling on his lap.
She leaned back against his shoulder, listening to the soothing sound of his voice as he told her one of the thousands of myths he knew from reading books in the archive, then he sat quietly, watching her drift off to sleep and gazing out over the rippling water and grass as the afternoon wore on.
She woke as the light was fading, and the two walked back to the gardens and found that dinner was nearly ready.
"Go and wash up," he instructed the girl, then he watched, smiling to himself as she scampered away.
"Nii-sama?" said Tetsuya.
Byakuya turned.
"F-first, my apologies about missing work today," he began.
"It is all right," he said calmly, "I anticipated that after a large celebration like that, you would likely not be in a fit state the next day. I planned for that."
"Arigato, Nii-sama," his brother said gratefully, "Oh, and word came from Renji-san. He won't be home for dinner, but should return later tonight."
"Hmmm," the noble said in acknowledgment, "Will you excuse me?"
He left the gardens and manor, and walked back towards the sixth division, then remembered that he was supposed to pick up a gift he had ordered for Renji's promotion. He turned down the street that the shop was on and came to a stop, staring in silence.
Renji sat at a table in front of a noodle shop, a few stores away, sitting across from Hisagi Shuuhei, talking and laughing as the two ate.
"Are you sure Kuchiki taichou won't be upset that you didn't come back?" Shuuhei asked.
"I'm sure he's fine with it," said Renji, "He knows I have to get settled in...and there's a lot of stuff we're still going over."
"But I'm sure it could wait until tomorrow if you need to go."
"I told you. It's fine. Byakuya isn't pissy about things like that. He trusts me."
And it was those words that gave him the strength he needed to make himself turn and walk away. He returned to the sixth division, prepared to bury himself in work for the evening. But there was little to do, so he sat at his desk reading quietly, then rose to go home. He looked at the deployments again and realized that the date of the latest had been changed.
That was supposed to be next week, but the group leaves tonight...and Renji was supposed to go with us. I wonder if he even realizes...
He stared at the deployment order for a long moment, then set it back down and headed for his quarters to prepare to go. And when the leaving time came and Renji was not there, he calmly picked another team member and left for Hueco Mundo without him.
It's not really his fault. He wasn't informed of the change...
But he carefully neglected to address his own choice to not even attempt to call Renji in, but to simply let the matter go.
Is there such a thing as being too accommodating?
And where is the line between being accommodating and being walked on?
