A/N: Once again thank you so so much to all of those who are reading, following, favouriting and of course reviewing this story.
I'd also like to apologise for the time between updates, I was MIA due to Easter and exams and also moving to another country but I'm back now so hopefully updates will be nice and quick! This chapter is a little longer than others and contains a lot of good stuff so hopefully you guys can put away your pitchforks now.
Italics for thoughts, zanpakutou and Hollow conversations, as well as to denote if Ichigo or his Hollow are in control. Ichigo will refer to the Ichigo we all know as Ichi. It should be obvious what is happening, but just in case.
Chapter Three: Revelations
The things that you know to be true are those that will shock you the most
Byakuya was indeed jealous of the close relationship that his sister and the object of his affection shared. Of course, it was entirely his own fault that they did not share a similar connection, but he would never admit that. It was hardly surprising either that the two were close after everything that they had been through. He liked to think that he at least had a friendship with the orange haired Shinigami, but again due to his own actions and the personality that he outwardly displayed, perhaps it was only tentative at best. Despite all this though, it did not lessen his feelings of jealousy. He was sure that there was something between the two of them that went beyond friendship, and as much as the thought pained him, if they sort his blessing then he would give it. He would give anything to make the one he loved happy.
"What are you going to do, Byakuya?"
"What do you mean?"
Senbonzakura looked out towards the pond as he answered, "What do you intend to do about the situation?"
Byakuya's brow furrowed. He had thought that he had made himself perfectly clear on the matter, but clearly his zanpakutou needed to be told again.
"You should say something to him," his companion continued.
He did not reply for a moment, sure that he had not clearly heard Senbonzakura. The silenced that reigned seemed only to confirm that he had indeed heard correctly.
"You cannot be serious, Senbonzakura!"
"I would never joke about anything of this nature, you know that."
Byakuya sighed. He did indeed know that. Senbonzakura would never make light of anything serious, especially something of such a sensitive nature, when it came to his master. He glanced forwards across the pond of his inner world, contemplating that which his zanpakutou had said. His certainty in the fact that Ichigo had feelings for his sister prevented him from even seriously contemplating doing such a thing. It would be one of the most idiotic things that he could do and a Kuchiki was not allowed to be idiotic.
"Regardless, you know my thoughts on doing such a thing," he told Senbonzakura.
"I know your delusions on the matter too," he replied.
Byakuya sent his companion a withering look. There were only two people who get him to drop his facade out of sheer annoyance: his zanpakutou and Kurosaki Ichigo.
Senbonzakura on the other hand merely confirmed that which he had suspected to be the case. If Byakuya had any true understanding of the calling that he was feeling then he would be instantly dissuaded from such morose thoughts.
"Not to mention what the elders would have to say on such a matter," Byakuya continued.
If he would not have been berated on the act, Senbonzakura would have snorted. Instead, he merely said with much mirth, "Since when have you actually listened or cared about what the elders had to say, Byakuya?"
Byakuya resisted the urge to glare at his zanpakutou. Sometimes he wished that his sword had a more restrained temprement, yet at the same time he was glad that Senbonzakura was the way that he was as he reminded the noble of his youth.
"You know full well what objections will be raised if such a thing were to occur. I would not be surprised if they sought to remove me as the twenty-eighth Head..."
This time the spirit did snort; he could not help it any longer. "You know full well that they would not seek to remove you unless you actually broke the law." He pondered momentarily before continuing, "In fact, even then I am sure that they would fight to rescind any punishment or lessen it. You are a valuable Head after all."
Again, Byakuya knew that his zanpakutou was correct. There was no use in him hiding behind such feeble attempts to his other half for he could always see through them. Truthfully, Byakuya did not really care what the elders thought, despite the small amount of power that they held. He was the twenty-eighth Head of the noble Kuchiki Clan. He had always been proud to be a Kuchiki and yet at the same time he was increasingly becoming less and less impressed with the elders views on matters. Perhaps he had let them have their way for too long? Regardless, he would not say anything. Whether the elders would be a problem for him or not did not change a thing, for he would not tell of his innermost feelings to a single soul other than Senbonzakura. He could not stand to get his heart rejected again.
The was a slight shift in the gentle breeze that was blowing across the plane, Byakuya's silken strands softly undulating behind him. Petals began to fall and sway in the wind from the tree beneath which they were sitting. The breeze was not only gentle but warm too, carrying with it the refreshing and addictive scent of citrus and something unidentifiable. It was a scent that was permanently etched in to the noble's brain, one that he could never forget after his battle on Soukyoku Hill. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply of it.
"Ichigo," he softly sighed.
Ichigo stood frozen. He was seriously struggling to process what he had just heard. He was pretty sure that Byakuya had just said his name. In his sleep. In fact, he hadn't just said it, he had sighed it. Not the exasperated sigh that he was oh so familiar with, but it was soft, gentle and caressing, almost as if he was saying his lover's name. Ichigo's eyes widened at his thought process. Just what kind of dream could Byakuya be having? And what the hell happened to Kurosaki?
He straightened up and wondered what to do. He did not want to wake the noble that was for sure. The orange haired Shinigami had no idea how to handle what had just happened. Did it mean that perhaps his feelings were returned in some way? He had resigned himself to be pining after the stoic taichou forevermore and yet now he was beginning to hope that it would no longer be the case. He needed to leave now before he was forced in to a conversation that would no doubt not only be incredibly awkward but that would crush him also. He needed to depart both quickly and quietly.
He turned slowly and began to move towards the door as silently as possible. For the millionth time since he had come to permanently reside in Soul Society, he cursed the fact that Byakuya's desk was so far from the entrance to his offfice. He managed to make it halfway to his destination, and freedom, before he stopped dead in terror.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, what do you think that you are doing?"
Ichigo turned around almost robotically, his customary scowl gone and replaced by a goofy grin. So much for Ichigo, he thought.
"Byakuya, I only came to drop off some paperwork that for some reason was meant for you but had been sent to me by mistake, and I didn't want to wake you up because if you're falling asleep at your desk then you're obviously sleeping badly at home, which means that you really need your rest and so I left the papers on your desk and was trying to leave really quietly so that you wouldn't wake up, because you're obviously really, super tired and..."
"Enough."
Ichgio snapped his mouth shut.
Byakuya was sure that if he let the Shinigami before him continue to blather on nonsensically then he would end up with a killer migraine. He had enough problems thanks to the orangette without adding any more to the ever growing list. In all honesty, the last thing that he wanted was to see Ichigo after the events that had just transpired in his inner world. Evidently, Kami-sama hated him. Not only that, but the Sixth Squad taichou was more than a little embarassed at the fact that Ichigo had come upon him in such a state of vulnerability.
Ichigo himself remained silent. He could not seem to get out of his mind the sigh that he had heard escape from Byakuya's mouth only moments before. No, it was not only the sigh but the entirety of the noble, his features relaxed, no stern or dissaproving expression upon his face; a small smile, eyes closed, the epitomy of content. It was more than that though, for when the noble was in such a state he seemed to radiate an aura that made Ichigo not only at peace himself, but also made him want the other taichou all the more.
His sense of peace had quickly fled the moment that Byakuya had noticed his presence. He felt that now would perhaps be a brilliant time for him to make his depature, before he made even more of a fool of himself, or perhaps even got in to yet another argument with the noble.
"Well I left that paperwork on your desk so I'll be going...uh...now."
He turned to leave without further ado, his Hollow cackling maniacly in his head as he went. He prepared to slide open the door, his hand resting upon the frame when two things happened simultaneously: his Hollow decided to make a delightful appearance, one that happened to coincide with, "Wait."
If Byakuya could have put his hand over his mouth then he would have no doubt done so, but a Kuchiki could never do such a thing as uncivilised and common as that. He had no idea what had actually possessed him to say that one simple word but he evidently was not acting as his usual self. If he was honest, he had perhaps said it because he wanted Ichigo to stay. In fact, he never wanted Ichigo to ever leave his presence, but as was his want he would never admit that. Instead, he looked up from the pattern of the dark, oak wood of his desk to look in to the soft, brown eyes of the Shinigami before him.
Ichigo looked in to the smoking grey eyes of the Kuchiki noble, his black and gold eyes taking in the subtle hints of surprise uopn his face. He cracked out his trademark grin. Oh how he loved to mess with people that thought they knew his Ichigo. Sure, Ichi would have his arse for it later, but until then he was going to make sure that he had a little fun. Besides, there was only so much he could take of Ichi's "oh woe is me" attitude where it concerned the Shinigami taichou before him. He was sick of constantly being caught in the drenching, freezing rain of Ichi's inner world.
"Why are you here?"
Ichigo was struck from his diabolical musings by the question. Now how much could he get away with saying?
"Old man Kuro doesn't let me out enough anymore. Tch, was your bad timing that even made you see," he replied, slowly heading back towards the desk that Byakuya was seated behind. He stopped perhaps a metre away before continuing, "'Sides, s'not like me and you have had a nice chat or anything since Soukyoku. So how ya been, Bya-chan?"
To his credit, Byakuya hid his annoyance extremely well. He was aware, of course, that Ichigo's reiatsu had changed slightly since regaining his powers all those years ago, but he had thought that it was simply due to the fact that he had truly mastered and had his inner Hollow in control. Evidently, he appeared to be wrong.
"I had thought that Kurosaki had finally managed to keep you under control. It seems that I was sorely mistaken."
Ichigo instantly came to the conclusion that Byakuya would be difficult to get a rise out of, his years of self control and emotional isolation making him one tough nut to crack. Ichigo relished the challenge. Either that or the noble was incredibly stupid. He and Ichi had already had to tell the soutaichou and other taichou sixty years ago how Ichi had managed to regain his powers. He sincerely hoped that Byakuya wasn't stupid.
"You already know about the barrier removal so why even bother asking, eh? I'd love to say that I took control away cause he's a little weakling, but Ichi don't want me lying again after what happened last time, so like a good little horse I'll listen to him."
Whilst Byakuya was mightily curious over the last time that Ichigo spoke of, he deferred it in favour of repeating his earlier question.
"Why are you here, then?"
Ichigo chuckled as he stepped closer still until he was barely a foot away from the desk that acted as a barrier between him and his prey. His tongue peeked out to wet his lips. Byakuya did not fail to notice the action.
It was one of the few times in his life that Byakuya actually felt threatened in a plapable way. He knew the powers that Ichigo held. and though he was loathe to admit it, he was incredibly wary of the being. He suddenly realised how utterly prone and defenceless to an attack he was sitting behind the desk. Using a shunpo that even the Goddess of Flash would find difficult to follow, he placed himself between Ichigo and the desk, hand hovering over the hilt of Senbonzakura.
Ichigo couldn't help but cackle at the nobles actions. He had barely even registered the shunpo that the man had used, but the stance that he now took was too funny for him. Did the taichou plan on fighting him?
"What are you going to do now, Kuchiki Byakuya? Are you going to run me through with your zanpakutou; going to slice me in to pieces?" He held his arms out to the sides, goading the noble to do so. "Do it. I'm nothing more than a filthy Hollow, right? Purify me then."
They stared at each other intently, Byakuya looking deep in to the golden eyes before him, almost as if he was searching for the honey brown that he knew should be residing there. He slowly removed his hand from where it had been sitting, bringing it to rest at his side. He could not admit it but he would not, could never do such a thing to Ichigo, for no matter how much he may detest the creature, he was still a part of his Ichigo, the man that he loved.
"You have not yet done anything to warrant such action from me."
Ichigo lowered his arms and grinned. He had gambled a hell of a lot on that singular action, his and Ichi's existence being first and foremost. He knew a lot more about their past than Ichi did and knew that some form of test would be necessary for the noble Shinigami. What he had not planned however, was to be conducting such a test quite yet. He had been convinced that Byakuya had not yet begun to feel anything for his King, but the events of the day had only served to prove him wrong. Knowing now that Byakuya would no longer be able to harm him or Ichi in such a way, he felt that there was a hell of a lot more fun to be had with Bya-chan. After all, Byakuya wasn't the only one who could shunpo like a God.
"Hmm? You're much more interesting than I thuoght, Bya-chan. Who would have thought that you of all people would pass up the chance to get rid of me, nee?"
"As I said, you have done nothing to warrant such action from me."
Ichigo grinned once more.
"And what if I was to do this?" he countered, shunpoing the short distance between them, effectively trapping Byakuya between himself and the desk, his arms reaching around either side of the noble to bring his hands to rest upon the smooth wood of the desk.
Byakuya gulped. He still was unable to do anything to Ichigo. Despite the fact that it was the Hollow in control of the body at the moment, it did not feel as such to him. The essence of Ichigo was still the same and the very proximity of such essence, the overpowering pressure of it, had Byakuya paralysed to the spot.
"You have done nothing to warrant such action from me," he managed to get out.
Ichigo inwardly smirked. Now things were definitely getting fun.
"Shiro, let me back out this instant!"
He inwardly cackled. "No way Ichi, I'm having way too much fun with this."
"Stop it, you're going to ruin everything."
"Or maybe I'll just make it better."
"Shiro...SHIRO!"
He tuned Ichi out so that he could better concentrate on his task. It seemed that perhaps he wouldn't be able to have as much fun with the noble as he had wanted, but that mattered little in the grand scheme of things. He would make sure to leave them both something to remember.
He leaned closer until he was breathing in the scent of the Sixth Squad taichou. He breathed lightly on the shell of Byakuya's ear whispering, "And what if I do this?" He licked Byakuya's ear seductively whilst handing control back to Ichigo.
Byakuya had to tell himself that this was not Ichigo no matter how much it felt like him, no matter how much he wished that it could be him. He opened his eyes, not even reaslising that he had closed them let alone when, to be greeted by warm, brown eyes looking intently in to his own. He blinked momentarily to ensure that what he was seeing before him was indeed true. There was no doubt in his mind that his Ichigo had returned. He was plagued however, over just when Ichigo had claimed back control. Although he logically knew that it was probably after the events that had just transpired, it did not stop him from wishing that it was not the case, that it had been all Ichigo and not Ichigo.
They stared at each other for what seemed to be an age before Byakuya felt the need to break the silence between them.
"Ichi..."
"Gomen," Ichigo interrupted softly, his eyes downcast refusing to look Byakuya in the eye any longer. "Gomen"
He turned quickly and walked out of the office before Byakuya even had so much as a chance to stop him. He stood there still frozen to the spot, his right ear burning where Ichigo had touched it. He managed to keep himself composed until he had seated himself back within his chair behind the desk. He had only just truly admitted to himself that he was in love with the Fifth Squad taichou before that had happened. It was rare that he was unable to formualte any semblance of thought or movement, yet nothing more than a simple position had him struggling to form coherent thought let alone speak. Did these actions mean that Ichigo perhaps felt the same away about him? No, that could not be the case as it was not Ichigo that had done anything. He apologised, his mind reminded him. It was true, if the Shinigami did have any sort of romantic feeling towards him then he would not have apologised. However, the manner of apology left Byakuya even more confused. He had seemed so submissive and almost forlorn in his manner and tone. It was an entirely all too confusing matter, one that he could ill afford to make a mistake in.
Perhaps dwelling on this matter is not necessarily the best thing for you to be doing at the moment, Byakuya, Senbonzakura said internally.
Byakuya himself could see the merit in following his zanpakutou's advice, and yet he could not keep his mind from the matter. He glanced over his desk unseeingly until the pile of paperwork there brought him back from his musings a little.
Of course, was it not paperwork that he had brought with him? He asked himself.
Yes, good old paperwork, the old fail safe for when one wanted to not think upon matters and wished to enter in to mind-numbingness. Paperwork could only be a good thing right now. He reached for the first sheaf of work upon the pile, once again slightly irked at the inefficientness of not only the lower ranks of Shinigami, but also the Eighth Squad taichou. Was it really so much to ask that the right paperwork went to the correct Squad? The situation only aided in reminding him that he himself had a small stack of work that needed to be delivered to the Third Squad and its taichou. Yes, a short surprise visit to his old fukutaichou would be sure to lift his spirits. First though, he would finish the last of his own paperwork.
His hand moved gracefully across the page almost with a feminine quality to it. He smudged not a single character as he lost himself in the almost theraputic monotony of signing his name and filling out the usual forms that came with his position. The minutes ticked by rapidly as Byakuya's mind became blank and his body carried on mechanically with his task. It did not take him long to complete the extra work that he had been given, until only the papers for the Third Squad remianed upon his desk. Glancing at the clock upon the wall he summised that he had managed to whittle away almost an hour in mind-numbed bliss. He placed his ink pen back upon its stand and closed the lid on the small well of black ink. It seemed that whilst the paperwork had succeeded in doing what he had wanted, he perhaps wished that it could have worked for a while longer. He let a gentle sigh escape before proceeding to seize the papers that did not belong to his Squad and swiflty exiting the Sixth Squad barracks.
The location of his former fukutaichou's barracks was over the other side of Seireitei, leaving Byakuya a chance to admire the mid Spring weather, including the fall of the sakura, as he walked. He surrepticiously breathed deeply of the scent that enveloped him. It was both his favourite and least favourite time of the year. There were so many memories connected with the season, one perhaps his most treasured; the other his most devestating. Yes, the Spring was rather bittersweet for one Kuchiki Byakuya.
His arrival at the Third Squad barracks created little fanfare, unless you would call countless Shinigami running to hide from him, fanfare. If he could have he would have chuckled at their antics. Such reactions never failed to amuse him for they only sought to prove just how successful he was with his demeanour. It was especially helpful when he wished to arrive at his destination unannounced, much as he wanted to do today. After all, where was the fun in Renji being pre-warned of his arrival?
He arrived at the correct door to lead in to the Third Squad taichou's office. Byakuya softly slid open the door. He was not ready for the sight that met his eyes. He shut the door just as softly and slightly shook his head to clear the image that had just burned itself in to his retinas. He surely could not have seen that. There was clearly no actual way that such a thing was occurring. Determined that he was merely overtired and therefore imagining things, he slid open the door again.
He definitely was not dreaming. He was pretty much one hundred percent sure that his uniform clad sister was sitting on the taichou's desk with said taichoustanding between her spread legs; one hand upon her hips, the other woven in to her short, black hair. As if the position alone was not disconcerting enough for the noble, the the act itself in which they were engaging had him reaching for his zanpakutou. He did not ever remember giving his permission for Rukia to do such a thing. Neither of the two engaged Shinigami seemed to notice the addition of Byakuya. Having seen enough, the noble cleared his throat. Surprised, Rukia ripped her lips away from her partners and whipped her head towards the door before gasping, "Nii-sama!"
