Chapter 7: Righteous Indignation

Renji realized as he reached the Kuchiki Council Hall that he was about to do something extremely un-Byakuya-like and arrive at the council chamber looking hurried and out of sorts. He had made up enough time flash stepping there, so he slowed and found a place to stop and set the kenseiken and ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu back in order, before turning back toward the council hall and ascending the stairs, looking much less harried and much more regal.

The guards bowed their heads in welcome and Renji nodded briefly, as he had seen Byakuya do. He passed them and entered the hall, crossing to the main council chamber and waiting as the sentry opened the door for him. As he made his way to Byakuya's place at the head of the table, he felt a soft twinge in his abdomen and a sweep of returning nausea. He managed to breathe through it, without losing his calm demeanor, but he took the warning. He had to be careful not to put stress on the babies.

He sat down at the head of the table, watching calmly as the others took their places. Head Councilor, Kuchiki Nori, stood and called the meeting to order.

"Will all please take their places? Arigato. This meeting of the elders is called into session. All members of council will adhere to the rules of proper decorum. On the agenda today…"

He stopped and stared as Renji stood, narrowing the dark gray eyes and giving the council a very stern look that Byakuya gave people when he wanted to scare the shit out of them. He raised his reiatsu warningly. Councilor Nori stared silently for a moment, then cleared his throat, obviously unsettled by the weight of the clan leader's power flare.

"Ah, Byakuya-sama, you have something to add to the agenda?" he asked, trying to sound unaffected.

"I will address the council," he said, using Byakuya's own "Don't you dare fuck with me" inflection.

The head councilor frowned, but nodded.

"Very well then, Byakuya-sama, please continue."

Renji turned his gaze onto the men and women of the council, wanting to laugh at how uncomfortable they looked, faced with his anger. He heard Byakuya's voice in his head, telling him all of the things he wanted to do to these people and wished silently that Byakuya could be there to do it himself. But being that his taichou was probably just waking up to the realization of their body switch, it was up to Renji to see that these nobles learned what a mistake it was to mess with their leader…

"Several months ago, I came before this council with a very sincere and straightforward request. I wanted to marry Abarai Renji and I was willing to make some concessions to gain the council's blessing to do so…"

"Byakuya-sama, we…"

"I am not finished," he snapped, cutting off the head councilor with a withering glare, "For years, I have allowed this council to pore over every inch of my life, prating to me about my choices and trying to move me always in the direction you wished…"

"Byakuya-sama," said Nori, bristling, "perhaps you have forgotten, but this council has been more than flexible, despite your tendency to deviate from the rules. You have no understanding of the need for structure."

"I believe in there being a structure for living," Renji went on, his voice deepening and his eyes becoming as dark as the reaitsu danced around the room, "but that being said, to tinker with the very laws of nature defies the structure we have been given to work within."

"Are we to take it that Abarai Renji is in…a delicate condition, then?" Councilor Sora asked in a smooth tone.

"Councilor Sora," Renji said, using Byakuya's 'You just stepped over the line and you're about to regret it' tone, "I was certain when it became clear that Abarai Renji was with child, that you were at the center of things. If you wish to discuss the subject of deviation and defying the rules…"

Sora's expression darkened and he fell silent.

"Yes, Councilor Sora, your filthy hands were all over this travesty…as were yours, Councilor Aiya."

He gave the two an intense glare, raising his spiritual pressure until everyone in the room was cringing. Renji was pretty sure that Byakuya, himself, couldn't have done a better job of intimidating the two. He turned his attention back to the head councilor.

"This council was fully aware that when I gave my permission for the council to handle the matter of my heir, I was intending that you should choose my heir from among one of the sub-families of the clan. I certainly never imagined that an esteemed and dignified group of noble stock would sink so low as to use a fertility charm that would make me impregnate my male lover!"

"We were well within the confines of our agreement…"

"Which you manipulated unforgivably!" Renji said, his reiatsu flaring and making them cringe again.

"I have warned all of you that I am not going to allow you to walk all over me…or use me to meet your own selfish ends. There is a price for interfering with my personal life…"

"But we had the right to make you impregnate your spouse. It's even been done before!" objected Nori.

"Not against the wishes of the clan leader…and not when the leader's lover was male! Only once…when the leader's wife was unable to conceive and the council assisted with the leader's approval. And this council's action has violated every reasonable rule of nature in conception. In addition to forcing my body to impregnate my male lover, it did so six times over."

The councilors' eyes widened.

"And one more thing that your little 'experiment' achieved…was 'blessing' my body with four more!"

He raised his spiritual pressure until the councilors gasped in actual fear. He had a very brief moment of wondering if he had gone a bit over the top, then he loosed a concentrated blast of kido that vaporized everything in the room except the councilors and himself. The Elders tumbled to the floor as the chairs underneath them disappeared. Cries of surprise issued from all around and they shrank back as Renji stepped forward, his reiatsu still flaring.

"The next time this council trods upon my rights will be the last time. I warn you. Do not dare to anger me this way again!"

He turned to leave, but as he started towards the door, it burst open and Byakuya flash stepped into the room, still dressed in a yukata and his red hair loose and uncombed.

"R-renji?" he gasped.

He recovered himself quickly.

"Are you…Is everything all right?" he asked, looking into the panicked brown eyes.

Byakuya's eyes traveled around the destroyed room, then found Renji again.

"You…" he whispered, then stopped and clutched his abdomen, gasping.

A moment later, he threw up on the floor. Renji gazed at him sympathetically, glad that no one but the two of them knew this was actually Byakuya. The overwhelmed noble, lifted his eyes back to Renji's and he struggled to think of something to say. Renji cleared his throat and turned back to the council, who still sat, stunned, on the floor with the ashes of the chairs and table lying on the floor all around them.

"I sincerely hope that all of you will take this warning to heart and refrain from any future attempts to meddle with my personal life."

He looked back at Byakuya.

"You see, Renji, I told you that I would make them understand the seriousness of their actions, without actually damaging them."

He turned to face the council.

"Renji dashed over here, obviously concerned, because I told him that I was coming here to teach all of you a lesson. Though why he wastes any time worrying about the fates of horrible folk like yourselves…but then that is one of the things that I find most endearing about my lover."

Despite still clutching his stomach and looking as though he'd throw up again, Byakuya managed to give Renji a look that stated clearly that it was time for them to leave.

"Well," he said, letting his reiatsu calm, "Now that I have made you aware of your poor judgment, I am going home to begin preparing the nurseries to hold all of these heirs!"

He strode across the room, wrapping an arm around Byakuya and urging him in the direction of the door.

"Oh my sweet kami," Byakuya whispered under his breath, "Renji, I swear you will be the death of me!"

He flinched as Renji stopped him at the door and turned back one more time.

"Oh," he said blithely to the council, "Council is dismissed."

He swept a sputtering Byakuya out the door and back to the manor.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Renji…" moaned Byakuya, wincing as nausea made him close his eyes and breathe more deeply to avoid throwing up again, "H-how could you…do that? They're going to have me declared insane, I think!"

Renji smiled apologetically.

"Hey, I didn't know that you were only blowing off steam when you told me you were going to 'vaporize the furniture and drop their asses on the council room floor!' Byakuya, I thought that you were really meaning to do that. I didn't know. I'm sorry, really," Renji said sincerely.

He handed Byakuya a cup of ginger tea. The noble accepted the cup, but glared at him.

"Oh," Byakuya groaned, "and I only made it worse, bursting into the council chambers unannounced…and dressed like I just woke up! Ugh, I think I'll be sick again…"

Renji smiled at him.

"You looked damned cute, Bya," he laughed, curling an arm around the noble and brushing the tumbled hair out of his eyes, "I had no idea I looked that cute, being pregnant!"

"Shut up," Byakuya snapped, his eyes flaring hotly, "You're making me feel worse! Ugh…Renji…I'll never be able to show my face again!"

"Hey, relax, will you?" Renji said, pulling him close, "The council will get over it. And as far as you bursting into the room and not being appropriately dressed, just remember…that wasn't you. The council saw me rushing in there like that. And I'm not humiliated. I don't give a damn. Now, try to calm down. Remember, it isn't good for the babies when you get all stressed out like that."

Byakuya sighed and dropped back against the pillows.

"I am never leaving this room again…" he muttered, frowning.

"Don't say that," Renji chided him gently, "everything will be fine, but I guess you want your body back."

Byakuya shook his head.

"We don't have any of the seeds to loosen our reiatsu. And besides…I'm not letting you touch me. I'm still angry with you!"

Renji rolled his eyes.

"Don't do that when you're in my body!" Byakuya snapped, "I don't roll my eyes like some defiant teenager!"

"Hey, will you calm down?" Renji said, starting to look concerned, "You really are going to make yourself sick again. Just take a few breaths or something."

Byakuya sighed heavily and closed his eyes, trying to forget he was in Renji's body and stuffed to the teeth with babies.

"Byakuya, maybe we should go to Unohana taichou. I mean, we switched bodies this time without sex or those seed things. We should probably find out why. Besides, you can't stay here all day, feeling sorry for yourself. Come on, get up. We should at least take a walk around the garden and get some fresh air."

Byakuya continued to frown, but climbed slowly to his feet and followed Renji out of the room.

"So are we going for a walk or are we going to Unohana taichou?" Renji asked.

"Unohana taichou," Byakuya said, his voice sounding more settled, "I want to get out of your body and back into mine as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Taichou," Renji muttered, "You know, it isn't so bad being me!"

"I never said it was," Byakuya said as they left the manor and set out for the fourth division, "I actually quite enjoy it."

"Then, why did you say you want to change back as soon as possible?"

Byakuya narrowed his eyes.

"Because although I enjoy being you, I don't enjoy it so much when you are impersonating me. I can get into enough trouble on my own. I don't need you getting me in trouble too!"

"Nice, Byakuya…thanks…"

"You asked."

"Don't worry. It won't happen again."

They reached the healing center and waited quietly in Unohana taichou's office until she returned from her rounds. She sat down at her desk and looked up at the two of them questioningly.

"What can I do for the two of you?" she asked pleasantly.

"We have encountered a sort of…anomaly," Byakuya said.

The healer frowned and looked more closely at Byakuya and the noble realized that although he was still in Renji's body, he had spoken like himself.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Well," Byakuya went on, "You remember that we explained to you that because of the attack of the neko-hineri, we switched bodies for a time, but then later switched back?"

"Yes," Unohana taichou said, nodding, "I do recall that…and judging by what I am beginning to sense, I think you have switched again, ne?"

"Yes," Byakuya answered, "but we cannot figure out why we switched. Urahara Kisuke said that it would only happen…under certain circumstances…and those were not met."

"Remind me again what the circumstances are?" she queried.

Byakuya flushed and went silent.

"We have to usually loosen our reiatsu somehow and then make love…but we didn't do either of those things. We don't know why we switched."

Unohana sighed and thought for several minutes.

"Well," she said finally, "it is possible that your reiatsu has loosened due to your pregnancies. That is normal. Also normal is for you to have power flares and drop offs…as Kuchiki taichou did last night, while he was here."

"That's when it happened!" Renji exclaimed, "That's it then!"

He turned to Byakuya.

"So we don't need the seeds, if our reiatsu is already loosened. We just have to…"

He paused at the withering look Byakuya gave him.

"But there's no guarantee we won't switch back every time we have a power flare," Byakuya said grimly.

"Or sex," Renji added, ignoring the flare of Byakuya's reiatsu.

"That is correct," said the healer.

"Looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time on our backs, Taichou!" Renji laughed.

Unohana taichou stared and Byakuya glared at Renji.

"Ah," she said, smiling pleasantly, "so now that we know what's going on, I won't keep you. Just let me know if there are any further problems."

Giggling softly, she turned and left the office. There was a long silence.

"Um," Renji said finally, "I guess we should, uh, go back to the manor and…switch back…you think?"

For the first time since they'd switched, Byakuya was glad not to be in his own body.

"Fuck you," he said angrily and flash stepped out the door.