Chapter 7: Rebirth

"Come with me, Byakuya," Hajime said, helping him to his feet, "There is a stream a short distance away from here and quite a lot of berry bushes if you are hungry."

Byakuya followed the other silently, studying the slim, lithe form, the black flowing hair, the way he walked…everything. It was a wonder seeing this one he had only seen in the stories in the archive, suddenly standing before him in full living color…alive and breathing. But he wasn't fully alive, not yet.

"You still look a bit shaken, Byakuya," Hajime said, bending to gather water into his curved palm, "Now then, I've shared something of myself with you. Perhaps you should bring me up to date. I am interested to learn what has happened in the years I've been away."

He turned his eyes away to study their tranquil surroundings.

"I imagine the council had me erased from all records once word came of what I had done…"

Byakuya nodded.

"Nearly everyone believed you betrayed and tried to murder the king, then were cut down by Royal Guardsmen. But Prince Kazuhiko actually witnessed your self-sacrifice. For a long time, he could not tell the king. I do not fully understand his reasons, but he kept that secret until recently…after the diary fell into my hands and I began to follow in your path…with the princess at my side, leading me to my death as she had led you. But when the talisman gained control of me, it sought not just to kill the king, but all of the royal family. The princess was the first to die at my hands, followed by the head captain of the Royal Guard. I re-entered the spirit dimension and sought to reach the king. But I had been forewarned of what would be…and I had prepared Renji for what was to happen. He arrived in time to stop me and to defeat the hold the talisman had over me. It next invaded the queen and she sent her personal guard to massacre the Kuchiki families, then sought to kill the prince and the king. Because Renji and I became spirit bonded, we were able to combine our attacks to create a 'divine dragon' that allowed us to defeat her. More recently, the prince decided that he wanted to make amends for the treachery of his mother. He renounced his right to the throne, giving it instead to our Hajime. We have done our best since then to protect him, but we were forewarned that he would face danger and that it would bring about your return."

"And you say that someone has been calling Hajime?"

"Yes, he has told us that he hears a strange voice calling for him. I do not know the source of the voice…only that the power that I felt when I was near it felt like that of a zanpakutou."

Hajime's eyes widened.

"A zanpakutou, you say?"

"Yes," Byakuya confirmed, "Hajime said that he heard the voice singing…and that he felt compelled to follow it. It led him to a sakura tree that I was given by the ancient sakura. We found him sleeping beneath it, with that feeling of power around him…and we could not wake him for some time after, due to that power."

Hajime broke into a smile.

"Mei-ka!"

Byakuya gazed at him for a moment.

"Your zanpakutou?" he queried.

Hajime nodded.

"My zanpakutou is Zetsumei Kakyoku. His release command is Saezuru…Sing…"

"That means that…"

"He wasn't calling your Hajime at all, Byakuya, Mei-ka was calling for me. He was likely confused when your son kept going to him. Your Hajime's reiatsu would have been similar to mine, so Mei-ka would have known not to harm him. He probably only made him sleep as he did to conceal himself until such time as I came to him. So Mei-ka survives. I wasn't sure what would have happened to him, although the ancient sakura assured me that he would return to me."

Byakuya breathed a soft sigh of relief.

"Then the sleepwalking is not a sign of the threat we are guarding against," he said, gazing into the water.

"No," said Hajime, glancing at him and following his gaze, "but my return is a sign that something will happen soon…and that something will endanger us all. Byakuya, before we return, I have to give you a warning. I was told by the ancient sakura that my return will either end the threat to the heir or it will end the lives of all of the bloodline. I must successfully protect Young Hajime, because if I fail to do so, he and all others who share my blood and the king's will perish."

Byakuya turned and stared at him in surprise.

"Then…Takeshi, Chisaki, our twins and Renji all?"

"All will perish," Hajime said softly.

"And as I am soul bonded with Renji, that means that I will die as well."

"Yes…and there is one thing more. If that happens…it will bring about the death of the king, himself. I do not know the mechanism of his death, only that I was warned of this. I assure you that once I have returned, I will see to Young Hajime's safety."

He stepped closer to Byakuya and studied him carefully, then stepped back, smiling.

"Byakuya," he said, meeting the calm gray eyes, "your reiatsu has been restored. The time has come. When you wake, you must return to the sakura tree where Mei-ka was. Give the command, 'Saezuru, Zetsumei Kakyoku,' and his power will be released. He will be able to complete the rebirth ritual to bring me back."

He sobered slightly.

"It will consume all of our reiatsu again, so you should warn Renji and your children that we will be incapacitated for a time after."

Byakuya nodded.

"What must we do to return to my body?" he asked.

"Just close your eyes and will it. Your reiatsu is strong enough now to allow your return. I am bonded to your spirit for now and will go with you when you leave this place."

Byakuya closed his eyes and pictured the archive, willing himself to return to it. There was a moment of hesitation, the world faded around them and Byakuya felt himself pulled back into the cool darkness of the archive.

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya opened his eyes and found that he had collapsed on the archive floor. His body felt stiff and ached fiercely, but he righted himself and sat for a moment, letting the life return to his limbs and breathing slowly to chase the cobwebs from his mind. He felt the strong pulse of Hajime's life force radiating inside him and remembered his ancestor's instructions. Slowly, he climbed to his feet and made his way to the archive door. As he opened the door, he came face to face with a sea of worried faces. Renji was on his feet instantly and threw his arms around the noble, holding him tightly.

"Dad!" the children said, climbing to their feet and wrapping themselves around him.

Byakuya held them close, smiling as warmth and life reclaimed him.

"Now, are you going to tell us what in the hell is going on?" Renji asked, brushing a tear away from his eye, "You disappeared into that place and we waited all night, wondering if you were coming out."

He touched Renji's face gently.

"I am sorry that I worried you. I assure you that I only now was given to know what was happening. I will explain."

Byakuya sat down on the walkway, leaning back against the wall and Renji sat down next to him. The children clustered around, listening closely.

"Long ago, before the fall of Hajime Kuchiki, the ancient sakura foresaw what was to be and saw also that she could not act to prevent it. So she set in place a way for Hajime's spirit to be taken to a safe place upon his death and kept there until such time as a Kuchiki clan member would find his diary and act to clear his name. That action was a sign that the time was nearing that he would be able to attempt a rebirth ritual. It required a soul of sufficient power to complete the ritual…and that soul is mine. When I entered the archive before, Hajime attempted to send his spirit into my body, but the first attempt only partially joined us. This is why when I came out of the archive, I collapsed and it is why there seemed to be another reiatsu inside me. I had to regain the strength to return to the archive to complete the transfer of Hajime's spirit through the diary and into my body. He fully resides there now, though, having regained my own power, I am in control."

"So…he's…inside you?" asked Takeshi, looking into Byakuya's eyes.

The others leaned forward, looking as well.

"Yes…this is what our Hajime sensed when he was in the room with me before."

"But what happens now?" asked Renji, "How do you complete the ritual?"

"It turns out," Byakuya explained, "that the voice our Hajime has been hearing was not calling to him after all. That voice…is the voice of the elder Hajime's zanpakutou. It has returned and waits by the sakura tree near the waterfall to finish the rebirth ritual. He called to the elder Hajime to bring him there. It is there we must go for the end of the ritual."

"What will happen during the ritual?" asked Renji, "It won't be painful for you, will it?"

"Not painful…no," Byakuya explained, "but you must be aware that it requires a great output of reiatsu. It will leave both Hajime and me unconscious for some time after. But when we wake, we will be fine. I just don't want you to worry. Everything will be fine. But we do need to complete the ritual now."

"Right now?" Renji said worriedly, "Bya, you just…"

"The process of rebirth is putting great strain on my body and my spirit energy. I have to finish the ritual before I am overcome by the demands of it."

"Then let's go," Renji said, climbing to his feet and offering Byakuya a hand.

Byakuya stood and looked back at the children.

"You should go to sleep. The sun will be up soon and you will be exhausted. I will have Renji with me. We will be fine."

Takeo glanced at the others, reading their expressions, then looked back at Byakuya.

"Dad…not to be disrespectful, but I don't think that any of us are going to sleep anyway," he said quietly.

"We promise to stay back," Takeshi said, "and we won't involve ourselves in any way."

Byakuya glanced at Renji and Renji smiled wearily.

"Well…being that they are related to me and knowing what I would have done at their age, they're likely to follow after us anyway. Maybe it's best if we take them along. I can shield them if it becomes necessary."

Byakuya hesitated for a long moment, then released a discontented sigh.

"I don't think that they only inherited such instincts from you, Renji," he said, allowing himself a small smile, "I would have done the same. I imagine it would be best to maintain control of the situation as best we can."

"Then we can come along?" asked Chisaki.

"As long as you remain behind Renji," said Byakuya firmly, "This will expend massive amounts of spirit energy, enough to incapacitate me."

"Yeah," agreed Renji, "Get too close and POOF…you are toast…Got it?"

The children nodded.

"Takeo," Byakuya said quietly, "I want you to watch over Hajime."

Takeo nodded and gathered the boy in his arms.

Byakuya turned away and led them across the silent gardens. They passed through the gate and moved out onto the forest path. They began to hear a soft voice singing in the early morning darkness and felt calm and peace pass into them.

"That is Zetsumei Kakyoku," Byakuya said softly, "He has sensed my approach and is welcoming me."

Byakuya moved ahead of them, his yukata fluttering softly in the breeze, giving his shadowy form a soft, ghostlike quality. Renji held the others back, following at a distance as they came into the clearing at the top of the waterfall.

The place had become something magical. Heavy mist blanketed the sakura trees that dotted the cliff above the waterfall. Early morning light was beginning to break through and lit the moisture in the air and on the falling petals like tiny stars. Dew shined like small diamonds on the grass and everything had the fresh, unspoiled scent of a lovely spring morning. And underneath the sakura Byakuya had been gifted with, sat the small whiplike elf. Lively green eyes lifted and met Byakuya's, shyly at first, but then widening and sparking with excitement and relief.

"Hajime?" he whispered, as though not quite believing his eyes.

Byakuya smiled back at him and the elf drew closer, placing his hands on the noble's face and studying his calm blue and gray eyes.

"Mei-ka," Byakuya whispered, allowing Hajime to surface, "I have missed you these long years. How did you survive?"

The elf brushed tears away from its eyes.

"When you fell onto me and forced me to end your life, the mother tree sealed my spirit away in one of her seeds so that the loss of you would not destroy me. I grew alongside of the baby tree until the time came that life was given to it and then I was released."

"So," Hajime said softly, "in truth, we both owe this second chance to the same person…It was his life force used to give life to the tree, and his body and reiatsu have carried me to you for the last of the rebirth ritual. Are you ready, then?"

"Master Hajime," whispered the musical voice of the elf, "I have been ready since before your last breath."

"Then let us begin."

The elf took Byakuya's hands and their eyes locked. Heavy, thundering waves of spirit energy rose around them, rumbling through the earth beneath them, shaking the trees and swirling the grass at their feet.

Renji pressed back against the children.

"Stay back now," he warned them.

The spirit energy swirled around Byakuya and the elf, making their hair whip about on the breezes and their clothing snap in the sharp gusts of wind. Under the heavy current, the others could hear Byakuya's voice.

"Saezuru, Zetsumei Kakyoku!"

Golden light exploded around the elf, lifting him gently into the air as his song broke over the howl of the raging wind. The song began low pitched and earthy, curling around Byakuya like something alive, solidifying and enclosing him inside a shining, living, breathing cocoon. Light shot through, showing the outline of Byakuya's encircled body. The song rose in pitch and became as sharp as the edge of a knife. Byakuya swayed as it broke over him and with infuriating slowness, another form began to emerge. Drawn out by the heavy, commanding sound of elfsong, the other slid free of Byakuya, coming to rest on his feet, facing the noble, light flashing brightly around him as his body began to resolve itself.

The elf's voice snapped across the cocoon that held them, shattering it and sending the two shinigami to their knees. Hajime's dark blue eyes rose to meet the dark gray of his descendant's. He smiled gratefully as the elfsong died and the power around them faded.

"Byakuya Kuchiki, my great-grandnephew, I thank you for this!" he whispered.

Mei-ka's arms wrapped around Hajime and lowered him slowly to the ground and Renji ran forward to capture Byakuya in his arms as the noble collapsed. Light flared a final time around them and when it faded, Hajime lay sleeping on the ground beside Byakuya with a lovely sheathed zanpakutou in his hand and resting along his side. The elf was gone and the air was suddenly filled with early morning birdsong.

Renji reassured himself that Byakuya was merely sleeping and called softly to Takeo.

"Take him," he said, motioning to Hajime, "We should get them back to the manor to rest. Byakuya said that they would have to sleep to replenish their reiatsu."

Renji lifted Byakuya in his arms, and followed by the still awestruck children, walked slowly back to the manor.