Yay, another chapter! ^_^ Hope you enjoy!
Byakuya's Schemes: chapter 9
Byakuya ran his hand through his loose raven locks, while he sat at a small table in the corner of his room, trying to concoct more of his Renji-Rukia-get-together schemes by the faint glow of a rapidly melting candle at his side. But he was stuck. He just couldn't think of anything. He most likely had some version of-oh, what did they call it in the human world?-writer's block. Yes, that was it. He had hit a wall, and no matter how much he tried, he simply couldn't think of another scheme at the moment.
Face still creased in concentration, the noble ultimately decided that the best course of action would be to partake in some much-needed rest. After this whole assassin thing was over, he really needed to stress down. Maybe when he woke up after a good night's sleep he would be able to draw inspiration...
For he was having scheme block.
Rukia snuggled down into the soft covers of Renji's futon. Her brother insisted that she should stay with Renji another month, just in case. She hadn't protested, of course, being secretly delighted at the fact that she could spend more time with him, and had agreed as soon as it had been mentioned. And Renji had also, not surprisingly, agreed instantly.
Renji... she looked over to him, sleeping on his spare futon, and feeling her heart ache. She didn't want to go into all the reasons why she couldn't confess to him in her head again, so she tried thinking of something else.
As soon as they had returned to Soul Society, her brother had made an excuse for her absence to Yamamoto, saying that she as well had been kidnapped but Byakuya himself had saved the both of them. It had sufficed, though the old man probably had his suspicions, and they weren't in any kind of trouble.
But as Rukia attempted to go to sleep again, she also didn't notice that Renji had been awake, and had noticed her looking at him. He had seen something in her eyes...the moonlight streaming in through the shades on the window had shown him...he had seen the emotion, the love hidden in her heart. The want and desire and yearning that had been pent up over decades of keeping her secret. There was no mistaking it. For all these years...she had also felt what he had, and loved him just as he loved her. For a minute, he had to force himself to come to the full realization of it...she loved him...but once he did, once he did...he almost wanted to cry at the emotion he was feeling.
"Rukia," he said aloud, sitting up, causing the covers on his torso to fall in a bundle to his lap. Rukia had been about to drift off into dreamland when she heard him call her name.
"What...what is it, Renji?" she asked, turning to face him and also sitting upright. She was taken aback by his gaze, which was intensified by the moonlight.
"R...Renji..."
"Rukia..." he repeated. "Do you love me?" His eyes were unwavering, and fixed firmly on her own. Rukia managed to keep herself from screaming "YES!" and throwing herself in his arms. Instead she cleared her throat, replying rather unconvincingly,
"Of course, you're my best friend..."
"No," he said, firmly and immediately. The large man stood up, walking over to her, and then fell to the ground beside her, grabbing her gently by the shoulders. He repeated it again, but with more desperation in his voice.
"Do you love me?" Rukia's eyes began to water as she looked directly into his eyes.
"R-Renji...the family...they would harass you, you would be miserable...you don't deserve to live like that-"
"-Rukia, I don't care about any of that! Forget about everything else, and just tell me! Do you love me!" Rukia was overwhelmed with emotion, tears beginning to streak down her face as her feelings welled up inside of her. Her brain kept saying no, but her heart was screaming yes, her heart was begging and pleading with her to tell him, so that they could love each other and be with each other, and hold each other tightly and lovingly forever, and never let go again.
"H...Hai," she whispered, almost before she knew it. Her heart had won, and the cat was out of the bag. Unexpectedly, Renji also started crying, and he pulled Rukia into a tight embrace.
"I love you so much," he choked out between tears. Oh, how long it had taken him to say that to her...
Her own arms squeezed his body tightly, and Rukia also uttered the words.
"I love you too." And then, their lips met. The tears were gone now, the emotion they felt of having the other love each of them back having been replaced by need and desire that had collected and gathered itself over years of unbearable separation.
Their kisses deepened, and the couples' purely love-driven actions intensified. Rukia had crawled out from under the covers of the futon and was now straddling the still-sitting Renji. Their hands traveled all over each other, and clothing was urgently yet gently pushed aside.
They fell to the futon, and their actions henceforth were of moans, pleasure, and passion as raw and pure as the blazing summer sun.
THE NEXT DAY
"Kuchiki-taicho?" asked Ukitake as the noble strode into his office. Paperwork littered the sickly captain's desk, and said man set his pen down so he could speak with his fellow captain.
"Ukitake...I am having a problem," stated Byakuya. "I am experiencing scheme block." Ukitake raised an eyebrow.
"Scheme block?"
"Correct," confirmed Byakuya. "I am having difficulty forming a plan which will reach my ultimate goal of Renji and Rukia confessing their love to each other." Ukitake understood now.
"I see..." replied Ukitake. "Perhaps it is a sign that you should stop with all of your plans, and let them find each other on their own." Byakuya shot him a questioning glance.
"What are you implying?" he asked, his voice lined with suspicion. Ukitake's eyes hardened.
"All I am saying, Kuchiki-taicho," he began, "Is that it may be the time to give this up."
"Why do you propose this?" Byakuya was slightly irritated now, frustrated that Ukitake was going against him.
"Think about it," said Ukitake. "Your last plan nearly killed the both of them."
"That was not my fault, and you know it!" objected the noble, allowing some anger to break through his cold facade. "The fact that I formulated a plan has nothing to do with the fact that there was an assassin after them!"
"That may be true...but your suggestion was still a reckless one." Surprisingly, Ukitake was the one controlling his anger instead of Byakuya. "What are you going to do next, Kuchiki-taicho?" he asked firmly. "Is it going to be something that really will make them disappear?"
At the word 'disappear,' Byakuya jumped. An idea had just sprung to mind. He internally smirked.
"Thank you, Ukitake," he said. "You have broken my scheme block."
When Renji awoke the next morning, he saw that Rukia was also awake, and sitting up on the futon, her small hands clutching a bundle of sheet just above her breasts and allowing the rest to flow down and cover her torso as she stared off into space. Renji noticed that she seemed upset, so he sat up as well, resting a tattooed arm over her shoulders.
His actions startled the small girl, who jumped slightly at the sudden movement, but then relaxed as she realized that it was just her partner waking up. She looked up at him, smiling and closing her eyes to try and hide her distress.
"Hey," she said softly, but just as with her facial expression, her tone of voice wasn't fooling Renji either. There was something up, and he knew it.
"What's wrong?" he asked, then added teasingly, "Am I a bad screw or something?" A blush quickly spread out across Rukia's face, as she quickly and nervously reassured,
"N-No! Last night was great...And w-what makes you think that something is wrong, you b-bastard!" Rukia's flustered and nervous state had changed to that of being angry and reprimanding, and Renji chuckled, as even though she would never admit it, she could be pretty childish sometimes. Not to mention that she was pretty damn adorable when she was like this.
"Seriously, though," began Renji, returning to the matter at hand, "What's up?" Rukia sighed, realizing that she couldn't fool him, and decided that she had better just tell him already. The small girl felt even more relaxed when her beloved moved his hand down from her shoulder to rub at her back soothingly, his callouses tickling the smooth skin of her bare back as he tried to coax her into letting him know what the matter was.
"It's just...nii-sama, and the family...and, and us...Renji, do you know how hard this is going to be?" She looked up at him with despair reflecting in her violet orbs, and it was obvious that she just needed something from him, some indication of how he wanted to deal with this. He gazed back with a firm look.
"We'll make it through," he assured, his hand having returned to her shoulder, pulling her closer. "If you ask me, the main concern is your brother. Even though I am kinda afraid that he's going to turn me into mince meat, the best option would probably be...would probably be to tell him as soon as possible. So, today." Rukia's eyes widened.
"Wow..." said Rukia, amazed. Renji quirked an eyebrow at her.
"What?"
"You've grown up so much, Renji..." said Rukia seriously, looking up at him tenderly and with a smile. "You're facing your responsibilities like a real man, head on, instead of trying to run away...thank you..." She tucked herself further into his side, her free arm wrapping tightly around his chest. Renji, on the other hand, was surprised as hell. The last thing he had expected from Rukia was an endearment on his maturity. He blushed slightly, tightening his grip around her.
"You know it's not a problem, Ruk..." he said softly, and the both of them simply relaxed then, basking in each others' embrace and in the warm sunlight which was streaming in through the blinds.
END OF CHAPTER 9
FINALLY, I got this thing written. Sorry for the delay, and I know this chap is maybe a tad short, but Renji and Rukia finally got together! ^_^ Next chapter is partly figured out, so I'm going to try and get it up in about a week. Tite Kubo owns Bleach, not I, and I love and appreciate all opinions!
