Notes: I wanted to thank all you lovely folks who have reviewed so far! Your words are wonderful encouragement, and give me strength to keep going! Thanks, guys!

There is a mention of mildly dubious consent in this chapter. It is very much a matter of opinion how you interpret it, but I felt I would be remiss in ignoring the implications of Yumichika's actions. We also are bringing in a little more of Algernon Fenton's universe, which I explained pretty well in the first chapter. That said, enjoy!


9: Rock the Cradle

Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of the Sixth Division, and the current head of the Kuchiki clan, was a man with pride in spades. As such, private time with the heir to the Kuchiki clan was done in extreme privacy. After all, a young man born with a destiny of unfathomable weight needed guidance, discipline, and the kind of knowledge only a father could give a son, and only in deepest secret.

Or, in this case, every single lullaby Byakuya didn't know he knew until about five months ago.

"You're being remarkably uncooperative," he sighed to the infant in his arms, as Takahiro tried to crawl up over his shoulder to the window behind him. "I'd say you take after your father, but that's a given, isn't it?" He teased some of his wild red hair between his fingers, then released it into spikes. Takahiro whined softly, but continued to reach for the window. "Is it all the butterflies, young man?" Byakuya glanced out to the crowded sky, blue covered in swaths of black. "There certainly are a lot."

Takahiro whined, then turned on Byakuya's shoulder to the nursery door just as it flew open and Renji strolled in. "Hey, Taka." He leaned over and kissed Taka's forehead, then Byakuya's cheek. "How's my favorite guys?"

"I was enjoying my afternoon off until someone decided he was less than amenable to napping."

"Really? That's a shame. I'm pretty open to a nap right now." Renji stretched his arms over his head, but his smile looked like it was stretched thin. "I'd love to dive in and have one for him, but I've got like ten minutes and I gotta go help with damage control."

"Damage control?" Byakuya frowned, and rose to his feet, shifting Taka to his hip. "I don't suppose it's to do with all those Hell Butterflies on the wing, is it?"

"Yeah." Renji hung his head and set his shoulders back. "And that's why I'm here. M'supposed to brief you on an incident, Captain."

Captain. This was business. Byakuya promptly lay Taka down in the crib behind him and faced Renji, arms folded. "Report."

"There's been a violent incident between members of the Eleventh and Twelfth Division. Captain Zaraki was informed that Captain Kurotsuchi was performing inhumane experiments on his borrowed Third Seat, Eleventh Division Fifth Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa-"

"That's one of your friends, Renji." Byakuya seized his wrist. "Is he alright?"

"Y-yeah." Renji swallowed. "Lemme finish." He set his shoulders back again, spine straight. "Captain Zaraki led a raid, with his Seated Officers, including Third Seat Ikkaku Madarame, and invaded the Research Building's private offices. Ikkaku Madarame led the charge-"

"They're lovers. I'm not entirely ignorant of your friends' activities." Byakuya pinched his temples between his index finger and thumb and slowly trailed back towards the chair. "Dear God, tell me he didn't see his lover being peeled like a clementine."

"N-no. They got there in time. Captain Zaraki apprehended Captain Kurotsuchi before he could make the first incision, but there's lines all over him, you can tell just where he was gonna cut." Renji winced, and made a circle around his midsection. "Turns out- er, it was revealed that Officer Ayasegawa was expecting. Captain Kurotsuchi insists that it's Madarame's child, but this was the first time anybody outside of the Twelfth Division had been informed of it. This includes Officer Madarame."

"Oh." Byakuya never found himself quite so lost for words as when he was around Renji, but this had nothing to do with his dashing charm. He rubbed his eyes with his palm and took a deep breath. "So this was conducted in secrecy."

"Captain Kurotsuchi insists that it was an arrangement he had with Officer Ayasegawa, and that nobody has any right to interfere with his examinations." Renji scratched the back of his head, his gaze darting to the bottom of the fluttering curtains. "Captain Zaraki is, uh, unhappy with the treatment of one of his men. Officer Madarame is... well, he's steamed. The Twelfth Division is in total disarray. The Eleventh is causing a riot. S'why I can't stay too long. Me and Tetsuzaemon Iba are getting sent in to cool things off, since the Captain and three top officers are all MIA at the First, and we're both Lieutenants who were there before, so they'll listen to us. That's the basic status."

"Officer Ayasegawa?"

"Unconscious, on last report."

"Hm." Byakuya sat down into the rocking chair slowly. "Renji."

"Sir?" Renji stood at attention.

"It's just us. You've delivered your report." Byakuya lifted his face to meet his eyes. "They're your friends. Are you alright?"

Renji glanced behind him, then released a groan and dug his fingers into his hair. "God, Byakuya, I can't believe this. I don't wanna believe this." He glanced to Taka in the crib, absently swatting at the butterflies in the window. "I mean, when Captain Kurotsuchi says Yumichika wanted this... And the thing is, I know he did. The baby, at least. You an' me, we talked about this. You said Ikkaku would come around for someone he loved. Why couldn't Yumichika just talk to him?"

"Unfortunately, you can't know everything in someone's heart." Byakuya laced his fingers. "After all, Mister Madarame himself knows a thing or two about keeping secrets."

Renji blanched. "Uh. Yeah. Guess so." He scratched the back of his head again. "But... this is bigger than that. I mean, sure that's big, that's really big, but... We're talkin' about a baby, here."

"I'm afraid I can't speak to it, Renji." Byakuya rose from his seat. "You know them better than I." He rested a hand on Renji's cheek. "If you choose to intervene, I trust you'll do what's best for everyone involved."

"I dunno." Renji slumped a little, but leaned into Byakuya's touch. His hand was cold, but felt nice. "I dunno what's best for everyone. This is a total clusterf-" He glanced to the crib and Taka's little hands visible over the railing. "Mess. Like, mess on top of mess on top of-"

"Renji." Byakuya turned his face back towards him with a cupped hand. "I trust your judgment." He kissed his lips chastely, then took a step back. "Do you think it will help if I have words with Mister Ayasegawa?" He, too, shot a glance at the crib, then back to Renji. "As a mother."

"I dunno. Maybe?"

"Hmm." Byakuya patted his shoulders, eyes lowered away in thought, and then returned to the chair. "If I can help, then by all means, ask."

Renji tried to turn for the door, but couldn't make himself, and a little smirk came to his mouth unbidden. "Y'know." He crossed his arms. "I think motherhood's makin' you soft."

Byakuya sat back in the chair and gave Renji a cold state. "Abarai, don't you have to be on duty?"

Abarai. Business voice. Renji about-faced. "Yes, sir!" With that, he marched out, and Byakuya glanced back to the window to watch the butterflies all on their path.

He may not have known the man very well, but he knew what it was to be a mother, and even at this distance, he pitied him this.

He summoned up a Hell Butterfly, lifting his index finger, and sighed as he composed himself. "Head Captain, I am preemptively requesting a stay of any formal inquiry on behalf of Yumichika Ayasegawa..."


Byakuya and Renji weren't the only mother and father in the Seireitei. There were two captains considered a father to nearly everyone in the Gotei 13, and they happened to pass like two ships at a busy port on a pathway around the First Division's offices. One caught a glimpse of pink, the other a flash of white, and each stopped around the mass of Hell Butterflies flitting between buildings to turn and face the other.

"Jyuu-chan!" Shunsui dashed back towards him, threw his arms around him, and kissed his cheek, sending the smaller of the pair stumbling back across the planks laughing. The other shinigami had to rush around them, and they quickly moved off the path, still in embrace, into a small garden between buildings to chat.

"Shun, what a surprise. Avoiding your work directly, or just Nanao?" Jyuushiro caught Shunsui around the waist and kissed the stubbliest part of his cheek. Shunsui chuckled and released Jyuushiro.

"You wound me, Jyuu-chan! No, I'm here because-" It was just then another Hell Butterfly joined the little flock dancing behind him, and he looked visibly dismayed. "Man, more?"

"Oh, are you getting that, too?" Jyuushiro waved an arm back at the whirlwind of butterflies at his elbow. "It seems my entire division is looking to me for confirmation."

"Ah. " Shunsui gestured to his own black and purple retinue. "These are all from Nanao, looking for the same, since everyone in the Division is asking her."

"So you are avoiding Nanao?" Jyuushiro chuckled warmly, and Shunsui flushed a bit and laughed it off, head cocked back.

"In a sense, I suppose." Shunsui held his hand out to dismiss the butterflies, then summoned one, and looked significantly at Jyuushiro before addressing it. "If they keep asking you, tell them it's none of their business and I'll brief the entire Division once I've got the facts. I'm doing some looking right about now." He sent the butterfly off and turned back to Jyuushiro. "So, you're here to stick your nose in, too?"

"Actually, I was here only to ask why the information's gone public so quickly." Jyuushiro's smile didn't hide a note of displeasure.

"Oh, I can tell you that one." Shunsui mimicked stuffing something into his mouth. "Second Division Lieutenant Omaeda." He mock-swallowed for good measure. "Sui-Feng and her crew got called in to break it up, someone heard him wailing about it, and the gossip started from there."

"Was the gossip always this bad?" Jyuushiro tsked and frowned at the Hell Butterflies still clouding the sky. "It's hardly been half an hour, if what I've heard is to be believed."

"Considering you know that," Shunsui smirked, and Jyuushiro gasped and blushed, "I think you know the answer to your own question."

"You're cruel to me, Shun!" Jyuushiro tapped his arm and mock-scowled, but his smile didn't stay away for long. "Now, where were you going?"

"Captain's office." He thumbed behind him, and Jyuushiro turned and followed him.

"That poor boy," Shunsui caught Jyuushiro whisper, and nudged his arm.

"Eleventh Division's Ayasegawa?" Jyuushiro nodded.

"Poor thing." Jyuushiro glanced at the butterflies overhead. "This should be a private matter, and his personal business is being spouted all over the place. If he's at all sensitive, it'll be impossible to live this down."

"Mm, dunno about that, Jyuu-chan." Shunsui rubbed his chin, then folded his arms. "If he brought it on himself..."

"He's a child, Shun," Jyuushiro whispered. "I don't think he's been here a century yet."

"Doesn't look like a child to me."

"Everyone's allowed to make mistakes." Jyuushiro puffed his chest up. "And besides, he's not the only one in the ranked officers guilty of putting too much trust in Kurotsuchi."

"Sure, but you're never taking medicine from him again." Shunsui sighed and slung an arm around Jyuushiro's shoulder. "Have you ever met Ayasegawa?"

"In passing, only," Jyuushiro admitted. "Have you?"

"Same as you." Shunsui shrugged. "But I've seen his partner at my favorite izakaya every once in a while. Pretty decent kid, holds his drink well." He chuckled a little and flicked a stray curl from his face. "He asked me for advice once, but I think he might've been blitzed when he asked me, so he probably doesn't remember."

"Ah." Jyuushiro tapped his lower lip and crossed his arms. "Still, I have to empathize with the both of them. Ayasegawa..." He hummed, his head bowing. "Shunsui, if... if the day we found out about Emiko, if you'd said no to her..."

"It wouldn't've happened, Jyuu." Shunsui caught Jyuushiro's elbow in his hand. "I still feel rotten for laughing."

They stopped outside of the Head Captain's door just as there was a loud outburst from inside:

"Head Captain, how the hell are you gonna believe a word comin' outta that sicko's mouth?!" Shunsui and Ukitake both had to jump a little at the flare of reiatsu from Ikkaku. Both Captains traded glances, but they could already hear Kenpachi growling an order for him to "calm the hell down." Shunsui tried to slide it open, but found it blocked.

"Seems it's a closed-door meeting." He flicked his glance to Jyuushiro significantly, then back to the door. "Guess there's nothing we can do but wait." The two of them took their posts on either side of the Head Captain's door and waited, sharing anxious glances and straining to catch the noise within.


Noise, first. A gradual rumble around him, voices melding together like the uneven, but quiet cacophony of a dozen hell butterflies all speaking at once. Then, certain voices came into sharp focus, like blades through their wings.

"- can't believe this shit! You're actually gonna-"

"He consented to all this. His signature is on paper. I've done nothing wrong-"

"- Ain't nobody got the right to treat nobody-"

"Why are you just letting him lay on the floor like this? Does he really need to-"

"Oh?" Yumichika felt one of these voices close to his face, and opened his eyes. Lieutenant Sasakibe was over him, and smiled a bit as he fully came to. "Thank goodness, you are awake." Yumichika realized he was wrapped in a blanket but sitting on the floor in the corner of the Head Captain's office. Sui-Feng was standing in front of the door, arms folded and holding a cord linked to a reiatsu-suppressing collar, which happened to be fastened around Mayuri Kurotsuchi's neck. Kurotsuchi was seated in one of the two chairs in front of the desk, his headdress off and his head weirdly small without it, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair and grinding his nasty teeth together. Nemu was trembling against the back wall. Kenpachi was standing in front of the Head Captain's desk, hands on Ikkaku's shoulders, as Ikkaku gnashed his teeth with his hackles raised, ready to bite off someone's head and obviously caring less and less who it was. Captain Yamamoto was slumped at his desk, rubbing the wrinkles in his forehead with his hand. Lieutenant Sasakibe, to his credit, smiled kindly at Yumichika. "Would you like a cup of tea, young man? You seem like you could use it."

Yumichika cleared his throat, and the rest of the room fell silent and turned their eyes to him, Yamamoto leaning up from his desk. "Ah..." Yumichika hunched down a bit, and spoke in a voice that even Sasakibe could hardly hear. "Tea would be lovely, thank you."

"Okay, he's awake, fantastic." Sui-Feng rolled her eyes. "So he's not comatose. Now, we take him to the Fourth, right? The guy's got a goose egg on the back of his head something nasty."

"He don't need no wimpy-ass healers!" Ikkaku barked, rising on the balls of his feet, and Kenpachi pushed him back down, growling a warning:

"You keep sticking your neck out, you're gonna get it cut open."

"Not until we clear this up, anyway!" Kurotsuchi interjected, and pointed directly at Yumichika. "Tell them about our arrangement, damn you!" Yumichika flinched, and Kenpachi put himself between Kurotsuchi and Yumichika.

"Listen to me, you fuckin' psycho nerd, I don't care what sorta shit you dreamed up in your lab." Kurotsuchi sputtered, as Kenpachi drew a tight fist. "You ain't got no goddamn right to do that!"

"You don't even know what I was going to do!"

"You got my Fifth Seat knocked up and got lines drawn all over his belly like a fuckin' Tic-Tac-Toe board!" Kenpachi's eyes hit Yumichika, and he flinched again. Kenpachi's lips twitched, almost apologetic, before turning back to a snarl directed at Kurotsuchi. "You were gonna hurt him and his kid. I don't give two shits about the rest of the fuckin' details! He's an Officer of my Squad-"

"He was in my Squad at the time! My man! My orders!" Kurotsuchi squawked indignantly, and launched himself towards the Head Captain. "I have authority in my own squad, is that not so?!"

"Gentlemen, please," Yamamoto muttered wearily, as Sasakibe crouched down next to Yumichika with a cup of tea.

"Sugar, Ayasegawa?"

"Honey, please." Sasakibe smiled approvingly and turned to get it, and Yumichika pulled his knees in and took the first sip without. Earl grey, very strong, bitter, and hot, and the warmth was welcome in his hands. Sasakibe gave him a spoonful of honey, and Yumichika touched his hand. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

He'd never thought a cup of tea could make him feel so human. Sasakibe chuckled and smiled at him.

"I thought you needed it." He stepped back to the Head Captain's side, as the argument had continued right over Yumichika's head.

"... There are a multitude of incidences that have come to a head at once." The Head Captain folded his hands and sat forward. "I'm disappointed in both of you. Captain Zaraki, you have been Captain long enough to know that these sorts of things must be handled through the correct channels in a civilized manner."

"Hey, I'm plenty o' things, but civilized ain't ever been one of 'em." Kenpachi crossed his arms, smirking in a way that clearly showed a little pride, and Ikkaku lunged forward again.

"Can't believe you're givin' my Captain crap when that creep did- did that to Yumichika!" He pointed right at Yumichika, the first he'd actually acknowledged his partner since he woke up, and he was too obviously indicating the swell of his belly.

"That is indeed a topic for conversation, Officer Madarame," Sasakibe intervened, "but I'll ask you to control yourself."

"Captain Kurotsuchi, he raises a valid point." Yamamoto sighed wearily. "It seems you may have given the Eleventh Division valid cause to enter your squad out of concern for their borrowed member, who appears to have been impregnated without anyone's knowledge and subsequently became a test subject. That you put your entire squad to secrecy over this fact is, frankly, almost admirable, but that you treated an Officer of the Gotei 13 like common meat for dissection is inexcusable." Yumichika shuddered at the word 'meat,' and Kurotsuchi scoffed and rolled his eyes again. "In addition, the circumstances of Officer Ayasegawa's transfer are more than suspect."

"I'm telling you, he asked for this! He demanded this!" Kurotsuchi pointed at Yumichika, his sharp fingernails arcing in his direction. "If you're looking for a scapegoat, he's coddled up right there, sipping tea like this is a goddamned garden party!"

All eyes turned to Yumichika again, then to Sasakibe, when he cleared his throat. "What would you have us do?" He fixed Kurotsuchi with a chilling stare. "Take away the poor boy's tea?"

"Yeah, I'm with the Brit," Sui-Feng snapped. "I mean, seriously, we've got an injured pregnant guy, you guys are insisted on interrogating him when he could probably really use a medic, and-"

Interrogating? Yumichika heard white noise and felt dizzy and sick.

"Oh, oh no," Yumichika moaned, and put his face in his hands. He shuddered and took a few deep breaths. Ikkaku broke away from Kenpachi and crouched down next to him.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Ikkaku grabbed his hand. "You just tell the truth, and Captain Creep goes back to the Maggot's Nest. We'll get that thing outta ya, and it'll all go back to normal."

Yumichika swallowed hard, and he heard Captain Kurotsuchi chuckle low in his throat.

"Officer Ayasegawa," Captain Yamamoto spoke aloud, and Kenpachi stepped back to let Yamamoto have a clear view of him and to set a firm, heavy hand on Yumichika's shoulder. "Are you aware of the circumstances that led to this incident?"

"Pfft, I told you already!" Ikkaku whipped back around, hands on his hips. "Kurotsuchi got Yumichika transferred over to take Akon's spot after he got mutilated-"

"- an accident!" Kurotsuchi insisted.

"And wouldn't transfer him back!" Ikkaku marched back over to the desk and put his fists on the surface. "Do you know how many times we tried to get him sent back?!"

Sui-Feng sighed exaggeratedly, then poked her head out into the hallway. "Hey, Fatass! Get in here- Kyoraku, get out of the- Lieutenant Omaeda!"

Omaeda hustled in, out of breath but still with a mouthful of rice crackers. "Yeph, Capdain!" He swallowed, saluted the Head Captain, and cleared his throat. "A cursory investigation showed that the officer handling transfer requests was a recent transfer from the Twelfth herself. You talk to her, it's pretty clear there's some brainwashing involved."

"Hmm." Yamamoto slid a narrow gaze towards Kurotsuchi, who lifted his chin and looked away.

"I have no intention of confirming or denying such accusations."

Yamamoto didn't pry further, but cleared his throat. "Lieutenant Sasakibe, kindly make a note to root out any recent transfers to the Administrative Offices from the Twelfth Division and have them examined for any implanted suggestions." Sasakibe nodded and made a note in a small pad in his hand, Kurotsuchi moaned like a twelve-year-old who'd been told to clean his room, and Yamamoto looked back to Yumichika. "I suppose I should say congratulations on your pregnancy." Ikkaku ground his teeth together and growled, but Yamamoto held a hand up. "But I suppose they may not be in order. Officer Ayasegawa, do you know how you came to fall pregnant?"

"The same way as anyone else might!" Kurotsuchi half-laughed, half-shouted from his chair, then whooped and tossed his hands up. "Insert Tab A into Slot B, repeat as necessary!" Nemu shuddered, and Yumichika hung his head.

"I... that is, I..."

"Yumi." Ikkaku crossed the room to crouch next to him. "I know it's rough, but just tell the truth." He slipped his hand over Yumichika's. "S'gonna be okay. Everything'll go back to normal."

"Ikkaku." Yumichika held his hand for a moment, and tried hard to read his face. Ikkaku's smile was there, but drawn down tight over his anger.

"Officer Ayasegawa." Yamamoto suddenly sounded stern, and the hair on the back of Yumichika's neck stood up. "You very clearly have the least to lose in this."

"I have so much more to lose than you know, Head Captain," he whispered, then steeled himself and got to his feet, stepping in front of Ikkaku and holding the blanket around himself. "I orchestrated my own transfer to the Twelfth deliberately. On purpose. For the purpose of conceiving and having a child, by what few means I had."

The room fell silent, as Yumichika took a few steps past Ikkaku and towards the desk. The Head Captain's eyebrows rose, and Yumichika clutched the blanket closer and set his empty teacup down. Ikkaku's jaw hung open wide enough to catch flies, reduced to a weak rasp of, "Yumichika?"

"Our arrangement," Yumichika continued stiffly, ducking his head down under Kenpachi's hard, stunned gaze. "Was that he would give me the material means by which to conceive, and shelter me for the duration of my pregnancy, in exchange for allowing him to study me. I didn't have any plans for the aftermath." He gestured to his body. "I had no other way of obtaining the medicine that allows a male shinigami to have a baby."

Kurotsuchi chose this moment to pull their contract from the inside of his kosode. "Like I've been trying to tell you lot!" He slapped the paper down on the table, and there was a sharp intake of breath heard from at least three otherwise silent forces. Yumichika linked his fingers in anxious knots as Yamamoto and Sasakibe read over the contract. Ikkaku, behind him, but so distant as if he were under glass, was hyperventilating into tightly clenched teeth. Sasakibe winced and hung his head as he reached the bottom of the page, and the Head Captain growled under his breath.

"Officer Ayasegawa, I don't think you need me to tell you how foolish of an idea this was."

"At the time, I had no other options to achieve my goal." Yumichika winced under the Head Captain's glare. "I thought it necessary, and I acted rashly. It was, to a certain extent, a mistake. This," he touched his middle under the blanket, "was not."

"You see?" Kurotsuchi crooned softly, leaning in, persuasion in the turn of his hand. "This is a great misunderstanding. I had agreed that Ayasegawa would survive my experimentation. It was my intention that he survive this aborted investigation." Nobody in the room missed the implication of his words, but it gave Yumichika chills.

The next voice he heard froze him solid.

"You were gonna kill my guys' kid!" Kenpachi stormed forward, fists drawn tight. "Ain't that shit in your fuckin' contract too?!" Sui-Feng had to put herself between Kenpachi and Kurotsuchi, because Kenpachi was pouring off anger in a flood, eyes alight with malice, but Kurotsuchi clicked his tongue and wagged a finger.

"Tut, tut, I promised him he'd walk away with his child. I never promised who would father the one that lived." Ikkaku gagged behind Kenpachi, hands clapped over his mouth and nose, and Yumichika winced and hung his head. It was more than clear who was winning this argument, because Kenpachi was losing what little temper he kept and Kurotsuchi was laughing on the inside.

"You son of a bitch! You dirty, nasty bastard, how dare you take advantage-"

"I take what opportunities I get, Zaraki, don't you know what it is to stab a man when he's down?!"

That was when another force made itself known, and Yumichika looked up to see the Head Captain himself with his fists clenched, fire in his eyes, and fire emanating from his entire form. Sasakibe side-stepped from his post, as the paper in Yamamoto's hand ignited and was swallowed in red flame, and Head Captain Yamamoto himself was suddenly blasting reiatsu like a furnace explosion.

"ENOUGH! SILENCE! BOTH OF YOU!" The Head Captain was on his feet, and Yumichika stumbled back. Kenpachi caught his shoulder and gripped tight. Yamamoto loomed over Kurotsuchi. "All your nonsense about a poorly-written agreement! Your actions are not at all in the spirit of your agreement-"

"Sp-spirit?!" Kurotsuchi sputtered, losing his composure for the first time. "Poppycock! How can you-"

"We are men of honor and law, Captain Kurotsuchi!" Each phrase came like a sonic boom, the room shook. Lieutenant Omaeda was shaking even at the back of the room. "While there are no rules about your treatment of prisoners of war or fallen enemies- a policy I have long protested, mind you!- there are very clear rules in place about experimentation on Officers and soldiers of the Gotei 13!" The Head Captain was shaking with anger, and Kurotsuchi was not smiling anymore. Yumichika had never seen the fear of God on the scientist's face before, and he tried to put it to stone in his memory so he would never forget. "Was your censure for your assault on Captain Ukitake two years ago insufficient?!"

"I disagree with your definition of assault, Head-"

"Look it up in the damned regulations, Kurotsuchi, you forced something on him he did not want, and it near took the man's life!" Yamamoto roared, and Kurotsuchi shrunk down in his seat. The Head Captain caught his breath, and spoke with only a modicum more calm. "For this infraction of policy, I am forced to levy further censure. Your experimentation funding will be frozen for five years. You will have no democratic voice during Captains' council meeting votes for the next year. Your agreement, such that it was, with Mister Ayasegawa, is considered void. In addition, I will personally ensure that you are to receive no sapient test subjects for the next decade, and no, you may not make the sapient unsapient or otherwise unintelligent for the purpose of defeating this rule!" Yamamoto huffed for air, then finished, "And rest assured, this will all be written out for you in plain black ink, with all pertinent terms fully, exhaustively defined to avoid any further confusion!"

Yumichika had never thought administrative terms and legalese could sound so very intimidating, but he very nearly pitied Captain Kurotsuchi, who now cringed as far back in the chair as he possibly could. One look at those horrid eyes and teeth, though, and Yumichika reminded himself: Nearly.

"As for you, Captain Zaraki." Yamamoto turned hard eyes and tense shoulders towards Kenpachi. Kenpachi didn't flinch, but Yumichika could hear and feel that Yamamoto had softened, if only just. "Your actions were unconscionable, irascible, rash, foolhardy, destructive, disruptive, in violation of no less than three regulations, and in this situation, entirely justified."

"Tell me somethin' I don't know." Kenpachi grinned crookedly, with all his usual roguish bluster, and Yamamoto leveled a scowl at him.

"Your squad's budget will be docked for the next three years, with those funds diverted to make repairs to the Twelfth Division's facilities." Kenpachi rolled his eyes a little and tossed Yumichika an assured smirk, as Yamamoto settled in his chair again, folded his hands on the desk and continued "You, too, will be denied voting privileges at Captains' Council meetings for the next year. None of your men will be penalized for this infraction, as they were following your orders." Yamamoto's nostrils flared. "You, however, will be censured, and there will be a formal investigation of your command structure."

"Fine, whatever." Kenpachi pulled on Yumichika's shoulder, but Yamamoto straightened up in his seat.

"Officer Ayasegawa." Yumichika rooted his toes to the spot and hoped nobody could see him trembling. "Did you at all deceive your Captain in your actions?"

"No," Kenpachi answered for him. "Guy told me he was following orders, and he was. He might'a asked for it, but he got the orders and followed 'em." Kenpachi glared down at Yumichika with his one visible eye, and Yumichika bit his lip. Kenpachi just squeezed his shoulder again in answer.

"Hey!" Yumichika flinched at Ikkaku's sharp bark behind him. "The asshole lied to me! You son of a bitch, you fed me so many goddamned lines!" Yumichika pinned his lips shut and lowered his head. Ikkaku stormed from where he'd stood, shaking in his spot until he couldn't take another second, and seized Yumichika's shoulder. "Sayin' you were gonna come back." There was a lot of hurt in those words, but Yumichika was reading a lot more anger. He didn't even need intuition, only to brace himself when Ikkaku reared back and pushed him. "You were never gonna fuckin' tell me we had a kid?!"

Kenpachi caught Yumichika when he stumbled, and bared his teeth at Ikkaku. "Piss off!"

"The fuck, Yumichika?!" Ikkaku lunged for Yumichika again, and Sui-Feng shoved the leash holding Kurotsuchi into Omaeda's hands and bolted forward to restrain him. "Liar! You fucking liar! You stick by me for years, and throw it all away for nothing! Why the fuck would you tell me shit like 'I love you' and 'I'll miss you' when you just wanna do... fucking... THIS!" He threw his hand out, even as Sui-Feng tried to lash him back by his elbow. "What the fuck even are you!"

"A liar," Yumichika whispered, and straightened up at Kenpachi's side. "But at least I know you were listening." Ikkaku froze.

"What the fuck was that?"

"Ikkaku." Yumichika forced his shoulders straight and crushed the tears gathering behind his eyes, and couldn't make himself meet his partner's face. "I wanted a child. You didn't. I thought this was worthwhile. You didn't. I see no reason why I should have to give up what I wanted because of you." He spared him a weary glance, then looked back to the floor. "In the Eleventh Division, we fight for what we want. That's it." He crossed his arms. "Nothing you say or do will make me regret it, either."

Ikkaku wound up again, "You stupid, selfish, son of a-"

"CHILDREN!" The Head Captain was on his feet again, and both fists, white knuckled, thumbnails blood-red, slammed onto the table. "I WILL NOT NEGOTIATE YOUR PETTY SQUABBLE!" Ikkaku and Yumichika both stood stark straight, each against the Captain restraining him, and the Head Captain sighed and sank back down. "There's a reason we have anti-fraternization rules, but those have been flouted for centuries, courtesy of the two eavesdroppers-"

There was a muffled, "Is he talking about us, Shun?" from just outside the door.

And an equally-muffled reply, "Shh, he can't possibly know we're here."

"I cannot begin enforcing rules that have been ignored for years, even in the face of a public incident such as this, as it would require me to bring charges against at least five Captains, several Lieutenants, and countless unseated Officers." Yamamoto sighed. He looked older than usual when he laced his fingers and studied Yumichika's face. "Let me make clear, Officer Ayasegawa, your behavior is reprehensible. However, as you did not directly deceive your Captain, and there is no regulation against privately arranging a transfer, I cannot, as yet, determine that you have committed any violations." His rheumy eyes turned briefly to Kenpachi. "Captain Zaraki, if you want Ayasegawa back in your squad, he is yours to deal with personally."

"Yeah, yeah, he's comin' home with me."

"Captain Kurotsuchi, you're free to go. Your Lieutenant may go with you."

"Hmph!" Kurotsuchi rolled up to his feet and yanked the cord out of Omaeda's hands, releasing himself as Omaeda flattened his back on the wall, and he dropped the red collar to the floor behind him as he flounced out, Nemu trotting unevenly along behind him. Yamamoto looked to Omaeda with a sigh.

"Kindly fetch Mister Ayasegawa a shirt. I think he's lost quite enough dignity today."

"Oh! R-right!" Omaeda saluted. "Yes sir!" He threw the door open after Kurotsuchi and leaned out. "Uh, 'scuse me- oh, thanks, Captain Ukitake!"

"Don't mention it!" Omaeda shut the door on Ukitake's chipper response and thrust a kosode and undershirt towards Yumichika, which he gingerly took and unfolded. Ikkaku shivered, teeth gritted, as Yumichika revealed the sigil of the Eleventh Division embroidered on the inside of the kosode, but Yumichika dropped the blanket from his shoulders and tied it on just the same.

The linen felt heavy on him, but it hung on his body correctly, just right. It felt right.

He folded the blanket and returned it to Sasakibe with a little bow, Sasakibe bowed back, and Kenpachi led him out. Sui-Feng and Omaeda moved to follow, but Yamamoto cleared his throat.

"Captain Sui-Feng, if you would begin the investigation on Captain Zaraki, kindly do so. I will have further words with Mister Madarame. Lieutenant Omaeda, if you would stay." Sui-Feng scoffed and stalked out after Kenpachi, leaving Ikkaku alone with the Head Captain, Sasakibe, and Omaeda in the shuttered office.

Ikkaku unclenched his fists when the door shut behind him, and Sasakibe cleared his throat. "Mister Madarame, you may sit." Ikkaku glanced around, and lowered himself into the chair that Kurotsuchi had not occupied. The leather was cool, but it did nothing for his temper. "Did you want some-"

"No, I don't want tea." He let his head drop, and ran his palm over the skin. "How much trouble am I in?" He dug his fingers into the skin. His brain ached.

"None, and that's not why I wanted to speak with you alone." The Head Captain sounded utterly exhausted, and he heaved a weighty sigh that settled in all the dusty corners of the room. "It has never been my place to negotiate inter-officer relationships, friendship or otherwise, and I am far too old to deal with this sort of thing, but Mister Madarame, a terrible wrong has been committed against you."

"Goddamn right," Ikkaku grumbled.

Yamamoto hummed, then shot a quick, hard glower at Omaeda. "Due to the sensitivity of this issue, none of this leaves the room."

"Yessir!" Omaeda saluted stiffly and bit down on his upper lip to seal it shut.

Yamamoto studied him a moment longer, then cast his gaze back to Ikkaku. "Officer Madarame, would you have us charge Officer Ayasegawa with sexual assault?"

"What?!" Ikkaku's head shot up, and the ache in his brain shot straight to his chest.

"His violation of your trust, and his use of deception in performing sexual acts on your person, are a form of sexual assault," Sasakibe explained softly, and lifted a hand in a gentle shrug. "It does not matter that he did not act with intentional malice, nor that you consented. If you would not have consented had he been honest with you, then he committed a grievous crime."

Ikkaku felt completely keyed up, heart pounding, like his sword was in his hand screaming for blood and he had none to feed it. "I... I... what?"

"If you wish to report this incident as an assault, then we will charge him with the crime, but with no other witnesses or official reports, that is the only way we could hold him responsible. I imagine that, were you to allege the charge, Ayasegawa would confess to the act." Yamamoto laced his fingers, each intonation a death knell. "I would ask Officer Omaeda to bring him into custody immediately. He would stand trial before the Central 46, wherein his confession of guilt would hurry him through the justice system. He would be confined to imprisonment. His child would be taken from him at birth, at which point you would have the option of taking custody or remanding the child to adoptive services. Depending on what sympathy the Central 46 might or might not have, he could be executed, or remain imprisoned for centuries. If you wished to levy punishment on Ayasegawa for his assault on you, it is your option to charge him with the crime."

"The question, Mister Madarame, is, do you wish to charge him with this crime?" Sasakibe's sharp eyes focused on Ikkaku, and Ikkaku felt every single eye hot on his face and neck and back and heart and everything.

Yumichika... assault him?

"No."


"So, you gave your men commands?" Sui-Feng tapped her foot impatiently as Kenpachi's harsh glare roved over her.

"Yeah."

"And did your men follow your commands?"

"Yeah." Yumichika huddled close at Kenpachi's side, still glancing around and behind him. Captains Kyoraku and Ukitake had been outside the door when they'd come out, but had hurried away to have a whispered conversation ten paces behind him, surrounded by a flock of hell butterflies. Kurotsuchi was having some argument with Third Seat Okikiba twenty paces off, but Yumichika trained his ears to his own Captain's voice as Sui-Feng made a few notes in her little notebook.

"You give commands, your men follow them. Your command structure sounds fine." Sui-Feng crossed her arms. "Give better commands."

"Whatever."

"Hmph." Sui-Feng threw her hands up. "I'll tell the Head Captain my investigation is complete. Now take your man there to the Fourth."

Kenpachi smirked again. "Heh." He clapped Yumichika's shoulder, hard enough to make his knees wobble. "We don't need that crap 'less we're bleedin' out. He'll go if he thinks he needs to."

"Ugh, whatever!" Sui-Feng threw her arms down. "I gotta go deal with my idiot subordinate." Her eyes shot to Yumichika, and she gave him a halfhearted smile. "Feel better." With that, she stalked off, but the moment she was gone, another voice replaced hers.

"You!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi was breathing down Yumichika's neck, and he stepped back, directly into Kenpachi. "Do you know how much I've lost because of your stupid stunt?!"

Yumichika shook his head. "Not nearly as much as I have, Captain Kurotsuchi."

"Rotten little shit!" Kurotsuchi spat on the ground at Yumichika's feet, and roared on, "Are you fucking happy now?"

"I'll never be happy. If that makes you happy, so be it." Yumichika braced himself, but the blow never came, probably because Kenpachi was leering at him over his shoulder and just plain daring him to test his patience, and Kurotsuchi stormed off with a shrill, incoherent scream in a flurry of hakama and haori. However, another hand touched his.

Nemu hadn't followed Kurotsuchi. "Yumichika."

"Nemu!" He seized onto both of her hands, and Kenpachi took a step back. "Nemu, I said such awful things-"

"You should be grateful," Kenpachi muttered. "Nemu there's the one who raised the alarm."

"I'm so sorry!" He threw his arms around her, and she staggered back, but caught him. "You saved my life, and I didn't deserve it. Thank you- I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, really. You didn't mean a word of it; you were hungry." She stepped him back, and he spotted her limp.

"Ohh!" He grasped both of her hands. "That brute, he did hurt you!"

"I'll be fine, I promise." She smiled, just a little. "I only wanted to say goodbye."

Yumichika bit his lip. "Goodbye?"

"We won't see each other as much anymore. 'Goodbye' is appropriate when one must leave, isn't it?"

"But you can visit me!" He squeezed her hands in his. "Anytime! I'll do your makeup for you again!"

"Would that be possible?" She glanced over his shoulder to Kenpachi, who smirked.

"Sure. You ain't a pile a' shit like your Captain, so you can come around when ya feel like it. Just bring your sword, maybe we'll test ya out sometime."

"O-oh. Er." Nemu edged back. "Perhaps. If you'll excuse me." She turned on her heel, but as Yumichika tried to call his farewells, the Head Captain's door flew open again, and Lieutenant Omaeda scrambled out, closely followed by Ikkaku. Yumichika stiffened, as his partner-

"You. Ayasegawa."

… former partner fixed an icy glare on him, and took him in from head to toe. Ikkaku folded his arms. "It seems like we gotta be in the same squad again. Just stay the hell out of my way, got it?"

Yumichika studied Ikkaku for what felt like a very long time, because he knew this face. This was the face he'd worn when they first met, when they'd first drawn their blades and faced each other, when Ikkaku put his battered, rusty katana to his throat. The only difference was that Yumichika wasn't flat on his back, beaten, except in his own mind.

He did the same thing he'd done on that first dreary, wet day and smiled at him through the pain. "Of course, sir." Ikkaku's lips curled in a dog-like snarl, and he pivoted sharply and stormed off, swearing under his breath.

"Feh." Kenpachi spat off the path, as Yumichika hung his head. Captains Kyoraku and Ukitake, still deep in conversation, both turned their shoulders away, their whispers between one another more frantic, but Kenpachi ignored them and pushed Yumichika's shoulder. "You're goin' back to HQ. I gotta figure out how to punish you."

"Transfer me." Yumichika couldn't face him.

"No." Kenpachi raised an eyebrow, and cuffed his shoulder with the side of his fist. "Just got your ass back, like I'm just gonna send you off again. You know what we've been through, tryin' to get you back from him?"

Yumichika's shoulders slumped, his chin fell to his chest. "I can only imagine. I'm grateful for it. Thank you, Captain."

"Goddamn right." Kenpachi grabbed the top of Yumichika's head and wrenched him around to face him. "I'm your goddamn Captain, you got me? Now, c'mon." He seized Yumichika's forearm, probably harder than he meant to, and hauled him in the same direction Ikkaku had taken. "Yachiru's gonna be askin' about her new playmate, and you're gonna hafta answer every single stupid question she's got."

New playmate? Kenpachi had hardly wanted to acknowledge either Captains Ukitake or Kuchiki when they were expecting- probably because he wasn't allowed to spar them, or maybe it just freaked him out- but he was making it very clear he was aware of this baby. And he wasn't pushing him back.

He didn't know what to make of his Captain, but the only clear thing in all this that he was incredibly fortunate to have Kenpachi Zaraki as his Captain.

Kenpachi escorted him, his hand on his shoulder, through the First Division. He could see and feel every eye pass over him, and the closer they got to the quad between divisions, the more Hell Butterflies he could see whistling back and forth in droves. Every single one talking about him, no doubt. He spotted Yachiru at the Division gates, standing with Lieutenants Hisagi and Matsumoto, but as Kenpachi came close, she broke away from them and bolted towards them.

"Kenny! Yun-yun!" She latched onto Yumichika's leg, then swooped around him off of Kenpachi's hakama to hug onto his middle. "I knew it! You an' Baldy made a baby! He wouldn't tell me nothin', but I saw your tummy and I knew it!"

"Ah, Yachiru-" Yumichika shot a frantic look to Shuhei and Rangiku, but he could hear Rangiku's gasp from where he stood:

"It's true." Her hands were clapped over her mouth, and Shuhei looked like he'd been kicked in the windpipe, mouthing at air. Of course. How could he expect his friends to look at him the same after seeing what sort of awful things he could do?

Yachiru was spouting off questions about where he'd been and the baby in bursts, but he touched her head, then pulled her off and set her on the ground. "Yachiru, I'm sorry, I can't right now. My head-"

"He's concussed," Kenpachi said, gruffly, and let his eyes rest on Shuhei and Rangiku for a moment, before facing Yachiru again. "Kurotsuchi bashed him in the head, so he's got the headache from hell. We're gonna take him home so he can rest and get better. You can piss him off after that."

"Mayurin hit your head?" Yachiru stuck her lower lip out, but scaled Kenpachi to his shoulder. "How rude! We'll tell him off for hurting our baby later."

"Yeah." Yumichika glanced down, folding his arms around him and unable to spare another look at Shuhei or Rangiku.

He didn't expect them to look at him, and kept his head bowed as he passed. How could he look at any of them again? Surely, all they would see was the ugliness inside, the awful thoughts that had driven him this far.

Every hell butterfly overhead was whispering his secrets, the things he'd tried and failed to lock away, every mouth and ear would be full of his shame. Vanishing, AWOL, into the Rukongai would have been easier and less painful than this.

Kenpachi escorted him to his former quarters, exactly as he'd left them, bedsheets rumpled, unmade and musty after five months of disuse, his old kosode on the back of the door. "You're remanded to quarters for two days." He gave Yumichika a push over the threshold, and Yumichika whipped around, eyes wide, but Kenpachi folded his arms and cocked his head a little. "Someone'll bring you food and clothes and stuff. I dunno." He shrugged lamely. "Newspaper or something. I ain't gonna put ya in the holding cell, but I gotta punish you a little." He grumbled under his breath, and uncrossed his arms. "I don't wanna do this at all, but... you probably really could use the rest." He set his hand on Yumichika's head, and Yumichika felt his callused thumb trace the lump under his hair. "I'll have someone come by and check on ya every couple hours. If ya start feelin' bad, just say somethin', and someone'll get you to the Fourth. Just... rest."

He stepped back and closed the door on Yumichika before he could protest, and Yumichika pressed his lips together and breathed. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. All the pretty words in the world wouldn't make him feel better now.

He stripped the bedclothes, ignoring the scent of old sweat and sex, and dropped them just outside of his door. His old kosode wouldn't fit anymore, but he stuffed it in a hamper nevertheless. He dropped down onto the bare mattress, kicked off his sandals, and lay flat, staring at the ceiling. He was functioning, and that would have to be enough for now. Above him, though, Hell Butterflies beat their wings against his window, and he could almost hear them whispering his name, whispering everything he didn't want to hear.

Yumichika. Liar. Yumichika. Tricked him. Yumichika. Why?

He had thought that if, somehow or other, he'd ever returned home, he would be happy. He never thought he'd have reason to cry himself to sleep in the Eleventh.

But things had changed, and what he'd set into motion couldn't be stopped, even now.


End Notes: This is sort of the end of the first half. After this, chapters are going to get a little longer as we delve into more detail, a lot more "why." I hope this isn't a problem for anyone!

Let me know what you think!