Disclaimer: Kubo is god, Kubo is king, Tite Kubo owns everything. I'm just playing with them for awhile. I also do not own any of the quotes I use at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

Author's Notes: I was so totally happy when I heard that last weeks episode of Bleach would finally get back to the Winter War that I went and rewatched the last dozen episodes from before the filler arc. Turns out I shouldn't have bothered, as the new episode was a recap of all the ones I'd just rewatched. Grrr… So since I didn't get anything new in my anime I figured I should do something new in my fanfic. I was inspired, this is a fairly long part for me. Oh, and one more thing: Major Lemon Warning.

Behind This Mask

By Lady Callista

Chapter 10: Unlimited

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"And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free…."

"…Think of what we could do, together. Unlimited… together we're unlimited."

Elphaba in "Defying Gravity" from "Wicked"

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You must learn to stand without him.

Rangiku jerked awake, Haineko's last words echoing out of her dream. Her thoughts, still sluggish from sleep, tried to figure out what those words meant.

The other times Haineko had told her that, it had been about Gin. But this dream had been about Byakuya. It had been sweet and romantic, something their relationship in real life was not.

Or had not been until two days ago.

Rangiku found herself caught between the terror the dream had inspired by the thought that it was real, and the disappointment that coursed through her upon realizing it had not been.

Disappointment because she'd never had anyone tell her they loved her, and it had been nice to hear.

And terror because in the dream, she'd loved him back. And there was no way a Rukongai street rat loving the Kuchiki prince could end well.

But being his lover, and hopefully his friend, was nice, Rangiku reflected as she rose and began stretching. She was meeting Byakuya in about half an hour, and it would be the first time they'd seen each other since that day. The day she'd told him her deepest fears, and the day he'd held her gently and offered comfort. And understanding.

She still had difficulty believing that day hadn't been a dream.

Rangiku wandered into her main room, surprised to find a note sticking out from under her door. She crossed the small room quickly, seeing her name written in a neat and unfamiliar hand. The flap of the note was sealed with the Kuchiki family seal, she noted as she picked it up. Her breath caught.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho,

I regret that a matter requiring my immediate attention will keep me from training with you this morning. I am uncertain how long the matter will take to resolve, but shall contact you when and if I am inclined to train with you again.

Kuchiki"

It wasn't even signed with his name, Rangiku fumed as she tossed the note across the room, only the house seal. Yet she could almost hear his emotionless voice speaking the words.

The first sentence didn't bother her, he was the prince of a great noble house, and a taicho, things were bound to come up occasionally.

It was the second sentence. The one that made is seem like the first part was just an excuse, and that he was done training with her. Done trying to be her friend.

She thought of the gentle way he'd held her the other day, and the passion she'd seen in his eyes when he allowed her to see into his mask. Not under it completely, and not through it, but she'd gotten little peaks into it.

Or so she'd thought.

Apparently he was regretting the comfort he'd given her. Rangiku cursed under her breath as she dressed, determined to train even if she had to do so alone.

She couldn't believe the nerve of the man, she fumed as she stalked out her apartments and down to the Juubantai practice field. He'd listened with seeming understanding to her deepest fears one day, and then only two days later cut himself off from her completely.

Just when she'd thought she was seeing into his mask, he had to go and do something to show her that she didn't understand him in the slightest.

Drawing Haineko, she began going through kata to warm herself up as she continued fuming internally. She'd always hated practicing alone, which was the reason, beyond just being lazy, that she'd always given up on bankai training in the past.

She needed someone to work with, someone to push her to do better.

Maybe she could ask Hitsugaya to…no, she realized. She'd gone to find him the night before about some paperwork, and hadn't been able to find him. And although there was no record of a Senkaimon being opened for him, she could swear she'd felt the residual echo of one as she'd passed the office the night before. Which likely meant he'd gone to visit Karin, and had probably been awake all night. She'd have to pay attention to when he did that, see if there was a pattern to it so she could cover for him if necessary. At least one of them deserved to be happy.

Maybe Renji…no, he'd been so busy trying to get the Sanbantai back in order that he'd been exhausted lately - neither him or Izuru had even shown up for the Friday Night Drinking Group the week before.

She could always ask one of her other friends… Momo might be willing to train, she'd been beaten just as badly by the three bitches as Rangiku herself had. Or maybe Izuru. He didn't like sparring normally, it didn't fit with his views of battle, but he did owe her one for helping him get up the courage to confess to Momo. Shunsui hated training, but maybe she could buy him some sake as a bribe. Or there was always Ikkaku, or…

No. She was going to do this by herself. Bankai training was supposed to be solo anyway, she'd just been using training with others as a way to motivate herself.

Rangiku closed her eyes for a moment, picturing the three bitches and the monster they'd made by combining their left arms. She ran her hand lightly over the scar on her right side - the wound had been so deep that even Izuru's immediate healing kido hadn't closed the wound perfectly, although it had repaired all the internal damage. She would carry the scar for the rest of her life. She let the memories of that fight fill her mind, hearing the taunts of the bitches, seeing the disdain in their eyes for her power and skills.

That should be all the motivation she needed.

Eyes the color of water, and for the moment as cold as the Arctic Sea, snapped open. "Growl, Haineko."

Rangiku flowed from one form to the next, running through kata, Haineko sometimes a blade in her hands and sometimes a cloud of ash spinning around the practice field. She imagined that each swing of the blade struck Gin. That each tornado of ash engulfed Byakuya. Screw them all. She didn't need anyone else. She only needed herself. She was going to do this by herself, Byakuya be damned.

Rangiku gasped as Haineko's power seemed to shift, and she could almost feel a huge burst of reiatsu building inside of her. Just as her vision started to shift as well a voice broke her concentration, and suddenly the new feelings vanished.

"I thought we were using the Rokubantai's training field this morning." Kuchiki commented as he took a few steps closer to her.

Rangiku spun to face him, fury painting her face. "Oh, don't stretch your busy schedule for me. I got your note, and do you know what? I don't care. I don't need anyone to train with me. If you are never inclined to train with me again, I don't care. I don't need you. I don't need anyone but myself." Even through the fury, Rangiku felt that odd reiatsu building again, shifting inside her. And she realized that the last sentence she'd spoken wasn't exactly correct.

"Matsumoto…what are you talking about? What note?" Byakuya knew confusion was showing in his eyes, but didn't care at the moment. She'd shown him so much of herself the other day, surely he could trust her with seeing a little bit of him. "I enjoy training with you, and spending time with you."

She didn't even register his words. "All I need is myself. And Haineko."

Byakuya blinked as she screamed the words at him, then suddenly went still and silent, her eyes closing. It was exactly like what had happened when she'd first made Haineko manifest, and he was by her side in a flash, afraid she would collapse again. He was also very confused.

What note? Why would she think he no longer wanted to train with her? Why was she so mad at him? The questions flashed into his head one after another as he waited for her eyes to open again, and he couldn't help it when one of his hands strayed to Senbonzakura's hilt. If Haineko was manifesting again, and if he was correct about just how mad Rangiku was at him…

His only warning was the tornado of ash that had continued spinning around the field vanishing. It was just enough warning for him to shunpo back before a huge gray cat materialized next to her and growled menacingly at him.

Her eyes snapped open, and he could swear she growled herself.

Byakuya carefully held his hands out to his sides, not wanting this to become a physical fight. Because he could tell that at the moment, she wouldn't be sparring. She'd be fighting for real. He knew she couldn't beat him, but he didn't want to hurt her. He did want to understand why she was angry.

"Rangiku…"

Emotions he couldn't place flashed over her face, and he realized it was the first time he'd ever used her given name out loud. He'd told her to call him Byakuya when they were alone, and she had a few times, but he'd never returned the honor. Knowing how he'd felt the first time she said it gave him an idea as to what the emotions playing over her face were. Yet a second later those flickers were gone, and she was just angry again.

"Why did you send me that note and then show up anyway?" Rangiku hissed, Haineko still a menacing presence at her side. The anger was so strong it left no room for satisfaction that she had manifested her zanpakuto. The anger also washed away the thought that without that note, she probably wouldn't have done it.

"Matsumoto, I don't know what you're talking about. What note?" Byakuya asked carefully.

Her anger faltered at the obvious confusion in his voice. "You didn't send me a note this morning?" She laid a hand on Haineko's flank absently, and the great cat lowered its head to rub against her shoulder comfortingly.

"I did not." He carefully moved a little closer to her. "I waited for you at the Rokubantai's field, and when I felt your reiatsu spiking over here I came here to see why you had not come to train."

Rangiku turned her head closer to Haineko's and whispered, "I understand what you were saying now. Thank you." The great cat licked her face and turned back into a blade, which she sheathed as all the anger drained from her face.

"Matsu…"

"Come with me." Rangiku spun on her heel and headed back to her apartments in the barracks, not even checking to see if he was following her.

Byakuya followed her, closing the door to her rooms behind him and standing awkwardly just inside the door as she stalked into the room, picking up a folded sheet of paper from the floor and thrusting it into his hands.

"I found this under my door when I awoke this morning."

Byakuya scanned the paper with a frown, anger slowly building as he saw the Kuchiki family crest at the bottom of the letter. "This is the family seal, used by every member of the family except for Rukia and myself. We each have our own personal seals, which are based on the family one but different. But they would have known you wouldn't know that."

Rangiku frowned as he handed the letter back to her, and then took a card out of the neckline of his shihakusho and passed it to her as well. She remembered Rukia giving her a similar card once, to prove to the guards at the Kuchiki mansion that Rukia had given her permission to be there, and she did remember it being a slightly different seal than the one on Byakuya's card. And although they were both similar to the family crest on the letter, she could indeed see the differences.

"You really didn't send the letter." She looked up at him finally, making it more a statement than a question.

Byakuya shook his head. "I would guess one of the servants saw us the other day, and told the family. They probably hoped I would not try to discover why you didn't show up, and that neither of us would lower our pride enough to confront the other about why we stopped seeing each other."

"Why do they care?" Rangiku didn't really understand.

Byakuya sighed, almost reaching out to take her hand. But if he touched her now they would probably just end up having sex, and she deserved to know what she was getting into. He moved past her and crossed the room to stare out the window.

"Byakuya?" She said hesitantly from behind him when he didn't speak for nearly a minute.

"The family was…concerned…during the war. Rukia is my heir, but neither of us has any children, and we are the only members of the main branch of the family. If we'd both been lost in the war…" Byakuya sighed again, turning to face her. "The family is pressuring me to marry again. But it must be someone they find suitable."

Rangiku's eyes grew huge. "So they wanted me out of the way, because I'm not suitable. I'm not good enough for you. They must have been really mad when they found out that…"

Byakuya saw the thought cross her face, and took a step closer to stop her by gently pressing his fingers over her lips. "Rangiku…I don't care what they think. I'm not with you to make them mad. I told you the other day that I would try to never lie to you, and I never have. I can't explain why I'm attracted to you, but I am. I'm not using you to rebel against them. I've never let them control this aspect of my life, and I never will."

Rangiku felt like her eyes were going to pop out of her head. The caring man of the other day, who'd held her sweetly and listened to her feelings, had been hard enough to equate with the image of Kuchiki-taicho she'd always had. And this man, who looked at her with emotion on his face and earnestness in his voice, was even harder to equate with Kuchiki-taicho. With Kuchiki-sama.

Maybe that was because he wasn't. Here, with her, he was only himself. He was Byakuya.

She couldn't stop herself from licking her lips as his fingers withdrew, and she saw his eyes track the movement. The quip that was on the edge of her tongue died at the honesty and passion in those stormy eyes when they snapped back up to meet her own.

"What will they do if we continue on as we have been?" She had to ask. It wasn't just his eyes that were bare to her, but his entire face. His mask was completely gone for the first time she'd ever seen. And she was elated by that fact.

"I'm not sure." Byakuya replied. "When Hisa…when I was courting my first wife, they didn't focus any of their attention on her. They put all their effort into trying to convince me to choose another. But she was very different from you, and wouldn't have put up any sort of a fight if one day I'd told her I never wanted to see her again. She would have been hurt, but she never would have confronted me. Perhaps they thought you would do the same, and so this time tried to convince you since they failed with me last time."

"But do you think they'll keep trying?"

"I'm certain they will." Byakuya admitted. "I don't know what they'll do, but they can be…frightening when they are determined."

"What if they don't know?" Rangiku mused. "What if we're more careful? Never let anyone see us together…"

"You would agree to a relationship like that?" Byakuya asked in surprise. Part of his surprise was that the word relationship had just come out of his mouth. It had only been a few weeks since they'd become lovers, only two days since he'd admitted he wasn't sure he knew how to be a friend, and yet now he spoke of being more than friends without even thinking about it. "Always hiding? Never being able to tell any of your friends…"

Rangiku sighed. "If it's a choice between that and never knowing what the Kuchiki's are going to do next… always having to wonder if they'll try to stop us from….being friends. Worried that any new Shinigami that talks to me might be one of their agents, trying to spread some rumor or convince me of another lie…"

Rangiku trailed off as Byakuya slid his fingers along the side of her neck, his thumb brushing her cheek.

"I wish it did not have to be this way."

Rangiku smiled. "I'll take what I can get. Although I suppose in some way I should be grateful to your family. If that note hadn't pissed me off as much as it did, if it hadn't made me so determined that I didn't need you or anyone else, it would have taken me a lot longer to stand on my own like Haineko told me to."

"What did she say to you today?" Byakuya questioned, somewhat surprised neither of them had mentioned it before this. The fact that their personal problems had been more important than the monumental achievement she'd just made said something.

"That I'd always needed others, not just in my personal life as she made me think earlier, but in my professional one as well. I always hated training alone. Hated being alone. But I'm not alone. I always have her. I always have Haineko." Rangiku whispered.

Byakuya drew her gently into his arms, and she sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder and allowed her arms to link around his waist.

"I think you'll be able to manifest her whenever you want now. Congratulations." He whispered also, dropping a kiss onto her forehead.

"Stage one of bankai training complete." She replied, an edge of mockery in her voice. "Now comes the really fun part."

"It can take years, but I believe you will succeed." He answered, pulling away enough to meet her eyes.

The strength she saw on his face, his belief in her, nearly took her breath away. No one, no one, had ever looked at her like that before. "Byakuya…"

He leaned down to kiss her gently.

The kiss went from gentle to passionate as a familiar flash of fire seemed to surge through her body, and Rangiku attacked his lips, hands pushing his haori off, suddenly desperate for the feeling of his flesh under her hands.

She was exhausted emotionally from their discussion, but this was easy. This part of a relationship was always easy. The flash of fire that washed away everything else was a relief. The confusing emotions his confession had brought up; the annoyance at having to hide their relationship, the joy that they had a relationship, the confusion that never really went away as to what he saw in her, the awe at being allowed to see him without his mask; they were all gone.

The fire raged as she pulled his gi away, leaving his hakama hanging dangerously low as her tugging had loosened the ties. She reached for the ties eagerly, surprised when his hands caught hers and pulled them gently away.

Before she could comment he had swept her up into his arms, and she eagerly linked her arms around his neck, nibbling on it as he carried her into her bedroom. She hadn't bothered to put her futon away, a fact she was grateful for now. Yet confusion once again warred with the fire running through her when he didn't lay her on the bed, but set her on her feet beside it. He didn't tear her clothing away. His hands didn't grab for her greedily. He only cupped her face in his hands and gave her a slow, drugging kiss.

A lazy meeting of lips that spun out longer and longer, gentle and sweet in a way she'd never been kissed before. Her hands slid down to her sides, and he drew them behind her back, cuffing her wrists in one hand while the other slid into her hair, gently massaging her neck as the kiss deepened, yet remained tender. The hand slid over the side of her neck, fingers spreading lightly over her collarbone, dipping teasingly over the top of her breast before returning to her face to cup her cheek.

"Byakuya." The fire was dimming, and in its place was a feeling she couldn't begin to describe. "Touch me."

"I am." He whispered, sliding his hand into the side slit of her hakama to ghost fingers over her hip. His kisses trailed down the side of her jaw to her neck. "After the first time, I told you I felt like I should apologize for my lack of finesse. Yet there is something to be said for the flash of heat, for letting passion rule reason."

"Byakuya…please." She breathed as his hand continued skimming over her body lightly. It had never been like this before. Not even with Gin, and certainly not with Byakuya. It had always been the heat, and the wildness. She wanted that fire, because this was frightening. Even all the heat that had spun around them previously had been safe.

But mixed with the fear of what he was doing to her was the thrill of being taken like this. Being taken so slowly that she felt each caress, each brush of lips.

Unknowingly, he echoed her thoughts, his voice low and intimate. "But it's hard to feel when there's only heat."

He released her hands, sliding his into her gaping gi, letting his fingers brush her nipples lightly as he nibbled on her collarbone. He could feel her heart beating under his fingers, hear the baffled moans torn from her throat.

He wanted her like this. He wanted her to feel every caress, wanted to watch her body become boneless and her eyes cloud as he took her higher and higher. He wanted to learn her body, learn where she most liked to be touched, learn what beautiful sounds he could coax from her. The other times had been so fast, and while they had certainly been enjoyable for both of them, it wasn't the same. Once you knew the joy of this…

"You've never been touched like this." Byakuya whispered as her hands gripped his waist. He pulled back from her for a moment, taking her hands in his own and leading them to his kenseikan, tipping his head forward to allow her to remove it. "You've never felt what I can make you feel."

Rangiku's fingers shook as she removed the kenseikan, placing it carefully on the stand beside her futon. He'd never removed it when they'd had sex before. She ran her fingers through his long hair as she'd wanted to do for so long, gazing into his eyes with wonder and still a bit of fear. She'd never have dreamed this much tenderness was under that mask. It was like he was a completely different person.

Byakuya kissed her again as she set his hairpiece down, another drugging kiss that left her trembling. He untied her belt slowly, letting it drop to her feet as he gently slid her gi off her shoulders, sliding his fingers teasingly under the straps of her lacy black bra, but making no move to remove it. His lips trailed over her shoulder, and he moved behind her, sweeping her hair to the side to trail kisses over her shoulder blade to nip gently at the back of her neck.

He could swear he felt her taut body go boneless, and he let his hands slid into the slits of her hakama again to trail over her hips, tracing the v-shape of her pelvic bone with light fingers as his mouth continued to worship her neck and shoulders.

She tried to shift, to get him to touch her where she most burned for him, but his hands slid away, trailing up her stomach to tease her breasts again as he finally undid the front clasp of the bra and cupped her chest, thumbs circling her nipples gently.

"Lie down with me. Please. Please, I can't…"

Her voice alone, the huskiness that hitched and then cut off as he blew warm breath on her ear before nibbling on it, almost undid him. But he wouldn't cheat her, or himself, out of this.

He slid one hand up to her chin, turning her head for another drawn-out kiss. His hands slid back down her body, one playing with her nipple while the other slid with devastating slowness up and down her side until she went limp against him.

He lay her down the bed then, but he didn't cover her. He lay on his side beside her, and when her hands reached for him urgently, he gently collected her wrists again and lifted them over her head as his lips and free hand trailed slowly down her body.

Rangiku was lost in sensations, sensations she'd never imagined. He wasn't touching anywhere he hadn't touched before, but it was like she was feeling it for the first time. His mouth was so gentle, so impossibly tender as he trailed over her body.

She was on fire again, but it was a fire she'd never felt the like of. How could he make her feel this? How did he not go mad with the slowness of it? Yet at the same time how did if feel so incredibly right?

It was more than pleasure, somehow softer and yet stronger than lust, and it put every dream she'd ever had about a man to shame. And the tiniest part of her that wasn't lost in what he was doing to her was terrified.

Byakuya felt her opening to him, a pliant surrender that was in some ways more exciting than passion. He could almost feel her skin humming as he dipped his tongue into her belly button, and he finally let himself untie first her hakama and then his own. Shedding his easily, he slid down her body as he pulled her own off, letting lips and hands slid over her hips and legs. He felt her thighs tense in anticipation and backed away without touching her core.

She sobbed, and he covered her mouth with his own again, emotions pouring between them as finally, finally, he lay over her and slipped into her smoothly and gently.

Her back arched, and her mouth tore away from his with a moan as her hips thrust mindlessly, but he slid one hand down to hold them down and let his weight sit on her a little more heavily. "No. Not fast. Not this time. Just feel it."

Even as his blood pounded, even as his body demanded he take her as fast and hard as he could, he moved in gentle, gliding strokes. He watched her face as her eyes clouded, as her mouth opened to release gasps and moans. His hand left her hip, and keeping the bulk of his weight on the other hand to avoid crushing her, he began to trail his hand over her body again, soft, soothing strokes that echoed his movements inside her.

Rangiku could see nothing but his eyes as they held hers, could feel nothing but his hand on her body and his sure, steady strokes deep within her. She could feel her orgasm growing again, slowly, so achingly slowly. Every touch seemed to sensitize her further.

And just when she thought she could take no more, his hand closed over her breast as he did something with his hips, and the growing ache within her suddenly exploded. Her hands fisted in the sheets as she sobbed his name.

Byakuya collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily and feeling like his pounding heart might explode any second. She lay bonelessly under him, and after a minute he managed to roll himself off of her, worried about crushing her.

Rangiku couldn't move. The edges of her world were still flecked with a golden haze, feelings running through her body she had no idea what to do with. She managed to whisper his name like a prayer.

Byakuya managed to turn his head to look at her, and suddenly stopped breathing for an instant as a realization hit him that he couldn't believe.

Her head rolled enough to look at him, and Byakuya put on the most desperate mask he had even shown her. He allowed his smile to reach his eyes.

But inside he was reeling. For he'd just realized something that filled him with quaking despair. He realized he'd gone and done the most illogical thing he'd ever done in his life.

He'd set out to seduce her, to show her what love could be like, and instead he'd been seduced by her.

He was in love with Matsumoto Rangiku.

Now what in the name of all the gods was he supposed to do about that?

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I have seen men in real life who so long deceived others that at last their true nature could not reveal itself... But he who cannot reveal himself cannot love, and he who cannot love is the most unhappy man of all.

-Soren Kierkegaard

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TBC…..

AN2: So, um, yeah. The plot bunnies were screaming this at me, and wouldn't leave me alone till it was done. Which is why it's so long, there was just no good place to cut off before this. I've also never been more worried about OOCness than in this chapter, but like I said earlier, masks. And what's under them. This is the Byakuya we've only really seen once in cannon, when he was talking to Rukia and explaining how she was really Hisana's sister. This is the Byakuya I feel is under the mask. Or at least the one I want to be. Reviews would be most welcome. Onegai?