Hooray another Chapter down. It's a long one so Ill just make this nice a short and let you get right to it! Enjoy!
Father?
"Are you ready?" The man asked.
"Of course." Byakuya replied calmly. With that they lunged at each other.
The two when at first glance appeared evenly matched. With Byakuya's flashstep competing with the man's raw power. Renji though knew instantly that not only was the man holding back but that Byakuya was still outmatched. Yet still he fought on.
Byakuya engaged an altered form of Senka for hand based combat only to be easily predicted. As soon as Byakuya engaged it the man spun with Byakuya's movements and as Byakuya's fist flew out towards his opponent's ribcage they were deflected and an effective counter attack ensued leaving Byakuya breathless.
Byakuya had marks all over his upper body and his legs were shaking within the next 5 minutes from exertion. The other man though was not left without marks. He had a bruised eye, and a reddening spot on his lower rib cage from when Byakuya managed to successfully use the altered senka. The man though had not yet broken a sweat, and he was still smiling widely.
Renji finally decided to interrupt.
"That's enough. You have proven your point. You are obviously the superior fighter but if you continue to harm my partner I will have no choice but to put you on your back." Renji said in a dead cold tone that he had picked up from Byakuya. He stood and walked over to Byakuya supporting him under his arm.
"Protective as well I see. That's fine, I was finished anyways. I will have you know though Byakuya Kuchiki that you are strong…in fact you're the first captain to be able to last longer than 2 minutes with me on their first battle. With more training I can assure you that you could reach my level." This had both Renji and Byakuya raising their eyebrows. Not so much at the training part but rather learning that this man had fought captains before and none had lasted longer than 2 minutes.
At this point the head servant finally arrived. Keeping his head lowered and away from his masters current physical condition he informed them that Lunch was now ready to be served.
"Thank you. We will be there shortly." Byakuya said slightly out of breath. With that the servant quickly left.
"Before lunch I think it would be a good idea Byakuya if you were to go and clean yourself up. I would offer to heal your wounds if I had power, but I have a feeling that you would turn me down anyways." Renji said chuckling slightly at the last part when Byakuya nodded his head.
By this point the other man was back to his full uniform. Now that they had time to look at it Renji noticed its difference from that of the soul society uniforms. The golden colors and raised collar signified his obvious connection with royal family and the insignia on the back of his haori proved he was indeed from squad zero. The other things that Renji noticed though were the short sleeves (similar to 9th divisions uniform), and also something he had not noticed before but noticed now as the man swung the Haori onto his back was the dragon that was wrapped around it. The red dragon started on the bottom right part of the haori and wrapped its way up his back and under his left side settling its head over the man's heart. Renji had to admit it looked amazing. Especially when combined with the red sheath of the zanpaktou.
Byakuya was about to ask the man if he would join them for lunch when he realized he still did not know his name. He tried to think if it had been brought up yesterday, but he failed to remember if it had. Luckily for Byakuya Renji stepped in.
"Um…hope you don't mind, but uh…ya know it would be nice to know the name of the stranger who saved my life." Renji said in really the bluntest manner he could at that point.
"Stranger…huh. I guess I haven't told you my name yet have I? For now you can call me Yuuta." He said as he turned to face Renji and Byakuya who was now standing again on his own.
"I'm not so sure we deserve the honor of that name sir." Said Byakuya bowing his head slightly in respect. It was very uncommon for someone to share their first name so soon with another but especially when their ranks were so different.
"Nonsense...after such a great battle you more than deserve the use of my first name." He said happily. He quickly turned serious though. "Anyways…I think until we are able to sit down for a proper and private conversation it would be best if you did not know my full identity…particularly for your partner there." He said nodding towards Renji who was quietly observing the conversation. This left the couple in confusion as the mysteries around the man seemed to only increase.
"For now why don't we start with lunch?" He said walking off towards the gardens. "I'll be waiting for you two… of course only once you have cleaned up a little Byakuya." The man said over his shoulder with a laugh and vanishing into the gardens.
"And the mystery gets even bigger. What does he want that has to do with me?" Renji asked still vastly confused.
"I'm not too sure. Give me a moment and I will see if I can learn anything else." With that said Byakuya turned his attention inward to converse with his Zanpaktou.
Senbonzakura. Is there anything you have learned from his Zanpaktou that you could inform me of that would be helpful? Byakuya asked quietly.
Unfortunately not Byakuya. The sword has a seal around itself and I cannot speak with it or understand its intentions. It appears to be purposefully blocking me out. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that its power is immense…so much so that if you and I were to meet against it in true battle we would fall just from the weight of its reiatsu. The zanpktou said calmly. With that Byakuya left his inner world.
"Nothing huh. Guess we will have to find out the old fashioned way." Renji said in a tone the expresses his disappointment. "First though let's get you washed up." Renji said beginning to head in the direction of their room.
"Wait Renji. There is no need for me to go to our room. The pond nearby has a waterfall that is infused with reiatsu. It will suffice for healing and cleaning." He said grabbing Renji's shoulder and leading him into the gardens.
They came up to the pond that Byakuya had spoken of and all Renji could think about was why he hadn't discovered it earlier. It was fairly large, about the size of their master bedroom in fact. On the north end there was the waterfall Byakuya had spoken of. And there was even a rack made of polished wood to hang their clothes, it also had towels stacked underneath for their use.
"Get undressed Renji. This is a good time for us to do the reiatsu infusing." He said while he himself undressed from his Shihakusho and Haori and hung it up on the pegs provided. Renji placed the scarf that he was still holding over top of the Haori, and he began to get undressed as well. They also placed their respective Zanpaktou down on the stand provided.
When they were both fully unclothed they waded into the waters. They started with Renji washing Byakuya's body of the dust from the Training field and then, after much prodding from Renji, going under the water fall and healing his minor wounds. After this Byakuya led Renji to a small bench in a little alcove behind the waterfall that Renji had not noticed earlier and he sat him down.
As Byakuya began infusing his reiatsu into Renji the intense pleasurable sensations took over. Renji reached up and mixed his hand into Byakuya's silk raven hair and brought his head down for a smouldering kiss.
Both men were soon left with an erection that had to be dealt with. Byakuya began tracing his way down Renji's tattoos, using his mouth, towards his abdomen when Renji grabbed him by the shoulders and switched their positions. Renji quickly ducked his head under the water and immediately Byakuya was left breathless as Renji's mouth work its way over his member. Within a few moments he was calling out Renji's name as he exploded into his partner's mouth.
Renji surfaced again slightly out of breath but undeterred from his activities. He reached up again and kissed Byakuya mingling their tastes together. At this point Byakuya took control and had Renji sit down while they repeated the process with Renji. Byakuya though took his time and let Renji reach climax slowly through teasing touches leaving the man with little coherent thought. This left both men rather breathless and sated.
With their needs finally meet the two sat there for a little while longer just holding each other before getting out and getting dressed.
When they were finally dressed they headed back to the eating area that was set out on the other side of the gardens in silence. The quiet was not uncomfortable but rather there was no need for either to express their feelings with spoken words, and they were both quiet comfortable with the silence.
When they finally arrived at the lunch area the man, Yuuta, was already there eating. The servant that was waiting upon them was looking at Yuuta from the corner of his eye out of disgust for the man's lack of respect. This seemed to have no effect against the man though as he dug in without waiting for either Renji or Byakuya to start.
"You have a large appetite I see. I hope the food is to your standards." Byakuya said smiling towards Renji when he realized it was very similar to how Renji was when he first moved in with Byakuya.
"Ah…yes thank you…your house staff has very commendable skills." He said between mouthfuls. Byakuya and Renji said down across from the man and began eating as well. Byakuya made sure that Renji had a large portion of food on his plate. Although Renji never put up a fuss about anything, Byakuya was always doing these little things like making sure he had enough food and rest for himself and the baby.
They ate mostly in silence and some small chit chat. When they were all full, Yuuta having eaten the most, they got up and went for a stroll. Byakuya led them to a small room in the Mansion that Renji had not yet been in. Renji and Yuuta went to sit down while Byakuya dismissed the nearby servants and closed the door. When he came back to sit down next to Renji the atmosphere suddenly became very serious.
"This room has protection against spies, and I have dismissed all of the servants nearby. There really is no better place to share what you came here for than here in this room." Byakuya said as respectfully as he possibly could while still making it clear that no one was leaving till he had answers.
"Indeed, if you don't mind I am also going to deter any visitors though." Yuuta said calmly, and without waiting for a response he performed a quick and unknown technique that had all of the walls glowing in a faint blue color. "There, that will keep anyone from entering or eavesdropping."
For a moment everyone was silent. Byakuya was sitting next to Renji who could not seem to stop fidgeting. Across was the man who would hopefully provide all of their answers.
"Well I suppose I will start then…um how to begin…" Yutta shrugged his shoulders and scratched the back of his head again. Byakuya was starting to think it was nervous habit. "I guess we can start with the official reasons for me being here today."
"Please do. I would love to know what the Captain of the Zero squad wants with me and my partner." Byakuya said respectably, but both Renji and Yuuta could hear the slightest bit of sarcasm. For some reason this had Yuuta sporting a grin for ear-to-ear.
"Ha…you Byakuya have no clue what you are asking for. But alas I can delay no longer. Due to special circumstances I will soon no longer be the head of The Zero Squad. I have been given a year to find a suitable replacement, and yet I have already chosen. Rather than giving it to someone looking to advance and obtain power I wanted to find someone who would do it to protect others." At this point Yuuta was looking pointedly at Byakuya who was listening intently and quietly.
Both Renji and Byakuya gasped when they realised his intentions.
"Wait…What? You can't mean me?" Byakuya said in shock. He was completely taken off guard by this and it showed.
"Yes, Yes I do mean you. You are the one man who will do everything to protect those you love that I can recruit." Yuuta said taking on a very serious look.
"Only one? There are so many who have my power level and would protect those they love greatly. And although I am annoyed to admit as much if I were to suggest anyone it would be someone with more power than I, and an unwavering loyalty to protect loved ones, Ichigo Kurosaki…" Byakuya started quickly but was cut off.
"No. He does indeed contain all of the qualities I would look for, but due to his family history he cannot be included. Plus I know he would turn down any proposal for the position." Yuuta said calmly, but Renji noticed something briefly in the mans eye's when he mentioned Ichigo's family history.
"Family history? What do you know about his history?" Renji asked seriously. Even Ichigo seemed to be in the dark a little. Isshin had not been very sharing about himself or his wife after revealing his obvious connections with the Shinigami world, in fact Ichigo had said the old man was dodging all his questions.
"We can talk about that later. In fact that's something we will need to discuss later when he's back from his honeymoon. Let's get back to the real subject shall we? Byakuya Kuchiki I hope you will accept my offer." Yuuta said turning his attention back to the still shell shocked Noble.
"You understand what you are asking me? This is a great honor but also a great responsibility. I ask that you give me time to think this over." Byakuya said gaining his composure again.
"I know you will say yes in the end Byakuya. Especially when you hear what else I have come here for on the more personal note." Yuuta said his eyes quickly darting to meet Renji's.
"Yes you did indeed mention you have a more personal reason to being here. Do you mind sharing as I believe both me and Renji would enjoy hearing about it." Byakuya said nodding towards Renji who was watching Yuuta very closely now.
"Again watching what you ask for Byakuya. This though pertains to you Renji." Yuuta said looking directly now at Renji.
"Before I begin though I have a question for you. What do you know about your family history?" He asked Renji.
"History? Nothing really…I lived in the Rukongai as a child with no recollection of having any real parents." Renji said slightly taken aback by the question. Most people knew his general background, but it usually wasn't an open topic either.
"Yes well do you know where you came upon the name of Abarai?" He asked another question. It was getting on Byakuya's nerves, not that he showed it. He was still reeling from his possible promotion and now his mate was being drilled about his past?
"I don't really. I remember an older lady in the Rukongai from when I was young. In fact it's some of the first memories I have." Renji started. By this point Byakuya was now focusing entirely on Renji having never heard these details before. "She was my caretaker for a while before being killed by a hollow. She always called me 'little king Abarai'. She wasn't my mother or anything but she seemed to care for me greatly and that was expressed in that nickname." He said smiling a little at the nickname.
"Yes she did love you I imagine. But she was not far off in using that name for you." Yuuta said mysteriously.
"What do you mean by that? It was just a silly name she gave me as the child she was responsible for raising." Renji asked in utter confusion. Yuuta's logic had Renji's mind utterly scrambled at this point.
"When I say that I mean to say Renji that you are indeed Royal." He said with a serious look. At this both Byakuya and Renji gasped and the shock was openly displayed on both of their faces.
"You are joking right?" Byakuya said in disbelief.
"N…No…That's just…Not possible. I'm Rukon not Royalty." Renji stuttered over his words.
"You have no clue Renji. The reason I have come here was because your life was in danger and I was freed from my obligation to stay out of the way." He said calmly. "Someone in the Royal kingdom discovered that you did indeed have royal bloodlines, although they didn't know any details. For some reason they decided to leak that kind of information to people who clearly despised you. As such the information found its way to Daiki leading to your attack." Yuuta explained, his face darkening when he came to the part about Daiki.
"Details…you seem to know what those details are? What else haven't you told me?" Renji asked now completely curious although still taken aback and shocked.
At this Yuuta scratched the back of his head again. He suddenly looked sad and kind of shy. He quickly schooled his features though and made the decision that appeared to weigh heavily on his mind.
"Since you asked I will share with you. Before I tell you though I want you know that I wish things had been different, but they couldn't. Now though we can change that." He said looking at right at Renji.
"Different? What are you talking about?" Renji asked still lost in confusion. He looked up at Byakuya though when he heard his Zanpaktou gasp a little. Byakuya was staring at Yuuta with his eye's wide in shock. "Byakuya? What's wrong."
"Ah…I imagine you've figured part of it out Byakuya?" Yuuta said more of a statement than a question.
"Indeed. You will have much to explain to Renji and I now." Byakuya said calming his features again.
"What is it Byakuya? What do you know?" Renji asked now feeling completely lost.
"I think it would be better if you hear it from him Renji." Byakuya said with a gentle look at his partner. He gestured towards Yuuta signaling that this was his que.
"Well Renji…Um…I guess being blunt is the only way I can go about this. I was kinda hoping you would guess as your partner did but of course I'm not so fortunate." He started before Renji interrupted.
"Just tell me already…I am not a patient person." Renji said in agitation.
"As you wish. My full name is Yuuta Abarai, and I am your biological father."
So who saw that coming?
Well how did I do? I had lots of difficulty with the ending and I am still kind of un-pleased with it, but I can't afford a writers block when they story is getting so good now.
As per usual reviews PLEASE!
Another note. This is for AmyaEnvyElric. I make a habit to respond to all of my reviews if they have a profile, but you have PM blocked :( and its sad because I've been on your profile before and there is much we have in common. If ya ever want to connect send me a message. And thank you so much for all of the reviews you have sent me they are very encouraging. I wonder if this what you had predicted of this chapter?