Chapter 10: Left Breathless
Byakuya climbed out of bed and walked into the dressing area in the early morning darkness. He slipped out of his yukata and reached for his hakama. As he did, strong, warm arms wrapped around from behind him and Renji's softened lips placed kisses on his neck, beneath one pale earlobe.
"Good morning, Taichou."
"Good morning, Renji," Byakuya replied, turning and exchanging several slow, lingering kisses with the redhead, "You are up quite early."
"Yeah," said Renji, nuzzling the noble's throat, "I was just feeling, I don't know, kinda restless. I have this odd feeling inside. I mean, think about it. It's like our kid…this king we helped to make…he's really making me feel proud to be a part of him. Maybe that seems kinda silly, but…"
Byakuya met his eyes warmly.
"That is not 'silly' Renji. We did help to make King Yasahiro, and we should feel pride in his accomplishments. He will always be a part of us, because of what it took to make him."
"I think I'm ready to jump out of my skin with anxiety," the redhead admitted, "It's enough that leaving the safety of the spirit dimension makes him vulnerable, but with the explanation of Aizen's new status, there's just so much that could happen. It leaves me on edge."
He felt a wave of comfort and relief pass through him as Byakuya's lips found his again and kissed away the tension.
"It will be all right, Renji," the noble said firmly, "Yasahiro-sama has many hogosha looking out for him. And Tetsuya Tenba will stand steadfastly by his side."
"Yeah, I know that," Renji said, closing his eyes for a moment, "but your cousin is carrying some serious baggage, Byakuya. As much as I understand, and even support his relationship with Aizen Sousuke…"
"Things are going to be dangerous," Byakuya concluded, "But we knew that before. The difficulty has been with us all along."
"But this is different. Byakuya, once that announcement is made, the reaction will begin. Think, for a moment, how this will impact, even just the people we know. Momo…Hitsugaya taichou…Hisagi Shuuhei…Izuru Kira. And that's just the beginning. Tetsuya and Aizen have been existing in a protective bubble while in the royal realm. But once he is presented to the Seireitei, your cousin may be shocked at how quickly things change, and not for the better."
Byakuya was quiet for a moment, but then sighed softly and nodded.
"Tetsuya also has his own adversaries," he noted, "and was already in danger from them before. We only need look at what happened last night to know that."
"Byakuya, I was wondering about something. If you know those two councilors are involved, then why not just put pressure on them to tell you what is between Tetsuya and them?"
"I could do that," Byakuya said, considering, "but I really prefer that things within the clan do not escalate while Yasahiro-sama is here. There will be time enough for inquiries and strong-arm tactics after he leaves."
"Sure," Renji said, sounding unconvinced, "as long as your enemies agree to hold off as well, but something about this makes me think they won't. And Byakuya, if they do succeed in eliminating your cousin, then where does that leave you? Tetsuya is a powerful diplomat, and he has helped you maintained control of those guys for years."
"Abarai Renji," said the noble, narrowing his eyes, "How dare you suggest I cannot manage the elders on my own!"
"I…"
Renji's argument was swept away in a brutal flash step that ended with him being pinned down on the bed by Byakuya's slender body. Dark, stern eyes glared down into his, and although Byakuya was smiling, even his smile contained a challenge.
"I suggest you take that back," he said, bringing his lips close to Renji's.
Renji grinned.
"What if I don't want to?" he asked, saucily.
"Then, I will punish you," Byakuya said, moving his hips teasingly to indicate how he would administer the punishment.
The stern look faded and Byakuya couldn't quite contain a smile at the cute flush that rose on his fukutaichou's cheeks and throat.
"And what if I resist?" Renji asked, his eyes glowing softly.
Byakuya's smile faded and his reiatsu rose. He offered the redhead another teasing, grinding thrust and Renji groaned hungrily.
"I will overwhelm you!" the noble breathed hotly into his ear.
Renji caught his breath sharply.
"Damn!" he hissed, feeling sweat break out on his skin, "Byakuya, that's just mean! You know there's no time for…"
Moments later, he lay naked and sated on the bed with Byakuya sprawled on top of him, smiling triumphantly as Renji had to eat his words. But, the redhead decided, sometimes it was good to be proven wrong.
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Sousuke felt Tetsuya stir in his arms and heard a low, pained groan sound as the noble shifted and tried to sit up. He pulled away enough to look into the agitated blue eyes and to smile at him.
"Suffering the consequences of wandering off without me, Tetsuya?" he said, his mouth taking the noble's as he winced and groaned again, "Do you require more healing?"
"Shades, Sousuke," Tetsuya hissed softly, "But I think I hurt everywhere. I don't think I just landed badly. I landed horribly!"
"You landed horribly and didn't allow me to heal you fully."
"I was distracted."
Sousuke smiled.
"As much as I am not pleased with the consequences, I did enjoy distracting you."
"Do you mind saving the reprimands for later, Sousuke? I need to be able to stand without feeling like my bones are shattered."
"Yes, it is an important day for both of us, ne?" Aizen said, running his hands down the naked noble's muscular back, sensing the pain and relieving it with focused infusions of reiatsu.
"Oh," Tetsuya sighed, closing his eyes, "that is definitely better."
"What would be better still is if you could manage to get through a day without being attacked and nearly killed. You do enjoy making me anxious, don't you?"
"Not at all," the noble said, meeting Aizen's eyes warmly, "I am simply trying to get through the king's visit with my life and honor intact."
"And at every turn, you seem to be heavily challenged, Tetsuya. The way is not likely to get easier in the coming days. In fact, in a few hours, it is bound to be much more difficult. And my focus will shift to healing damage that I did here before and trying to avoid being lynched, while you will face your enemies coupled with Yasahiro-sama's."
Tetsuya nodded.
"We shall simply have to watch out for each other to the best of our abilities."
Sousuke's hands had finished the healing, but lingered over the curve of Tetsuya's naked hip.
"And we should stay close to each other," suggested Sousuke, nipping at the noble's throat.
Tetsuya lowered his chin and captured his lover's lips.
"I will be only steps away from you, and I will not stray from your side, Sousuke."
"Good," said the brown-eyed hogosha, "I will hold you to that."
Tetsuya smiled and turned, then crawled onto Sousuke's lap and knelt with his parted thighs straddling his lover.
"I'm in the mood for more than being held, Sousuke. I know we have to get ready soon, but…"
Aizen's mouth silenced the noble, and a small shift of Tetsuya's body moved him into position over his lover's waiting erection. He lowered himself onto it and wrapped his arms around Sousuke, resting his head on the hogosha's shoulder and moving up and down as Aizen's hands gripped his hips and encouraged them in their motion. Tetsuya shivered and panted softly as the pleasure rose inside him and slowly began to peak.
"Aishiteru yo, Tetsuya Tenba," Aizen breathed in his ear as the noble's hands tightened on him and his body seized with pleasure.
Tetsuya moaned heatedly and managed a soft reply as Aizen's hands wrapped around his bottom and held him tightly in place as he was filled with the seething pulses of Aizen's hot release.
"Aishiteru yo, S-sousuke," he whispered shakily leaning into his lover's embrace.
He wasn't sure why coldness seemed to enter his body again all too quickly as he slid off of his lover's lap and slipped out of bed. Sousuke too, was unnaturally silent as they showered and dressed. Tetsuya stood in front of the mirror and set the dark blue hogosha elite squad uniform in place, then slid Re-kuhime into the sheath at his waist. He remained where he was, his eyes distant, as Sousuke appeared behind him and wrapped his arms around the noble again.
"I sense you are anxious, still, Tetsuya," said Sousuke, kissing him on a soft earlobe, "But there is less fear and more determination in your body. We will be all right today."
Tetsuya couldn't think of an answer, so he simply nodded and turned to offer his lover a final kiss before they left Byakuya's quarters and joined the Royal Guard Troops headed for Kuchiki Manor.
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"Make way for the king's procession!" shouted the advance guard.
Excited cries rose up all around as scores of Royal Guardsmen moved out the entry gates of Kuchiki Manor and into the streets of the Seireitei. Behind the first wave of Royal Guard was a unit of King's hogosha. Byakuya and Renji walked at the left and right hand of the king's pavilion, and Tetsuya rode Arashi in front of them. Aizen sat silently at the king's right side, carefully cloaked and hooded. He kept his head lowered as they moved forward, but could still feel the curious eyes touching on him as their minds wondered who he might be.
And I hardly know myself. A light being made dark, then brightened again? A star that fell from the sky and was rescued from the sea and set back in place again? Can one really come back from such a dark place?
It was such a temptation to fall into melancholy. And he had indulged in it now and again during Tetsuya's absence from the palace. But with his noble lover steps away, it was hard for the ice around Sousuke's heart not to melt.
Yes, because despite having fallen, despite how badly I failed in my former mission to be a guide to the old king, despite the lives my old self destroyed, and even how I failed originally to save Tetsuya from being assaulted and killed by the Hollow King, this one, this very beautiful and passionate other believes in me, trusts me, loves me. It has been Tetsuya who has helped me wrap my mind around what I was and who made me see that I could be so much more. When I look into those lovely blue eyes, I feel like anything is possible. The cynicism and hatred I once felt, disappear. Because I see now. Tetsuya, too, could have been like me. Half-blooded as he is and looked down on, mistreated as he was, he could have used his powers in a negative way, but instead, he simply fought the forces that tried to hold him down. What happened to me was that I stopped fighting the laws and attitudes that held me back and began to loose my anger on people, guilty or not. I hurt innocents, people like Momo, Hisagi, and Kira, who were just caught up in it all. Even Gin and Tousen were my victims. I found them, misled them, and in the end, I killed them. So, even coming back and mending fences, sharing the truth, isn't going to erase the damage. That will take much longer.
He felt the lively blue eyes of his lover touch him and caught sight of Tetsuya looking back over his shoulder at him.
You brought me back to life inside, Tetsuya. It is because of you that I will see this done, however difficult it might be. And someday I will walk proudly in the open again…with you at my side.
But there were so many steps to take. Still, with his heart bonded to Tetsuya's, he took them with resolve.
He sighed softly and focused on the noble as Arashi stepped forward proudly, guiding them along the parade route. He felt a heady mixture of relief and fresh anxiety as they turned into the central square and stopped before the podium where the king was to speak.
Suddenly, Sousuke felt a shift in the reiatsu in the area. Time seemed to slow, as he saw a reaction in the king and the hogosha around him. They turned and stared, seeking the source of the disturbance, but it occurred to him that although he could see the incoming attack, the others could not. That left him with no choice. He was on his feet in a heartbeat, rising up over the king, his weapon drawn and his shield rising over the monarch. The blast struck his shielding, sending the hogosha crashing to the ground around them. Byakuya and Renji rolled to their feet immediately and sent kido blasts back in the direction from which the attack had come. Two dark forms showed themselves for a moment and Sousuke saw Arashi burst forward, run up the ramp in front of the podium and launch himself after. As they disappeared in the direction the attackers had gone, sudden silence engulfed the area around him. And Aizen Sousuke then realized that the blast had blown back his hood…and all eyes were on him now.
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"You are not going anywhere!" hissed Tetsuya, laying himself against Arashi's back as the Pegasus charged after the king's attackers.
The ones ahead of him were wickedly fast, but the noble wasn't about to lose them. They were going to be caught and punished for daring to so boldly attack the king. Arashi's feet pounded hard beneath them and he stretched his long legs out until he seemed to barely touch the ground.
Not much longer and we'll really be able to launch from the ground and fly after bastards like these. Maybe right now we are only able to jump from high places and glide, but soon, my Arashi, soon…
But even though true flight had to wait, Tetsuya was still Tenba no Kishu, and as charged, he would stop at nothing to apprehend the ones who threatened his king. As they followed the two out of the town and into the rough grasslands, heading for the forests, he realized that he had been fastest to respond and seemed to be alone in the pursuit. But that didn't matter at all to him. He urged Arashi on and focused on the two ahead of him, resolving that he would rather die than to let them escape.
Arashi blazed across the open grasslands, and a tight smile rose on the noble's lips. The two would have to reach the forests quickly to have any chance of escape. Arashi was flash stepping now, and gaining on them. As they closed on the forest and drew closer, he lifted a hand and sent a double blast of blue fire after them. The strike swallowed up the two, and a moment later, they crashed to the ground ahead of him.
But just as he started to slow, the reiatsu in the area spiked, and Tetsuya felt Arashi's body tense beneath him. The noble immediately turned the Pegasus aside, barely escaping a heavy volley of kido that seemed to erupt from all around them. He was vaguely aware of dark forms rising out of the long grasses and pulling the injured attackers to safety, as laughter sounded, sending a chill through Tetsuya, and leaving him aware that he had been carefully surrounded. He immediately dropped off of the warhorse's back and Arashi launched himself into the air. He could fly some without the added weight on his back, and that meant they could fight more effectively
"Do not move, Kuchiki Tetsuya," said a cold, chillingly familiar voice.
But that's not possible! Ichimaru Gin is dead! Sousuke killed him when he attacked the palace! But if he was dead…and is here now, that means…
He froze as the two cloaked forms he had seen in the attack a few days before, reappeared in front of him.
"Gin…Tousen," he breathed, as the two revealed themselves.
But the sight of them took the noble's breath away. Because they were nothing like what they had been in life. Their faces were white and half covered in bone masks and their weapons had gone all white as well. And in each man's chest was a large opening.
"Kuchiki Tetsuya," said Gin, "We thank you for making this so easy for us. We had no idea that you would be so accommodating as to fall so willingly into our trap!"
The noble frowned and drew his weapon.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, blue power rising around him, "You dared to attack my lord, King Yasahiro…and for that, you will die!"
Gin gave an echoing laugh.
"That's very amusing little Kishu! But you are alone and surrounded. And your flying rat seems to have abandoned you. Let's make this easy. I will put my blade through you and you will die, ne? Easy enough for you?"
Tetsuya heard the rising snarls and screeches of the hollows around him and sensed the attack coming in from behind him. With a soft breath, Re-kuhime roared to life, surrounding him in thick, blue ice. Arashi swept down and the noble flash stepped into the saddle as Hotaka had taught him to. He used Re-kuhime to make a ramp of ice ahead of them and Arashi raced forward. Ceros fired from all around, striking near them and making the ramp crack beneath the warhorse's hooves, but with a practiced hand, Tetsuya guided him around the cracks as Arashi gathered speed and launched himself off the end of the ramp.
"Ban kai, Koori no Bakuha, Re-kuhime!" Tetsuya cried.
Arashi swept around the circle of hollows that had trapped them, blue fire exploding from his mouth and nostrils. Tetsuya's zanpakutou release sent a hail of blue ice spears to impale the hollows that his mount's fire had missed. The hollows not immediately hit, scattered, panicking at the swell of power around the fighter they faced. Arashi touched down and turned back towards the damaged ice ramp to launch himself into the air again. Tetsuya turned his head, this way and that, searching for Gin and Tousen. He was nearly taken out of the saddle by Gin's cero, and had to alter his path. Realizing that Arashi had been forced to slow, and now could not launch properly, he sent a volley of kido at the two and then used his zanpakutou to add to the ice ramp. Having practiced the same maneuver many times with Hotaka, Arashi stretched out and ran comfortably now. As he was an ally, he wouldn't be prone to slipping in the ice. He ran for the high end of the ramp, swerving to avoid cero blasts and blasting the hollows that appeared in their path into nothingness. He reached the end of the ramp and charged into the air, starting to angle himself back to where Gin and Tousen had been. Tetsuya caught his breath as he realized that the two were gone. A scattering of hollows was slowly disappearing.
"Damn!" he breathed, scanning the area for their reiatsu.
Where he found it sent a hard chill through him. They were too close and their attack was too well-timed. Ceros rose out the trees to his right. Arashi banked hard to the left and just avoided them, but a blast from the other side, struck the Pegasus squarely on the side. Tetsuya gasped and flattened himself against his mount as Arashi's body twisted and spun, dangerously out of control. They careened towards the ground, out of control and stricken by several more ceros as they fell. Tetsuya had a dim realization that they were near water, and managed to angle Arashi's falling form towards it. Then something struck him from behind, taking him off of the falling warhorse's back and sending him crashing into the water below them.
Tetsuya managed to shield at the last moment. It shattered and he struck the water with terrifying force. Numbness flooded his body and the black water swallowed him whole. As consciousness left him, he prayed silently that Arashi had somehow recovered himself. He wondered about the king…and if Sousuke was all right…and if the king had revealed his lover's identity, even after having been attacked. His mind began to fall away then, spinning and turning, wondering how he could have come to such an end. Then, as he disappeared into the darkness, he realized.
Yasahiro-sama wasn't the target of that attack!
I was.
Why?