Chapter 10: Heart of the Rukongai
Ichigo entered the house alongside a pair of guards who he directed to remain at the front doors.
"There are several other guard posts that Tetsuya helped me set up. I want you guys to check in with each other at least once an hour. New cameras are being installed to cover most of the grounds, but they won't be fully up and running for a few days. Just…keep your eyes peeled. Someone tried to kill Renji this morning, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let'em have another shot."
"Hai, Ichigo-sama," the guards answered, bowing.
Ichigo turned and flash stepped up the stairs, then hurried to his bedroom suite. His stomach dropped slightly and his heart quickened at finding the room empty and Renji's bodyguard gone as well.
He probably went to visit Seiji.
Ichigo left the bedroom and went back down the stairs, taking a concealed, servant's passage to the area of the staff quarters. He sighed in relief at finding Renji's bodyguard standing at Seiji's door and the redhead sitting in the room, beside the bed, where Seiji laid sleeping with Kuchiki Koji curled up next to him. And Renji wasn't alone, but was seated alongside Kuchiki Tetsuya, who was looking on sympathetically and holding Renji's hand. Ichigo's face softened at the sight, and he stood quietly in the doorway, watching for a moment.
"This is killing me, Tetsuya," Renji said softly, looking down at Seiji's pale face as the attendant slept in Koji's embrace, "I literally just met this kid. And he's not just a kid, he's a noble kid. He wasn't like me, being raised in muddy streets with rags hanging off my body and digging out of trash cans to eat. He learned manners. He learned to follow rules, to…to clean up after himself, to wipe his feet when he comes inside, to say please and thank you and everything else. Even having come to live here, I'm still around half monkey, and everyone knows it."
"That isn't true, Renji-san," Tetsuya said, squeezing the tormented redhead's hand, "You are a well respected fukutaichou. And you are always polite when you come to Kuchiki Manor."
"Yeah," Renji said with an edge of sarcasm, "because I know Taichou doesn't put up with anything else. You follow his rules or you scram."
"Which only proves that what you said before is not true. You are a freer spirit, yes. But Byakuya-sama very much appreciates the strong survival spirit in you, just as he appreciates it in Rukia and me. If you were thinking straight, you would not be questioning this."
"Ugh!" Renji groaned, running his hands over his face, "How the fuck am I supposed to think straight? Someone hates me, Tetsuya! And they hate me enough to set up a bomb and risk every-fucking-body here, because anybody could have walked through that area and set off that kido bomb! And they did hurt someone else. They hurt Seiji, a kid who's noble and…and kind, just a good person! He didn't have to go and fucking jump in front of that thing for me! I didn't ask him to get hurt for me. I don't want him to be hurt, for me or anyone else!"
"I do understand how you feel, Renji," Tetsuya assured him, "You remember that I told you on my first night at Kuchiki Manor, my loss of control nearly killed poor Koji. I felt so very guilty. I could not even look him in the eyes for a while after that. But, with time, I realized that people who love us will always look out for us, whether we want them to or not. We cannot stop them from doing so. They are acting of their own free will and protecting what matters to them. We must respect that."
"Y-yeah," Renji said, brushing away a tear that had escaped his eye, "I do respect it. I just hate that the kid got hurt, you know? What a shitty first day. What's up for the second day? Throwing him off a cliff?"
"Seiji will be all right," Tetsuya said reassuringly, "You heard Nobu-san whne he examined Seiji. He said he is healing well and will only need a few days rest to recover."
"I know, I know," Renji said miserably, "I just…wanna take it back. I wanna, you know, not have gone outside…not…"
"You shouldn't have to lock yourself away, Renji-san," Tetsuya said bracingly, "This is not your fault."
"What are you talking about?" Renji demanded, sniffing and wiping his eyes, "Some asshole nearly killed this nice, innocent kid, just to get at me! How is that not my fault? I'm the reason that bomb was there!"
"No, now you know that is not true," Tetsuya said firmly, "Are you suggesting that it is also my fault that my powers went out of control and hurt my Koji?"
"No! I didn't mean that," Renji said, shaking his head, "I just mean…"
"Tetsuya's right," Ichigo said, stepping forward.
He made a sound of surprise as Renji bolted from the chair and sought his arms, holding him crushingly close.
"Whoa," Ichigo said softly, hugging the redhead and feeling a little chill as he realized that Renji was shaking all over with emotion, "Easy. It's okay. Everything's okay. You're safe. I'm safe. Seiji's gonna be okay. Take it easy, all right?"
"Y-yeah," Renji managed, peeling himself away from Ichigo and wiping his wet eyes, "Sorry."
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Ichigo said, kissing him and hugging him again, "You didn't do a thing wrong."
"I know," Renji sighed, rubbing his hands over his face and running fingers through his messy hair, "You and Tetsuya are right. I know, but…"
He paused, blinking, as he realized that the blue-eyed Kuchiki had slipped away.
"He didn't have to leave," the redhead complained.
"Tetsuya's only giving us a little space to talk about things," Ichigo assured him, "C'mon, let's go and have a shower together, okay? You're overdue for an infusion."
"I don't feel like taking a bath."
"Well, you need one," Ichigo teased, "You stink."
Renji frowned and sniffed an armpit, then scowled.
"I do not, asshole!" he snapped, "You're the one who stinks!"
"Then, you should come and give me a bath."
"Huh," Renji huffed, crossing his arms, "You're just trying to get me naked with you, so I'll…"
"Ahem," Ichigo said, glancing meaningfully at Seiji, who was stirring and groaning softly.
Koji came awake suddenly and held the other attendant down gently as he tried to raise himself.
"Seiji!" Renji exclaimed, dropping back into his chair as Ichigo claimed the one Tetsuya had been using, "How are you feeling?"
"Oh, me?" the attendant said groggily, "I'm five…I…I mean fine. M-my head hurts, but I'm okay. You don't need to worry, Renji-san. I will be able to resume my duties…"
"I don't fucking care about that!" Renji snapped, scowling petulantly, "I don't want you throwing yourself in front of any more kido bombs to save me. I survived the shit hole down in Inuzuri as a kid. I think I can survive some stupid, bigoted jerks who wanna kill me. What I don't want is some young kid with his whole future in front of him goddamned throwing his life away for some mongrel that just crawled up outta the gutter!"
Ichigo and Koji's faces reflected surprise, while Seiji's scrunched up and his eyes filled with tears.
"P-please don't say things like that about yourself, Renji-sama," the youth pleaded softly, "It isn't true when others say it, and it's not true when you say it either. It only hurts more to hear you talk like that."
"The kid's right," Ichigo said sternly, "We all know where you came from and how hard you fought to get here. You don't get to talk trash about the guy who kept Rukia alive and got her to where Byakuya could find her. You don't get to say that to the guy who you turned against your own taichou to support. And you fucking don't get to talk like that to the guy you're married to and whose baby you're having!"
Renji's face took on a sheepish look and he gave his teary-eyed attendant a little, apologetic smile.
"Yeah," he huffed, shaking his head, "you're right. I shouldn't say it."
"You shouldn't," Seiji insisted, "You're a good person, Renji-sama. I know that some of the nobles give you a difficult time, but that doesn't make you what they say you are. Still, when you use their words against yourself, it's like you are agreeing with them."
Renji's brown eyes widened and filled with tears as his injured attendant continued.
"You are nothing like they say. You may be wilder, more untamed than a noble son is. But you are also wiser and more prepared to fight for your survival. Something I learned from your example when I didn't yet know you, is that not all fights are fair. Not all enemies will play by our rules. It becomes a question of what kind of person one wants to be. I had to ask myself, would I be a person who would become a monster to defeat one? I never want to be a monster, but I do want to survive, so I learned how to fight monsters without becoming like them. I chose to risk death rather than to change."
Renji bit at his lip and let out a long sigh.
"Well, you've got guts. I'll say that. But, we wanna keep those guts inside you, where they belong. I know it's your job to protect me, and I've got no damned powers to help. Just…really try hard to not get yourself killed. I like you, and I've watched too many friends like you get killed. Fuck up in any other way you want to, but don't get yourself killed for me, okay?"
Seiji gave the redhead a helpless smile and nodded, then he winced and grabbed at his head.
"Ow!" he gasped.
"Yeah," Renji said, crossing his arms, "that's what you get for jumping in front of a kido bomb. I hope you've learned your lesson, kid. Cause, next time, I expect your shielding will have improved so that it doesn't break from a kido bomb. I want your ass out there on the training grounds every day, practicing. Have Koji come over and train with you, if you want. I would, but I've still got a bun in the oven, so our sessions won't start until after my kids are born."
Seiji's eyes rounded and he stared at the redhead in shock.
"Y-you would train with me, Renji-sama? But, I'm just a…!"
"Now, you stop right there," Renji chided the youth, "You just got through telling me that I shouldn't say bad things about myself, and that I shouldn't use the words other people say to put myself down. The same damned thing goes for you. I haven't been in a noble home that long, but I've been here long enough to know that noble attendants are not just servants. When someone wants to get to a noble leader, they always either have to corrupt or kill the attendant. I'm not gonna make it that easy for'em to do that to us. First off, you and I are going to be like brothers. I've got terrible manners and you've got a rod up your ass, following all of those silly rules, but if we just overlook that part, the rest is okay. Second, you are going to spend a lot of time with Tetsuya, learning everything you can about how he protects Taichou. That way, you'll be well prepared the next time some creep decides he wants to plant a bomb where I'm walking with my husband. You got all that?"
"Yes, Renji-sama," Seiji answered, blushing brightly.
"That's Renji, when we're here at home."
"But…"
"Uh-uh," Renji said firmly, "Ichigo and Koji are significant others. You don't need to tack on a sama in front of them."
Seiji glanced at Ichigo who smirked and shrugged.
"He's your boss," the ginger chuckled, "You'd better do what he says."
Ichigo glanced at Koji for a moment, then caught Renji's eye.
"Hey, I think we were talking about a shower before. Why don't we let Koji take care of Seiji now and I'll take care of you?"
"Yeah, okay," the redhead said, smirking.
He gave his attendant a stern look and crossed his arms.
"You stay outta trouble now, you hear?"
"Yes, sir, Renji-sa…"
"Ah-ah…"
"Oh, I mean, Renji," the youth hastily corrected himself.
"Get some sleep. You'll be real busy when you're better."
"Come on, bossy," Ichigo said, taking the redhead by the arm and tugging.
"I'm coming. I'm coming," Renji complained, "Look who's being bossy now."
"Well, I am your husband and your leader."
"Oh, is that what you call what you're doing?" Renji quipped.
"Oh, you're asking for it now, buddy," Ichigo said, narrowing his eyes, "Get your ass in that shower. I'm not gonna wait all day."
"Whew, you horny or something?" Renji asked, "Cause you're being pretty aggressive."
"You wanna see aggressive? Just keep me waiting a little longer and I'll show your ass aggressive!"
The two grabbed hand towels as they ran into the bathroom and launched into a towel fight, winding the towels, then snapping them playfully at each other. Renji yelped and swore as Ichigo's towel struck his still clothed bottom. He retaliated immediately with a strike to Ichigo's exposed hip.
"Ow!"
"Well, you wanted to start something," Renji laughed, letting his yukata slide to the floor.
He started towards the shower, only to find himself captured and pushed back against the wall, with Ichigo invading his mouth amorously.
"Mmmmph," Renji managed, between hard, eager kisses, "What's goin' on? What's got you all hot and bothered?"
"You do," Ichigo confessed, still kissing him feverishly, "Just seeing you acting like yourself again with Seiji and…"
"Whaddya mean, acting like myself?" Renji mused, "I've been myself all along. I mean, I've been kinda screwed up with the hormones and stuff, but…"
He paused, surrendering to another bout of heated kisses.
"Well, I don't know if you're making any sense, but I like the kissing," Renji chuckled, "You think we can get in the shower now?"
"Mmmhmm," Ichigo said, backing him across the bathroom, then pausing to turn on the shower before attacking Renji's hungry lips again while they waited for the water to warm.
They stepped in, under the hot spray, indulging in each other's lips, their tongues battling fiercely. Ichigo forced his red-haired mate back against the wall and pressed up against him, rubbing his alert privates against Renji's and sliding a hand around behind the redhead to begin preparing him. Renji moaned and writhed impatiently as Ichigo simultaneously flowed stabilizing reiatsu into his body and continued the desired stimulation.
"Aw fuck, do we have to even do the infusion?" Renji complained breathlessly, "It'll get into my body if we just start doing it, won't it?"
"Yeah, I think so," Ichigo panted, shifting and nudging his way between the redhead's thighs.
Renji snapped at his throat, distracting him into a rough entry. Renji groaned loudly and swore.
"Sorry," Ichigo apologized, holding the two of them forcibly still.
Renji struggled beneath his grasp, hissing in his ear.
"C'mon! F-fuck! I want you so bad. I want you! Move, you bastard!"
"I am," Ichigo giggled.
"What the fuck are you laughing at?" the redhead objected, spreading his thighs wider and rearing up against Ichigo's body, rubbing erotically against him.
He grabbed his husband's hips, pulling on him impatiently.
"Faster!" Renji moaned, rotating his hips, "Oh my god, h-harder! C'mon…oh god…oh god…oh god, I'm gonna…!"
A ringing howl of pleasure erupted from Renji's red lips, inciting a hard groan of completion from Ichigo as he emptied himself into Renji's quaking body. The two gasped and panted, reeling as their hearts pounded wildly. Ichigo pressed his lips against his husband's flushed earlobe, nipping gently.
"I love you, Renji," he sighed contentedly, "I was really scared when that bomb went off. All I could think of was that I might lose you and our kid. I didn't want Seiji to get hurt either, but I would have gone crazy if you or our babies had died. Don't scare me like that again."
He would have said more, but he realized suddenly that Renji was hanging limply against him.
"Renj?"
"H-hey, you all right?"
"Yeah," Renji managed sleepily, "I'm just tired. Can we go to bed now?"
"You wanna dry off first or should we just dive in?" Ichigo snickered.
"Whatever you want, but don't let go of me. I don't think my legs can hold me up after that."
"Don't worry about a thing," Ichigo laughed softly, helping him out of the shower, "I've got you."