Title: Imposition
Characters: Renji, Byakuya (RenBya)
Rating: T
Summary: 6th part of Renji – Reflection. Renji faces the question of what it means to be Kuchiki Byakuya's lover.
Warning: Fluff with a few unpleasant things.
Disclaimer: Own no part of Bleach, not even bleach
A/N This chapter probably wouldn't have been possible without the support and encouragement of my gracious readers, especially those who like Renji as he appears in this fic. I've also borrowed various ideas to incorporate, one from the current filler arc, one from Akuni's ByaRen story "The Only Thing", another from Feilyn's "The Stage", and a small one from my own "Matsumoto Reloaded Omake" (self-pimpage alert!).
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Renji paused at the gate to the Fifth Division, nodding at the guards and the various shinigami who came greet him. They appeared green and listless, but Renji knew that these were the hardiest of the lot. Those with weaker constitutions were probably recovering in the Fourth Division or in darkened corners of the barracks. If he had been at a boisterous party the night before to celebrate the installation of his new taichou, belated though the celebration may be, and said party was thrown by the previous taichou of his new taichou at the fabled Kuchiki mansion with a free flow of food and alcohol, he would probably have been found face down in an alley come morning after continuing the celebration with his bosom bows in the tavern of the moment.
Fortunately for his head, he had been one of the hosts, and his ex-taichou and now lover would have been most displeased had he followed the examples of their squad members and left him alone to deal with the aftermath of the party. Besides, when Kuchiki Byakuya claimed a place in your life, celebration took on a whole different meaning. iIntoxication, seduction, passion, surrender, pleasure./i
"Tell the division to assemble," he called, "we will do light drilling this morning." Several faces turned very peculiar shades of green. Renji flashed his trademark grin. "It's my patented Abarai morning recovery technique, perfected after decades of testing, guaranteed to work." His subordinates returned weak smiles and bowed before turning to gather the rest of the division.
The grin smoothed into a somber expression as Renji watched them leave. The past few months had been arduous as he stepped into a position that had been unoccupied since Aizen's betrayal, the main reason for the delay in his promotion party. Byakuya had been one of the taichous supervising the Fifth Division over the years, so its shinigami were accustomed to Renji's comings and goings. However, being taichou was a very different proposition, and division and taichou had perforce to adapt to each other as they negotiated a new hierarchy of authority within the Fifth and it re-learned what having a sitting Taichou meant. Renji's loudness, brashness and confidence served as a sheath that covered the keenly honed blade within, and woe betide any who mistook his forward personality for mere bravado or simplicity that could be challenged. The Fifth Division found quickly that Abarai Taichou's wolf's grin was as much a command as Unohana Taichou's gentle smile, or Kuchiki Taichou's monotone.
On his part, Renji worked hard to reassure his subordinates that he was a taichou they could accept without doubt or trepidation. His status as a war hero did him no harm, indeed he was known as someone who had fought even before war had been declared. His attempts to rescue Rukia and his role in the various exploratory skirmishes during his sojourn in Karakura were prominent in the body of lore concerning the war, and equally well-known were his friendships with the exotic ryoka who had acquired a legendary status in Seireitei, and now casually showed up in his office all hours of the day, Ichigo most of all. The Fifth had started with somewhat mixed feelings towards Ichigo. Aizen had earned their bitterness, for the Fifth had been betrayed most comprehensively among the divisions, but Aizen had been their taichou for a century and had bound their loyalties to him. However, Ichigo's scowling charisma and sharp banter with Renji eased any latent animosities. Orihime's innocent buxom beauty, of course, immediately won her many lovelorn adherents.
The Fifth was beginning to realize that, for the first time in years, they had a taichou who really did think of them as his own, to hold, to lead and to protect. Once Hinamori Momo had awoken from her hypnotic stupor, the Fifth had rallied around their gentle but steely fukutaichou, but Hinamori possessed no bankai, and the shinigami had long memories. Despite her battle merits, she was tainted by her association with Aizen, and more so by her early adamant support, as was Kira Izuru in the Third Division. Furthermore, a fukutaichou might lead a division, but she had no real authority beyond its boundaries, and only with Renji's appointment did the Fifth once again have the taichou they needed to represent the division, speak for them at the taichou meetings and in other arenas, and give them standing among the thirteen divisions. Renji had spent the past few months welding the Fifth Division back into a division from the mere conglomerate of shinigami it had become after Aizen's departure and supervision by a group of taichous who already had divisions of their own to claim them.
Trust was building, Renji thought, as he watched his shinigami take their places. The looks on many faces were nervous, not dubious. They understood Renji well enough by now to believe that they would feel better by the end of the exercise, but they also recollected Renji's pithy summation of his first bankai battle against Byakuya when one of the bolder souls had put the question to Renji. "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger." He had added, "And I think that should be one of our lines when we do squad training," and then, to allay the dread appearing on the faces of those who knew of his Eleventh Division roots, "Though we will draw the line at killing." His comments had blazed across the division like wild fire.
Renji grinned toothily. "Follow my movements, Fifth Division. And you can teach them to your absent comrades when they reappear." He initiated a series of slow exercises and holding poses. At the end of an hour, the green had receded from many faces and had been replaced by light flushes as their owners threw grateful looks at Renji. "Don't forget to drink plenty of water," called Renji as he dismissed them, to a chorus of "Yes, Taichous" and "Thank you, Taichous".
Renji turned to Hinamori, who had appeared at the beginning of their drills. She was looking rather pale, though her eyes were clear. "Are you all right, Hinamori? Still don't look too good."
Hinamori shook her head, then winced. "I'm fine, Abarai-kun. Just the after effects of drinking with Rangiku."
It was Renji's turn to wince. Even his hangover remedy could not counter the effects of a night on the tiles with Matsumoto. "You went drinking with Matsumoto? After the party?" He shook his head. "I wouldn't want to be Hitsugaya Taichou this morning."
Hinamori giggled. "It was girls' night out. Everyone's under the weather, except for Nemu. Rukia-san and Orihime-san were with us too." She shot him a look of teasing mischief and all further questions died on Renji's tongue. It was the same look she had given him when he had limped into the Fifth Division the morning after that first memorable weekend with Byakuya. And the look most of the ranking SWA officers wore when they spotted Byakuya and him out of uniform, be they ever so innocently walking down a busy public avenue. He most emphatically did not want to hear what the girls did on girls' night out.
Then Hinamori looked past him, official poker-face sliding in place. Kuchiki Daisuke, Ryouma and another Kuchiki elder whose name he did not recall but whom he had mentally labeled Daisuke Sycophant No. 1 were coming towards him. Trailing behind them was Kuchiki Satoshi, his face expressionless, though it reminded Renji of Byakuya's when he was masking distaste. He caught Renji's eye, and shrugged. Satoshi was Byakuya's closest Kuchiki associate, and by this time, Renji knew him well enough to read that shrug— he had no part in the proceedings and was here merely as an observer.
"Here they are." Renji thought, his face settling into official lines. "Interesting timing." Again, he pondered their connection to the portion of his previous evening that had definitely not been a celebration, nodding as Kuchiki Daisuke requested an interview, nostrils pinched with distaste he could not quite hide. Renji turned to Hinamori. "I think we are done with drilling for today. Standby please." The second phrase was code for Hinamori to eavesdrop discreetly in the next room.
Leading the way to his office, his mind ran over the events of the past night. He and Byakuya had said farewell to the last guests and taken a tray of leftovers and sake to Byakuya's rooms. As hosts of the large gathering, grabbing a bite had not been possible during the party. Even Renji had managed to keep his sake intake moderate, despite the numerous toasts from his well-wishers.
Byakuya had been filling Renji's cup when he had stilled, attention caught by something in the garden beyond. Renji was less sensitive to reiatsu, but his were battle-honed senses kept sharp in a time of peace by sparring partners who did not believe in holding back. A flicker of the eyelids, and by mutual agreement he and Byakuya rose into shunpo from a kneeling start, grabbing Zabimaru and Senbonzakura from their stands as they ran in tandem out of the room.
A hail of shurikens met them, followed by blasts of both hadou and bakudou spells. Renji's reiatsu blazed forth almost joyfully, and he felt Byakuya's reiatsu rise beside him, red and pink mingling where they met. This was familiar territory for them. Battle-ready, Renji swung Zabimaru in rapid circles while Byakuya took care of the kidou spells.
First attack evaded, they paused to reassess the situation behind Byakuya's danku shield. A baker's dozen surrounded them, dressed in fitting dark garb with no identifiable insignia and cloth masks. Renji would have laughed in disbelief had they not been facing an enemy. Assassins. Someone had sent assassins against Kuchiki Byakuya in the Kuchiki residence itself. Their eyes met and Byakuya gave a miniscule nod accompanied by a flick of reiatsu. Renji grinned and released more of his reiatsu as Byakuya's shield came down. "Now, take this!"
To his surprise, the dark figures swayed and stumbled, but did not collapse. Renji frowned, grin disappearing. Were the assassins more powerful than he had expected from the shurikens he had struck down and the strength of the kidou flung at them? With watchful eyes and holding Zabimaru before him, he swept a comprehensive glance at their attackers.
Next to him, Byakuya's cold monotone spoke, "I see, reiatsu deflectors." Byakuya was much better at detecting minute fluctuations in reiatsu. "How futile." Renji glanced at Byakuya, he was one of the best tacticians among the shinigami. "Close in, Renji."
Renji's grin flashed again. "Yes, Kuchiki Taichou! Capture?"
The words "If you will" floated back to him as Byakuya shunpoed between their opponents, turning on a swift half-step in his favourite senka maneuver.
Grinning madly, Renji made his own move, picking out his first target and abruptly increasing his reiatsu pressure at close quarters. He infused Zabimaru with reiatsu at the pommel as he knocked him unconscious, hearing the nue's battle taunts at the enemy at the back of his mind. As Byakuya had predicted, the proximity negated the protection the deflectors offered, and Renji took down three assassins before the others reacted. His eyes on the three circling him, Renji reined in his reiatsu tightly and watched as they prepared an attack. On that instant, he released his reiatsu and shot forward as they wavered, digging Zabimaru into the solar plexus of his nearest attacker before clocking him on the jaw. Whirling to face the next attacker, he directed a blast of concentrated reiatsu at him, effectively rendering him unconscious. Facing the remaining attacker, his grin widened as he stepped forward, dodging the projectiles flung at him, then met his sword attack with Zabimaru, the impact sending the other's sword flying. Grabbing his opponent's numbed wrist, he twisted his arm behind his back and landed a blow to his neck.
As the dark figure slumped to the floor, Renji glanced over at Byakuya, who was chanting the number of a binding spell at his final opponent, movements unhurried and elegant as he pointed outward. "He is so beautiful," Renji thought, then shook himself wryly. He was hopelessly doting, but they did have more immediately concerns than the way his lover looked in battle, black hair meeting black shinigami uniform, pale face chiseled and still, one arm outstretched at an angle to his body.
When they had searched and secured their unexpected guests, they returned to Byakuya's study. Renji looked at Byakuya worriedly. The iron immobility of battle had faded, replaced by tight lips, a deep frown and the chilling black eyes. Breaking the silence, he broached the subject on both their minds.
"So, Kuchiki clan business?" As the frost deepened, Renji quickly added, "Unless you've pissed someone else off recently?" The dark brows drew sharply together and Renji continued in haste, "Those weren't Soi Fong's bunch for sure. Different styles and abilities. Anyway, we just saw her at the party and she was looking pretty pleased with herself hanging off Yoruichi's arm. I'm sure we didn't insult either of them before they left, or the soutaichou either." Mere prattle on his part, he knew, but born of a sudden wish to distract the mind behind those frozen eyes momentarily from thoughts of gross betrayal.
"Against us, Soi Fong would take command herself. And the soutaichou would send a posse of captains and official documentation."
"Not shinigami, eh. They'd know better. Other noble clans?"
"Our relations with other clans remain, as always, cordial." Byakuya's voice was coldly expressionless. Renji sighed inwardly. Time to face the facts when the one humouring became the one humoured.
"I didn't know the Kuchiki have shinobu retainers. I know your guards but I've never thought of them as such. The Shihouin, of course, they have the entire corps, and surely you'll remember the time Ichigo and Rukia tangled with the Kasugi-Oogi, but I've never really wondered about the other families."
"It besmirches our honour. The Kuchiki are a clan of historians. We have no use for those who live in the dark." The voice was coldly precise, and harsh undertones ran beneath it. Renji winced as he understood Byakuya's fury. This incident cut deeply into Byakuya's pride in his clan and his position as their leader.
"Could these be mercenaries? Did you recognize any of them?"
"It is unlikely that they are mercenaries. Furthermore, secret retainers of a member of the Kuckiki clan would elucidate some puzzling long-term discrepancies in the Kuchiki accounts." Byakuya paused and a hint of pain entered his voice. "The Kuchiki clan is large, and not every member is presented individually to the head, perhaps in this case by deliberate omission. Were all the attackers this evening Kuchiki, even I could not have protected them from this life."
Renji clenched his hands on the sides of his armchair. Byakuya took so much on himself as head of the clan. Carefully, he considered the situation, and found a strand of logic that would ease the roil of emotion within Byakuya. He could offer a lesser but known pain in place of a greater and unexpected one. Leaning forward, he spoke in thoughtful, measured tones, "Actually, if the mastermind is who we suspect it is, I'll be willing to bet that there won't be any Kuchikis in that little troop. The spiteful thing to do would be to recruit Rukongai strays, to use against the Kuchiki who has such a fondness for Rukongai strays." His eyes met Byakuya's arrested dark ones, and he flashed his sharp grin. Briefly, Byakuya touched the tips of his fingers to Renji's knuckles, then returned his hand to the desk. When he spoke again, his voice had resumed its cold monotone.
"I traced the embezzlement back four decades. I had found it perplexing that Ryouma's extravagances did not add up to the sum of his peculations and assumed it was greed, but the funds were apparently channeled elsewhere in light of tonight's attack." The diction turned steely. "It is apparent that some of the Kuchiki were preparing themselves should I prove to be more recalcitrant than I have already been."
It always came back to the dissenting Kuchiki, Renji thought. After that tumultuous council meeting, they had discussed various repercussions, but outright assassination had not been one of them. "The perpetuators come easily to mind, don't they? The fraud appeared in Ryouma's accounts, but that just means the rest are better at covering their tracks." Byakuya nodded as Renji continued. "After all, Ryouma's a follower, not a leader, the man to cook the books, not plan a strike. It's easy to pinpoint who once you figure out the money trail, isn't it? Only the elders have the level of authority to carry out all these actions."
"That is indicated. Such fraud could only have occurred with the connivance of the senior stewards. Besides, no member of Ryouma's household is capable of organizing a clandestine troop. But what I wish to discover is the extent of Kuchiki involvement beyond the elders." Byakuya's voice was coldly dispassionate, but Renji had become remarkably attuned to him over the past months, and beneath Byakuya's implacability, Renji could sense the anger, confusion, betrayal and grief in his reiatsu. He cursed his own inability to do anything for the other man, this was not a situation that could be resolved backed by Zabimaru's power. He recalled the long hours spent with Kira, Hinmamori and Hisagi while they healed, and grim determination filled him.
"So, what are you going to do now?" He would force Byakuya over the rough patches as quickly as he could and hope they landed on the other side with injuries they could handle, however debilitating.
"We have the investigative resources to trace the missing funds now that we know their destination. But we lack the interrogation skills to question the assassins." Byakuya paused and his voice turned arctic. "I am reluctant to involve the Gotei Thirteen in Kuchiki affairs, but they did attack the taichou of the Fifth Division." It was then that Renji realized that a good half of Byakuya's anger was on iRenji's/i behalf.
"Somehow, I don't think I was the main target, perhaps just a bonus, or collateral damage." The second the words left his mouth, Renji swore inwardly. He did not need Byakuya's protection, nor did Byakuya need his, but there was still the matter of caring.
"Abarai Renji can never be regarded as collateral damage." Byakuya's eyes could have frozen ice. Renji placed his hand over Byakuya's until the latter's expression thawed somewhat. Then he grinned wolfishly.
"Well, apparently even after all your warnings at the council meeting to keep them off my back, they decided that you're a lot more dangerous if allied with another taichou than not, and I suppose tonight was a rare opportunity, with the house shields down because of the party. Easier to sneak in." Renji shook his head. It was a well-planned operation in some aspects. Yet, one aspect still puzzled him greatly.
"But I don't get this-- don't they know the kind of power a taichou can command? Surely they have felt your reiatsu often enough and they must have known there would be two of us. They sent very poor opponents against us, and they couldn't have meant to fail."
Byakuya nodded at Renji's comment. He replied after some thought, "A miscalculation, I believe. Most Kuchiki favour the pen rather than the sword. They are content to have the protection of the Gotei Thirteen without truly considering the depth of power in the divisions." Renji was reminded of the lack of knowledge toward the Gotei Thirteen he had noted at the council meeting. It was true that even most of the seated shinigami had never witnessed a taichou's bankai until the Winter War, since bankai was only released against the most relentless enemies. Now that peace was resumed, the usual restrictions against zanpakuto release applied, though a certain latitude was granted the ranking officers. Renji could imagine Zaraki's expression if he need a permission slip before chasing Ichigo down. "The reiatsu deflectors must have played the major part in their strategy, though they did not realize they were defective."
"Defective?" Byakuya's battle awareness always astonished him, though it should not after so many years.
"It is not noticeable with lower levels of reiatsu, but they unravel when set against taichou-level reiatsu."
Renji recalled the opponent who had fainted after a concentrated blast of his reiatsu. "I see now. Wonder where they got such shoddy goods?" An image slid into his mind and a name, "Urahara!" Once mentioned, he felt the rightness of the assumption. "Urahara is certainly the premier supplier of illicit Soul Society merchandise. But why didn't he inform you of the plot? He must certainly have guessed the identity of his buyers." A silence fell as both men mulled over the question. Finally, Renji looked up with a rueful grin. Byakuya's frown remained on his face, but it was tinged with resignation.
"Urahara is scary, the things he gets away with. You do know, right? There's only one person outside the Gotei Thirteen you can ask for help with the interrogation."
"That Demon Cat is frighteningly prescient, as is her devil lover. They even created the opportunity for me to ask without obligation."
"Well, they do owe you a favour now since they didn't inform you of the plot, though I'll bet we're also their entertainment since they must be bored out of their minds now." Renji snorted. "I'm sure they're just waiting for our hell butterflies to arrive." Byakuya's eyelids lowered in acknowledgment. Again, the study was quiet.
Finally, Renji let his hands reach for Byakuya's. "It's going to be nasty. This investigation." And they had not even arrived at the point where they could consider appropriate punishments. That was the prerogative of the Kuchiki clan. Repudiation and exile was likely for the worst offenders, if the Kuchiki did not wish to invoke the laws of Soul Society. And the nobles policed their own.
Byakuya's hands closed over Renji's. "Yes." His tone was dark, but his eyes had lightened to storm-cloud grey, for the moment. Renji understood that. They would repeat this process in the coming days as new evidence emerged.
Byakuya's eyes fell shut as Renji watched, then opened again to stare into crimson. Slowly, he stood up and drew Renji against him with a sigh. Leaning into Renji's shoulder, he whispered, "Enough." The word feathered across Renji's sensitive earlobe. He shivered.
"Deny me not tonight, Abarai Renji, but let Kuchiki Byakuya dissolve in your flame."
Returning to the present, Renji led his unexpected visitors into his office, then waved them perfunctorily to the sofa placed in front of the taichou's desk, ignoring the affronted glares he received in return. He would grant them as much respect as they granted him, and he found nothing in these men to admire, especially after recent events.
They looked around his spartan office curiously, and Renji reflected that they had probably never been in a taichou's office, not even Byakuya's. He wondered what had led them to accost a taichou of the Gotei Thirteen on his own turf. Surely not desperation. He suspected, knowing their ready audacity, that it was a foolish confidence. The men who had given the orders for assassination must have known of its failure when none returned, but they might not have realized that the band was not dead but captured, prevented from suicide by Byakuya's kidou. No one else in the Kuchiki household knew of their uninvited guests and their enemy must have assumed that their hands appeared clean. Their other tracks were likely cleverly hidden beneath layers of subterfuge as well. Had these men come fishing today?
The scrutiny of his guests had shifted to Renji himself, disquieted stares focused on his tattoos and scarlet hair. Renji shrugged inwardly. He knew that many in the Kuchiki clan were still adjusting to his place in Byakuya's life. When he and Byakuya had decided that they would be discreet but open, they had also discussed the conduct of their relationship when in public view. Both were public figures in Seireitei who did not have the luxury of anonymity, Byakuya more so than Renji.
At this point, the entire Gotei Thirteen had to be aware that Kuchiki Byakuya and Abarai Renji were lovers, but both men knew what to expect and what was expected of them as shinigami. On official occasions, in captains' meetings and on duty, they were peers and colleagues, Kuchiki Taichou and Abarai Taichou of the Sixth and Fifth Divisions respectively. Even though Yamamoto Soutaichou permitted their patrol and duty schedules to coincide at their request, it was based primarily on considerations of their effectiveness as a fighting pair. At informal and private gatherings, the semblance of hierarchy was still maintained. Renji's friends dropped his title, but referred to the ever-reserved Byakuya as Kuchiki Taichou, though they were becoming used to his appearances at their Friday night drinking sessions. The only difference was that everyone acknowledged them as a couple, and accompanied it with occasional teasing. Similarly, at the smaller dinner parties Ukitake favoured, Renji and Byakuya were always treated as a pair and seated as such.
Among the lower-ranking shinigami, gossip ran rampant, but it always did when it involved the leaders of the Gotei Thirteen. More pertinent to Renji's concerns, there was no discernible change in morale or discipline in either the Sixth or the Fifth Divisions on their learning that their taichous were sleeping with each other. The Sixth Division would hardly have dared, while Renji was thankful that the Fifth had warmed to him. The homophobic existed and would always exist, but the length of shinigami lifespans meant that, at some point in time, most learned to take things in their stride, and relationships were considered more a matter of compatibility than of gender. In this area, after all, Renji had been Byakuya's longest-serving fukutaichou in his time. But no one dared whisper of nepotism in Renji's promotion. The requirements for captaincy were clear, bankai was rare, and Zabimaru in his towering bankai form spoke volumes for himself. In fact, it was commonly thought that Byakuya had held Renji back from promotion after the war, and current scuttlebutt was that he had wanted to keep Renji by his side for as long as possible until forced to give him up by the Soutaichou himself.
In short, Renji was sure of his footing among the shinigami. But Byakuya had another public face—that of the pre-eminent great noble of Soul Society. In that arena, with its emphasis on lineage and birthright, even Byakuya himself was frantically rewriting the rules beneath the natural hauteur of his demeanor. Renji had no doubt that gossip was as much a major pre-occupation of noble society as it was among the shinigami, but Byakuya was not fond of the social whirl and chose to remain aloof from it. He attended noble gatherings only when he could bring Renji, who was invariably introduced as "Abarai Taichou, my guest". He would then remain by Renji's side throughout the evening, the subtle ease between the two men evident to the more acute. Occasionally, Kuchiki Satoshi and Kuchiki Hikaru joined them and the four men would be seen in friendly conversation. No one cared to offend the Kuchiki outright, though Renji had no doubt that Byakuya and Satoshi fielded the more subtle jabs. All in all, Renji told them, it was very well orchestrated.
Not that he was ungrateful. They were working to consolidate Renji's position in Bykauya's life, as Kuchiki Byakuya's lover and tacitly acknowledged consort. He was not a secret vice hidden under the cloak of night, but someone with a place in Byakuya's home and at his hearth, even if they currently maintained separate residences. Male and of Rukongai origins, it was an unthinkable misalliance, yet Renji was too prominent to ignore. Even if the nobles could overlook his six-foot frame, bright auburn hair, and the tattoos running across his forehead and down his neck, no one could disregard the taichou's cloak and the weight of his reiatsu, however controlled, as he passed. Nor could they fail to register his confident disinterest. To the nobles, he represented an anomaly of the highest degree.
As for Byakuya's immediate household, the Kuchikis who resided with Byakuya had greeted him with cautious acceptance. These were clan members who met with Byakuya's approval-- the Kuchiki owned property enough to house those whom Byakuya could not abide at a distance. In addition, Byakuya's influential steward Senzo had decided to welcome Renji with warmth, and his other retainers followed Senzo's lead. Even Byakuya's private guards bowed in acknowledgment when Renji passed. Though well-hidden, they were not too difficult for him to spot.
For the rest of the Kuchiki clan, Byakuya's recent decisions had created so much turmoil that Renji's insertion had merely added yet another variable to it. But Byakuya was adamant that it was the Kuchiki who would have to adapt to Renji. Only time would tell, though they hoped that familiarity would accustom most of the clan to Renji, as had happened with Rukia.
But if their suspicions panned out, these elders now facing Renji so dubiously would not have that opportunity. Time to end the display, Renji thought, and introduce some Abarai bluntness. He seated himself behind his desk and asked without preamble, "So, what brings you gentlemen here today?"
Kuchiki Daisuke's nostrils flared. But his tones when he spoke remained on this side of courtesy. "We have a request to make of you, Abarai Taichou." So, they too were cutting straight to the point. It was just as well. They were the last men with whom Renji wanted to engage in a dance of manners.
Renji folded his hands. "What is it?" This was an interesting turn of events—Kuchiki Daisuke turned petitioner.
"We desire that you persuade Kuchiki-sama to reconsider his stand on remarrying."
Renji's eyebrows rose to meet his hairline. Were they truly unaware of the previous night's events? Otherwise, they would surely have had more immediate concerns than this. He flicked a glance at Kuchiki Satoshi. One eyebrow was arched, but he merely opened his palm at Renji, giving the initiative to him. Renji addressed his response to Daisuke.
"Do you speak for yourself, or for the Kuchiki council, Kuchiki Daisuke-san?"
The elder looked surprised to hear his name. Renji grinned wolfishly. Did they think Renji would not recognize the key members of the Kuchiki clan? Once you had faced Aizen's assorted, bizarre minions and the possible destruction of all you knew, you always paid attention to your enemies.
Recovering quickly, Daisuke said, "I believe that I speak for my cousins here as well as most of the Kuchiki clan." A nice bit of lawyering, thought Renji. Truly an old fox.
He clasped his palms together and spoke, keeping his voice as bland as water. "Surely you yourself are in a better position to convey the wishes of the clan to Kuchiki Taichou. After all, I am hardly a Kuchiki."
Daisuke's eyes narrowed. "Do not play word games with us. You know very well what you are!" Renji stopped grinning abruptly, and leaned forward. Enough of playing around. Figuring out how much they knew of the previous night was his only concern.
"I do. We are currently in my office. What I do not know is why you have appealed to me when I can hardly share your feelings."
Daisuke's loud sniff met his words. Kuchiki Ryouma laid a hand on Daisuke's shoulder. "If I may speak frankly, Abarai Taichou. If you do persuade Kuchiki-sama to remarry, we will in turn recognize your relationship with him."
For a moment, Renji was stunned. Did they really know what they were asking? Or was everything for them a matter of moving pawns across chessboards? With an effort, he suppressed his reiatsu and kept his voice even. "Recognize our relationship, you say. Which relationship are you referring to? Kuchiki Taichou is my esteemed colleague and fellow taichou of the Gotei Thirteen. As shinigami, we patrol and train together. We protect Soul Society and the living world, and bring the dead here. We obey the orders of Yamamoto Soutaichou and Central 46." Renji paused and looked hard at each elder. Daisuke's lips were twisted with resentment, Ryouma looked stuffed while Sycophant 1 was pale.
"Or are you referring to our personal relationship? Kuchiki Byakuya is my lover. We spend time together off-duty. We share a bed and have sex. If you recognize our relationship," the phrase was repeated with withering scorn, "what does that make me? Your Kuchiki-sama's official mistress?" The three Kuchikis were wide-eyed and flushed, clearly startled by Renji's plain-spoken baldness. "And what will you tell a potential bride? Kuchiki-sama will be with you for stud service only, his days are spent at his Division, and his nights are spent with his official mistress, in either of their beds. But Abarai-san cannot have children. We hope you will bear the Kuchiki heir, thank you very much. You Kuchiki elders, is Kuchiki Byakuya the head of your house, or your prime stallion to put to stud?"
Daisuke's face was red with choler. "I should have expected such vulgarity of a Rukongai stray." Renji stood up, and the Kuchikis jumped back. "No," he replied, his voice a low rumble. The gloves had finally come off on both sides. "Your suggestion itself was unbelievably vulgar. And completely dishonorable, when you should have gone to Kuchiki Byakuya himself. Not to mention disloyal, to sneak behind the back of your clan head. As for the kind of marriage you wish to on him…" he snorted.
"A noble wife knows her duty." Ryouma's voice was pompous.
"A wife that dutiful?" Renji snorted again. His derision was clear. Ryouma flushed dully.
"As a member of the council of elders, Daisuke, I must agree that this is a matter more properly raised with Kuchiki-sama. By your actions today, you have acted against the decision of the council." Satoshi's calm, precise voice spoke into the heated silence. "I did not think you would call me here today to witness this discussion with Abarai Taichou."
"Oh, so you do not represent the Kuchiki council, gentlemen?" Renji grinned sardonically. "Indulging in some rule-breaking? That's rather unexpected, isn't it?"
"You have broken rules yourself too, Abarai Taichou. Did you not go against your taichou and Central 46 in the matter of Kuchiki Rukia's execution?" Sycophant No. 1 finally spoke. His voice was nasal and thready.
"So you thought we have something in common, didn't you?" Renji crossed his arms and his mocking smile grew wider. "When I decided to save Rukia, I knew that Kuchiki Taichou was fully within his rights to kill me, and I was prepared to die for my actions. I didn't have a third party do my dirty work. Sounds like you gentlemen want to have your cake and eat it too." The three Kuchiki elders eyed Renji nastily. "You have chosen most unwisely today," Daisuke snarled.
"Should I take that as a threat?" Renji uncrossed his arms and glanced at Zabimaru on his stand. Daisuke huffed angrily but held his tongue.
Renji grinned wolfishly and indicated the door. "It has been interesting but I'm sure we all have a busy day ahead of us." The three elders looked at each other. Then, shaking out their robes, they stomped to the door. As they were about to step out, he added, "And don't be too surprised if Soi Fong Taichou calls on you." They turned surprised faces to him.
Daisuke was the first to speak. "Soi Fong of the Shihouin cadet branch?"
"Yes, we were attacked last night. We may have Soi Fong investigate." Renji's voice was studiedly casual.
"You will involve another clan in a Kuchiki matter?" Daisuke sounded outraged.
"And how would you know it was a Kuchiki matter?" Suddenly, Renji's eyes were very sharp and his voice soft with menace. "Perhaps you would care to explain, Kuchiki Daisuke?" He raised his voice. "Hinamori Fukutaichou."
The sliding door between their offices opened and Hinamori appeared. The three elders looked shocked. "You will bear witness to the conversation with reference to my mention of an attack?"
"Yes, Taichou."
"In that case, please ask Kuchiki Taichou to step over now. Tell him it is urgent."
With a bellow of rage, Daisuke rushed towards Renji. Hinamori's geki binding stopped him in mid-step.
Renji nodded at Hinamori. "Thank you, fukutaichou. Now, will you gentlemen please be seated till Kuchiki Taichou arrives?"
Much later that day, Renji and Byakuya entered the Kuchiki residence wearily. It had been a grueling day. Shihouin Yoruichi had arrived post-haste in Soul Society, and both men had sat in on the interrogation of the elders while Satoshi had done the recording. Renji felt as miserable as a limp floor rag and he knew Byakuya was worse off than he was. Satoshi had looked worn and pinched when they left him at his gate. The betrayals had hit both Kuchikis hard.
Byakuya's steward Senzo met them at the door. "My lord. Abarai Taichou." He took their taichou's haoris from them.
"Senzo, please convey my apologies to Shouka. I was unable to return for lunch today." Shouka was Byakuya's chef. "Anything of moment?"
The steward bowed. "Masahito-sama arrived before lunch today with some of his men. He said that he had heard you would be lunching at the residence today, and that he needed a word with you. We accommodated him in your study, but he left in a hurry a short while later, saying that he had left the necessary item in your rooms. He put a kidou lock on your door and we did not think it appropriate to disturb it."
Renji and Byakuya looked at each other, hands going to zanpakuto hilts. Kuchiki Masahito was the second of Daisuke's sycophants on the council. Leaving Senzo behind, they soundlessly treaded their way to Byakuya's rooms. Delicately, Byakuya broke the kidou lock and Renji opened the door, sliding quickly into the study at a low angle. The room looked as they had left it that morning. Rapidly, Byakuya did a quick search while Renji guarded his back. Nothing.
They made their way carefully through Byakuya's suite. It was not until they neared his bedchamber that they paused. There was an alien reiatsu coming from it, but it was low and erratic. Byakuya flung open the doors, and for an instant, both men stared dumbstruck into the room.
A nude, delicately built youth lay on the spread futon, gagged and bound. His colour was hectic and he was moaning and shifting listlessly. He was also aroused, swollen red organ half-lifted from his limbs. Renji's eyes registered the thick auburn hair and dark lines that circle his arms like armbands. Then the youth turned his head, and Renji found himself starting into bewildered and pained violet eyes.
"Low, despicable…" the angry thought had barely taken form when he felt Byakuya's reiatsu explode beside him. That killing intent—he had not felt it since the battlefields of the war. For a moment, his lungs threatened to collapse from the pressure, then his own reiatsu rose and he quickly formed a protective shield around the room and the youth on the bed, though he had already fainted from the press of the initial burst. But Renji's first concern, as always, was Byakuya.
"Kuchiki Byakuya!" Renji snapped, pushing against Byakuya's reiatsu and digging his fingers into Byakuya's shoulders so hard he could feel the bones grind. "Control your reiatsu."
Awareness returned to Byakuya's eyes through the dark haze of fury and the reiatsu storm died down, though his reiatsu still filled his suite, fluctuating violently. 'Zabimaru!' Renji called. 'Where's Senbozakura?'
'Already on the job,' the nue replied tersely. A bankai-level shinigami losing control caused too much turbulence in both their worlds. They were lucky that the walls, constructed of lightweight materials, were still standing about them.
Renji shook Byakuya lightly, reiatsu still pressed against Byakuya's. It took a while, but the black eyes did swerve to meet Renji's, lucid awareness in them. Renji's tension came down a notch. "I will see to the household, and then I will return." The words were clipped and precise. 'Zabimaru, tell Senbonzakura.'
'She heard. She says to return quickly.'
'I will. Do what you can.' He hated to leave Byakuya, but Senbonzakura was the most essential presence to Byakuya at this point if he was to regain control and there were other matters to consider.
Gently, he wrapped the unconscious stranger in a blanket and left the room, keeping his reiatsu pressure high in a contained radius around himself. Senzo met him in the main part of the house, pale and shaking, but apparently still in enough command of himself to direct the household. A rather remarkable man, Renji thought absently, given that Byakuya had just shown how dangerous a master he was. Around him, Renji could see Byakuya's private guards, looking green, stagger between the fallen bodies of his other retainers.
"Abarai Taichou, what happened to my lord? We felt…" the steward trailed off.
"He is fine, but I need to return to him immediately. Please reassure the household." Renji spoke in a rapid bark. He laid his bundle on the floor. "Look after this child and send for a physician. It looks like he has been fed too much aphrodisiac."
Senzo eyed the auburn hair and comprehension lit his eyes. "I will, Abarai Taichou." He essayed a weak bow. "We will leave my lord to your care."
Renji patted his shoulder. "Good man. Thank you." Half his awareness was still tracking Byakuya's reiatsu. Senbonzakura had managed to ease the violence in his reiatsu, but Zabimaru was urging his speedy return.
Byakuya was sitting in meditation in the middle of the room. Quietly, Renji padded over to him and knelt facing him so he could react instantly to Byakuya's movements. Byakuya's eyes were closed, but his features did not appear calm to those who could read the signs. Beneath the skin, the flesh was spasming and contorting faintly.
Renji wrapped his reiatsu carefully around Byakuya, not a shield this time, but a feather-down cloak into which he poured all the gentler emotions they shared. In his mind, he played over the scenes where Byakuya had won his love and admiration, and allowed himself to descend into a state of meditative calm.
Time itself remained suspended until Byakuya opened his eyes. They were a steely gray, but the control he so prized had regained the upper hand. He spoke in a low, hushed voice. "I apologize, Renji, for the insult to you. I had not thought they would prove so ignoble in their deeds."
Insult to him? Renji thought. The greater insult had been dealt to Byakuya. "Byakuya," he began. But Byakuya had resumed speaking.
"Perhaps I held myself too distant from the clan. They name me the strongest Kuchiki leader in the history of the clan, yet it appears that in its eyes, I am so weak, so amenable to manipulation and control, so casual in my relations and so faithless to those to whom I have pledged myself that it can perpetuate such acts against me without fear of reprisal. It has treated as dross the most cherished part of my life, and that, I find unforgivable."
Byakuya's rage had met disillusionment and old pain, and iced over, coalescing into a generalized antipathy, Renji realized. Byakuya was too dangerous to remain in this state. He leaned forward and gripped Byakuya's hands firmly. Provoking Byakuya further was not his intent, but he had to break through to him.
"Byakuya, listen." He tightened his hands till grey met solemn crimson and grew intent. "I want you to use me." Surprise lightened the grey and he pressed on quickly. "Use me, flaunt me in their faces. You have tried to keep your plans separate from our relationship but I don't want you to do that anymore. Use me, my place in your life, my position as a taichou in the Gotei Thirteen, to push your plans for your family forward."
As Byakuya began to shake his head reflexively, Renji shook him. "No, hear me out. This… resistance is not going to end. Perhaps it will be less vicious than what Daisuke has done, perhaps not. Let's face it head on, don't let it distract you from your plans for your family. The timing of us and your plans was coincidental, but they're never going to believe that, so use this, make me a reason for your actions. Let me be your explanation for pushing into Rukongai, shove my origins into their faces, remind them that Rukongai matters, that a dog of Inuzuru is now a taichou they have to reckon with, that you are not throwing the Kuchiki away on a useless gesture. Then openly make me your shield against remarrying, insist that you must choose your own heir."
"No!" Byakuya burst out, looking startled. Then he gathered himself. "No, that will make you a greater target. This is not a quick fight to the death. Renji, their spite and their malice generate only a slow and corrosive decay. Do not ask this."
"Idiot." Renji's voice was exasperated "We're already targets. Let's make it more difficult for them. As for their spite, we have made pledges to each other. Do you think you would break them? We will hold our pledges dearly. Let me help. I am not someone they can dismiss, and you're an idiot if you don't make use of all the resources at your call. You're not asking, I'm offering. At least have the graciousness to accept the help of another taichou!"
"Renji!" Heat and umbrage had entered Byakuya's voice. "We are together because you're Abarai Renji, not because you're a Gotei Thirteen taichou. Do not expect me to use you in this manner!" Grey eyes darkened to a glare and Renji glowered in response. Now, he had to fan the incipient heat.
"Did you think I wouldn't know that, you stiff-necked prideful ass? When you mentioned me at your Kuchiki meeting, it was to protect me, to keep them off my back. But I also know that you're the clan leader. I don't understand the nobility thing, but I do understand leadership. Aren't you the Kuchiki lord, don't you want your clan to survive and flourish, doesn't it deserve everything you can give it, the best of you?" Renji's tone acquired more force with each word.
"It is not deserving of you. It is not worth you." Once again, Byakuya looked startled by his outburst. His face was drawn into fine lines, tense and pale, but the glacier-like quality was melting and cracking.
Renji growled deep in his throat. "Is what we have so fragile then? Just who do you think I am?" He looked hard at Byakuya, unyielding and demanding.
Byakuya's eyes widened. "Renji…"
"Yes, I am Abarai Renji, formerly of Inuzaru, now taichou of the Fifth Division. I am soul companion to Zabimuru, the most pugnacious, obnoxious baboon on either side of death, and let's not even mention the snake. Do you think I do not know what I am asking, Kuchiki Byakuya?"
He gripped the front of Byakuya's shikahausho. "Are we not strong enough to stand for each other? You say there are feelings between us. Are they so fragile and brittle they have to be put under a glass case in a museum, or kept under a preservation kidou like your Kuchiki records? Are they like the objects in a china shop, to be destroyed while the bull remains hale and hearty? Are we the bull or the shop?" Byakuya was staring at him, arrested.
"Decide, Kuchiki Byakuya. Or let me tell you what we are and what we have. It is tender, but not fragile." His hands moved upward to cup Byakya's face, thumbs gently massaging the tightened skin over the high cheekbones.
"It is breathing." One hand gripped Byakuya's throat in an inexorable grip, but not punishing. Byakuya swallowed and he felt the movement run down his palm.
"Living." The hand slid down to rest on Byakuya's crotch, fingers moving in a deliberate caress until Byakuya moaned.
"Impetuous." Renji bent forward and laid kisses on Byakuya's sternum. He could feel Byakuya's heart pounding beneath his lips and he smiled.
"Rough." Once again, both hands met at Byakuya's collar, and tore the shikahausho down the back with an application of reiatsu.
"Terrifying." He buried his face in Byakuya's neck. Both of them were trembling.
"Passionate," he whispered, biting the skin under his lips. He felt Byakuya's hands come up to circle his arms almost painfully.
"Dangerous." His own hands went to Byakuya's bare back and scratched long furrows downwards. Byakuya jerked and a sob escaped from his throat.
"Gentle." His lips trailed up Byakuya's neck and bestowed a chaste kiss on his lips. He raised his eyes to meet Byakuya's. They looked like silver lightning. "But never fragile. Any more questions?" Mutely, Byakuya shook his head and Renji's wolf's grin stretched his lips. "Then let me show you more."
The setting sun lit the room with an orange glow, sending motes of golden dust dancing through the musky air and tinting with warm hues the supine bodies of its occupants. Renji lay on his back, staring at the ceiling as his body cooled. Beside him, he could hear Byakuya's harsh pants as he too struggled to catch his breath.
At last, Byakuya spoke, his tone thoughtful and dry. "Did you just try to persuade me with sex?"
Inwardly, Renji heaved a sigh of relief. "Did I succeed?" he drawled lazily.
"As there is no sensation remaining in my lower body, I believe I must rely on your generosity."
"Smartass." Then Renji grew serious. "Byakuya, never forgot that we have well-wishers, even among the Kuchiki. Rukia, Satoshi and his people, this household, all the people who truly do think of you as Kuchiki Byakuya, strongest leader in the history of the Kuchiki."
"Thank you, Renji. You have poured your largesse into me and I am undeserving." The words were soft.
"Don't you get sappy on me. I've stalked you, worshiped you, chased you, made you the bogeyman for my own ineffectiveness. And yet, Kuchiki Byakuya is a greater man than the one I thought I chased all those years. He is power restrained by duty and tempered by humanity." Renji found Byakuya's hand and their fingers curled around each other.
"You have entrusted your honour to my hands. I will hold it closely with my own."
"No, you will kick and pummel with it, and if I don't like what you're doing, I'll call you on it and we will bankai the ass off each other. Is that satisfactory?"
"I do have some stipulations." The voice was grave but a thread of amusement ran through it.
"Things are never simple with you, are they? Let's hear them."
"You will move into my suite here at the residence."
"Done. That's not much of a change from now anyway, I'll just be moving all my stuff over." Byakuya had refused to stay over in the taichou's quarters in the Fifth, something about not wanting to be seen limping away from the Fifth Division at cockcrow. "What else?"
"We will repeat our pledges to each other at an official and public ceremony."
Renji choked. "Kuchiki Byakuya, are you asking me to marry you?"
Byakuya's hand clenched in his. "I know of no such ceremony between two men."
Renji sighed. "If there is, I'm sure you'll find it. Okay." He returned the pressure of Byakuya's hand.
They fell silent, contemplating changes that were not quite changes. Then Byakuya broke the silence. "Share your thoughts with me, Renji."
"I was just thinking, Rukia and I made our way from Rukongai, district by district, until we reached Seireitei, and the Shinigami academy. Now I will be your guide into Rukongai, district by district. Life can be strange this way."
Silence fell again. This time, it was Renji who picked up the conversation. "Byakuya, I know that you and Satoshi-san have already surveyed the lower districts in Rukongai, since you're going to station historians in Rukongai. But you haven't seen the higher districts yet. The next time I go into Rukongai off-duty, will you accompany me?"
"You venture into Rukongai?" Byakuya's voice was astonished. Renji had not mentioned his visits.
"You know that SWA project called the 'Cross-Dressing Dolls of Seireitei'? Those safe houses for children in the higher districts that were set up from the profits?"
"Ah." Despite its charitable nature, the men of Seireitei could never decide if the Dolls project was famous or infamous.
"When you've been busy, or after a patrol, I've stopped by to talk with the kids, or cook for them." Renji paused and took a breath, then continued hesitantly, "I didn't mention this because I was not yet ready to show you what I had come from, but now I think I've been a idiot."
"Renji." The word was dryly affectionate and exasperated. Byakuya's thumb soothed over his knuckles. "I will be honoured to accompany you on your next visit."
"We will go in uniform. The people of Rukongai need to know that even the taichous of Seireitei will walk among them."
A soft sigh wafted through the large room. "You always put yourself in the line of fire, do you not?"
"I'm not the only fool who likes the frontline. Merely joining you there, lover."
X
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