Chapter 11: Circling
The light was beginning to fade as Renji led Byakuya into Inuzuri. The vendors were already beginning to close up shop and they had little in the way of funds anyway (Byakuya, because he had returned from Las Noches with nothing but himself and Renji because he was smart enough not to enter the town carrying anything much that he didn't want to lose.), so they carried and consumed only enough food and drink to take the edge off their hunger and thirst, then they made their way to the far end of town and out again to a deserted, rocky plain bordered by low hills, several caves and a small river. Renji led him quickly across the plain to the hills and then turned him into a scattering of trees. Byakuya was just about to break the silence and question him about why he had chosen this place when Renji turned suddenly and began pulling away the brush and rocks in front of a cave that he hadn't even seen. Renji looked up and noted his questioning expression.
"This was one of our hideouts when Rukia and I were living here. We had to move around from time to time to avoid being followed by people looking to take whatever useful things we might have. We learned to never look as though we had anything of value and to conceal ourselves carefully at night. This cave was what I considered to be the safest of our hideouts, being just outside of town and in the cover of trees…covered with brush. When we go inside, we can cover the entrance to make it nearly invisible. And in the morning, I can set up an early warning system to alert us to anyone who might come into the area while we are here."
"How long are you planning on us being here?" asked Byakuya, finally breaking the intense silence that had risen up between them.
Renji glanced at him for a moment in the gray of twilight.
"As long as we need to be," he answered, leading Byakuya into the cave and turning back to conceal the entrance, "I think we have a lot to talk about and I wanted to be sure we were in a private place, where we can speak freely."
Byakuya accepted his answer without comment and used a kido spell to light the interior of the cave. He was surprised at the comfortable size of it. They could easily stand on the inside and there were no jutting stones to endanger them. The rough, rocky ceiling was almost domelike and near the front was a recess that vented upward like a small chimney. Its path was convoluted, so that although someone without might see the smoke from their cooking fire, they would not be able to trace its source with any ease. Renji disappeared into the shadows at the rear of the cave and returned with cooking utensils.
"It doesn't appear that anyone has been here since Rukia and I were here last," Renji commented.
"You did a good job of concealing it," Byakuya replied.
Not having procured wood for a fire, Byakuya found a large stone and set it in the cooking recess. Using a kido spell, he heated the stone until it glowed red, then rinsed and filled the teapot Renji had brought, and set it over the hot stone. In addition to heating the water for their tea, the warmth from the stone permeated the cave, taking the chill out of the air and leaving the environs comfortable. Renji took the tea leaves from the small pack he had brought and prepared their tea, while Byakuya sat, leaned against the wall, making himself more familiar with his new surroundings.
"We can gather long grass from the plains to use for bedding. We'll need to soak the bedding in the river and hang it out to dry first, though…but after that, we'll have a better surface for sleeping than on the hard floor of the cave."
Byakuya nodded silently in answer as Renji handed him a cup of tea. The noble sipped at it quietly, observing Renji's face in the halflight provided by the heated stone. Both knew there was a lot of territory to cover, but neither was terribly anxious to start the conversation. Instead, the atmosphere became more like what it had been when they had been on a field mission…calm silence in each other's presence, each quietly doing his part to make both comfortable.
It wasn't until the hour had grown late and the stone's light had begun to fade that Renji crossed that invisible line and started to ask the inevitable questions. Byakuya gave no sign of being uncomfortable, especially as Renji was careful to begin with purely reasonable, academic questions.
"Taicho," he said, finding Byakuya's face in the fading light, "do you think you could explain to me now what you know about how those charms work? I think it's important to know so that I don't activate them unexpectedly or something."
Byakuya gazed at him for a moment, then nodded briefly and sent another kido spell into the stone to improve the lighting to his satisfaction. Renji moved closer and slowly examined the slim, silver bands and charms.
"The bands," Byakuya explained, "are there to hold a general seal on my powers. Without the charms, I would be entirely powerless, so the charms add nuances to my bondage, allowing certain things, while denying others. When they were first placed on me, there were a total of four charms…a sword, a sakura tree, a snake and a moon charm. Each of them alters my powers and protections according to the dictates of the one who controls them. When I was held in Las Noches, Aizen Sousuke was the one who controlled the charms. He explained to me that the snake charm was a way for him to control me and to somehow borrow my powers. He did use it to immobilize me, but he never had need of my battle powers while I was there, so I do not know how that feature is activated or used. The sword charm was both protective and restrictive. As long as I was in the fortress, I was protected from physical and kido attacks, but if I left the fortress without his leave, the charm would call every hollow within a hundred miles of me to attack."
"Did you ever try to leave the fortress?" Renji asked, looking concerned.
"Once," Byakuya admitted, "but I didn't get far."
"But…they didn't…do what they did when we rescued you?"
"No," Byakuya answered, sounding somewhat less comfortable, "It seems that he allowed the sword charm to override the sakura charm at that time. He removed the sword charm to allow me defensive powers."
"Why do that?" Renji asked, "What was he meaning to do by it?"
Byakuya sighed.
"He was trying to make me feel more comfortable with the idea of remaining in Las Noches."
"Nice of him," Renji commented, "not everyone taken prisoner gets that kind of treatment."
"I am powerful," Byakuya said, his eyes darkening slightly, "He wanted to control that power to add it to his arsenal. Taking me from the Gotei 13 was a reduction in his enemy's overall power, and being able to access and use that power himself would strike the Seireitei even harder. It made sense."
Renji sensed immediately that there was more that Byakuya was choosing not to say, but he knew better than to start pushing for information. He was plenty clear on the questions he needed to ask Byakuya, but also knew that at the moment, he needed to break ground between them and begin to build a bridge. Byakuya would open up only once he felt comfortable doing so. And then, Renji thought, he would have his answers.
"Yeah," he agreed, "taking and using your power is a sensible thing for him to do."
He reached out and touched the sakura charm.
"So…this is the one that caused the hollows to attack you when we rescued you?" he asked, shifting the topic to make the noble more comfortable.
Byakuya nodded.
"While I was Sousuke's prisoner, the sakura charm assured that I could not be taken sexually against my will. However, if I left the fortress, every hollow within a hundred miles would…"
"Yeah," said Renji, stopping him as he saw the color rising on the noble's cheeks and throat.
He blinked in surprise at the fact that he could never remember seeing Byakuya blush like that. He felt an odd stirring inside.
"What does the moon charm do?" he asked, trying to shift the topic again.
"I don't know," Byakuya said flatly.
Renji knew he'd have bet the farm on those words proving to be a lie. Byakuya knew something about how that charm worked, but Renji could read from his expression that he wasn't going to budge on the subject. That, he decided, was okay…given that he could return to the subject in more detail later. He frowned and gazed down at the charms again.
"You say that Aizen removed the sword charm?" Renji queried, "Do you think I could remove these? I mean, if I am the master…"
"Perhaps," Byakuya said, "but I don't know how much of what he controlled was a mere physical effect and what was controlled by will or mind."
"Then…not wanting to take a chance on injuring us," Renji said, "we should, perhaps return to Urahara after we have talked things out. Maybe, given more time, he could help me to remove them."
"Perhaps," said Byakuya, looking like he'd rather be eaten by hollows than return to the shop.
"Maybe he could also work out the moon charm," Renji said, watching the discomfort rise into Byakuya's eyes again.
He was definitely hiding something…
"So," Renji went on, "do you have any idea why these things might have decided that I am your master?"
Byakuya hesitated for a moment.
"I have been thinking about that," he said, closing his eyes for a moment, "Sousuke said that he was made master over me when I was defeated by him in battle."
"Hmm," mused Renji, "but I didn't defeat you in battle…"
"And you did not defeat him to win the right," Byakuya added.
The two went quiet for several long minutes. Then Byakuya lifted his eyes and met Renji's thoughtfully.
"You did not defeat either of us," he said slowly, "but it was your bankai that took me from him. You rescued me."
"Well…I had help…"
"But it was you who actually took me away from him."
He thought for a moment, then Renji saw the blush rise onto his face again and Byakuya turned away suddenly.
"What is it?" he asked, "Did you remember something important?"
"No," Byakuya said, carefully keeping his face concealed in shadow, "I did remember something, but it does not have bearing on this discussion."
Renji sensed more beneath the words, but also knew better to push when the subject was obviously so uncomfortable for him. Eventually, he would have to force the issue, but he planned to make every effort to make his interrogation of Byakuya as comfortable for his taicho as he could. He and Byakuya knew all too well that if the secret mobile corps had been asking the questions, they would not have taken things either slowly or easily with him. Their methods, while falling short of being torturous, were certainly invasive. So both he and Byakuya were motivated to work together. Because Byakuya knew that if Renji reported that he had obtained official statements about what had happened…and if he reported that Byakuya had been cooperative, then they would go easier in their questioning, a better outcome for all involved.
"Well," said Renji, yawning, "I don't know about you, but I'm so tired that I don't think I'll even mind sleeping on the cave floor!"
He glanced at Byakuya.
"Sorry about this, taicho," he said, as an afterthought, "I know you're not used to…"
"I served several months in Inuzuri, Renji," Byakuya reminded him, "I am fine."
Renji struck his forehead with his palm, wondering how he had forgotten.
"Ah, that's right. Sorry, Taicho, I forgot all about that. That was when you met Hisana, wasn't it?"
Byakuya nodded.
"I took an assignment blending in with the citizenry to study its workings and to help the Gotei 13 figure out ways to offer them better protection against hollow attacks. Being on the edges of our territory, hollow attacks are frequent. They are a major cause of death here, among the civilians…and the shinigamis who venture here with the idea of protecting them. I was disguised and sent with a former resident to help me settle in and begin my mission. He was killed on my second day there and I was injured."
"Taicho…" Renji said, looking surprised, "I never heard anything of this."
"I woke after the attack and found myself in an old, abandoned cottage. It was small and poor, but like this cave, was more well-kept inside."
"Hisana?"
"Yes…she found me lying in the brush near the edge of town, where the attack had taken place. She was able to rouse me enough to walk, with her help, to the cottage. The town healer came and saw to my injuries, then I remained at the cottage for the duration of my assignment."
"And it was during that time that you fell in love with her?" Renji asked.
Byakuya went silent briefly, closing his eyes and considering before moving forward.
"I didn't fall in love with Hisana," he said, finally, "I was grateful for her assistance and I stayed with her more in the way of offering her my protection than offering my affection. We became close friends…she was the closest friend I had ever had…and when the time came for me to return to the Seireitei, I could not leave her behind. She was already frail of body and I feared for her safety. So, I made an agreement with her that she would marry me and come to live with me at Kuchiki Manor."
"So you didn't break the rules and marry her for love, but to protect your friend? Taicho, doesn't that seem sort of extreme? I mean, sure, you were friends and all, but marriage? Breaking the clan rules? Granted that she needed protection, but you clearly could have chosen another way. Why that way?"
Byakuya didn't answer. Renji continue to mutter to himself, considering the matter as he moved over to his sleeping spot. He heard Byakuya move to the place across from his and sigh as he settled down onto the floor. He went quiet, but Renji sensed that he was still lying there awake.
"Taicho," he said, staring up at the barely visible cave ceiling, "your marriage to Hisana doesn't make sense to me. You present it as if each of you entered it for a reason. She entered it to gain your protection and certainly, you wanted that for your friend…but I feel that there must have been something more that you were seeking."
"And why does it matter to you why I married my wife?" Byakuya asked, "Perhaps I did so to avoid an arranged marriage. That was certainly in my future…"
"No…" Renji said, shaking his head in the darkness, "There's something more to this than you are saying. I feel it…and I'll figure it out."
"And why, I have to ask again, does that matter to you? Why would my choice of bride have any bearing? It was a private decision, made for private reasons that have nothing to do with you."
He turned away, ending the conversation.
Renji lay awake, thinking things carefully through, trying to make any connections to anything else he knew. He kept coming back to several odd facts…Rikichi's report of discord between Byakuya and Aizen prior to the betrayer's departure…the sexual nature of the sakura charm, the sight of Byakuya standing in Aizen's presence, dressed in just the thin yukata…and the sexual attack of the hollows. Add to that, the fact that Byakuya married a friend…and so had a marriage of convenience. Renji sat up so fast that his head spun.
Holy shit! Taicho was seeing Aizen Sousuke? They were lovers?
He looked over at his soundly sleeping taicho and felt a chill pass through him. Even if it was true, the bands and charms proved that any relationship had long since ended…and that, though Aizen Sousuke was eager to continue things, Byakuya did not return the sentiment. So he had been right all along. Byakuya had not betrayed anyone and Aizen hadn't called him to Las Noches because of any hope of luring him into betraying the Gotei 13. He had opened the garganta for Byakuya because he knew that Byakuya was coming to kill him…and that he was too weakened to kill the traitor. He welcomed Byakuya into Las Noches, because he wanted to regain the noble's heart.
Taicho…you are in really deep. You have to give me your trust soon…or they will execute you…
He laid on the cave floor, watching Byakuya's face slowly disappear into the darkness as the kido spell on the stone dissipated. But it was already beginning to grow light again when he finally managed to fall asleep.
