Chapter 11: Listening to the Heart

(Thanks so much to Yamalover (Byakuya will begin to reveal himself a little more here and will continue to grow in that respect throughout the story.), Kyuumihaira (I love how the chemistry is working too! Sometimes that is a vicious struggle to achieve, but it feels natural here.), Hieizzz (This one is some fun and some heartfelt, but the next will be sure to cause a nosebleed or two!), Anelir-Sensei (I agree both Urahara and Jun are great contenders, so I am leaning towards Jun being counselor and Urahara providing medical/scientific...erm...support. And, of course, some Byakuya ribbing! Byakuya and Ichigo come face to face now, for the first time since he learned what happened with Tetsuya. Yeah, he's not happy about that!), Je-Pi (You know, I've been thinking about that stern older lady and have a trickle of idea of how to bring her into the story! I will play with that after next chapter, but right now, have to focus on what is sure to be an awkward, but adorable first joining!), Sunless Nights (Oh yeah, you will LOVE the next chapter. I am working on that today and may post if I finish before I collapse for the night.), Guest (Thanks for your enthusiastic support!), Searchinganoasis (I will be sure to stay on top of this story! And I am looking forward to writing both their first time together and the counseling that tries to help Renji act more like a noble!...Yeah, right! Haha!), Lovise Polaris (Ah, Hinata as a match for Tetsuya? At first, I laughed, then I...laughed harder at how poor Tetsuya would react if chosen to wed Hinata in a story. And I am still laughing so hard it hurts, as I try to fend off that plot bunny, but slowly feel it taking over!), Alabirdie (Byakuya will reveal something surprising to Renji that relates to his nightmares. Oh, and Ichigo is about to get an earload as he and Byakuya hash things out, while Renji copes with a startling development!), Shenigmatic (Heehee! Well, as you can see, I am likely to find ways to use three of the four in the story somehow and have a plot bunny chasing me that involves Hinata!), Snowflowersister of Toshiro241 (Oh yeah, I could totally see them having to rebuild Renji's apartment building after this! lol), MissLilly2012 (You've got it!), Princess Moon Shadow (Thanks so much!), Renji-Bya-Lover (That first night is closer than you think!), Scarlotte O'Hara (I think Byakuya still respects Ichigo and considers him a friend, but you can get royally pissed at a friend, and if that friend is Ichigo, he might deserve the fury! But don't worry, they'll work it out...just...maybe noisily and, if Ichigo doesn't mind himself, a little violently is always a possibility with those two!), and Titania (I too, have a really hard time with infidelity and 'lovers' who are purposely cruel to each other. And I don't see Byakuya and Renji as capable of those things, considering the strength of their bond as revealed in canon. So, yes, the sweetness and slow fall into love will continue!) Enjoy the chapter!)

"Ah...um, greetings, Grand Counselor, sir," Renji said anxiously, as he opened the door to the Noble's General Council head.

"Please, just call me Yoshinori when we are not in public," the elder said, accepting the redhead's hand, then looking down as Renji shook it vigorously, then realized what he was doing and stopped himself, blushing.

"C-come on in, sir."

"Arigatou."

"Captain Kuchiki just sent a hell butterfly ahead from the sixth," Renji explained as they passed through the apartment entry and into the large lounging room, "He is about to leave, so he will be here in about ten minutes or so. I made tea. Captain Kuchiki told me that you favor green tea with jasmine?"

"Ah, yes, thank you," Yoshinori said, nodding.

As they entered the lounging room, Kisuke, Ichigo, Tetsuya and Jun stood and greeted him.

"Ah, good, the rest of you are here, so we can begin as soon as Captain Kuchiki arrives."

"Yeah," said Renji, sitting down in a plush, comfortable chair as Yoshinori did the same and the others sat back down, "But Kisuke, you and Ichigo had better keep a low profile. He's cooled down a little, but he's still really pissed."

"He was very agitated when I was by the other day," Tetsuya sighed.

"Well," said Yoshinori, gratefully accepting a cup of tea from Renji, "It is a rather delicate situation."

"Right," Kisuke agreed, "I tried to explain to him that the Shiba clan was concerned about whether or not Tetsuya would be able to conceive. I mean, they are marrying off their future clan head, and the most powerful shinigami ever born into their clan. It's a big deal. So, as much as we were jumping the gun a little..."

"I really wish you would stop putting it that way," Ichigo said, blushing, "The idea is to avoid making Byakuya any more pissed than he already is."

Kisuke chuckled.

"Sorry. Poor choice of words. But, as much as it seems like we were getting ahead of ourselves, it was so that the Shiba clan was assured that there would be heirs."

"And you gentleman certainly haven't been spreading it all around the populace," said Yoshinori, sipping at his tea, "You have been discreet."

"I think it was more the idea of what we were doing that had Byakuya ready to kill me," Ichigo said, shaking his head.

"He was not pleased when it was revealed in front of the whole Noble's General Council," sighed Tetsuya.

"But that is understandable," replied Yoshinori.

The group looked up as the door buzzer sounded and Renji pushed the button to allow Byakuya entrance into the apartment. Renji smiled up at the Kuchiki heir as he entered the room.

"Good to see you, Captain Kuchiki," Renji greeted him, "Your tea's waiting over here. Come, sit next to me."

Byakuya glared at Kisuke and Ichigo, making the latter swallow hard and Tetsuya blush at the intensity of the look he gave them.

"Head Councilor," Byakuya said, acknowledging the elder.

"Good evening, Captain Kuchiki. Thank you for coming. I think we have a lot to get out of the way before things can progress."

"Of course."

"First, we should clarify the history of Torao Akazaki and how it relates to our current situation. Kisuke Urahara, you said that you had gathered a more detailed history for us?"

"Yes," said the shopkeeper, "As I told you, I have notes taken from when I was able to read through several diaries in the royal archive. And the history, according to a combination of sources, goes like this. As I said before, Torao came into the picture when the soul king's son refused to accept any of the brides he was offered and he jokingly said he would rather marry one of the king's red tigers, because they had finer spirits. The king became angry and punished his son by taking a red tiger from the gardens and changing him into a young, red-haired transcendent he named Torao Akazaki. He was made noble by virtue of being born out of the king's garden, but rather then being recognized as one of the greater clans born there, because of the prince's disgrace, while still being above the lower clans, he was not given the status of a greater clansmen. Still, no one really blamed Torao for what happened. He was really just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess, and got swept up in things."

"That sounds just like you, Renji," Ichigo chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Renji said, self-consciously, "You're a fine one to talk about that."

"He has a point there," Tetsuya said, smirking, "You do seem to also find trouble, no?"

"Yeah, just a little," Ichigo said ruefully.

Byakuya said nothing, but glowered meaningfully at the Shiba heir.

"Anyway, getting back to the story," Kisuke went on, "When the king was fatally injured and he knew he was dying, he regretted being so harsh with his son and reinstated his place in the monarchy. And as part of that, he granted Torao the ability to have children. The king placed a seal in a special marker on his body and he soul bonded the prince and Torao, so that when the seal was activated, the two experienced a powerful effect, a lover's frenzy, if you will, that caused them to mate repeatedly, well beyond the usual ability of the body. These repeated joinings caused a spirit chamber to form within Torao's body, and that chamber was filled with their combined reiatsu, which formed the reiatsu of the developing heir...or heirs, I should say. The king, it seems, made the two very fruitful, resulting in a large number of children. The story was unclear about whether those were in single births or multiples and how many years passed before the betrayal of the prince and his and Torao's flight from the spirit realm. But, what is clear is that the heirs were all male and able to reproduce when bonded with another male...just not females."

"So," said Yoshinori, "This is why the council deemed it necessary to require, as our rules state, that the confirmed heir of the Akazaki clan should be matched with a suitable male for the making of the heirs."

"But the catch to that," Kisuke added, "is that we have to be sure that the two are compatible for the soul bonding. And the only way to do that is to activate the seal on our pal, Renji's fertility and try to bond them."

"But will that not cause our bodies to begin to react?" Byakuya asked.

"Actually, yes, it will," Kisuke said, fighting a self-satisfied smirk.

Byakuya glowered at the scientist and started to say something, but was stopped as Renji blinked and registered comprehension of what was being implied.

"Whoa, hey uh, but if you release the seal on our wedding night and we're soul bonded, but it doesn't take, then..."

"Then we have to go through the process of finding a suitable mate again...and again, until we find one who is compatible."

"That being the case," said Yoshinori, "the council chooses to have the two of you soul bound now, and to allow the wedding to proceed in a month, as planned."

"What? As in now now?" the redhead said, looking alarmed, "You're gonna...?"

"Mr. Urahara and I have been instructed by the council to facilitate your bonding and first mating," said Jun.

"I've been asked to initiate the bonding process by releasing the seal," said Kisuke, ignoring the daggers Byakuya's eyes fired at him at the suggestion, "And Jun will be with you to make sure that nobody gets hurt and nothing goes wrong while you're...erm...making that heir."

"Y-you mean here?" Renji asked, paling so that his tattoos stood out starkly, "Like, right now? But...!"

"Renji is right," Byakuya agreed, "This is impossible. We have not even begun to make our plans for the wedding yet."

"Thing is, there's not going to be a wedding if you're not compatible," Kisuke said, matter-of-factly.

"Oh, ho, ho, look who's gonna be making babies out of wedlock now!" chuckled Ichigo, prompting a frown and a stern look from Tetsuya as Byakuya's scowl deepened and his reiatsu rose until the room shook softly.

"You had better watch your mouth, boy!" the Kuchiki leader said ominously, "Or I may forget how we had grown past our differences. Mocking me on top of disgracing my cousin's honor..."

"Hey, our clan came to the same conclusion for me and Tetsuya as the Noble's General Council did for you and Renji."

"And your clan did not follow proper procedure in notifying me of their recommendation and allowing us to..."

"Yeah, the Shiba leader's not exactly one who likes getting caught up in clan haggling," said Kisuke, "So, their council sent Ichigo and Tetsuya to me."

"And not even my own cousin had the courtesy to inform me of what you were doing?" Byakuya asked icily, making Tetsuya deflate and lower his eyes penitently.

"I am sorry, Byakuya. I didn't know how to tell you such a thing."

"I talked him out of it," said Ichigo, "I didn't want him scared that you would take it out on him while he was pregnant and not able to control his emotions so well, or to handle your anger."

"How very kind of you," Byakuya said dryly, "Do you have any concept of how much I would like to kill you right now?"

"I thought we put all of that behind us. I thought we were friends!" objected Ichigo.

"We are friends," the Kuchiki head snapped angrily, "which is why it feels like a knife in the back to have you disrespect both my cousin and me in this fashion! I had thought as well, that we had left our differences behind, but as before, you seem determined to step on my pride repeatedly!"

"Hey, hey," Kisuke said soothingly, "We're kinda getting off track, here, and you're kind of freaking Renji out, so maybe we should get back to the matter at hand."

"I am sure that Lord Shiba did not mean to anger you," Jun interjected bracingly, "He was faced with a situation much like the one you and Lord Abarai are in...where our charters almost seem to demand a departure from propriety so that protection of the lines of power may be preserved. He may not have chosen the best way to handle the situation, but he is on the younger side, and he is less experienced in his role as a noble lord than you."

Byakuya inhaled slowly, considering the healer's words, then nodded stiffly.

"Perhaps," he said, still frowning.

"Look, I'm sorry," said Ichigo, "The thing is, I love Tetsuya like I've never loved anybody. I would do anything for him. I would die for him. I would never disrespect him. And I wasn't trying to disrespect you, Byakuya. I do consider you to be a friend, so I hope you'll accept my apology and we can get on with things. Renji does look pretty freaked out."

"Will you guys stop talking about me like I'm not here?" the redhead said, clenching the armrests on his chair with tightened fingers, "This whole thing is making me sick! First, out of the blue, I get a message that I might be some lost heir, and only a few days later, I'm being soul bonded to a guy when I don't know if I'm even gay, I'm planning a wedding I don't want and now we have to just take off our clothes and make babies? Do you guys even understand how insane this is?"

"Renji is right," Byakuya said solemnly, "While I understand the council's concern, they must realize that this pushes the boundaries of tolerance for anyone, especially one of Renji's more primal nature."

"The council in not unsympathetic," Yoshinori assured the Kuchiki leader, "but the councilors feel that their hands are tied, considering both the importance of preserving this previously thought extinct noble clan and the fact that Lord Abarai is a military captain and is often in harm's way. And he was also very recently seriously injured. They truly felt there was no other way but to require the Gotei 13 to place him on leave for the duration of the first pregnancy and to set marriage preparations in order quickly."

"What?" Renji said, a crestfallen look overtaking his paled features, "Now, they're taking away my command post too? Do you know how hard I busted my ass to become a captain? Do you have any idea?"

"You will still be a captain," Yoshinori said, reassuringly, "And your post will be waiting for you. Your squad will be placed on home detail until you are cleared to return after the birth of your first child."

"You know what? This is crazy! You're all out of your heads! I'm not doing this!"

Renji rose out of his chair so fast it tipped over backwards and crashed to the floor as the redhead flash stepped out of the room, down the hallway and slammed the bedroom door. The others in the lounging room exchanged serious glances and Jun met Yoshinori's eyes questioningly.

"Should I try to go and talk to him?"

"No," said Byakuya, standing, "I have known Renji for a long time. I will talk to him."

He walked past the others and disappeared down the hallway.

"Well," Kisuke sighed, "That went better than expected. We gave the bad news and no one got killed."

"And Byakuya knows Renji very well," Tetsuya added, "I am sure that he will convince him to change his mind."

"Well, now," Kisuke said, placing his chin on an opened palm, "I don't know about that. You remember what our young Kuchiki lord was like as a teen, ne Tetsuya? I think his 'understanding' of Renji isn't so much their association as his memory of what he had to go through growing up. This could go either way. Hey, anyone know where Renji keeps his stash of sake?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"May I come in?" Byakuya said, tapping on Renji's bedroom door.

Renji started to answer angrily, then thought the better of it and sighed heavily.

"Yeah, come on in."

Byakuya entered the room and moved to sit down on the bed beside the distressed redhead. He considered his words carefully as Renji watched him with eyes that seemed to vacillate between righteous anger and outright fear.

"You don't have to do this."

Renji's eyes widened.

"What?" he asked, not sure he could have heard the words correctly, "What did you just say to me?"

Byakuya met his eyes meaningfully.

"You still have the option of abdication."

"But I thought that they said that..."

"They want you to feel this is the only path. However, you may also use their own rules to position yourself so that you do not have to do this."

"Huh? How's that?" the redhead asked, relaxing slightly.

"You attacked me, the lord of another noble house, an action which would have demanded a noble review of the situation. And convicted of plotting against me and trying to kill me, you could argue that you accept full responsibility for that. That requires mandatory removal of your household from the noble clans. In this way, you could earn your freedom."

Renji went quiet, turning his head to look out the window. He wondered how things outside could look so tranquil when, inside, everything seemed to be coming apart at the seams.

"Is that what you want me to do?" he asked, more calmly, "I know you don't want to marry me. I know it's made you have those nightmares you've been having. Both Tetsuya and Rikichi said you'd been suffering from them ever since the trial with Tan Ishiki."

"That is not important."

"What do you mean, it's not important? You're my former captain and you're my friend. I don't like knowing you're suffering because of me."

"I have been to see Jun Mizukiyo several times since the trial."

"You have?" Renji asked, looking surprised, "You refused to do that before. Why did you...?"

"I was of the impression that if I wanted to be of use to my friend in his time of need, it was best that I do what I could to make myself more capable of doing that."

Renji couldn't hold back a sad smile.

"You did that for me?"

"For both of us," Byakuya corrected him, solemnly, "Now, you must give thought to what you will do. Try to force out their voices and hear the one that speaks to you from inside. That is the one that will guide you correctly."

"But I'm so confused. I mean, I really don't want to do this, but...when I think about the image that Kisuke showed us of Torao Akazaki, it makes me feel something inside. I mean, that guy was just a freaking tiger whose life the king completely disrupted, just to punish his kid. He wasn't asked if he would love the prince, but he must have decided, at some point, that he did. Because he looked happy. He looked proud. And it feels good to be connected to someone like that. As much as I don't want to let that bunch of stuffy old nobles decide things for me, I would feel too selfish forgetting that I'm only as strong as I am because of Torao and the prince. My power was born with them, and I am proud of that power. I feel sick at what I have to do, but...I think I have to do right by them. What do you think?"

Byakuya let out a soft breath and yielded a small smile.

"I think that my formerly brash and reckless vice captain has matured into surprising wisdom. You know your own heart well, and you are able to look past your fears to see the path you think is the correct one, even though it troubles you. I am proud of you Renji."

"Because I talked myself into doing this?" Renji laughed softly.

"Because you talked me out of not doing this," Byakuya answered, making the redhead look up in surprise, "I have long been in the habit of doing whatever our laws dictated, without always considering what my own heart was telling me. This time, I listened, and I felt it was wrong for you to be forced to do this...so I gave you a way to escape. But hearing your words...the pride you take in your powers and your connection to your lineage...it has bolstered my own resolve. And if that is your decision, then I will be content to obey the council's wishes and create your heirs with you tonight. But the decision rests in your hands. Do what you will..."

The Kuchiki heir broke off in surprise as he was unceremoniously yanked into a tight embrace.

"Renji, what are you doing?" he objected, trying to pull away.

"Thank you!" Renji said, hugging him tightly and laughing at his bemused expression, "Thank you so much, Byakuya!"