Chapter 12: Manipulations

Byakuya opened his eyes and met with the early morning darkness. He gently pulled free of Renji and climbed out of bed, shivering softly in the pre-dawn chill. He stepped into the dressing area and was reaching for a clean shihakushou when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and hot breath tickled his ear.

"Where d'ya think you're going?"

Byakuya turned his head toward the source of the voice and found himself shoved back against the wall. His lover's mouth fastened on his and a hot tongue thrust into his mouth, sliding enticingly along the length of his and stealing away his breath. Loving hands slid lingeringly down his chest and Byakuya felt the tie at his waist release. Renji's hands pushed the light sleeping yukata off his shoulders and he sank his teeth into the soft pale skin of the noble's throat.

"I get up at the same time every day, Renji," Byakuya managed in a breathy whisper.

"Not today," Renji breathed against his throat, "We're sleeping late today."

Byakuya found himself unable to respond as Renji's mouth reclaimed his and the redhead's hands warmed his chest as they made their way down the length of his torso and took hold of his hips, pulling them closer. Byakuya inhaled sharply as Renji's hips thrust forward into his and the redhead's skin burned against him.

Teased into action, Byakuya flash stepped away, only to be brought down a moment later onto the bed and treated to a seething open-mouthed kiss. Renji pushed forward, parting his lover's thighs and bringing their aroused members into contact with each other. He ground his hips deeply into Byakuya's, The noble moaned in pleasure at the intense heat and friction, then tore his mouth away from Renji's and buried his face in his lover's throat, biting down, then following the black tattoos with heavy strokes of his tongue. He slid his fingernails down the redhead's back and thrust hungrily upward into his heated body.

Renji caught his lover's hands and laced their fingers together, then forced Byakuya's hands down. He thrust his hips forward again and the noble moaned and panted into the tattooed shoulder, then slowly let his head fall back onto a soft pillow and, gazing dazedly up into the fierce brown eyes, gave himself over to the redhead's passion.

Renji renewed his attack on the noble's exposed throat, then blazed a trail of kisses down to his chest, pausing to feel his lover's heart pounding furiously beneath his lips, then moving on to pleasure the aroused nipples before teasing his way down to the noble's sensitive navel. Byakuya gasped softly as the redhead's tongue sank into it, hardening and probing until the noble's eyes glazed over with passion and he threaded his fingers deeply into Renji's thick, red hair.

"Kami, Renji…stop!" he panted.

The redhead paused and grinned at his flustered lover.

"You want me to stop?" he asked playfully, "Really?"

"Yes…no…just stop…that!" Byakuya managed.

"What?" Renji teased, "This?"

He attacked the noble's navel hungrily. Byakuya moaned incoherently and he reached down and pushed at his lover's shoulders. Smiling, Renji sucked deeply at the noble's navel, prompting another deep moan, then continued kissing his way downward to his lover's swollen member. Byakuya shivered with pleasure, pushing his hips upward hungrily. Renji knelt between his lover's widespread thighs, teasing with hot strokes of his eager tongue, lingering, then sinking down and sucking deeply again and again until he felt a tremor shake his lover's body and he crawled back up Byakuya's writhing torso, soothing him with warm kisses and pleasant brushes of skin against skin.

Byakuya wrapped his body tightly around Renji's, his dark gray eyes locked on the fiery brown ones that held him spellbound as his lover's tattooed body claimed his. Byakuya's eyes slowly drifted closed and his body moved with Renji's, rising up to meet each deep powerful thrust. Renji's face lowered into his lover's raven black hair and he buried himself in the pleasing scent of sakura as his thrusts quickened and his breathing shortened. He reached down and stroked his lover's seething member until the noble's back arched sharply and he gripped Renji tightly, his body trembling with release. The sudden tightness around him sent the redhead reeling and he released inside his lover with a hard cry of pleasure. He dropped onto Byakuya's chest, panting heavily as his body pulsed again and again.

Byakuya's mouth found Renji's and they exchanged slow indulgent kisses as their sated bodies rested against each other. Renji burrowed into his lover's shoulder and watched as the dark eyes blinked slowly, becoming heavy lidded again as Byakuya drifted off to sleep. Smiling in satisfaction, Renji let his head rest against the sleeping noble and closed his eyes. In minutes, he was sound asleep as well.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Good morning, Captain Kuchiki," Rikichi said cheerfully as Byakuya entered the Squad Six office.

"Good morning, Vice Captain," Byakuya replied, taking his seat and sorting through the papers in his inbox.

"There are some invoices to sign," Rikichi said, rising to prepare his tea, "and a couple of messages. The head captain said he will meet with you after lunch. The other message was sealed and marked 'private.' I left it there for you."

Byakuya picked up the sealed message, frowning as he sensed Sosuke Aizen's reiatsu.

Byakuya,

I must speak with you on an urgent matter. Please come to the Repentance Cell at your earliest convenience. I would not bother you, but it really is important.

Sosuke

Byakuya sighed and held the message over the trash bin. It shimmered in his hand and turned to ash, dropping silently into the bin.

"Here's your tea, Captain," Rikichi said, placing it carefully in his hand.

"Arigato, Rikichi," Byakuya said softly.

"Oh, and I needed to ask. Did Hotaru remind you about the rehearsal dinner tomorrow?"

"Yes, Rikichi. I will be there. We all will."

"Great!" Rikichi said, smiling, "Just a couple of days and we'll be married."

Byakuya nodded.

"I'm happy the two of you are finally doing this," he commented softly, "it's been long enough."

"Yeah, it has," agreed Rikichi.

Still smiling, he returned to his desk.

Byakuya turned back to his reports. He worked quickly through the stack of papers and found himself finished well ahead of lunch time.

"Rikichi," he said quietly, "I must commend you on keeping up with things in my absence. It's almost as though I never left."

"Arigato, Captain," Rikichi said, smiling, "Renji taught me everything I know, sir."

Now, Byakuya found himself smiling.

"Renji was never that quick with paperwork, Rikchi," he said softly, "but I am sure he would be pleased with the compliment."

He checked the time and turned back to his vice captain.

"Rikichi, I'm going out for a while. I will return to meet Renji for lunch. We will be meeting with the head captain after that. If Renji arrives early, tell him that I will be back shortly."

Rikichi nodded and turned back to the stack of reports on his desk. Byakuya stepped out of the office and into the streets of the Seireitei. He made his way past the Fourth Division and Fifth Division and up the hill to the Repentance Center. The guards nodded and allowed him to pass into the building. He entered and closed the door behind him, then slowly climbed the stairs to reach Sosuke Aizen's cell. Aizen was sitting quietly on his bed, gazing out the small window.

"Arigato, Byakuya," he said, without turning his head, "I appreciate you coming to speak with me."

"Why have you called me here?" asked the noble shortly, "What is this 'urgent matter?'"

Aizen sighed.

"I heard that you are planning to tell the head captain about Akira today."

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"How did you hear about that?" he asked, "We corresponded privately through trusted sources…"

Aizen smiled.

"I have my means," he said cryptically, "I know everything you are about, Byakuya. I know that you were injured yesterday by the spirit in my son's zanpakuto. I must thank you for covering for him and making certain that the head captain would not destroy his zanpakuto. But I worry that you going to the head captain with Akira's identity will still endanger him. Byakuya, I did not mean for anyone to know about Akira…until he was old enough to defend himself. I don't know that he is ready."

"I am going to the head captain with this," Byakuya stated firmly, "I have already broken the rules in working with your son to control his zanpakuto. I should have told the head captain immediately."

"Yes…but you put his well-being first…and even though you didn't do this for me, I wanted to thank you for that."

Byakuya felt a sudden wave of dizziness pass through him. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Byakuya," Aizen said quickly, "are you feeling all right?"

The noble let out his breath.

"I am fine. It does not seem that you have an actual emergency, so I will leave now. Do not send for me again. I will not come to you. The next time I will see you is at your trial."

He caught his breath sharply as another wave of dizziness swept through him.

"Byakuya, shall I call for the guard?" Aizen said, standing and moving toward the cell door.

The noble reeled as the dizziness increased and the room went dark around him. He dropped to his knees and placed his palms on the floor in front of him. Sosuke Aizen watched with glinting eyes as he sank the rest of the way to the floor. Calmly, he turned and called for the guard.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Captain Abarai," Momo called out as she burst into the Squad Five office, "I have an urgent message from the Fourth Division."

"What is it?" Renji asked quickly.

"Sir, Captain Kuchiki has been taken to the healing center. Apparently, he collapsed while visiting Cap-…I mean, Sosuke Aizen up at the Repentance Center. Hanatarou thought that you would want to know as soon as possible."

Renji was already on his feet.

"Thanks, Momo. I'm going over there. I'll send a hell butterfly when I know if I'll be back or not."

"Okay," Momo said, smiling supportively, "I hope Captain Kuchiki is all right."

Renji flash stepped out the door and all the way to the Fourth Division. He ran through the entryway and into the lobby, looking for Hanatarou. He spotted the healer coming out of one of the treatment rooms. He saw Renji and waved him over.

"He's in here. He seems okay so far, but he's still unconscious. Captain Unohana is running some tests. Come on in."

Renji followed Hanatarou into the treatment room. Byakuya laid, still unconscious on the bed. Captain Unohana leaned over him, studying him carefully. She nodded briefly at Renji as he entered the room and sat down in the chair beside Byakuya.

"Renji, I am glad you're here," Unohana said softly, "I have a few questions to ask you."

Renji swallowed nervously.

"What do you need to know?" he asked.

"Has Byakuya been behaving normally in your presence lately?" she asked.

"Yeah…I don't remember anything being wrong…Why?"

"I'm just trying to rule things out, right now. Has he suffered any injuries or losses of consciousness?" she asked.

"Well…he was injured on his living world mission…just some slashes and bruises. I healed him of those. Then, he was attacked by Aizen in Hueco Mundo, but you saw those injuries."

"No losses of consciousness?"

"No…oh…wait. Yesterday he did get injured and he passed out for just a few seconds. I healed that as well."

"Where, how and when did this occur?" Unohana asked.

Renji hesitated, staring at Byakuya.

"Renji…I need to know…as his physician. Anything you say will, of course, be kept confidential."

Renji nodded.

"He was at the training center and was injured by a zanpakuto release. He collapsed right after for a few seconds and then woke on his own. He had some slashes and blood loss. I figured the blood loss made him pass out."

"I think you are correct about that," Unohana said, smiling, "From what I can see, Byakuya appears to be suffering from fatigue and chemical imbalances resulting from not eating enough. The blood loss and injuries compounded that and weakened him. He needs to rest and to eat proper meals. His system should balance itself in a few days. I did take a few blood samples for some other tests, but I don't anticipate any other issues."

"So he's overtired, stressed and hasn't been eating right?" Renji said in dismay, "Hell, I could have told you that! With all that's going on, that's pretty much to be expected."

"Be that as it may," Captain Unohana went on, "I have taken him from active duty for one week and I want you to personally see to it that he takes care of himself. You know that once Sosuke Aizen's trial gets underway, the stress is only going to increase…for everyone. Renji…make sure he rests and eats well."

"I will, I promise…but, is he going to wake up soon?" Renji asked worriedly.

"Yes," Captain Unohana assured him, "I was just giving him some IV fluids that should balance things enough so that he'll wake. Sit with him. When he wakes and seems steady enough, you can take him home."

Captain Unohana and Hanatarou stepped out of the room, leaving Renji alone with Byakuya. The noble shifted softly and moaned. Renji took his hand and rubbed it gently.

"Hey," he said softly, "You planning to wake up some time today."

The dark eyes slowly blinked and opened.

"Byakuya," he said softly, "you feeling better?"

The noble's eyes studied the room for a moment, then came to rest on Renji.

"How did I get here?" he asked slowly, "What…happened?"

Renji's eyes narrowed.

"They told me you were at the Repentance Center and you collapsed."

Byakuya nodded slowly.

"I remember…a message came to the Sixth Division saying he needed to speak to me on an urgent matter."

"And you believed that?"

"Renji…"

"Byakuya…Aizen likes to fuck with your mind. You know that. What did he want?"

Byakuya thought for a moment.

"He…thanked me for helping Akira…and he said he didn't want us to inform the head captain about Akira's identity yet."

"I hope you told him to go to hell," Renji said sharply, "You've already pushed the limits on this. Maybe the head captain will understand, but if it gets back to Central 46 what you did for Akira, you could get suspended from duty…or worse. The longer we delay this, the worse it will be."

Renji paused for a moment, thinking.

"Byakuya…how did he know about you helping Akira? Did you ask how he knew?"

Byakuya nodded.

"He only said that he has his sources."

Renji rolled his eyes in dismay.

"Damn! Even now, that bastard has people working for him."

"He didn't take everyone to Hueco Mundo. Some stayed to continue spying for him. Renji, I'm concerned they might try to free him."

"This just keeps getting worse and worse!" Renji exclaimed, "Someone ought to just go and kill that bastard."

"Renji…I know you're angry, but…"

"But nothing! He needs to face trial quickly and be executed…or something really bad is going to happen. I feel it."

"We have to be careful, Renji. If he does escape, he might come to the manor. We'll increase the guards…and I think I'll contact Yoruichi to come and stay for a time."

"Fine…whatever…but I'll tell you one thing, Byakuya. If he fucks with you again or threatens our kids, I am going to kill him. I am one hundred percent serious. I will kill him if he gets near any of us again."

"Renji?"

"Byakuya, I want you to promise me that you won't go there again."

Byakuya stared at him silently.

"Byakuya?"

"Renji, I can't…"

"I don't want you to go near him again. Promise me you won't."

"I may have to," Byakuya said softly, "because of Akira."

Renji's eyes blazed.

"No…we are going to the head captain and then Akira will not be our problem anymore. He never should have been our problem in the first place."

"He is just a child, Renji."

"Yeah," said Renji angrily, "He is your enemy's child…your captor's child. Byakuya, he is your rapist's child. So tell me, for kami's sake, why are you doing this?"

"I am doing this for Chisaki," Byakuya said quietly, "Renji…she has feelings for Akira. I sensed it when we were in Hueco Mundo…and I have seen it in their eyes."

Renji shook his head angrily.

"No…no way. Under no circumstances is our daughter going to fall for Sosuke Aizen's kid!" exclaimed Renji, "As soon as you can walk, we are going to the head captain. I want Akira out of our home, Byakuya! I want him and his damned father out of our lives!"