A/N: For the record, I blame Kubo.
First, he breaks my brain with chapter 423, then goes on a two-week break, which my Muse - unbeknownst to me at the time - was intent on emulating. Sooooo... yeah. Onyx got back from her little 'vacation' early Wednesday morning. We spent most of the evening and half the night beating the chapter into shape for you guys, so I hope you enjoy it!
Also: Who wants a kiriban? True to my word, I'm holding to RDBH's review-kiriban - starting at review number 150 for Bonds of Honor. So if you didn't have a chance to grab one in the last story, here's your opportunity!
Credits: Midway through the chapter, Ichigo quotes Thomas Edison's theory on good fortune.
Translator's Notes:
Tu - Chinese unisex name meaning "chart, diagram, map," or Vietnamese unisex name meaning "star."
Warnings: Potential minor squickiness, which I can't elaborate on without surrendering the plot point. Just... hold off on the rotten fruit when you're done with the chapter, mmkay?
BONDS OF HONOR
Chapter 12: Blood and Promises
There were very few situations in which Kuchiki Byakuya lost his composure.
A threat to Renji, Rukia, or the honor of the Kuchiki Clan would result in a storm of cherry-blossom scented reiatsu cold enough to make even Hitsugaya pause, delivered with a cold and unfeeling stare that suggested a statue of marble rather than a being of flesh and blood.
The antics of Shihoin Yoroichi and, to a lesser extent, Kusajishi Yachiru, barely fazed him anymore - a slow blink, a sardonic comment, and he would continue on his way without the slightest indication of disturbance.
Even combating his Clan Council in their frequent arguments of precedence and propriety failed to do more than produce a dull annoyance in the man.
In fact, Renji had thought that the most effective means of cracking that blank mask might have been the application of Renji's own fingers and mouth (among other things) to Byakuya's body. A breath on the ear, a finger tracing the course of his spine, lips and teeth against that pale throat - all of those were guaranteed to leave the noble gasping for breath and utterly pliant in Renji's hands.
And as enjoyable as that was, it was not exactly the break in composure necessarily acceptable in public places.
However, Renji had just discovered a new means to making his noble partner drop his dispassionate mask - place a baby in his arms.
Byakuya looked down at the tiny form of Kurosaki Masaki, cradled awkwardly in his too-stiff arms, then shot Renji a glance that verged on desperate; wide-eyed, disbelieving, and ever-so-slightly frantic.
"Kurosaki," Byakuya snapped, his voice barely above a whisper in deference to the sleeping infant he held, "surely you do not expect me to -"
"Hold your niece? Yeah, I do. You know you're gonna wind up with babysitting duty now and again," Ichigo shot back, leaning back slightly to scrutinize Byakuya's hold. "Relax a little, you're not made out of wood."
Renji coughed.
Ichigo turned and threw a scathing glare over his shoulder, but softened it slightly when he saw the ease with which Renji was cradling a drowsing Kaien in one arm. "Just... do what Renji's doing, okay? He looks better at that than I am."
"Eh, pro'ly," Renji answered with a shrug. "Done it before, anyway. Kids in Inuzuri," he added, when Ichigo shot him a questioning look. "I go down every year, lookin' for potential Shinigami. Usually stop in on some 'a the ward-keepers, ask 'em about any promisin' kids they have. I've steered a few the way of th' Academy, so they keep an eye out for me."
"Oh," Ichigo answered vaguely - there really wasn't much to be said to that - and, turning back to Byakuya, sighed and set about correcting Byakuya's hold.
The next group admitted to the room was composed of three; a smirking Yoroichi with a slightly uneasy-looking Kisuke trailing along, both lead by Isshin, bright-eyed with nervous excitement and restrained from rushing in only by Unohana's steady gaze.
"Ichigo, I -"
"Dad." The simple, level word cut off any apologies or explanations Isshin would have made; quietly, Ichigo stepped forward and settled the blanket-wrapped form of his baby son into his father's arms. "Congratulations, you're a grandfather."
"I - you..." Blinking a few times, Isshin stared down at the baby he held, shifting his arms to cradle the tiny form. "Heh," he chuckled, struggling to regain some of his natural aplomb. "You do good work, son!"
"Yeah, Rukia helped," came the dry response. From her position on the bed, Rukia glowered at them both, probably contemplating how much damage she could do to their heads with a thrown pillow without injuring her son in the attempt.
"What did you name them, Ichigo?" Urahara asked from across the room, where he and Yoroichi were cooing delightedly over Ichigo's daughter. The Shihoin princess was already murmuring about how she would teach the little girl to be the fastest Shunpo master in the Seireitei, and how her Uncle Kisuke would always make sure she had the most wonderful toys...
"You two have Masaki," Ichigo told her, and Isshin jerked his head up in astonishment. "And Dad has Kaien."
For a long second, Isshin didn't speak at all, didn't even breathe, as his gaze stayed riveted on his son. "Kaien?" he echoed, a trembling note of disbelief touching his voice, and Ichigo nodded slowly, watching as his father's face slowly crumpled into a smile.
"Thank you, Ichigo," the man whispered, tears beginning to track down his face as he looked down at the new face of the child he had lost. "Thank you."
Isshin's eyes were still damp when Unohana opened the door for the next group, and Yoroichi and Urahara made quick escapes to make room for the incoming seven; Uryuu and Orihime, Chad and Tatsuki, with Ukitake and Kyouraku bringing up the rear. Kyouraku had a tight grip on Nanao's sleeve, and was casually tugging his Lieutenant along with a blithe disregard for her hissed protests.
Ukitake was quick to scoop Masaki into his arms, cooing delightedly and tickling her nose with a lock of his hair, causing a great deal of nose-scrunching and fist-waving on Masaki's part.
"Oh, it's been far too long since I've held a child," Ukitake chuckled, tickling her under the chin until she burbled happily. "Kuchiki, I expect you to bring both of them along when you return to work, understood?"
"You may come to regret that request, sir," Rukia answered dryly, as Ichigo handed Kaien off to a bemused Kyouraku. "But yes, understood."
"I may rethink the request, but I won't regret it," Ukitake countered. "There are far too few children born here these days, and children like these - well! Noble scions, powerful parents, blood of the -"
"Don't say, it, Jyuu!" Kyouraku interrupted, quickly handing Kaien off to Nanao as he swung towards the other Captain. She gave him a wide-eyed glance, somewhere between disbelief and genuine fear as the presence of the infant in her arms registered.
" - most powerful Shinigami in existence?" Jyuushiro finished, just as Nanao protested "Captain! Why did you -"
"He is your nephew, you know," Kyouraku reminded her over his shoulder, before turning back to a faintly smirking Ukitake. "Jyuushiro, you -"
"I have not survived this long by being incompetent, Shunsui," Ukitake reminded him delicately, "and mind your Lieutenant."
Kyouraku turned back to Nanao, and managed to take Kaien safely from her arms and catch her a split-second before she fainted.
When Zaraki turned up in the third hour, the spike in Ichigo's reiatsu sent half of the Fourth staggering until the substitute reined himself in, settling for merely glaring at the massive Captain.
"Zaraki. Did you want something?" Ichigo asked, his tone tersely level, and the big man snorted in response.
"Che. Here t' see your brats, ain't I?" came the irritable answer, and Ichigo stopped short, blinking in surprise. It hadn't occurred to him until now, but Zaraki, having cared for Yachiru since before the girl could walk, was the girl's father in everything but blood. Which meant that the people who best knew what Ichigo was in for with his new family were... Matsumoto and Zaraki.
While Ichigo was still reeling from that revelation, the massive Captain stepped into the room uninvited, peering down at the boy Ichigo held. "Tiny thing," he grunted thoughtfully, and lifted the child out of Ichigo's arms with startlingly gentle hands. Kaien squirmed indignantly at the assessment, finally flailing out with one hand and latching onto Zaraki's thumb. "Strong, though!" he added, clearly surprised, as the infant squeezed the roughly-calloused digit. "You may wind up bein' a credit to your daddy after all," he muttered, passing the child back to his astounded father.
Unohana, who had been carefully overseeing the exchange, leaned forward with a gentle smile and settling one pale hand on Zaraki's arm. He smirked, covering the delicate hand with his own heavy one.
"Yachiru'll be glad t' have playmates when those two're grown up a little," Zaraki grunted, and Ichigo nodded faintly, his mind still in a jumble, before it finally latched on to something that should have registered sooner.
"Where is Yachiru, anyway?" he asked after a nervous moment, shifting the weight of Kaien in his arms, and Zaraki huffed slightly.
"Down fer a nap," came the surprising response. "She decided that she wasn' seein' enough a' Feather-Face lately, an' challenged him t' a fight. Full shikai. She's sleepin' t' get some energy back."
"It did strike me that things were unusually quiet," Byakuya muttered from the corner, and Renji elbowed him lightly in the ribs.
" 'm almost afraid t' ask, sir, but how'd Yumi come outta it?" Renji asked, ignoring Byakuya's dirty look.
"He'll recover," came the short answer. "One 'a those medics put his arms straight for 'im, an' said th' bones'd heal in a day or so."
Well, that certainly explained why Shuuhei hadn't been in to see the children. And, for that matter, Ikkaku and Kira. If Yumichika was injured, he was no doubt keeping both his Captain and his lover hopping, and Kira would no doubt be at Hisagi's side...
Renji and Ichigo exchanged glances as Zaraki left, and Ichigo was forced to pass Kaien back to Rukia when both he and Renji dissolved into laughter.
It seemed like forever before the tide of well-wishers finally ebbed, leaving only Renji, Byakuya, Uryuu and Orihime within the birthing-room with the new parents. Chad and Tatsuki had returned to Karakura some time before, not wanting to leave it undefended, and Isshin had gone along with them, declaring quite loudly as he did so that he did not wish to 'abandon his darling daughters to the depths of misery by not gracing them with his presence.' Ichigo had smacked him on the head as he left.
"Oh, Ichigo-kun, Rukia-san, they're so beautiful!" Giggling, Orihime leaned forward to tickle Masaki's chin, cooing delightedly as the baby opened huge blue eyes to blink blearily at her before yawning hugely and drifting back to sleep. Both infants had been remarkably tolerant about being passed around like show-and-tell objects, something that had worried Ichigo initially - not only how the two would react, but the risk of having so many people handle them.
Unohana, however, had been in and out of the room the entire time, pausing occasionally to show inexperienced arms how to cradle the infants, but never objecting to the number of arms the infants were being passed through. Apparently, Shinigami infants didn't have the same frailties that human infants did?
Uryuu peered over his wife's shoulder at the tiny girl, comfortably asleep in Rukia's arms. Across the room, Renji leaned against the wall by the window, Kaien in his arms and Byakuya leaning quietly against his side.
"You're very fortunate, Ichigo," Uryuu murmured finally, resting his chin on Orihime's shoulder as they both regarded the tiny infant.
" 'Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning,' " the young Shinigami answered dryly, his gaze intent on his friends. "Which is why I need to ask you two something."
"Ask us something?" Uryuu repeated, his tone skeptical. "What sort of question is it that you have in mind?"
"Less of a question and more of a request, actually," Ichigo answered, shifting his weight nervously. "Even without Aizen hanging over our heads, I've made a lot of enemies, and some day, I'm going to meet one that I can't beat. If that happens, I want to make sure my kids are taken care of, no matter what life they choose. I've already asked Byakuya and Renji to serve as their guardians here, within the Soul Society, but if they stay in the Living World... I want to ask you two to be their godparents."
"Wha - us?" Uryuu repeated, voice rising with incredulity. "Wouldn't Sado and Tatsuki be a better choice?"
"No," Ichigo answered levelly. "I've already discussed it with them, and they agree with my decision. I owe you two... everything, a thousand times over. Ishida, you're the one who first helped me realize the true strength of my power, with that stupid Hollow-killing contest of yours."
The memories flicked back, as easily as the pages of a photo album turned, Hollow bait splintering under his fingers, disbelief slowly burning into cold fear, the first sight of a true Menos as it tore through the sky...
"And Orihime, you've saved my life, both of our lives, more times than I can count," Ichigo added, smiling gently at the girl, who blushed and ducked her head. "You were the one who put Rukia and I back together every time our lives were hanging on by a thread. But most of all," he added, his voice dropping to a whisper colored with a dark thread of shame, "after everything you've seen of me, you two can still look me in the eye."
Ishida jerked, feeling Orihime tense against him. Of course, Sado had never seen the monster that Ichigo carried in his soul - he'd been below the dome, on the blood-fractured sands of Hueco Mundo with Renji and the others. Everyone in their group knew what had transpired on that shattered stone, knew that Ichigo's Hollow had taken over and nearly swept him away, but there had only been three witnesses to it. One was Ulquiorra, now nothing more than ash and memory. The others...
His expression almost pleading, Ichigo spread his hands. "Uryuu. Orihime. Please."
Ishida blinked, slowly. The thought that Ichigo might ask this of them had never occurred to him; he had never given the matter much consideration at all. If he had, he would have dismissed the thought of being asked out of hand; Orihime's condition was still fragile, and he, Uryuu, was a Quincy, not a Shinigami, not a person who could teach these children about the world they belonged to...
Hesitant, he began to reply, wanting to ask Ichigo for more time to consider, more time to discuss it and just plain think, but he was cut off by Orihime, straightening up to meet Ichigo's eyes.
"Yes," she answered simply, startling Uryuu into silence. He twisted around, enough to gaze at the side of her face, searching her expression. Much to his surprise, those wide, silver-grey eyes held only calm determination, with a steadiness to them that he had not seen in years.
"Ishida?" Ichigo arched an eyebrow towards him, curious. "You okay with it?"
"Yes," Uryuu answered, surprising even himself when he realized that the answer was true. "We would be honored."
Night had already fallen by the time Byakuya and Renji said their goodbyes, and Rukia was long since asleep, curled at the edge of her bed with one hand resting on the edge of her children's cradle. Ichigo, clearly exhausted and just as clearly too exited to sleep, murmured quiet goodnights to them both before shutting the door behind them, leaving the new family alone at last.
Renji slung a careless arm over his own partner's shoulders, cheerfully ignoring Byakuya's glare, and the pair of them began the slow walk back to the Kuchiki manor, savoring the quiet night air around them. Their nights of peace were numbered now; particularly if twins shared their father's power and their mother's temperament, and both men were quietly determined to make the most of the peace they had.
Peace that was shattered moments after their arrival at the manor, when Riko ran to them with her face a mask of terror, telling them that a messenger from the Spirit King had come.
Byakuya nodded slightly, his blank expression not shifting in the slightest. "I understand," he answered simply. "Where has the messenger been escorted to?"
"The... the small reception chamber, Byakuya-sama," Riko answered, her fingers twisting, white-knuckled, in the skirt of her kimono as she spoke. "Ginrei-sama is attending him."
"Ginrei's here? I didn't know he was coming." His expression guileless, Renji peered down at the woman over Byakuya's shoulder, and blinked slightly at the two stares he received in response. "What?"
Riko stared at the redheaded Captain for a long moment, actually meeting his eyes as her curiosity overcame her decorum, before finally exhaling a slow, steady breath as she gathered the scattered threads of her usual calm.
Byakuya, for his part, wanted to do nothing more than stare at his partner in gape-mouthed astonishment, something that both his upbringing and his own sense of dignity prevented. He had expected Renji to question the presence of the messenger, to express some of the fear that was creeping cold tendrils through Byakuya's heart - not dismiss the matter without a word in favor of asking after Ginrei!
Until, that was, Riko bowed deeply to the two of them, pale beneath her makeup but utterly composed once again. "Thank you, Renji-sama," she said simply, and Renji smirked in response, looking as though he hadn't a care in the world. The expression didn't slip even after Riko turned away, and Byakuya wondered, briefly, if Renji was worried at all.
"If you are honestly foolish enough to think he's not terrified, your wits are duller than the blunt end of a club," muttered a sibilant voice in the back of Byakuya's consciousness; the snake half of Zabimaru. "But if you thought for a second he didn't see you nabbing that butterfly, you must have assumed he was duller than the blunt end of a club, and blind to boot. He saw that little bug before you did, and he knew exactly what it meant."
Which likely also meant that Renji had anticipated the presence of the messenger, just as Byakuya himself had.
"He did," the deeper, calmer voice of the baboon assured him. "But our Master is a good Master to all who stand behind him. He cares for their hurts and worries, and gives them the strength to hold their heads high, even when they would sooner fall to the ground and weep with terror."
Once again composed, if only thanks to Renji's easy calm, Riko resumed her duties by escorting her masters in, back straight and her stride steady as she led them to the reception chamber where the messenger waited.
"Byakuya, Renji. How good of you to join us," Ginrei remarked dryly, as the two of them entered the room a moment later. The statement was tinged with mild but definite sarcasm, and Byakuya shot his grandfather a glance from the corner of his eye. When the old man simply stared straight ahead, for all appearances ignoring him utterly, Byakuya bit back a sigh and turned his attention to the man occupying the other side of the table.
Squad Zero. So many of the Shinigami, the new or the skeptical, thought it was nothing more than a myth. It was only when an officer reached the higher ranks - a fifth seat or above - that they were informed of the truth. The King's Protection Squad was very real, and chose its members from among the ranks of the most distinguished officers ever to grace the Gotei. Not all members of Squad Zero were former Captains - Ginrei's own great-uncle had been inducted into the prestigious division, centuries ago, when he was only a third-seat, but he had been confined to that rank simply because there were no positions open above it, save for the King's Squad.
"Kuchiki Byakuya," their guest - no mere messenger, but one of the elite guard - nodded, his face and thoughts hidden behind an opaque white veil. Only the narrowest slit in the fabric allowed a glimpse of his eyes, a brown dark enough to verge on black and slanted upwards at the corners. "I am Tu of the King's Guardians."
Byakuya nodded, sweeping his body forward in a fluid bow, deep enough to show the top of his head to the veiled man, before seating himself. It would not do to start these proceedings out with ill grace...
Momentarily worried, he cast half an eye behind him to his partner, only to find Renji bowing with all the grace of a born courtier. Silently, the younger Captain rose from his bow, neither surprised nor bothered by the guard's lack of response, and followed Byakuya's example in seating himself at the table.
It had been Ginrei himself who had guided Renji through the twisted maze of politics inherent in his new position with the Kuchiki Clan. 'Always remember,' the old man told him, 'you are now a weapon, a shield, and a spy. Remain still and silent when you are placed among those who do not know or respect you, and allow them to trip themselves on their own arrogance. Observe and learn all you can, and use the information you gather to protect Byakuya, serve your allies, and strike your enemies.'
With that advice in mind, Renji settled himself quietly next to his partner and waited.
"Kuchiki Byakuya, you asked a boon of the Spirit King, that the two children born to Kurosaki Ichigo and your adoptive sister, Kuchiki Rukia, be allowed to remain with your Clan. Justify your demand."
Byakuya's eyebrow flicked upward ever-so-slightly at the terse phrasing. "I believed that my request was adequately explained in my initial message," he replied steadily, a delicate emphasis on the word 'request.' "The Kuchiki Clan has, of late, had a dearth of children born to it, and none since myself have shown the potential strength necessary to become notable Shinigami. As the Head of the Clan, I cannot in good conscience allow my family to fall into decrepitude when two promising heirs have been delivered to our hands."
"And you believe that the needs of your mere clan supersede the needs of the Royal Family themselves?" The guard's scorn was clear in his voice, his eyes narrowed as he glowered across the table. "Your arrogance is remarkable."
"It is arrogance to assume that the Spirit King would, in his infinite wisdom, make use of the resources presented to him?" Byakuya countered rapidly. "He has at his hands a viable heir, one already tested and proven, with a strength to exceed even the greatest warriors of the Seireitei. Kurosaki Ichigo is the true heir to the throne of the Spirit King, by virtue of both blood and power."
"Kurosaki Ichigo is not, nor will he ever be, recognized as the Heir to the Spirit King," Tu snapped back, anger burning cold in his eyes. "The demon that lurks within him is a form of madness, unacceptable in a ruler of this world!"
"Kurosaki's inner Hollow has been under his complete control for -"
"However long his control over the beast has endured is not the issue. Ten thousand years of control may be undone by a lost second. However," the man added, a dark tone of self-satisfaction coloring the edges of his voice as he locked eyes with Byakuya, "even a mad father may produce a viable heir."
The blow struck as it had intended; Byakuya paled until his face nearly matched the kenseikan in his hair, shocked at the low strike. Beside him, Renji nonchalantly shifted his weight, carefully laying a hand on Byakuya's knee beneath the table before turning to look the Royal Guard directly in the eye.
"Speaking about Byakuya's father to his face is an insult I am willing to kill you for," he said, every word clear and steady. The messenger blinked once, clearly startled, before finally turning his gaze and attention to the red-haired Captain.
For a long moment, there was only a ringing silence within the room, until Tu finally shook his head. "In an honorable duel? You would not defeat me, Abarai Renji."
"Are you sure about that?" Renji countered, his voice dropping as his eyes narrowed. "I'm a prodigy, after all. Zanpakutou-marked, second-fastest in the history of the Gotei to achieve Bankai, one of the youngest Captains in the records... and you're rubbin' me the wrong way."
Although Tu's eyebrows were hidden behind the veil he wore, it was easy enough to tell that he arched one, apparently amused by Renji's assessment. "Your strengths have been well-documented, Captain Abarai," he acknowledged after a moment. "Given a few more centuries of experience, it is entirely possible that one or both of you will receive an invitation to the Guards. The King himself has taken note of your strengths after your involvement in his grandson's battles. However," he added, eyes narrowing as he leaned across the table, his gaze intent on the pair before him, "both of you have many, many years ahead of you before you can think to challenge even me, let alone the King himself."
"I can only hope that is the case," Byakuya answered, his voice once again blandly smooth, as Renji shot Tu a look of contemptuous disgust that he must have copied from one of Byakuya's uncles. "Should the matter be pressed, however, I fear that we - likely along with Kurosaki himself - would be putting our skills to the test a great deal sooner than anticipated."
For perhaps the first time since he had entered the room, Tu's reaction was not calculated, not aimed and thrown like a weapon towards the men he viewed as his opponents. He jerked back, his eyes going wide with something that looked altogether like fear as he reached for the white hilt of his Zanpakutou. "You - you are declaring war upon the Spirit King?"
"Don' be an' idiot, Tu," Renji snorted. "We're not declarin' war, just..."
"Offering adequate warning of the potential repercussions to a single course of action," Byakuya completed smoothly, and waited patiently until the guard's hand drifted away from his blade.
"You overstep your boundaries, both of you," Tu snarled, his hands fisting on the table. "Kuchiki Rukia is not yours to claim by blood! The decree of her adoption is easily nullified by a Royal order -"
"I am afraid you are quite mistaken," Byakuya interjected calmly. "Rukia is as much a Kuchiki as I."
"While it may be binding within Seireitei, a decree of adoption does not -"
"You misunderstand," Byakuya interrupted, his voice chilling several degrees. "It is well-known among the circles of nobility that my father was disloyal to my mother. Did you never stop to consider why I, scion of the greatest of the Noble Houses, would seek a bride from among the poorest districts of Rukongai, when women of noble breeding were throwing themselves at my feet?"
The room went very still. Renji, frozen in disbelief, fought to keep his face neutral and his gaze on the Royal Guard across the table. Fortunately, any cracks in his blank expression went utterly unnoticed, as Tu was entirely too busy staring at Byakuya.
"I sought out Hisana deliberately," Byakuya continued, his face and voice expressionless. "The only means by which she would ever attain the life she deserved as the child of a noble father was by marriage to a nobleman - a marriage I provided. Her poor health offered a convenient excuse for why our relationship was never consummated. After her death, I sought out Rukia, under the excuse of honoring the last wish of my beloved wife, and offered her the opportunities her birthright grants. I can assure you," he concluded levelly, his gaze steady on that of the disbelieving guard, "Kuchiki Rukia is my sister."
Tu fled only moments after that, returning to the Spirit King with word that the two potential heirs had been blood-claimed by the Kuchiki Clan, and stood behind those willing to fight for their protection.
Renji and Byakuya watched the man leave before silently nodding to Ginrei and departing the room as well, escaping the confines of the manor to walk down the graveled paths through the gardens. Side-by-side, they followed the moonlight-lit white stones down the sloping hill, until they finally stopped before a ritual water basin that Renji instantly recognized. It was here, to this isolated spot on the Kuchiki grounds, where he had come before his bonding ceremony to Byakuya, to undergo his ritual purification beneath the waterfall just beyond the curve of the hill. Kneeling automatically before the stone basin, he carefully rinsed his hands, then mouth, then rose and waited as Byakuya did the same. When the other man was done, they followed the last curve of the gravel path around the edge of the hillside and into the clearing before the crystalline waterfall.
Wordlessly, Byakuya settled himself crosslegged on the cool ground, and Renji followed suit, sitting down facing him, close enough for their knees to touch, before reaching forward to gather Byakuya's hands in his own.
"When, exactly, were you gonna tell me?" Renji asked quietly, his voice barely audible over the constant rush of the water behind them. For a long moment, Byakuya did not respond, merely stared at their linked hands.
When he finally raised his head, though, Renji took in his expression in a blink - the amusement creasing the corners of Byakuya's eyes, the faintly smug curl to the delicate mouth.
"You son of a bitch!" Renji exclaimed, his shout dimmed to a strained whisper. "You were bluffing him?"
"Indeed," Byakuya answered dryly, a very faint breath of laughter escaping on his words. "While my deception will be realized at some point, I have at least managed to buy us time to formulate a more effective solution."
"You..." shaking his head, Renji could only stare at his partner in amazement. "You're insane, y' know that, right? Y' really think it's wise, lyin' t' him?"
"Undoubtedly not," Byakuya answered calmly, although his hands trembled within Renji's grasp. "As I said, it was merely a delay tactic. Blood relatives have a far greater claim on children than those merely decree-bound."
"So Rukia's really not your blood-sister?" Renji asked, some of the tension flowing out of his shoulders and leaving a numb weakness behind.
"There is certainly no evidence to suggest that theory, no." Byakuya answered, his smirk still lingering. "However, her appearance is alike enough to those who share Kuchiki blood that it will not be an easy theory to disprove, either."
Left alone in the reception room, Kuchiki Ginrei gazed quietly into the flame of the lamp burning on the table, and let himself fall back into his memories.
The night his son-in-law's betrayal had been discovered, Ginrei himself had entered the young man's rooms, intent on purging them of any trace of the traitorous man's presence. It would, he reasoned, ease the pain for his daughter and her young son, not to have evidence of the man to trigger memories.
He had disassembled the minimal furniture, checking every inch of it for possible traps, gone through every scrap of paper in the desk and bookshelf, and eventually ordered anything written by the younger man to be burned.
Among the papers fed to the blaze was a single, rough-made sheet of parchment bearing an untutored hand - not his son-in-law's, certainly, but rather a missive addressed to him, from a man whose name Ginrei recognized - a known criminal and murderer-for-hire.
'Your mistress in Rukongai has been eliminated. Of her two children, there were no sign.'
Sighing to himself, Ginrei leaned forward and blew out the lamp.
O
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