"Are we going to be stuck in this room forever?"

"It's better than the last one." Starrk said absently as he considered the chess board. Juushiro was winning, if he was any judge. Lilinette looked up from her game of Jenga with a scowl. Shunsui was intent on his turn, trying hard to remove a rather delicate piece without disrupting the structure.

"Yeah, Starrk? That's not a recommendation. Sure, this place is better than that piece of shit but that doesn't mean it's good!" She said and he sighed to himself before giving her a reassuring smile. Juushiro was looking both guilty and pained, which bothered him. He didn't want the shinigami to feel that this was at all his fault.

They were under house arrest. The two arrancar had been given a nice suite of rooms, but they were not permitted to leave. Powerful shinigami were standing guard over them at all times. And while they were still deferential to him, Starrk had noticed that Juushiro was also included in their distrust. No doubt the mechanisms of the Claim had been explained to them. Starrk knew he should release the white haired taichou but he was strangely reluctant. And a horrible, practical part of himself reminded him that Juushiro's freedom from him could be a bargaining chip.

"Oh Lilinette, it's not that bad. Certainly we could move around in Hueco Mundo but we hardly ever did, remember?" Shunsui said with a smile and Starrk was grateful to him. His mate was taking their confinement rather well. Of course, part of the reason was the sex. They had been using the opportunity to catch up on every missed mating and then some. "There was nothing to see, just more of the same. And this is much nicer! Blankets and pillows and good food, what more could we want?"

"To see the Seireitei. I'd hoped you might remember." Juushiro said with a sigh. "I'll talk to the Soutaichou about allowing you some freedom. Hopefully, after the meeting we'll be able to manage it." Starrk just shrugged before taking his move. "…You seem to be taking this very calmly." Juushiro said with a questioning tone and Starrk was sure he was thinking about their earlier comments. Pausing, he gave their shinigami lover a small, sad smile.

"Yes. Lilinette and I were both imprisoned, when we were alive." He said softly before looking at his little fraccion. She was shaking her head.

"I wasn't really. I mean, I would have been but I killed myself. Starrk's the one who was stuck in a room for years and years." She said and Juushiro swallowed, shocked and horrified by the revelation. "I was a ghost and I kept him company. He was the only one who could see me, y'know? And he was awesome to hang around with. Guess that's why we decided to hang around together forever and ever, hey?" She smiled at Starrk, who laughed.

"I suppose so! It was a sanitarium. I could see ghosts, I was obviously insane." He said jokingly and Lilinette and Shunsui both laughed. Then Starrk smiled crookedly and made a small, throwaway gesture. "I would prefer not to think about it. And Hueco Mundo… we sometimes traveled, just to see if we would find something new. But we rarely did."

"Hmm, yes, it was always quite boring. That's Hueco Mundo for you." Shunsui said, then smiled cheerfully. "But I had Starrk to keep me warm. You know, you weren't the only one with problems. My reiatsu was always survivable but my temper? Not so much." Shunsui said with a smile as Lilinette bit her lip then cursed as her efforts to remove a block caused the Jenga pieces to fall. "Hah, I win! …Yes, you were the first one I didn't kill. Even though I came close a few times…" Shunsui's tone suddenly turned melancholy. Starrk looked over from the chess game with a smile.

"Don't worry about it Shunsui. We're hollows, we're dangerous by definition." He said and Shunsui shook his head. "Ah, don't shake your head at me! I never lost my temper with you but if I had, my reiatsu could have harmed you. It's just how things are."

"So forgiving! Juushiro, when is this meeting?" Shunsui asked, changing the subject. They were all more than happy to go along with that.

"Tomorrow morning at eight." Juushiro said with a smile and Shunsui groaned.

"Don't they know that getting up before noon is an abomination?" He grumbled and Starrk snorted as Juushiro suddenly teared up. "Oh Juu, what's wrong?" Shunsui asked, concerned, and their white haired mate gave him a watery smile.

"Sorry. It's just, that's exactly what you would have said before you…" He couldn't bring himself to say the word and Starrk felt his pain through the Claim. Leaving his side of the chess board he went to Juushiro's side, gently taking the man in his arms. A moment later Shunsui was pressed against his other side, dropping a kiss on Juushiro's cheek. He sniffed but quickly relaxed between them.

"Oh Juu. You have to look on the bright side. If I hadn't died, we would never have met Starrk. Or perhaps, we would have met him on the end of a blade. We could have killed him without even knowing him. Wouldn't that have been a tragedy?" He murmured as Lilinette got into the game, snuggling in against Juushiro's chest. He couldn't resist the allure of a child and smiled weakly as he patted her head.

"Yeah, and me too! I'm part of him when we release. If we were still fighting for Aizen you'd have killed me too." She said and he nodded sadly. "So stop being all funky! It might be weird but it's working out okay. Be happy Shiro-chan!" She commanded and everyone laughed. Then Starrk smiled. There was something he really wanted to do…

"We can make you happy." He suggested, touching his shinigami mate's thigh through his robes and giving him a gentle nip. Juushiro blushed at the attention and Shunsui looked at him in surprise before grinning.

"Oh Starrk! I thought I wore you out! But I'm so glad if I haven't. Are you up for it Juushiro?" He asked and Juushiro hesitated a moment, clearly thinking about it. Then he smiled before pulling Shunsui into a kiss. Starrk watched, smiling, as Lilinette abandoned them for her pillows. She would catch a nap while they engaged in their activities.

"I would love to." Juushiro said as they parted before turning and pulling Starrk into a kiss. Starrk savored the feel of his lips, the warm musk that was their shinigami mate. He might not have a flavor like they did, but it didn't matter. He still tasted good. They abandoned the main room in favor of the bedroom.

It was going to be a wonderful day.

Lilinette frowned as she heard voices at the door.

One thing she didn't like about this little suite of rooms was the lack of soundproofing. Sometimes Shiro-chan remembered to use a kido to block the noise but sometimes he didn't. This was the latter and she wasn't going to interrupt them to get him to cast it. It made her wonder though. What did the shinigami guarding them think of one of their taichou getting it on with a couple hollows?

Giggling to herself, she wondered what they thought of two male hollows getting it on. She and Starrk weren't dumb like Kimono-chan. Her family had owned a tavern and showing affection to another man in there would get you a knife in the back. Not that anyone would ever do it. No, if you wanted to be like that you hid it really hard. Starrk had jokingly said that if he'd dared bring Shunsui home as a boyfriend, it was hard to say who his father would have shot first.

"His mom and dad really messed him up." She muttered to herself before sighing. "Almost as bad as my step-dad." He'd messed her up big time. The only person she'd ever managed to trust had been poor Lupe. "I wonder – huh?" She blinked and sat up as someone walked into the rooms like he owned it.

Abstractly, Lilinette could admire his handsome face. He really was awfully pretty. And she knew now that the light overcoat thingy he was wearing was a badge of rank. It bothered her a little that Juushiro hadn't gotten his back.

"I must speak to Ukitake taichou." He said to her and she blinked. Was he deaf or something? But then, hollows did have better hearing.

"Um, yeah, how about no? He's busy. Maybe there's something I can do for you?" There was no real expression on his face as he looked at her and her eye was caught by the silvery things in his hair. They were really kind of pretty and Lilinette regretted that she couldn't wear things like that. Her mask fragment was in the way.

"I thank you for the offer, but I must speak to my fellow taichou." Well, at least this guy still considered Juushiro a taichou. Then he started to walk towards the other door and Lilinette's eye went wide.

"Hey, no!" She grabbed his ankle and he stopped, looking down at her. "Are you dumb as well as deaf? Don't you dare… hey!" A sword was suddenly pricking her wrist, warning her and she let go with a scowl. This shinigami was making it into the 'dick' folder in her mind. Clearly he didn't think of her as a child, even if she looked like one. "I'm warning you, you're gonna regret it!" She warned but he ignored her, sliding open the door –

The sounds were a LOT louder with the door open. Lilinette sighed in exasperation as the shinigami stopped and stared. His expression didn't change much but he lost his color. Darting past him she grabbed the door and shut it again before anyone inside could notice the audience. Then she turned to glare at their unwanted visitor.

"Look, you can either come back in an hour and talk to Juushiro or you can talk to me right now. Your pick. And who are you anyway? It's rude not to introduce yourself." She said and he paused before drawing a deep breath.

"I am Kuchiki Byakuya." He said before giving her his full attention. It was sort of unnerving. He could be kind of intimidating, she noticed. "I came to see if the rumors swarming the Seireitei are true." He said and Lilinette sighed to herself.

"Well, I'd say some of 'em are but I'm sure they've gotten pretty wild. Why don't you have a seat an' I'll make us some tea?" She suggested and the guy nodded before taking a seat on one of the cushions. He looked over the chess set as if he was thinking about making a move. "So are you Juu's friend?" She was willing to bet he was. He nodded as she began to steep the tea.

"I would consider myself so. He was my mentor, at one time." He said and she nodded. That made sense.

"Okay then." She could probably be level with this guy. Although… "I'm not trying to be offensive or anything but what do I call you? Byakuya or Kuchiki or what?" You never really knew sometimes. Gin went by his first name, Starrk went by his last… the guy frowned at her.

"You would refer to me as Kuchiki taichou." He said, clearly not wanting to be informal with her. Lilinette shrugged as she set out the tea.

"Okay. You can call me Lilinette. I'm half of Starrk's soul." She jerked a thumb towards the door and his eyes widened a touch. "He's the dude with the beard… well, anyhow. What rumors are you talking about?" She probably should get that straight first. Lilinette sipped her tea and smiled. Adding a bit of sugar made it so much better. Byakuya sipped his tea before responding.

"The rumors that he was raped by hollows, kept in terrible circumstances and enslaved to an arrancar." He said softly before pausing. There was no real hint of it on his face but Lilinette could smell his anger. "There are also more scurrilous rumors that he was a willing participant in these crimes." Lilinette heaved a sigh before setting down her teacup.

"Yeah… well, number one is half true. Number two ain't true at all and number three is absolutely true." She said and Byakuya stared at her, his expression tight. "The more scur… scurrile… um… the other rumors are sort of true. You want me to take this from the top and tell you what went down?"

"If you could." He said and she took a deep breath before detailing what had happened.

"So it all started when Aizen told Kimono-chan that to show his loyalty, he had to go kill a taichou." She said plainly and Byakuya nodded. "That was Juushiro. He decided he wanted to Claim him instead and brought him back to Los Noches. You know what a Claim is?"

"I have heard that it is a way to enslave a shinigami's reiatsu to an arrancar." He said, which was true as far as it went.

"Mmm, yeah, but it's actually something hollows do to each other all the time. What happens is, if a hollow wants to enslave another hollow, they rape 'em." She shrugged, unapologetic as he stared at her. "The Claim is cast through sex. If two hollows want a full Mating Claim, then that's consensual. Hollow Claims never are, not for hollows anyway."

"So that hollow has…" Byakuya started but she shook her head before interrupting him.

"Not exactly. When Kimono-chan brought Juushiro back, Aizen wasn't happy. He was gonna give him to Szayel, which is a fate worse than death, but we managed to talk him into letting Starrk Claim him. But then Starrk gave him a choice. I mean, it was a really shitty choice but it was a choice right?" She said before smiling. "And Juushiro really likes Starrk now. I mean, a lot. They wouldn't be doing all that right now if they didn't like each other!" She said jokingly and the shinigami did not look amused. He probably didn't like to think of Juushiro that way.

"Anyway." She said, going on with the story. "Shiro-chan was Starrk's pet after that. Normally pets are the bottom of the pack ladder for hollows, but Los Noches is like a mega pack. So Juushiro was below the Espada, equal to the Privaron Espada and definitely a cut above the numeros. No one was willing to touch him, either. Starrk ain't scary but Shunsui is." She said and the shinigami blinked.

"Kyoraku Shunsui?" He said and Lilinette nodded. "…Scary is not a word I would use to describe him." He sounded bemused and Lilinette shook her head at his ignorance.

"That's 'cause you don't know the hollow version yet. The thing to remember about Kimono-chan is that he's kind of stabby. He's okay if Starrk's around but if he's not people die really fast sometimes." She said and Byakuya sipped his tea. "He's a snake type and he's got some wicked venom."

"I had heard of that." He said quietly and Lilinette wasn't surprised. That poor l'il guy was going to be suffering for a while. "Please, continue."

"Right. So Juushiro was fine in Los Noches. He just helped me with my jobs, cleaning the rooms and delivering the meals. He wasn't ever raped or hurt by anybody." She said firmly and Byakuya frowned at her, clearly not entirely believing it. "He didn't betray any secrets or anything either. 'Course, it's hard to imagine what secrets he'd have that Aizen wouldn't already know about. Since he was a taichou too."

"Hmm. And he is a willing participant in… this?" Byakuya asked and Lilinette felt a moment of irritation towards him.

"You don't get it, do you? Kimono-chan and Shiro-chan were lovers before he died!" She snapped and had the satisfaction of seeing a real expression cross his face, even if it was disbelief. "That's why Aizen wanted Shunsui to kill him! He knew! And that's why he made Starrk hold Juushiro's Claim, not Shunsui! Kimono-chan might not be the same but Shiro-chan still loves him and he's falling for Starrk, too. Aizen says Starrk's a lot like Juushiro and you know, he's right. And if you're really his friend you shouldn't get in his face about it!" She finally ran to a stop, glaring at him. He took a breath before sipping his tea. Reminded, she took a sip of hers. It was starting to get cold but still good.

"This is a great deal to absorb." He said quietly before smiling. It was just the slightest quirk of his lips, but Lilinette could spot it. "But I will not… get in his face about it."

"Good." She said, mollified. But Byakuya had a question.

"Tell me about this Starrk." He requested and Lilinette smiled before she started to describe her other half. Starrk really was great. She loved him so much and was happy to be part of his soul… or was it the other way around? It was hard to tell sometimes.

They were still talking when the door to the inner room opened and Starrk stepped out, looking tired and rumpled. Fortunately, he'd thrown on a robe.

"Are there any tea cakes left? Shunsui's asking for – oh." He stopped, staring at their visitor and Lilinette giggled. The look on Starrk's face was priceless. "Um…" He looked towards her beseechingly and she grinned.

"He wants to talk to Shiro-chan! Why don't you go get him while I bring Kimono-chan some cakes?" She suggested and Starrk nodded hesitantly before going back into the room. She quickly gathered up a few cakes before darting inside. Shunsui would be naked and the whole place would smell like sex, but that was alright. She'd seen him naked a thousand times and slept in their sweaty sheets just as much. Shunsui greeted her with a smile, taking a cake as she hopped into bed with him. Juushiro was pulling on his clothing and his face was all red. Lilinette understood that in an abstract way, from her memories of being human, but it seemed rather silly to her. This was completely natural, why be embarrassed about it?

"Thank you Lili-chan! Will you keep me company while they go discuss boring things?" He asked and she laughed, taking a cake for herself. They were really nice, sweet and buttery and flakey, just like the ones they'd brought as a sample. She thought she could live on them forever. How could they ever get old?

"Sure!" He settled in to sleep and she joined him, snuggling into the blankets that smelled so deeply of all three of them. She loved that the most about sleeping with them, the scent bath she got from their bed. Even the odors of sweat and semen were comforting.

Starrk and Juushiro could deal with Byakuya. For now, she was taking a nap.

"I'm sorry. I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Coyote Starrk." Starrk said, a touch awkwardly. He could feel Juushiro's emotions and they weren't good. A painful embarrassment, shame, fear of this stranger's reaction… he wanted to reach out and comfort his mate but he could sense that his touch would not be welcome at the moment. The man looked at him for a moment, his grey eyes surprisingly calm given what he must have heard.

"I am Kuchiki Byakuya." He introduced himself and Starrk nodded before busying himself making some tea. Perhaps the green liquid would help calm Juushiro's nerves. "Lilinette told me a great deal about what has been going on. She says that you and Kyoraku were always lovers." He said and Starrk felt a burst of intense embarrassment from Juushiro. Frowning to himself, he made a note to talk to his smaller half about running her mouth. Although she'd obviously decide this man could be trusted.

"…Yes. I'm sorry for never telling you, Kuchiki-san." Juushiro said as Starrk delivered the tea. "Thank you Starrk." He said with a small smile and Starrk smiled back. He easily saw the assessing look the other shinigami gave him. It was not really hostile but definitely thoughtful.

"That does explain why you and Shunsui purchased a house together. I'd always wondered how you lived so well together, Ukitake sensei. However, this Claim… Will you be freeing him soon?" He said and Starrk was about to answer when Juushiro spoke.

"No. The Claim needs to be maintained. Unohana says that Starrk's reiatsu is holding my disease at bay and actually beginning to heal my lungs." Juushiro said calmly and Starrk almost spilled his tea.

"Wait… you said my reiatsu is doing WHAT?" He said, shocked. Juushiro looked up at him with a warm, affectionate smile as the Kuchiki man looked at him. Starrk wasn't sure what was going through his mind. He had an excellent poker face. "…My reiatsu has never done anything positive in my life!" That included his life as a living man. His reiryoku had been nothing but a curse. Juushiro's smile widened before he laughed.

"There's a first for everything. Unohana isn't certain that my disease can ever be cured, but it can be held in a dormant state. That's what she's always tried to create, and your reiatsu is doing it admirably." He said and Starrk swallowed before taking a seat, sampling his tea. He needed it to calm his own nerves now. "She will explain tomorrow that maintaining the Claim is a medical necessity."

"This will cause problems." Byakuya said with admirable understatement. Starrk nodded, still feeling a little faint. The thought that part of him was actually healing Juushiro – healing anything – it was incredible and he could hardly absorb it.

"There is nothing to be done. I hope they'll be allowed out of their rooms soon, though." Juushiro said and Starrk smiled a bit to himself. He thought it was touching, how concerned Juushiro was but he also thought it was unnecessary. Any hollow had a great capacity for tedium."What has happened while I've been gone?" He asked and Byakuya began giving him a quick rendition of events. There was a surprising amount of them and Kurosaki Ichigo figured prominently.

"…Are things usually so exciting here? I went for decades in Hueco Mundo without seeing a single thing of interest." Starrk said wonderingly and Juushiro shook his head with a smile as Byakuya looked at him thoughtfully.

"No. I believe some enemies have sensed our weakness, after Aizen's betrayal." He said and Starrk nodded. That did make sense. "The meeting tomorrow… I will do what I can to help you, Ukitake sensei." Byakuya said with an air of formality and Starrk suddenly wondered about the relationship between them. Teacher? Juushiro smiled warmly at him and Starrk felt the tension in his pet easing, to his relief.

"Thank you Bya-kun." That was a term of endearment and Starrk decided it was, perhaps, time to excuse himself.

"I'll go see what Lilinette and Shunsui are up to." He offered before leaving them alone to talk. When he walked into the bedroom he saw his mate sleeping peacefully, Lilinette by his side. Smiling to himself, he disrobed and joined them in the bed.

Tomorrow they would meet with the Gotei 13. It might be wise to sleep well to prepare.