Chapter 14: Disgrace
(Sorry for the wait on this! I will have more for you very soon! Love, Spunky)
"I guess I don't have to ask why you took off like that," Ichigo acknowledged, watching as the healer began to examine Byakuya and Tama and Tetsuya exited the room, then turning his head to study the Kuchiki leader's downcast expression, "You were protecting your father."
"I was worried that some of the elders might have him detained for questioning," Byakuya explained, "And, as I am under suspicion of fraud, I would have little power to protect him, if I remained with the clan. I am sorry for putting you in that awkward position...and even more, I am ashamed of not telling you about this before."
"Hey, you don't have to..."
"Ichigo," Byakuya said solemnly, "I told you that I love you. That is what is in my heart. But, that being so, I should have shared this with you before the ceremony and given you the chance to decide whether or not to go ahead with the wedding."
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo said, shaking his head reprovingly, "Byakuya, I'm not the kind of person who would hold something like that against your father or you. You know that!"
"Even though I once berated you because you were not noble?" Byakuya asked, "Ichigo, as much as I understand that my father was in love, and that he was trying to protect me, he did do something that was wrong, even if it was for the right reasons. And I added to that by concealing it, once I was an adult, and responsible for my own actions. Your clan has more than enough right to demand that we end our engagement."
"That's not gonna happen," Ichigo insisted, "because I love you too now!"
"But I am not full noble."
"I don't give a shit about that!"
"But it matters to the elders of your clan. Only recently have mixed bloods even been allowed to marry into leadership families. My marriage to Hisana, as you know, was very much against the rules, and even though they had no choice but to allow it, the elders punished me by withholding the pronouncement of my naming as heir until it happened that she died. If she hadn't died, I don't even know that they would have given in and allowed me to ascend. And given this, I may well be required to step down."
"Do you really think they're going to do that?" Ichigo asked, "I mean, they seem pretty supportive of you."
"I saw their faces," Byakuya said darkly, "I may retain enough of their loyalty that they will not let me be imprisoned, but I do not know if I can overcome disgracing them like this and still maintain my title."
Ichigo smiled and curled an arm around him, warming his mouth with a bracing kiss.
"Then, we'll move to the Rukongai together," he said, grinning and shrugging casually.
"Ichigo, you cannot just walk away from your family!" Byakuya objected, "You are the most powerful shinigami the Shiba clan has ever birthed. You are meant to lead them."
"Yeah, but you see, I wasn't raised by them. I was raised a human by human parents, and that's what I knew. I learned to do things my way and to stand up for myself. And if my clan wants something from me like that, then they are going to have to give something too. They can't expect me to change who I grew up being, just to suit them. I won't do it. So, you and I are getting married, Byakuya."
Byakuya stared at him wordlessly, his gray eyes wide and disbelieving.
"What?" Ichigo asked, laughing, "Did you really think that I was gonna turn my back on you? Byakuya, even if I hadn't fallen in love with you, you are still my friend. And I take care of my friends."
"Yes," Byakuya answered, sinking more firmly into his embrace, "You do go to all lengths to protect your friends. It is just that...it seems somewhat odd after having been your enemy at one time, now that protectiveness extends to me."
He went silent for a moment, shivering softly as he encountered a flash memory of Ichigo rushing to find him in the wake of his disastrous first battle with the quincy, As Nodt.
"But I will not question it. I am grateful, Ichigo, both for your friendship and for your love."
"Good," Ichigo chuckled, smiling warmly and kissing him lightly on the mouth, "So, just let old Michio, here, have a look at you, then you can lie down and get some rest, okay? You look really pale. This has been a real shock for you."
"What about for you?" Byakuya countered.
"I'm okay," Ichigo assured him as the healer continued his examination, "Don't worry about me. Finding out you're not full-blooded noble isn't such a problem for me as it is for everyone else. I told you, I don't care about that."
"I am grateful for that," Byakuya sighed, relaxing and watching the healer as he scanned his slender body, then began a warm infusion of healing reiatsu.
"Your reiatsu is extremely depleted," the old healer observed, "You have been under abnormal stress lately?"
"Heh, you can say that again," Ichigo chuckled.
"Then, that could be the cause of the steep reiatsu drop. However, after I have stabilized you, I will take blood and reiatsu samples to look at in my lab. It will take a day or so to obtain full results, but that should eliminate any worrisome possibilities. In the meantime, just get plenty of rest, food and liquids. Walk a bit to keep your energy up, but do not overexert yourself until the results of your tests come back."
"Very well," Byakuya sighed, leaning back against the pillows.
He rested quietly as the healer treated him and drew samples of his blood and reiatsu, then watched as the man left him alone in the room with Ichigo. The Shiba heir smiled and surprised him by slipping out of his clothes and sliding into the bed with him.
"Ichigo, what are you doing?" the Kuchiki heir asked, blinking.
"Shhh," Ichigo admonished him, curling around him and nuzzling close to him, "I'm not gonna do anything. I'm just making you comfortable. I'm taking care of you. Isn't that what you're supposed to do for the people you love?"
"It is," Byakuya agreed, closing his eyes again, "though I don't know what I've done to deserve such treatment from you. I..."
"Just forget about all of that for now," Ichigo whispered, stopping his words with soft, insistent kisses, "We're in a calm, quiet place, far away from our troubles. We have friends watching over us, and we're gonna be okay. Forget everything else, okay?"
Byakuya tried to fall asleep then, but was nagged intensely by the one last secret he held back. He looked at Ichigo's peaceful expression and hated the idea of causing him worry, but he couldn't let the deceptions go on anymore.
"Ichigo?"
The ginger-haired youth smiled at him and nipped reprovingly at his lips.
"I thought I told you to get some rest. This doesn't look much like resting to me."
"I know. And I give you my word, I will rest. But there is...something that you should know...one last thing that I haven't told you. I didn't say anything because I was...worried that if you knew, you would leave me. But the thing is, you have already learned I am not noble, and you are still here. You say that you love me, and I believe that."
"Then, what is it? What's the problem?" Ichigo asked, sitting up with him.
Byakuya looked out the window, focusing on the pretty orange colors of the sunset.
"There is something about the process of noble birthing that you haven't been told, something that affected my father. In fact, the truth is...it is the reason he died."
"What?" Ichigo queried, his eyes widening, "Byakuya, what happened? I thought your dad died when he was attacked by a hollow. You're saying it was...?"
"Oh, he did die in a battle with a hollow, but...he would not have died in that fight, except that...when he carried me, the male pregnancy affected his spirit centers. In fact...before the pregnancy, he had reached manifestation."
"What? I thought that your dad never had a bankai. That's what you told me."
"He never used it in battle," Byakuya explained, "because when he became pregnant with me, the pregnancy damaged his spirit centers and he was left without much of his natural ability. He never reached bankai, in the end...because of me!"
"Whoa, hold on a sec, okay?" Ichigo said, frowning as he tried to make sense of the word, "No one ever said that you having a baby was going to be dangerous to you!"
"That is because the council saw my father's situation as an aberration. There aren't so many examples of noble male pregnancy to go by. And of the ones there are, there is usually a strong 'father' and a less powerful bearer to carry the child. Thus, power levels weren't so much of an issue. To have two bankai wielding males, as in our situation, is different. My greater powers mean spirit centers that expand more widely, and that creates a condition in which the birthing chamber can interfere with my spirit centers and have negative effects on my powers. It won't harm me otherwise, but I may not be able to raise Senbonzakura Kageyoshi after bearing a child."
"Damn!" Ichigo exclaimed softly, "No wonder you didn't want to tell me."
"Like I said, I feared that you would not want to take any chances, and that, rather than put me in that situation, you would leave me."
"Well, I think we may have to pull back and save the babymaking until after we work something out about that, but, Byakuya, I'm not going to leave you! I wouldn't do that now. I love you."
"And that love is gratefully returned," Byakuya sighed, meeting him for several long, open-mouthed kisses.
Ichigo's fingers ran gently through the Kuchiki heir's silken hair and he smiled and made a line of kisses along the side of his slender neck.
"So, you have told me everything now?" he asked, lacing their fingers together, "You have no more dark secrets you're hiding from me?"
"None," Byakuya said, shaking his head and loosing a soft, relieved sigh, "I am finally fully unburdened...thanks to you."
Ichigo chuckled lightly in response and continued to offer gentle, soothing caresses as Byakuya's eyes blinked slowly and he began to drift towards sleep. But a few moments later, the Shiba heir paused, frowning and looked down at Byakuya again.
"Wait a sec," he said softly, "I think that's not all there is."
Byakuya's dark eyes opened and blinked curiously.
"No, I have told you everything, Ichigo," he assured the younger man, "I withhold nothing more from you."
Ichigo watched his face closely.
"Except that you never told me the reason why you accepted my clan's proposal. You told me that you would tell me..."
"When we became spouses, yes," Byakuya remembered, "I had forgotten. But...I will gladly explain, if you wish."
Ichigo paused, then gave him a playful smile.
"Oh no you don't!" he chuckled, touching Byakuya's face and locking eyes with him meaningfully, "I won't put up with any more rule breaking from you."
He tilted his head slightly, smirking devilishly.
"But...I don't feel like waiting anymore for an answer."
"I said I would..."
"Nope!" Ichigo laughed, climbing out of bed and slipping a yukata around him, then fishing his flustered intended out of the bed and carrying him to the bedroom door.
"What are you doing, Ichigo? Put me down!" Byakuya demanded.
"Uh-uh," Ichigo laughed, "I won't have you misbehaving anymore on my account. If you're not supposed to tell me that until we're married, I'll just have to marry you right now!"
"But...it is...late, and..." Byakuya stammered, struggling as Ichigo carried him down the hallway and into the living area, where Tetsuya and Tama were having tea together.
The two looked up at him questioningly and Ichigo grinned widely.
"Hey, Tama, do you know where we can find someone to marry us on kinda short notice?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Byakuya snapped, "I am not getting married in my pajamas and without Rukia and Ginrei here."
"We can have a family ceremony later," said Ichigo, "I know that's done all of the time. I'm just tired of all of the waiting to be married to you. And besides," he chuckled, "I'm afraid if I wait too long that idiot Hinata will show up and start trying to tell us how to have sex again!"
"Ichigo!" Byakuya exclaimed, blushing, "Put me down, you fool! Did you hear me? I'm not doing this!"
"Oh, I think you are!" laughed the Shiba heir.
He turned his head to meet Tama's happily sparkling eyes.
"We do need a couple of witnesses to make it official, ne?"
"Yes," Tama affirmed, nodding at Tetsuya, "Come, Tetsuya, it seems that we are having a wedding!"
"We are most certainly not! Put me down!" Byakuya objected.
"Hey," Ichigo said, more seriously, capturing the Kuchiki heir's eyes and offering him a long, passionate kiss, "I love you and I'm gonna marry you right now, just like you are."
"I'm...a mess!" Byakuya objected, surrendering to another melting kiss, "I look like something the..."
The next kiss stole the rest of his breath away, and Ichigo's next words, made his heart flutter painfully.
"You look beautiful. You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen, Byakuya. Shut up, okay? Let's do this now. Let's get married, just us and our witnesses here and no one else. We can have a family ceremony and whatever else our clans want later. But let's make this just about the two of us...the two of us and nobody and nothing else!"
"This is what you really want?" Byakuya asked, looking deeply into Ichigo's affectionate eyes.
"Yeah," Ichigo answered without hesitation, "This is what I want."
"Then, put me down and we will go," the Kuchiki heir agreed.
"Uh-uh," Ichigo chuckled, "You aren't supposed to be up and around. Your reiatsu's crashed and the last thing I want is you passing out and stopping another wedding. We're going through with it this time."
"I will be fine," Byakuya assured him, "I would not miss our wedding for the world."
"Would you just stop arguing for once and let me do this?" Ichigo asked, beginning to look annoyed, "I'm just trying to take care of you. The healer said..."
"That I should rest," Byakuya insisted, "He did not deem me a complete invalid. Now, put me down!"
"No!" Ichigo snapped, "I'm taking care of you. I say you let me carry you. I'm gonna be carrying you over the threshold in a little while anyway!"
"Perhaps, I will carry you over the threshold," Byakuya said, frowning.
"Segare," Tama said, biting back a laugh, "I think you had best let Ichigo-sama have his way. He seems very determined."
"I agree," said Tetsuya, "He is a very stubborn man, isn't he?"
"I didn't think anyone was nearly as stubborn as your cousin," Tama said to Tetsuya, "But Ichigo-sama does have strong spirits. Reminds me of your Arashi."
"Hey!" Ichigo objected, ignoring Byakuya's continued objections and flash stepping out of the house, "That's not nice!"
The four left the house and hurried to the town center, where the town justice was just preparing to leave his office. He spotted the four men, two in their nightclothes and two racing to keep up and gazed at them questioningly.
"Excuse us," Ichigo panted, smiling widely, "But I just convinced this really beautiful guy to marry me, and I need you to marry us before he has a chance to get away!"
He smirked at Byakuya, who shot him a withering look.
"See, I tried to marry him yesterday, but he ran off. Do you think you can marry us real quick before he gets away again?"
The surprised justice chuckled in amusement.
"Well, who am I to stand in the way of true love, ne? Come inside and sign the papers. Would you like me to bar the doors? He does look a bit flighty."
"No, that's okay," Ichigo laughed, setting the miffed noble back on his feet and following the man back into the building.
The two filled out and signed the paperwork, then followed the justice into another room, where he recorded their fingerprints and information into a computer. He paused, mid sentence in the relay and looked up at them in surprise. Ichigo grinned and put a finger to his lips.
"Shhh, no one's supposed to know we're doing this. We're gonna have a big clan wedding later."
"Oh, very well, then."
The justice finished recording the information, then straightened and nodded.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered today to join Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Byakuya in the bonds of holy matrimony. Marriage is a solemn and beautiful joining, and should only be entered with the most committed of hearts. Do you swear now that you have chosen to enter this marriage of your own free will?"
"We do," Ichigo and Byakuya said together.
"Then, join hands, please."
The two joined hands and looked back at the justice expectantly.
"Do you, Kuchiki Byakuya take Kurosaki Ichigo to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward? Do you promise to love, honor and protect him through all things? For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse...for all of the days of your lives?"
"I will," Byakuya promised.
"Whew!" Ichigo sighed, "That's a relief."
Byakuya scowled.
"And do you, Kurosaki Ichigo take Kuchiki Byakuya to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward? Will you love, honor and protect him through all things? For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse...for all of the days of your lives?"
"I will," Ichigo stated proudly.
Ichigo accepted a simple, gold ring from the justice and slid it onto Byakuya's ring finger.
"With this ring, I thee wed," he said, looking into Byakuya's dark eyes, "I promise to always stay beside you. No matter what happens, we are joined at the heart. I will honor and protect our love, until the end of my days."
Byakuya accepted a second gold ring from the justice and slipped it onto Ichigo's ring finger, then held his hands and gazed into his eyes.
"With this ring, I thee wed," he said softly, "I promise to always stay beside you. No matter what happens, my heart remains always with yours. I will honor and protect our love to the end of my days."
"Byakuya, Ichigo," said the justice, "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you partners in life, bonded in love and keepers of each others' given hearts. Please exchange a kiss as the first gift of your new marriage."
Tama's eyes misted over with memory and happiness as Ichigo slid his arm around Byakuya's slim waist and met him for a long, passionate kiss.
"He reminds me so much of Soujun," Tama whispered to a damp-eyed Tetsuya, "There is such healing in seeing how happy he is!"
"They both look happy," Tetsuya agreed, "This really was the right thing to do."
They watched as the newlyweds flash stepped away, then Tama met the justice's pleased eyes.
"You will please not tell anyone that we were here," he requested, "My son and his spouse wish to keep their privacy about it...it being a bit of a 'brash display' and not exactly in keeping with the clan elders' expectations."
"Of course," the justice agreed, nodding, "They are rather willful young things, aren't they?"
"Yes," Tama chuckled, "They are."
"Rather reminds me of a young couple my father married long ago, ne?"
"Yes," Tama answered, more softly, his eyes sweetly longing, "I remember."
(A/N**Next chapter...the consummation! And yes, it will be hot!)