Chapter 21: The Soul Bonding

Prince Kazuhiko waited within his father's inner world, reading the reiatsu that approached. It seemed that someone had brought the Omoi Oujou Talisman back into being and was headed their way. At the same time, he also sensed that the golden coin had been used and that two soul reapers had materialized in the room outside the entrance to the spirit king's inner world. One of the two was Byakuya Kuchiki and the other was Hajime and the spirit king's descendant, Renji Abarai. Capable assistance if they were to face the talisman again…but who wielded the talisman? The reiatsu was so distorted that, although he felt that he should know it, it refused to resolve itself in his mind. He stepped through the doors, moving out of his father's inner world and returned to the chamber that lay in the palace just outside it. It was in this room that they would face the final battle, the one which would determine who would rule all things.

"Your highness," Byakuya said softly, bowing his head respectfully.

Renji Abarai did the same.

"Lord Byakuya, Captain Abarai, I am glad you have come. I sensed a very distorted reiatsu pattern and the return of the Omoi Oujou Talisman. I have come out of my father's world to brace it with you. Together we can end this threat and restore peace to these environs."

"My prince," Byakuya said, turning to look out the window, "It will be best if you maintain a position inside the doors to the spirit king's inner world. We need you to maintain the seal while we fight, so that his world will not be breached. Everything depends on keeping this threat out of his inner world. It will take great power to maintain the seal."

The prince nodded.

"Do you know who has taken on the talisman?" the prince asked.

They were interrupted by a huge explosion that rocked the palace, the ringing of alarms and the sound of pounding feet as the palace guards ran to brace the incoming threat. Byakuya wished briefly that there could be some way to tell them not to give their lives foolishly to this task. They couldn't stop the queen. They could only slow her down. He hated the thought of how many lives were being lost…here in the spirit king's world, and in the Sereitei. He hadn't been able to ask Renji about the casualties at the manor, but what he had said…and the way he had looked at him told Byakuya how bad it must be. Many of the staff that worked at the manor had been there for over one hundred years, and some had served multiple generations of his family. There was much pain to face…but now was not the time for that. They had to focus on winning…but how?

"I will return to my father's inner world," the prince said, turning away.

Byakuya turned to say something to Renji, but stopped and stared as Zabimaru and Senbonzakura manifested before them. Renji froze as well, observing the stern faces of the two zanpakuto that faced them.

"Time is short," said Senbonzakura, "We have thought of a way…a desperate way to help the two of you face the queen and the talisman. Come, we have prepared the way for you."

"But the palace has been breached," Renji objected, "She'll be here any minute!"

"Patience," Zabimaru said sharply, "Our path across dimensions bends time. We will return on the moment we left so that you will lose no time. This is necessary if you wish to win."

Renji nodded and turned alongside a curious looking Byakuya to follow the zanpakuto. Their path took them into a strange land, one that seemed like the jungle domain of the baboon king, but blended with areas of forest and a great waterfall that fell into an endless sea. Byakuya's eyes widened.

"Senbonzakura, what is this place? It looks as though my inner world has collided with another…"

"I was about to say the same thing…but of my inner world," added Renji.

"How is this possible?" asked Byakuya, "I've never heard of this happening before."

"This world resembles the type of world that forms between twins," explained Senbonzakura, "The difference is that twins share a combined inner world from the start, so it is not obvious to them that their inner worlds have collided. They believe themselves to share one inner world…when in truth, their separate worlds merely overlap."

"But Renji and I are not twins…and we are only distantly related. How are we sharing this inner world?"

"When the two of you were touched by the spirit king's power and you were given the child, Hajime, the touch of his power joined your reiatsu and wove it into the form that became your child. That joining affected your souls, creating what is known to the zanpakuto as Soul Bonding. It is extremely rare. It has existed only in a few remote occurrences throughout all time."

"But what exactly does that mean for us?" Byakuya asked, glancing at Renji.

"It means that there is no longer distance between your souls. Where one ends, the other begins. It means that you can instantly touch each other's minds and you can be taught to see through each other's eyes no matter how distant you might be. It also affects the use of your Ban Kai. Unlike other soul reapers, you can combine your attack and power to yield what is known as a divine release. It is this release that will give you what you need to defeat the queen and the talisman…but be warned. Each time you will use it, there is great danger. In using this attack, you risk overreaching the natural limits on your use of spirit energy and shattering us…and killing yourselves. As Soul Bonded, if one of you dies, so does the other, so connected are your souls."

"How do we release this divine attack?" asked Byakuya.

"First," explained the masked warrior, "You must release Ban Kai. Renji must release his skeletal dragon king, and Byakuya his Senkei. Byakuya must will all of the thousand swords to pierce the skeletal dragon king. When he does this, you must both give the divine release command. 'Tenrai Sakura Doragon Kokuou.' This will summon a divine dragon that wields terrible power. When you give the additional command, 'Howaido Kuchiku,' it will release a blast of pure white cherry blossoms, petal blades that will slash any opponent…even a crazed goddess. The divine dragon gathers all of your spirit energy into one attack. It gauges the power of your enemy to set the attack power needed. If the attack power needed is greater than what the two of you share, it will draw on your life energy to complete the attack. This is what makes using the attack so dangerous. If you drain your life energy, you will die…and because you are Soul Bonded, it means both of you will die. Be mindful of that. This is the kind of attack you will rarely ever use…but you will need to use it here if you wish to win."

"Howaido Kuchiku…white destruction…" Byakuya breathed.

"Shit…" Renji said softly, "I think we just got handed our trump card, Bya. Hey, did you ever notice how your family name is so close to the word 'destruction?'"

Byakuya smiled enigmatically.

"Yes, Renji, the thought has crossed my mind once or twice. Did you ever notice that creation and destruction are closely linked? The destruction of one thing often leads to the creation of another. Like leaves or the petals from the sakura trees. They land beneath our feet and are destroyed, but they create the rich earth that brings new life. And the winter that steals life away from the land also creates a place for the new things of the coming spring to emerge."

Renji was quiet for a moment, then he slipped an arm around Byakuya, smiling.

"I never know what to expect from you. Sometimes you say these things and point things out to me, and I feel lucky not to have missed them."

"And when I say something to you like that, I feel lucky that the thought has been shared, Renji. I never realized the value in that until I loved you."

Renji graced Byakuya's lips with a light, warm kiss. Behind them, Zabimaru and Senbonzakura looked at each other meaningfully and faded from view. It took Byakuya and Renji a moment to tear themselves away from each other and to realize they had been abandoned by their zanpakuto.

"Where the hell did they run off to?" Renji asked, sighing.

"I think they meant to give us privacy, Renji. I think they understand what we are facing and they are giving us time to…absorb it."

"You mean, the strong possibility that we might never walk out of the palace alive? What's to absorb? It's another battle, Byakuya."

"No," Byakuya said, releasing Renji's hair and letting his fingers run down the length of it, "I can't tell you how, but I feel different about this battle…not afraid, just different."

"Byakuya, is this really the time to be trying to seduce me? I mean, we do have to get back to the palace," Renji said, reading the look in his lover's expression.

"Didn't you understand?" Byakuya said softly, "Time is suspended right now. You and I are poised on the balance point between life and death, Renji. I don't want to move to tip that balance until we remind ourselves why we are beside each other, why we have brought ourselves forward into this place. It isn't about making love. It is about seeing our connection."

"Soul Bonding…I never even heard of it before. But for some reason, when he said it, it started to make sense in my head, you know?" Renji said, leaning against Byakuya, "It was one of those times where you hear something like that and you realize you already knew it, you'd just never put it into words."

"I love you, Renji."

Renji felt the impact of the words and warmth that was released in them. He looked back into the dark eyes that were quietly observing him.

"Bya?" he said, touching Byakuya's face, "Don't say good-bye to me. Because whatever happens when we leave this place, it can't take away what's here."

"No," said Byakuya, placing his hands on Renji's face and pulling him in, "No, it can't."

"I love you, too," Renji whispered as Byakuya's lips took hold of his.

Renji came to the sudden realization that there was something different about this battle. And he was grateful they had been given the chance to know the moment for what it was. As Byakuya's lips traced the familiar patterns of his face, he thought back to the first time he'd seen Byakuya up close.

It had happened in slow motion, much like things were happening now. Byakuya Kuchiki had only been a name to him then, someone spoken of with fear or resentment…cold words. So as he approached, that was what Renji had expected. He hadn't expected the flash of warmth, of life, or the briefest flick of those deep tranquil eyes that caught his for just one second, or the fact that as he passed, he took a breath, as if he was taking Renji in and acknowledging his existence in the room, in their world, in the universe. He had missed the significance of that moment entirely. So bent was he on hating the one who was taking Rukia away, he didn't see what was right in front of him. That moment put them on a collision course, one that would eventually drive them into each other's arms.

As he continued to explore the beautiful olive-toned skin and exotic black lines, Byakuya was remembering the same moment. But for him, the experience had been somewhat different. Faced with the sister who looked so much like the wife he had lost, Byakuya Kuchiki's mind had been spinning wildly out of control. Beneath the calm and distant exterior, his heart had been aching and pushing relentlessly against his weary mind. He didn't know if Rukia was going to accept their offer to adopt her into the family and despite his promise to watch over the girl, the fact of her existence, of her resemblance to Hisana was almost enough to shatter the sense of calm he held so desperately in place around him. Although his steps were slow and controlled as he left the room, his heart was screaming in pain and his mind was in chaos. As he passed by the tall red-haired youth near the door, everything seemed to stop and go suddenly silent in his mind. He heard Hisana clearly.

"There is light in every darkness. Someday, the light will reach for you and when it does, I want you to promise me that you will grab onto it with both hands."

He hadn't understood in that moment that what caused him to inhale so suddenly, what made him glance up at the youth standing so near as he passed, was what shot through his heart when his eyes caught sight of Renji's hands. He'd had no idea that those hands were the very ones that would bring him out of the darkness many years later. He had left the academy and gone home that day, and everywhere he went, he was surrounded by colors, the gentle brown of those eyes, the deep red of his hair, and the lovely olive tone of the skin on those almost hidden hands. He had written it off as his mind trying desperately to distract itself with something, anything.

And now those hands were holding him, easing him to the ground, pulling away the kenseiken, the scarf, haori, gloves and shihakushou. They were moving along the curves of his body, leaving their warmth everywhere that they went.

And that wonderfully warm mouth was on his, the heated tongue curling around his, touching the surfaces with unbearable slowness, teasing his face with sweet lively breath and brushes of red hair.

Byakuya let go of all posturing, of all of the things he did to cover the emotions that lived beneath the surface of his skin. He relinquished the tight controls and let everything come to the surface, washing over his body from head to toe and leaving himself completely revealed.

Renji noticed a brightening in the air around them and his eyes blinked open. There was light rising up around them. Byakuya's body was glowing with it…and as their bodies joined, Renji felt the light pass into him. He returned light and warmth to the body that trembled softly with life beneath his. And the light continued to circulate between them, a calm and peaceful exchange of life-giving power.

They realized then the full beauty of the Soul Bonding between them. Whatever happened, whatever their mistakes, their shortcomings, and their failures they would always be connected in this honest, impassioned way. They would always be able to find the words to heal whatever broke between them, because they were joined at the very soul. There was no misunderstanding, no discontent, no lie, and no malicious force that could part them. They were bound to each other so that they would even share the passing of their lives.

Their reiatsu released around them, sending rumbling waves of motion through everything around them. Breezes whispered in the limbs of the trees and the sky was awash with colors of sunset. Light surged through them and poured out of them, pushing them over the brink from pleasure into the perfection of ecstasy.

For a moment they were lifted away from the danger that was about to reach them, from the uncertainty of what they were about to do, and the doubts that had plagued them. So immersed in pleasure and love, they distanced themselves from all else and let the waves of rapture take them. Their mouths broke away from each other to release the soft cries that rose up from deep within. They clung to each other's bodies, letting the heat wrap around them like white fire, keeping the colder things at bay and easing them down into the peaceful arms of sleep.

Even once they woke, they lingered, Byakuya reclined with his back rested against Renji's bare chest, his head cradled on a warm shoulder, both watching the array of colors slowly disappear with the coming of night.