Chapter 21: The Hostage
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Cold steel rests against my naked throat…and hard hands hold me in their grasp. Our eyes meet and we have only that last moment to let the love shine through us. As the moment ends and our fate is upon us, I fall into darkness with your name on my lips. I don't know if I will wake again…and only feel relief that the last thing my eyes took in…was you…
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Byakuya felt an arm wrap around his waist and before he could speak or react, a flash of power made the scene around him disappear. When he could see again, he found himself falling onto the ground in the meadow below the waterfall at Kuchiki Manor. A body dropped down on top of his, locking against his as curled fingers sank into his hair and clenched. Harsh breath hissed against his skin as the prince's voice sounded.
"You fool! You remembered! You told him, didn't you? That's why you finally ran from me, isn't it? ISN'T IT?" Tohma screamed, "You knew that if he went before the royal court, he could get you away from me! So you betrayed me to him! Damn you, Byakuya! You ruined everything!"
"Tohma…wait…listen…"
"You bastard! You lying, cheating whore!" the prince screamed, repeatedly slamming his fist into the noble's pinned body, "Damn you! Damn you! I'll kill you and that bastard brother of mine!"
"No…no, Tohma, no!" Byakuya panted, "You don't need to hurt Renji. I won't leave you, I promise!"
"Lies!" snarled Tohma, his fingernails digging into Byakuya's pale skin and leaving red trails, "Don't tell me anymore of your damned lies! I don't want to hear them! The royal court will side with him, and you know it! The baby in your belly will be proven his…and they will give you to him!"
"The baby is yours, Tohma!"
"The hell you say! You know I'm sterile. You know! I told you! I cannot father children!"
"You did this time," Byakuya said desperately, "This child is yours. I swear it, Tohma!"
Byakuya felt a chill go through him as Tohma froze against his back and descended into something between tears and mad laughter.
"Oh…oh my lying, adulterous, backstabbing little playmate! This is the most evil, wicked lie you have concocted yet. I had thought my false mother, the former queen, was much worse than you…but to play on my pain like this…and you think I am that stupid? You think I will let you go because I believe this nonsense? No…no we cannot go back now. We will have to disappear…to drop out of sight…but no…even that will not be enough…if they involve the king. What can I do? What am I supposed to do?"
He lay, panting against the back of Byakuya's shoulder, considering. Slowly, his breathing calmed and his hands unclenched. And when he spoke again, both his words and his deadly calm voice sent fresh chills through Byakuya.
"It is over," he said softly, stroking the trapped noble's soft skin, "There is really nowhere we can go…and nothing that will stop Abarai from taking you now. And that means…that there is only one way for us to remain together…Byakuya."
He moved their clothing aside and forced himself into the noble's unprepared body. Byakuya gasped in pain and reeled at the shock of it, his fingers clawing at the soil in distress.
"But before we take this last step into darkness, watashi no koi…let us join one more time. I love the way it feels to be inside you. That is what I want to take with me as we leave this world."
"Tohma…stop," Byakuya whispered, ignoring the pain as the prince began to thrust into him, "Stop…the baby is yours. I will stay with you. You don't have to harm anyone. I won't leave you. I won't leave you. I won't…"
"No, my sweet sakura blossom…you will not leave me. I will not let you go. We will be joined in death…and they will not be able to take you from me."
"Tohma…" Byakuya whispered, sliding a slender hand down the prince's muscular arm, then lacing their fingers tightly together, "Tohma…watashi wa anata no mono. Please…leave this. Do not do this. I will give you everything you want if you will only take me…and our baby…and walk away from this. We can disappear from this place…go somewhere far from here. We can forget the spirit dimension…and Seireitei…go into the living world and conceal ourselves. I will never try to leave you. And all I wish in return…is for you to set aside your anger…your hatred…your desire to kill the ones who tried to help me. Love me with what's left of your broken heart…and I will give you mine…Tohma…"
The prince's body fell still and his weight came to rest on Byakuya's back and shoulder. He breathed in the sakura scent and rested his face against Byakuya's.
"Tohma…" Byakuya whispered again.
"Watashi no koi…" the prince whispered, almost feverishly, "I…I want so much to believe you…but…"
Byakuya's body calmed and his fingers stroked Tohma's gently. The prince continued to rest against his shoulder, now listening.
"Tohma…I accepted from the beginning that it was your right to require me to marry you. And given that I agreed to the marriage and that it was both legal and consensual, the royal court will honor your right to remain married to me, despite Renji's claim. The reason that they will do this is because I will not contest the marriage. I will remain at your side willingly…and the reason I will do that is because there is something worthwhile for both of us in doing so. The ones who I would protect would be made safe…and knowing that they are would free my heart from worry, even though I will never see them again. You would lose nothing by granting me this. We could go wherever you wish to go…and we would have our child to raise. Tohma…we could finally bring an end to the darkness that enslaves you. You would know peace…contentment…and love. Do you not want this?"
The prince's mouth found his and the two exchanged several slow, deep kisses. Tohma's body relaxed in stages and several long minutes later, he lifted himself away and pulled Byakuya up onto his lap. The noble took Tohma's length inside him again and met the prince's golden eyes warmly.
"You do not have to compete for my affections," Byakuya whispered, "and my needs are very simple. Just leave with me…let go of all of this. Forget plots to gain power…plans for revenge…and anything else that is a burden. Bury yourself in me. Love me…and I promise you…we will both know happiness again. We can find our way out of this dark place. We do not have to hurt anymore…Tohma…"
The prince's eyes locked on Byakuya's as their bodies moved in slower, far gentler thrusts. His lips moved more gently too and his tongue caressed the noble's affectionately.
"Byakuya…" the prince whispered, "My Byakuya…you would stay with me despite everything? Could this be true?"
His hands slid down Byakuya's back and settled on the noble's slim hips, holding them tightly as their pleasure began to peak. They disappeared into a flurry of penetrating kisses, then fell silent and still, just holding each other and staring into each others' eyes.
"So…we will leave, then?" Byakuya asked softly.
Tohma looked up into his spouse's lovely eyes and hopeful expression, hating himself for what he was about to do.
"We will leave," Tohma whispered against the noble's soft lips, "and I will not hurt the others…but…Byakuya…Renji must die. I cannot leave Renji alive, being who he is. And we would not find happiness having to run forever. I will kill him and then, we will return to the spirit dimension. I will accept what punishment I must for what I have done, but I will not lose you and our child. I must at least have this. No one will ever take us away from each other…and no one will ever hurt us again…"
"Tohma…please…I can accept my own death, if indeed I must…but…Renji…"
"…must die. He has to, watashi no koi. I am sorry. I am truly sorry."
Byakuya slid off his lap and stood on unsteady legs, setting his clothes back in place. Tohma watched quietly, adjusting his own clothes, then stood and quietly approached the noble.
"I know this distresses you," said the prince, standing and wrapping his arms around Byakuya, "You still love him. I accept that…and I know that a part of you will hate me for killing him. But you must understand…he has to die…and only then will the last of this travesty fall away…the wicked queen…the poison she placed in me. I will be free of the fear of losing you and our baby. It is driving me mad! Byakuya, you feel the madness inside me…and how it has taken root inside you. We have to stop it."
He held Byakuya against him, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against the noble's.
"I know Renji will fight, so he will die a painful death, as well I may because I must be the one to fight him. But you…I will protect you and this little one inside you. I could not stop myself from hurting you before, but now I will make it so the hurt ends…"
The prince took Byakuya's face in his hands and kissed him lingeringly.
"Now then," he said softly, "Sleep…so that you will not feel the hand of death when it takes him…"
A flash step sounded and Renji appeared in the meadow.
"Let go of him."
Tohma's eyes closed for a moment and he pressed his lips to the noble's one last time.
"Do not worry," he breathed to Byakuya, "I have to threaten you to make him attack, but I will not hurt you, my love. Be still…"
He turned the noble to face Renji. A long knife appeared in his hand, and he brought it to Byakuya's throat. Byakuya's body remained relaxed and calm in his arms, though Tohma felt a soft shiver pass through him.
"Byakuya," whispered Tohma, "I will cut you, but I will not kill you. Let yourself react…"
The prince's hand tightened and began to draw the knife across the noble's throat. Renji caught his breath sharply as Byakuya's hands took hold of Tohma's and held them tightly. Blood welled up beneath the blade. The prince's eyes flashed and his reiatsu began to rise.
"So…" he said, his eyes on Renji's, "You have not accepted your death quietly. But your resistance means nothing. You will die anyway…"
A heavy kido blast suddenly erupted from the prince's hands, jolting Byakuya's body and sending him crashing to the ground at the prince's feet. Tohma slipped the long knife into a sheath at his hip, then drew his zanpakutou and raised it over the fallen noble.
"Curse you Abarai, for trying to take Byakuya away from me! His blood is on your hands!"
He slashed downward, but felt it stopped mid-fall, and looked up to find that a long, jagged sword had blocked its path and shoved the prince away from Byakuya's fallen form.
"Over my dead body," Renji growled, "You'll only have him once you've defeated me."
The redhead flash stepped forward and set a protective field around the unconscious noble. Tohma regained his feet and stood opposite Renji, his eyes glowing golden. Keeping his eyes on the redhead, he raised a reiatsu cage around the three of them.
"Very well then…Brother. We fight to determine this man's fate. This cage will keep others out while we fight. Whoever wins…decides. Whoever loses…dies."
"Take your best shot," said Renji, the red light of his reiatsu swelling around him, "and make it good…because I am going to defeat you…prince or no prince!"
"You're going to defeat me?" sneered Tohma, "Truly you are more stupid than you look, Abarai Renji. There is no way you can defeat me. I am far stronger than you!"
The prince's lips curved into a dark smile.
"However, I am willing to lower myself slightly…and I will still defeat you."
Tohma focused on the blade in his hand, and Renji watched in dismay as it blurred and slowly re-formed into Senbonzakura. The prince laughed softly.
"Yes…you have never defeated Senbonzakura…not once, Abarai Renji. And this zanpakutou has only gotten stronger since the last time you met!"
He lifted the blade, point upward.
"Scatter…Senbonzakura…"
Zabimaru cut across the distance between them, stopping the release of Byakuya's shikai. The prince disappeared in a flash step and Renji took his blade out of shikai to block a flurry of slashes. The redhead locked his blade against Senbonzakura and glared into the prince's eyes.
"You made a mistake using his blade against me," Renji said in a low voice, "I may have fallen to it before, but I have gotten much stronger since then. And each time it cuts me…I only feel stronger!"
Tohma pulled Senbonzakura free, then slashed, sending Renji flash stepping back. The prince followed, releasing Byakuya's shikai and sending a wave of petals at Renji. He followed with a hard kido blast, then waited warily as the dust from his attack cleared. To his surprise, Renji had disappeared. The prince turned just in time to fend off another volley of hard slashes. Red fire erupted from Renji's hands and sent the prince flash stepping away. They circled each other slowly, each man panting softly, their skin touched with sweat and tracings of blood.
"You are going to die, Abarai Renji," the prince growled softly, "Byakuya is mine. I claimed him, as is my right. His zanpakutou…his body…his very life belongs to me…by the right of royal privilege."
"You may have had a right to him," said Renji in a low, dangerous voice, "but as Byakuya told me, rights and privileges come with responsibility. You had every right to take Byakuya and to make him yours…but that assumed that you would treat him with love and respect. Had you done that, I would have let him go willingly. But you hurt him…again and again…though he tried to make you happy, you hurt him!"
"I hurt him because he hurt me!" shouted the prince, loosing another volley of petal blades, "I loved Byakuya! I wanted to give him everything! But all along, he could never let go of his love for YOU! It ruined everything!"
Renji flash stepped away again, blood running freely on his skin.
"Damn!" he muttered, "I have to find a way to…"
He broke off, flash stepping away and slashing wildly at the incoming blades.
"Damn it! There has to be a way…to…"
The redhead's red-brown eyes widened, and as he flash stepped away again, he loosed a round of red fire blasts and disrupted the dust around Tohma, leaving the prince unable to see. When the dust settled, the prince found himself facing down Renji's skeletal snake.
"Ban kai…Hihio Zabimaru," breathed Renji.
"You should give up…" Tohma said in a softer voice, "You have no chance of defeating me. Watch, Abarai Renji. Watch me cut your little reptile to pieces…Ban kai. Scatter…Senbonzakura Kageyoshi…"
Renji watched calmly as the great swords rose around the prince, then dissolved into millions of tiny blades and flew in his direction.
"Hikotsu taihou!" Renji shouted, launching Zabimaru at the incoming attack.
The two forces struck each other and red and white light flared around them, the released power shaking the ground and rippling the grass they stood in. The reiatsu swelled and the ground shook harder as each man threw himself into the attack. Finally, the two opposing forces flared brightly and parted. Renji flash stepped to the side, coiling the snake around him as a heavy barrage of blades crashed down. He laughed loudly as the dust and blades settled, uncoiling the snake so that he could see the prince's angry face.
"Nice try," he said calmly, but you are going to have to do better than that if you want to kill me!"
"You want better?" snarled the prince, "How about an attack he didn't have back then? See how you fare with this…Brother…Gokei…Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"
Renji watched quietly as a sphere of spinning blades formed around the two of them and Tohma's smile widened triumphantly.
"A sphere of millions of spinning blades, attacking from every possible angle…with power unlike any he possessed when you fought before. Even your coiled snake will not protect you now…Abarai Renji. This is the end…"
Renji's eyes widened and he took a steadying breath, focusing on the hilt of the blade in Tohma's hand and praying he wasn't wrong in his thinking. He sealed his weapon, watching surprise light the prince's golden eyes as the skeletal snake disappeared and the sphere of blades collapsed inward. As the petals exploded around him, Renji shielded as well as he could, his eyes still focused on the prince as realization crossed Tohma's features and he also tried to shield himself. Renji's shielding shattered and he was thrown down and struck with thousands of the blades. He gasped in pain and fell facedown, the petals still raining down on him. The field went silent and still around him as he sank down into the darkness.