Chapter 25: Let Them Not Be Forgotten

Byakuya sat beneath a cherry tree, holding a sleeping Hajime gently in his arms and watching the nearby stream flow over the waterfall and down into the water below it. He had been there for several hours, ever since returning from the Kuchiki Council Hall, where preparations were being made for the mass funeral that would be taking place the next day. As clan leader, he would have to appear before them, calm and collected to help them make sense of it all.

"How do you make sense of such madness?" he whispered.

He sighed, resting his face against the body of his sleeping son, inhaling the soft scents that surrounded him mixed with the scent of sakura. If he buried himself in the sight of the sleeping infant, the soothing scent of him, the soft touch of a baby's skin, the contented cooing, then perhaps he wouldn't continue to feel the cold inside that had been with him ever since receiving the list of casualties. The list was concrete. It took the abstract idea of loss from his mind and made it real.

Twelve nobles, twenty-one household staff…fourteen of the staff, his own. And four of the casualties were just children.

He felt badly for all of them, but for Byakuya, the most difficult loss was the children. Aika and Ryo were not just names to him. He knew them. Aika was the same age as the twins and even looked a bit like Chisaki. She loved to sing and dance. The command the girl gave her zanpakuto to release it was the word 'sing.' Ryo was two years older and loved his little sister with ferocity. He was a powerful young shinigami who was expected to obtain a seated position as soon as his parents felt he was ready. The ceremony had already been in the planning stages. The servants who attended the two were with them at all times and were treated as just extended family members, such was the trust that was placed with them. It was horrible to have lost them…but there was some comfort in feeling that the four had left life together…as they had lived.

He felt tears burning in his eyes and forced them back, releasing the heavy emotion in a long shuddering sigh. Hajime cooed gently and the infant's dark eyes opened and looked up into Byakuya's. A tiny hand reached up and touched his lips and he kissed it lightly, resulting in the release of more gurgling and cooing sounds.

The contented sounds soothed the emotion that stormed beneath the calm surface. But it couldn't take away the emptiness left behind by the loss of so many. In addition to the children, there were fourteen souls he had known for years who were now gone. The old housekeeper who greeted him every time he passed through the doors and announced his guests and visitors, his personal attendant who had harbored more secrets about the clan leader than most, five kitchen staff, including a cook who had served his family for more than a century…the twins' attendants, Rukia's and Hotaru's and three security personnel. He knew each face, each name and how long each had served. And he couldn't bear the thought of having to go through the process of replacing them.

He heard a soft squeal and looked down into Hajime's sleepy eyes. The little fingers touched his face again and a soft glow resonated around Byakuya and his son. The clan leader felt the passage of spirit energy from the little body into his heart…and he felt the strength that returned with it. His lips curved into a smile. Hajime was going to be a powerful shinigami.

"Cousin?"

Hotaru's voice was soft and choked with tears. She dropped down beside him, sighing heavily.

"How did things go with your sister?" Byakuya asked softly.

"Oh…Eri is beside herself, but she won't speak to me. She thinks because our mother disowned me that she is obligated to continue the estrangement. Byakuya, I don't know how to help her. I don't know how to deal with this myself. I know my mother disowned me, but we were together and happy for so many years! Just because it ended badly doesn't mean I've forgotten…"

"No, of course not."

She sat quietly for a time, studying Byakuya and Hajime as the light around them began to fade.

"Byakuya," she said finally, "I just want to thank you…for everything. Thank you for helping me to find Rikichi, for giving me a home, for becoming more than a cousin…I really appreciate it."

She slipped an arm around him and rested her head against his shoulder. Byakuya turned his face and let his cheek come to rest against hers as they looked down into Hajime's eyes.

"It was the right thing to do," Byakuya replied quietly.

"Well I don't know if you've noticed," she said softly, "but a lot of people don't trouble themselves to do the right thing. I'm glad you did…and now I want to do the right thing, too."

Byakuya raised his eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Byakuya, there is so much sadness in our family right now. We really need to put everything aside and grieve our losses. Rikichi and I have decided to put our wedding on hold for a few months…so that we might do that."

Byakuya nodded.

"Then we will adjust the schedule however it suits you. It is wise to give our loved ones time to grieve. And when you and Rikichi do take those steps together, you and everyone else will be able to fully embrace them."

"I am going to…" she whispered, "I want every bit of happiness in this. We've seen so much sadness. I want to smile and laugh again."

Byakuya kissed her cheek and gently withdrew Hajime from the folds of the ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu and placed him gently in her arms. Hotaru accepted the small bundle and cradled him in her arms, staring deeply into his eyes.

"Hajime has a powerful gift, Hotaru. Let him touch you."

Hotaru held perfectly still, gazing down at the infant. A few moments later, the baby's hand rose up to touch her face and light glowed softly around her. Her eyes widened in surprise, then she smiled.

"Hajime is a natural healer," Byakuya explained, "Most among the Squad Four healers are healers because they have some amount of potential, but they must still be carefully trained to become competent. Hajime is different. Hajime's healing ability is innate, so he heals instinctively. That is an extremely rare gift."

Hotaru smiled.

"It appears this little one does not limit himself to healing of the body, because he just made my heart feel much less heavy. He is amazing, Byakuya!" she exclaimed softly.

"Hajime was a gift to Renji and to me from the spirit king," he went on, "given to us to honor the love we feel for each other. But his gift is not meant for just the few of us. This child will touch a great many lives and he will heal countless wounds, countless souls. I see a better future ahead of us because he has come to us. He will be a powerful shinigami."

"He already is, Byakuya," Hotaru said, returning the boy to his father's arms.

Byakuya nodded. He carefully wrapped the folds of the scarf around the infant again.

"Yes," he agreed softly, "he is."

"Will I see you in the morning for breakfast?" she asked, turning to leave.

"Yes," he assured her.

"Good…I have to go say good-night to Rikichi."

"Hotaru…"

"Yes, Byakuya?"

"Thank you for coming to support me during my trial. And I will tell him personally, but please let Rikichi know I am thankful to him as well. I know the two of you are the ones who made sure that the head captain and council knew of my predicament. Their presence meant a great deal to me."

"We didn't do so much," Hotaru said softly, "not all of us even got a chance to testify."

"You didn't have to for your actions to be meaningful," he said quietly, "Thank you."

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya stood at the head of the room with a huge memorial at his back. On the wall, tables and floor behind him, pictures of the dead, flowers, candles and small remembrances covered nearly every inch of space. The room was filled with nobles and with the household staff that attended them. It was a matter of deep pride to Byakuya that in this difficult time, they had all agreed that being together was the best way to honor the connection all of them shared.

It was a great step forward for the clan, because there was no separation between noble and servant on the memorial wall. Their pictures were clustered much the way they had been grouped within the clan and the words that filled the room as they waited, spoke to their deep and meaningful connection. Byakuya took in the sight and sound of it and realized suddenly that something he and Ginrei had both fought for was coming to life around him. Maybe it was just for this day, this difficult time, but the nobles were forgetting to separate themselves or hold themselves away from the servant class. For many, it was the first time they had done this.

There is a light in every darkness.

He sighed softly.

The large doors to the chamber closed and Head Councilor, Nori Kuchiki, called for everyone to be seated. The room grew quiet, but for the soft remains of crying. All eyes rested on the clan leader. He turned away from the memorial wall and looked out at them.

"This memorial," he said softly, "represents a family. It is one that started with a group of nobles and expanded to include others who came to live among them, to share their individual gifts and see to the needs of all of their lives. There was trust between them. There was even love."

He paused and took a breath.

"There is a reason why these people were attacked, why they were taken from us. The queen of the spirit realm feared the bond that had grown between the spirit king and this noble family. Despite our history of honoring and serving the royal family, she believed that we would betray the royal family, that a member of our family would seek the throne for himself. This is why Hajime Kuchiki was targeted so many years ago."

A soft murmur went through the room.

"Hajime Kuchiki was one of our family and the king's devoted servant. The king loved Hajime for his loyalty. Hajime grew in his favor until the queen became jealous and sent her daughter to create a talisman that would enslave Hajime and kill the king. As you know, Hajime was overcome and he did go to kill the king. What I discovered while in the spirit king's dimension is that our version of his death was not correct. Hajime did not die when he was beheaded. Instead, when the talisman tried to force him to kill the king, he was able to break free in that last moment. He turned his weapon on himself and took his own life to save his beloved king. The prince, himself , witnessed this and asked that I convey the information to you. Hajime Kuchiki was a hero…and he will no longer be forgotten in our minds.

The queen's anger lived through many years and recently she and her daughter renewed their plan to kill the king. This time, it seems, they chose me to bear the talisman. The princess did succeed in awakening the talisman and seeing that it took control of me. But the talisman is a dangerous thing and it caused me to kill the princess. It would have had me kill the entire royal family, had I not been freed by Captain Abarai. I did face trial in that other dimension and it was during that trial that the queen exacted her revenge on us by sending her guard to slaughter our loved ones. You need to understand that she meant to erase every one of us from existence. Such was her fear of our connection to the king and her anger over the loss of her daughter.

There is a lesson in this if only we will see it. Look at the faces on this wall. We are all connected with ties of loyalty and love as the nobles are connected to their king. Our staff is more than a set of people doing jobs. They hold up the structure of our lives and enrich it. And…"

He stopped for a moment, breathing deeply.

"And they were targeted with us, they protected us and they fell with us. Each person on that wall fought to live and fought to defend, to protect. Each died a noble death. They should and will be honored. So as we walked side by side in life, these people join each other in their passing. We will mourn them and we will honor them exactly as they were…together. Fourteen faces on this wall disappeared from my home. They died defending us…and for their loyalty, I wish I could offer more. But all I can do is to offer them the honor of having their place among us in my family's cemetery. Even as they have left this world, they will keep their place in our presence…and in our hearts."

Byakuya walked slowly to stand beside Renji, Hajime and the twins as the head councilor returned to the front of the room and the memorial continued. Renji turned and smiled gently, then noting the pain in his life partner's eyes, handed him the infant. Byakuya placed Hajime in the folds of his scarf and held him quietly as the ceremony went on. There were people crying all around them now. The flow of kind words and pained reiatsu filled the room until the very air was heavy with their grief. Within the folds of the ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu, Hajime gurgled softly and released a small cry. As he did so, a warm glow rose up in the room around them. At the head of the room, Nori Kuchiki stopped speaking and stared. All went silent as the reiatsu in the room eased and a wave of comfort swept over them. The candles at the front of the room flared brightly and the pictures on the wall glowed from within, bringing the faces to life before their eyes. Every eye shined with wonder and every heart was gently strengthened. Within Byakuya's arms, Hajime cooed and gurgled happily.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I know you were looking forward to our anniversary as much as I was, Renji," Byakuya said later as they rested in bed, "but I am thankful to you for agreeing to wait on celebrating until things feel more normal around here."

"Well," said Renji softly, "I don't think either of our hearts would be very much in it. Tomorrow is too soon to really enjoy it."

"I'm grateful anyway," he said bringing his lips to Renji's.

Renji turned in Byakuya's arms and brought his head to rest on his life partner's chest. He looked up into the dark troubled eyes and sighed.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked softly.

Byakuya shook his head.

"I'm actually much better than I was. Hajime's gift helped a lot of us today."

"Yes," Renji agreed, "he's quite a kid."

"Hmm…" agreed Byakuya sleepily.

He reached for Renji's face and cupped his cheek with one hand, bringing it closer and bringing their lips together again. Renji kissed his lover's lips and face over and over until he finally saw the sadness fade and some sense of peace return. Then he rested his head on Byakuya's chest and they drifted off to sleep together.

As they slept, silent forms quietly entered the room. When they awoke in the morning, the bed and floor were covered with sakura petals and the garden outside was beautifully decorated as it had been every year since they were married.

"I think we're being sent a message," Renji said quietly.

Byakuya stood hand in hand with Renji, frozen and speechless, but the expression in his tear-filled eyes spoke volumes.