Disclaimer: Don't own anything (only OCs)

Note: Another Chapter of this story. I wanted to update sooner, but work got me busy and tired in the evenings ^^'

I want to thank all of my reviewers :) You guys keep me going when I am not in the mood ^^ I hope new chapters to other stories are coming too!

Special thanks to PaulaGay for beta-reading!

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chap 25: The Deathwind and the Wretched One

It felt strange for them to walk down the streets of the Seireitei as more than just two friends, but two lovers.

They had talked about their feelings the last two nights; well the night before yesterday they talked and last night was used for 'forming' their relationship.

The raven-head still had to smile at how everything turned out and how easy it was!

At first he thought that his partner would be hard to handle or that it would become awkward between them, but remembering the last evening it really went quite well.

He felt better now that he left the Kuchiki manor than the moment he arrived; something that wasn't caused by the manor. He was finally able to get help from one of his best friends and thinking about what the red-head said, Shuuhei found that the man was right.

Abarai Renji up until now was always a great help to him when it came to relationships of whatever kind. Ever since Tousen left he had felt alone and suspicious of everyone. No one could blame him though, it was to be expected when the person you most trusted suddenly turned against you and everything he himself stood for; that Shuuhei had to see how his body suddenly exploded had added to an overall shock.

From all of those he called friends Renji was the only one not affected by the treason, he even seemed to be the only one able to keep his sanity and not become paranoid. Momo and Izuru too had difficulties with trust and Momo's pain went so far that she needed all the months until the winter to recover her health; it was no secret how much she looked up to Aizen.

Renji, it seemed, was still the only fuku-taichou to ever question the decisions his taichou made, but not to anger the noble Kuchiki; he only wanted to understand the reasoning and maybe give input on how to handle the one or other thing better and Kuchiki didn't even seem to feel questioned... Shuuhei admired Renji for so much bravery, but maybe that all was because of his bankai.

Hisagi was indeed envious when it came to this. Renji and Kuchiki taichou often trained to strengthen the red-head's bankai, a spectacle that drew a hell of a lot of attention. Shuuhei was still impressed every time he saw that massive skeletal snake erupt from the smoke that hid both bankai and master. The screech it made sent shivers down the raven-haired fuku-taichou's spine; he had no idea how to fight that thing. Although he had seen it several times now it looked like the perfect defensive weapon. Sure the massive body made it slow to attack, but the bones were extremely massive and strong in their structure, held together by reiatsu the segments were impossible to separate.

Really why Renji was not already a taichou Shuuhei had no idea, he surely would fit into every one of the three open positions.

"Really? I would never let myself get led by that monkey!" The voice of his annoying Kazeshini sounded and not in the mood for his zanpakutou's banter Shuuhei simply ignored him, trying to come up with a plan on how to talk with Izuru.

Renji was quite adamant that everything would be fine as long as Shuuhei was himself, but he was still insecure. The raven-head had never admitted anything to a man, not even drunk and then Izuru was a whole different case. He was not as open as Renji; yeah, admitting to a guy like Renji would be easy. While the red-head was open and straightforward, Izuru was very shy and introverted and Shuuhei was not sure how to handle this.

First things first! He needed to catch the blonde and get him to a place where no one would bother them.

Kazeshini was still mumbling things in his mind, but Shuuhei drowned him out.

In his thoughts he didn't even recognize that he had already reached the barracks of the third.

His hands began to sweat; great, so much for keeping his nerves…

Being a fuku-taichou it was easy for him to get access, but then every member could enter the barracks of every division…

Inhaling deeply he tried to get his nerves under control. Knocking on the door of the main office Shuuhei waited to hear the mandatory 'Enter'. He heard the shuffling of papers until the soft and timid voice of Izuru gave him allowance.

Sliding the doors open Shuuhei was not really surprised to see his blonde friend behind his desk working on a pile of reports. Only when the blonde looked up did he see his friend, "Hisagi-san! What brings you here?"

Shuuhei cringed inwardly at the formality, but composed himself fairly quickly. "I wanted to talk with you. Do you have a moment?"

After inspecting his piles of reports Izuru nodded and gestured for the raven to follow him into the fuku-taichou's quarters.

"You wanted to talk Hisagi-san?" Izuru asked innocently, gesturing for the other to sit down.

Sitting down on one of the pillows on the floor Shuuhei waited for his host to take a place too.

It seemed that it was the custom for nobles to first make tea that they could offer their guests, because Izuru entered with a teakettle and two cups.

The blonde looked expectantly at his dark haired friend, waiting for him to answer the question while the blonde poured them tea.

"I am not certain how to begin… What I have to tell you is really difficult for me…" The tattooed male said, looking into his tea and holding the cup.

The blonde nodded his understanding, waiting until the other continued.

After a slow sip of his tea and exhaling Shuuhei collected his nerves, "I really hope that what I tell you now won't destroy our friendship."

Looking in the raven's dark eyes Izuru nodded, wondering what might happen now, what could be so monumental that it could destroy their friendship.

"I… I think that I love you Izuru."

Blue eyes widened in shock. The blonde noble couldn't believe that he had heard right. It was almost 50 years ago that he and Renji broke up, because both fell in love with other men. Izuru still had no idea who the one for his red-haired friend was, but Renji was well aware that Shuuhei was the one for the blonde.

Truth was that Izuru was only so depressed and melancholy, because his love was straight and chasing after Rangiku. To hear now that the tattooed raven-head loved him was absolutely shocking to say the least. Izuru really wanted to say something, but he found no words and his lips wouldn't move, not to speak of his vocal chords.

For Shuhei, the blonde's reaction was devastating. Not knowing of the inner struggle Izuru was going through right now he assumed that his friend was now disgusted with him. With a sigh he put his tea cup on the table and was just about to rise and leave when a cold pale hand placed itself over his.

In surprise he looked at the one sitting across from him and was utterly confused now. The blue eyes gave him not a message of hate and disgust, but they looked… almost pleadingly at him. In consequence Shuuhei stayed at his place at the table.

"You… You really love me?" Izuru asked in need of confirmation and Hisagi nodded his head.

Izuru was now nervously biting his lip, he couldn't really comprehend how someone could from one day to the next, switch to loving a man.

"Izuru?" Shuuhei asked tentatively, not really sure what was going on in his friend's head.

He looked into the dark eyes, trying to speak, but unable to form words.

"I know that you are in love with someone, but could you at least say something?" Shuuhei pleaded with him, hoping for something.

The blonde's eyes widened at that, shocked at what the other said just now, but the formulation gave away that Hisagi had no idea that he was the one Izuru loved.

"Hisagi-san… I… I don't know what to say…" The blonde began to stutter, catching himself he added with affection in his eyes, "You are right that I am in love with someone, but I never thought that this person would actually love me back… He was always so close and yet so far away, a great friend and companion and I was content with that. All of a sudden that one person tells me that he loves me, I am confused and overwhelmed at the same time, because I never thought this was possible."

Izuru watched as Shuuhei began to frown, clearly not immediately catching what the blonde told him, but when he did the dark eyes widened in realization.

"You mean?" The tattooed man began, unable to make a complete sentence, clearly too shocked.

Izuru nodded his head at the indication. "Yes, you are the one I am in love with, always was since the day I first saw you. It took me a while to figure it out, actually it was Renji-san who pointed it out to me." The noble said, smiling as he remembered. "He somehow felt that we weren't right for each other. He asked me if I really loved him or if I was trying to forget someone else by being with him. Of course that question caught me off guard, but he was not angry with me. He admitted to me that he had fallen in love with someone else too and that it wouldn't be the right thing to do if we continued our relationship, that we would only hurt ourselves." He withheld that he disliked the idea of breaking up with the red-head. He still thought that it was unfair. Renji was an awesome friend and for the short time they were together he was an even better friend, lover and protector. Izuru really wished for his friend to be with that one person, but he had no idea who it was; Renji refused to answer that question all the times Izuru asked, saying that it didn't matter, because the man was unreachable anyway. All he wanted was for his friend to feel real happiness, the red-head clearly deserved it and now Izuru felt guilty because he had the possibility to be with Shuuhei and Renji was still alone.

"So… you love me… does that mean that we are together?" Shuuhei asked shyly, a wild red hue covering his cheeks.

Izuru couldn't help but smile, Hisagi was just too adorable. "If you like… I certainly would love to be with you." The blonde said; sure it was strange for him that the dark-haired fuku-taichou was suddenly in love with a man, but that was of no importance right now; he would question him later about this sudden change.

They came closer to one another and looked deeply into each other's eyes. Shuuhei placed his palm on the blonde's cheek, bringing their faces closer together. Their first kiss was very tender and gentle, neither wanted to be too forceful and straightforward in fear of scaring the other too much.

When they parted they continued to look into each others eyes.

From that point on it somewhat 'escalated'. They pounced on one another, pealing their clothes off one another's bodies.

Remembering the past nights Shuuhei began to blush fiercely. He would never have expected to feel so comfortable when being with another man as he was with Izuru.

"Is that Renji-san?" He heard the blonde ask curiously.

The last time Shuuhei saw the red-head he was exhausted and could barely stand and now he was walking through the Seireitei? But looking at the spot where his lover indicated Shuuhei could only agree. The fire-like red hair was unmistakably that of the rokubantai fuku-taichou. Frowning Shuuhei made his way over to the other man, determined to ask what the hell was going on; there was no way he could be walking again, not in only two days anyway.

Izuru looked confused as Hisagi began to stride over to the red-head. The blonde seemed to be the only one to register just where the red-head stood; it was a clothing shop.'Strange… Renji-san barely spends money on clothes… He likes his sakura patterned yukata way too much.' Sighing Izuru made his way over to the red-head too.

Izuru was able to catch up with his boyfriend and together they reached the red-head, who seemed to only stand there, in front of the shop.

Just as Hisagi and Kira were about to greet their friend, a calm and collected voice reached their ears.

"Really Abarai, I fail to see what was inadequate with this one…" Kuchiki Byakuya said while exiting the shop.

"Aw come on! You can't expect of me to decide on a new one… I like mine as it is." The red-head replied in an extremely and way too familiar way.

Looking at their red-headed friend more closely their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. While the red mane drew their attention in the first place they hadn't noticed much else. It was only now that they noticed that the red hair was not in its usual high ponytail, but let down, cascading over the broad shoulders and down the powerful back. And seeing shoulders and back they couldn't help but notice the elaborate kimono he was wearing. The bright red and the fancy animals it was decorated with was a sure sign that this piece of clothing must have been unthinkably expensive; something the red-head would never buy on his own.

Kuchiki taichou was not clothed as fancy as the red-head, but his attire surely showed nobility.

Hisagi and Kira were extremely curious about what was going on here… They were stuck in their place near the red-head, neither of the 6th division members seemed to have noticed them; how very odd.

"Fuku-taichou Kira and Hisagi." The raven-haired noble greeted them, so much for not being noticed…

Confused Renji looked around until he spotted his two friends, when he did he waved at them. In defeat the two walked over to them.

"Kuchiki-taichou, Renji-san." They both greeted them with a nod.

"Soooo… You did it Shuu'?" The red-head asked in a teasing manner, grinning like a mad man, much to the Kuchiki's concern.

With wide eyes Shuuhei immediately began to blush fiercely, while Izuru looked curiously from one man to the other.

"Uhm actually yeah… We are in a relationship now." The dark haired, tattooed male answered, grabbing the blonde's hand with an affectionate smile. "I'm sorry… I wanted to visit you yesterday, but well… I was kind of busy…" Hisagi said the blush growing in intensity when he remembered their love making.

It was only now that Renji remembered this, in all the hectic activity he totally forgot that Shuuhei wanted to visit, heck he even forgot to get in touch with Rangiku… the busty woman would attack him with questions, he was sure of that…

"Then I assume congratulations are in order. However we are not done with our errands, you will receive our blessings at a later time." The dark haired noble said, clearly dismissing the other fuku-taichou and signaling the red-head that the business of finding a new yukata wasn't solved just yet.

Renji of course understood the indication and he was not in the least happy with this. "Aw really? Can't we make a compromise of some sorts?" He complained, much to Byakuya's annoyance.

Raising an eyebrow the Kuchiki questioned him, not caring for their audience at this moment, "And what would that compromise be?" It was an honest question, he really was curious.

"Well I like mine as it is and you want me to have a new one so can't we just… I don't know… transfer the pattern?" It was a desperate question, Renji knew that but he could see the wheels in his fiancé's brain begin to work.

"I assume that would be possible, but we would need to fetch your yukata and meet with a tailor. However I do think it would be a faster way to get this over and done with as well as save our nerves."

That was all Renji needed to hear, happily he beamed at the raven-head. He hoped that they were done for the day now so the Kuchiki's next words cut, "I will have an attendant bring your yukata to my tailor while we go there and look for a nice fabric. Fuku-taichou Kira, Hisagi I bid you a nice day." He saw them off whilst walking past them.

With a wave and a hearty "See ya guys!" Renji was hot on his captain's heels.

Hisagi and Kira were left speechless. Sure they were used to casual interaction between the taichou and fuku-taichou of the 6th division, but that was even for them somewhat strange.

"Do you have the impression that they were way too familiar with each other?" Hisagi asked his partner, hoping the blonde saw something he missed.

"Well they did speak without title or rank. And Kuchiki taichou seemed to be more at ease than usual." The blonde said, grabbing his chin in a thinking manner, slightly frowning.

They both had the feeling that they were left out of something, but neither had an idea what it was.

"You didn't tell your friends."

The simple statement from Byakuya jolted Renji to attention; crossing his arms behind his head the red-head contemplated why that was true.

"Yeah… I guess we should tell Rukia first, you know? I mean Izuru and Shuu' are my friends sure, but it didn't feel right to tell them now." He replied after some thought.

"Understandable and yet one of them was once your lover. Don't you owe him that knowledge?" He articulated it somewhat sharply and Renji felt its sting.

"You are not happy that Izuru and I were together, huh?" He asked, calling the child by its name… He was sure that Byakuya was a tad jealous, although a tad might be an understatement.

"Well I don't like the idea of you spending more time with him than necessary. That you withheld the information of us getting married makes me wonder Renji." The voice that spoke now was different than the one this morning. Now the noble spoke with an icy tone, it was sharp like a knife and cut just as deeply.

"You think I would think of going back to him? Never, after all you were the reason I left him." That, however, made Byakuya stop in his tracks. "What? That surprises you? Really? You sure are easily flattered Kuchiki Byakuya." Renji said with a little shake of his head and an affectionate smile.

Byakuya regained his composure as fast as he lost it and continued on his way.

"Then you should tell him the next time you see him, we wouldn't want for him to want you back, now would we?"

Renji was sure that he heard a threat somewhere in there and somehow he really couldn't blame the raven-head… Renji would kill anyone who dared to try and seduce his raven.

End chap 25!

I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review :)