So I've posted this fic on my Tumblr and Sufficient Velocity, and thought I'd upload it here as well. Not the first fic I've written/published, but this is the first fic I've uploaded to ffnet. Updates whenever I get around to it, feedback and constructive criticism welcome. :)
faraway
noun
1. very distant, remote; 2. abstracted; dreamy
Kyoka Suigetsu rips through Kurosaki's chest, and Byakuya knows the war is over.
"A senkaimon," says Byakuya. His voice is hoarse and it cracks halfway through the statement, but Kisuke is polite enough not to say anything. The pink scars marring Byakuya's throat really aren't his business. "Why?"
Kisuke smiles, but both he and Byakuya know the grin is as fake as the cheery tone Kisuke plasters over his voice. "I've found a way back to Soul Society," he says, and it isn't entirely a lie. He can't tell Byakuya the full truth, though; Byakuya will insist that it's Kisuke who goes through the senkaimon, and Kisuke can't waste precious time arguing. Aizen's coming, Kisuke can feel it, and Byakuya needs to be gone. "It's only stable for one person at a time, but I'll follow you once you're through."
Byakuya's silver eyes widen with incredulous delight, and Kisuke can't help but feel a little bad for the deception. "How did you do it? Aizen blocked off all the -"
"Don't worry about it," says Kisuke dismissively. "It has to do with physics and space-time and technology for gargantas and really, it isn't a problem right now. Just take Senbonzakura and go."
Luckily, Byakuya isn't quite smart enough to question the vague answer, and he's halfway into the senkaimon before he stops and turns around. "You'll follow me, right?" He asks softly, and Kisuke is suddenly and horribly reminded of how young Byakuya is. Hardly three hundred years old; still practically a child.
"Of course," says Kisuke. This time, his words are entirely a lie.
The moment Byakuya steps into the senkaimon, he knows that Kisuke hadn't been honest with him. This senkaimon feels nothing like the familiar portals to Soul Society that Byakuya is used to; instead, his vision is filled with colors and sounds, blurry scenes that Byakuya can't quite make out. He can feel the senkaimon pulling at his reiatsu, and the gaping scars along his neck that making talking so difficult burn.
Black spots appear at the edges of Byakuya's vision, and he mentally curses Kisuke. Of course the story about getting back to Soul Society was a lie. Byakuya knows that Aizen had used the hogyoku to make travel between Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo impossible for anyone without Aizen's express permission. And yet Byakuya had been so desperate for a way back to his home that he'd believed Kisuke's obvious lie.
If anything, he'd...
Byakuya's world goes black, and for a long time, he doesn't think anything at all.
Byakuya doesn't quite wake up so much as he jolts into sudden alertness. Senbonzakura hums at his side, and Byakuya feels a sudden wave of panic hit him from the bond he has with his zanpakuto. He sends calming thoughts at Senbonzakura until the rush of emotion recedes, and Byakuya promises to talk to his sword when he has the chance.
Senbonzakura is frustrated, that much is obvious, but Byakuya refuses to have this conversation now. He has better things to do, like figuring out where in the three worlds Kisuke's senkaimon took him. So Byakuya looks up, and is confronted with an impossible scene.
Renji, red hair pulled back into a familiar ponytail, skin flushed with blood and adrenaline, stands over Kurosaki, who is very much alive. A few metres away, Rukia lies on the ground, eyes watery and expression desperate. Blood drips from Kurosaki's nose, and a faint sheen of sweat shines on Renji's forehead.
Byakuya's eyes widen, and he makes a very undignified, un-Kuchiki noise. This is impossible. He knows this because Byakuya has had nightmares about this before, nightmares about the scene in front of him. This is where everything started to go wrong. This can't be happening, and...
...and Kisuke had said something about space-time before Byakuya had stepped into the modified senkaimon. Had said that he'd found a way back into Soul Society.
The part of Byakuya's brain that still believes in things being rational immediately dismisses the idea slowly forming in Byakuya's mind. The part of his brain that has seen Kisuke work before and knows exactly how smart the ex-captain is tells the rational part of his brain to shut up.
"Goddamn genius," he mutters, and isn't entirely surprised when the words come out smooth and undamaged, when his throat doesn't ache with the effort of talking. Byakuya brings up a hand against his neck, and the skin there is clean and unblemished. Urahara Kisuke is a goddamn genius, and if anyone could send Byakuya back in time, it would be him.
Byakuya opens his mouth to say something, anything, to tell Rukia he's sorry he let her die and that there was never a day where he didn't think of Renji. He wants to tell Kurosaki how to survive, how to defeat Aizen...
Aizen, who is most certainly watching the scene playing out. No, Byakuya can't say anything just yet. Tipping Aizen off to his knowledge would be a suicidal move. A move he can't afford to make.
"Fukutaicho," Byakuya says, careful to keep his voice steady. Kurosaki should be recovering right about now, and Byakuya doesn't want to see Renji hurt. He ignores Renji's blink at the use of the title and no name; Byakuya doesn't think he can say Renji's name without breaking down and telling him how much Byakuya loves him. "Do not waste your time on the Ryoka boy." It's too easy to fall into the role of the Head of the Kuchiki Clan, and Byakuya hates it.
Renji sighs, but pulls Zabimaru away from Kurosaki's throat. Kurosaki looks furious at the slight, even as his blood drips on the ground.
"Taicho, he stole Rukia's powers," Renji says, and really, Byakuya almost wants to laugh. Renji shouldn't be worried about this. Renji should be worried about the megalomaniac who has already murdered the 46.
"I am well aware," Byakuya responds, tone crisp in the way it only is when he's trying to hide his emotions. "Central 46 made it quite clear what her crimes are. However, wasting your energy on a human is not befitting of your station."
Giving Kurosaki a dirty look, Renji finally steps back. He's angry, that much is obvious, but Byakuya refuses to feel bad. As much as Byakuya loves Renji, there are things more important than Renji's hurt feelings right now.
Things like keeping everyone Byakuya loves alive.
It takes longer than Byakuya would have liked to calm everyone down, which is mostly due to Kurosaki's utter refusal to listen to anyone but Rukia, who's shaking and pale and not in a position to do any explaining. Byakuya can sense Kisuke's reiatsu, despite the fact that Kisuke's obviously trying to hide it. No one else would notice the faint strand of power coming from a rooftop, but Byakuya lived with Kisuke for almost four years, and Kisuke's reiatsu is as familiar to him as his own.
There's a flicker of power at the edge of Byakuya's senses, and he raises his reiatsu up as high as it will go with the limiter on just as Kurosaki makes a move for his sword. If Byakuya feels a bit of vindicative glee at the look of startled horror on Kurosaki's face as he's forced to the ground, well, that's nobody else's business. Byakuya is trying to think, and Kurosaki's petty little attempts at starting a fight are wearing on Byakuya's nerves-
Kisuke's reiatsu flickers with surprise, bringing Byakuya back to his senses. That's right, he has to be careful. He can't show that he knows Aizen's plans, and he can't...
...oh, kami above. Byakuya can't even go to Kisuke.
The realization hits Byakuya like a physical blow to the chest.
Rukia had been one of the first to die in the war against Aizen, and it had been Kisuke that had sparred with Byakuya afterwards until neither of them could breath and Byakuya could forget the stabbing pain of grief for a moment. Renji's death had left Byakuya feeling like a hollow shell, and Kisuke had been the one to force-feed him meals when he wanted to give up. After Kurosaki's death, Kisuke and Byakuya had been the last two shinigami fighting against Aizen. Kisuke wasn't quite a father figure for Byakuya, but he was certainly Byakuya's best friend.
Even if Byakuya hates admitting it, he'd relied on Kisuke, and the idea of not having him as a support makes Byakuya's heart ache.
"Alright." he says slowly. Kisuke had always been the planner, and Byakuya feels incredibly out of place trying to come up with something on the fly. "Renji," and Renji's name tastes like ash on Byakuya's tongue, "Central 46..." is dead "...are expecting us to return with Rukia - the criminal. There's no need to sully Zabimaru with the human."
Renji makes a furious sound in the back of his throat, but doesn't argue. "Rukia, get up," he says shortly, and Byakuya clamps down on his frustration. Doesn't Renji understand that Rukia isn't to blame...? Byakuya sighs. Of course Renji doesn't know that. Renji is still frustrated right now, at himself and at Byakuya and at Rukia and at Kurosaki and at everyone. Originally, it had taken Kurosaki defeating Renji in battle to show him who the real enemy was. This time, Byakuya hopes to skip that step, because he remembers exactly how much self-loathing Renji had carried after he'd almost let Rukia be executed.
(Byakuya is self-destructive enough for the both of them.)
Byakuya shakes his head. He can't afford to be lost in his thoughts now, he has to plan. Kisuke had later confided in Byakuya as to how Kurosaki had regained his powers after Byakuya had severed them. Byakuya doesn't think Kurosaki will be strong enough to invade Soul Society with Rukia's powers, so he has to injure Kurosaki again, but he needs Kurosaki to be more powerful than he was last time.
Just like that, Byakuya makes up his mind.
He steps forward and slips into shunpo, careful not to move too fast; Yoruichi had taught Byakuya plenty of tips for shunpo before she'd died, and Byakuya can't show Aizen exactly how powerful he is just yet. Aizen has to remain complacent, confident in his belief that his plans are still moving forward.
And yet, even as Byakuya limits himself to the very base levels of his power, Kurosaki doesn't see him coming. Kurosaki doesn't dodge. Byakuya remembers Kurosaki fighting Aizen, fighting someone who was for all intents and purposes a kami, and can't even begin to connect his Kurosaki with the boy standing in front of him.
Faster than Kurosaki would be able to see, Byakuya draws Senbonzakura and slashes, easily tearing cloth and leaving thin bloody trails across the skin on Kurosaki's chest.
He moves Senbonzakura again, too fast for Kurosaki to react. Slicing through Kurosaki's soul sleep is just a matter of flicking his wrist, and he can feel the faint flicker of Rukia's reiatsu that was tangled with Kurosaki's power vanish. Senbonzakura flashes again, and Byakuya steps back, watching dispassionately as Kurosaki falls to the ground. He isn't as badly injured this time, so Kisuke should have more time to spend on training Kurosaki. Byakuya can do nothing but hope that this will be enough.
"Kuchiki-taicho," says Renji with something not unlike horror, and Byakuya remembers where - or rather, when - he is. For Renji, Byakuya's actions look like senseless violence against someone who had already been defeated, and even a former Eleventh wouldn't forgive that easily. "Is he...?"
Byakuya looks down at Rukia, who is horribly pale and shivering. "He is not dead," Byakuya says to her eventually, even if Renji had been the one to ask the question. "And for now, he will survive. He does not currently have his spiritual powers anymore, but he will likely recover."
(Kurosaki will recover without a doubt, if Byakuya is reading the determination in Kisuke's reiatsu correctly.)
Rukia looks...relieved, and more than a little confused, but she nods and finds the strength to stand up. Byakuya almost moves to support her, but then remembers that at this point there doesn't seem to be any love between them. It hurts Byakuya with an almost physical pain to leave his little sister to struggle to her feet, and he has to bite his lip and look away.
"Alright," he says, mostly just to fill the tense silence. "Rukia, Renji. With me." He winces as soon as the words are out of his mouth; the previous version of him never would have used Renji's name so casually, and he even says Rukia's name with uncharacteristic fondness. "Our work here is done."
He sends his reiatsu out, calling for a senkaimon. The longer they remain in the human world, the longer until Kurosaki can be healed.
And, of course, the longer until Kisuke sees Byakuya's message.
Kisuke is thinking.
This, of course, is nothing new; Kisuke is always thinking, sometimes so engrossed in his thoughts that he forgets about the outside world. What makes this particular occasion unusual is the fact that Kisuke has been thinking for hours now, and hasn't been able to come up with any reasonable conclusion about the evidence provided.
The scientist in Kisuke wants to make a hypothesis, wants to nudge Kurosaki in a direction that will get Kisuke results. The part of Kisuke that's never been able to stand seeing those in his care hurt or upset wants to track down Kuchiki Byakuya and scream at him.
Kisuke sighs, and collapses unceremoniously on his futon, Yoruichi watching him with wary yellow eyes. She's in her cat form, sitting small and inconspicuous in the corner. Tessai is with Kurosaki, tending to the wounds Byakuya had left. The wounds, which are causing this whole mess in the first place.
Looking back, Byakuya had been acting odd during his entire encounter with Kurosaki and Kuchiki. From the vacant, haunted look in his eyes to his sudden decision to leave Kurosaki alive, Kisuke should have known that there was something wrong with Byakuya.
Only some serious sort of knock to the head - or manipulation by Aizen, more likely - could have driven Byakuya to carve the word ALLY into Kurosaki's chest.
Byakuya's senkaimon opens inside the Kuchiki Manor courtyard. In the original timeline, he'd taken Rukia straight to Central 46, but now Byakuya knows that he really ought to comfort his baby sister. Besides, Byakuya's home is warded to the Soul King's Realm and back, and not even Aizen's camera-flies would be able to spy on him right now.
"Alright," he says, slumping a little at the relief of not having to worry about being watched by Aizen. "Rukia, we have a little while before you're expected. I'd like to...to talk with you, if you don't mind." He smiles thinly and turns to Renji. "You're welcome too, of course, but anything you hear should stay within these walls."
Rukia opens her mouth, and closes it again. She doesn't seem to be comprehending any of what Byakuya says, though Byakuya had expected this. His little sister is terrified, he can see it in her eyes, and he doesn't want to push her too hard.
He doesn't have any qualms about pushing Renji, though. Renji can take anything Byakuya throws at him and more.
"A change of heart," says Renji incredulously, giving Byakuya a look. Byakuya distantly notes that Renji isn't really taking this well at all. "And now you want to...what, go against the Central 46 and literally all of Soul Society?"
The Central 46 are dead, is what Byakuya wants to say, but he settles with shrugging a shoulder. "I made Hisana a promise. And I'm not going against the 46," he says, hoping Renji will leave the conversation at that. "But that isn't the point, Renji. There's a traitor in Soul Society."
Renji, looking studiously determined to ignore Byakuya's use of his given name, sighs and leans back on the couch Byakuya had ordered a pair of servants to prepare. "Kuchiki-taicho," he says, looking pained. "You're acting unlike yourself. Would you like for me to send for Unohana-taicho?"
Byakuya clenches his fists, fingernails digging into the palm of his hand. The sudden, stinging pain is grounding, and he takes a deep breath. He keeps forgetting that this isn't his Renji, that this Renji still views Byakuya as nothing more than an obstacle between him and power. This Renji would have no reason to trust him. This Renji has never seen Byakuya cry, still views Byakuya as an emotionless statue, and the vulnerability Byakuya is showing must be incredibly unnerving.
Still, the idea of seeing Unohana is...tempting. He knows he can trust her; Unohana is no traitor, and she was the one to discover Aizen's deceit in the original timeline. She's smart, too. Smart enough that she would believe him.
It's tempting, incredibly tempting. But Byakuya knows that telling Unohana could change the timeline more than he can afford. Byakuya's knowledge of the future will become less and less valuable the more he changes things, and he needs for everything to remain at least close to the original events.
Until the day of Rukia's execution, that is. That is the best time for Byakuya to take action - he's reasonably sure he can take on Aizen, so long as Aizen doesn't have the hogyoku and Byakuya has the might of Kyoraku and Ukitake backing him. And Gin, too - Ichimaru had died in the first timeline, even before Rukia had. A traitor to Aizen's cause, Ichimaru had revealed the secret of his Bankai, only to die by Aizen's own blade. Byakuya knows it wouldn't take much to convince Ichimaru to turn on Aizen earlier than planned. Tosen Kaname had been truly dedicated to Aizen, but Byakuya had killed him before, and would kill him again.
Byakuya sighs, looks at Renji. "Don't get Unohana-taicho," he says softly, reaching up to adjust the weight of his kenseikan. "I apologize for worrying you, Abari-fukutaicho." He needs Renji on his side for this. "I have been...out of sorts since my sister's arrest."
Somehow, this manages to convince Renji. "So you don't think she broke the law?"
"She did break the law," says Byakuya, and Renji's face spasms. "But I believe that the measures Central is taking is far too drastic. 'The punishment must fit the crime', as people say."
Renji blinks, opens his mouth, closes it again. "I'm..." He trails off uncertainly, eyes not meeting Byakuya's. "Taicho, as your fukutaicho, it is my job to support and stand behind you. I will do what you think is right."
Byakuya...doesn't quite think that's what Renji was originally going to say, but he's still able to parse the meaning behind the reconstructed sentence: I'm here for you. It's a nice feeling; even if this Renji isn't his in the way he was before Byakuya traveled back in time (and it still almost hurts Byakuya's head to think that), it's still Renji, and Renji's support had always meant the world."
"Then we must plan," says Byakuya, after a pause to think through his response. He wants to say 'I understand' and 'thank you', but that's too far out of character for his past self. "I would like to meditate. Tomorrow, we will deliver Rukia to Central 46. For now, I believe the Kuchiki compound is capable of holding her."
Renji cracks a smile, and Byakuya has to fight back the grin that tugs at his lips in return.
(It helps that he's pretty sure smiling in this body would give him some sort of facial cramp; Byakuya doesn't think his previous self had smiled in...over seventy years, now.)
"I'll leave ya to it, Taicho," Renji says, and Byakuya bites the inside of his cheek when he hears Renji's accent surface. That's...new. Both Renji and Rukia had always taken steps to ensure that they spoke at least relatively properly in Byakuya's presence before, and Byakuya's shaken by how quickly Renji opens up.
Then again, Byakuya hasn't truly become Renji's enemy yet. He hasn't sentenced Rukia to death. It's no wonder that Renji's walls are crumbling so much faster than they'd originally.
Byakuya sighs, turns away. Distantly, he hears Renji leave the room, and Byakuya's left with only his thoughts to distract him.