Chapter 8: From a Distance, but Never Far

"Kuri-kuri-sama, you must try to stay hydrated," Tetsuya complained, bringing a spoonful of tea to his lips, only to watch in dismay as the Shima leader stubbornly turned his head away, "Come now, if you don't drink your tea, you will only feel worse."

Kuri groaned unhappily and tried to roll over to face away from his persistent caretaker. Tetsuya set the spoon down and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Well, what will you drink, then?" he snapped softly.

"I will drink tequila with you," Kuri mumbled dazedly, "We will drink to you tearing my heart out with your beauty, Tetsu-hana."

"You don't know what you're saying!" Tetsuya chided him, shaking his head disapprovingly, "Antonia-san told me to send for her if you won't behave."

"Noooooooo," Kuri breathed, "you don't need to bother her. I will do what you ask. She is a pain in the ass. No bedside manner at all."

"All right," Tetsuya said with mock sternness, "but if you not drink, I will have to inform her."

"I will drink. I will drink," Kuri huffed, rolling his eyes, then groaning at the dizziness and renewed aching it caused, "Just, will you put a little bit of something from my flask into it, Tetsu-hana. I need to sleep."

Tetsuya gave him a flustered look, but felt a flicker of concern at the deep flush that wouldn't leave his cheeks and the glazed look to his eyes.

"Oh, very well, but just a little."

"Good," Kuri said in a relieved tone, "Help yourself, if you like."

"I've told you already that I cannot drink alcohol," Tetsuya chuckled, "I get drunk on only a few sips. I will put some in your tea, but I'll not have any so that we will not dishonor our families by making a scandal."

"Oh," Kuri snickered, his hazy eyes twinkling, "I would like to make a pretty scandal with you, my angelito!"

He reached for Tetsuya, who ducked away and turned his attention to dribbling a tiny measure of the contents of the Shima leader's flask into the cup of warm tea. He gently stirred the mixture, then fed Kuri a sip, which the Shima leader first sniffed, then devoured easily.

"Ah, that is much better," Kuri sighed, curling around a pillow, "You do not know what you are missing, Tetsu-hana."

"Oh, I assure you, I do," Tetsuya answered, smiling, "The last time I drank any alcohol was when Byakuya-sama was trying to teach me about wine…how to tell them apart and how to know and appreciate the differences in variety and brand. We were only taking small sips, but it went right to my head. I couldn't walk in moments, and was sick all night. Byakuya-sama was beside himself and felt horribly guilty, but he couldn't have known. I remembered nothing the next day, but found that my drinking also affected Arashi and he had been lurching around, terrorizing the stable boys and breaking things all night. Byakuya-sama and I decided it was best I should not drink at all."

"Suit yourself, then," Kuri said, smirking and accepting the teacup from Tetsuya's hand.

He drained the cup and handed it back to Tetsuya, who poured more and added a little of the contents of the flask.

"Oh, you are so good to me," Kuri sighed, "Will you marry me, Tetsu-hana? I will give you a hundred children! We will have so many that we won't be able to walk more than a few inches without bumping into one, eh?"

"That is no way to speak to our angelito!" Antonia scolded him as she came in through the garden doors, "Mamà will slap your face, you brute."

"It's not his fault," Tetsuya insisted, "He was feeling too bad to take the tea, so I had to coax him using a bit of his drink."

"Oh, so you are drinking and talking out of your ass, Hermano," Antonia scolded Kuri, earning a raspberry and a little snicker from her sick brother, "You had better not offend Tetsuya or Byakuya will have you dumped outside the gates!"

"Just as long as I have my sweet, sweet Tetsu-hana to curl up to, I will be fine," Kuri said deliriously, "I must be dying, Hermana, to have such a beauty taking care of me."

"Shut up, you are not dying," Antonia said, shaking her head and sitting down to tend to her brother.

She quickly checked his vital signs and nodded.

"He is doing all right," she told Tetsuya, "but if you could make sure he is not left alone in case he takes a turn for the worse, that would be best. This fever is vicious and sometimes it is unpredictable. I think he will be fine, but…"

"I won't leave Kuri-kuri-sama for a moment," Tetsuya promised, "He was so good with everyone in Inuzuri…"

Antonia's eyes softened.

"Kuri loves the little ones like that," she said, her eyes growing sad, "He wants so much to be a father, but he is afraid. After what happened with our dear Hideaki…but you have also lost your husband and unborn child. You know."

Tetsuya nodded.

"It is a weight that stays with you," he said softly, "It might fade some, but it comes back. There is always that ache inside."

The two heard a little sob and Tetsuya's eyes flew open wide at finding the feverish Shima leader in tears.

"Oh, Kuri-kuri-sama, please don't cry!" he exclaimed, grabbing the cloth he had used to cool the Shima leader's face and dabbing at his leaking eyes, "I am sorry! I am sorry!"

"It is not your fault, angelito," Antonia assured him, laying a hand on his arm, "He cries for his Hideaki every night. You didn't do anything wrong."

"What can I do?" Tetsuya pleaded, "He is miserable, Antonia-san!"

"Just stay with him and make sure he stays cool and hydrated. There is nothing you can do about his tears."

Tetsuya gave her a determined look.

"There is something I can do," he said firmly, taking Kuri's sweating hand in his and holding it to his breast, "I can share his pain."

Antonia's eyes widened.

"Angelito, what are you saying?" she gasped, staring.

Tetsuya's reiatsu began to radiate a soft, light blue around his body, then slowly enveloped Kuri's as well.

"I have a power that allows me to dilute poisons," Tetsuya explained, "and I have learned that, by connecting with a person's mind, I can also dilute emotional pain by maintaining a physical contact."

Antonia gave him a look of alarm.

"But the connection will make you vulnerable to catching Kuri's fever!" she objected, "Byakuya told us you have a delicate constitution and must be careful."

"I will be," Tetsuya assured her, "I will take care of Kuri-kuri-sama."

Antonia moved closer and curved her palm around Tetsuya's cheek.

"Angelito, you are a blessing to us," she said sincerely, "but please don't be so reckless. Don't you understand? My brother is beginning to love you."

"I know," Tetsuya sighed, gazing down at the now deeply sleeping Shima leader, "I will be careful…because I am beginning to love Kuri-kuri-sama too."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ichigo paused at the Karakura cemetery gates for a moment, taking a steadying breath before heading inside. He walked slowly, his fingers clasping around the plastic wrapping on the bouquet of flowers he held. He walked to Masaki's grave marker and laid the flowers down, then sat down, facing the marker.

"Hi Mom," he greeted her, "I know it's been a while. There was a lot going on in Soul Society and I had to go and help. Uryu and I, and some others were able to stop Ywach."

He sighed softly and closed his eyes.

"We were able to save everyone, and to make sure that he wouldn't hurt anyone else like he hurt you and Uryu's mom. Uryu and I are both okay. But, um, there's something I need to talk to you about."

He took a slow breath, enjoying the sweet scent of the flowers he had brought along.

"Mom, I've met someone really special. I mean, he sort of tried to kill me at first, but we worked out our differences, and when he came to his senses, I started to see that he's a really good person. And he's not just a good person, he's good looking…beautiful. I guess a guy can be beautiful, right? He smells better than these flowers, and he likes children. I took care of him while he was sick, and he confessed that he wants a family more than anything in the world."

He paused and tugged out a little weed that had taken root at the side of the grave.

"I want a family too," he confessed, "I want to have babies to hold and little kids to share things with. I do. But…how do you know when it's the right person…when it's the right time? I mean, I can see myself with Byakuya, and I've figured out that I think he likes me, and he might want me to be the person he makes his family with. What I don't know is if I'm ready for all of that. I mean, if it's the right time, shouldn't I know? If Byakuya's the right person, shouldn't I be more sure of it? Whenever I'm with him, it's seems like the time flies. Even when he was sick and I was quarantined with him, it seemed to go so fast. And now, we're not quarantined anymore, and I don't know what to do. I like Byakuya. I think I'm in love with him, but I haven't got the slightest idea how to know if I am or I'm not."

"If you're asking yourself that question," his father's voice said suddenly, "then I think you already know the answer."

Ichigo came to his feet, scowling.

"What the hell are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?" he yelled, "And listening in to private conversation? What are you doing here? I thought you were in meetings all day."

Isshin shrugged.

"We finished early and I came to look in on the girls," he explained, "I sensed you in the area and felt that your reiatsu was agitated."

"Damn right, I'm agitated, with you sneaking around like that!" Ichigo scolded him.

"What was I gonna do? You think I'd ignore my kid's pain, Ichigo?"

"I'm not in pain," Ichigo sighed, turning away and looking back at Masaki's grave, "I'm just confused."

"Yeah," Isshin agreed, "You're confused and maybe you're a little bit scared."

"I'm not scared," Ichigo said sullenly, "I just wonder sometimes."

Isshin looked at him quietly, waiting for him to go on.

"You and Mom loved each other, and Mom died. Kuri loved Hideaki and Hideaki died. We all die, some of us sooner than others. And if you love someone and they die, I've seen what that does. Byakuya already almost died in the war. I just…"

Isshin nodded.

"I get it," he said solemnly, "You wonder if it's worth it. I don't suppose it's enough to tell you that it is. It does hurt like hell when you lose someone you love, and falling in love, you know it has to end sometime. You just…hope that you'll have a long time, and you savor every minute."

"I don't know," Ichigo sighed, "I don't know if I can do that."

Isshin smiled.

"You can, and I'll bet you will. We're all fools that way, but it's a good thing. Yeah, losing your mother was awful, but if I didn't open my heart and love Masaki, then I wouldn't have all of the memories of being with her. And if you don't love Byakuya, you might save yourself a little bit of pain…or you might just take on regret for what you miss because of it."

Ichigo sighed miserably.

"You know, you're not really helping," he said irritably.

"Sorry, your mom was better at this than I am, but since she's not here, I have to do the honors. I can't tell you what to do, Ichigo, but I know you'll make the right choice for you, whatever that is. You're a smart kid, and you're like your mom. Smart, kind, protective. Just…follow your instincts and you'll be okay."

Ichigo breathed in slowly and huffed out a long breath.

"I don't know what my heart's telling me. I don't know anything," Ichigo sighed.

"Sure you do," Isshin chided him, "You're not here agonizing over what to do. You know what you want. You're just scared to take that first step."

Ichigo considered quietly for a moment, then frowned.

"Hey, why aren't you all up in arms about the girls you've been showing off to me? I thought you were all gone on me picking one of them. Don't you care at all that I'm in love with a guy?"

Isshin shrugged and smiled.

"You love who you love," he said dismissively, "It's only anal families like the Kuchikis who make something like that difficult. I've always thought that was kinda silly, myself."

Ichigo shook his head and surrendered to a little smile.

"Me too," he said, staring at his mother's grave marker, "I guess I'm not just scared of Byakuya dying. I may be scared that he'll convince himself that it's wrong for us to be together or something. I don't know."

"Hey," Isshin said bracingly, "take your time and let your heart talk to you. That's the only way you're really going to know."

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya heard small footsteps outside his bedroom door and peeked at the clock. Surprised he had slept so late, he wrangled his body into a seated position as Torio appeared with his breakfast and set it on the nightstand.

"I've missed breakfast with the others," he yawned, "Why didn't you wake me?"

"Antonia-san said you needed more rest," Torio explained, "She was over, visiting her brother and she took time to help Michio-san catch up with everyone who is still sick."

Gia scampered up to the open garden doors, then skidded to a stop and tapped on the door frame politely.

"Yes, miss?" Torio said, walking to the doorway.

"May I see Prince Byakuya?" the girl asked, "He didn't come to eat with us. Is he still alive?"

"Why, of course he's still alive," Torio chuckled, "His healers just said that he needed more rest, but he is awake now and he would be happy to see you. Come in."

Gia followed Torio to the bed and hopped up, taking up a seat next to the tumble-haired noble and pulling out a book.

"Want to hear a new story?" she asked, "An old man gave it to me. He said that his name was Nori and he is a sort of uncle of yours."

"Yes," Byakuya agreed, "Nori is my father's uncle."

Gia held up the book for Byakuya to see.

"He said this is old, and that it belonged to Ginrei-sama when he was a boy. Ginrei-sama read it many times, and he read it to Soujun-sama, and then he read it to you."

Byakuya studied the slightly faded cover of the book and his lips curved upward.

"I do remember this book. I was not aware that Nori had it. Do you know the story?"

Gia nodded and leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially.

"I actually already heard it, but I never saw the book."

Byakuya nodded.

"I think I would like to hear the story."

Gia nodded and curled up beside him, holding the book so both could see.

"Hey, have you got room for one more?" Ichigo asked, appearing in the doorway.

Byakuya looked up at the Shiba heir curiously.

"I thought that you were busy checking in with your family," Byakuya remembered.

Ichigo shrugged.

"I did, and there wasn't so much going on. I see I made it in time to have breakfast with you."

Byakuya nodded.

"Torio, will you please bring Ichigo a plate?"

"Hai, Byakuya-sama," the attendant answered.

"What're you two doing?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm reading Prince Byakuya another story. His something-uncle brought it and gave it to me to read to him."

"That was nice," Ichigo said approvingly, taking a seat on the other side of the little girl, "But, since when did you go from calling him Kuchiki taicho and started calling him Prince Byakuya?"

Gia giggled.

"Since I saw that he lives in a beautiful palace and has slaves…"

"They are not slaves," Byakuya corrected her gently, "They are attendants and staff. They take care of me, and I also take care of them. It is not slavery, as they can leave if they want to."

"Who would ever want to leave here?" Ichigo whispered in the girl's ear, "This place is great!"

He gave Gia a surprised look as her face fell and her large eyes clouded.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "Was it something I said?"

Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes.

"I never want to leave either," she said, sniffing, "I don't want to go back to the orphanage. It's cold and sad there."

Byakuya met the little girl's eyes quietly.

"I know, Gia," he said, pausing and searching for words.

Ichigo read the conflicted look on Byakuya's face and smiled at the little girl.

"Well, Byakuya's palace is already pretty full of people," he said, earning a look of muted alarm from the Kuchiki leader, "So, uh, would you maybe want to come and live with my family?"

Gia's eyes rounded hopefully.

"Do you have a palace too, Ichigo-sama?" she asked.

"Kinda," Ichigo laughed, "It's pretty big like this, but our gardens aren't as pretty as Byakuya's. Still, I think it's a pretty great place to live. You can have your own room, and even an attendant to help you with things."

"Really?" Gia asked breathlessly, her eyes filling with fresh tears, "You want me to live with you?"

"Sure," Ichigo laughed, blinking in surprise as the little girl crashed into him, knocking him onto his back, "Whoa!"

He struggled into a seated position and hugged Gia tightly, his eyes meeting Byakuya's still startled ones.

Gia scrambled off the bed and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm going to tell Rukia-chan!" Gia said excitedly, running out the door.

Ichigo turned his attention to Byakuya, who was still not recovered enough to speak.

"Sorry," he apologized, "Maybe you think that was too impulsive, but I…"

His words were stopped suddenly as Byakuya turned and captured Ichigo's lips in a long, penetrating kiss that left both men blushing and beginning to be aroused.

"Forgive me," Byakuya apologized, "You must think I was much too impulsive. You surprised me. A child is a precious and serious obligation. Are you…sure about this, Ichigo?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said with certainty, "I know you don't want to send her back, and I don't want to either."

"And what makes you think that I would not have allowed her to stay?" asked the Kuchiki leader, frowning at him.

"I knew you'd crack and take her in," Ichigo laughed, "I was saving you from yourself. Cause, you and I both know you'd get in trouble with your elders if you did. This way, she can come and see you all that she likes and those old guys don't have anything to say about it. That's okay with you, right?"

Byakuya gave him a look of relief.

"I admit, I am less likely to ruffle feathers and earn the disapproval of the council this way, but…"

"It's fine," Ichigo said firmly, "I like Gia. My dad and sisters are going to love her to death. This is better for everyone, right?"

"I suppose," Byakuya said tentatively, "But…does this mean that you will be coming to call with her?"

Ichigo gave him a charismatic smile.

"Do you want me to come with her?" he asked.

"I would enjoy that," Byakuya confessed.

"Then, I'll come," Ichigo said, his face taking on a more serious look, "Byakuya, I'm…ah…not really sure what I'm ready for, you know? I've never been with anyone seriously. I don't know how ready I am."

"You don't have to explain," Byakuya said quietly, giving Ichigo a patient smile, "Following your heart is risky. I don't know if I am exactly ready either."

"Okay," Ichigo sighed, gathering himself, "We'll just take this slowly and see where it goes, all right?"

"Very well," he agreed, his heart and insides fluttering so he wasn't sure he could manage eating, "We will see where it goes."