Chapter 3: Secret Pain
"Good of you to join us, Abarai," Byakuya said softly as Renji flash stepped to the noble, just outside the banquet hall, "We were getting ready to enter without you."
"I didn't know this was a group thing," Renji said, catching sight of Tetsuya on Byakuya's far side, then blushing as he realized what he'd just said to Byakuya, "Ah…that we were going in together."
"My apologies on not being more clear," Byakuya said, "Perhaps as you and my cousin are sharing a room, Tetsuya can inform you in more detail about the expectations."
Renji opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again as Tetsuya flashed that warm smile and nodded.
"I would be happy to assist you in any way, Abarai-san," Tetsuya agreed.
Gods, can you assist him with what's growing between his legs? quipped the baboon in Renji's mind.
"Ah, thanks," Renji managed, firing a warning thought in the nue's direction.
Fuck off! This is hard…difficult enough as it is! I don't need you two screwing things up for me!
What are you talking about? the baboon chuckled, We were trying to help.
Yeah, right. Leave me the hell alone.
Maybe he doesn't want to know…
Shut up, Snake boy. You heard Renji. Leave him alone.
Since when do you do what our stupid master says?
Since now. Shut up!
You shut up!
Both of you shut up! I can't hear myself think!
Ooh, watch out! Our stupid master is going to think! laughed Snakey.
Knock it off, you bastards, or I'll shut down my spiritual pressure and not speak to you for a week!
Ooh, you have him all hot and bothered now, Snakey. You'd better stop.
Since when do you protect him, you saggy-boobed chimp! You just want him to deflower that pretty cousin of his taichou's!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Tetsuya is a virgin? mused Renji, How the hell do you know that? You're not even old enough to have sex, snake boy!
His reiatsu is extra sweet, explained the baboon, Breathing it in makes us giddy.
Breathing at all makes you giddy, Renji chuckled.
"Abarai-san, are you coming?" asked Tetsuya.
Oh, the virgin did NOT just ask him that! laughed Snakey.
"Damn it. Shut up!" hissed Renji.
Tetsuya's eyes widened and Renji felt his knees weaken.
"S-sorry…it's ah…just my zanpakutou," he said, a blush roaring across his face.
Byakuya smirked.
"Abarai fukutaichou has a rather spirited counterpart," explained the clan leader, "Now, if you are finished muttering to yourself, may we enter the banquet hall?"
"Y-yeah…ah, sure. Sorry, Taichou. I don't know what got into them."
We know what Renji wants to get into, ne? whispered Snakey,
"Them?" inquired Tetsuya, his head tilting and his brow furrowing cutely, "You will have to introduce us later."
"R-right. Much later," Renji said, shaking his head and turning to follow Byakuya.
Like I'd let you two fuck things up before we even got to first base!
That's not nice, Renji, complained the baboon, We wouldn't make you look bad. We want you to get him into bed!
Dream on, Renji sighed inwardly, That's about as likely as me going on a date with Soi fon taichou…
Ugh, Renji! You're going to make us sick!
Yeah? Good…
Renji took up a position next to Byakuya as they entered the banquet hall, and was pleased that not only did Tetsuya fall in beside him going in, but after Byakuya left the group to join Prince Hiromi at the head table, Tetsuya touched him lightly on the elbow and directed them to their table, where the two were seated, next to each other at a round table, partially facing each other. He found he was able to observe the noble without being too obvious. Unfortunately, Rukia was seated on his other side and whispered at the two of them until the redhead was ready to scream at her to shut up. But, on the good side of it, Tetsuya seemed very comfortable with her, which gave Renji a way to learn more about him.
"Nii-sama told us about your promotion to Head of House Security," Rukia said, nodding approvingly, "It's well deserved, Tetsuya-san!"
"Hmmm," said the noble, a wry smile touching his lips, "I think there are a few of our dear elders who would differ greatly with you on that, ne?"
"Well, then they are stupid," Rukia went on, "They need to take their noses out of the air and…"
"Rukia-chan," sighed Tetsuya reprovingly, "You are not going to change centuries of adherence to their ways. And things are better now. When I was a child, being half-peasant meant being sent to Itamigiri!"
"Wh-what?" Renji asked, blinking in surprise, "You are…half-peasant? And what in the heck is Itamigiri?"
"Ah," said Tetsuya, turning his eyes to meet Renji's, "Forgive me. Of course you wouldn't know. My father was noble and my mother was from the mid-Rukon. I was born in a time when the rules regarding the mixing of noble and peasant blood were much more strict even than they are now. Itamigiri was a secret prison, where nobles who broke the rules endured severe punishments for their transgressions."
"Tetsuya-san's parents were forced to keep his birth a secret," said Rukia, wide-eyed "because the clans were so strict about not wanting their birthright powers to escape the noble families and be given to those having peasant blood that they would not have allowed him to be born. They worried that the peasants would grow too strong and rebel against the monarchy, so they made those awful rules and enforced horrible punishments on nobles who transgressed."
"That's just…nuts!" Renji mused, "Insanity…"
"Well," Tetsuya went on, "it was insanity that they based on the actions of a half-noble shinigami named Ryuu, who became so enraged by the unfair treatment of Rukongai folk by Central 46 that he convinced a throng of peasants with some level of powers to break into the place. They were defeated but they did slay several councilors in the attack, and after that, a meeting of the clan leaders was called and the rules were enacted to make certain nothing of that nature happened again."
"I'd heard of Ryuu, of course," acknowledged Renji, "but I didn't know things were that severe."
"That is because the noble families were not eager for the Rukongai folk to know of what was being done, so, like everything else, it was kept secret."
"And it was so stupid," Rukia went on, "because even though it did reduce the number of nobles sharing their powers with the peasants, a number of peasants were still born with respectable powers."
"But because the focus was placed on a select group…the half-noble population, the clans kept information from reaching the peasant class by controlling the activities of the half-nobles…placing strict rules on them and making them servants within the family…restricting their rights and their ability to procreate."
"Luckily for our Tetsuya-san," Rukia said, reaching over and squeezing her cousin's hand, "the rules were changed and Itamigiri was closed."
"I was one of the last to see the inside of that place," Tetsuya said softly, "and I would have died there if not for Byakua-sama. He learned of the atrocities there and ordered it shut down and the people there to be released. The nobles being held were freed, but the clans still wanted the half-nobles controlled, so they ordered that the half-nobles freed from the prison must be made servants, and that those servants would live under strict rules meant to cause their population to die out."
"Tetsuya-san was being led from his cell towards the execution chamber when Nii-sama's group arrived. He saved our cousin's life and took him on as his own servant to prevent him being hurt anymore," Rukia explained.
"And for that, I am deeply grateful. Though the clans still look down on half-bloods like me and some are still subjected to strict rules, we enjoy much more freedom thanks to Byakuya-sama's dedication to seeking humane treatment of our population."
"And now that you have reached bankai and have been made Head of House Security, you can no longer be considered a servant," said Rukia, smiling.
"I am honored to have been given such responsibility," acknowledged Tetsuya, "but I know that Byakuya-sama's decision did not please our council of elders. They objected to the decision, citing, of all things, the dark history between the clans and the half-bloods."
He shook his head, momentarily riling the long strands of his misbehaving black hair and sending a breath of warm sakura flashing across Renji's piqued senses.
"It was their own doing. It was certainly not my choice to be imprisoned and…"
He stopped himself and closed his eyes for a moment.
"Well…that is best left in the past, ne?" he sighed, "I will simply be grateful for Byakuya-sama's influence and dedicate myself to doing my level best to keep him safe."
"Are you worried that someone might harm him as a way of striking at you?" Renji asked.
The dark blue eyes betrayed a hint of uncertainty.
"I would hope they wouldn't be so short-sighted," he commented, "because they would be damaging themselves as well. Byakuya-sama is the strongest leader in the clan's history and has vaulted us to the top of the hierarchy of the clans. If anything happened to him, it would hurt the entire clan, in that respect. But I take nothing for granted, and remain at all times vigilant."
"It doesn't sound like you get much sleep," Renji said, smiling wryly.
"When you're in my position," said Tetsuya, "it is best to sleep with one eye open and your zanpakutou loosened in its sheath."
Talk at the table went quiet as several speeches and toasts to the royal couple were made, then the revelers moved to the ballroom for dessert and dancing. Renji placed himself near Byakuya and watched as Rukia and Tetsuya moved onto the dance floor together. He quietly admired the grace in the noble's movements, that sweet half-smile he always seemed to wear and the sound of his voice when it floated by, suspended on the pleasant strains of music.
"Are you enjoying youself, Abarai fukutaichou?" Byakuya asked, jarring him out of his reverie, "You should stop staring at my sister like that. I might be forced to discipline you."
He paused for a moment, considering his words.
"Or perhaps I should hope it is my sister who has your attention," he commented very softly.
Renji's eyes flitted to meet his superior's, and found that Byakuya was gazing at Tetsuya and Rukia as they danced together.
"Because he already walks a dangerous path. And to step in your direction could bring his life down around him."
Renji held his breath as Byakuya, sipped at his sake and turned away.
"Just something to keep in mind," he finished, then stepped away.
XXXXXXXXXX
Renji stood alone on the balcony, the music from the earlier festivities still lingering in the back of his mind as he gazed down into the King's Gardens. He yawned sleepily and wondered where his lovely roommate had disappeared to after dinner. He mulled over that, and over Byakuya's veiled warning and shook his head softly to clear away the annoyance and the lingering affects of the sake. He heard Tetsuya's voice float up from down below and his eyes found the noble…or what he thought must be Tetsuya. He couldn't see the man clearly in the distance, on the back of a tall, black spirit steed, and flashing along a practice course down below.
Renji watched appreciatively as the rider, Tetsuya or not, guided his mount over the sweeping jumps and through sets of obstacles. It was, he found, quite enchanting, but when the rider lifted his hand and fired a volley of deadly accurate kido blasts at a set of targets as he flashed by them, Renji found himself nearly breathless. The final straw was when the man drew his zanpakutou and sent carefully controlled and highly accurate bursts of ice blades, hitting the targets and missing the 'innocent bystanders' placed on the course. He tensed, ready to launch himself off the balcony to go down and talk to Tetsuya, when then spirit steed slowed and walked quietly for several minutes, then Tetsuya slid down off his back and sent him trotting away towards the barn with a gentle swat. He followed his mount at a more leisurely pace as Renji watched quietly from the balcony. When Tetsuya passed out of his line of vision, Renji slipped back inside and laid down, thinking about the trip to the spirit dimension and the evening's discussion. He was nearly asleep when the door opened and he felt Tetsuya's calm presence in the room. The noble moved quietly to the closet, then disappeared into the bathing room for a time. He emerged dressed in a sleeping yukata and with his still-damp hair in a braid that ran halfway down his slender back. Renji closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep as Tetsuya walked past him and out to the balcony to look at the stars. He opened his eyes again and smiled at the sight of the half-noble's lovely silhouette, set against a backdrop of stars and a pretty, white moon. His eyes slid shut again as Tetsuya left the balcony and slid into bed next to him with a sleepy sigh. He laid with his back to the redhead, and with the light of the moon falling across his resting form, making his pale skin glow softly. A light breeze drifted in through the balcony doors, sending his sakura scent wafting across Renji's senses again. He ached to reach out and touch the long braid, and in the end, gave in to the odd urge to remove the tie at the end and free the captive strands. Tetsuya stirred softly in his sleep then turned so that he faced Renji. The redhead gazed at his roommate's beautiful, relaxed expression and let that be the last thing he saw as he drifted off to sleep.
XXXXXXXXXX
Tetsuya shifted uncomfortably as he slept, and in his half-sleeping mind, he replayed the trip to the spirit dimension and everything that had happened since he first laid eyes on Abarai Renji. He sighed in resignation, knowing better than to hope for anything of substance to form between them. Even if it wasn't for the rules, the reminiscent ache in his body reminded him of the penalty for letting his mind wander. But, he thought, it wasn't going to be easy to spend the night…or several nights, sleeping in such close quarters with the peasant fukutaichou of the sixth division.
He peeked through slitted eyes at the dark markings over the redhead's closed eyes, and admired the loose and tumbled lengths of red hair that spilled around his shoulders and onto the bed. He realized, then, that the tie had come out of his own hair and searched about absently with one hand, trying to find it. He inhaled softly, spotting it lying, partially underneath one of Renji's hands. The redhead turned in his sleep, entangling the hair tie in his fingers and taking it with him as he went. Tetsuya smiled and shook his head, then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
He thought he heard a strange noise…a sigh, or no…a soft growl of approval. He woke to find Renji lying next to him, gazing at him and twirling his hair tie lazily around one finger.
"Abarai-san?" he queried, blinking sleepily, "Wh-what is that? What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" Renji asked him, smirking, "I took your hair tie. Your hair looks better loose."
Tetsuya wanted to smile, but he forced his lips into a frown.
"Give it back, Abarai-san," he said quietly, "My hair will be painfully tangled by morning. I don't want to have to comb it out again."
"I'll comb it out for you," the redhead offered saucily, "I'd love to run my fingers through that silky hair of yours."
"You…Abarai-san…you'll do no such thing! Give it back," he said, reprovingly.
"You want this back?" Renji asked, dangling the hair tie teasingly in front of him.
Tetsuya reached for it, only to see the redhead yank it away, just as his hand closed in.
"Give it back, Abarai-san," Tetsuya said again, "I don't have all night to be bothered with your teasing!"
"Am I teasing you?" Renji asked playfully, "Do you like to be teased, Tetsuya-san?"
The noble's lips tightened.
"No," he said firmly, "Now give it back."
"Take it from me."
"What?" Tetsuya asked, his eyes widening.
"You heard me. Take it from me."
He dangled it teasingly in front of Tetsuya. The noble reached out to grab it, but found his slender hand captured in a stronger one.
"Let go of me!" he demanded, trying to pull away.
"That's some lure," mused Renji, "I used a little hair tie and caught myself a pretty boyfriend!"
"I am not your boyfriend!" Tetsuya snapped, "You've obviously had too much sake. Now, let go!"
"You really want me to let go?" the redhead asked, his eyes twinkling mischievously, "Are you sure, Tetsuya-san?"
Tetsuya glared at him and tried again to pull his hand away, but found he only managed to pull Renji down partway on top of him. He laid, pinned beneath the redhead and looking up angrily into the fetching red-brown eyes. Words tried to form on his lips, but his voice refused to sound.
"What's wrong?" Renji asked, again in that sweet, playful tone, "Is your tongue tied? I can help you with that…"
His mouth opened in protest, but Tetsuya had his breath taken away as a hot mouth clamped down on his and a blazing tongue slipped in between his parted lips. His hands grabbed at the redhead, trying to push him away, but a moment later he froze as Renji's tongue sank deeper into his mouth and began exploring it deeply. The redhead's warm, calloused hands, slid down his body, sending shivers all along the noble's sensitive flesh. Tetsuya caught his breath as his heart began to race and a hungry ache rose in his loins.
"Oh!" Tetsuya gasped, waking out of a sound sleep and feeling a harsh jolt of pain.
He sat up quickly, his senses riled and the hot flash of pain spreading.
"Oh…"
He dragged himself to his feet and staggered out onto the balcony, hoping the cool air would steady him. But a stronger jolt of pain gripped his midsection and sent his head spinning. His legs collapsed beneath him and the moon and stars swam before his eyes.
"Tetsuya-san?" said Renji's voice from somewhere in the haze around him.
The warm hands from his dream touched his face, and he looked into the stunning red-brown eyes and felt pain rip through his body. He took a hissing breath and loosed it again in a scream as darkness closed in around him.