Chapter 14: The Fading

Renji looked up as Byakuya entered the office and he felt a pang of worry go through him. Although he held the usual calm expression and greeted Renji readily enough, his movements seemed to lack their usual smoothness and his eyes seemed more shadowed. He sat down and began to work immediately as Renji left to make his tea. He said nothing as the redhead set the tea at his elbow and barely touched it as he continued to work without so much as looking up. Renji found himself glancing over every so often, and each time, he noticed something else that put him more on edge.

He looks thin…and his eyes look almost hollowed out...and his hand is shaking. That never happens. Damn! What can I do? This gets worse and worse. And ever since that day when he tried to kiss me, he won't even talk to me beyond 'hello' and 'goodbye.' On the surface he seems normal, but he's not normal at all…

"Renji," said the noble quietly, "It is time for us to train. Come…and bring Zabimaru."

"Ah," Renji said, looking down at his work, then back up at the noble, "I'm kinda behind…"

"That is no excuse to neglect your training. Put that aside and come with me."

His heart throbbing painfully, Renji picked up his zanpakutou and followed Byakuya down the hallway and out to the Squad Six training grounds. They took up their normal positions and raised their weapons. Almost from the outset, Renji could feel the shakiness and the lack of rhythm in his movements. His timing was poor enough that Renji broke through his guard numerous times and nearly took his weapon from his hand twice. They moved into freestyle combat, activating shikai and using kido to unsettle each other's fighting style. Byakuya's body was bathed in sweat and his chest heaved softly. Fear crept into Renji's heart as the noble was forced to one knee, defending against his shikai and barely sidestepped a kido blast that wouldn't have come close before. The noble raised his weapon and let it fall, and Renji watched the great swords of his ban kai rise around him. But as the swords dissolved into a sea of cherry blossoms, there was an odd shiver to their movement. Renji's eyes widened and he released his own ban kai. The spinning petals moved toward him and he sent the skeletal snake at them.

"Hikotsu Taihou!"

A red blast fired from the beast's mouth and, to Renji's surprise and dismay, shattered the petals, throwing them aside and leaving Byakuya defenseless in the face of the incoming attack. A bolt of terror went through Renji as he realized that the noble was not going to be able to block the attack and it was too late to stop it. He launched himself at Byakuya flash stepping fast enough to leave a fire trail and pulling the noble out of the path of his attack as the skeletal snake slammed down into the place he had been. The two shinigamis rolled clear of the attack, slid to a stop and froze.

Renji looked up, a shudder going through him as he spotted Senbonzakura lying broken on the ground. And, he found, Byakuya was not just being held by him, but was clinging to him, burying his face in the redhead's strong shoulder and shaking. The coppery scent of blood struck his senses and, looking down in surprise, he notice fine cuts on Byakuya's skin that couldn't have come from Zabimaru.

"What the hell…Taichou…?" he stammered.

Byakuya pulled free of him and stood. As he did, Renji inhaled sharply at the realization of just how much he had been hurt by his own zanpakutou's blades.

"Taichou…your blades…hurt you…" he whispered, staring.

"There is nothing to worry about, Abarai," Byakuya said, turning back and bending gingerly to retrieve his weapon, "I simply became careless."

"Let me heal you," Renji said, stepping forward.

Byakuya's hands came up and stopped him.

"I said it is nothing to worry about," he repeated.

"I'm not going to leave you in pain, Taichou," the redhead insisted.

Byakuya met his eyes squarely.

"When one is careless and falls short of his goals, pain is a natural punishment…and a means of growing stronger."

Renji caught his breath and stared in surprise.

"Don't look so stunned. I am not unable to bear pain. It has become so much a part of my existence that I do not feel it anymore."

He turned and flash stepped back into the building, leaving Renji staring after him. The redhead sheathed his sword and walked back inside, sensing that the noble had gone into his quarters. He knocked gently and listened for an answer, but heard none. A moment later, he realized that the shower was running. He left to make tea, then slipped into the room and set the tea at the noble's bedside. He was about to leave when he heard an odd sound in the bathroom.

His heart began to race softly and he moved closer to the bathroom. There were no other sounds at all, just the water running. He walked to the door, pushed gently and found that it opened. He peeked around and gasped in dismay.

"Byakuya!"

He could see through the glass that Byakuya was lying curled on the floor of the shower, the water raining down onto him. Tiny streams of blood ran down his skin, mixing with the water and draining away. Ignoring the fact that he was still fully dressed, Renji entered the shower and dropped to his knees beside his unconscious taichou. He lifted the noble's upper body and let it rest against him as he began to address the multitude of cuts that seemed to be all over his body. Healing light flared around his hands and he worked his way steadily from the marks on the porcelain cheeks, over throat and shoulder, down the slim torso, over arms and legs…down to his very toes, erasing the seeping cuts. When he finished, the noble lay in his arms, fully healed, but, Renji noticed, he looked too thin and felt to light in his arms. He turned the water off and dried Byakuya's body, then wrapped a yukata around him and carried him back to bed. As he set the noble down, the dark eyes blinked open and he looked up at Renji cautiously.

"I'm calling for a healer," he said quietly, "Unohana taichou needs to know what is happening, Taichou."

"No," Byakuya said, letting his eyes close again, "You are not to say anything to anyone."

"But Taichou…!"

"It will only make things worse. We have been through this before. I cannot prove anything against Tohma…nothing. And trying to do so will only make him angrier. Go Renji. Just go back to work. Leave this. There is nothing you can do."

"But you're barely on your feet! You are not able to fight because you can't even fend off your own zanpakutou's petals! Taichou, you are dying right in front of me and I can't just stand here and watch it! Please…let me call for Unohana taichou…"

"I told you, no. It would only raise the tension between us, and I can barely manage things as they are. I thank you for healing me. I will regain strength if I do not incite his anger and invite more damage."

"B-but…as long as you've been with him, you haven't been able to stave off his anger. He's going to keep hurting you until there's nothing left…until you fade away and disappear! How can you ask me to stand by and watch that happen? Byakuya…Taichou! I love you! I can't just watch you die like this!"

Byakuya looked down at his hands and said nothing. Renji sat down next to him.

"We won't let him know we're on to what he's doing. We'll have Unohana taichou tell him that you are ill and require hospitalization. And I will come to take care of you there. I'll help you get well. Tohma can't hurt you while you are there. And while you are getting well, we will continue to try to collect proof that will stand up in the royal court. Byakuya, if he tries to hurt you in the hospital, it will be recorded. We will have objective proof, taken in a public place. He won't be able to deny it. He'll have to let you go."

He moved closer and wrapped his arms around Byakuya's shoulders.

"And when he does, you and I can be together," he promised, "It will be all right…but you have to let me help you. Let's get you to the healing center, where you'll be safe from him, Taichou."

Byakuya turned and reached up to touch the redhead's face.

"Arigato, Renji. I am very touched by your desire to help me. But I will not take the chance of making him angry at me and at you as well. He would find a way to hurt you…and I could not bear that."

He looked down at the tea on the tray.

"I think the tea has grown cold, Renji. Will you bring some fresh?"

Renji stared at him for several tense moments, then sighed in resignation.

"Hai, Taichou. I will be right back with it."

Byakuya watched as he left the room. The noble slipped out of bed and into a fresh shihakushou, then left his quarters and the Squad Six offices. He turned in the direction of Kuchiki Manor and began to walk. He realized several steps later that he had gotten out of bed too soon. Dizziness swept over him and he stepped closer to one of the buildings and leaned against it. He heard a concerned voice, but couldn't understand the words. His mind registered that he was looking into the concened faces of Ukitake taichou and Kyoraku taichou. He tried to answer, but couldn't speak. Everything went unbearably bright around him and he started to fall. He heard the other taichous' voices echoing around him and felt someone catch him as he fell.

"I'll take him to the healing center," Kyoraku said, "and you go and find Abarai fukutaichou."

He heard footsteps running away and felt that he was being carried somewhere. A few minutes later, he was brought into a building. The coolness of the air inside made him shiver softly and he smelled scents of antiseptic and clean linen. He was laid gently on an examination table and a few minutes later, Unohana taichou arrived. He tried to move, to speak to her, but his body refused to obey him. A few minutes into the examination, Renji arrived. Byakuya felt a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach as Renji relayed to the healer exactly what had been happening. He felt hard shivers inside thinking of what Tohma would do to him when he was healed and had to return to the manor.

"Kuchiki taichou is suffering from blood loss, likely from the injuries you said he received during your training, but also from exhaustion and poor nutrition. Abarai fukutaichou, I will need to contact Prince Tohma, as he is Kuchiki taichou's spouse and is the only one who can speak for him right now."

"But he'll probably just try to get him released!" Renji objected, "The guy is beating the hell out of Taichou! He's making him so depressed that he can't eat or sleep properly! How can you let that guy…"

"I am sorry, Abarai-san, Tohma is the only one able to decide this."

There was a long silence.

"Unohana taichou," Renji said in a low voice, "I can't stand by and let him kill Byakuya. I can't stop him either. What am I supposed to do? Isn't there something you can do?"

The healer thought carefully for a moment.

"There is one thing," she said softly, "If Kuchiki taichou told someone that he wanted to stay here, we would respect his wishes. I will see if I can raise his consciousness enough to gain his permission."

She leaned over the noble, raising her reiatsu until Byakuya felt himself begin to surface. His eyes blinked slowly open and he gazed dazedly up at the healer and Renji.

"Kuchiki taichou, can you talk?" asked Unohana.

"Y-yes," he answered in a trembling voice.

"I want to keep you here in the healing center…to see to your treatment for exhaustion and malnutrition. Does this meet with your approval?"

"No," said the prince's voice from the doorway.

Renji and the healer looked up in surprise as the prince moved to Byakuya's side and placed an arm around him.

"I heard you had taken ill and came as soon as I could," he told the noble, glancing back at Unohana, "Come, I will take you home and call the clan healers."

He started to lift Byakuya into his arms, but stopped as Unohana's soft hand touched his arm.

"Just so you understand," she said, meeting the prince's eyes, "In cases like this, I am required to file a report of release, in which I record that he was taken against my wishes. There would be a hearing to decide if there was impropriety on either side…and though you would obviously win the decision, it would be very public. Alternatively, you could allow me to treat him here and there will be no hearing."

"Unohana taichou," Byakuya said, looking warily up at Tohma, "This is unnecessary. I will be fine. The clan healers are more than capable of treating me…"

"No…" said Tohma, his eyes flaring softly as they met the healer's, "You need to stay here, Byakuya. Unohana taichou is more capable than even the best of our healers…and kami knows, I want my lover to have the best of everything. Now then, I think it's best if we are left alone with Unohana taichou. Abarai-san, will you please excuse us?"

Renji glared at the prince, but felt Byakuya's eyes watching him closely.

"Sure," he said evenly, "No problem."

He walked out and Tohma watched, smiling as the door closed behind him. Unohana continued her examination.

"I am recommending that he spend a week in our recovery ward. We shall monitor his food intake and see that he gets plenty of rest. You may visit Byakuya as often as you wish, but I must ask that there be no sexual contact and that he be left alone to sleep at night. After the week, I will evaluate his progress and will determine if he can return home."

"Very well, then," Tohma said, nodding.

Unohana taichou left the room and Tohma sat down next to Byakuya, slipping a hand into his.

"We must be exceedingly careful," he said softly, "Unohana taichou would not understand the lengths we go to in order to achieve your next pregnancy. And once you are in the recovery ward, they will likely monitor your room. Be quiet. Allow yourself to heal…and when Abarai comes to see you, show him your gratitude. He feels like he is saving you from me…and I want him to have that perception. Byakuya, we are getting close to getting what we want from him, but I have to be sure that you do not give us away. Relax and look at me."

Byakuya's eyes met his warily.

"Good."

The prince placed his hands on either side of the noble's face and focused his power. His eyes bored down into Byakuya's and the noble's shimmered and grew hazy.

"You will not speak to anyone but Abarai about us. You will only confide in him and will not let on to anyone else. You will follow all of the healer's instructions so that I can bring you home as soon as possible…and if you have an opportunity to seduce Renji…you will do so…"

"I understand," Byakuya said dazedly.

The prince lowered his reiatsu and sat back as the door opened and Unohana taichou stepped back inside.

"We have a room prepared for you, Kuchiki taichou," she said, smiling, "If you will sign these forms, Isane will take you to your room."

Tohma leaned over him and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"I will see you as soon as they have you settled," he promised.

A shiver went through Byakuya as he looked up at Tohma and nodded, his eye catching the unsettling sight of Renji standing outside the door watching, his eyes glowing red with fury.