Chapter 7: The Art of Manipulation
Tetsuya's attendant slipped into his young master's room, then slid to a stop, staring at the unexpected sight of Kuchiki Tetsuya, dressed but carelessly sprawled across the bare and attractively tattooed chest of Abarai Renji. He froze for a moment, blinking and trying to decide what to do, as Tetsuya's eyes opened and he gave the youth a warm smile of greeting.
"Oh, sorry, Koji-san," he apologized, "I should have told you to expect Renji to be here."
"Ah, it's no problem, sir," Koji said, blushing, "But should I have Akio come to the bathing room to assist him?"
"Wha...?" Renji muttered, blinking and sitting up, "I don't think I need help taking a bath. I can..."
"Renji and I will see to ourselves this morning. Thank you, Koji-san."
"Of course, Tetsuya-san. Byakuya-sama has already bathed, so the chamber is free, if you wish to use it before breakfast."
"I believe we will," Tetsuya said, yawning and stretching, then sliding out of bed and tying his yukata at the waist. He followed Koji into the walk-in closet to decide what to wear, giving Renji time to exit the bed and hastily dress himself. He sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting until the two youths emerged from the closet.
"I will go and assist cook with the breakfast," said Koji in parting.
"So...the bathing room," Renji said, looking curious.
"This way," Tetsuya said, taking the redhead's hand.
They left Tetsuya's bedroom and proceeded down the elegantly decorated hall to a set of double doors. Renji stared as Tetsuya opened them to reveal an entire room that was nearly taken up by a huge bathing pool. Near the edge was a comfortable looking soaking area, while out in the center of the pool, water rained down from several sets of rocks, making pretty waterfalls for showering.
"Damn," muttered Renji, "Kinda puts the shitty little box I have in my apartment to shame."
"Don't worry about it," Tetsuya laughed, shaking his head, "It's not like it actually belongs to me. If not for Byakuya-sama's kindness and protection, the board would likely have kicked me out onto the streets and I would be bathing in the city fountain."
"I'll go bathe naked in the city fountain if you will," the redhead said jokingly.
"Sorry," chuckled Tetsuya, wading out into the pool, "I don't feel like being arrested today."
"How 'bout tomorrow?" Renji teased.
The two made their way out to the waterfalls, where they indulged slowly, carefully lathering each others' bodies, then stepping beneath the fall of water to wash themselves clean. Tetsuya left the waterfall area and sank into one of the hot, jetted soaking tubs. He closed his eyes, sinking in, up to his shoulders and letting out a contented sigh.
"There room in there for two?" Renji asked, grinning.
"Not if you want to be invited back here," Tetsuya answered, smirking, "We will, of course be expected to keep our explorations confined to the bedroom and use more discretion in the common areas."
"Too bad," the redhead sighed, sinking down in the soaking tub next to Tetsuya's, "Would have been fun to play in the water a bit."
"It would," Tetsuya agreed, "But unfortunately, a greater amount of restraint is called for here."
The two remained in the soaking tubs for several cycles, then slipped out and met at the edge of the bathing pool, where towels and white yukatas awaited them. They dressed and returned to Tetsuya's room, where the younger man put on the clothes he had laid out earlier and Renji watched with amorous eyes.
"You sure we can't just slip back into bed for awhile?" he asked, licking his lips as Tetsuya began to pull on a pair of dress slacks, "Watching you is making me hungry again."
"I think it would be rude to keep my cousin waiting," Tetsuya said, wriggling into an undershirt, then into a dress shirt.
"Ah, right," said Renji, "Kuchiki-san doesn't like to be kept waiting."
They left the bedroom, this time heading to the right, down the hall, down a huge flight of carpeted stairs, then towards the back of the sprawling house, where Byakuya waited in the dining room. He glanced up at the two as they entered the room, glaring softly in disapproval.
"I know," said Tetsuya, heading him off, "I will remember to let the staff know to expect him."
"And I promise I'll enter through the front door, okay?" offered Renji, "I'll even knock."
"That does sound better than scaling balconies and getting house security up in arms," Byakuya said dryly.
"Heh, sorry about that, Kuchiki-san," the redhead said ruefully, "I guess falling in love can really make idiots of us, ne?"
Tetsuya caught his breath softly at the look of emotional pain that flashed across Byakuya's fine features, then disappeared just as quickly.
"I suppose," he said stiffly, turning his attention to his meal.
Renji and Tetsuya exchanged curious glances at his response, then shook their heads and continued eating.
"I would like to see the two of you in my office this morning for an initial meeting with the concert staff. It will give us a start on what to expect for music numbers, casting and costume requirements. I have a meeting with the board that should conclude by nine-thirty, so we'll meet just after."
"We'll be there," Tetsuya assured him, "I will be working on the company tax forms today, so I will be in the office all day."
"In the office and bored to tears," Renji joked, "I have some stuff to prepare for Tetsuya's practice session this afternoon, so I'll be at the building all morning too."
"Good. Then, I will not need to look for you."
Byakuya took a last bite of his food and stood.
"A car will be available for you whenever you wish to go," he told them, "I would go with you, but I have to meet with a client this morning."
"We'll see you there, then," Tetsuya said, nodding.
Byakuya took his leave of the two and headed for the house entry, stepping out into the cool morning, his mind still distracted by Aizen's sudden appearance at the manor the night before.
It has been such a long time since he kissed me, I had almost forgotten how it felt. I want to think that forgetting him is a good thing. That is certainly my intent. But then, why can I still feel that sensation from before, of his lips possessing mine as though they were made for him alone?
Yes, that was the 'magic' behind our love, the feeling that, instead of having been born a freak, I was different for a reason. I was different and I was not able to be loved by others, because I was made to be the other part of his soul. Yes, that is what it felt like, and what I came to believe. And through everything, I believed that so strongly that I didn't just ignore the troubling signs. I crashed through them heedlessly. Why? Because his love made my feelings of awkwardness and ugliness disappear.
I had thought all along, deep down, it was not as the family tried to make me believe. I was not a disgrace, nor a curse upon the family. I looked like my father. I sounded similar to him and I had a beautiful future.
It was because of what I was, what the physicians told them, that they saw me as the death knell on everything that Soujun was. I was thought to be infertile, but it was only that I was so outwardly. Inside...where they couldn't see, I was...
"Good morning, Kuchiki-san," said the driver, opening the car door to welcome him into the limousine.
"Good morning, Hotaka," he answered, his mind still spinning over the past.
He slid into the back of the car and settled in place, still remembering.
"Don't look!" he gasped, tearing away from Aizen, "I told you that you shouldn't have come here! Why did you come here? I did not encourage you! I never asked you to come! Why are you here, Aizen Sousuke?"
"What do you mean when you say that you didn't ask me here? That you didn't encourage me? Kuchiki Byakuya, do you not understand?" Aizen asked, moving forward on the bed and closing in on him where he sat, braced against the white wall, "Your eyes met mine that first moment and called me to you. You heart issued a clear invitation. That I came to you is only a sign that I heard that cry of your heart, that longing to be loved. But, for some reason, you do not think that you deserve it. Why is that?"
He moved closer and Byakuya shrank back against the wall, holding his yukata closed.
"Why, indeed?" Aizen said, touching the hand that held the clothing in place and pulling it gently away.
The material fell away and the yukata slid down his body, landing in a careless heap around him. Byakuya froze, terrified at someone other than family witnessing that imperfection, that secret shame that had ruined everything. Aizen studied the lovely, slender body in front of him, admiring the comely slopes of shoulder and breast, round bottom and pale, slim thigh. He looked into Byakuya's terrified gray eyes and moved forward, curling an arm around him. Byakuya remained still and unmoving in his arms, shivering as Aizen's fingertips touched him and his words shocked an already stunned heart.
"Perfect," he whispered, sliding his fingers down a tearstained cheek, "Lovely."
He wrapped his arms around the naked young man and slid those warm, appreciative hands down his back and over his bottom, continuing the devastatingly sweet words.
"Whisper-soft, sweet and firm, more delicious fruit I have never tasted."
"Stop," Byakuya whispered, closing his eyes against the words.
He flinched as Aizen's hands rose and slid down over his pale, finely sculpted breast, then moved down lower and played over his soft, white belly.
"Your maker was truly inspired," Aizen whispered, his brown eyes freezing Byakuya in place again with their warmth and sincerity.
"Why are you saying this?" Byakuya cried suddenly, "You only talk about what is at the surface! What everyone else sees and compliments and respects. But no one in this industry would be left respecting me if they looked closer! You know that! I know you saw!"
"I did," Aizen confirmed, his amorous expression telling the other young man that the knowledge hadn't changed his mind at all, "And I am wondering, Byakuya. Why do you believe that what I saw will make me despise you?"
His hand moved down lower, touching a pale thigh and requesting entrance. Byakuya stared raptly into the other man's eyes and slowly parted his legs, watching closely for Aizen's reaction. His heart was jolted soundly when the other man's brown eyes registered nothing but that same appreciation as before. His fingers explored the exposed genitalia slowly as the devastatingly beautiful words continued.
"Outwardly, a perfectly lovely man," Aizen whispered, "Inwardly, a beautiful woman. Named a 'Chimera' after a mythical creature, you are vastly misunderstood. Both male and female, you are..."
"No!" Byakuya sobbed, "I am not both male and female, don't you understand! I am neither! I am sterile. And that means that my father's legacy ends here! There cannot be continuance, so I am essentially useless. And worse, in this business, such a 'distinction' would make me a laughingstock...something to be viewed with horror and disapproval. People like me do not appear publicly, unless it is in a circus, Sousuke! You, of all people know that! So, no matter what words you say to me, you cannot change what I am or how other people see me. Just...go. Just turn around and leave. Forget that you ever noticed me. Because, with everything in the open, you cannot look at me and still tell me that I am beautiful and that you love me. You have to admit in the most honest sense, I am an aberration...a freak of nature...an ugly mistake."
Aizen let out a soft, dismissive breath and dragged the younger man into his arms.
"Do not presume to speak for me, Byakuya. I will tell you in full honesty...I will love the man you are on the surface and the woman that hides inside you. I will love all of you completely. But...you must come away from them."
"Sousuke, no, I..."
"I understand that you do not want to hurt Soujun, but he is being hurt anyway. And the hurt only compounds as he sees this all eating away at you. Let me take you out of this and into a gentler, more accepting world. It is a different musical genre, but you could be yourself there. And I have no doubt that your father would appreciate his child being so happy and fulfilled. You know that he is not the one worried that you should 'follow in his footsteps' and keep his dream going. Your father would acknowledge that you should be free to pursue your own dreams and to make the most of your gifts. It is those others who taunt you into despising yourself and holding yourself back. But you notice that they are still more than willing to use you to fill their pockets, Byakuya."
"Oh," Byakuya answered sarcastically, "And you aren't? Don't insult my intelligence! You look at me and you think you can make money, turning me into a musical side show!"
"That isn't it. That isn't it at all. I admit, the possibilities are very attractive, but there is nothing freakish about the future I plan for you. Byakuya, there are other people like you out there, living in like misery, feeling ugly and unloved, failing to see their own beauty. You could be an example, a proud, shining example for them. Just come to me. Let me help you."
"I don't need your help. I am not leaving the company. And no matter what you do, I won't change my mind. So, you may as well give up. Besides, I don't really believe that you mean what you say. Pretty words, perhaps, but can you really make love to me, as both a man and a woman and still not see me as a..."
His words disappeared as Aizen surged forward and brought him down onto his back.
"I told you...I will love the man in you and the woman in you," he said, his dark brown eyes almost chilling as they glared down into Byakuya's spellbound ones, "And if you need proof of that, I will do as you have asked."
Byakuya felt a shiver run down his spine.
"Sousuke, you have no idea what you did to me that day. I won't lie and say I regret it. I don't. I see every day the truth of what you felt for me. But the door is closed on that. What you did to try to tear me away from them made the door slam shut. And this is the way things are now. It is better this way. It is better that we have gone our separate ways. It is good that you still live in ignorance of the unexpected miracle we created that day."
He sighed softly and met the eyes of the driver.
"Let me out here. I will walk the rest of the way."
"Of course, Kuchiki-san," Hotaka said, eyeing him curiously.
He pulled the car over and Byakuya climbed out. He watched the car drive away, then started across the quiet park that stood between him and his destination. He breathed slowly, using what he had been taught to calm himself for performance, even amidst the worst emotional upheaval.
When all else fails, return to the simple act of breathing. There is nothing without breathing, not cries, nor song, nor even life. Just breathe in and out and return to the center...focus...find that balance inside.
Soujun's words soothed him inside, loosening the tightness in his chest and bringing relaxation back to his aching muscles.
"Thank you, Father," he whispered to himself, "I can always count on you to make me calm again."
He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes, then exhaled slowly and opened his eyes again. He felt relief at the return of peace to his heart.
Yes, things are as they should be.
He continued down the path, not noticing as a dark figure approached him on silent feet from behind. Byakuya paused for a moment to admire a new growth of roses, then shock flooded his body as a strong arm slid around his waist and a damp, foul smelling cloth was brought up and held tightly over his face. His attacker dragged him towards the bushes and out of sight. Byakuya struggled, but felt his consciousness beginning to fade. He was sure he must have misheard as a familiar male voice sounded in his ear.
"Don't worry, I am not going to hurt you. I just need you out of the way for a while."
"S-sousuke!" he hissed through the impeding cloth, "What...what are you...?"
Aizen held Byakuya against him as his body collapsed and went limp in his arms. He lifted the slighter man and started towards a waiting car, smiling down at his former love's pretty face.
"I am doing what I should have done long ago," he told the unconscious man, "I am going to take you and that lovely cousin of yours away from them."