Chapter 15: The Family
"All right, boys," Gin said, smiling widely, "We are going to shock the designer pants off Sousuke this time! He is expecting one sample, but you three have been such lovely and dedicated professionals, I have, not one, not two but three samples of your rich, sexy love triangle that are going to leave the man panting! Fabulous job! Now, why don't you go and relax a bit? Take a swim. Take a walk. Or, I don't know, go burn off some of that erotic fire you have burning between you."
"He sure is...erm...enthusiastic," Tetsuya said, blushing at the suggestion.
Still caught up in the pleasant hum of the music they'd been singing and dancing to, Renji and Grimmjow exchanged wicked smirks.
"Yes," they said together, "He is!"
"And just about nothing comes through that studio door without spending at least some time in his bed. The three of us excepted, of course," Grimmjow chuckled, "Though I'm a little curious how he keeps so many on a line, the way he does. Must be into some kinky shit or something."
"You mean, you haven't given him a try?" Renji teased.
"Shut up, asshole!" Grimmjow shot back.
His eyes softened unexpectedly.
"It's not good to get too involved with people in the industry...right Renji?" he said, losing his smile for a moment.
Tetsuya let out a soft, sympathetic breath and started to speak, but paused as Grimmjow's usual smirk returned.
"Well, I'm off for a long soak in the hot tub. See you guys later."
Renji and Tetsuya exchanged a meaningful glance, then Tetsuya smiled up at the redhead and gave him the ghost of a nod.
"Hey, shithead."
"What do you want?" Grimmjow asked, looking back at them.
"You mind if we join you?"
The blue haired man let out an amused huff of breath.
"Sure. yeah, why not? Just make sure your 'angel' there doesn't wiggle his ass like he was before, or that's gonna be my dinner."
"Fuck yourself, cat boy!" Renji laughed, wrapping an arm around Tetsuya, "I'll mess you up big time if you don't stop hitting on my boyfriend!"
"Look how much you know, shit for brains," Grimmjow fired back, "I was hitting on both of you!"
"You two are ridiculous," Tetsuya said, shaking his head, "But...it has been wonderful doing this."
Renji and Grimmjow's expressions became more serious as Tetsuya's eyes turned sad for a moment.
"I have had to live, holding my breath and trying to be invisible forever. I am...really sad that Ginrei-sama has passed, but he made sure that so many good things would happen for me. I couldn't have imagined."
"Hey," Renji said, brushing several damp strands of wavy black hair out of his eyes, "This is what it should have been like for you all along."
"But, it's so odd that it is the man who broke my cousin's heart who is as much the reason as my own family. You know, I despised him for being so manipulative. I suppose, to some extent, I still do. But so many good things are happening."
"Well," said Grimmjow, "enjoy them, then. Cause, Renji would tell you that you never know when the rug will get pulled out from under you."
Tetsuya's eyes locked on Grimmjow's, surprising him with their openness and vulnerability.
"That's what I'm afraid of...of it all disappearing. I am basically living a double life now, and if my family finds out about it, they just might have me killed."
Grimmjow started to laugh, but caught the seriousness in Renji's expression and tempered his response.
"Don't worry about it," he said bracingly, "You know Aizen's not going to let that happen. Not when he has so much invested in you. Come on. Let's go get in that hot tub."
"Tetsuya."
The young man sucked in a nervous breath as Aizen's voice sounded nearby, then he turned and stared at the odd sight of the manager dressed in a casual yukata and standing beside a like-dressed Byakuya. Tetsuya took in breathlessly, his cousin's unbound hair, casual attire and paler than usual face, but was riveted by the look of contentment he wore.
"Byakuya-sama?" he said uncertainly, "Are you all right? He hasn't hurt you?"
"No," Byakuya assured him, "I am fine. And we just viewed the samples that Gin sent us."
He stepped away from Aizen and took Tetsuya's hands, looking proudly into his eyes.
"And?" Tetsuya managed, swallowing hard in anticipation.
"Sousuke was right," Byakuya said, glancing at Aizen, "You aren't just a beautiful vocalist, you are an inspired performer. I couldn't believe that I was looking at you. You were breathtaking."
"Then," Tetsuya whispered, his heart about to burst out of his chest, "Then, I am to...?"
"We will complete the full tracks and hire dancers to perform the full production video," Aizen explained.
Tetsuya's eyes widened and he stared back at them, unable to respond.
"He looks starstruck," Renji said, smiling, "But if we can bring him back down to earth, I think we should celebrate."
"Renji," Aizen said, making the redhead freeze, "I think that the work you did in the samples was excellent as well. I hope that we can count on your participation also."
"What? Are you saying...?"
"I am offering to let you return to your position in Espada," Aizen said calmly, "I agree with Gin. There is a chemistry between the three of you that is undeniable...irresistable. My team will draw up the papers tonight and when Byakuya, Tetsuya and I return, we will sign them."
"W-wait," stammered Tetsuya, blinking in confusion, "Where are we going?"
Byakuya and Aizen exchanged glances and a blush touched Byakuya's features.
"Sousuke and I are getting married."
"Getting married?" Tetsuya repeated, hardly able to conceive of such a thing, "Byakuya-sama, the last time I saw you, you couldn't stand to be in the same room with him! And now, you are marrying him? Are you...sure this is what you want? He isn't forcing you to do this?"
"No," Byakuya answered, smiling as Aizen's hand slipped into his again, "While you have been working so hard on the samples, Sousuke and I were working out our differences. I want to speak to you about that, but we will need to do so privately. And I will need speak with Renji after."
"I...I'll be..." Renji stammered.
"We'll be in the hot tub," Grimmjow said, smirking, "Winding down. Come on, Red."
"Eh..."
"Go on," Tetsuya said, nodding, "I'll join you when we are finished talking."
"Right," Renji said, looking flustered, "Okay..."
Grimmjow and Renji turned away and left the three standing in the hallway.
"Come," Aizen invited them, "We'll talk in my office."
They followed him down the long hallway to the spacious, tastefully furnished home office. Aizen moved to the chair at his desk, motioning for Byakuya and Tetsuya to sit down in two chairs on the other side of the desk. To Tetsuya's surprise, a bottle of champagne and three glasses waited on the desk.
"What is this? What is going on?" he asked curiously, "You two are acting very strangely. What happened?"
Aizen exchanged glances with his lover and nodded briefly. Byakuya took a steadying breath.
"Tetsuya, you asked me, that night at the dance club, if Sousuke had done something to hurt me. I did not answer you that night...just like I have never answered that question whenever you have asked it. And...the reason I did not answer, was because to do so would unlock a sea of questions that I felt I could not answer before."
"Okay," Tetsuya said curiously, "But you feel that now is the time?"
"Well, I probably...no, I should have told you long ago. But, some of what I will tell you is extremely private. There are things that very few people know about me. There is one thing that no one was supposed to learn about me, something that my family wanted hidden. It was something that was humiliating to me."
Tetsuya captured his hand and squeezed it gently.
"If it is too private, you know I will understand if you don't tell me. I know that when you keep something from me, it is usually to protect me."
"Yes, and that is part of the reason why I did not tell you this. I will explain in full all of the reasons why I did not tell you. But, first, the truth has waited long enough to be heard. And that truth is...that you are not the son of Takao and Kiko Kuchiki."
"Wh-what?" Tetsuya whispered, his face going a shade paler, "What do you mean? I am not a Kuchiki? Is...Is that why the board members have always hated me?"
"You are a member of the Kuchiki family," Byakuya explained, "But the reason that the family wanted that hidden from you is because Aizen Sousuke is your biological father."
Tetsuya's heart skipped painfully, and he gazed at Byakuya uncomprehendingly.
"B-but, I thought that you and he were lovers..."
His eyes widened in distress.
"He...had an affair with my mother?" Tetsuya stammered, still trying to make sense of the words, "Is that why you left him, then? Or...did he have an affair with you while seeing my mother? I don't understand. How could he be...?"
"I know you are confused," Byakuya said bracingly, "But I can explain. Tetsuya, have you ever had explained to you what a chimera is?"
Tetsuya looked back at him blankly.
"A...chimera? The mythological beast?" he queried.
"The human kind," Byakuya corrected him gently.
Tetsuya stared back at him in silence and shook his head briefly.
"A chimera," Byakuya went on, his voice trembling slightly, "is a type of hermaphrodite."
"A hermaphrodite? S-someone with male and female parts?"
"Yes."
"I have heard of it," he confirmed, "But I thought that most hermaphrodites were infertile."
"Many are," Byakuya explained, "but a good number are not. A chimera is born when the fertilized male and female embryos fuse together, and the child born is something of both. Some chimeras show no outward signs of the condition, and will not know that is what they are. But...a rare few are born with both male and female genitalia. Usually either both are not functional, or one is and one is not. Tetsuya, when I was born, I was born with this condition. And...I was thought to be infertile."
Tetsuya's face blanched and he blinked slowly to clear the dark haze that seemed to float in the air around him. His heart pounded more erratically and sweat broke out on his forehead as he struggled to make sense of what he was hearing.
"The family was mortified, to not only have such a scandal, but to have it happen to the child of Soujun, the company's star. There was much pondering of what to do, and in the end, although it grieved my parents to lie about it, the family pressured them into hiding the truth. They had me tested and I was thought to be infertile, so to have me follow in my father's footsteps, I was designated simply 'male.' The truth about what I was remained hidden...until I reached my eighteenth year. In that year, Sousuke's eye turned on the company, and he sought a way to take over. You have already heard the tactics he used. What you have not heard is that he seduced me. I fell deeply in love with him, and while we were together for the first time, he discovered the truth about me, and the lies surrounding it."
Tetsuya's face took on a more devastated look.
"He...tried to use that to...?"
"I was in love with Byakuya," Aizen added quietly, "And I did not like the way they had made him feel ashamed of his condition. I felt that remaining with the company and family would just destroy him from the inside, so I used the information to try to take Byakuya and the company out of their control."
"I misunderstood," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "I only looked at the surface of what he did, and I judged that he had just used me to try to steal the company. Then, amidst everything, just as all of us were reeling from that, I discovered that the doctors had been wrong about me. Although, as a male, I was sterile, as a female, I had become pregnant."
He looked down to where his hands still held Tetsuya's, then into his son's shocked eyes.
"You...?" Tetsuya began, but couldn't finish.
"I gave birth to you," Byakuya whispered, "I am your biological mother."
"But you are m-male," Tetsuya said, confusion misting his eyes, "I have seen you naked before and I never..."
My condition was such that one would have to be looking carefully to note the differences. I am mostly outwardly male, just as you know me. I am inwardly female."
Byakuya studied Tetsuya's expression and squeezed his hands again.
"Would you like to stop for a moment, or should I go on?"
"You mean, there's more?" Tetsuya said numbly, "As if that wasn't enough."
"Shall we stop, then?"
"No," Tetsuya said softly, "I want to know everything...all of the truth."
"Very well," Byakuya replied, swallowing hard before he continued, "When the family found out about my affair with Sousuke and the pregnancy, they forced me to keep your conception a secret. I didn't want anyone to know anyway. I was humiliated that I had been used like that. When Sousuke made his threats, and it became clear that he knew about my condition, but not about you, some among them decided that enough was enough, and that, Soujun's child or not, I was too much of a liability. If you were born, then it gave Sousuke a foothold on the company, because, as your father, he would share with me a place as your advisor on the board, holding your proxy until your turned twenty-five. And they reasoned that if Sousuke came to be in that position, he would likely have me killed anyway to take full control of your proxy. Ginrei and my father were able to hold off official action from the board, but some of them arranged for a team of assassins to come to Kuchiki Manor to kill me."
"What?" Tetsuya gasped, tears coming to his eyes, "They tried to kill you? And when you were...?"
"Pregnant with you, yes. And as I was attacked, Takao and Soujun arrived and fought with my attackers. What you have heard about their deaths is a lie. They did not die because of Takao's marriage and mistaken identity. They were killed defending me...and you, inside me."
"Kami, this can't be real..." Tetsuya mused, closing his eyes against the words, "I knew they hated me, but some of them plotted to kill us?"
"Yes. They were stunned when Takao and Soujun died. And they realized that, without Soujun, the company's popularity and prominence would decline. They wanted to pin their hopes on me, but they did not want Sousuke to find out about you. So, they sent me away to have you. And they convinced Kiko to falsify a pregnancy, so that she was named as your mother. That way, Sousuke would not know you were his, and the company could be protected. But, Sousuke kept alive a threat to reveal what he knew about me, so in the end, I never made my debut...but waited until Ginrei passed and I controlled enough of the company to buy your freedom. I couldn't say that you were the grandson of Soujun, but I could protect his legacy by supporting your career."
"But, if the family finds out that I am working on this project, then it could destroy my career in the family business," Tetsuya said sadly.
"That is why you will only appear in costume. Your face will not be revealed," said Aizen, "You will perform with Espada as 'Mitsukai,' and I will set up a false identity so that it cannot be traced back to you."
"But, why go to the trouble?" Tetsuya asked, "Why not just take the company now? You could, you know...wielding my proxy and using all of this to convince them."
"But, you realize that it could endanger Byakuya and you," Aizen reminded him, "The one who led the assassins to make the attempt to take your lives is still alive and on that board. We don't want to do anything to upset the balance until we are in a stronger position. Once you have made your debut with Espada, we can go back to the board with the fact that it has been a success, and you want to break from the company. Byakuya will act as though he opposes you, and he will rally the board to block your leaving. He will attempt to deny the use of your proxy, but I will arrive and reveal that I have learned of the deception. Byakuya will look blameless, as I will concoct another way to have come by the information, and you and he will be protected from the backlash."
"The important thing is to keep this quiet until you have debuted with Espada."
"We have no question that the video and song will make you a success. I have had Gin prepare clips to share with other professionals, but even not seeing their reactions, I know."
"But...if you and my...m-my, if you and Byakuya-sama get married, won't they know?"
"The marriage will be kept confidential," Byakuya explained, "And we will reveal it only when we are ready for the final confrontation. We will continue as we were until then, the only catch being that you will be working terribly hard to manage both debuts. That is...if you are amenable to the idea?"
Tetsuya took a steadying breath.
"I am still in shock. But...I will go along with this."
"I am sorry for the lies that surrounded you," Byakuya said, lowering his eyes, "I did make sure that I was close to you, growing up, and that I protected you as well as I could. But, I couldn't be a parent to you. It wasn't allowed."
"The lies are painful," Tetsuya said, rubbing his hands over his face, then loosing a sigh, "But...it hurts more, knowing what they tried to do to you. I don't know what to do with that. Honestly, I want to destroy them."
Aizen couldn't hide an amused smirk.
"Well, that must be my influence," he commented, "Because I wanted to kill them all painfully when Byakuya confessed the truth to me last night. I am only holding back because people would get hurt that Byakuya wants to protect."
"Well, if Byakuya-sama is protecting them, then I will too. I won't say anything. I will complete the debuts and do whatever you want me to."
"Then...you forgive me?" Byakuya asked softly.
Tetsuya smiled sadly and looked down at their joined hands.
"You didn't do anything wrong. You only followed your heart and tried to protect me. You have been the closest person to me, all of my life. I won't hold this against you."
"And Sousuke?"
Tetsuya turned a more skeptical eye on his father.
You set Byakuya-sama up, whatever your reasons. And then, you tried to use me too. I don't like the way you do business. Sometimes you seem heartless. But...a truly heartless man could not have won my cousin's...my mother's heart. You must have some redeeming qualities then. I hope I will learn what those are."
"Well spoken," Aizen said, nodding and pouring himself a glass of champagne, then presenting a bottle of sparkling apple cider, which he poured into the other two glasses, "Now, you are still underage, and Byakuya may be with child again. So..."
"What?" Tetsuya exclaimed, as Byakuya blushed brightly.
"Did you have to just spring that on him?" he asked in a flustered tone, "He only just found out that we are his parents. Give him time to process before you surprise him with things like that!"
"Ah!" Tetsuya said, looking flustered, "This is really going to take some getting used to!"
He looked back at Byakuya and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek.
"Thank you," he said softly, "for protecting me, and for telling me the truth now. Thank you both."
The three lifted their glasses and touched them together, smiling.
"To our family to be, and to the owners to be of Kuchiki Studios," Aizen said softly.