Chapter 3: Souls That Cry Together

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(One Year Before...in the royal realm)

In their separate prisons, two souls join in memory...

Ichigo paused outside of the guest room Tenjirou had given to Byakuya, his heart pounding as he contemplated what had happened before. He saw again, Byakuya's lovely, almost naked body, suspended in the hot water of the guardsman's healing pool, the long strands of his dark hair dancing prettily around his handsome face. Holding that image in his mind to force away the less pleasant one that tried to invade, he tapped lightly on the door, then opened it. Byakuya looked up at him, from where he laid in the bed, dressed in a white yukata and looking as though the horrific injuries from before had never been there.

"Hi Byakuya," he greeted the recovering noble, earning a curious look in return, "I heard you were awake. I wanted to see you."

"Ichigo," the noble greeted him, "I would have thought you would be training."

"I am...I mean, I was," he said, blushing, "I'll be going back, but I wanted to see you first. I'm uh, really glad you're all right. I was worried about you."

"Well, thankfully, the king offered us healing, or the worst of your fears for us would have come true."

Ichigo sighed and sat down in the chair beside Byakuya's bed.

"I kinda feel like they have already. I mean, we're all alive, you, me, Rukia, Renji and all of my friends, but..."

Byakuya looked back at him patiently, saying nothing and waiting for him to continue. Ichigo took a steadying breath.

"That promise I made you," he said solemnly, "I don't know if I am going to..."

He was stopped again as Byakuya's hand moved suddenly and soft fingertips touched Ichigo's lips. The blush on his skin raged a more tempestuous red and Ichigo struggled to find his words again.

"Byakuya..."

"Stop," the noble said quietly, no anger in his dark grey eyes, but to Ichigo's surprise, only complete trust and hopefulness, "This is not over, Kurosaki Ichigo. I know that Soul Society is in ruins. I felt the passing of Yamamoto Soutaichou. And I am aware that the Vandenreich is a horribly powerful enemy. But, you and I are still here, alive and breathing. This is not over. It is not over and it will not be over until you have kept your promise...and until I have kept mine. In fact, the only reason I live and breathe right now is because you made the enemy leave and gave his majesty time to have us evacuated here."

"No," Ichigo said, his expression wrought with guilt, "That wasn't me that made them leave, Byakuya. The guy who was with him, the one with the blonde hair, he said something about Ywach having to go back into the shadows."

"Yes," Byakuya agreed, "Tenjirou told me that the quincies have been hiding in the shadows, and for some reason, their leader had to return to it."

"Which means, you shouldn't be grateful to me at all, doesn't it?" Ichigo concluded, tears rising in his eyes, "Some help I turned out to be. Here I was, calling to you, telling you I was coming and giving you hope, when...I wasn't any kind of hope for you!"

Byakuya shook his head firmly, stopping Ichigo in his tracks again.

"Ichigo, that hope was what gave me the courage to fight, even though my bankai was taken and I knew I was fighting a losing battle. And when my own power cut through my body and my blood was draining away, it made me hold on to life, because I knew you would come. When you arrived, you came first to me, so that I wouldn't leave this life without the comfort of having my last will respected."

"This is how I'm respecting your last will?" Ichigo whispered, "I haven't been able to do anything. Nothing at all."

"You are here," Byakuya said simply, "That is encouraging."

"But I can't...Byakuya, there's something I have to confess to you. It's something I learned when my sword was being re-forged. I have to tell you, and I don't know what you'll think of me after I say it."

Byakuya looked back at him silently for a moment and nodded.

"Do you remember a taichou named Shiba Isshin?" Ichigo asked.

Byakuya's eyes closed for a moment and his lips twitched very slightly.

"Yes."

"Well, when I went to Oetsu to have my sword re-forged, he said that he couldn't do it at first. He told me that I wasn't a real shinigami."

Byakuya smiled.

"I think I remember telling you that long ago," he commented, "I think I understand. Go on."

"I couldn't be a real shinigami, because my power was different."

Ichigo gave Byakuya a surprisingly shy smile.

"That's something else you suspected from the beginning, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, it is."

"It's funny how pissed I got at you for saying that," Ichigo went on, "But the truth is, you were right. Oetsu was right. I wasn't a real shinigami, not then, and not until I chose to be one."

"This happened during the re-forging of your sword?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo confessed, "Oetsu threw me back down to Karakura Town and my dad finally told me everything. See, my dad is Shiba Isshin."

Byakuya's dark eyes widened in reaction, but he remained quiet and attentive as Ichigo continued.

"He goes by the name Kurosaki, or rather, our whole family does, because of my mom. My mom was Kurosaki Masaki. She was one of the pureblood quincies."

Byakuya let out a surprised breath.

"A quincy," he repeated, "You are...?"

"I'm not just a human," Ichigo went on, "My mother was a quincy and my father was a shinigami. Well, I mean, he is a shinigami. They met a long time ago. My dad was attacked by a hollow that he learned was made by Aizen Sousuke."

"Oh..." Byakuya managed, paling visibly.

"Yeah, it was one of his experiments. He sent that hollow to attack my dad and my mom felt its presence, and she came to protect him."

"A quincy protected a shinigami," Byakuya whispered disbelievingly, "That is...astounding, Ichigo! Quincies and shinigamis are supposed to be..."

"Enemies, I know," Ichigo confessed, "But my mom was different."

A look of understanding came into Byakuya's eyes and his expression softened.

"She didn't think like other quincies. She didn't think it was right to just wait around while he was killed by that hollow. So, when she sensed that my dad was in trouble, she went to help him. She killed the hollow, but it exploded, and she was infected with it's reiatsu."

"But that means..." Byakuya began.

"She started to hollowfy, but it was going to kill her, because hollows are a poison to quincies. Another quincy took her to Urahara Kisuke, and he figured out he could save her, but only by bonding a balancing soul to hers. She had quincy and hollow in her, and my dad was a shinigami. Kisuke put him in a special gigai that took away his powers, and he was able to balance the forces in my mother's body, so that she could stay alive."

Byakuya gave him a look of mingled understanding and annoyance.

"Shiba Isshin was a very brash person," he commented, "I do remember that. This sounds like something he would do."

"But you get why he did it," Ichigo mused.

"Yes," Byakuya affirmed, "She saved his life and he decided that, despite what it would cost him, he would save hers. It broke about a hundred rules, but...he did what he felt was right."

"Uh-huh," Ichigo agreed, "So, when I was born, they didn't tell me anything. I think they just wanted me to have a normal life. But when Ywach started to regain his heart and mind and powers, he somehow took back the powers that impure quincies possessed. My mom was a pure quincy, and would have been protected, but because of the hollow that attacked her, she was considered impure, and she had her powers taken. A hollow attacked her while she was with me, and I watched her die, not knowing that she was a quincy, or anything about what Ywach did. I grew up, blind to everything, and now..."

He broke off, looking into Byakuya's eyes uncertainly.

"Now," Byakuya said, taking his hand, "you have learned the truth, and you have made your choice."

"Being a shinigami by choice doesn't mean that I'm not a quincy, and it doesn't make me their enemy."

"No, not you," Byakuya said appreciatively, "Because you don't judge the people around you by what race they are or what god they follow. You judge people by their actions...as I learned when I crossed you."

Ichigo gave a shaky laugh.

"You know, Byakuya," he went on, moving his fingers where the noble held them, "You're different from other people too. You judge people, not by where they come from, but by what they do."

"Perhaps now..."

"No, you were breaking the rules and doing the right thing for a long time before you met me."

"But after Hisana died..."

"You got lost for a while. You were just trying to figure things out. You made mistakes, like we all do, and when we met and fought..."

"I learned that the law isn't perfect. One must obey the laws, but must also listen to his heart."

"Yeah," Ichigo said more softly, "Well, my heart was speaking pretty loudly to me when I was running back to Soul Society, trying so hard to reach you."

"You don't have to explain anymore," Byakuya assured him, "My eyes are open, Ichigo."

"Mine are too," Ichigo said, shivering, though the room was comfortably warm, "I see you, Byakuya, and everything I see in you, I respect..."

He froze for a moment, steeling himself.

"And I love!" he finished, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Byakuya's.

He closed his eyes tightly, afraid to see what might be in those deep, grey orbs. But as the moments passed and Byakuya neither pulled away nor scolded him, he opened his eyes, daring to look and finding himself struck hard by the warm emotion he found there. They kissed several times, then Ichigo pulled away, laughing at himself for shaking all over.

"Look at me," he mused breathlessly, "Some hero, huh? I was scared to death you'd get mad...that you'd push me away."

"Why would I do that?" Byakuya asked, "You were honest with me about everything. You listened to heart and kissed me, and I listened to mine and returned that kiss."

"I don't know what's gonna happen now," Ichigo continued, ignoring the tear that leaked onto his face, "but I do know one thing. Before we go back down there, before you and I have to face our fate? I want to tell you I'm in love with you."

"Ichigo..." Byakuya breathed softly, brushing away the tears in his eyes.

"I've never been in love before," Ichigo explained, "Maybe that's why it took a while to figure out that I'm in love with you. It's okay if you can't love me back, I just needed to tell you. You know, so that you'd know. If I d-"

"Stop it!" Byakuya hissed softly, wrapping his arms around Ichigo and dragging him onto the bed, "Don't speak to me like this is over. We are just beginning, Ichigo!"

"Byakuya!" Ichigo exclaimed, looking wonderingly into the noble's desirous eyes.

He gave a startled gasp as Byakuya brought him down onto his back, attacking his equally enthusiastic mouth with hard, passionate kisses.

"Sh-should you really be doing this? So soon after almost dying?"

Byakuya gave him a rare smile that warmed him to his toes.

"If death is my fate, I would die in your arms, Ichigo!"

Byakuya's mouth came down on his again, and their eager hands tore their clothing away, leaving their skin bare beneath the soft covers. Ichigo shivered at feeling for the first time, the sensation of soft skin rubbing against his, and the brush of something hot and wanton that touched a sensitive inner thigh. Byakuya's mouth left his and made a line of kisses down the side of his neck, then explored the area under his chin. Ichigo tilted his head back, his heart pounding as he experienced being touched in a way he never had been before.

I've never really cared about being in love before. I guess I wasn't ready. Or maybe, it's just that I hadn't met him. I never had mixed feelings about Byakuya. At first, I was furious at him. I was so angry that he could let his own sister be executed and he'd stand by and do nothing. But then, I came to understand in our battle, that Rukia's execution wasn't something he wanted. In fact, he was glad when I stopped him. He wanted to lose. Because only by losing to me could he have what was in his heart.

And I think I know what's in his heart now!

I feel it in the hands that are touching me. I see it in his eyes. I hear it in his words. I taste it in our kisses and I smell it in the scents around us. This is what love is. And even if it's the only time we're together, we'll always have what we make here...

He watched with dazed eyes as Byakuya's pretty, pouting mouth trailed kisses down the length his slender torso, pausing to tease one sharply raised nipple, then the other. He rolled each around in his hot mouth, then licked and suckled, treasuring each hard nub until Ichigo's heart was raging in his chest and his hips pressed upward, seeking friction against Byakuya's slightly raised body. A strong hand touched his midsection, pushing him back down, and Byakuya's mouth continued to crawl downward, exploring every inch of his blushing skin and leaving him a panting, moaning mess on the bed.

He felt more kisses following that line of ginger hairs downward to his alert nether region, and he was left breathless all over again as Byakuya's insistent mouth began to offer him pleasure the likes of which he couldn't have imagined. He moaned loudly, sinking his fingers into the noble's satin black hair and encouraging him. He felt as though a fever raged all over his body and his heart would burst out of his chest. Then, he felt a gentle, questioning touch at his virgin entrance and gasped, almost climaxing at just the thought. He felt pressure in his nether region that brought him back just slightly from the edge, then quivered and panted harshly as Byakuya's fingers began to prepare him.

"Are you sure that you want to do this with me?" Byakuya whispered into his ear, "One's first intercourse should be something very special. You shouldn't agree to this unless you feel sure."

Ichigo managed a shaky smile.

"I'm sure," he panted, arching his back as Byakuya's fingers found the sensitive nerves inside him and stimulated the area gently, "I've never been so sure about anything! B-but are you sure you wanna do this with me? I mean, have you even ever done this with a guy before?"

"No," Byakuya admitted, "but I do know how to make love to a man."

"But do you want to make love to me?" Ichigo asked, writhing uncontrollably as Byakuya's fingers continued their preparation.

"If I didn't, then I would have let you down gently. I would never take someone's innocence if being with that person wasn't in my heart. You are in my heart, Ichigo. I love you too!"

"Ah...'kay," Ichigo managed, relaxing and spreading his thighs wider as Byakuya positioned himself, "Then, go ahead. I want to be with you."

"It might hurt for a moment."

"I don't care! Please, Byakuya, just go ahead!"

Ichigo gave an erotic groan of surrender as Byakuya's hips pressed forward and he began a slow entry. he joined their bodies in short, measured thrusts, then paused, looking down into Ichigo's damp eyes for any sign of pain.

"It's okay!" Ichigo assured him, "I'm fine."

His body moved with Byakuya's, thrusting heedlessly and grinding hard, seeking a kind of pleasure he'd only heard of, but had never experienced. But he could feel it approaching, edging closer and closer with each of their wild, unrestrained motions. He caught a glimpse of Byakuya's impassioned expression and felt a tickle deep his belly, and as pleasure began to sweep over them, their reiatsu erupted forcefully, filling the chamber with bright golden light and making it tremble. Hard, beautiful shudders raked Ichigo's body and he loosed his release forcefully. A delighted howl escaped him as delicious, scathing heat filled him inside, draining him of his energy and making him relax completely. Byakuya dropped down beside him, feeding him softer, more gentle kisses as their sated bodies slowly recovered.

"Do you have any regrets?" Byakuya asked, tracing his smiling lips with a soft fingertip.

"No, none at all," Ichigo sighed, "I wanted this. I wanted to be with you. And even if..."

"Stop," Byakuya said affectionately, "Stop right there. You are going to protect Soul Society, as I am also. And when all is well again, I want to marry you."

"What?" Ichigo asked, grinning, "We can do that? A human and a...?"

"We are two souls meant to be one," Byakuya assured him, "And it doesn't hurt that you are also a Shiba. That will make things easier for us later. We may raise a few eyebrows, but...given what I feel in my heart, this is the only right thing to do."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I am sure. But are you saying that you are willing?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll marry you. After being with you, I can't even imagine being with anyone else. You're...someone really special, Byakuya. I'm glad I gave my virginity to you."

"It is a gift I will cherish always," Byakuya whispered, kissing him on the cheek, then on his flushed lips, "Whatever happens, this can't be taken away. Whatever happens, my heart will belong to you."

"And mine belongs to you," Ichigo whispered, kissing him back, "Forever, Byakuya...Forever."

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Two tormented souls, one bound and sealed away in darkness, and one battered and deeply unconscious, felt the dream fall away and the coldness return.

"BYAKUYA!" Ichigo howled, raging hard against his bonds until the strength left him and he fell back, exhausted and shaking all over, "Byakuya..."

In a lonely room in the Inuzuri brothel, One sat up suddenly, his eyes flying open and pink light flickering for a moment all around his body. He reeled as he watched the hurts from the assault fade away into nothing, leaving his body clean again and unmarked. The light around him faded as Ozuru ran into the room and glared at him.

"What was that? What was that I felt? And what happened to you? Why...how have you been so perfectly healed so quickly?"

One stared back at him in silence, shaking hard and not daring to speak of what he had heard.

I don't remember what that ginger-haired man said in my dream, but...I think it was my name!