Chapter 3: Discovery and Exploration

When Renji opened his eyes again, he realized with a start that he was no longer in the healing center. He wasn't completely sure, but judging by the look of the room, the fact that it was spotlessly clean, the fine sheets and coverings on the bed, the smell of sakura around him and the sight of Senbonzakura in the stand near the bed…he had to be in Byakuya's bed.

"Kami, this can't be real!" he whispered, "I cannot be in Byakuya's body…in his mansion…in his bed. This is so not real!"

But even pinching himself did not wake him up, so Renji had to conclude that this was reality. And he decided that if reality was going to play games with him, then he was going to enjoy it. He did, however, have enough foresight to realize that people would know it wasn't Kuchiki Taichou if he didn't act and speak correctly. He had to try to act and sound like Byakuya. It was going to be unnatural as hell, but he knew that if he tried to tell anyone the truth about what had happened, he would be tossed in the loony bin, for certain.

Curious, Renji slipped out of Byakuya's bed and crossed the room to the dressing area near the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself. Dark gray eyes looked back at him from underneath a fall of black hair…tumbled and unbrushed…cute, for taichou, he thought. He admired the pale, white skin of his hands, arms, face, throat and legs…

"Beautiful," he murmured.

He swallowed hard, still staring at himself in the mirror. Heart pounding, he slowly removed the yukata he was wearing and felt his heart race even harder. He couldn't stop staring at the tall straight-backed body, the lovely perfect skin, silken hair, smoldering eyes…a slender, powerful body that looked deceptively delicate.

"Damn, Taichou!" he whispered appreciatively, "Just fucking beautiful!"

Too beautiful…so beautiful that it left him weak in the knees. So beautiful that he felt himself becoming aroused at the sight. His eyes slid slowly downward and widened at the sight of the thick arousal rising out of a nest of black curls.

"Shit…" he breathed, "I cannot fucking believe this!"

He stared at it for several long minutes before the ache in his loins became painful and, as much as he knew Byakuya would kill him for it, he needed relief…badly! He walked into the bathroom and closed and locked the door behind him. He stepped into the huge shower and turned the water on.

He was immediately doused from four directions at once with cold water. He jumped and swore, then shivered softly as he waited for the water to warm up. As it did, the sensation of the hot water running down onto his skin became heavenly. His loins still ached and throbbed…and the door was locked and he was alone. No longer able to resist, Renji reached down and gently touched the hardened erection. A sigh of pleasure escaped him and the fact that it was not his voice, but Byakuya's only made the feeling more exciting.

"Taichou, I really hope you never find out about this…" he whispered, "I know you would kill me!"

He wrapped his hand around, enjoying the softness of the skin and how sensitive it was. It responded immediately to the touch of his hand, growing harder and leaking drops of fluid from the blushing tip. He couldn't help releasing a groan of pleasure as he moved his hand up and down its length, slowing to run his fingertips over the soft sac at its base, then continuing to move up and down the long shaft. He was startled as the intense sensation caused a sudden rise in reiatsu. It was then that he realized that although he was in Byakuya's body, it didn't mean he had full control. It took him several seconds to control the blaze of power that coalesced around him so that the room stopped rumbling and he could return his attention to…other things. The ache in his loins was unbearable now and he had to wonder if that was because of him or if Kuchiki Taichou could actually have, and have to control such strong impulses. Renji wasn't one who considered there to be a need to control those kinds of impulses. He returned his hand to the now painfully swollen member and tried to calm his raging reiatsu while attempting to relieve that damned ache. He managed things quite well after that…until the pleasure overtook him and for a moment, her forgot about control and was swept away by the intensity of the sensation. He wondered briefly if it could be true that someone so controlled as Kuchiki Taichou could really have a body so sensitive and responsive. How could he? If Renji had to control such things on a daily basis, he knew he would be driven insane.

He felt the room rumble again and heard something fall over in the bedroom. As the pleasure rocketed through him. He tried again to ease the swell of reiatsu and managed to stop the shaking.

"How the fuck does Taichou manage this? Is this from not having sex for so many years?" he whispered.

Whatever the answer, he was relieved the problem was resolved, at least for the moment. Relaxed and more comfortable, he took his time washing every inch of the lovely, pale skin and massaging shampoo into the incredibly soft hair. By the time he finished washing from head to toe, he needed to relieve the pressure in those powerful loins one more time before leaving the shower. He managed the surging reiatsu much better this time and avoided breaking anything. Turning off the water, he stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of the thick, soft towels, which he wrapped around the slender waist, before stepping back into the dressing area. He chose a dark red yukata and put it on, then stood admiring the lovely body it was wrapped around. It was some time before he calmed enough to return to the soft, comfortable bed and fall asleep. As sleep overtook him, Renji was unsure whether he wanted to wake up back in his own body or…not!

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Byakuya started toward the door but then caught sight of a clock and noted the late hour. It was unlikely that the staff at Kuchiki Manor would appreciate Renji barging in in the middle of the night. So, it seemed, he must wait for morning before going to confirm that Renji's mind was, indeed trapped in his body. He shivered and tried not to think of what Renji might be doing to his reputation…not to mention his belongings. Renji was an impulsive sort. He would likely feel the need to explore.

Byakuya felt a shiver pass through him as he considered just what form that exploration might take. He pushed the thought away and walked back into the bathroom, thinking a shower might relax him enough to get some sleep. He removed the shihakushou and dropped it in the clothesbasket, then turned on the water. While waiting for it to warm, he turned to the full-length mirror to examine the tattoos that ran everywhere on the redhead's lovely, tanned skin. He turned one way, then the other, tracing the black markings with his fingers. He enjoyed the rough feeling of those fingers against the softer parts of his skin…

Byakuya stopped himself.

This isn't right.

He forced himself to step away from the mirror, but his mind kept replaying the image and his fingers still remembered tracing those hypnotic markings…

He shook his head, forcing the thoughts away and letting the water run into the long red hair. He took his time, washing carefully from head to toe, trying to ignore what the earlier exploration of Renji's tattoos had caused. It began as just a dull ache in his groin, but by the time he left the shower, it had become a much stronger sensation. He shook the feeling off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around himself and moving out into the room. He looked through the closet and dresser but couldn't find anything resembling clothes suitable for sleeping. It was then that Kuchiki Byakuya had to surmise that his fukutaichou slept without clothing.

"Barbaric…" he sighed.

Not wanting to be uncomfortable, he simply removed the towel and started to climb into the bed. As he started to move beneath the covers, he felt suddenly uncomfortable and left the bed. He located a second set of sheets in the closet and replaced the rumpled ones that had been on the bed. He put fresh pillowcases on the pillows and settled into the bed again.

He found quickly that he couldn't fall asleep. The body he was in was alert and responsive, not at all relaxed, despite the shower. He closed his eyes and tried thinking calm thoughts. He looked around for a book to read, but found nothing of any interest. Frowning, he returned to the bed and turned his head so that he could look at the stars and moon outside. It took a significant amount of time and focus, but finally, he managed to get the strong, young body to relax and he dropped off to sleep.

He found himself standing in the midst of a desert sandstorm, with the wind roaring around him, the sand striking the cloak that protected his body. He sensed that the creature was near and that his taichou was somewhere nearby. The growl of the beast gave him only the slightest bit of warning. He barely avoided being taken off his feet. But the creature turned with impossible speed and took hold of him, and suddenly he felt a sharp pain and blood flowed onto the dark, tanned skin, staining it with redness.

"Renji!" a voice called.

Something struck the creature that held him, sending it sprawling. It gained its feet and backed away slowly, still growling. He remained on his knees as it disappeared and felt himself going weak from the loss of blood.

Suddenly, soft pale hands took hold of him and brought him down into the sand. A lovely face framed by whipping black hair tilted and dark, smoky eyes studied him with concern. Despite the awful pain in his body, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful his taichou was…and as those soft hands moved over him, healing his wounds, he looked up into the dark gray eyes longingly. They seemed to be getting closer, the soft voice growing more clear. The soft lips were so close he could almost taste them.

"Kami, Taichou! You're so beautiful!" he whispered.

He expected the other to frown and give him a sharp reprimand, but he was beyond caring. He only wanted so much to kiss those lips, to run his rough hands over that pristine skin, to taste him…

And he nearly jumped out of his skin when the lips curled into a smile and leaned forward to capture his. The kiss was sweet and tasted better than he could have imagined. He moaned in delight, opening his mouth and thrusting his tongue between the parted lips. It was sweet…so wonderful! And as they kissed, the soft, pale hands moved over his body, traveling every curve, touching him all over with such tenderness!

The hands found his swollen member and one wrapped around it, moving up and down its length with teasing slowness. Then that wonderful, sweet mouth moved lower and, still bearing that beautiful smile, wrapped around the head. He couldn't stifle a groan of pleasure. It felt so damned good! He couldn't keep himself from thrusting into that unbelievably warm mouth. He was being overtaken with pleasure in beautiful, hot pulses.

Byakuya jumped awake, shot through with humiliation and stunned surprise at both the dream and waking up to the sensation of warm fluid pulsing out of him and onto his body. He sat up, gasping and trying to force the memory of the dream from his roiling mind.

The dream was so odd! He was Renji in the dream…and Byakuya in the dream acted in ways the noble was certain that he had never considered. It wasn't that he didn't feel anything for Renji, but such feelings would be wrong, wouldn't they? He wondered then, if the dream had really been a construct of his own mind or if it had somehow been triggered by Renji's body. He had been a bit aroused by the sight of Renji's tattoos. Perhaps that had triggered the dream. But it was so odd having been in Renji's body in the dream…having his own body doing things he would never dare to do…

He felt confused…confused, stunned and mortified. He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep…especially not with the sticky mess on his skin.

Sighing unhappily, he pushed back the covers and climbed out of bed. He returned to the shower and washed the mess away, then searched for yet another clean set of sheets. He found a somewhat threadbare set and put them on, then settled back into bed again.

He spent most of the rest of the night thinking about what to do. In the morning, he planned to go to Kuchiki Manor to find out for certain if Renji's mind could be in his body. And then came the task of figuring out how it had happened and how to fix it. He considered going to the twelfth division for help but immediately discarded the idea. He hated the twelfth! And what was he supposed to say in explanation? But if not Kurotsuchi Taichou, then who could help them? Who wasn't going to say they were crazy?

Unable to find an answer and finally distracted from worrying about what dreams he would have, Byakuya drifted off to sleep. They would fix everything in the morning. In the morning, they would begin the search for answers.

XXXXXXXXXX

Renji was stunned and a little annoyed when he woke before sunrise. Unable to go back to sleep, he climbed out of bed and went to the dressing area, replacing the light sleeping yukata with a casual, but nice-looking kimono. They had been told to take time off of work, so it wouldn't have made sense for him to dress in the shihakushou and haori. Hopefully, the situation would be reversed before he actually had to impersonate his taichou in front of so many people. Most probably, if Byakuya was trapped in his body, he would come to the manor sometime during the day. Until then, Renji planned to minimize his exposure to others. He was too likely to say the wrong things…and given that he was in his taichou's body, that could get him and Byakuya into serious trouble. No, the best thing to do was to wait right there in his room.

But then Renji smelled food being cooked and the garden outside beckoned…and he just couldn't help himself. He stepped out the garden doors and was immediately approached by someone who appeared to be an attendant of some kind. He bowed to Renji and smiled warmly.

"Good morning, Kuchiki-sama. Breakfast is ready. Would you like to eat out here in the garden, sir?"

"Yes, um…arigato. Out here will be nice…fine. It will be fine."

He felt himself slumping and corrected his posture as he moved to the table. The servant returned and laid out breakfast service for two.

"Good morning, Nii-sama," Rukia said, taking a seat across from him.

And Renji suddenly realized that he was in trouble. He had already blown it in front of Rukia once…

"You look much better this morning," she commented.

"You look pretty good, yourself."

He bit his tongue and forced himself to ignore Rukia's shocked expression.

"I mean, you look…well rested, Rukia. You must have slept well."

"I did, Nii-sama, arigato."

She was staring at him again with that odd expression and Renji realized that he had been eating too quickly. He forced himself to slow down and tried his best to eat properly. He must have managed some semblance of it…that or Rukia simply lost interest. She ate quietly, staring out into the gardens. After a time, she lifted her head and looked back at him. Then she said something that sent a bolt of panic racing through him.

"Oh, Nii-sama, I meant to tell you! You know how Renji and I auditioned for the musical competition to benefit the poor of the Rukongai? Well…don't tell Renji. I want to surprise him. Our group was chosen to compete!"