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A Beneficial Arrangement	By : vbruce Category: Bleach > General Views: 3828 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. That honor goes to it's original author and creator. Making no money from writing this.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. I know it isn't the normal fare for Bleach and I appreciate those who took a chance on it.
***
Byakuya shifted over onto his side carefully. He had learned in the last hour or so that Inari tended to be a very light sleeper and almost anything woke her easily. He did envy her ability to check for whatever had woken her and go back to sleep immediately. He had never had that ability, much as it would have been useful. He wondered vaguely if it was something she’d trained herself to do or if it was a natural thing. He’d have to ask later. He couldn’t seem to drop off to sleep no matter what he tried. Partially due to the fact that his mind kept turning and twisting the events of the last few hours around, trying to fit them into some frame of reference that made sense. It bothered him because who the target had been was unknown and he was well acquainted with the fact that often what seemed to be the truth wasn’t after a closer inspection. In all honesty, it wasn’t the only thing keeping him awake.
When he wasn’t mulling the past night’s situation over in his head, he was looking at his soon to be wife in the dim light of the room. She wasn’t the delicate beauty Hisana had been by any stretch of the imagination. Her features were a bit too strong for that, the cheekbones too high and prominent, straight nose, deeply set eyes fringed with dark lashes, she wasn’t a beauty but hers was still a good face. She rivaled one of Amaterasu’s sunbeams when she smiled because everything and everyone around her seemed to light up in that instant. Her hair was an odd temptation because he had the strangest urge to wrap her chestnut colored curls around his fingers. He fell asleep pondering the reason for such a thought.
Upon finally drifting off he found himself almost immediately within his soulscape. He frowned a little because it was odd that he was taken there by sleeping. Something was changed though, he thought. Something was different and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was at the moment. He started to walk along one of the pathways that would lead to the center of his soul and to Senbonzakura, perhaps his zanpakto would have an idea about what was different. He admired the various components of his soul as he walked. He enjoyed certain aspects of himself more than others but the track to the center of his being he was particularly fond of. Elder trees sheltered the path under his feet and he could hear the rush of water to the right, bird songs and other noises to the left.
He tilted his head slightly when hearing something unusual, something normally not heard within himself. Laughter. Not only masculine laughter but feminine as well. He frowned and stepped sideways from the path, following the sound. As he neared a clearing in the trees he heard voices very clearly. One being Senbonzakura’s the other, he listened more closely, sounded vaguely like Inari’s voice but not exactly.
“Woman, be glad no one else is here to witness this,” came Senbonzakura’s voice through the trees.
“Honestly, what else was I supposed to do with all of this beautiful hair to play with?”
Reaching the edge of the clearing Byakuya could only stand and stare. He had seen his zanpakto without mask and armor exactly twice in the entire time he’d been in contact with him this way. He was without either at the moment, wearing a light yukata and with his hair down, looking more relaxed than Byakuya had ever seen him. Partially because his head happened to be in Ookami’s lap and he was looking up at her as though she was his entire world. Byakuya blinked and stared at them. He knew the look on Senbonzakura’s face because he was fairly sure it had been on his own when looking at Hisana.
“Your master is here, Bon,” Ookami said, pointing in Byakuya’s direction.
Senbonzakura shot to a sitting position almost instantly and Byakuya stood staring at the fact that Ookami had evidently braided wildflowers into his hair. He willed himself not to laugh at his zanpakto because he was fairly certain Senbonzakura wouldn’t speak to him for at least a month if he did. It was Ookami who stood after she’d said something to the other sword and started walking toward Byakuya.
“Come with me, Alpha,” she said, offering her hand. “There are things you need to see.”
Byakuya glanced back at his sword, now settled comfortably against a tree. If that part of his soul was comfortable enough to be without mask and armor in Ookami’s presence it meant she was trusted on a level few would ever achieve. The fact she was in his soulscape in the first place also spoke volumes concerning his trust of Inari.
“Where are we going?” Byakuya asked.
“Not far,” the sword said, moving effortlessly through the trees to the very edge of his soulscape. It was at this edge where his soul joined to others, some of the red bridges had faded with time and become worn with use, while still others were dark and broken, indicating that person was no longer joined to him for whatever reason. His gaze went first to the bridge he knew had been his connection to Hisana. It had cracked and broken completely in half with her passing and now only part of it stood in testament of what had been. He balked a little as Ookami led him onto a new and very brightly painted bridge that connected to a lush green forest.
“It isn’t proper to go wandering in someone’s soul if they aren’t aware of it,” Byakuya said. He knew it had to be Inari’s soul they were going into because he couldn’t think of anywhere else her sword would be leading him.
“If I know you’re here, so does she. We are separate pieces of a whole, just as you and Senbonzakura are, as any of the Court guard or the Pack are. Surely you know this,” Ookami said, leading him over the bridge.
He nodded in acknowledgment of that fact and looked around to the others Inari was connected to. He saw mists and snow rising from the valleys of mountains which were her link to Uryuu, inverted skyscrapers in the distance across one of the bridges marking her connection to Ichigo, heard the thunder of the ocean that was Jyuushiro’s soul and connected to it the low buildings of various saki houses which were Shunsui’s. There were many others but those were the most prominent and solid with the exception of a dark bridge that mirrored the one in his soul. He knew who that bridge belonged to almost instantly.
“She feels she’s responsible for his death,” Ookami said, leading them along one of the paths through the trees.
“Why would she think that? He was killed by a hollow. Correct?”
Ookami nodded. “Yes. However, she was a few seconds too late in arriving to stop his death,” she said. “It tore him open as she came through the doorway. She destroyed it, of course, but he was already gone.”
His stomach clenched at that. He knew how horrific it was to watch someone you love die and be unable to do a single thing about it. “They call it Survivor’s Guilt in the living world,” he murmured.
“They do,” she said with a nod. “I thought I should explain since she likely won’t. There’s also Jyuushiro and Shunsui.”
Byakuya held up a hand to stop her. He wasn’t certain he wanted details beyond what he already knew concerning their relationship with Inari. For some strange reason it made his insides twist in very uncomfortable and familiar ways. “I already know what’s happening with her and those two.”
Ookami sighed. “I don’t think you do. Not really. They are her lovers, yes, that was never a secret. But they are also her brothers in arms, her protectors of a sort and her support system. When Rin died they were the ones who held her up during the funeral, the ones who fought off all others who would have taken advantage of her in a weakened state. Believe me, she was in no shape to get out of bed most days much less rule in the beginning. If anything happens she’ll still go to them first, just remember that and don’t be offended by it. She’ll start coming to you but it will take a while.”
“I think you’re misunderstanding, Ookami-san,” Byakuya said. “The year and a day is a ploy to draw out enemies.”
“I don’t think you believe that,” she said. “I know she thinks she does but she doesn’t either.”
Byakuya bit his tongue and kept silent on that score. He frowned a little as they made a turn and came into a clearing with a small house. He stopped walking. Wandering around in someone else’s soul was bad enough but invading the very center of it was something he wasn’t sure he was willing to do at any cost.
“You aren’t going in,” Ookami said. “You can’t unless she invites you personally. But you can look inside and I think there’s something you need to see.”
He frowned and went slowly toward the open door. He could see part of a well lit and very comfortable looking room but something caught his attention near the door. He shifted slightly to get a better look inside. He saw neatly folded and placed on a low table next to the door a Captain’s haori with the sixth’s emblem clearly visible.
Ookami grinned and patted him on the back. “I think we should go back now. There’s something you need to see inside of you as well.”
“I’m mildly terrified now,” Byakuya said, following her back to his own soul. They found Senbonzakura waiting for them just across the bridge and as usual he walked to one side of Byakuya. This time he was walking with one arm around Ookami and Byakuya had to wonder what it all meant.
Byakuya walked straight to the center of his soul, a massive manor house not unlike the one he usually occupied. He’d often wondered why most of the rooms were empty but hadn’t really thought about it terribly much in the last few years since he only occupied three or four rooms while he was there. He came to a complete stop just inside the doorway. Hanging next to his Captain’s Haori was a black field jacket the Pack wore, this one decorated with the red wolf’s head backed by black claw marks that signified the Alpha. He leaned heavily on the doorframe for a moment, just trying to breathe normally. He walked out and stared at the two swords who were talking with their heads bent close together.
Ookami smiled as he approached them. “See?”
“Yes. But I’m not certain what it means,” Byakuya said, sounding somewhat dazed.
“Of course you are. It means you’re falling in love,” Ookami said firmly.
Byakuya shook his head. “No. I can safely say I am not falling in love with Kurosaki, Inari,” he said before turning and walking away.
Ookami shot a worried look at Senbonzakura. “Bon?”
He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “It’s fine.”
“But . . .”
“He said he wasn’t falling in love with her. There’s a reason for that.”
Ookami smiled brightly as she looked up at him. “You can’t go somewhere you already are.”
- 13
- 14
- 15
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A Beneficial Arrangement