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Penumbra	By : Sardonicista Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2583 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The author does not own Bleach or its characters, and does not earn any profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-I
- 2-II
- 3-III
- 4-IV
- 5-V
- 6-VI
- 5
- 6
A/N: This isn’t my favorite chapter, but it isn’t getting any better the longer I stew over it. Speaking of stewing, it’s nice to see the Soutaichou getting a little face time in the manga, and I can only wait in giddy anticipation of [finally] getting to see his bankai…someday…maybe?

Penumbra, Chapter Six

***

“When the Flower Wind Rages, the Flower God Roars. When the Wind of Heaven Rages, the God of the Underworld Sneers.”

***

                Awash in the cool light of the early morning, the office was redolent of strong tea and freshly prepared ink. Byakuya paused on the threshold, nominally to admire the hanging scrolls and the way they framed the white and pale-purple lilies on the weathered desk – such harmonious tranquility was a rare thing, and for it to dwell in a workspace, all the more unusual.

                “Good morning, Kuchiki-taichou.” Ise Nanao glanced up from her work, though her brush never stopped moving over the parchment beneath. “He should still be passed out on the roof of the western wall.”

                “Ah.” It didn’t take much effort to hear the Captain Commander’s snores echoing off the stern white edifices of the First Division’s barracks. “In truth, I have come to seek an audience with you, Ise-fukutaichou.”

                At that, her hand stilled. The carefully composed young woman had the presence of mind to set the brush aside before any stray drops of ink could mar her work, however, and she blinked at him with expectant, wide indigo eyes.

                “While I am loathe to add to your burdens, I find myself in need of your help.”

                Nanao straightened her already-centered eyeglasses and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

                “More specifically, the Sixth Division will be in want of a proficient kidou instructor. I have engaged my sister and Hinamori-fukutaichou to lead drills one afternoon a month,” as well as Yamada-san to round out the lessons with healing kidou, though I’m not sure I wish to make that widely known just yet. “I was hoping that you could lend your considerable talents to the task, if it is not too much of an imposition.”

                It might have been his imagination, but Nanao’s carefully composed expression seemed in danger of being overtaken by a smile.

                “Were it anyone but Abarai, I might think you were overreacting,” she pronounced with a faint smirk. “That said, it wouldn’t do to have the whole squad suffer the consequences. One half day a month, you say?”

                Byakuya nodded, the fine chains of the kenseikan shifting and clinking with the movement.

                “Consider it done – it’ll be a welcome respite from paperwork.” Nanao relaxed her posture a bit and indicated the chair opposite hers as she moved to pour the tea.

                Though he hadn’t intended to linger, the delicious vapors escaping from the bright green brew made it impossible to refuse the offered hospitality. His chilled fingers curled round the cup and he stifled a contented sigh in favor of addressing his host. “What can I offer you in return?”

                The Kuchiki had a number of things in mind, but frankly didn’t know the First’s fukutaichou well enough to proceed without the risk of giving offence.

                “That won’t be necessary,” Nanao flashed him an unequivocal smile before she sipped her tea. “Let’s just say that the situation of this division has improved a great deal in recent weeks, and that I’m aware of whom we owe our thanks.”

                Byakuya became aware of heat creeping up his chest and neck – he decided to blame it on the sunlight slipping in through the window and sampled his tea with utter composure.

                “I suppose this means you’ve come to a decision.”

                “It does,” he acknowledged, grateful for the shift in topic.

                “I’m sorry to hear that, though I can’t say I’m surprised,” Nanao went on, her gaze falling upon the exquisite ikebana arrangement on her desk. “Your timing is as impeccable as ever.”

                “How so?”

                “At long last, there will be a Captains’ Meeting tonight.”

                “I see.” He set his cup aside.

                “Shall I add this to the agenda?”

                “There are a few more conversations I might have before setting the rumor mill abuzz,” Byakuya decided and stood.

                “Very well.” Nanao stood as well and walked him to the door, bowing cordially. “Do let me know if I can be of any help. You are always welcome.”

                With a quick inclination of his head he stepped into the hallway, though he made it ten paces further before an odd sound slowed his progress and drowned out his footfalls. An extraordinarily loud snore, punctuated by a snort and a whistled exhalation, rang out and reverberated between the nearby buildings and through the open window. Rather than roll his eyes, Byakuya shut them, shook his head and made his way through the sunlit hall.
                The sun had long since set as the Captains’ meeting stretched on, though the slatted windows afforded only a hint of the evening breeze blowing outside.

                Byakuya let his attention drift in and out of the conversation, which had stalled at the distribution of recent academy graduates amongst the decimated ranks of the Gotei Thirteen. He found himself more interested in the reactions of the new captains, those flanking him included, than the content of the debate ricocheting around the hall.

                To think that I would come to be one of the senior captains, he mused as Hirako-taichou murmured something that made the diminutive Histugaya-taichou’s eyebrow twitch, whilst centuries younger and less experienced than Ojii-sama…it boggles the mind…

                Byakuya allowed himself a sigh, which thankfully was drowned out by the bored huff- or was it a snore? – that erupted from the hulking Kenpachi across the way. Zaraki met his gaze with a crinkle of his golden eye as his mouth twitched into a maniacal grin, his hand patting the tsuka of his ragged blade in invitation.

                …though some things haven’t changed at all.

                “Then it’s settled,” the Captain Commander broke into his musings with a clap of his hands, silencing the conversation without raising his voice a bit. “Submit your requests to Nanao-chan and recruits will be assigned accordingly. Moving on to officer promotions.”

                A new chorus of voices bubbled up, and the stoic Kuchiki found himself stifling a smile. While Kyouraku-taichou might come across as less gruff and authoritarian than his esteemed predecessor, and more likely to be amused by the squabbling of his subordinates, he tended to settle conflicts and circuitous arguments in an equally definitive fashion.

                His manner, though, Byakuya took in the well-worn flowery pink kimono, the sing-song baritone that once held nothing but irritation for him. Shunsui cloaks himself with indolence just as Aizen wore a façade of studious benevolence, he decided with a frown at the Soutaichou’s eyepatch, but the traitor didn’t simply rely on the illusion to mask his ambitions, he relished the deception for its own sake. Shunsui, though…the easygoing persona is more a matter of discipline, both for his benefit and of those around him.

                The clan regalia woven into his hair and along his neck grew heavier at the thought.

                Byakuya chided himself and quietly cleared his throat as the conversation lulled. He felt the weight of an intent stare settle on him, and he looked up to find the Captain Commander watching him.

                The time had come.

                “I wish to nominate Abarai Renji to the rank of Captain,” he heard himself say in his usual monotone.

                A moment of complete silence followed.

                “I second.” Rukia spoke for the first time that evening, her voice small but steady as it rang out from the end of the line of captains opposite.

                He sought out his sister and she met his gaze with her big, earnest eyes. Rukia nodded, even as she pressed her lips together.

                Thank you, Rukia. You have never wavered, even when I was racked with uncertainty.

                I will miss you terribly.

                “Heh, why not,” the Kenpachi cackled and grinned at the Kuchiki siblings. “Meetings won’t be such a fucking drag.”

                Taking that as an official endorsement, Kyouraku bowed his head, though his eye remained fixed on Byakuya. “There we have it. Inform Abarai-fukutaichou to prepare himself for the Captain’s Exam.”

                As if he hasn’t been for years, Byakuya kept to himself and inclined his head.

                “For what purpose?” Soi-Fon piped up, the wiry woman’s tone less hostile than curious as she took a visual inventory of the thirteen assembled officers.

                “For the spot opening up at the Sixth, of course,” Hirako Shinji turned his knowing, angular smirk towards Byakuya. “Looks like someone finally decided to accept his promotion.”

                As the conversation devolved into exclamations and chaos again, the words became blurred and indistinct as the cries of the crickets and katydids outside. As he returned Shunsui’s stare, however, the only sound that reached Byakuya’s ears was a deep, growling laugh.

                It was a dense, pervasive darkness, a void that extinguished not only light but the memory of what went before.

                At least, that was what Byakuya told himself as he cast about disoriented in the gloom. Humid air clung to him like a damp cloak, heavy with the scent of midnight blooms and fresh-turned soil. Though sure he was surrounded by water, he could not hear a single ripple or drip, nor a splash underfoot as he moved forward…or was he standing still? The more he considered his circumstances, the less confident he was of being physically present in the otherworldly place.

                A gust blew up from behind, swirling around him and scattering into the dark, carrying with it a familiar floral fragrance.

                Cherry blossoms…

                Senbonzakura?

                Innumerable blades hummed and sang as they fanned around him, a comforting presence in an otherwise alien landscape. Even so, Byakuya found himself straining his senses, trying to determine if it was truly the zanpakutou spirit that he heard.

                Or is my imagination filling in the blanks? The emptiness of this place seems absolute.

                A thundering laugh bubbled up from all sides and set his solar plexus abuzz. He froze.

                “Are you sure of this emptiness?”

                I am sure of nothing, he admitted, dismayed by his smallness when compared to the preternatural rumbling still ringing in his ears.

                “That is wise,” the voice purred as it drew closer.

                The timbre of the voice was as unsettling to Byakuya as the stygian setting: neither female nor male, not deep as much as vast, seemingly omnipresent…and vaguely familiar.

                “Have you worked it out yet?” The voice laughed against his neck. Moist warmth trailed up along his ear and set off a full-body shudder, which only made the laughter grow louder.

                This is more vivid than any dream, which must mean-

                How did I come to be here?

                “By invitation, of course,” his host rasped, stirring his hair forward to cover the right half of his face. “It was good of you to finally acquiesce, little lord.”

                At a loss for words, he remained motionless as the voice moved over him, and his own heartbeat grew louder as it thumped and thudded against his ribs. Something crept over his shoulders, encircled wrists and ankles alike, and wrapped around his waist leaving a cool, tingling sensation in its wake.

                “Shunsui’s been so stingy with his toys,” the voice pulled back to settle on his shoulder, amused.

                Byakuya stiffened reflexively, though whatever had ensnared his limbs did not loosen its grip.

                “Oh, is the pretty little doll offended?” The pressure around his waist wound down around his hips and punctuated the phrase with a squeeze.

                If that is truly your measure of me, why bother to bring me here?

                The voice chuckled, a partly-sensuous, partly-threatening rasp that set gooseflesh prickling down his neck and back. “Our agreement is longstanding and sealed by oaths of words and blood. Whatever he may claim, we will have our share.”

                A thousand questing fingertip-tongues spiraled up his arms and legs, prodding, tickling and tasting with needle-like pincers. The things swarming over him in the darkness left stinging pinpoints in their wake, and Byakuya kept silent as his blood blossomed from the tiny, multitudinous wounds.

                “Young, delicate this one,” the voice mused as its minions slithered under his arms and snaked around his upper thighs. “Mmh…”

                He couldn’t stifle a gasp as sharp, searing pain pierced his underarms and both sides of his groin, allowing arctic energy to flow into his veins and rush towards his chest. Byakuya bit his tongue hard to avoid any further sound of distress to escape him as the chill entered his heart, gripped his lungs and was subsequently pumped out to invade the rest of his being in icy waves. He shivered and tensed as his lips and tongue went numb.

                “Yes, that’s it,” a pleased purr licked up his neck and along his ear. “Struggling makes it even more…”

                Byakuya tried to dismiss the panic rising in him by closing his eyes, but they were frozen open.

                “…delicious…”

                The voice was still laughing into his ear, but the roar of blood- near frozen as it was – drowned out all else as even sound fell away.
                When he came to, Byakuya was dismayed but not surprised that he couldn’t move.

                It was the rumpled sheet before his eyes that convinced him that his current bondage was of a different, less malicious sort, and made a deep breath and a slight slowing of his pulse possible. Byakuya relaxed a bit into the bed as something hairy, panting and damp with sweat kissed its way up his back, lingering with a sloppy press of lips behind his ear. A contented rumble tickled his earlobe as Shunsui slipped a hand between Byakuya’s hip and the bed to curl around his sex.

                The hand stilled, and Byakuya swallowed against a parched throat.

                Shunsui said nothing as he moved away. He returned some moments later, dragging a wet cloth over Byakuya’s back and thighs before untying the silk rope that lashed Byakuya’s right ankle to the bed. The Kuchiki likewise remained silent as he shifted his hips and flaccid organ, refusing to shiver as the sweat cooled his skin. Kyouraku kept his touch light and careful as he traced the ligaments of the joint with his fingertips and a kidou spell.

                “Are you all right?” Shunsui freed his left ankle and eased the aching in his foot.

                “Yes.”

                “Did they hurt you?”

                Byakuya pressed his face into the sheets and blinked. “I’ve had worse.”

                Closing his eyes, he reached out to Senbonzakura, who answered immediately with a whisper of relief, distress and more than a bit of indignant possessiveness.

                “I’m not sure if I should be relieved or horrified,” Kyouraku held his hand as he freed the wrist, pausing to rub his thumb over the back of Byakuya’s narrow, white fingers. “While I’m probably culpable on some level, what transpired was not done on my orders.”

                “I see.” He turned his head to look up at Shunsui, who remained kneeling at his side while holding his hand. Byakuya took his time to choose his words with care. “If you will pardon my saying so, your relationship strikes me as…unusual.”

                Shunsui cocked his head to the side slightly as a grin stole over his face. “Your composure never ceases to amaze me.”

                Byakuya shrugged, a completely ineffectual gesture as both arms were still restrained. It couldn’t be helped if he felt less vulnerable trussed up naked in Kyouraku’s bed than in the demonic embrace of his zanpakutou.

                “You’re right, of course,” Shunsui stretched across him to free the other hand. “Katen Kyoukotsu is but one aspect of the spirit, the one most similar to a true zanpakutou.”

                Rather than leave him prone on the bed, Shunsui swept him up and settled Byakuya’s head on his chest as he leaned against the wall. “Should they ever tire of me, I’m confident they will continue to exist long after I’ve entered the cycle of rebirth.”

                Senbonzakura whispered to him then, a soft caress of reassurance, before settling into silence again. Byakuya, momentarily at a loss for words, brushed his lips against Shunsui’s collarbone and sighed. “I had wondered, briefly, if it was some sort of retaliation for my announcement.”

                “Were that the case, I would have taken more direct measures,” Shunsui lifted his chin and delved into his mouth, kissing him long enough to steal his breath. “However, I can’t really say that I was surprised.”

                “Oh?” Byakuya wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, dignity forfeited for the sake of expediency.

                “My hunch was confirmed when the Zero Squad came to fetch you. Long before that, however,” Shunsui pulled a large, green bottle out of nowhere and took a swig, “I had my suspicions that you were not really intended for the Seireitei.”

                Byakuya arched an eyebrow at him.

                “I’m not being poetic, dear. Anyone who’s seen your Hakuteiken and really thought about it could piece it out,” he pecked the Kuchiki on the tip of his nose. “It’s completely incongruous to the rest of your bankai. And absolutely stunning.”

                Laying his head back on Shunsui’s muscular shoulder, Byakuya felt heat creeping up his neck and into his face.

                “You’re not the only one to admire another’s reiatsu or sword release, though I’m sure I wasn’t half as adorable when you were the one stroking my ego.”

                “You are insufferable sometimes,” Byakuya announced into the whorl of dark hair on Shunsui’s pectoral. “Much of the time, actually.”

                “Naturally talented, I am,” Kyouraku chuckled and slid his hand down Byakuya’s flank to pat his backside. “And part of what makes me so inexorably charming.”

                With a soft snort, Byakuya wrapped an arm around Shunsui’s waist. “You are not upset?”

                “Why should I be?” Shunsui pinched the smooth, pale flesh of Byakuya’s buttock until it reddened. “Abarai will make a good captain, and I can pop into the Royal realm whenever I damn well please.”

                Byakuya hissed as Shunsui brought his palm down on the reddening area with a smack!

                “You’ll have to try harder than that if you want to get away from me.”

                While his tone was imbued with laughter, Kyouraku’s dark gaze was nothing short of predatory. Byakuya might have said something, had he not been shoved back down onto the bed.
- 5
- 6
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Penumbra