Muhahahaha! It lives! Lives, I tell you!

This chapter was hard to write, the hardest yet. So hard, in fact, that after three different attempts I gave up on it, buried it in the abyss of random papers and forgot about it. Well, a couple weeks ago I decided to try and organize my crap somewhat and put all my fanfiction together in one binder instead of randomly mixed together with other papers. And while I was doing that, I unearthed the several different attempts I'd made at writing Chapter 19.

I've known for a long time where I was going with this fic. It's just been a matter of getting there, and I figured out how to do it. It's not been kind to update after so long, but better late than never (although, I'd be surprised if anyone who was reading before even goes on this site anymore :D). So here you go. I'm pretty satisfied and I hope you all are too.

Rukia, for some reason he couldn't comprehend, seemed to be drawn to the rash, daring type.

This type was thoughtless, had absolutely no regard for consequences, defied the status quo, and usually died pointlessly at a young age. And if they didn't die, they were horribly injured because they picked fights without thinking. In short, they were idiots.

Byakuya himself had been an idiot once, in his younger days. But he had grown up and now had very limited patience for that type of person. Very limited. Especially if said person was someone Rukia cared for. To act foolishly when there was someone waiting for them to come back safely was unacceptable behavior.

As to the matter of Renji Abarai, well…Renji was an idiot. And not just any idiot, but the idiot Rukia loved (for some incomprehensible reason). That was two strikes against him right there. It was only a matter of time before the man got himself killed and left Rukia heartbroken. Like, perhaps, right now?

There was what sounded like an explosion outside and a crash as Renji fell off the roof. It was true that Renji was a god of death, but he always seemed to be tempting fate.

The redheaded idiot stumbled inside a few minutes later and gave Rukia a big thumbs-up. "I'm okay!"

It was a typical evening in the Abarai household - er, Abarai and Kuchiki household, since thinking of Rukia as an Abarai still left Byakuya with an unpleasant feeling. Renji had been outside training while Rukia and Byakuya had evening tea.

Renji's reasons for going up on the roof had something to do with practicing kido. Or so Byakuya had gathered. Sometimes it was just better not to find out the details.

"You didn't blow a hole in the roof, did you?" asked Rukia.

"Nope. My kido only exploded on me this time. I'm getting better", said Renji proudly. How had he ever graduated the Academy?

"So is that why your head is bleeding?"

"No, that's from falling off the roof", Renji replied, as though head wounds were nothing notable, "I should probably go to Division Four and have them stitch it up, eh?"

What was sad about the whole situation was that Byakuya wasn't even remotely surprised anymore when things like this happened.

At some point in time, he had come to accept all the nonsense, because it was easier than trying to apply logic and reasoning. But something bothered him - if one was exposed to idiocy for too long, did they, too, become an idiot?

Although admittedly, things were always interesting. He could understand why Rukia was attracted to that sort.

Well, kind of.

He could not completely comprehend why anyone would voluntarily invite that sort of chaotic randomness into their life. But then, Byakuya was a man who appreciated tranquility and stability, and Rukia was the sort who seemed to find trouble no matter where she went. He knew that she was not Hisana, but at the same time it was easy to forget how different they were.

"Is it wise to let him go alone?" Byakuya queried, after Renji had departed for Division Four.

"He'll be all right. He bounces back quickly."

Her lack of concern was...well, concerning. "But it's a head wound."

"Yeah."

"Those can cause brain damage."

"He's had worse." That was true. "Besides, Renji has very good luck. Tonight is a perfect example."

"How is wounding yourself lucky?"

"Because if anyone else had a kido blow up in their face and then fell off a roof, they would have died, or at least been horribly, horribly injured. Renji only got a head wound. It's always been like that with him. It's like he's unkillable."

Byakuya remembered a battle that felt like it had happened ages ago. Abarai had taken the full blow of Byakuya's bankai and then only a short time later was hauling Rukia around the Seireitei. And even before that, he had been gravely wounded in a battle against Kurosaki and was running around a short time later. Perhaps the man was possessed of some kind of incredible luck that allowed him to escape certain death.

But, then, Rukia also had evaded death. She had avoided execution and survived having an Arrancar's trident thrust through her body. Perhaps Renji's luck could be passed to people who had extensive contact with him.

Now that he thought about it, he too had come out on the upper hand in bad situations. He had been slashed by Kurosaki (that was just luck), stabbed by Gin Ichimaru (but really, Rukia getting gutted was not an acceptable alternative), had his tendons slashed (granted, that one was self-inflicted). And yet here he was, with no indication that he'd suffered through those encounters. Could it be that Renji's luck had rubbed off on him, as well? Had he spent that much time around Renji over the years that such a thing could happen?

No. No, it was just because of Byakuya's own skills that he hadn't been killed in battle. Luck or anything else had nothing to do with it.

…

What was it about the two of them that bothered him so much?

It wasn't just that Renji was an idiot. Byakuya felt this same annoyance towards every male that Rukia had shown favor towards. So then…

Was it really just that he was jealous and possessive?

Such a thing had never even occurred to him, truthfully. Who better than him to protect Hisana's sister, after all? Or at least that was what he'd always told himself. But then he came to a terrible realization.

Rukia really didn't need him to protect her after all. Maybe she never had.

He turned his attention to the paperwork he'd been filling out and realized that he'd made an error and would have to redo the whole thing over again. The fact that he was going to have to waste time doing over something that he should have done correctly the first time was, needless to say, obnoxious.

He gave up entirely when he made the exact same error, on the exact same thing, again.

Maybe I've been cloistered inside for too long. When was the last time he had just relaxed?

He couldn't even remember.

Well, but he had been quite distracted of late, what with Rukia's antics. Why did she have to be so difficult? On the one hand he wanted to treat her like the adult she was, but on the other hand he wanted to coddle her like a child.

The world of shinigami was dangerous and violent, and he had made a promise on Hisana's deathbed to protect her sister. Even if Renji was competent (which he wasn't), it didn't matter. It was Byakuya's promise, and his alone to bear. Even if Rukia didn't need him, he would still watch over her.

But then…why did he continue to cling to that so much? There was only so much one man was capable of, even when that man was himself. Time and again, he had learned the hard way that when the universe saw fit to take something away from him, all his power was useless to prevent it.

Perhaps that was why the idiot type Rukia was attracted to annoyed him so much. What was the point of Renji's cocky brazenness? If he was to find himself in a position that Byakuya had once been in, doomed to watch someone die, that attitude of his wouldn't deter the inevitable. Would a man like Renji, optimistic for all that he was a hotheaded loudmouth, even be able to handle such a situation? Fiery passions were worthless in the face of death.

And although Byakuya had lost people before, to death or exile, it was Hisana who had made him understand the value of simplicity and stability. Order and routine were of utmost importance. Nevertheless, when that orderliness was threatened, sometimes his rash inner idiot came out.

Like, for example, adopting a girl from Rukongai into the Kuchiki family even though it was against the rules. And deciding to live with said girl and her lover for a month. What had he been thinking?

Deciding if their love was real? How pretentious he'd been. How many people had tried to dissuade him from Hisana? Really, he'd handled this whole affair badly. Renji and Rukia had been in the wrong, being as sneaky as they had, but he was the one who had driven them to it. He married Hisana in defiance of the Kuchiki elders, and Rukia had married Renji in defiance of him. It was a long time ago, but he had been Rukia once.

Had he really become such an old man? Just like the elders he used to resent. Now that was a revolting thought.

Two days and the month would be up. Then it would come down to him. He entertained no delusions that the two would break up, regardless of anything he might say. There was only one possible resolution that was acceptable to him. And so Byakuya made his decision. With his mind at ease now that he was set on a firm course of action, Byakuya Kuchiki returned to his paperwork. However, he did take a few minutes to have a message dispatched to his fukutaichou.

…

Byakuya was actually rather surprised that Renji followed his instructions so well. He never did any other time.

The glaring white of the bandage on Abarai's head stood out in the twilight. "So what's this about an important assignment for me?"

"Yes, I supposed that you would be curious for details. Well, come along then, and I will tell you about it."

The two walked away from Division Six headquarters, Byakuya assured in his purpose and Renji confused and clueless. Well, more so than usual, anyway.

Was it just Byakuya's imagination, or was the dying light particularly striking tonight? Maybe it was because he didn't normally see it. He didn't usually leave headquarters until after dark and the window in his office was to his back. He'd played with the idea in the past of rearranging the room so that he'd be able to look out when he wished, but old habits were hard to change.

"So if this is an assignment how come you didn't just call me into your office and bark out orders like you normally do? Actually, I'm surprised you're even out of your office. It's like your second home."

In a way, it was. "This is not a conventional shinigami assignment."

"Oh, something special just for me, huh? I can't wait", Renji replied unenthusiastically, "I'm not signing any liability waivers." After they walked on for a few minutes, Renji seemed to grow uneasy. "Well, where are these details? You haven't really said anything."

"We're not in the right place."

"Not in the - we have to go to a certain place now?" But he didn't say anything more until he'd figured out their destination. "Sokyoku Hill?"

Byakuya didn't want the other man to get too agitated and back out, so he decided to offer at least some explanation. "It's isolated, especially at night. No one will disturb us."

"Yeah. Wonderful. I think I'd prefer witnesses, personally."

Byakuya would have preferred to just shunpo to the top of the hill, but he was unsure that Renji would follow, so he had to do things the difficult way and ascend the stairs on foot all the way. Although he was not out of shape by any means, he had grown accustomed to using shunpo to get to hard-to-reach places, and so he had to engage in more physical exertion than he was accustomed to. Why did there have to be so many stairs? Who was the fool who designed the Seireitei, anyway?

He wanted to kido Renji, though, when they reached the top and Renji said, "Wouldn't it have been easier to just shunpo up here?"

Night had completely settled over the Seireitei now. Byakuya walked to the edge, past the destroyed Sokyoku (left untouched as a testament to everything that had happened that day), and gazed down over the Seireitei, alight even at night. There was the normal level of evening activity, with black-clad shinigami moving about in the streets. Beyond the high wall was the dark and shapeless mass that was Rukongai.

"So you wanted an isolated place, huh? You really couldn't think of any place better than an execution ground?"

"…it was the first place I thought of." Well, other than a cemetery.

"But it's an execution ground. You know, where people have been executed. As in died."

"I would not expect a shinigami to be frightened of death."

"I'm not frightened. I'm just saying that you have no damn sense of aesthetics! So why the hell are we here, anyway?"

"To resolve the matter of Rukia." Byakuya turned to look at his fukutaichou.

At first Renji had a blank, confused expression. Then-

"What? That's what this is all about? I thought it was something important!"

"You do not think Rukia is important?"

"I never said that! Don't twist things around! I-"

"Anyway", said Byakuya, overriding Renji's protests, "There is certain protocol in regards to members of the Four Great Noble Houses, and Rukia, though a member by adoption and not blood, is no exception."

"Okay", said Renji cautiously, "I already know that."

"One of the rules is that commoners are not permitted to join the Kuchiki family, through marriage or otherwise. I hope you are swift enough to see the problem."

"Commoners aren't allowed, huh? Then didn't you break the rules by adopting Rukia?"

Hmm. Byakuya probably should have left off the 'or otherwise' bit. "That was a different situation."

"Why? Because you were the one who broke the rules?"

Byakuya didn't owe him any answers. But then, this could serve his purposes.

"Do you really wish to know why? Are you prepared for the answer?"

Renji looked surprised, clearly caught unawares by that response. "Uh…"

"I made a promise to protect her as my own sister. I promised a very important person. And so to that end I broke the rules of my own clan."

"I didn't know that any important people knew Rukia before she became a Kuchiki."

"There is a lot that you don't know." And never will. "But now Rukia has broken the rules by marrying you, a commoner. As the head of the Kuchiki clan, I must bear that dishonor. And as her brother, I want to restore her to grace."

"I should have known this is where you were going with it! Look, I'm not splitting up with her-"

"Did I say to do that?" said Byakuya a little more testily than he intended. Trying to get Renji to split up with his lover would work as well as it had with Byakuya himself. "You are uncouth and ignorant, so permit me to enlighten you a bit on decorum. You should have sought the blessing of the head of the clan before deflowering his sister."

Renji's face turned the same color as his hair, and all he could do was splutter in protest incoherently.

Byakuya was not in the mood for it, certainly not now that they'd arrived at the main matter. "I have been considering acknowledging yours and Rukia's union."

Now Renji looked confused again. "Wha - ? But I thought you hated me being with Rukia."

"Just because I choose to acknowledge it doesn't mean that I don't still find it distasteful. But I suppose as far as potential husbands go, Rukia could have done much worse."

"Potential? But we already - "

"That union took place without the permission or knowledge of the head of the clan, so I cannot consider it legitimate. However, I have decided to allow you and Rukia to rectify your mistake by partaking in an official ceremony, one with all the pomp a Kuchiki's wedding deserves. You're a rather hopeless case, but it might perhaps be possible that you could be trained to be a somewhat passable gentleman. For one day, at least."

"I see. An official ceremony, huh? You know that would make me your brother-in-law", said Renji smugly, "You might get accused of nepotism."

"You're right. I'll have to give you twice as much work as usual to deter such claims."

"Huh? Well, I mean, come on, that's not necessary - "

"However, this will not go over well with other members of the clan."

"You have this thing with cutting me off all the time, you know?"

Byakuya ignored him and continued on, turning to look at the view again. Nothing was going to deter him now. "This should be made a mutually beneficial situation. I will tell you now what you will do to repay me. If you want me to accept you as Rukia's husband, you must agree to this."

Renji sighed. "What is it?" Byakuya murmured his response quietly and Renji came closer. "What? I didn't hear - "

When Renji came close enough Byakuya unsheathed Senbonzakura, whipped around, and slashed at Renji's head in one movement. Renji moved on instinct and barely avoided a lethal injury, but the blade still sliced his cheek.

Renji immediately moved to put some distance between them, whipping out Zabimaru. "What the hell?"

Byakuya just observed this with a deep sense of disappointment. "And you're a fukutaichou? Your reflexes leave a lot to be desired."

"Oh, well, so sorry that I wasn't expecting my taichou to pull his damn zanpaku-to on me!"

"You are a shinigami. You should always be on guard for any possible danger. This won't do."

"What won't do? Dammit, if I hadn't moved you could have killed me!"

"Please. If I had a desire to kill you, then you would be dead."

"That's not the damn point! Why the hell are you swinging around your damn sword? Unless…" Renji's face lit up. "Unless what you've wanted all along is a hot-blooded battle to the death over Rukia!"

"That would be over in five minutes and wouldn't even take the rust off my blade."

"Argh, you know, this is why you piss me off so much!" Renji brandished Zabimaru. He was trying to look threatening, but all Byakuya saw was a fool leaving himself wide open.

"How can you be trusted when you let your temper get the better of you and fight so recklessly?" How frustrating to have to leave Rukia with this idiot. "You should take better care of yourself. You have someone else to consider."

That seemed to cool Renji's head a bit. He lowered his zanpaku-to and listened more attentively. Good. Renji was more likely to treat this with the seriousness it deserved when he was actually calm and paying attention.

"I made a promise long ago to protect Rukia. If you want me to entrust her to you, then you must make a promise to me. If her life is in danger, protect it with yours. If she falls in battle, help her to her feet again. Be there when needs you and make sure she lives a long and happy life. Please take good care of her."

"...I promise", said Renji solemnly.

"Good. If you fail her, though, then I will make you experience Senbonzakura a thousand times over. It doesn't matter where you go. I shall find you every time. I swear it by my blade."

"All right, fair enough", Renji replied, "But you have to promise something too, taichou." He had a cocky smirk on his face now.

"And what would that be?" asked Byakuya irritably. Was the idiot even taking this seriously?

"Well, you're still her brother, you know. Don't think that her getting married gets you off the hook for any obligations. She's always had me, but she gotten fond of you too, you know? So you'd better not let her down. And just because I'm looking out for her too doesn't mean you can break your earlier promise, or that person you made it to might come after you."

"That would be impossible."

"Pretty arrogant as usual, huh? Well, if you don't look after Rukia and be a good brother to her, I'll make you experience Zabimaru a thousand times over. And don't think you'll be able to get out of it either. I swear it by my blade."

"You are the one who is arrogant." But Byakuya was satisfied and sheathed his sword. Renji did likewise.

After a couple minutes of a silent standoff, Renji shifted awkwardly. "Er…so is that all?"

"Yes. That will be all, Abarai." His business done, Byakuya shunpo'd to the bottom of the hill and started off on his way home.

Renji was right behind him. "Wait, wait, aren't you forgetting something?"

Byakuya stopped to regard him. "And what would that be?"

"Well, Rukia's going to want to know where we've been! What should we tell her?"

"I don't know. Come up with something", Byakuya replied dismissively, continuing on his way.

"Why do I have to?" Renji complained, hurrying to keep pace with him.

"You're the fukutaichou. That's part of your job."

"Since when?"

"Since always. I'm a taichou. I have more important things to do than think up excuses all day."

"All right, all right. I've got something. Both of us got sent out to fight some Hollows that raided the world of the living, and one of them got me on the face while I tried to save you."

"That's terrible. She'll never believe it."

"What's wrong with it?"

"A Hollow struck you down, which is why you have a facial injury. Then I saved you."

"What? Why do you get to be the hero?"

"Taichou's rights."

"Taichou's rights, my ass! You can be the hero in your own damn story! I'm the one thinking of things here!"

"…"

And so the two returned home to Rukia.

So we're pretty much at the end. There's just one final chapter. And I promise it won't take me like nine months to update next time.