Chapter 3: Heartbeats

(Okay, this is where the brand new version of this story really begins. This is an all new chapter. I really hope you enjoy it. Love to all, Spunky)

Byakuya stood silently in the dressing area of his bedroom, his dark eyes looking sad and resigned as his attendant dressed him in his uniform, then combed his hair to a shine and placed the ornaments. He tried to ignore the heavy feeling of emptiness and the unnerving, sick feeling that seemed to come and go. As his attendant finished, the feeling overwhelmed him and he retreated into the bathroom for several minutes to expel the sickness.

"Byakuya-sama," the attendant said softly from the doorway, "shall I bring the healer? You are obviously unwell."

"Thank you, Torio," Byakuya said gratefully, "I need to gather myself before the ceremony."

Torio filled a small glass with water and handed it to the recovering clan leader, then he flash stepped away. Byakuya rinsed his mouth, then ran a dampened washcloth over his face. He walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed, where he breathed slowly, waiting for the nausea to pass.

I am sure this is just an emotional reaction to losing Renji the clan leader chided himself, I was emotional after losing Hisana too, although it did not manifest as such a physical discomfort as this. I wonder if it is because of the depth of what I was feeling. Truly, loving someone is a reckless act, isn't it?

He looked up in surprise as Tetsuya entered his room alongside Urahara Kisuke and a worried looking Rukia.

"What is this?" he asked, "I did not send for a party of healers. I only asked for Michio to come."

"Now, don't be testy," Kisuke said good naturedly, "Ol' Michio was on his way, but I was closer and thought I'd step in to help him out. You really mind?"

"I suppose not," Byakuya said defeatedly, relaxing slightly, "as long as you did not bring that ridiculous cat woman with you."

"Aw now, that's not nice. You know, Yoruichi is pretty broken up over this. And all of Renji's friends from the living world are too. I uh…hope you don't mind that I brought them along with me."

"No," Byakuya said solemnly, "I would not deny them such closure in this situation. Renji's living world friends are welcome, of course."

He looked more closely at the shopkeeper.

"How is he coping?" the noble asked.

"Ichigo?" Kisuke asked, a sad look entering his eyes for a moment, "I suppose he's handling it as well as can be expected. He's slowly losing power, but he still has the reiatsu to be here, and I'm glad for that."

"Renji would be pleased at him being here," Byakuya mused, "Although the two did tend to clash verbally and occasionally physically, they shared a closeness in both being strong protectors of my sister. I am grateful for that."

Rukia blushed and dabbed at her eyes.

"I am grateful too," she added softly.

"But, getting down to business," Kisuke said, moving to Byakuya's side, "Let's have a look at you."

"It is probably just stress," Byakuya sighed resignedly, "That can cause physical effects, especially when it comes to the loss of a l—"

Byakuya broke off, earning curious looks from the others, but he recovered quickly and continued.

"When it comes to the loss of one who lived in such proximity to the one lost."

"You and Abarai-san were close because of your common battle to defeat Aizen Sousuke," Tetsuya acknowledged, "That, combined with the closeness you gained in both being Rukia's protectors makes this a harder loss."

"It does," Byakuya acknowledged.

"Hmm," Kisuke said as he scanned the noble's body with a handheld device, then took his vital signs, "everything mostly seems alright, but I am seeing a drop in your usual reiatsu strength."

"That is likely, as I said, from stress," Byakuya concluded.

"Yeah, probably," Kisuke agreed, "Have you had any other symptoms?"

"A bit of dizziness," Byakuya reported, "some food aversions and just a feeling of fatigue. But that also could be from stress."

"Yeah," the shopkeeper concurred, "it can be. Do you think you can eat something now?"

"But the service is about to begin," Byakuya objected.

"Yeah," Kisuke replied, "but you don't want your reiatsu to drop anymore, because you could pass out in the middle of the thing, and I don't think you want that."

"Hmm, no."

"So, eat a little bit, and after the ceremony, you should have Michio look you over again, all right? If you continue to have problems, there are some scans we can do in Karakura Town."

"I'm sure I am fine," Byakuya said shortly, "The stress will probably ease after this is over. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to finish getting ready."

"Sure thing," Kisuke chuckled as he and the others headed out the garden doors.

Kisuke touched Tetsuya on the shoulder, making the younger man pause and look at him curiously.

"Keep an eye on him, okay?" the shopkeeper requested, "It may be just stress, like he said, but you never know. I just have a funny feeling that something else is going on, though I can't put my finger on what. If he was a woman, I'd be suggesting a pregnancy test, but…"

"Urahara-san, that's rude," Rukia scolded him.

"Sorry," Kisuke snickered, "I just meant the nausea and dizziness and…"

"This is no time to be making stupid jokes," Rukia complained.

"I am sure that he didn't mean to be rude," Tetsuya said bracingly, "Perhaps it is his way of trying to comfort you."

"Yeah, that," Kisuke agreed.

Kisuke let out a sigh and the sadness returned to his face.

"Looks like we should be finding our places. C'mon."

Tetsuya watched as the others walked away, then he stood for a moment, looking at Byakuya's closed garden doors and frowning thoughtfully as the shopkeeper's words replayed themselves. His brow furrowed and he looked around, then he moved in the direction of the carefully protected door to the Kuchiki archive. He had almost reached it, when he heard a soft sniffing, coming from the gardens. He stepped onto the trail and followed the little sounds until he came upon a sagging figure sitting beneath one of the trees.

"Rikichi-san?" he said softly.

The young officer caught his breath in surprise and hastily stood, wiping his tears on his sleeve.

"S-sorry, Tetsuya-san," he apologized, "Is it time?"

"Just about," Tetsuya informed him.

"Ah, I'll uh…I'll be going then."

He started to turn away.

"Rikichi-san, is there…anything I can do?" Tetsuya asked kindly.

Rikichi froze with his back to Tetsuya.

"Not really," he answered, "I shouldn't be making a scene, crying like that when I'm just…just a…"

Tetsuya moved to the officer's side, following his gaze to where chairs had been placed to accommodate the crowd of people coming to honor the fallen sixth division fukutaicho.

"It's obvious that Renji touched your life in a profound way," he said, turning slightly to study the tattoo over Rikichi's eye, "It's not wrong for you to honor your connection this way."

Rikichi managed a tremulous smile.

"That sounds funny, coming from someone so close to Kuchiki taicho. I know that he doesn't approve of crying."

"Ah," Tetsuya sighed, "that is a standard that he holds himself to, however, I will confide in you that when I first arrived at Kuchiki Manor as a teen, after being freed from the noble's prison, it was Byakuya-sama who held me while I cried. He was very comforting, and not once did he chide me for showing weakness."

Rikichi blinked and turned to look more closely at Tetsuya.

"I heard about how you were a prisoner when you were a child. That must have been awful."

"It was very difficult," Tetsuya acknowledged, "but you did not have an easy life in the lower Rukongai either."

"No, not really," Rikichi agreed, "though I wasn't in a prison with bars or anything."

He sighed again and Tetsuya laid a hand on his shoulder as he continued.

"I have a little brother."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Ryuunosuke. He's entering the thirteenth division soon. He's been in training at the academy. We were orphaned while Ryuu was still a baby, so I took care of him at first. It was a real struggle to survive, so I was at my wits end. I didn't know what to do. There were hollow attacks and awful people who tried to hurt us. We survived mostly by hiding and stealing food. We didn't know what else to do. But all of that changed one day when a group of shinigamis came to our town."

"Renji was among them?" Tetsuya asked.

"Mhmm," Rikichi confirmed, "I left Ryuu with a friend and I went out to watch them fight. And watching Renji fight was amazing. He was so very strong. I knew, watching him, that I wanted to be strong like him. They held a banquet in town after the shingamis killed the hollows, and everyone was able to go and have free food and drink there. Ryuu and I filled up on food, then we listened to the stories that the shingamis told. I learned that Renji wasn't always so strong. He too, was a child of the low Rukongai, but he was determined to get stronger…and he did. He grew so strong that he achieved bankai, and he is now an example to others like us, who are not noble, but who have noble hearts and want to be strong like him."

Rikichi closed his eyes and bowed his head as he continued.

"I was so inspired by him that I began to train as he said that he had. I worked hard and I finally qualified for the academy. The town elders were so proud that they wanted to do something for me, so I asked to receive their blessing to go to the academy and to have this marking to acknowledge the one who inspired me to grow so strong."

Tetsuya smiled.

"Renji-san was an inspiration to so many," he said quietly, "I know that my cousin came to appreciate Renji's great strength, but also his valiant heart."

Rikichi surprised Tetsuya with a little laugh.

"Renji could be stern, but it was usually when his subordinates were showing weakness. He was always getting after me because I have trouble managing hell butterflies."

"You do?" Tetsuya asked, his smile warming, "With me, it was trouble controlling the water and ice of my zanpakuto. I think I must have caused rain and drenched everything in my room about fifty times before I started to wield better control of my Reku-hime."

"You, Tetsuya-san?" Rikichi asked, looking surprised, "but I can feel how strong you are now."

"I too, had a wonderful mentor," Tetsuya explained, "After my release from the prison, Byakuya-sama trained me himself."

"But, I thought that the mixed bloods were…"

"Technically, I was not allowed to share in the heir's training," Tetsuya went on, "Upon my emancipation, Byakuya-sama took me as an attendant. A mere servant. But I soon found that he had only done so because it meant that I would be close to him. He then said that he was using me as a sparring partner, but in actuality, he was training me. The elders nearly fainted when we later went before them, and Byakuya-sama told them that, as I was now a family member wielding a bankai, I should be made his protector. The elders put me through a battery of tests, then the subfamilies each put forth a member to face me in combat."

"You had to fight your own family members?" Rikichi asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes," Tetsuya affirmed, "if I wanted to be Byakuya-sama's protector, then I had to prove myself. The battles weren't to the death, as such, but of course, it isn't unusual for one to die during the fights. Yet, I survived all of the battles and earned the right to protect Byakuya-sama directly."

"That's amazing," Rikichi said appreciatively, "I never knew you had to go through something like that."

He gave Tetsuya a warmer smile.

"Thank you, Tetsuya-san. It was kind of you to comfort me."

"Oh, it was nothing," Tetsuya said, blushing, "I just understand this is very hard for you."

"Yeah."

"Well," Tetsuya said, squeezing Rikichi's hand, "if all is well, I must take my place for the ceremony. If you wish, you can stand with me."

"Huh?" Rikichi mused, blinking in surprise, "But you…?"

"I will not be visible, but I will occupy a place close to Byakuya-sama near the front. I can simply use my waterform to shield you from sight too so that you can have a better view and some privacy during your mourning."

Rikichi's jaw dropped and he found himself speechless for a moment.

"Why would you do that for me?" he asked, when he finally found his voice again, "I'm just…"

"You are a part of Renji-san's legacy…one to whom he passed some of his strength, knowledge and ability, before leaving this world. You belong near him…whatever anyone would say. I think Renji-san, himself would approve."

Thank you, Tetsuya-san!" Rikichi sobbed, hugging the surprised mixed blood noble tightly.

The two young men froze at the close contact and a moment passed where they simply held each other and looked silently into each other's widened eyes. Rikichi wasn't sure what possessed him, but he leaned forward and touched his lips very lightly to Tetsuya's, then he flushed darkly and let the other young man go as he apologized profusely.

"S-sorry! I'm sorry! That was rude…and…and you've been so kind. I ah…I'll be fine watching from the regular viewing area. Sorry…ah…" he stammered.

"Come," Tetsuya chuckled, taking Rikichi's hand.

"But…?"

"Come, Rikichi-san," Tetsuya insisted, "It's time."

Tetsuya invoked his power, making the two of them fade from sight, and he led Rikichi to the very front of the gathering. They remained at the front and off to the side as Byakuya led the Kuchiki elders in a procession down the center aisle and they took their places. Rikichi watched the ceremony that followed, in breathless silence, his heart pounding and tears streaming freely down his face. He wasn't sure when Tetsuya's hand found his, but he was grateful for the comfort and for the protection from the other attendee's eyes as his heart broke at the intensity of the display taking place in front of him. By the time the service ended, he was barely on his feet and nearly unaware as Tetsuya led him to a guest room and held him quietly as he cried, then had an attendant come to dress him for bed and settle him down to sleep.

Out in the gardens, Byakuya stood, quiet and stoic, through all of the speeches, then delivered his own in a state of pure calm on the outside, though his heart was broken on the inside. He was aware of the presence of the officer from his division, who stood at Tetsuya's side throughout the ceremony, cloaked in his cousin's illusions as he cried softly on Renji's behalf.

It does seem right that Rikichi is there. If anyone appreciates Renji's influence, that boy does. I am glad that Tetsuya noticed and acted thusly.

Byakuya held up his calm exterior through the rest of the ceremony and the gathering after, but he was relieved when the guests began to leave or to head for their guest rooms if they were spending the night. His heart aching, Byakuya left the gardens with Tetsuya following at a distance, and he stood at the top of the cliff, overlooking the waterfall and moonlit lake. He breathed slowly, trying not to feel the heaviness in his chest and the terrible loneliness of again having one he loved pass from life.

I am glad that they celebrated him in the way he deserved. Renji was a truly gifted warrior. I only wish that…

Byakuya paused, frowning as a scuffle seemed to erupt in the area behind him. He turned, and his eyes rounded as he spotted Tetsuya struggling with a tall, deathly pale, red-haired hollow. The hollow screeched and slashed at the attacking shinigami and blood exploded from Tetsuya's slender body as he collapsed onto the ground.

Byakuya's hand extended and he called Senbonzakura forth, then he flash stepped towards the hollow as it staggered back, staring, as though surprised at what it had done. The hollow's head turned and its tortured eyes collided with Byakuya's. Byakuya's feet stopped and he gasped in dismay.

"Renji!"

Loud voices rose up in the distance, and the sound seemed to spook the hollow, who disappeared into the trees. Byakuya started to follow, but was distracted as Rikichi's voice rose up among the others.

"Tetsuya-san!" Rikichi screamed.

Byakuya turned back and dropped to his knees beside his fallen cousin, cradling Tetsuya in his arms as Tetsuya fought for breath.

"D-don't tell them!" Tetsuya panted desperately, "B-byakuya-s-sama, don't!"

"What?" Byakuya asked, "But he is obviously a hollow now. I saw the hollow hole."

"I know," Tetsuya managed, blood leaking from between his lips, "B-but when I grabbed him…I…f-felt his heart beating!"