"Come Renji. We have to dress formally for the council meeting." The noble said as he led the redhead through the gates and then to his room.


"W-what? We have to dress fancy?" Renji huffed. "Taichou, isn't what I'm wearing good enough?" The redhead queried as they entered into the bedroom.


The noble shook his head and walked towards the closet. "No, we have to dress in formal kimonos."


"Why?"


"Because it shows that you respect, of course." The noble answered.


Renji sighed. "Fine, just as long as we get this over with. I'm not looking forward to a bunch of stuck-up nobles having a say whether we can be together." He wasn't nervous, but he was dreading having to go see a bunch of stuffed shirts.


"Am I a stuck-up noble?" Byakuya asked in sarcastic tone.


"Of course not! You're nothing like other nobles Tai-Byakuya." Renji answered quickly.


Byakuya gave the other a gentle smile while glancing over his shoulder. "The council won't stand in the way." He stated as he took two kimonos from his closet and studied them then Renji. He chose to dress the redhead in the black one with a red dragon on it. "But they may request us to marry soon." He continued as he signaled Renji to go stand in the dressing area. Byakuya slowly removed his lover's uniform and replaced it with the black kimono. "Well, how do you feel about that?"


As the noble redressed him, Renji stood and thought for a moment. He looked into the mirror and saw the noble had his usual calm expression on his face but his eyes showed he was worried. The redhead thought about it a few minutes more. Just as Byakuya was turning to get his kimono from the hanger behind him, Renji took hold of a slender pale wrist. The noble looked up at him and was instantly pulled into Renji's embrace. Renji nuzzled into the crook of Byakuya's neck. He breathed in his lovers sakura scent, and then pulled away slightly. He looked deep into the slate gray irises.


"I'll be damned if I let those stuffy elders try to pry us apart. I don't think I'm ready for marriage. But if I have to choose between losing you and marrying you, then I choose to marry you." Renji said with a soft smile.


"R-renji…" The noble was shocked. He didn't expect the redhead to answer like that. He couldn't help but smile helplessly and pull the other in for a kiss. His tongue swept over the redheads lower lip seeking entrance. Renji happily opened his mouth for his lover's tongue to snake its way inside and explore the cavern. They pulled away a few minutes after, flushed and panting for breath. "Are you certain?" The noble asked once he caught his breath.


"Positive." The redhead said with certainty.


Byakuya smiled again. "Then, we shouldn't have any worries."


Renji returned his lover's smile and took the white kimono covered with a sakura tree design on it from behind the noble. He switched places with Byakuya and took off the raven heads haori and uniform and replaced them with the white kimono. He glanced into the mirror and saw the noble was blushing.


Why is he blushing? Renji thought. "What's wrong?" he asked as he set his chin on the nobles shoulder and wrapped his arms around the other's waist.


Byakuya leaned back on the redhead slightly. "Nothing." He answered.


"Liar." Renji grinned.


"Bite your tongue." The noble said with some seriousness in his voice.


Renji's grin grew wider. "Do it for me." He stated playfully.


The raven head turned in his lover's arms. He claimed the red heads mouth again in an opened mouth kiss. He did as he was told. He gently bit down on the Renji's tongue, making Renji smile into the kiss. They moaned into each other's mouths and didn't hear a knock on the door.


"Byakuya-sama?" A feminine voice called from the other side of the door. The two men pulled away from each other and the noble answered the voice. "Come in." He called as he still held the redhead. Mana entered the room; she was dressed in a red kimono. Her hair was braided instead of worn long like usual. But her black side bang was still loose and hung over her right eye.


She blushed slightly when she saw others holding each other. "Oh…um, I didn't mean to interrupt but it's time to go to the meeting." She said when she finally regained her calm.


Renji sighed, and Byakuya smiled at him. "Very well, come watashi no koi. Those, as you call them, "stuffy elders" await."


Mana smirked. "Not all of us are stuffy."


Renji chuckled. "No, you're not stuffy Mana-san. But I'm sure the others are."


"I will have to agree with you there." She replied.


They then went out into the early evening air and walked to the council hall.


Before they entered the council room Byakuya pulled Renji into the noble's office and Mana followed. "Renji, I'm going to show you who each of the elders are before we go into the council room. Mana and I will explain who you should know to be wary of." he explained.


Renji nodded and Mana grinned. Byakuya walked over to his desk and turned on the monitor. Renji chuckled. "What's that for? Do you spy on the elders when they want to talk about you Taichou?" Byakuya glared at him, which only made Renji grin and Mana giggle.


"He only uses that so knows what to expect about serious situations. All the elders know he has it." Mana explained.


"Sneaky devil." The redhead grinned as he was gestured to sit next to the raven head. Renji looked at the monitor and noticed all of them had pale skin and raven black hair. But some of their eyes were not slate grey.


"That is Kuchiki Kameko." The noble started as he pointed to a female elder who was looking at some papers. She looked somehow different than the others but that could be just because she is young he thought.


"She's still quite young." Renji noticed.


Byakuya nodded. "She is the head elder. She is a good person to seek answers from if you cannot find me. She is also of mixed heritage."


Renji gave him a confused look.


"He means she is half noble and half peasant." Mana explained.


"Ahh… I see. I thought she looked somehow different." Renji said with realization. He looked at her again and saw her eyes were bright red. "She must be very powerful and knows a lot to become head elder."


Mana smiled and nodded. "She is. She is almost as powerful as Byakuya-sama."


"Over to her right is Kuchiki Shin." Byakuya interrupted. Renji noticed Shin was fidgeting a bit with his hands as if he looked uncomfortable. "He is a good man but can become somewhat socially awkward. Next to him is Tetsou. He is the oldest out of all the elders."


Renji looked at the eldest man in the room and saw he looked kind of mean looking. He had raven hair with grey streaks in it. His expression was a scowl. He also looked angry for some reason.


"He's also a jerk." Mana interjected.


"Mana," Byakuya glared across his desk to her. "He is a wise man, show respect and he won't be cruel-"


"I know, gomen cousin. But he is never nice to me. He dislikes me because I am part of the Shihoin family. And you know they are not very well liked."


"Yes, I know. But that is not exactly why he is not fond of you. You turn into your feline formation every time you get nervous or need to connect with Amayachou fully. So it is understandable he would not trust you much."


She looked offended. "I may turn into a white tiger when-"


"Wait, you can turn into a tiger?" Renji interrupted and gaining the two arguing nobles attention.


Mana nodded. She grinned mischievously and turned into her feline formation. Renji noticed she was beautiful even though she was quite small. She had long white fur with black stripes. She had a hint of a purple tint in the black by the way she was standing in the light. She had her same smokey gray eyes that had a golden ring around them. Byakuya's glare got colder looking towards her. "Tetsou doesn't like it when you do that because you are so small and look like you are going to sneak up on anything that fascinates you."


"Aww, come on Bya, you have to admit that is pretty damn cool." The redhead cooed in amazement.


"It may be, but she can't fully control her zanpakuto in that form." The noble countered. "Connect with the spirit maybe but not control.


"Well, I guess it's a good thing you and Yoruichi-sama are teaching me." She stepped in then turned back into Shinigami form.


The raven head nodded. "It is and it is also a good thing you return to Shinigami form fully clothed… unlike Senpai." He said in annoyance. He sighed and pointed back to the monitor screen. "Next is Akira, she is one of the smartest in the clan. She could also help you in a time of need." Renji saw the small woman with glasses. She looked very smart and kinda book wormy. The redhead shrugged.


Mana nodded in agreement. "She is a good fighter, though she is not very strong. But her tactics are very good."


Renji nodded to tell that he understood.


"After Akira is Hitoshi."


The female Shinigami giggled. "If you ask me, his name does not match his personality."


"Whatever do you mean, cousin?" Byakuya asked as if he was dreading to hear her answer.


"Byakuya-sama, you know he doesn't have a level head. He is easy to anger." She said pointing to the man that looked a lot like Byakuya. The raven head knew this to be true. Hitoshi was just as old as Byakuya and was not a very good person to deal with. He was, in fact, easy to frustrate. Byakuya dismissed it and continued on to explain to his lover of who the others were.


"Then there is Kou, she is… well…"


"She likes to push people's buttons." Mana interrupted.


Byakuya nodded. "She does tend to do that, even when she does not mean to. She is a sweet woman. But she does tend to get a bit hyper and annoy others."


"Ahh… I guess I'll be either staying away from her or I will like her company." Renji said as he looked at the woman who was big breasted like Rangiku and long wavy raven black tresses.


"Hai." The raven head replied. "You will either like her or dislike her. Next to her, is Dai."


"He's really… big." Renji noticed as he looked into the monitor screen and looked at the large muscular male. He had short black hair and had a smile on his face.


"Hai, he is, but he is a nice man. He has a big heart that cares for everyone." The purple haired girl stated. "He is also married to a male peasant. So it won't be too hard to win him over." She added with certainty.


Byakuya nodded in agreement. He turned back to the screen and pointed towards the last two male elders. "The last two, Iwao and Katashi are very much alike."


"They were raised together in the same house so I am not surprised they are alike." Mana butted in.


"Huh? They were raised in the same house?" Renji was confused. The redhead looked into the monitor and saw the two males looked similar except Iwao had big blue eyes and Katashi had the normal slate grey eyes. Their raven hair was long and kept in ponytails. They were talking softly to each other. Of course you couldn't hear them because Byakuya didn't have the volume on.


"Hai, they're families shared a house because their mothers are twin sisters." Mana explained.


"Ahh, so another clan had two girls and married them off to the Kuchikis?"


Byakuya nodded. "It's rare for the same clan to give both of their daughters to another single clan. But it happens. In their case it happened because one fell in love with my uncle and the other my aunt. So they were given permission to wed. The sisters, also my aunts, didn't want to part with each other. So they were also given permission to live in the same house."


"I get it. So, some of these guys play a role in same gender marriage, and peasant marriage." Renji said as he looked back over to the monitor; scanning it to see if he had missed something.


The nobles both nodded. "Well that's all the elders… except for me." Mana smiled brightly. "But you already know about me."


Renji smiled at the purple haired girl. "You know you are quite young as well to be on the council."


Mana blushed faintly. "Well, I'm the same age as Kameko-san. She and I are very close as well."


"Come, we should go. We've kept the council waiting long enough." Byakuya interrupted as he turned off the monitor and walked towards the door. The others were close at his heels as they passed through the office door into the hallway. They walked down to two double doors and Byakuya knocked lightly and the doors opened.


Kameko looked up from her papers and smiled. "Ah, Byakuya-sama, Mana-san, you have arrived. And this must be Abarai Renji."


Byakuya nodded and led Renji to the table where they would be seated. Renji was relieved when Mana sat on the other side of him when Byakuya sat to his left.


"Now, we can start with this meeting. Our only topic is of Byakuya-sama and Abarai Renji." Kameko announced.


All nodded and Kameko began again. "Byakuya-sama, we know that you and your fukutaichou have begun to have a closer relationship other than fukutaichou and taichou. Do you deny this?"


The clan leader shook his head. "No, Renji and I have begun to see each other romantically. I will not deny it." He said camly.


"Well, it is fi-" Kameko was then interrupted by Tetsou then.


"No, it is not 'fine' Kameko!" Tetsou snapped.


Renji didn't like the sound of Tetsou's voice erupting in the middle of the head elder's sentence. He cringed when the elder's fists slammed on the table.


Kameko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Tetsou-san, if you wish to speak then you will do so in turn and not interrupt… Also there is no need to shout about." She spoke calmly.


Tetsou glared at the young woman. "No, I will not sit here and watch you just dismiss this just because you are of mixed heritage!"


Kameko scowled lightly. She was about to speak but Mana spoke first. "Enough! There is no need for this brashness. Tetsou-san, I believe we discussed this matter this morning and you said that you wouldn't lash out this way. Also this has nothing to do with Kameko-san being a half blooded noble." She gave the old man an icy glare. He didn't like Mana in the least. To him she was annoying little brat who was the cousin of a former traitor when Yoruichi saved Urahara and Tessai. But he couldn't do anything to her because she was Byakuya's closest cousin. He also wasn't going to back down from this.


He looked around and saw that the other elders were scowling at his behavior but he didn't care. Just as he was about to yell at Mana, Hitoshi then joined the conversation.


"Honestly, is this any way to act as an elder Tetsou?" Hitoshi yelled. He was quickly becoming angry and his reiatsu was rising dangerously.


Byakuya knocked on the table to call order back into the room. "Will you please just get on with it?" He asked in his normal calm tone.


Kameko nodded. "Very well, as I was saying. We all discussed this issue this morning and we all, except for Tetsou, don't see any real problem with your association with this man." She said as she pointed towards Renji. "But only with your word that you marry within two years time and produce an heir."


Byakuya looked over to Renji. Renji wasn't surprised like the noble thought he would be. He just had a gentle smile on his face and touched Byakuya's hand under the table. The redhead was still facing the head elder when Byakuya spoke. "Tetsou, you may now say why you don't approve of this."


Tetsou's glare softened at the clan leader. He had deep respect for the other. But he hated that Byakuya made some very odd decisions. Such as marrying Hisana and adopting Rukia. But was surprised when the two women that were a big part of Byakuya's life were actually very kind and acted nothing like he thought. He actually really liked the two. But Tetsou really didn't care for the peasant class. Many of them were foul mouthed and had brash behavior and were sure Renji was no different. "I don't approve of this because he is a peasant and a male no less. He would bring dishonor on our clan."


Give me a break. Renji thought.


"I see. Is that all?" Byakuya asked. Tetsou just nodded. He knew Byakuya would just dismiss it and do what he wanted anyway. "I appreciate your concern for our clan but you needn't to worry. Abarai and I will not disgrace the clan." He stated as looked over to meet Renji's gaze. Their eyes locked and both smiled at each other.


The entire Kuchiki council except for Mana was surprised that Byakuya would actually smile. Byakuya was usually cold to everyone and never showed any emotion. They haven't seen him that happy since Hisana. They sat in silence for some time until Kameko broke it.


"Byakuya-sama, do you accept our conditions?" She asked respectfully, trying to not seem too surprised.


The noble was still gazing at his lover and Renji gave him a knowing nod.


"Byakuya-sama?" Kameko repeated.


"We accept your terms." He said as looked over to the head elder.


"Very well, this session is over." Kameko announced then all the councilors except for Mana quickly left.


Renji let out a relieved breath and Byakuya squeezed his hand gently. "I'm glad that is over." He said.


Byakuya smirked. "You handled this very well."


Mana shook her head. "Tetsou is never going to change."


"No, he is not. But he's still one of the wisest men in our clan; although, I don't share his opinion. Renji won't disrespect the clan." Byakuya beamed at his cousin.


"Well, we all know that. But you know Tetsou has had some problems with the lower class before."


"Problems? What kinda problems?" the redhead asked.


"Many of the peasants he meets are not very friendly." Mana answered.


"He won't have the problem with me as long as he doesn't talk shit to me."


"Come," Byakuya said getting up and pulling the redhead up with him. "Let's go home."


Renji smiled and nodded.


The three headed back to the manor and slipped into some more comfortable clothes. Byakuya and Renji went to the dining room for dinner as it had gotten too cold to use the patio. Mana went directly to bed as she was exhausted from the day she had.


"Byakuya?" Renji caught the noble's attention as he was sipping his tea.


"Yes Renji?"


The redhead smiled. "What do you want for your birthday next week?"