A Beneficial Arrangement

Thanks for reviewing Taz.  I sometimes think I write this just for you to read.  I appreciate it.

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Byakuya watched as friends and family filed into the room as he sat talking to Yoruichi and Kisuke.  Inari had come in and snatched Kisuke’s hat off of his head and hit him with it.

“Not at the blasted table, Kisuke,” she growled at him.

“Ow!  Must you always abuse my hat?” he grumbled, setting it aside.

“Only when you wear it to dinner,” Inari said, moving to sit next to Byakuya, as the seat had been left open for her.

You tell me you're gonna play it smart

We're through before we start

But I believe that we've only just begun

Byakuya shook his head, again he heard music.  That or he was going completely insane.  He distracted himself by looking around at everyone then feeling a bit overdressed.  Most everyone else was in casual clothing.  Kisuke in his usual green, Yoruichi in training gear, Ryuuken in his normal suit, Renji in his Lieutenant’s uniform and the Kurosaki family along with Uryuu in jeans and tee shirts.  The only ones wearing more traditional dress were him, Inari and Rukia.  He was fairly certain that the two women had only worn kimonos to make him more comfortable.

When the food was served, everyone grabbed plates and bowls, passing things around and making requests for various items.  Karin smacked Ichigo’s hand for trying to grab something too fast.  Ryuuken and Isshin fell into discussion concerning a particular medical procedure.  Rukia was teasing Renji about making eyes at Uryuu, who was in turn glaring at her for making Renji uncomfortable. Overall, loud and boisterous seemed to be the order of the evening. Byakuya watched it all with an odd sort of fascination, having never really seen anything like it.  His own family dinners were really more a formal way to torture someone while they were attempting to eat.

“It’s what real families do, Bya,” Inari said, patting him on the arm.  “I know we’re a little much at first.”

“It’s simply different than what I am accustomed to,” he said.  He didn’t bother to tell her that he’d much rather eat alone than sit at the head of the Kuchiki family table and attempt stilted conversation with people he really didn’t care for most of the time.

“Okay, Isshin, out with it,” Inari said when they all had food.

Isshin nodded and sat up a little straighter in his chair.  His role as sovereign falling onto his shoulders like a cloak.  “What’s said here stays here, everyone.  I trust all of you implicitly but this will most likely be volatile and I’d rather not have to deal with the aftermath until I have to.  I wish Juushiro and Shunsui could have been here but they were busy.”  The smirk informed everyone at the table exactly what they’d been busy doing.  “And Hana had an issue with something at the Fourth.  I think Clown Boy blew something up again, so a nice chunk of his staff got sent to him personally.”

Everyone nodded, focusing on him.

“But getting down to business. If mine and Inari’s suspicions are right, then it could have massive repercussions throughout Soul Society and the nobility,” Isshin said.  “We think that Rin and Masaki were set up to be murdered.” He paused for a moment while the after effects of that bombshell hit everyone.  “Most likely it was someone within the nobility since they would have the most to gain from it along with having the power to pull it off and keep everyone involved silent.”

Inari nodded solemnly at his words.

“That makes perfect sense,” Kisuke said thoughtfully.  “I’d always thought it was strange that they’d both died the same way within a year of each other.”

“You’ll forgive us for being a bit slower on the uptake than you, Kisuke,” Inari said.  “Broken heart and all that.”

“Yeah, I know.  Sorry,” he said with a shrug.

Inari waved away the apology.  “So what did you have in mind, Isshin?”

“Well, a lot of it depends on you and Byakuya,” he said, looking at the two of them.

“What did you wish?” Byakuya prompted.

“I want to see if the same thing will happen if Inari decides to marry again,” Isshin said, looking thoughtfully from Byakuya to his sister.

“Isshin,” Inari said warningly.  “I won’t put someone in danger for our theory.”

“Just hear me out before you try to kill me with the chopsticks,” Isshin said.

“I was thinking more along the lines of drowning you in the soup tureen but death by dinnerware isn’t a bad idea either.  Go on,” she said.

“Since we think someone wasn’t happy with the fact we both chose to marry someone far beneath our station as far as society is concerned, it makes things a bit more awkward considering Byakuya is nobility.  But one has to admit he’s far better equipped to handle something like this than Rin or Masaki were.  They only had a vague knowledge of Hollows through the two of us.  It’s part of his daily job to dispose of Hollows,” Isshin said.

“Really, Isshin?  I would have never guessed that,” Inari said sarcastically.

Ichigo chuckled.  “You can tell they’re related,” he said.  This earned him a jab to the ribs from Rukia.  “Ow!  It’s the truth.”

“You said it yourself, Inari, removing people untrained in the combat of hollows would be ridiculously simple compared to trying to take out a Captain of one of the squads. Any of this would, of course, be up to Byakuya as well,” Isshin said.

All eyes turned to Byakuya at that point.  “What did you have in mind?”

“Initially, the year and a day stipulations,” Isshin said.  “That way, it would be binding to the outside world but still give you an out at the end of the term.”

Byakuya nodded.  The year and a day had been a long standing and honorable thing among both royalty and the nobility.  Initially, it was used to make certain a wife could produce children for her husband but as time had passed, it became more of a test run to see if a couple would suit one another.  If they did, there was a formal wedding to cement ties, if not, it was a no harm done situation and the parties went their separate ways. It was typically done between people who were on their second marriage, usually due to their spouse dying.  Any children produced during that time period were considered legitimate and worthy of that status and honor among the families even if the parents parted company.

“It would also give someone time to flesh out any nefarious plans they might have toward you,” Isshin continued.

Byakuya nodded.  “I believe this needs to be discussed further between the two of us,” he said, nodding to Inari.

“Of course,” Isshin said.

“What if the person responsible is no longer here, Isshin?” Ryuuken asked.  “Or if they no longer hold the beliefs or capacity for something of this nature? Why would you think they’d focus on this?”

“Bastard,” Isshin grumbled.

“Devil’s advocate,” Ryuuken corrected. “Working on the notion that your theory is correct, we still need to know where to look and whom to look at.”

“That’s why I’m letting you and Uryuu do the delicate work.  Since the gods know none of my family is any use in that department,” Isshin said.  Inari and Ichigo shrugged, that was the truth. “Unfortunately, as I said before, I think we’re looking at one of the nobles since they stand to lose the most.”

“True,” Kisuke mused.  “Ichigo is getting married soon, Karin and Hitsugaya will most likely eventually marry as well.  That leaves Inari and Yuzu as the last single members of the Royal family with direct lines to the throne by blood relation to you.  If Inari goes into the year and a day contract with Byakuya, it’s another opportunity lost.”

“What if the person who initially perpetrated this is married now themselves?  Having a family changes a person’s thinking drastically,” Ryuuken said, glancing over at Uryuu.

“That’s why Inari has members of the Pack on this as well,” Isshin said.  “If they don’t make another attempt, we still need to know who was behind this if our theory is correct.”

“I think it probably is, Isshin,” Uryuu said.  “One untrained person being killed by a Hollow, I could accept. It happens every once in awhile no matter how tight security is.  But considering that Rin was killed in the middle of the palace library . . . I don’t think that was an accident or chance by any stretch of the imagination.”  He reached over and squeezed Inari’s hand.  “I’m sorry for bringing it up, Mom.”

Inari squeezed his hand back.  “It’s alright, Uryuu.  It’s been over twenty years now,” she said with a faint smile.  “What you say is true.  It is suspicious and I should have noticed it sooner.”

“You had Soul Society to rule at the time and I had children to take care of after Masaki died,” Isshin pointed out.  “That doesn’t lend itself to investigative thinking.”

“You were also busy being my mother as well,” Uryuu said, smiling warmly at her.

“Speaking of children, how is my granddaughter coming along?” Inari said, grinning maliciously at Ryuuken.

“Orihime is the size of a small country.  I’m mildly terrified to see what that child will want to consume for food after she’s born,” Ryuuken said.

“You’re the one who pushed this, Ryuuken,” Inari said sharply.

“I’m aware.  I do think it worked out well since Orihime and Tatsuki wanted children,” Ryuuken said.

Inari opened her mouth to say something else scathing when Uryuu stopped her.  “Mom, really, it did work out very well all things considered.  Orihime’s gifts are formidable and to add them to the Quincy line is something very worthwhile.  She and Tatsuki really did want children and according to them would have likely asked myself, Sado or Ichigo anyway.”

Inari sighed heavily.  “It always comes back to the bloodlines,” she said, shaking her head.

***Mad Ramblings***

Again, the song used in this chapter is Through The Fire by Chaka Khan.