A/N; I hope you enjoy the beginning of my Byakuya x Renji fic!

Beta'd by Lillyankh, for which I thank her :D

Please read and Review!

Chapter One

Byakuya smiled. Not many people got to see such an event, but his erstwhile Fukutaicho was privileged enough to be one of them. Abarai Renji; Byakuya's opinion on the man had changed greatly over the years. He had taken him on as his fukutaicho solely to prove that someone from one of the lowliest Rukongai districts could not surpass him no matter how hard he tried. This had turned out to be his greatest prideful error, an error he hoped to rectify and atone for in the future. His smile increased, causing his fukutaicho to nearly choke on his tea, as he thought back on those oh so recent days he had spent recovering after just managing to save his sister from the three traitorous Taichos. He had never thought that such an event would show him who his brash and somewhat loud Fukutaicho really was. He had never realised he wasn't the only one to wear an emotional mask to protect them from who they were.

...

"Why are you here, Abarai Fukutaicho?" Byakuya murmured, as once again his fukutaicho entered at the beginning of visiting hours for that day.

"Tch," Renji sighed, lounging in the chair by the bed. "It's the duty of a fukutaicho to ensure their taicho is recovering if they are injured."

"This does not require you to visit me every day," Byakuya replied coldly, even though he wasn't annoyed by Renji's actions; far from it. "Surely you could merely read the reports Division Four write on my recovery. I am sure they are numerous."

"Yes, but that doesn't tell me how you are feeling," Renji said harshly. "They're technical and based around aspects of physical recovery, and don't even get me started on the jargon they use – you have to be a healer to understand the bloody things. If you want me to leave you are going to have to order me."

With that, Renji crossed his arms and stared in challenge at Byakuya.

"I was merely enquiring," Byakuya sighed. "I wouldn't want you neglecting your other duties, especially as I am currently unable to tend to my own."

Silence descended between them. This would always happen; an initial conversation that was almost always on the verge of becoming an argument, followed by silence. For hours they would sit in silence, until finally one of the infirmary attendants came to shoo Renji away. Behind his stoic mask, Byakuya was confused.

Today, though, things took a different turn. His fukutaicho reached into a pocket and produced a pack of cards.

"I do not gamble, Abarai fukutaicho," Byakuya said quickly.

"Neither do I," Renji replied. "I understand the value of money too much to wanna throw it away. I just thought we could do something other than sit in silence for the next few hours. Now, do you wanna play? Your choice of game."

Byakuya stared at Renji in shock as the red-haired man gave him a wide grin.

…

He had ended up playing cards, of course. He had lost any chance of disagreeing the moment Renji had brought out the pack. It had actually been quite fun, even if the games they had played were rather childish. It was during that time Renji had seen Byakuya smile for the first time, and had nearly died of shock. It had been quite amusing.

Which was, of course, why Renji was being 'treated' to smiles from his taicho, especially as Renji hadn't even told Rukia about them. Somehow this made it easier to smile; perhaps it was because Renji could show discretion.

Byakuya's smile faded as he realised he had become distracted from his paperwork once more. It wouldn't do. Not if he wanted to have everything finished for today. He glanced over at his fukutaicho's desk and realised with mounting horror that Renji was actually gaining on him; his desk was considerably much more visible than his. He forced himself not to respond to Renji's small smirk as his fukutaicho saw his judicious glance, merely turning back to his paperwork as he finally placed his signature on the document before him.

Their joint office made them unique in all the divisions now. No other taicho and fukutaicho worked together in such close proximity. They hadn't themselves until a few weeks ago – so much of their paperwork required joint signatures, and with so much other work to do that required both their attentions at the same time it had seemed the logical move. This had made them the most efficient division in Soul Society, and as such the training they could do with all the different squads under their command became broader.

If Soul Society ever came under attack again, Division Six at least would work as a cohesive whole, not engaging the enemy as sporadic groups, but coordinating their attacks and their information so that no-one could get through their defences. They needed to test this though, which was why all the paperwork needed to be completed; they couldn't go and 'play' with their division, as Renji had termed it, without first ensuring that the Soutaicho wouldn't immediately put a stop to it because of bad paperwork.

Their division… Byakuya was still surprised he was thinking of it as their division, that he and Renji were working as a pair to oversee Division Six. He had to admit that before the whole debacle with Ichigo, the annoying orange-haired brat who had helped him see the truth about his sister, Byakuya knew he never would have contemplated working on equal terms with Renji, but his Fukutaicho had earned it. Not that Byakuya was ever going to tell him that.

Byakuya frowned as he heard Renji leave first his desk and then the room. He hoped his fukutaicho wasn't running off from his paperwork, even if he was nearly finished. A few moments later, though, he realised he had gravely underestimated his fukutaicho when the man returned with a tray holding a steaming teapot.

"Gonna join me for a break, taicho?" Renji asked quietly, as he lounged on a sofa by the large window overlooking the white towers of Seireitei. "You can't look at paperwork for three hours straight without developing a headache, I find."

"You should see a healer at Division Four if you develop headaches from staring at paper," Byakuya replied, as he sat in a far more dignified manner to drink his tea.

"You can't seriously be telling me you can put up with all the stupid requests and forms we receive everyday?" Renji groaned. "I can never understand why most of this has to be in writing, anyway."

"It is necessary, Abarai," Byakuya sighed. "Though there is far more than usual, it is still something to be expected when three divisions lose their Taichos."

Renji nodded in acquiescence and for a moment they sat in silence. Although they now worked together far more than they used to, and far more than any other pair of taicho and fukutaicho, they were still uncomfortable in each other's presence when a discussion about anything outside work became a possibility. Neither knew how to relate to the other; they were like polar opposites, and neither would admit to it. They were both simply too prideful to make the first move and actually risk embarrassing themselves by talking about something trivial.

Finally, Renji spoke.

"Which one of us will be the false intruder tomorrow?" he asked quietly. Even though they had spent many hours planning just how their division would respond, neither had broached the issue before now.

"I will," Byakuya replied quickly. "They will have a greater sense of achievement if they stop a Taicho. Even if you do have Bankai, there is still the inherent difference in rank in the minds of the members of the division. Anyway, they work better with you."

"That's not true," Renji replied softly. "They respect you; they know you look out for all of the members of this division, even if it isn't obvious at first."

Byakuya stared at Renji blandly while his mind raced. Had he really just received a compliment, albeit a veiled one, from his fukutaicho? A man who had sought to surpass him for decades?

"Thank you for telling me this," Byakuya said. "It does not change our roles for tomorrow, though."

"I didn't expect it to," Renji said, grinning, "but you were sounding so depressed about them apparently working better with me that I had to correct you. I am your fukutaicho; it's my job to point out your mistakes before they get bigger."

"I don't make mistakes, Abarai," Byakuya said, his gaze turning from the window to bore into Renji. As usual, it didn't have the effect he desired.

"Of course you don't, Kuchiki Taicho, of course you don't," Renji laughed.

Byakuya would have poured the contents of his cup over Renji's head had he not thought himself above such petty displays of annoyance, but for a brief moment the idea had been very tempting. Very tempting indeed. Instead, he chose to change the topic of conversation.

"Would you like to accompany me back home to see Rukia this evening?" Byakuya offered. "She asked after you this morning."

"That would be great," Renji said, smiling. "I'm surprised she isn't dying of boredom by now. She always did hate being forced to relax."

"I have noticed that," Byakuya said, one of those rare smiles on his face. "Perhaps you could help me convince her that she will heal faster if she actually listens to the healer's advice?"

"I doubt it. The last time I tried to give her advice she hit me over the head with a book," Renji sighed. Much to his surprise, Byakuya actually gave the smallest of laughs then. Renji wondered if he was hallucinating – he was seeing the genial side of Byakuya far too often nowadays. He hadn't even seen it until a few weeks ago, and now it seemed it was there almost all the time.

…

Byakuya was good at hiding. He had acquired this skill during his adolescent years, hiding from that damned cat Yoruichi. There had been times when even she hadn't been able to find him if he didn't want her to… which had been often. Now, of course, he was using them against his own division. He had to admit, it was rather fun. From his hiding place on the eaves of a building, looking out over the buildings of Division Six, he let his senses reach out with great care to locate the forces Renji was amassing against him. Their arrangement was almost a perfect search net, and if he stayed here for much longer he was going to be caught. He searched the route before him for a weak spot and, with mixed emotions, he found one. Quickly he took it, soon hidden in the shadows of an alleyway.

He glanced out and saw that the search teams were moving quicker than he thought, checking every alley, moving closer and closer. It was good to know that he and Renji had trained them well; they were always turning to check every direction, each move calculated for the greatest efficiency. As Byakuya thought this, he hurriedly ducked back into the alley. To his surprise, Byakuya realised that he truly was enjoying this. So much so that he decided to cheat.

A/N; So what do you think? Comments would be appreciated as it is the first time I have written either of these characters; I want to make sure they are in character.