A/N: Spare me please. First attempt at a rather angsty yet sweet ByakuyaRenji fiction, and I think I failed horribly. Despite my disastrous fail, I still want to have this story typed up since the idea has been bugging me for some time.

Nothing explicit, at least not yet, until I get extremely inspired. I am a fan of a super pervy Byakuya.

Please enjoy.

0000000000

To Protect, Again

0000000000

The look in his captain's eyes frightened him to no end.

Usually the look was along the lines of a cold, hard look. Now, it was just empty and devoid of any sort of feeling, like a bottomless pit, where you can never see anything in there.

Renji felt unusually uncomfortable as he looked into his captain's eyes as said captain did his paperwork. But really, should the captain even be fit enough for work right now? Renji thought that he should at least take a longer break, after the big event in Hueco Mundo that has occurred.

FLASHBACK

Reni and Ichigo ran around frantically defeating the Fraccions that came their way as they tried to hurry in the direction Rukia went off in with another Privaron Espada. That Privaron Espada challenged her to a fight and they went off to a different location. Ichigo and Renji had tried to interfere but both were constantly stopped by annoying Fraccions.

Ichigo's anger and irritation was slowly building up, his frown getting even heavier and reiatsu becoming even more pressurizing. Renji was feeling the same, except that he still kept his spirit energy under control so as to conserve it for emergencies later. Perhaps he should tell that hot-headed orange head to calm do-!

"What?! Rukia's reiatsu is-!" Renji's eyes widened in shock.

Ichigo only gripped his zanpakuto even tighter and slashed his way through viciously, becoming even more irritable by the second.

"Why won't these FUCKING FRACCIONS JUST FUCKING ROT IN HELL?!" He bellowed as his reiatsu built up even further and released a Getsuga Tenshou at a bunch of them, effectively eliminating them.

The red-haired shinigami also decided that enough was enough, and had Zabimaru stretch and increase his range even further and took out many of the Fraccion at one go.

On the other hand, he felt a familiar reiatsu heading towards Rukia's side.

"That reiatsu! It's Kuchiki-taichou!" Somehow, he managed to brighten up a little. As cold as the man may be, the noble still greatly cared for Rukia, and she was probably the only one he really truly cared for.

"But no matter what, we still have to cut through these guys and get to Rukia fast!" The substitute shinigami said as he slashed through many of the enemies.

00000

Byakuya sped as fast as he could towards his sister's side. He could feel her reiatsu getting weaker and weaker. The opponent didn't seem like one who was very strong, but he had a feeling that the particular opponent probably played dirty to get its hands on a shinigami. He was sure his sister wasn't of that weak level either.

Byakuya's eyes twitched irritably at the thought of that, and shunpo-ed to make sure he'd get there on time. He wasn't going to let anybody take away what's precious to him again.

He felt Renji's and that Kurosaki's reiatsu flare up and began wiping out their own opponents, and found that he couldn't blame them for letting Rukia go. They had a handful of enemies themselves. His previous opponents were all pretty strong themselves, and he had gotten himself into quite a mess as well as he defeated every one of them he came across. He focused ahead of him, and found that he was getting closer to Rukia, but realized that she seemed to be immobile.

He felt the dangerous blow coming from the opponent, and sped even faster to get to Rukia on time. The noble hoped that his sister would not-

Her reiatsu-!

Just as he arrived, he saw Rukia lying on the floor, reiatsu extremely weak.

"What-! Oh…Another shinigami-chan here to play? Come play wi-!" The Privaron Espada nearly got slashed by the captain's zanpakuto.

"Ho! A Captain-class is here?! I must be some lucky shit today. Too bad you're with the wrong opponent today! I'm the strongest of the Privaron Espada, and my strength is my Sonido!" Byakuya glared at his opponent before him as the hollow continued, "I hear you guys use, what's the girly and gay name, ah yes! 'Shun po', was it? It's so high and mighty that I ca-!" The Privaron Espada avoided another attack by using Sonido.

Byakuya knew he had to end his really quickly and call for a 4th squad member to be here quickly.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

"Tch. What's with these puny flowers?! If you're here to try to propose or, I dunno, attend a festival then…What?!" The previous Espada was in shock as he felt something cut him.

"Damn you asshole, for using such an underhanded attack!"

"I wonder…who is the one who uses underhanded means to win…" There was something that Byakuya couldn't control anymore, and it was anger. Nobody went close to his sister without his permission. NOBODY.

The petals zoomed towards his opponent and surrounded the previous Espada, not allowing escape for the hollow. The enemy was crushed so very easily, and his zanpakuto returned to its katana form.

He hurriedly went over to his sister, and wanted to carry her, until her raspy voice rang out to him.

"Nii-sama…" She was extremely weak, and she knew it herself that she wouldn't last long enough.

"Do not speak," Byakuya said as his eyes softened.

"N-no…I-I am grateful, Nii-sama," said Rukia as she was being carefully carried into the arms of her brother, her hand reached over weakly to place onto her brother's sleeve and continued, "for being…under your care…"

"Do not speak anymore, you're just going to-"

He was stopped short as she gripped harder onto his sleeve, "Let me…return my…my thanks. I…I thank you, for…tak-taking care of my sister and me. We…are t-truly…indebted to you…I'm sorry I, we…can't return you the love y-you have given us."

She smiled sadly and whispered, "I…wish you…good health and…that you can c-continue to…do so m-much more. I hope-hope that you…can find…someone precious… I…had such a-a good life…T-thank you...again…Nii…sama…"

She breathed her last, and shut her eyes.

00000

"Rukia…It can't be!"

"Let's hurry, Ichigo!" Renji said as they sped even faster.

00000

Byakuya didn't know what to do. He found himself unable to do anything about this situation.

The promise with Hisana. The things he had vowed to do for Rukia. The promise he made with himself, to protect Hisana's promise, and to treat Rukia like his own little sister. All of these ended now. All of that could never be accomplished.

Then what would he become? A failure? A worthless thing? There really was no meaning when he couldn't protect the vows that he had made.

All he could do right now was to hug Rukia closer to himself as he knelt down in pain. The unbearable emotional pain…It felt like with Hisana again. He had lost something precious to him again.

00000

As the both of them reached, all they saw before them was a limp Rukia in the arms of a weeping Kuchiki Byakuya.

"Ru-!" Ichigo started but was held back by Renji, who only shook his head in response.

Ichigo lowered his head and questioned himself softly, "Why…why did this have to…?" The man couldn't hold back anymore as he allowed his tears to flow freely, his head lowered down.

Renji couldn't say anything as he tried to stop the oncoming tears. Rukia, his childhood friend, was gone like that, just so simply. How was that alright to anybody? Even more so for his captain, who cared deeply for his adopted sister and protected his promise with Hisana.

Now all this would only mean that he had lost what it meant to 'protect'.

Renji moved forward slowly and knelt in front of the two and said softly, "Let us…head back, Kuchiki-taichou."

For the first time, he saw those pair of eyes devoid of life and emotion.

END FLASHBACK

"Taichou, do you need to take a break? You've been working for the whole day now."

Renji cast his worried eyes over to his taichou who had been doing his work for hours. He didn't believe his taichou would be fit for work for some time, and that perhaps the noble should be given more time off.

In fact these few days, his taichou had been arriving extremely early and working until the dead of the night. The usually pale-looking captain of his had turned even paler, and eye bags had begun to develop. The red-haired shinigami understood that to his taichou right now, work would be a great distraction to stop him from thinking about anything else.

But if his taichou really went on with this for some time, he would definitely collapse from illness.

"I'll be fine. Renji, you are dismissed now," said Byakuya as he continued to work.

Renji knew that those were orders, and he decided it would be wise to leave the man alone for the moment. As he bowed and turned towards the door, he glanced over his shoulder at his captain, sighed inwardly and exited the office.

That man needed help.

00000

That night, it was too hard for Renji to try to do anything else except pace around for no apparent reason. He was restless, and was getting a lot more worried about his taichou than needed. The red pineapple sighed loudly and decided that it was useless for him to do nothing. He left his place and headed straight for the Kuchiki house instead.

Renji arrived but was stopped by the guards.

"I'm Kuchiki-taichou's fukutaichou, Abarai Renji. I have an urgent business with him right now. Do you guys mind letting me in?" Renji had never been this polite before, but considering the situation, he might as well be so that the guards would allow him in.

The two guards looked at each other for a moment and turned back to Renji and nodded. Renji thanked them and ran straight for his taichou's room. He was glad that the guards were understanding, and could tell that they were both also worried for the head of the family.

He found the noble not long after, sitting just outside his room, staring up into the starless, cloudy sky.

Byakuya turned his head towards his vice-captain's direction and stared.

Renji felt like he was looking at a dead person right now, rather than a member of the Kuchiki. In fact it was not right to say he was 'dead', since they were souls anyway.

Renji bowed and sat himself beside his taichou.

"Why have you come here for, Renji?" Byakuya asked.

"I…" Ah shit. I don't know what to say.

Just as he was pursing and biting his lips and thinking of what to say, the other man spoke up first.

"Do you…want to drink sake?"

Renji was pleasantly surprised by the sudden question, and even more surprised at a reaction from his captain. He looked at his captain as if he had grown another head, but agreed anyway.

00000

There was silence between them as they continued to down sake, both desperately trying to wash their sorrows away.

"I'm fine, Renji. There is no need for you to accompany me."

Rubbish. How can you possibly be fine?! We're all not fine!

"I have already overcome the grief."

Who are you trying to lie to…?

"Thank you for your concern. You may be dismissed."

That is why I am angry at you!

Renji stood up suddenly and gripped his hands tightly onto his taichou's yukata, almost yanking his taichou up.

"Stop lying to yourself and everybody around you! How can you be alright from all that has happened?! Nobody has been alright since then!"

Renji stared furiously at his captain's surprised eyes as he continued, not allowing his captain any chance to talk. He was going to voice his opinion, whether the noble liked it or not, whether his position was going to be dismissed by the noble or not, it didn't matter to him anymore. He just needed to get his god damned message across that Kuchiki's thick head.

"Ichigo, Inoue, Chad, Ishida, me and the rest of those who knew Rukia were really agonized by her death! It's not only you! And you, you're not alright from the start! You've never been. And under my observations, you seem to be getting even worse! Can you even start to care about yourself? You look like you have lost the will to even continue to live here and protect what is left behind.

"Sure! You question what is left behind, and I'll tell you, it's Soul Society and your 6th squad! As the captain, your duty is to protect them! You don't just have the duty to protect your family and your status, we all know that! But there is your squad, and your duty is to look after them, train them and make sure they do not just complete missions, but also strive to become better shinigami themselves!

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND? It isn't just about yourself anymore! Stop being so selfish and trying to kill yourself! Otherwise, you're not fit to be the captain of the 6th squad, nor the man I always look up to!"

When Renji finished, he was flushed like the color of his hair and breathing very hard, and his eyes felt wet. He was rather pleased at letting go of what he had been wanting to say and getting a reaction (surprised reaction) from his taichou. He released his taichou, bowed, and said goodnight and left his captain still sitting there, still unsure of how to react to his actions.

00000

The next day, Renji wasn't sure if he should show up for work. After all, he was probably going to get fired for saying such things to his captain. Those words were beyond disrespectful.

He sighed and decided that perhaps he should go see the results of his outburst last night.

He went to his office and of course, the captain was already there doing his paperwork.

Since it's already at this stage…I might as well get on with it.

Without so much of a bow or a greeting, he went straight to his desk and started his paperwork, hoping to get a reaction from his captain. However, said captain did not react either.

He sighed inwardly, feeling defeated for the first time in his life. I guess even if I said that last night, he was probably too tipsy to remember anything at all…

"Renji."

The red-haired shinigami jumped at the voice.

"Would you…like to go on a walk with me?"

"…Huh?"

00000

And so that it was, Renji followed behind his taichou, and went on a 'walk' with the man. But he was unsure of what to say, really. He wanted to try to perhaps strike up a conversation, but it was just so hard to. It wasn't like last night, he didn't really feel like having another (rather embarrassing) outburst. He was already lucky to have his position still last up till now.

They were on a grassy path that lead them up to a really beautiful cherry blossom tree that was in full bloom. It seemed like they were going up a tiny hill. It was rather short, but they could still see the streets of Rukongai, and a part of Seireitei. It seemed oddly peaceful and relaxing from their point of view, despite the pain and turmoil that existed in those people's hearts, in those who knew Rukia.

Perhaps his taichou was going to kill him here, he thought as a joke.

Well, I had better say sorry before things get worse…

"Ah…Taichou, about last night…I-"

The sudden movement in front of him made his eyes widen like saucers.

The great Kuchiki noble was bowing a full 90 degree in front of him.

He didn't know how to react. In fact, he couldn't react. He was a noble! A noble wouldn't normally bow to anybody, and much less to a mere Rukongai citizen, right?

The man rose up again and his eyes today looked so different. It was as if they had found life once more.

"Renji. Perhaps you were right about last night. Perhaps I had been unconsciously being selfish and not knowing the pain it had been causing towards my squad, family and you."

Me? What? He thought as the man in front of him turned away, and decided that the cherry blossom tree was more interesting to look at.

"You were right about me being unqualified to be the 6th division's captain if I remained the way I was. Perhaps it is time to let go."

I am actually more glad that I'm not dead.

"What's yours is yours, and what's not will never be…"

The man in front of Renji was a different man right now, and he knew it. He could not help but smile lightly at his real captain.

"I should never continue to dwell in the past, for I should…" He turned around and looked right into the eyes of Renji, "…look at the future, right?"

Renji briefly wondered what the look in the eyes of his taichou meant.

"I…" said the noble as he advanced slowly towards his lieutenant, "…think I have found something precious to protect. This is also for Rukia's last words…"

"So…you have found something more worthwhile to protect…" Renji sighed in relief as he continued, "Then at least it seems like you're more than fit for work, taichou."

They stood like that and enjoyed the calming breeze that blew by, making the cherry blossoms fall around them, almost as if the breeze had decided to soothe their aching hearts, almost as if the cherry blossoms had wanted to brighten up what was left behind.

"Welcome back, Kuchiki-taichou."

0000000000

A/N: I had originally intended this to be a…one-shot with them seriously ending up together so simply, but this scene just seemed too warm and sweet to ignore. And, you know, if I added anything else to this scene, the feeling would be wrong. So I guess I'll add a sequel or another chapter in a few days or weeks…I have the plan already, so please wait!

I wonder if anybody could spot my (random and pathetic) imageries…

Hopefully it was a good read for all of you!