A.N.: Wrote this one for bleach bigbang and I actually had this story in mind since I wrote Stolen Moments, I just hadn't had time to write it until now. The Stolen Moments can be regarded as this story prologue. Hope I managed to keep all the main actors in characters and follow cannon, and that you would enjoy in story.

Summary: When Renji gave into Rurichiyo Kasumioji's request to become her older brother, to become a part of noble Kasumioji house, he didn't count on the fact that he would get a request for Joining, which can not be rebuffed. He tries anyway and fails miserably.

Warnings: Kissing and swearing

Betaed by wonderful diluain, all the remaining mistakes are mine.

Martinet's foible, I. part

Renji Abarai scratched the back of his neck, his fingers itching to tug at the strands of hair that were wound into a flower on the left side of his head; a configuration that should have highlighted the elegance and gracefulness of his dark blue kimono with its light green bamboo pattern, but it only managed to look alien on him. It made him feel awkward, but not as awkward as the attention of the nobility that stared, scrutinized him as if he were an exotic pet, something out of the ordinary.

Renji lifted the cup of sake and took a sip. He tried to ignore the whispers around him and Kenryuu's glare, and just out of spite, he drained the cup before he set in on the low table.

Kenryuu's glare intensified.

Renji uncomfortably shifted on his knees and sighed. This was supposed to be a party, a small celebration with family members and friends, a gesture to welcome him into the bosom of the Kasumioji family, but as the guest of honour under the close scrutiny of two hundred people, he was the one who was having the least fun. He looked left, at the far end of U-shaped table, where a group of people drew disapproving frowns with bursts of laughter and loud talk. The place where Renji longed to be, among his friends, enjoying himself, but as a member of Kasumioji family he had to sit by his new sister, Rurichiyo, among old men and wrinkled women.

He had known that it was a bad idea even at the beginning when Rurichiyo Kasumioji couldn't get Ichigo as her brother because he already had a family, had turned her attention to him.

Renji put his hands in his lap. He felt flattered, and the thought of his taichou's face when he accepted the offer amused him for days, but he couldn't understand why she has chosen him. She said because he and Ichigo were similar – which was nonsense, just a fable of a child's mind. He was nothing like that loud-mouthed, rude and rash kid. No, there was not one similarity between them.

Renji hadn't intended to accept Rurichiyo's offer, even though it would be nice to have a young sibling, something similar to what they used to be with Rukia before she became part of Kuchiki family. They were still friends, good friends, but it wasn't the same, their paths and destiny parted, they weren't a family anymore like they had been as children. But he had ended up in Kasumioji's family register anyway –Rurichiyo excelled at persuading and nagging, and since she had assured him that except the address of his residence nothing else would change, he accepted just to get her, the annoying brat, and her two bodyguards off his back. What a mistake.

Renji sighed, he was tempted to drink another cup of sake, hell, to drain the sake bottle that stood on the table, but surprisingly he knew better. In the past behaviour like that would have disgraced only him, now getting drunk among nobility would disgrace the Kasumioji's house. He was just an adopted member without any substance and even so the pressure of the family name weighed on his shoulders. He could only imagine the pressure on Byakuya as the head of Kuchiki family. No wonder his taichou was always in a sour mood.

He shook his head. Why was he even thinking about Byakuya at a time like this? Who cared about him, when there was a whole evening of torture to survive?

#

Renji rubbed his forehead as if that would hush the beating of the pain in his skull, the result of last night's drinking with Tetsuzaemon Iba and other members of Shinigami Men's Association, a thank-you for succumbing to their request to provide a room for their club in Kasumioji mansion. If only Hisagi had kept quiet about his new status, but at least they had sworn not to tell anybody outside the club about it. Somehow, when he had become a member of the nobility, the thought of boasting about being on the same level as Byakuya and seeing taichou's face hadn't seemed as fun as before.

And on top of the headache, he was fifteen minutes late, and on his first working day after three weeks leave – Byakuya was not going to be pleased. Renji lingered before the sixth division's office, his taichou's and his. He took a deep breath, opened the door and stepped inside the office, which only held two desks, three chairs and two cabinets.

Byakuya was already sitting behind the desk facing the door, his pen scribbling on the paper. He lifted his head and raised his eyebrows. "You are late."

"I'm sorry, taichou." Renji rushed toward his desk that stood perpendicular to the door, wondering if he really had seen a small smile flashing on Byakuya's face or if that had been just a fragment of his imagination, a sign that he should get some rest after work.

But no, he saw it again later, caught it from the corner of his eye just as he was leaving for a lunch break. He blinked and shook his head. Could the impossible - something he thought he would never experienced - be happening? Was Byakuya in a good mood?

Even though those smiles could be just his imagination, Renji wondered about the possibilities that could have put a smile on Byakuya's face. Had Ichigo finally called him Byakuya-sama or Kuchiki-san? Or had Ichigo given his Shinimami substitute notice? Or maybe the Shinigami Women's Association had finally stopped using the Kuchiki mansion for their meetings?

No, if any of those had happened, he would probably already have heard about it. So what was it? The thought didn't leave him even as he leaned on the fence observing Byakuya walking among fighting recruits, correcting their stance here and there.

"Hey."

Renji turned sideways and gave a smile to the black-haired girl who leaned on the rail beside him. "Oy, Rukia." Then he turned back toward the training ground, his gaze following the long-haired beauty.

As if he could feel Renji's gaze, Byakuya turned and where Renji expected a frown was a ghost of a smile that disappeared as soon as Byakuya gave his attention to the recruit beside him.

Was it even there? Renji scratched his neck.

"What was that?"

Renji faced Rukia. "You saw it, too? I'm not imagining it?"

"He's done it before?" Rukia asked. "When did he start to ogle you?"

"What are you talking about?" Renji straightened. "What ogling? I'm talking about the smiles."

"He smiled? Don't be stupid, Nii-sama only smiles on special occasions and this isn't one of them." Rukia tilted her head. "But he was ogling you. It was so obvious - Don't look at me like I have two heads. It was obvious. You are a man, a stupid man at that –"

"Oy," Renji objected.

"And also pretty clueless about the things around you most of the time; that's probably why you haven't noticed it," Rukia continued without even pausing at Renji's objection. "Yeah, men are stupid like that."

Renji raised his eyebrows. He thought about saying something, but in the end he decided there was no point, and besides there was the threat of having to go through one of Rukia's explanations and he wasn't in the mood for the rainbows and rabbit version of himself and Byakuya. "Whatever."

"You don't believe me?"

Renji glanced in Byakuya's direction. Byakuya ogling him? More likely glaring at him, not ogling him. "What are you doing here anyway? Isn't your shift over?"

"Yours is finished too, and you are still hanging here."

"I thought I'd be able to spar with taichou." Renji lied. He lingered here because he wanted to see more of the smiles that softened Byakuya's face, even if they were only his imagination. "But he's more interested in this year's recruits."

"Like he is every year." Rukia's eyes narrowed and scrutinized Renji like she was looking for something fishy, then her mouth stretched in a knowing smile.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Just spit it out."

"You could invite me to tea." Rukia ignored him and changed the subject.

Renji thought about pushing for an answer, but then decided there was no point; it was probably just girl stuff, nothing worth mentioning anyway. "You just want to eat chef's manju."

"But they are so good."

"Sure. Sure." Renji rolled his eyes and cast a last glance in Byakuya's direction before he pushed himself off the fence. Since Rukia had tried Kasumioji chef's sweets, she quite often invited herself to tea, but he didn't mind; it was kind of sweet, and Rurichiyo always welcomed Rukia's company. He put his hands behind his neck and with Rukia strolled toward the Kasumioji's mansion.

They passed the mansion's gate and went toward Renji's quarters, which were situated at the Eastern Pavilion and had a wonderful view over the garden's pond. Renji directed Rukia to his room's engawa, while he went toward the kitchen to order tea and sweets.

"Abarai-san!"

Renji turned toward the voice, toward Kenryuu, who gazed at him with an even more serious expression than usual, if that was even possible. "Aren't I Kasumioji-sama, now?"

"You are Abarai Renji and you would stay Abarai Renji even though you are part of Kasumioji family now."

"I still think that you should call me Kasumioji-sama." Renji smiled, enjoying the way Kenryuu's lips narrowed. It felt good to rattle Kenryuu's calm surface.

"You are Abarai-san. Abarai-san. And there's no way I'm going to call you Kasumioji-sama or even Abarai-sama."

"Whatever." Renji with amusement watched the vein on Kenryuu's temple. "What do you want?"

"Rurichiyo-sama has an important announcement for you." Kenryuu calmed down a little. "If you would follow me?"

Renji lifted his tattooed brows. "Now? I have a visitor."

"Yes, now. It's important."

Renji rolled his eyes, but followed Kenryuu thought the hallways anyway. He expected to be guided toward Rurichiyo's room, but instead the direction in which he was led brought them into the Main Building, in the Great Hall, which meant that this was an official announcement.

Renji frowned as the fusuma slid open and Rurichiyo waited for him sitting on the pillow on the pedestal. He crossed the room, not even giving a glance to the men sitting in the three rows of four before the stairs, but climbed the stairs and kneeled on the next to the last one. What was this about? Nothing good, probably. All this noble stuff was too much for him. Why had he even agreed to become a part of it? Oh, yeah, the nagging.

From her place on the left side Rurichiyo picked up a silver box, put it before Renji and opened it. "We received this today. For you."

Renji stared at the box, at the engraved flowers that decorated the lid of the box.

"It's a request for your hand."

"What?"

"And because it comes from a Noble House more powerful than ours, we can't decline."

"What?"

"I'm sorry Renji. I know I told you that your life was not going to change and now I'm talking about a Joining."

"What?" Renji couldn't wrap his mind around Rurichiyo's words. She has to be kidding, right? Right? "Who put you up to this? The Strawberry?"

"Leave us."

All the men except Kenryuu , who stood by the fusuma, rose without a sound and left the room.

"It's not a joke, Renji. Somebody wants a Joining with you."

"What is that?"

"A union of two noble families."

"Something like marriage?" Renji stood up.

"Yes."

She had to be kidding. Renji's lips stretched into a fake smile. "And who would want to marry me?"

"I'm sorry, I promised not to tell you yet."

Renji blinked then blinked again. "This is stupid. So what was the point of calling me here, if you can't tell me anything?" He turned and strode down the stairs and toward the fusuma. "And I don't intend to get married; I'm too young for that."

Kenryuu blocked the exit. "It's a Joining, not marriage."

"Whatever. Move."

"Renji, I can't reject the offer. If I do, our house, our family, loses its status. I'm sorry."

"You can't make me." Renji threw over his shoulder before he, when Kenryuu refused to step aside, took his Zanpakutou and made a hole in the wooden wall. He stepped through it into the hallway, ignoring Kenryuu's yelling. He wrinkled his brows together as he strolled back to his room looking far more composed than he felt. Joining? What the hell!

#

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Rukia's hand shook Renji's shoulders.

"Yes, I am. You finally noticed Byakuya smiling." Renji shifted his head and leaned his cheek on the pillow of his arms that were leaned on the desk so that he could look at the black-haired girl who sat on the edge of his desk.

"I have to find out what's going on with Nii-sama. And you are going to help me."

"The man is just in a good mood, Rukia. Let him be."

"It's unnatural." Rukia slid down from the table. "Don't you find it strange? Doesn't it make you wonder?"

Renji did find it strange, and in other circumstances he would also be plagued by Byakuya's good mood and want nothing more than to help Rukia find out the reason behind it, but he had his own problems. And damn, as his friend, Rukia should have noticed that something was wrong with him. Yeah, she should have. He straightened. "Rukia, you are horrible. All you can think of is your Nii-sama. And he's just in a good mood. What about me? Haven't you noticed anything out of the ordinary about me?"

"Nope. You do seem a little down lately, but you get like that every time you lose a fight with Ichigo or Nii-sama." She leaned closer and splayed her fingers on the desk. "Now, listen, I have already been following Nii-sama for the past week, but he doesn't go anywhere special and there are no new people in his life. So, I was thinking –"

"Rurichiyo wants to get me married." Renji cut in, annoyed that his best friend was more concerned with her adopted brother's good mood than her best friend's bad mood.

"Huh?"

"She calls it Joining, but it's marriage, and to some stranger. She doesn't even want to tell me who, even though she reassured me that she's a beauty." Renji hung his head. "I don't want to get tied up with a stranger, but Kenryuu has been following me everywhere, annoying me and Rurichiyo is begging me, she even went and got on her knees and she's trying to bribe me. Just the other day she bought me twenty Silver Dragon Glasses and she refuses to take them back. What am I supposed to do?" He signed.

"Renji, the Joining..."

"What?"

"You should find out who your partner is and then decide what to do, but I don't think you would like it."

"Why?"

"Joining is an expression used only for unions between –"

"Rukia." Byakuya's voice drew Renji's and Rukia's attention toward the door. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your barracks?" He stepped forward.

"Nii-sama." Rukia straightened. "I'm waiting for you." From the folds of her kosode she pulled out a letter and gave it to Byakuya. "From Ukitake-taicho."

Byakuya took the paper and, walking around his desk, unfolded it and skimmed over the lines. "I see. Thank you." He sat down, took a paper out of his drawer, wrote on it, then folded it together and offered it to Rukia. "My answer."

Rukia nodded and took the letter. As she passed Renji's desk, she said, "We'll talk about it later, Renji, okay?"

"Yeah." Renji gave her a small smile, then his focus was on the stacks of papers that hadn't decreased since Byakuya had sailed out the door, and now that Byakuya was back, he should at least pretend to be working. He took a paper, looked over it, signed it and put it on the small pile on his right.

"Renji."

Renji looked up.

Byakuya stood up and went toward Renji's desk. "I need you to go to the Living World to Urahara's shop and bring me the things listed here." He gave Renji a slip of paper.

"Umm, taichou, couldn't you ask somebody else to do it? Right now going to the Human World is a little..." Renji's words died under Byakuya's glare. He groaned. "I'll go, I'll go." And he did, but only after he went through and signed all the three stacks that were on his desk. Damn that black-haired snob. If Byakuya was sending him somewhere at least he could be gracious enough to do his work, the bastard. But at least, Renji comforted himself, he would have some free time, maybe he would visit Ichigo and annoy the hell out of him, which in the end turned out to be a false hope.

Renji ended up stuck in the Human World for three days, with Uruhara keeping him so busy that he didn't even go outside the shop's yard, let alone have any quality time with his human friends. And on top of it, he had that annoying brat taunting him; if he hadn't been against violence against children, he would have trashed that little snot until his ass was all blue and taught him to show his elders – Renji – some respect, damn it. He did have a fit or two when nobody was watching to let off some steam and so he could tolerate Jintai's railing until Uruhara managed to gather all the things Byakuya requested and it was time to go home.

He used the Kasumioji's Senkaimon and just as he stepped through it, he saw in the distance a procession entering Kasumioji's mansion. Was that a Kuchiki House's banner? His curiosity didn't allow him to return to his barracks, but masking his reiatsu and using flash steps he sneaked from the garden into the main building just so he could catch sight of Byakuya, who was in the middle of the procession, entering the main hall. What the hell was Byakuya doing here?

Renji frowned. He hadn't do anything wrong, had he? And even if he had, since he hadn't notified Byakuya about the change of his status, and since as far as Byakuya knew, Renji was still in the Human World, Byakuya wouldn't be coming to Kasumioji's mansion because of him.

He stared at the wall, the bag with objects Byakuya had ordered heavy in his hand.

"Renji-san." A brown haired boy in oversized kimono tugged on Renji's sleeve.

Renji looked down at Kannogi, Rurichiyo's fiancé.

"Come with me." Kannogi lead him down the hallway, then left and through the hidden door into the door with stairs.

"What's going on?" Renji put the bag in the corner of the room.

"You weren't supposed to come home until tomorrow, but hell-butterfly informed Rurichiyo that you used the door." Kannogi stammered over his shoulder as he climbed up the stair. "Rurichiyo is sorry that this is happening behind your back, but she promised that she wouldn't tell, but... but she doesn't have anything against you finding out on your own."

"Finding out what?"

Kannogi stepped on the landing of small, narrow room. "You'll see. Come. Come."

"What is this?" Renji followed Kannogi.

"It's a gallery above the main hall. I go here sometimes when Rurichiyo has long meetings at which I'm not allowed." Kannogi closed the distance of one step that divided him from the narrow door opposite the stairs. "We have to be quiet now or they'll notice us." He slid the door open and stepped on one of the narrow railed walkways which hidden in darkness crossed the space above the hall. He gestured to Renji to follow him.

They tiptoed over the walkway toward where Byakuya and Rurichiyo sat on the platforms; the other members of Houses sitting a distance away. Renji couldn't distinguish the words the groups whispered among themselves, but as he moved above Byakuya and Rurichiyo he could hear perfectly well the conversation between the two. He kneeled down.

"He's still against it and I don't know how I can persuade him to change his mind." Rurichiyo's voice floated above.

"I see."

"But maybe if he learns that you are the one who requested the Joining, he might change his mind. Let me tell him."

What? Renji couldn't believe his ears. He looked at Kannogi, who nodded on his unspoken question. Byakuya was the one who requested the Joining! Renji felt rage clouding his vision, and his hands curled, the fingernails cutting into the softness of the palms. Was that why Byakuya was in such a good mood lately? Because he was going to make a fool out of Renji, something that his taichou seemed to take great pleasure in, the bastard.

"I'm afraid that I can't allow that," Byakuya said.

"But, if he doesn't agree, what should I do? The Joining is the day after tomorrow."

"We will proceed as planned and don't worry about Renji, I'll take care of him."

He will take care of me. Renji growled and he was ready to jump on Byakuya, to strangle the bastard with his bare hands, when a voice in the back of his head stopped him.

"Zabimaru," Renji whispered.

Calm down, Renji, and think about this.

What was there to think about it? Renji glared at the top of Byakuya's head.

Renji!

"Renji-san?" Kannogi in low voice asked.

Renji signed. Zabimaru was right. He should try to calm down, since having a fit in the middle of the Houses' meeting would only worsen his situation, not improve it. He sighed again. Damn, being a member of the nobility was hard and suffocating and too much trouble.

"I'm leaving," Renji formed with his mouth. He stood up and returned to the small room where he had left the bag. He sat down on the last stair.

"Renij-san, are you alright?" Kannogi, who followed him, put a hand on Renji's shoulder.

"I'm fine. I just need some time." Renji's voice sounded rushed and shallow. He had to come to terms with the fact that Byakuya meant for Rukia to marry him and him, without even telling them, just to gain more influence. What a bastard.

Kannogi stepped before Renji, laced his fingers and bowed his head. "I'm...I'm sorry that you have to learn this way. Rurichiyo promised not tell you, but she felt that you needed to know."

"Could you leave me alone?"

Kannogi nodded and left the room.

Renji leaned back on the stair and looked up at the ceiling. "What should I do?"

"What do you want to do?" A white-furred baboon with a snake as his tail appeared beside the stairs.

"Punch the jerk. Destroy something." Renji looked at Zabimaru. "I'm so angry, and not being able to rage, to let off some steam– look!" He showed his shaking hand to the baboon. "I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't do something." He pushed the heels of his hands against his eyes and sighed again, trying to rein in the redness that threatened to overcome him. It used to be so easy. When he was angry, he had the liberty to show it, and if he came across as a dumbass, so be it, but now he couldn't exactly barge into the hall and attack Byakuya, could he? "Damn it. Damn it."

"Renji. What do you want to do besides punching Byakuya?"

"Spoil the Joining. Shame him," Renji said. "I always admired him, respected him, even found him beautiful, but the only thing he has done is look down on me. Maybe if he would tell me the reason behind Joining, I might even consider it - in name only since I only see Rukia as a friend."

"Renji, what about if Byakuya is the one –"

"What are you talking about? Don't be ridiculous." Renji laughed it off. "And even if by some miracle he is – which he isn't, he can't be – he's a man and I only like women."

The baboon coughed, while the snake hissed, "What about that time with Hisagi at Shino Academy?"

"That was just an experiment." Renji lifted his head and glared at the white snake. "That doesn't count."

"If you say so," the baboon said.

"What about the other day, didn't you call Byakuya's name while you mastur –"

"That was not my fault!" Renji jumped up. "I was thinking about women, about their sexy curves when all of the sudden his face appeared before my eyes, of course, I yelled Byakuya – in surprise."

"You came."

"Shut up!" Renji groaned. "I'm not lusting over the taichou. I'm not." He was not. It was just that one time, and it was because of those smiles. They lighted Byakyua's face, showed sun and the joy and that's why Byakuya's face appeared in his mind while he... erm... Yeah, it was those smiles' fault.

"I never said that you were."

"He did." Renji pointed at the snake.

"Let's not argue here." Baboon strode closer to Renji and sat down. "We are here to support you, not to quarrel with you, isn't that right Snaky?"

"Yeah," the snake moved behind the baboon. "And you are not shaking anymore, are you?"

Renji looked at his hands. They really weren't trembling anymore. That was good, but the anger, even though it was forgotten for a moment, was still there, and there was no way in hell he was going to let it slide. "Byakuya doesn't know that I have arrived or that I know about his role in the Joining yet," Renji thought out loud. "Maybe I could take him by surprise and – yeah, that's what I'm going to do." He picked up the bag and rushed out of the room and out of the mansion, toward the 6th Division's barracks.

#

Renji put his hands under his head and his lips stretched into a big grin; he couldn't help himself. Tomorrow morning the Joining would start and he was on vacation in the Human World, approved by his taichou.

He chuckled. The memory of Byakuya's face as he requested vacation because of personal matters still amused him. Personal matters! He chuckled again. Of course, Byakuya had to know why, but if he didn't want to betray his involvement, he had to give him the free days. He had tried to wiggle out of it, of course, but Renji was ready; before he even asked, he had found a substitute and managed to have an answer to all of Byakuya's excuses.

Yes! Renji: one, Byakuya: zero.

Renji smirked and rolled on his stomach. That was the first time he had outsmarted his taichou and it felt so good. Really good. He was a little sorry for Rurichiyo, and was afraid that his disappearance would shame Kasumioj House, but since she was the one that had sent Kannogi to guide him above the main hall so he could hear what Byakuya had to say, she had probably assumed what Renji's reaction was going to be and she probably had a backup plan.

He looked at Chad, who snored on the futon beside him. He would rather go to Ichigo's place, he felt more comfortable there, but that would be the first place they would search for him, so he hadn't even picked up his gigai, but just appeared before Chad's window, begging the big man to house him for a few days.

And it was fun to hang out with Chad, sort of. Chad was spare with words, so they spent the evening watch TV with Renji drinking beer, which gave him such a wonderful buzz in his blood. Yeah, right now life was good.

He looked at the clock on the cabinet beside the TV. It was three in the morning; he had already taken a shower and he should probably go to sleep, but somehow he wasn't sleepy.

A soft sound could be heard from the direction of the window and Renji turned sideways toward it, his gaze encountering legs in black hakama and the edges of a captain's coat coming toward him.

What the fuck? Renji looked up, his eyes stopping on the delicate face framed with long black hair. He rubbed his eyes, but when he opened them, the man still stood there, towering over him. He frowned, thinking that he might be so drunk already that he was imagining Byakuya, but he hissed anyway, "What are you doing here? I'm on my vacation. Go away! " Something he would never say to his taichou sober.

He closed his eyes and buried his head in the pillow, pretending that seeing Byakuya, imaginary or not, standing beside his futon was a normal thing, while his heart hammered in his chest and he fought to keep his breath even. What was going on? Why was he imagining Byakuya? Couldn't there be at least one day without that man in his line of vision?

Renji's ears caught the rustle of clothes and he could feel silken tassels against his cheeks and smell cherries.

"I'm sorry." Byakuya's voice brushed Renji's ear, the voice whose tone said that Byakuya wasn't sorry at all. "But your little trip to the Outside world had just been revoked."

Renji frowned and opened his eyes, intend on demanding what the hell Byakuya meant by that when Byakuya's fingers touched the back of his neck and the world turned into darkness.