Hi one-shot totally on its own.

Disclaimer I own nothing

Childhood

Renji was stomping down the hallway. He was furious. Well, he looked furious, he was upset. That morning, he had gotten to the office a few minutes late, expecting his captain to give him the usual dry reprimand before sending him to give drills to the division, as a cure for his slightly hangover. Instead, the office was empty. Rikichi had burst into the room a second later babbling about how he had been looking for Renji everywhere. After calming him down slightly, he found out that Kuchiki Byakuya had disappeared in the middle of the night. Renji was upset.

He finally returnedto the office. Everyone was looking everywhere. Renji had just spent an hour answering questions about his captain's behavior over the last week. Nothing bizarre, unless you count him actually nodding to Renji when he was on-time yesterday. He had had it.

He sat in the center of the room he had shared with his captain for over a decade. Zabimaru was set in front of him and he calmed himself. No one knew his captain's reitatsu as he did. He was going to meditate. He smirked, thinking how he doubted his captain even guessed he knew how to do this. But he had had to learn to talk to Zabimaru and help him manifest.

Renji calmed his reitatsu and, borrowing some of Zabimaru's reitatsu, he shot himself throughout Seireitai. He let his reitatsu settle gently as he searched for faint traces of his captain. The overt signals would have already been found. Renji gritted his teeth as he went for fainter and fainter traces. His eyes opened when he felt it. His captain's reitatsu was ridiculously faint, but steady. He stood, grabing Zabimaru, and raced towards the signal. It was on the Soukyouku Hill or rather halfway up the shear drop of the cliff. Renji scaled the wall with ease and found a cave eventually.

He wandered inside slowly. His captain's reitatsu hadn't responded to his at all, which worried him greatly. Normally the noble greeted him with at least his reitatsu and his captain noticed everyone. Over the years, Renji had noticed the way his captain reacted to every presence near him. He rounded the boulder hiding his captain and froze.

Icy, gray eyes looked at him, at first in amazement, then resignation. He should have known hi fukiotaicho would find him first. He almost sighed as he turned away from his gaping subordinate.

Renji was indeed gaping. This reitatsu was telling him that this child in front of him was his captain. He frowned as he walked around the boulder and crouched in front of the boy.

"Taicho?" Yop, that was his captain's irritated look.

"Abarai-fukiotaicho." Renji sighed heavily as he sat down. It was him. Then he at his captain slightly.

"What the blazes happened? Everyone's freaking out. Your note said you were leaving 'temporarily'" Renji yanked in his annoyance, not wanting to get in an argument with the nobles prickly pride. He had already over stepped himself too many times in the last few minutes.

Byakuya relayed his story. He told Renji how 2nd's fukiotaicho had stopped him on his way home late last night. The bumbling idiot had said he had found something of Byakuya's. After Byakuya had taken the oddly shaped device the fool decided to mention it had been among Aizen's things, still under scrutiny as part of 2nd's investigation. Byakuya nearly retorted the he shouldn't have removed it as it dealt with Aizen before he felt reitatsu eminate from the object. The fukiotaicho bowed and sped off as the taicho remained there, stunned slightly. The transformation into this young form happened an hour or so later in his bedroom.

Renji had listened intently. Apparently Byakuya had hidden the object to prevent others from falling into the same trap and come directly here. Renji was more concern with his captain's reitatsu. It was fluctuating slightly as well as being very faint. Being an expert in kido, Byakuya's reitatsu was always perfectly controlled. It didn't fluctuate, changed with his moods, but they were distinct changes, not fluctuations and after years near his captain, Renji had learned to tell the difference. A few momants later he realized that those fluctuation were in fact his captains mood changes. His captain's reitatsu was so low that he couldn't raise it any higher!

Renji didn't want to bring that up just yet so he asked instead why Byakuya had come here. The noble glanced at his zanpatuko in trepidation. In a low voice, Renji heard fear from his captain for the first time.

"I can't reach Senbonzakura." Renji looked at his captain. It made sense actually. It took reitatsu to strengthen your body enough to handle communication with your zanpatuko. SIlently he inquried of Zabimaru if Senbonzakura was alright. He got a grumpy "Hang on to your pants!" then he refocused on his upset captain. The fact that the Kuchiki had told him what was wrong was testamony to his state of mind. The noble continued talking, unaware of Renji's slightlsidetracking.

"This is where I used to go to talk to Senbonzakura when I first heard my zanpatuko's voice, but I can't hear it." Renji looked at his captain's trembling shoulders as he tried to rationalize the person he knew with the child in front of him. Byakuya looked less then ten. Both the transformation along with the quietness of his mind were probably making him upset enough, his lack of reitatsu and the difference in his young body verses his older one probably exacerbated the problem to the point where his inner walls were in shreds.

Renji silently thanked Zabimaru as the Nue reported Senbonzakura in fine shape, though close to hysterics as an "uptight goofball" could be. He warned Renji of his captains pride, not that he needed it, before retorted that he was going to keep Senbonzakura company for a while. Renji thanked him and turned to his quiet captain.

In truth, he didn't know enough about kido or reitatsu to be of much help. Byakuya did though, if Renji could keep him calm enough to think straight.

"Taicho, listen, I really don't understand kido well, but you do. You should be able to figure this out." Byakuya looked at Senbonzakura miserably. "Taicho...your reitatsu is so low I can barely feel it." Renji stopped unwilling to go further. Byakuya looked at him quickly, realizing his fukiotaicho was saying he didn't have enough reitatsu to call Senbonzakura. His frame of reference was completely lost during the transformation. He could feel the young body react to his state of mind more violently then his adult body. He missed Senbonzakura's unfailing logic and gentle loyalty. He was also worried if this had effected the Miko. Senbonzakura was a warrior miko with wings of sakura petals. She was an adviser and follower. She understood him and he cherished that closeness in his station where no one was allowed to be close to him.

"Taicho, Zabimaru says to quite stalling and figure this out so he can stop hearing renditions of your childhood to distract Senbonzakura" Actually Zabimaru said he was enjoying the stories, but Renji didn't think Byakuya needed to know that. Byakuya looked at him quickly.

"Zabimaru is with Senbonzakura?" Renji cheered on the inside, finally a statement he could work with.

"Aa, Zabimaru says the miko is fine, simply upset." Byakuya visibly relaxed at this. Be fore either of them could say anything further they heard a roar.

"KUCHIKI-TAICHO!" Renji jumped at the voice, soundly smacking his head on the ceiling of the cave. He crouched holding his head in pain as he growled upwoulds as Kenpachi's voice and reitatsu rang sporadically throughout the area. He was perhaps 50-60 meters above them, on the top of the hill. Byakuya looked at Renji in question, though if Renji looked up he would have seen slight amusement.

"You did not say the others could not find me." Renji continued to glare upwards as he shouted to be heard in frustration.

"Wioth all due respect, Taicho, no one would sense your reitatsu right now unless they tripped over you! He's crazy!" Byakuya silently agreed but he favored looking around as Kenpachi's influence rumbled the ground. Both guys rolled out of the way as the ceiling of their cave started to crumble. Renji kept an eye on his captain as they dodged. Byakuya kept overestimating his strength and size and underestimating the lack of resistance to a roll his smaller body had. Finally Renji saw him roll right into a boulder, temporarily stunning him as he grabbed his shoulder in pain. Renji leaped at him and rolled them both out of harms way. He curled around the nobles small frame as he continued to keep ahead of the rocks until Kenpachi's voice stopped. Renji panted in complete darkness as he held his captain and waited to see if the cave-in was over. Tossing his senses upward, from the reitatsu, he concluded Soifon was reprimanding Kenpachi. Renji sighed in relief and then focused on the body in his arms. He felt along to Zabimaru and found both zanpatuko fine, though cursing the 11th division captain. Gently Renji freed a hand from under his captain and called enough reitatsu to form a ball of light. The space they were in was short and small.

"You can set me down now, Renji." He immediately placed his captain gently on his knees as he knelt himself in the small space. He used this moment to fully look at his captain as the boy tied a scrap of his clothes around his injured shoulder. He was wearing a small gi that swallowed his figure in its current size. The fancy scarf he wore was wrapped too many times around his neck and he wore his keiseiken in his longer silky hair. He looked like he was in for a few years of lanky limbs before they filled out.

"We should study this problem. What does my reitatsu feel like?" Renji focused on his captain as he described Byakuya's reitatsu over the last half hour or so. Despite lots of frowns, Byakuya said nothing. Once done, Renji waited as Byakuya mulled over the problem.

"I think its a simple suppression kido." Renji looked at him in amazement. Byakuya went on, "Since souls with reitatsu grow in Soul Society as their reitatsu increases, it stands to reason that a decrease in total reitatsu would make one age backwards. My age change is a natural result of my reitatsu loss." Renji thought he got it.

"So you simply need to raise your reitatsu and break the kido?" Byakuya looked ready to roll his eyes.

"I haven't the reitatsu to perform a release of that magnitude, you cannot perform that complex a kido." Renji winced at both truths. He smirked.

"Then I'll lend you the reitatsu!" Byakuya sighed a nodded. Renji tried to match his reitatsu to his captains as his captain prepared the chant. Using Renji's reitatsu to perform the chant, Byakuya could breifly feel Renji's reitatsu and through him Zabimaru's mixed in. It felt warm and protective. The child he was relished it as he became an adult again.

Renji was watching as Byakuya grew up fast paced. He was paying enough attention to notice that once Byakuya was finished, he would be larger, in a space that wasn't increasing with him. Not wanting to distract his captain he gently pulled his shoulder forward to keep him from hitting his head.

Byakuya didn't notice his fukiotaicho move to accomodate his change in size. He did notice when he broke the kido though. it was like opening a floodgate, he felt his full reitatsu return, followed by Senbonzakura's voice humming in the background.

Nearly sighing in relief, he studied his reitatsu for any damage. It felt normal again. He could now tell just howfaint his reitatsu had been. He opened his eyes and for the first time since he really was child he had to restrain the urge to back away in surprise, and probably banging his head in the process.

Renji could feel himself sweating. As he had moved out of his captain's way throughout the growth he had found himself shifting until his captain was above him. The space was longer then it was tall and he had been crouching very low to begin with, so as his captain had grown he hadn't crouched so now his captain was practically lying on top of him. He swallowed as his captain's startled eyes locked onto his. Most of his friends knew he preferred guys, but he didn't think it had gotten to his captain, but right now he was pushing it to try and keep his mind still. He may have never really though about his aloof captain in this sense, but the man was very, very well built and he was lying on top of him. He could feel himself sweat alright as he tried to stay away from his captain.

Byakuya was frowning slightly as he noticed his fukiotaicho sweating slightly. After getting over the proximity, and noting the reason, he refocused on Renji with the intent of figuring a way out of this tiny space and question the wisdom breaking the kido in here had been. Then he noticed Renji sweating and shaking slightly. Shifting to place his hands on Renji's chest, to give them enough space to talk, he frowned as Renji's eyes closed and his breathing became labored. Feeling his reitatsu, he wondered breifly if he had taxed it too far, but he dismissed that idea as the red-head's reitatsu felt fine. He decided that talking would be a better alternative then to simply waiting and if Renji wanted to tell him he was certain he would hear about it at the top of Renji's lungs.

"Renji, do you have a suggestion for releasing us?" Renji's eyes squinted as he tried to focus on his captain's words beyond his name, which had been a bad way to start that sentence. He wished his captain had referred to him by rank. That would have cooled him down considerably. Taking a deep breath he considered the situation. His captain, though recovering was tired and his reitatsu may not be up to summoning another kido, even if Renji wanted to suggest the torture of his captain turning around to aim it upwards. He also dismissed calling Senbonzakura for similar reasons. He was stuck with his original idea, which suited him fine, it would relieve some of this pent up stress.

"Taicho, you might want to head home and then back here, shunpo-style after this and get some clothes." Byakuya looked at him as if he was about to ask what he was going to do when Renji grabbed Zabimaru's sheath and Senbonzakura's and wrapped his arms around his captain. He spun them as he called Zabimaru straight into Bankai. The large bone figure erupted out of the space, easily breaking the ceiling, and going towards freedom, several meters above them. Zabimaru had been paying attention and had separated one of his segments, into which he scooped the two, and sped towards the surface. Renji used his reitatsu to hang on and kept his arms around his captain. When Zabimaru related that they were nearing the surface he took a deep breath and then placed Senbonzakura in Byakuya's arms and told him to move.

Byakuya took the cue, still cursing Renji for his hair-raising ideas. He shunpoed home and quickly dressed and was back in less time it took to blink. Renji landed in front of Kenpachi and Soifon, still arguing, and started screeching at Kenpachi himself. He had energy to spar and Kenpachi was more then willing to help him relieve himself of some of it. Byakuya arrived after the first two strikes on each side. He immediately stepped between them, halting kenpachi with a sword to his throat. Renji stopped cold when his captain appeared in front of him. His previous energy mostly spent, he backed down and recalled Zabimaru. He looked off the cliff grunting.

A few minutes later, nearly all the captains and fukiotaicho's arrived on the cliff and Byakuya explained what had happened. Afterwards, Soifon went off to retrieve the object, scolding her fukiotaicho heavily on the way. Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Hisagi, Kira and Rangiku circled around Renji to talk. Byakuya found himself talking with Ukitake about what he had gone through as the rest of them departed to whatever they had been doing. Eventually Kenpachi wandered off to find his shoulder ornament before she killed someone and Rangiku and Hisagi wandered off to drink together. Renji was still wondering about those two. Kira, Ikkaku and Yumi decided that he needed a drink as well. He was dragged protesting about how he wanted to actually be on time the next day to work. They ignored him. He didn't notice the two remaining captains following their trek down the hill. He was too busy trying to convince Ikkaku he was fine without a drink.

"Nah, a drink always makes you feel better! Its the only way!" He sounded half drunk already. Yumi smiled.

"Besides, the way Kuchiki-taicho described it, he was practically in your lap for a part of that." Kira looked at Renji as the red-head turned the color of his hair, he had been trying to forget that.

"That would be difficult for you, wasn't it." Renji was chuckling nervously.

"Come on guys, he's Kuchiki Byakuya! Ice prince?" Yumi smirked catching on to his tone.

"Prince, yes, you have to admit he is good looking." Ikkaku smirked and slapped Renji on the back.

"Now, now, remeber, rank means nothing in bed!" Renji really was trying to shrink. Kira even chuckled slightly as Ikkaku and Yumi pulled ahead of them.

"I really do that you two would make a good couple. It has been a while since you were in a relationship." Renji blanched.

"Maybe, but with a taicho, my own to boot. I doubt it would go over well. Besides Kuchiki-taicho had a wife and he doesn't see anyone anymore." Kira shook his head, as if this didn't matter. He couldn't say anymore, because they were both caught by the sleeves by Ikkaku and pulled along, with Yumi trailing after them.

They left a stunned pair of captains in their wake. Jushiro just watched the younger man carefully. He had known about Renji's preferences, but really hadn't applied them yet. Byakuya, however hadn't known at all. He was thinking about how Renji had been sweating in the small space. It made some more sense. He shook his head. He hadn't ever thought about it. He hadn't thought about it before Hisana and not since her death 50 years ago. One thing was for sure, he didn't know what to think about it now.

000

Renji raced into the office a few minutes late the next day to stop completely. The desk was empty. Feeling a sense of urgency, and deja-vu, he searched for his captain's reitatsu. He jumped when he felt it all of a foot behind him.

"You're late, Abrai-fukiotaicho." He gulped turning to look at his catain, both relieved and again frightened. He had been late. "Start the division on their morning warm-up." He nodded and rushed out of the room. He didn't see Byakuya look after him wonderingly.

He wondered what it would be like to touch Renji on the chest again.

A/N this is a quickie, I was looking at some pics of these two and saw a pic of kid Byakuya and this sprang up overnight. originally i was going to have him in the middle of seireitai but this kind of took a life of its own.