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Byakuya sat next to Renji's bed. The red head was covered in bandages. His reitatsu was still completely dependent on Byakuya's. Byakuya had managed to keep his face unchanging as he listened to Renji's medical report. Likewise, he managed not to show any expression when he heard Rukia's report. She would be awake in a few hours. Both her and Ichigo had suffered minor blood lose with their injuries, but Byakuya had no doubt that they wouldn't sit in the bed for any longer then they had to. Though since they were in the same room they might tolerate it a little better.

He was no fool. He had seen Rukia and Ichigo work together. They had a strong bond formed. One, Byakuya was sure would transform into love eventually, once Ichigo grew up a bit and Rukia settled a bit. It still seemed to irk her that she took so long to recover from her first encounter with Ichigo. She had only had that much power for a month or so before she gave it to Ichigo, and she currently saw her power as plateauing instead of the steady rise it was indeed doing. Byakuya had finally conceded to Jushiro to let him train Rukia as a fukiotaicho. If anyone could watch over Rukia better then Byakuya, he trusted Jushiro to do so.

Byakuya was pulled from his thoughts when Renji started to move about. He glanced up from the forgotten scroll to look at the redhead. Renji was thrashing some, his face scrunched in concentration or pain. Byakuya stood next to the bed as he used his current connection to the redhead's reitatsu to try and either determine what was wrong or at least calm Renji down. Abruptly, Renji sat up. Byakuya nearly jumped a the motion. Renji shouldn't be awake, let alone sitting up. He could see muscled shaking and twitching, most likely from the strain of working while so injuried.

"It is unwise to sit up yet." His low, steady voice drew the red head's gaze. Byakuya saw that his face was pale, but his eyes were feverish. Indeed Byakuya could feel the fever from this distance.

Renji didn't know what was happening. He had been fighting to protect his captain. He had lost too much blood. He didn't think he would survive those injuries. He was dreaming one of those dreams with the man. He was a handsome man; strong, determined, subtle man. Renji often dreamed of him. He never saw the man's face, but somehow he knew the man. Renji felt a familiar burning in his veins. He reached out to touch the man without success. The burning was increasing, as was his awareness of the pain his body was under. The man floated away from him. He nearly cried out, for the man to help him. At the last second he felt a reitatsu, His reitatsu, Byakuya!

He felt pain return fully, but the burning took precedence. He tried to look around, but he couldn't see, he knew that the man was here. He reached out in the fog of the dream for him. His just had to reach a little further.

Byakuya was not expecting Renji to slid his feet off the bed gingerly, and he was most certainly not expecting his fukiotaicho to shove him backwards, causing them both to fall hard. Byakuya gritted his teeth as both their weights landed on his back. He had other worries, like the fact that Renji's grip on his wrists was above his head, leaving him in the vulnerable position. With Renji's injuries almost anything could make him worse. In fact, the motion Renjui had just undergone had caused blood to leak from under the bandages. Renji had already lost too much blood, if he lost any more Byakuya didn't think he would survive, even with Byakuya's reitatsu stabilizing his.

His attention shifted when Renji's lips crashed on top of his. The red head was pressing his entire body against the Taicho. Byakuya felt a blush start to rise when he felt Renji's obvious erection, but he also noted that soon he would need air. He wasn't completely uninjured himself and the fall had caused him to exhale. The harsh kiss ended abruptly and Byakuya sucked in air quickly.

"Kuya~" His felt his world freeze at that name. Not even his late wife ever called him that. Renji's lips descended on his again, but this time they were softer, more gentle. They coaxed and massaged Byakuya's lips. They were warm and soft. Byakuya felt a care and completeness that he hadn't felt in years. When the kiss broke he held back a low moan. He harshly brought himself to the present. Renji was injured and probably not all in the present.

"Renji, you need to rest." The redhead had released Byakuya's wrists and was working his hands onto Byakuya's chest. Byakuya grabbed those hand before he could find out if he liked the feeling and tried to push the heaver man away from him. Renji's eyes were still dazed, they refused to focus.

"Fukiotaicho!" Renji snapped at that command. His dream never commanded. This wasn't a dream. Surreal, but not imaginary. He didn't know entirely what was happening through the fog but he could feel the body beneath him and pulled his head together enough to back away, ignoring the bodily pain in favor of the more potent emotional one. He had just actually made an advance on the real Byakuya, not his dream. He pulled himself away, trying to separate himself from the man as he felt the burning fire return to his veins with vengeance. He wanted to relieve it, but not like this. He would not ever...not like this.

Byakuya rose as Renji curled into a ball in the far corner. He realized that his reitatsu had encompassed the room and was keeping intruders out. He had probably done it on instinct, him being so injured. He looked over at his fukiotaicho in concern. Renji was huddled in the far corner, bleeding still, and rocking back and forth, whimpering slightly. Apparently calling him by his rank helped wake him up. Byakuya was more concerned to note that Renji was trying to separate himself from Byakuya's reitatsu. That would be fatal for the injured red head at this point. He knelt in front of Renji as he tried to figure a way to get through to the redhead. He was trying ever hard to ignore the part of him that belonged to the noble family that argued to let the idiot die for the indignity he had caused.

"Renji, you must rest." Renji was rocking back and forth. Byakuya could hear some of the mutters, but they were faint.

Real...Not dream...I can't...it hurts...I won't force him...I need...I care for him too much...The burn...its over...

Byakuya thought he followed some of that, but it wasn't until he placed a hand on the man's shoulder to get him back to bed that Renji was quite easy to hear.

"I WON'T FORCE HIM! I LOVE HIM TOO MUCH!" Byakuya froze. Renji, however, seemed to have used up his energy at that outburst and slumped slightly. Byakuya caught both shoulders in amazement. He looked down at Renji to see him frowning in his restless sleep. Byakuya could feel Renji accept his reitatsu again. He remembered something Renji had done for Rukia once when she was upset.

He pulled himself down and leaned against the wall. He then let go of Renji's shoulders, allowing the red head to fall against his chest. Gently he set his arms around the fukiotaicho and sighed softly.

"You are just determined to upset my upbringing, are you not." He whispered to the unconscious man. "Ever since you entered my division. First you want to get to know me, then you fight me and the laws of Seireitai for my sister, then you side with Kurosaki in the Arrancar battles." He thought over how he had acted since he had appointed this fukiotaicho. "You have changed me." Byakuya felt a weight lift off his chest as he said this to an empty room. He had known on some level that he had changed, but he hadn't wanted to admit it. From when he married Hisane, then he met Rukia, and now Renji. The were slowly changing him. He wasn't sure if he liked it, but he felt better having identified it.

He looked down at the unconscious man in his arms. He had never really just studied the man before. Contemplated him, but not just looked without any jugdment. Renji was well bult, muscles definedby long hours of practice and an unwavering dedication to his duty, whatever it was at the time. The spiritual tattoos were growing, so much so that Byakuya wondered how much longer they would stay off his legs. His chest and back were thoroughly covered, as were his neck and forehead. Byakuya frowned as he used his hankercheif to wipe the fevered sweat off of the bronze neck and chest. Renji was still breathing heavily and feverish. His hand shook slightly from exhaustion as it rested on the redhead's chest. He knew first hand the strength of the mucsles he felt beneath his palm, but Renji was balanced. His muscles were offset by the ease with which he moved and the slender form he naturally held.

Byakuya often wondered why Renji was still unattached. His looks were as popular as Byakuya's, though in a different manner. Unlike Byakuya, he was gentle, carefree for the most part, yet steady. Even with his preference towards men, Byakuya couldn't believe that Renji didn't have several who wanted him.

He was drawn from his thoughts when he felt a very familiar reitatsu outside the room door. He had been ignoring the reitatsu and shouts from the hallway, probably to the annoyance of the fourth division. He withdrew his reitatsu to himself and his fukiotaicho, allowing the door to once again open. If Yoruichi was here, then it was important. She knew how injured they were. He also knew that while she did tease him, it never was when he was this upset.

Yoruichi came in and had to glance a moment before located the two occupants. She raced over.

"What happened?...Never mind I think I can guess." She reached into her pocket and brought out a vial. "The second volley that the fukiotaicho caught had a toxin on the blades. It was a very strong aprodisiac. Anyone hit is having the same reaction. Kisuke made up a counter for it." Byakuya nodded as Yoruichi administered it to Renji. That explained a lot of the red head's behavior.

"Rukia?" Yoruichi nodded.

"You'd better talk to her about that one. Lets get him on the bed." She lifted Renji with his help, both were still injured. Once they set him down, he shifted to face Byakuya. Yoruichi smiled.

"I think he likes your reitatsu, Bya-bo." Byakuya sighed in annoyance at the nickname but let it go as a matter of energy. He wasn't up to argue today. He saw Yoruichi frown. At his questioning grunt she looked towards Renji.

"Bya-bo, are you okay?" Byakuya looked at her in question. "I'm not sure how much you are aware of Renji's love life.-" Byakuya looked down.

"I have no problem with his sexual orientation." Yoruichi smiled softly.

"I wasn't refering to that." She sighed softly. "Well, I have done what I was supposed to do. Ja Bya-bo!" Byakuya didn't watch as she shunpoed out the window. He was watching Renji, who had finally settled down. Byakuya sat down with a sigh. His reitatsu was still being drained at an extraordinary rate, making him tired. He made a mental note to check on Rukia as soon as Renji's health allowed. He just sat there, not even picking up the book at an attempt to read. He had too much to think about.

A/N This is part of a series. If you have read my Naruto series, you probably know by now that I never put a series into one single story, but rather several stories. This will have another chapter dealing with Byakuya and Renji, but for the story on Yoruichi/Kisuke or Ichigo/Rukia please keep an eye on my author updates, because they will be different stories.

Presuels-Childhood, Devotion

Yoruichi/Kisukes-Chances