Ha! Here we go, at last!

Took more than I anticipated,'cause there was a suggestion to add something funny to balance the ending of the previous chapter and I found it rather challenging in my current state of mind.

Explanation - there are still few exams left and I need to get a part-time job, so there's not going to be much of a holiday this year and I'm also working on two more projects, now turning quite... angsty... so bear with me, I tried my best! :)

Though even now I can promise more angst, there will also be some happy moments in the future and expected Byakuya/Renji sweetness ... *ponders* suppose the change in genre was necessary...

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Kubo-sensei does! :)

And also I would like to point out I'm not a native speaker so, please bear with me! :)

P.S. sorry for the OOCsness... did my best to minimize it :)

The Day After

Renji woke up to a single ray of gold pouring into his darkened room through the little window above his head, caressing his closed eyelids with lover's tenderness. He grunted, blinking unwillingly several times and founding himself sprawled over white sheets, stark naked, one arm dangling from the edge of his bed with blankets covering barely half of his tattooed, muscular body. Immediately his hands shot up, fingers entangling in the crimson, disheveled mane, covering his face to stop a spliting headache he became aware of the moment he tried to turn his head. Hangover? What the hell was going on? He hasn't been drinking at all yesterday! He has... he...

Chocolate-brown eyes grew wide as all the events of the past night dawned on him with crushing inevitability. Set of images flashed through his still-slumbering mind – raven hair; scent of sakura blossoms; obsidian eyes hazed with desire; sensation of porcelain skin under his fingers; feeling of Kuchiki Byakuya's body pressing against his own; a voice whispering apologetically into his ear upon a violent breach of his body and... cold...

"I would like to make a few things very clear. I am a Kuchiki and you only a mongrel from Rukongai, despite your rank as a Shinigami." ... "Even though you are a captain now, we are still worlds apart and you will do best to remember your place."

"Shit!" Renji's fist hit the sheets and -ignoring his head thrumming as if it was about to split open- he buried his face in a pillow.

"How long are you going to be like that?" deep, hoarse voice came from somewhere Renji could not see and it made him jump, which he immediately regreted as the movement awakened a fresh and completely different type of pain. His arse was on fire.

"Look, he can't even sit up! Such innocent reaction, isn't it?" another voice chuckled, followed by a seemingly small figure looming out of a shadowy corner.

Gritting his teeth, Renji settled with propping himself on an elbow as he stared at the intimately familiar form of baboon with milky-white fur streaked with black tattoos, dark, rosy nuzzle and huge front paws. Its tail swished through the air, revealing a grinning snake's head at the end.

"'Bout time we call the Fourths to take a look at him! Bet it would give 'em the laugh of their lives!" it laughed again, almost manically.

Surprisingly enough, Renji's imagination decided to play with the idea for a while and he could clearly see the whole thing before his eyes:

"What seems to be the problem, Abarai-taichou?" Unohana Retsu's calm smile always invites others to speak openly whatever the occasion, inspiring trust and certainty.

Renji opens his mouth, thinking hard of what to say, shuffling.

"Would you like to sit down?" she asks after a moment of awkward silence.

The very thought of using his butt in such a way makes Renji nauseous, he shakes his head vigorously.

"I can't sit down! I -" he closes his eyes firmly, deciding to just spit ot out and be done with it. "I got fucked like hell yesterday! Need somethin' for the pain!"

Abarai Renji's face now clearly matched the color of his hair. No way. NO way! NO FRICKIN' WAY!

He shot a glance at Zabimaru, the ape's golden eyes watching his every move, and stood up, careful not to touch his aching behind. "You enjoy materializin' just to make fun o' me?" he growled, grabbing his shihakusho.

"You've no idea, bro!" again the white snake cackled, while the baboon's x-raying gaze still lingered on the red-head packing himself clumsily into the black hakama before he realized the shitagi and kosode come first.

"I'm ready to fight, Renji." Zabimaru said quietly at least, completely ignoring his outspoken tail. "Senbonzakura-"

"I ain't gonna fight Kuchiki-taichou!" Renji's voice raised, it surprised even himself. His hands stilled for a brief moment at the knot of his obi. "Just do me a favour 'n shut the hell up! It's got nothin' to do with you."

This resulted in a renewed wave of complains and insults from the zanpakutou's snakey tail, but the white baboon only sighed with exasperation as both of them finally disappeared. Sword -propped up against a chair- turned back into its sealed state and crimson glow of reiatsu enveloping it had dissipated.

Renji let out an irritated grunt, tying his hair into a pony-tail on the back of his head and putting on the 3rd Division captain's haori with only a split second hesitation. He will not blow up over something like this. If that's what Byakuya wants, so be it. Better to know now than live with false hopes. And it's not like he didn't expect it, althought he would never have thought for it to go this far. Renji assumed he would get refused right from the beginning, not after the damage is done. For him to loose his virginity like that...

He sighed. It was probably all his own damn fault for being dense his whole life, unable to recognize people expressing their interest in him untill they've finally given up. And now that he thought about it, there actually was quite a few girls hanging around him during his academy days. Rukia smacked him over the head because of this quite often over the years, but he just wanted to wait. To do it right. At first he thought about Rukia herself as they were growing up together and he came to recognize her becoming a woman, but she has always been more like a sister to him. A family. And then Ichigo came by, stealing her away. And thanks to him Renji finally discovered his heart's desire and it scared the hell out of him, but he came to accept it, because he never thought about his feelings ever having a chance of becoming mutual. But yesterday he could feel their sincerity with all of his being, no matter what Kuchiki Byakuya might have said afterwards. However, pursuing the issue would be of little use. Renji knew that much after living in the noble's shadow for all these years. Maybe he will find out what's behind Byakuya's moodswings and maybe he won't. Either way, he has a division to run and can't afford to divide his attention.

Mind set on the tasks ahead, about an hour later Abarai Renji strode into the 3rd Division captain's office to find all the forms neatly piled on his desk, filled and signed except a few only needing of his own signature. He stared at it for what felt like hours. In truth, he realized he was pretty late and felt properly ashamed of it, reconciled with working overtime to get everything done, but this...

"Are you feeling better, taichou?" the smile on Kira Izuru's pale, pointed face made Renji's cheeks turn slightly pink. The 3rd Division lieutenant swept past him, putting down a stack of papers on his own desk.

"You did all this by yourself, Kira?" Renji asked, ignoring the question, motioning to his today's worth of work completely finished.

The blonde noded. "I was going to wake you up, but you looked like you've had one hell of a night, so..." he shruged and then his eyes widened and he shook his head. "Not that I was looking or something, really, it's just—"

"Thanks." the single word of genuine gratitude silenced the 3rd Division vice-captain as abruptly as if Renji had hugged him.

To be honest, for a moment he really fought with the temptation to do just that, because he had never been happier to have a friend, although he had also never felt more ashamed of himself in his whole life. Maybe only during his Captain Qualification Exams.

It made Kira remember again the warmth and contentment of being appreciated and he liked the feeling. Because he was far from being a suitable leader and even though everyone always tried to cheer him up and he became used to running the 3rd Division as if it was his own, there couldn't be anything better than having a captain whom he could trust, whom he admired and knew for so many years. Renji had helped him through the worst of his life as well as Matsumoto, Hisagi, Ikkaku and Yumichika had. But here and now Kira had an opportunity to repay for at least some of it and he felt fulfilled by doing so, hoping that one day when this awkwardness of inexperience wears off betwen them, it will be the beginning of a new era in all of their lives.

"Ne, Kira," Renji severed the train of the blond vice-captain's thoughts as he shot a glance at his chair pushed invitingly aside for him to sit down –the very thought made the pain in his ass worse– and walked to look out of the window. There were shinigami running about their duties like small, black ants eager to contribute to the smooth function of their formicary and suddenly Renji yearned to go out and join them – anything that would take his mind off Byakuya and the pain now spreading to the whole of his body as well as creeping maliciously into the inner world of his soul. "Any joined trainin' sessions planned for today?"

Izuru's smile faded, brows knitted together as he thought, looking at his friend and captain, remembering what he had seen this morning when he entered Renji's quarters. Something was wrong. Something must have happened, but there was no use to force the issue. If the red-head wanted to talk, he would. Right now it was his duty as lieutenant as well as a friend to do his best to cheer him up.

"No." he said finally, however lips curled up again almost immediately. "But we can arrange one. These," a gesture to the stacks of papers. "are not going anywhere."

o*O*o

True to his word and to Renji's considerable surprise, Kira Izuru managed to call all of the 3rd Division together in a matter of minutes. He always knew the blonde had astonishing talent to get others to love and respect him simply by walking around with that stupid please-don't-hit-me-I-bruise-easily kind of face Abarai could't quite find a proper description for and indeed, he had seen most of that talent in action since he became their captain. But now it seemed there was always something to surprise him even more, no matter how long he had known the blue-eyed man, and as they watched the assembled Shinigami gathering around one of the more capacious training grounds, it reminded Renji of the day they met.

Kira flattened him at kidou practice and Renji kicked his ass during the sparring lesson only to see the whole class gathering around the pathetic weakling spread eagle on the tatami and recieve another extra practice for being a 'savage'. And later that day as he sat under a tree, enjoying the quiet of late afternoon, the very man he had sent flying over half the dojo came to him, talked to him and offered his heart in the palm of his little, pale hand as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

And Renji found that being born to a noble family doesn't necessarily make every Shinigami a holier-than-thou jerk.

"Alright!" Renji's strong, hoarse voice reverberated through the hot, heavy air, effectively silencing the murmurs of all the assembled. "Who's first?" he stepped forth, unsheathing Zabimaru, childishly looking forward to a little sparring practice he missed so much after leaving the 6th Division.

Deathly silence set in and Abarai couldn't help to feel just like on those rare occasions Byakuya graciously decided to join in on his squad's training, successfuly scaring the shit out of everyone around just by approaching. Could he too really be that intimidating? Maybe it was the haori...

"I think it's madness to cross swords with you as well, taichou." whispered Izuru into his ear.

"What?" Renji turned to him, fretful for no particular reason. "'S not like I'm gonna chop 'em to pieces!"

But a single sweep over the faces crowding around, looking sheepishly to the ground was enough to see they had a different opinion.

"Kidou then!" loud voice carried over to them, although Renji couldn't tell its owner.

"The sixth's are masters at kidou! And Abarai-taichou's been working with Kuchiki-taichou for a long time!" more voices joined the quarrel.

Renji felt all color draining from his face. How the hell did they arrive at that conclusion eluded him, up to the point when he remembered from personal experience Byakuya's impressive skills in this field. He himself, however, sucked helplessly at any kind of Kidou. Spells always tended to go out of control and blow up in his face or come out nothing more than a pathetic set of sparkles.

Kira Izuru's silent sniggering pissed Renji to no end. That damn bastard was going to let him drown!

"Okay," wolfish grin spread over the red-head's tanned mien. "But I'm gonna need a volunteer!" chocolate eyes skimmed through the crowd, shuffling to shrink as much as possible to escape the new captain's attention.

Only a few shinigami stood their ground and Renji recognized two of them as the 3rd and 4th Seat officers -both girls- smirking at him the way Rukia always did when he tried to look cool attempting something way out of his league. It kind of annoyed him, though in a good, nostalgic way.

Finally Renji's eyes settled on royal-blue ones, widening in shock as the captain grabbed his lieutenant's wrist and dragged him out to the open. "Great, Kira! I knew you'd feel up to it!"

If he's going to founder, he will take the blonde with him!

His grin widened -if it was even possible- as he watched Izuru stumble forward upon being smacked hard over his back, almost tripping before he regained balance and turned to face his opponent with mixture of amusement, bewilderment and fear reflecting in the stance of his body.

"Yoshi!" Renji turned up his sleeves, assuming a proper posture as well. "Ore-sama will show you how it's done!" his eyes slid close as he outstretched his right hand, firngers wrapping round the wrist.

„Ye lord, crowned with the mask of blood and flesh. All creation. Flutter of wings." he forced his mind to devoid of everything else except the chant, gathering all of the knowledge Rukia stuffed in his head over the years. He could hear Kira voicing his own incantation to strenghten his defensive Kidou, but the words were only a silent humming in the back of his mind. "Ye, who bears the name of Man, Inferno and Pandemonium."

"Focus, Renji." Kuchiki Byakuya's voice carried to his ears through the thick surge of reiatsu forming in his hands. "You must not loose concentration for a single moment, lock onto your opponent and imagine him crushed by the force of your spell." scent of sakura blossoms invaded Renji's nostrills, tickling and sending shivers along his spine.

Sphere of crimson energy began forming on his palm, hovering inches from the heated flesh and Renji imperceptibly lowered his head to get the image of his former captain out of his mind. Concentrate. Crush. Devoid of all thought. There's no way he will let that high-and-mighty bastard ruin his every attempt to stand on his own even without being present. "The sea barrier surges. March on to the South."

Newfound determination running through his veins, Renji opened his eyes and suddenly there was no Kira Izuru standing in front of him, but tall, slender, graceful man with raven hair and bewitching, obsidian eyes forming words in unison with his own.

„Hadou # 31: Shakkahou!" Renji bellowed.

„Bakudou # 81: Danku." came a response.

Huge explosion shook the ground beneath their feet and a crimson collumn of light shot high into the sky. There was smoke, gravel and dust everywhere, filling lungs and making breathing unimaginably difficult.

And in the middle of all the riot, as the rubble settled down to reveal the whole of the 3rd Division crummed behind Kira's barrier -unharmed but wide-eyed, shocked and a bit shaken- Renji weavered, feeling his knees giving way. A puff of black smoke came out of his opened mouth, tears sprinkled in the corners of his eyes, stinging painfully, skin blackened as if he had just fallen down a chimney. Sporadically singed, black shihakusho slid down his shoulders.

"Shit. I HATE kidou." and he blacked out, falling hard to the bottom of a small crater his failed spell had created.

Since then it became unwritten law within the 3rd Division never to ask the captain to perform any kind of Kidou, unless you really had a deathwish. And to Renji's surprise -once he had been crudely awakened by a bucket of ice-cold water into the face coming from the sweet, little hands of his 3rd and 4th Seat-he found the bond between him and his Division only strengthened. He now realized the voices calling for Kidou practice belonged to the two girls in the first place. They knew all along about his 'talent' for Kidou and it was their intention to show him that he doesn't need to be perfect in every way to earn their respect and that they only tease people they admire and even though it's been only a short while, they are all proud of being his subordinates.

It made Renji feel happy. So happy, he didn't know how to deal with it, ending up sparring with all three of them -Kira and both lower seats- to the cheering of the rest of the crowd until the sun began to slide into the pink, tangerine and violet blankets of the horizon.

"I yield!" he called out, laughing; pinned down with each hand firmly pressed to the ground by one of his subordinates, Wabisuke brushed against the soft skin of his exposed throat and dark-haired 4th Seat straddling his legs, malicious gleam in her emerald eyes. The 3rd Seat only snorted irritably, tossing her head to get sweaty strands of mahogany hair out of her face, golden gaze shooting daggers at her grinning friend as she handed the her a pouch of coins.

Howeverall went quiet once a black shadow fluttered above their heads, descending to hover over Renji's chest and refusing any attempts from Kira to catch it. Released immediately, all eyes on him, Renji stretched out his hand for the little messenger to settle on his finger. His eyes grew wider by the second as the butterfly relayed the message only to his own ears:

"All captains of the Gotei 13 are to immediately attend an emergency captains' meeting taking place at the 1st Division Headquarters, covering the assassination of the 6th Division captain Kuchiki Byakuya."

Ore-sama – Renji's always refering to himself as "ore" in the anime, which is used by dominant men (something like "watashi" usually used by women) and "sama" to emphasize his boasting about being the best

Yoshi - alright