A/N: It's finally time for an update! Even though these two chapters are out of format, I hope you'll bear with me! The reason being that if Byakuya's chapter were first, I think it would severely ruin Renji's chapter. I hope you still enjoy trying to figure out what parts of Renji's drunken dream are real and what parts are just that, a dream. Don't worry though, Byakuya's chapter will be up very soon to reveal the truths!


"Renji?" I could hear his voice in my dreams; I reached out to him with my reiatsu in response. The way our reiatsu instantly intertwined and caused my skin to tingle in response confirmed that I really was dreaming, there's just no way Taicho would react to me that way.

"Renji?" he called again. This time I tried to respond and found myself unable to speak properly. Hearing him speak my given name like that was a treat that I never expected to be so desired.

"Renji, what are you doing in a tree?" he questioned me.

"It's the sakura Taicho…it smells just…like…you…"

"Come down from there this instant."

"Of course, Taicho. Anything you wish…" I tried to sit up but bumped my head on the branch that was just above the one I'd chosen to sleep on. I lost my balance and suddenly I was falling. I felt as if I were drowning in a sea of sake, I grasped desperately for anything above me, anything to pull me to the surface. There.

I found it, something solid. I pulled myself up a bit, only to realize moments too late that my grip wasn't strong enough to hold on. I was falling again, but this time I wasn't in liquid. For a moment I panicked, gazing up at the lone sakura tree whose branches hung dangerously over the edge of a lifeless cliff. It seemed appropriate in a way. If Byakuya were that tree, this is what it would feel like to fall from his branches. It would be a mindless, dangerous plummet to the death to fall from a place so high that it nearly reached the heavens. Yes, that tree was a perfect imagery for Byakuya, out of reach, dangerous, noble, a solitary power, beautiful…

I'd fallen so far it was almost out of sight, just a silhouette in the sky now. Knowing I was nearing the ground, I wished that I were dreaming and would wake up. I wasn't ready! I still hadn't tried hard enough, I couldn't give up yet. The risk I'd take in pursuing Taicho was a great one, and the sakura tree that was now but an image in my mind had taught me that. And suddenly he was there, holding me.

I grasped at his shihakusho, not believing that he was really there, really saving me. But he was, it was him, there was no doubting it. His gentle yet strong hold, his sweet scent, his regal features, I was lost in all that was Kuchiki Byakuya. I couldn't stop the sleep that crashed over me, his presence was too comforting to resist it.

It felt like hours had passed. I came to with a sense of panic coursing through my entire body. I couldn't remember anything but danger and blood…his blood. I looked around, noticing that I was in the open. I staggered as I tried to get up and move to a more closed off area, certainly I'd been injured somewhere. I felt dizzy, blood loss taking its toll on me. Images of hollows flashed before my eyes, an army of Menos led by a hollow that was only a few kills away from evolving into an arrancar. We had beaten most of them back, but it wasn't without paying a price. There were still a few roaming around; luckily, there was a dark alley nearby.

I made my way into the darkness and hid my leaking reiatsu as best as I could. I could feel something coming, but my senses were far too scrambled to make out who or what it was. All I could do was sit in the darkness and wait for it to come into sight. Light footsteps made slow progress; they were coming directly towards me. Then suddenly, it paused, just outside of the alley that was currently my only refuge, just inside my range of vision. Byakuya!

He had been injured too! He shouldn't be out roaming around, he must have escaped the healers. As his lieutenant it was my duty to protect him. I gathered all of the strength that I could find within myself and rushed to pull him into the darkness with me. I pressed his body against the wall and bound his hands above his head; it might be the only way I could get him back to the 4th division. I ran my hand down his arm, to his neck, and to his chest, making sure I hadn't injured him further. I kept one hand on the kidou restraint to keep feeding energy into it, to strengthen it.

"Renji," he wasn't asking, simply stating without emotion. I was shocked at his lack of anger, of indignation. I decided that if he wasn't angry it would be okay to check his wounds more thoroughly, he'd been cut deeply across his chest. I slipped my hand into his shihakusho only to find that the bandages were missing. I explored further, looking for the wound that I was certain marred Taicho's pristine skin; it took all of my effort not to ravish him on the spot. I could tell that Taicho wanted me to stop, and I knew I should but when a small moan escaped his throat, I couldn't help but risk going further.

I bent down, my hands traveling down the seam of his shihakusho and to his stomach. His perfect skin resonated with my desires; I couldn't help but lightly kiss the exposed flesh.

"Taicho," I looked up, still kneeling before him. I pressed my body further into his and returned to kissing him when he didn't admonish me for my actions. This time my kisses grew hungry, filled with new desire. He tried to hide his face from me, but I wanted him to see me, wanted him to see the hunger, desire, and affection. I reached up to turn his face back towards me.

I could feel Taicho's body respond to my attention, I was surprised but more than pleased with his reaction. He tried to hide again, and again I forced his face back to me. My desire continued to grow; the longer Taicho went without telling me to stop the more I wanted him. I moved a hand lower on his body, stopping just below his obi. I heard a small moan escape from his lips once more as I rubbed his length through his hakama.

"Dream…ing…" I mumbled. This was just too good to be true. "I must be dreaming. Oh kami-sama…please don't let me wake up!"

Suddenly there was a loud shriek and Taicho broke free of my kidou. Confusion became the dominant emotion through my body as everything around me became hazy. Another more familiar shriek swept through the air and I found it increasingly difficult to cooperate with Taicho as he pulled me to my feet. All of a sudden, everything went black again.