Chapter 8: Paranoia

Byakuya flinched and placed a hand lightly on his abdomen as he touched down in the sand. Renji flash stepped down off of the cliffs behind him and landed next to him, looking around and keeping a hand rested on Zabimaru. Byakuya extended his senses and began a scan of the area. Renji watched the noble out of the corner of an eye, while also extending his senses and keeping watch for enemies.

"You all right, Kuchiki taichou?" he asked, "Seems like your stomach is still bothering you."

"I am fine, Abarai," Byakuya said, turning away, "just keep watch for enemies. We are in a high traffic area."

"Hai, taichou."

He stepped away from Byakuya and began a short sweep of the area. Finding nothing of interest, he angled back toward the noble and fell in beside him.

"Did you see or sense anything of note, Abarai fukutaichou?" Byakuya asked quietly.

"Nothing at all," Renji reported, "not even a hollow mouse."

"Fine," the noble replied, "just leave that last out of your report."

Renji smiled.

"Right, Kuchiki taichou."

"And stop calling me that."

Renji's smile faded.

"It's SOP. I'm supposed to call you that…unless you'd rather I say 'sir' sir."

Byakuya eyed him for a moment.

"You said that you understood now that there is more of a positive nature between us. Granted, you don't remember, but I do…and it registers quite deeply when you call attention to it. I have to wonder…do you do this on purpose?"

Renji turned to face him.

"Look," he said, clenching, then unclenching his hands, "I know this is hard for you. It's no picnic for me, either. I don't know what to do. I don't know what's right. All I know is that when I look at you…I feel something…like something should be there, but it's not. And you look at me like everything I do hurts you…and maybe it does. But I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just trying to take steps forward."

Byakuya nodded and turned away.

"There are two higher level Arrancar in the cave over there. They have an array of traps laid out around it. Destroy them and the Arrancar. I will be to the south when you are done."

"Yeah…okay…Taichou."

Byakuya looked back at him for a moment, then flash stepped away. Renji flash stepped toward the cage, shaking his head and drawing Zabimaru.

"Fuck," he muttered discontentedly, "all I seem to do is make things worse. I should have let Rikichi go with him."

He made his way carefully around the cave area, quietly removing the traps. He was nearly at the end of them, when he paused and smacked himself in the head.

"Damn! I'm so fucking stupid! If I don't remember past academy, then how do I know my way around these traps…and if it's body memory, then maybe…"

"Sorry to interrupt you when you're talking to yourself, shinigami, but I thought I should warn you…we don't take kindly to invaders removing our traps…"

Renji's weapon was out and his shikai released in a flash, just in time to stop the incoming cero. A second came in as well and he stopped it easily. He sent Zabimaru slashing in their direction and followed with a burst of red kido fire. He suddenly became aware of Byakuya's presence on a nearby dune. He stood, quietly watching, his hand resting lightly on Senbonzakura. Renji smiled to himself as he sent another attack at the two Arrancar.

So my body remembers, even though my mind is taking longer to remember. I wonder if he knew it would be like that.

He felt a twinge of memory at the noble's calm, focused expression. It was clear he had done this for such a reason. And apparently, he was right. Renji had to admit that his body did remember. And if it remembered fighting techniques…

Will it remember him, too?

He kept stealing glances at Byakuya as he finished off the Arrancars and sheathed his weapon. Then he flash stepped to where Byakuya waited, turned away and studying the horizon.

"You were slow," he commented, "but you seemed to gain confidence at the end."

Renji ignored the softly intoned sarcasm.

"It seems that my body remembers, even though my brain doesn't."

He gazed into the noble's dark eyes.

"You knew it would be that way, didn't you?"

Byakuya turned away.

"I suspected…perhaps hoped."

He flash stepped away, leaving Renji to follow in his wake. They moved on to the next quadrant and as they touched down, Renji felt a soft chill beneath his skin. He couldn't think of why. There didn't seem to be signs of anything horribly powerful.

"Lot's of low ranks in the area," Renji commented, "must be a…"

"…feeding ground," Byakuya finished, "Yes…you will note it in the log and chart any human or shinigami remains for the clean up crew."

"Hai, Taichou."

Byakuya moved forward, squinting slightly at a large dark clump ahead of them. Renji continued to sweep the area as Byakuya moved closer to the clump, sending a touch of reiatsu ahead. Sensing nothing, he moved closer. His stomach twinged again and he made a small sound of discomfort, then placed his hand on his midsection. A wave of dizziness swept over him and his vision blurred. He thought he heard a voice and turned toward Renji. His eyes went wide as he spotted Renji running toward him with Zabimaru drawn. His vision from before returned and he drew his sword, but as Renji reached him, it was not from the front, but from behind him that the attack came. Pain erupted throughout the length of his body as something ran through his back and the sharp tip thrust through in front.

"Taichou!" Renji screamed, his weapon sweeping down.

Blood exploded around Byakuya and he felt himself falling. Renji's arm wrapped around his waist and tore him away from the creature that had impaled him. Byakuya screamed in pain and sank to his knees. Renji hissed something in his ear and dragged him back, then Byakuya heard Renji's shikai release.

"T-too…strong…" Byakuya gasped.

From the ground, he released his ban kai, then watched dazedly as they swept around the beast, only half controlled by his wavering mind, but still deadly. They blasted the horned creature that had attacked him, reducing it to an unmoving lump of barely recognizable and bloodied flesh and bone.

Byakuya stared long enough to see that it was dead, then dropped to the sand, his ban kai fading and his weapon growing cold in his hand. Renji took Senbonzakura from him and slid the weapon back into its sheath. He lifted the noble and flash stepped clear of the area, looking for some kind of shelter. Byakuya struggled for small catches of breath and blood ran down his body, landing in red splotches on the sand as Renji flash stepped on. He spotted a cave that looked to be of appropriate size and sensed no malevolent reiatsu in the area. Quickly, he flash stepped inside and set Byakuya down.

He leaned over Byakuya, stripping away his haori and top, baring him to the waist and turning him to study the wound that cut through him from back to front. The redhead made a sound of dismay and pushed the noble down on his stomach, at the same time, extending healing hands over his back.

"I don't want you to worry," he said in a low voice, "I may have trouble with my memory right now, but I have good healing powers. I won't let you die."

"Renji…" whispered Byakuya, "Renji…I'm…I'm…s-sorry…"

"Shh, don't try to talk, Kuchiki taichou. Just rest, for now. Let yourself heal. It will be all right."

"I didn't trust you," Byakuya whispered, "and I should have. Even…even if you don't remember…me…I know you…R-renji!"

Renji hurriedly summoned a hell butterfly and sent it winging away. He turned back to Byakuya and lifted him, pressing a hand to each side of the open wound and raising his reiatsu to slowly begin to close the wound from the inside out. Deep green light flared around his hands, filling the cave and making his face glow. Byakuya rested with his head turned to the side and gazing up at Renji's powerlit face. Dark gray eyes sought brown and Renji smiled down at him encouragingly.

"See, Taichou," he said calmly, "it's like riding a bike. It's really starting to come back now…I'm starting to…see things."

Byakuya shivered beneath his hands and the dark eyes drifted closed.

"Taichou," Renji said, concerned, "Taichou, open your eyes. Look at me."

Byakuya's body went limp and Renji caught his breath as he saw blood seeping from the unconscious taichou's mouth.

"Kami…you are in really bad shape! Damn! Where's that help I sent for?" Renji hissed.

He leaned over the noble, throwing everything he had into stopping the flow of blood and reiatsu, into closing the wound…into supporting the slow taking and yielding of breath in the body of the injured shinigami. Sweat broke out on his forehead and he groaned softly as the power flared and burned, pouring into Byakuya's body and slowly gaining ground in the struggle to hold the noble away from death. He forgot everything but the flow of power from his hands, the slow mending of Byakuya's body and the soft intake and exhale as they breathed together.

"That's it," he whispered, "That's the stubborn, no nonsense taichou I remember."

"R-renji," Byakuya moaned deliriously, "Renji…"

"I'm right here, Taichou," he whispered in the noble's ear.

Byakuya's feverish eyes opened and found his. He could see the senselessness, the inability to fully comprehend, but the pale hands reached for him and pulled him down, bringing their mouths together. Renji felt a shock go through him and them a feeling of deep familiarity broke over him as their kissing intensified. He knew he should stop, but the noble's mouth tasted beautifully sweet and he continued to moan Renji's name softly between hot, breathless kisses.

"You have to let me heal you," Renji said, smiling down at him, "I'm not all that convinced you aren't going to try to leave me, Taichou."

He ran his hands along the front and back of the wound, intensifying his healing power again. Byakuya's hands rose and gently rested on his face as the healing continued.

"Renji…" Byakuya whispered, an edge of desperation in his voice, "Renji…I have to…tell you. I was…wrong before."

"Wrong about what?" Renji asked, frowning and squinting to check his progress on the deep wound again.

"I…I was…just as much…wanting you…as you wanted me. I was…horrible about showing it."

"Shh, Taichou, it's not good for you to be stressing yourself out like this."

"You…pleaded with me to tell you. And I wanted to…"

Renji gazed down at the feverish dark eyes and found himself entranced.

"Aishiteru yo…I wanted to tell you…but I could not. I could not, because of what they would do. I didn't care so much for myself, but for Rukia's welfare."

"Taichou, you're not making any sense."

"I would give it all up for you…to be with you…to stay with you…to give…myself…to you…"

He trailed off and his eyes closed again.

"Taichou," Renji sighed, touching the noble's face as he slept restlessly.

The memories were returning…with agonizing slowness, but they were returning. Renji let the healing light fade and dropped down next to the injured noble. He knew better than to leave them unguarded during their sleep period, but also knew that if he did not rest, he would be of no use to Byakuya when he woke again. Unable to remember how to power a reiatsu cage, he instead, raised a kido barrier around the two of them and wrapped his body protectively around Byakuya's. Unsurprisingly, after the large outlay of energy he had experienced in trying to heal Byakuya, he was asleep almost instantly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Renji awoke, still somewhat weary and aching from sleeping on the ground, but he felt an unexpected warmth that flowed between Byakuya and him and he relaxed, holding the noble in his arms and watching him sleep. He had improved over how he had been the night before, but he had lost large amounts of blood and reiatsu and needed substantially more rest before attempting to leave the cave. And even once they left the cave, they needed to get home quickly and get Byakuya to the healing center.

Renji wondered at the length of time they had waited for a response to his distress call. He had sent the hell butterfly right away, and yet, there had been no response from the Seireitei. He wondered briefly what could be taking all of that time, but pushed the thought away as Byakuya's eyes opened and Renji noted that they seemed much more lucid.

"A-abarai?" Byakuya said questioningly.

"That's me," Renji said, leaning over and kissing him lightly on the lips.

Byakuya gave him a surprised look and reached up to touch his lips where Renji had kissed them. He tried to sit up, but Renji pushed him down gently.

"You were just run through by a hollow yesterday," he said quietly, "Lie still."

"Yesterday," Byakuya repeated, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "Renji…did you send a hell butterfly?"

"Of course I did, Taichou. There has been no response."

Byakuya shook his head.

"That's not possible. They would at least send a return butterfly. They would answer us somehow if they…"

He let go of a breath and winced sharply.

"You okay?" Renji asked quickly.

"I am better," Byakuya said, blinking and trying to focus, but I am afraid that the stomach pain is worse. I cannot tell if it might be the dregs of the illness I had…battle or none of those."

"Well, we'll work that all out when we get home, Taichou."

He gazed into the dark eyes meaningfully.

"We'll work out whatever we need to."

Byakuya caught his breath lightly and hesitated, staring into Renji's eyes. Then he nodded briefly and relaxed.

He was about to speak when a tiny black butterfly flitted into the cave and hovered in front of Renji.

This is a priority one message to Abarai Renji regarding the sending of a rescue team into Hueco Mundo. At the present time, all senkaimon and garganta crossings have been halted. A code red alert has been called and the Seireitei sealed against the spread of a parasitic hollow. There have been thousands infected and hundreds have already died. The Seireitei is under a protective quarantine. All stationed troops will remain in place and requests for assistance will be handled as quickly as is possible under the circumstances. Your request for assistance will be expedited as soon as possible. You are ordered to remain in place until further notice.

"Damn!" hissed Renji.

He thought for a moment.

"Wait a minute! Parasitic hollow?"

His eyes met Byakuya's frantically.

"Taichou…could that be what everyone was getting when we left?"