As long as it takes, chapter 10: Intruder

A/N: STATUS: REVISED

-X-

Stirring softly, a small groan escaped pale, parted lips. Slowly, grey irises began to flutter open as their steel depths locked on the ceiling above him as the noble awoken. Furrowing his brows, he began to sit up slowly, wondering why he was in his bedroom and not headed to the captain's meeting that was scheduled for the day. Glancing towards his left at the clock that read way past the time he was supposed to leave, the noble closed his eyes as his jaw clenched.

What had happened, exactly? All he remembered was walking in for a short nap when the maid had told him he had an hour's time before he had to leave. Surely he couldn't have slept the estimated nine hours that made it nearly five in the afternoon now, could he? No… Even if he did sleep in, because he had not slept the previous night; his maids new well enough to wake him if something of the sort occurred. So why didn't they?

Placing a hand to his forehead in thought, the noble tried to wrack his brain for anything else that might have happened to cause such events. Frowning when he could not think of anything, he glanced at his opened bedroom door and tilted his head—allowing his hand to fall back against the mattress. Had he not shut the door when he came in for some rest? He remembered doing so. Getting up slowly, he walked over to the door, his Shihakushō sliding down his legs in the process. Reaching up, his sleeve slipped up to his elbow as he felt the edge of the door, running his fingertips along the hard wood.

Blinking, the noble's face put on a surprised look as something sent a twinge through his fingertips—as if sending a message to his brain that someone had been here; someone that was not part of his staff nor the Soul Society. Frowning, his hand slipped off of the door slowly as he placed it at his side, his head tilting as he studied the area carefully trying to remember what could have happened that he might have forgot. And then it hit him—

He did have a strange dream. He remembered… Hisana. He and her were talking, it seemed so real that he thought she might have came back for him. But, he was well aware it was a dream. However, the ending of such dream seemed a bit hazed and this caused the noble to close his eyes as he tried to both remember it and steady himself as he grew slightly dizzy. Although, he knew he most likely would not recall what had happened—it was a dream, and not everyone could remember such dreams in vivid detail, let alone remember parts of them such as the ending. Sighing, he wondered why he had, had such a dream in the first place. It had been a while since something so realistic, yet foolish had entered his dreams. However, was Renji not telling him about some realistic dreams he had earlier in the day before he had drifted off? Could that be what had made the sudden spark in his brain for him to see Hisana occur? If so, perhaps he should just share this simple dream with Renji, for it may make the red head feel better about his own dreams that one may consider nightmares if they were to make you that upset.

Glancing at the clock, Byakuya noted that it was far too late to apologize to the head captain for his absence, so he shook his head and walked out of the room. Touching the door handle, he shut the door behind him and made his way to the gardens where he estimated the other would be. After all—it would be around the time Renji would be back, and the first place the man usually went was the field to relax, or simply lay there and do nothing. That was one thing Byakuya would never be able to understand about the younger man. Who could simply sit there and do nothing? He would go bored out of his mind with nothing to do but watch the clouds as the red head did. Perhaps he was missing something though, not seeing the beauty of whatever Abarai saw in simply relaxing and letting everything drift by.

Walking through the hallway, Byakuya made his way towards the sliding glass door that led to the gardens. Placing his hand over the small knob, he looked through the transparent glass and a small smile began to make its way across his lips. Just as he thought. Looking past the deck, he could see the folded arms beneath the long red hair as the man lay beneath the sun with his eyes closed. The Shihakushō he gave the other to wear was no longer on, only to be replaced by a soft grey kimono with white vines sewn into the seams. Letting out a soft chuckle, Byakuya's hand slowly slid the door open as he stepped through—making sure that he was quiet so that he would not disturb the other. Removing the scarf from his neck, he placed it inside the home on the stand next to the door—along with his captains robes before shutting the door behind him and walking further onto the deck. Slowly walking down each step, the white wood beneath his feet creaking slightly under his weight—he stepped onto the grass and made his way over to the other boy. Standing above him, he blinked, wondering why he had yet to be noticed—only to look down further at the boy and slowly, the noble began to laugh.

Blinking, Renji stirred in his sleep, mumbling something about 'five more minutes' and 'I don't like spicy food'. It had been a long day, training with not one—not two—but three other squads. So when he came back to the manor to see the noble asleep, he decided not to disturb the man and copy his actions. It seemed like a pretty good idea. So, after he went to his room to change, he made his way to his usual spot in the gardens and lay down. He didn't mean to fall asleep—but with the soft humming of the many exotic birds that were attracted to the noble's flowers in the garden, he found it entirely too peaceful and before he knew it, he had drifted off and fallen asleep. Shifting a bit as he heard a soft laughing sound, his face flushed at the familiarity and he slowly opened his eyes—redish brown irises looking up to see the smiling face of the noble. "Uh… Mornin'?"

"I believe you mean afternoon, Renji." Byakuya spoke, slight amusement in his eyes. Renji probably hadn't noticed it, but his hair had come undone as he slept, making his already, normally untamed hair—even messier than usual. Shaking his head, Byakuya moved for a moment, walking back over to the deck as he walked up the steps. Moving to the table, he grabbed a stronger hair elastic and made his way back over to Renji, placing the band around his wrist.

"Yeah… Afternoon." Blinking, Renji tilted his head, turning his face to the side as he watched the noble move.

Looking down at the red head, Byakuya slowly sat himself down in the grass as he crossed his legs. "Sit up." He instructed, his voice softer than usual as he placed a hand on each of his knees. Waiting for the red head to do so, he closed his eyes momentarily.

Raising a tattooed eyebrow, Renji complied, shifting not so gracefully as he stumbled to sit up. He moved to face the man, only to be stilled by a gentle hand on his shoulder and he looked back at the man, slightly confused.

"Your hair is a mess, allow me to fix it?"

Blinking once more, Renji glanced upwards, as if he could see each strand of his hair. Furrowing his brows, he groaned as he looked at the pieces of his hair that had came out of his pony tail and shrugged, nodding. "Sure, why not?" Shifting back a bit, he moved so that he was sitting directly in front of the nobles' lap as he gave a slight smile over his shoulder at the other. Looking forward, he relaxed as he felt the fingers start to move through his hair and—instead of tugging out the used elastic, they gently removed it, strand by strand as the man's' hands unwrapped his tangled strands from each other.

Feeling the other relax, he watched the shoulders as they became less tense and slumped slightly as Renji's head lulled forward gently. Pulling the used elastic out of the man's' hair, he set it aside as he began to comb his fingers through soft red locks. Keeping silent as he did so, he put off telling the man about his dream as he took in the quiet sounds among the garden—allowing each little thing to set the scene for a soon to be peaceful conversation. Taking the man's hair between his fingers, the noble parted the bunch into three larger strands, so that he would be able to braid it like he was so found of doing with Renji's hair. Starting at the top, he began to intertwine each bundle as he started to braid, and shifted a bit, so that he could see part of the others' cheek as he spoke. "Do you remember what we had discussed earlier this morning?" His tone remained soft as he asked the other, his features normal—but not the usual stoic expression on his face.

"Mm?" Raising an eyebrow once more, Renji moved to turn his head, only to feel a hand touch his cheek and gently instruct him to face forward. Letting out a slight chuckle, he pursed his lips before clicking his tongue—trying to figure out what they might have discussed. "No... Not really. I mean—I remember when I uh… Woke up and told you about my dream, but that's about it." Chewing the inside of his cheek, he shifted a bit and glanced slightly over his shoulder, not looking the other way completely though, so that the other could still braid his hair.

"Well, that is what I am talking about, Renji." Feeling the other slowly start to tense, Byakuya frowned and continued to move his fingers through the others' hair. "Do not worry, it is nothing bad." Shifting, he rested his chin on the man's' shoulder for a moment as he looked up and into the boy's eyes. "Do you remember my telling you that I too, had those sort of dreams before?"

Biting his lower lip, Renji glanced down as he felt the chin on his shoulder and reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Y-Yeah…" Mumbling softly, he glanced down at his lap where his other hand lay. "I have to admit, I didn't really believe ya though…" Smiling slightly, he looked back up and over at the noble. "You seem so collected, I didn't think you could have those dreams—and if you did, just push them aside because you're strong enough to know that they aren't real, so they don't matter."

Listening to the other speak, Byakuya closed his eyes and leaned back a bit. "Is that so?" Murmuring softly, the noble continued to move his hands through Renji's hair once more, nearing the end of its length as he braided the strands together. "Well, it seems as though you are wrong then, Renji. For I actually came to tell you that I had just had one."

Blinking, Renji felt the hand move through his hair, and waited until an elastic was placed in it before turning and crossing his legs once more as he faced the other. "Eh? Really?"

Nodding, Byakuya let out a soft hum as he allowed his hands to fall into his lap. "Yes." Watching the other tilt his head, probably wanting to know more, a slight smile curved the noble's lips as he relaxed his shoulders and hunched a bit—not his normal, straight posture. "I dreamt that Hisana had visited me…" Frowning, his brows furrowed a bit. "Although, it was quite odd."

Listening to the other speak, Renji's eyes blinked again as the man's brows creased slightly. "Oh yeah? What happened?" Watching the man carefully, and with high interest, he looked down as the grey irises looked up at him and gave a slight smile in understanding—just in case the man didn't want to tell him. After all, he didn't really want to tell something that embarrassing to the other either; for some reason, he just felt inclined to… That and he felt comfortable that Byakuya wouldn't make fun of him or go around telling random people he didn't know about it.

"Well, at first she spoke of a fake body being found and not her own..." When Renji frowned, he waited for a moment before the other allowed the words to sink in, and nodded for the noble to continue. "In fact, it was quite odd. She also told me that I should forget about the case and leave it as it was…. That since she was back, that we no longer needed to go looking for those that 'attempted to kill her'." Shaking his head slightly at the thought, he glanced back up at the red head as he continued. "It seemed quite realistic, but the thing I do not understand is that near the end—she told me I was dreaming."

Frowning, Renji's brows furrowed slightly. "That doesn't really sound like a realistic dream. Like—it does… But when I dreamt of Shuuhei, he never told me it was a dream…" Murmuring softly, he tilted his head, trying to think of why that could have happened. Blinking, he looked back over at the raven haired man and shrugged. "You didn't say anything to her in the dream, by any chance—did you?"

"What do you mean?" Byakuya looked at the other, slight confusion in his eyes.

"Well, you know... Sometimes you talk back to them in your dreams, right?" When Byakuya nodded, a slight grin spread across Renji's face as he shrugged once more. "Well I don't know, maybe ya said something that either offended her, or made you start to wake up. And in order to end the dream or something, it made her seem upset and tell you it was only a dream… Or... Uh… Something along those lines." Reaching up, Renji scratched the back of his head nervously. "Sorry, that sounded smarter in my head."

Shaking his head softly, Byakuya gave the other a look as he leaned a bit closer to the man. "No, that is a good assumption, Abarai." Frowning, Byakuya glanced down at his lap before looking back up at the red haired man. "In fact, I did say something… And if I were Hisana, I most likely—No… I would be upset by it as well." When he looked up again to see the red head frowning, he felt his cheeks begin to heat up with the words of what he actually had said to her in his mind.

"Huh... I don't think you could have said anything that bad to her. After all, you love her, right?"

"I do…" Byakuya murmured quietly as he fidgeted with his hands. Glancing up at Renji from the corner of his eye, he contemplated telling the other what he had said to her. Renji wouldn't be too mad, would he? No… After all, he was the one who had kissed Byakuya the other night, so he felt the same way, right? "But…"

"But?" Renji blinked when the noble spoke. His grin slowly beginning to fade. He could tell Byakuya was thinking of something, and probably over thinking it as well. Even though he didn't know the older man that well, he was pretty sure he knew him enough to know when something was up—whether it was good or bad, he wasn't really that good at telling for certain, yet. Watching as Byakuya looked up at him and the man's lips parted to speak, he blinked and sat up straight as a slight buzzing sound alerted through the entire soul society.

Intruder alert, intruder alert! All captains to their assigned positions! All lieutenants to look after their squads in the designated areas! This is not a drill, we repeat—this is not a drill!

Standing quickly, Byakuya's hand quickly was placed on the hilt of his Zanpakuto. Watching as Renji stood, he moved quickly, hearing the man grab his own sword and follow close behind. "Come, Renji."

"What is this? What's happening?" Running slightly so that he could keep up with the man's fast pace, Renji looked around as he watched the maids all begin to stand guard of the manor as they left. Following Byakuya out the door as it was opened, his brows furrowed into a deep scowl as he sprinted slightly to catch up to the noble's side.

"Someone has entered the Soul society without permission." Byakuya spoke, his voice calm as he moved along the rocky, cement path of the road. "You will stay with me for the time being, seeing as you are not placed into a squad, and are under my watch; as well as the fact that I need to keep you safe for the leads on the case, involving both of our loved ones."

Frowning, Renji nodded slightly and didn't really question it. Although, he did wonder who would break into such a place. It was large, with many guards and tougher-than-your-average cop, captains. He had seen some of the captains fight each other as well, and most of the time it was to the death—and no one won, always a tie—always both of them living.

Turning a corner, Byakuya made sure the other was still following as he entered his designated area. Looking around, he frowned when no one was there—hoping he would at least catch an intruder or two upon their arrival. Standing silent, he looked to his side as Renji caught up with him, the man panting softly as he stopped for a breath beside the captain. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Renji smiled weakly up at the other man. "Yer just fast is all." Standing up straight, he looked around as he scratched the top of his head. "So what now? We just wait here?"

"Yes… This is the area I've been assigned to guard. Those are the third and fourth exists in front of us, the only back exits of the soul society."

Letting out a low whistle, Renji placed his hands on his hips as he glanced down at the shorter man. "So we just wait ta see if they try and leave, to stop them—or if they try and enter through the back and stop them as well?"

"Exactly."

"And what about killing?"

"We do not kill anyone unless they put up too big of a fight, or impose a great threat to us. If they are weaker or if we can take them down without using our swords, we are instructed to do so and call in the second squad for arrests, as soon as possible." Byakuya looked over at the other, watching as Renji nodded in understanding. For some reason, he felt a slight twinge of pride, looking at the man who used to be a nobody on the streets, only to now start to grow accustomed to the sort of life he led, and ask healthy, normal questions. Before, when Renji and he had first started talking to each other, he refused to answer simple questions such as 'your age, last name, birthday' etcetera. So it made Byakuya slightly happy that the man was doing well, and he also noted that after this... He could most likely end up getting a job here and getting back on his feet as well.

Smiling down at the older man, Renji noticed that he had that look in his eye again. The one that told him he was thinking about something. Shrugging it off, he looked in front of him at the exit, seeing a slight form of movement and he gritted his teeth, placing a hand on the hilt of Zabimaru. "Byakuya!" Pointing quickly, he watched the noble turn as well, his sword already drawn. How does he do that so fast?

Looking towards the exit that Renji pointed at, Byakuya stepped forward as he held Senbonzakura out in his hand. "Who goes there?" Receiving no answer, his eyes narrowed slightly and he listened as Renji moved behind him, and he watched as the shadow took a step forward. Squinting his eyes, he ignored Renji as he stepped up beside Byakuya again, and the two of them walked forward slowly as the figure approached them as well.

"If it ain't 'ol sixty-nine's lover…" The one spoke as he came out of the shadows.

Eyes widening, Renji watched as a man walked out, mask on his face with a number on it. The one from his flashback… The one from his dreams.

Glaring slightly, Byakuya's hand gripped tighter on the hilt of his sword as he watched the enemy approach. He knew that mask as well, it was one of the men that had escaped during the killing of Hisana. Trying to keep his emotions intact, he remained calm as he straightened his posture and sneered at the masked man. "What brings you here?" He spoke, a slight irritation to his voice, despite the calm exposure.

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend, Kuchiki-Taicho…?" The figure stepped forward once more, unarmed as he placed his hands into his pockets.

Eyes narrowing, Byakuya relaxed, seeing the man without a weapon. However, something sparked in the noble's eyes—that voice, it seemed familiar. "I am afraid you are misinformed, for you are no friend of mine. However, I will ask how you know my name, intruder."

"I know it because of reasons, that's all." The man smirked from beneath his mask as he took a step forward once more. Slowly, the man's' head turned to glance at the red head who stood still, partially stunned behind the noble. "And how are you, Renji?"

Eyes widening once more, Renji's hand shook as it held tightly onto his sword. He was still in a short kimono, but he wouldn't let that stop him from killing the guy if he needed to attack. "Where's Hisagi?" Renji yelled as he glared at the figure, quickly walking forward.

Blinking, Byakuya watched as enraged Renji began to walk forward and placed an arm in front of the man, stopping him. "Do not let him anger you, Abarai."

"But he killed Hisagi!"

"You do not know that for certain!" Byakuya yelled as Renji began to struggle in his arms. This wasn't good, if he was busy trying to calm Renji—the other had every opportunity to do what he wanted, whatever that was.

"YES I DO!" Pulling free from the noble, Renji leaped forward, rushing at the other. He heard the yells of the noble behind him, but ignored them as he pulled his arm back that held Zabimaru, and moved it up to swing.

"Ah-Ah-Ah~" The man took a hand out of his pocket and waved a finger. Reaching into his other pocket, he slowly began to remove an item and held it up for the other to see.

Blinking, Renji glared—only to watch as something was removed, and he slowly skidded to a stop. Staring at the item, he blinked, looking at the silver band that usually was kept across Hisagi's face—he knew it anywhere. Watching as the man tilted his hand, allowing the band to shine in the light, Renji looked to the man's' masked face. "W...Where did you get that?"

Watching Renji move, a soft curse escaped the noble's lips. Rushing forward, he too stopped as the man held up the item, and he slowly began to blink as he walked up behind Renji.

"This?" Holding the object higher, the man pushed up the bottom of his mask, revealing his mouth as he smirked. "I got this off of the man… Right after I killed the fucker!"

"NO!" Leaping forward quickly, Renji clenched his eyes shut as he felt tears threaten to fall.

The man began to laugh, and Byakuya quickly stepped forward as he ran, wrapping his arms around Renji's waist to keep him still. He ignored the struggling and yelled out as he heard other footsteps—allowing people to hear him. Letting out a thankful breath, Byakuya began to drag Renji back as other members of his squad, along with the second squad's captain ran past them. Pulling Renji to a safer distance, he felt the man begin to tremble as his struggling slowed down. "Renji…" Stopping, he allowed the other to drop in his arms, and he too—began to fall to his knees as he kept a hold of the younger man.

"H-He was the one who killed Hisagi! And you're letting him go!" Struggling a bit more, Renji tried to stand—only to find his struggle useless against the others' more experienced, strong arms. Allowing himself to fall forward on his knees, he panted softly as quiet sobs began to escape him.

"I am not letting him go, Renji... There are others, more capable at the moment to capture him. For we do not have a clear head on this subject, it is not right for us to go after someone whom we are involved with the victims of the case…" Sighing softly, he kept his arms around Renji as he felt the man shake and he hoisted the other up, holding him closer to his chest. "Do not worry, they will capture him… And then we will question him, I will allow you to do the questioning if you want as well—and we will find our answers, alright?"

Hearing the soft hum of the noble's voice, Renji began to relax, if only slightly—into the man's arms. Letting out a breath, he closed his eyes before sitting up and looking over his shoulder at the other. "F…Fine.." Frowning slightly, he looked back in front of them, watching as everyone left through the exit to follow after the intruder. "Do you think they'll get him though..?"

"Most likely. If not, we have our ways." Standing up slowly, Byakuya released the other, only to stretch out his arm and offer the younger man his hand.

Reaching up, Renji blinked and grasped the others' palm, using it to help him stand as he dusted off his knees. "Yeah? How? You didn't even know how you were going to continue with the case until you found out that the same thing happened to me."

"I know, Renji; but you aren't seeing everything around that. There were more than just one intruder, and he will leave footprints."

"How do you know that?"

Pointing to the exit, Byakuya walked forward, dragging the other by the hand that he still held. "That exit is a dirt path, leading to Karakura town. So he can only go there, or hide in the forest. Either way, we will find him, and then follow him, or capture him. Either one is to our benefit, Renji." Looking over at the younger man, Byakuya gave him a slight reassuring smile.

Frowning, Renji wasn't so sure if he was alright with that. He'd much prefer to capture and torture the man into telling them everything, or at least everything that he knew—and then lock him up for the rest of his days after. Although, he did know that Byakuya was right, and that his was probably not the best anyways. What did he know? He was new, inexperienced and not trained yet, for this sort of thing. "Alright…" Letting out a soft breath, Renji closed his eyes before opening them to look down at the older man. "But what do we do now then?" He gave a slight frown as he continued to look down at the other, before looking up and towards the exit—the path the man had taken.

"For now, we wait." Byakuya spoke quietly as he gave the others' hand a soft squeeze, trying to comfort the younger boy. "You will just have to trust us, Renji. We know what we are doing." Looking to the path as well, Byakuya eyed it for a moment before turning on his heel. "Come, let's go back to the manor. Perhaps we can take our mind off of this somehow as we wait for the reports to come in."

Blinking as his hand was squeezed, Renji's cheeks heated up a bit and he began to follow after Byakuya. "Yeah, how?" Giving a slight smile he watched as amusement laced the noble's eyes and he blinked, paling as a smirk started to form on the man's' lips as well.

"Perhaps we can practice more of your calligraphy? You seem to be getting a bit better, if we practice long enough together." The noble spoke, the amusement already clear in both his voice and his eyes. However, he knew Renji didn't quite get his sarcasm, and he let out a soft chuckle as the red head groaned and bowed his head.

"How exactly will that take my mind off of anything? I'll die in boredom!" Renji threw his hand up dramatically as they made their way towards the manor. With a huff, a slight pout formed on his lips as the other began to laugh softly, but before he knew it, he found himself smiling and almost laughing along with him.

"I suppose we shall see when we get there then, won't we?"

-X-

To be continued.