Chapter 2: The Storage Room

Thanks again to my lovely elf, Ren!

😁 Reviews make my plot kittens happy lol 😁

Warnings: TRIGGER WARNING - !mentions of past molestation/rape!


((Byakuya stepped forward, and Renji scrambled backwards on the ground, holding his fanged sword up defensively. His captain stared at him for several moments without moving or speaking, then a sound caught their attention.))

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Byakuya's senses were flooded by the scent of a Beta in heat, but what he didn't understand was why Renji looked absolutely terrified.

Then a sound reached his ears, and he looked towards the entrance of the arena. The workers had left already and nobody else was scheduled to come in. But, if someone was here, he suddenly didn't want them anywhere near his subordinate.

He reached out and grabbed a muscled arm, hauling the redhead to his feet. Renji tried to pull away from him, eyes full of fear. Byakuya snapped, "Come with me," and tightened his grip, hearing a tiny, pained whimper, but the younger man didn't resist again.

He practically dragged the bigger Soul Reaper to one end of the arena, spotting a storage room. He quickly shoved Renji inside the supply area and followed, closing the door behind them. He locked the door, then used kido to seal the room.

He turned to Renji, who was holding the arm he'd grabbed and staring at him with panic. He started to step towards the crimsonette, but Renji lifted his fanged shikai-released blade up between them. "Stay away from me! Just stay the fuck away!"

Byakuya paused, concerned by how weak Renji's voice sounded. "Lieutenant Abarai, it is foolish and irresponsible for a Beta to report to work when they are going into heat. I would like an explanation of why you came in today."

The Rukon Dog stared at him. "I tried calling in! Your reply was that unless I was on my deathbed, you expected me on time!"

Byakuya hesitated, remembering the hell butterfly this morning. "You said you might be getting sick; you said nothing about your heat starting."

His subordinate's face reddened. "I… I didn't want to say that, especially not to you."

Byakuya sighed. "I suppose I should have realized – unless you're in the hospital, you never call in. You usually work hard, and do not miss work without reason."

Realizing that Zabimaru, though shaking, was still pointed at him, he frowned. "I understand your heat is starting, Abarai. What I do not understand is why you are acting the way you are."

The bigger Soul Reaper's weak voice was laced with a frantic, terrified desperation. "'Cause I know how Alphas are! They always get me when I'm in heat, just 'cause it weakens me and I can't fight 'em! You don't know what that's like, to get hunted down like an animal and get v-violated! Just 'cause I'm a Beta, doesn't mean I wanna be treated like that! And you already don't like me and don't respect me, and if you come near me, I'll fucking h-hit you!"

Byakuya was horrified by what the younger man was saying, watching as Renji tried to back away, clutching his zanpakuto. Then the long legs folded like a newborn fawn's, sending the crimsonette backwards into a table.

He saw Renji's back and head catch the edge of the table as he went down, hearing the tiny whimpers of pain. But the shaking zanpakuto was still pointed at him, and Byakuya felt his chest tighten at the sight. He had to do something to make this situation better.

X~X~X~X~X

Renji was freaking smooth the fuck out right now.

He couldn't stand, so he was crumpled on the ground. He couldn't seem to stop the little whimpers of pain he was making, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop shaking and just hold his damn sword steady.

Then, horror filled him as his shikai faded, Zabimaru sealing itself as his energy dipped too low to maintain the fangs. Renji found himself whispering frantically, "No, no, please don't leave me, Zabi!" He weakly swept his hand down the blade. "Roar, Zabimaru!"

When nothing happened, he felt tears spring to his eyes, and he looked to see his superior watching him. Quickly, he clutched Zabi to him, point still aimed at the ravenette as he hissed, "Don't look at me like that! I can still stab you, even if it's sealed!"

To his surprise, the noble held up his hands, then slowly sat on the ground. "I am not going to harm you, Renji. There is no need to be like this. Do you know why I brought you to the supply room and sealed it with kido?"

Renji felt fear tighten its grip on his heart. "'Cause you're really smart, and you brought me here so I ain't got a way to escape, and I suck at kido so badly I wouldn't be able to get out of a room that's been kido-sealed. And you probably know I'm just gonna get w-weaker, so you'll be able to get to me sooner or later, and I ain't gonna be able to st-stop you. Then you'll get to prove just how much better you are than me, in every way."

The older man tilted his head, looking confused. "Renji, I am not going to do anything like that to you. I brought you here to keep you safe, that is all. I did not want anyone messing with you."

Renji hesitated, unsure if he could believe the soft words, yet the point of his sword was lowering to the ground. His superior spoke in a soft tone. "I have never been around you during this point of your cycle, and so I have never seen you like this. You are always so confident and bold; I had no idea that you could be so afraid. What has happened to make you fear an Alpha?"

He hesitated, then lowered his eyes, ashamed by his past. "It's been fifty years since I matured enough to mate, and I think maybe half of those is all I've managed to keep away from any Alphas. It started in the Rukon, then the Academy, then even as a Soul Reaper. I hate being a Beta. Whenever I'm in heat, Alphas just seem to find me, and think it's ok to just ta-take whatever they want. I don't do it on purpose – I can't control my scent and I can't help the fact that they seem to find me attractive or whatever. I... I ain't never been with an Alpha by choice, they just hunt me down and don't even bother to make sure I'm ok, much less if I'm getting any pleasure from it. I've talked to other Betas, and they say it's supposed to feel good, but they ain't been through the shit I have. It always just hurts and makes me feel wo-worthless."

He felt tears in his eyes and brushed them away angrily. "You know, I ain't ever even been kissed by an Alpha. Ain't that pathetic? Apparently, I'm worth fuckin', but not worth any effort to make sure I like it. Fuckin' stupid, mean Alphas."

X~X~X~X~X

Byakuya couldn't believe what Renji was saying – the horror the younger man had endured certainly explained a lot. Poor thing.

Betas were supposed to be cherished and treated like treasure, not abused and violated like being rutted was their only purpose.

Then the redhead continued. "And when I had to come here, to the training grounds, I was relieved to smell all the paint. I hoped it'd hide my scent; I don't like being around Alphas when I'm in heat, and you're the strongest one I know, and I know you don't respect me 'cause I'm Rukon. Now I'm all fucked up from the sparring match 'cause I couldn't fight. I shoulda just refused and let you think I was being insubordinate. I know they're little cuts, but my heat makes me really sensitive."

Byakuya saw the cuts on the Rukon Dog. He rose to his feet, seeing the wary amber eyes flick to him. He found a towel and got it wet at the small sink. He came back, slowly moving to Renji's side, only for the bigger Soul Reaper to tense, the point of his sword coming up defensively. "Wh-what're you doin'?"

Keeping his movements slow, Byakuya kneeled at his subordinate's side as he spoke softly. "I am not going to hurt you, Renji. I want to clean up your cuts."

He lifted the wet towel to the cut on a tan cheek, seeing how the suspicious auburn eyes watched him. He spoke gently, willing the traumatized Beta to believe he meant no harm. "I should not have released my shikai against you, Renji. I may not have known you were in heat, but I knew something was wrong with you. I am sorry I hurt you."

The coppery eyes widened. "Did… did you just apologize to me?"

He nodded, focused on the cut on Renji's cheek. He dabbed the blood away, hearing a small hiss of pain, and he frowned, not having meant to hurt the crimsonette. A thought occurred to him, and he met the deep amber eyes. "Renji, I can make the cuts stop hurting. There are many things about Alphas and Betas that it seems you may not know about, and this is one of them. I can make the pain go away, but I need you to trust me."

Renji hesitated, then nodded, watching him warily. Slowly, Byakuya leaned closer, then tenderly licked the cut. He heard a gasp, and the bigger Soul Reaper tensed. "Hey! What the-" Then Renji paused, and the tension faded a little as surprised cinnamon eyes met his. "That… that does feel better!"

Byakuya nodded, relieved the somewhat primal method had worked. "An Alpha's saliva can stop a Beta's pain if they're injured. These days, it really only gets used when an Alpha marks their Beta, but I am glad to see it still works for something like this. It is something that can only happen between an Alpha and Beta, and now that I have done it to you, I believe you would be capable of stopping my pain if I were cut. I am not sure about that part, though."

Renji nodded slowly, then whispered, "It… it still hurts a little."

Byakuya leaned close and gently licked the cut again, sensing the tension slowly leaving the younger man. He pulled away, surprised but incredibly pleased to see that the cut was actually trying to close. He had not known his saliva would speed up healing. That was when he noticed how much calmer Renji seemed.

X~X~X~X~X

Renji was relieved that the pain in his face was gone, though between the other cuts and his heat, the rest of his body still hurt so damn much. He was still nauseous, and he was feeling a little dizzy. Damn, his heat was really getting in gear.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder near one of the cuts. He looked up to see his superior watching him with concern in those deep steel eyes. "Renji? Your scent is getting stronger; it really is just starting today, and getting worse, right?"

He gave a small nod and leaned his head against the table. The noble's voice came again. "You could have just stayed home if you knew you would be feeling this poorly."

He mumbled, "You said to come to work."

Byakuya asked softly, "Are you that worried about me being angry with you?"

He barely managed another nod as he tried to explain. "Yeah, you're scary when you're mad. But even if I wasn't worried 'bout that, my heat was already kickin' up. Did you know, when a Beta's in heat, they're like, compelled to obey Alphas? I didn't wanna come in, but you said to, so I didn't have a choice."

He felt the older man shift closer to his side, and he tensed, raising his head. He tried to lift Zabi, but he was shaking so badly, he was just as likely to cut himself as his superior. He was still sweating, and his sword slipped right out of his hand to clatter on the ground. He heard his captain's voice. "Shhh, Renji, it is ok. I am not going to hurt you. You do not have to be afraid."

He felt a hand touch his hair, and he trembled weakly, breathing, "Yeah, Aizen said the same thing, that I didn't have to be scared. Turned out, he was one of the meaner ones."

He flinched when he sensed the smaller Soul Reaper frown at him. "I am not Aizen."

Renji tried to cringe away from the noble as he whimpered softly, "I… I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me. I'll be good."

There was silence for a moment, then he heard his superior speak softly. "Look at me, Renji."

Unable to resist an Alpha's command, he obeyed, terrified that Byakuya was angry at him. But there was no anger in the deep platinum eyes as the ravenette spoke in a gentle tone. "I understand why you are afraid of Alphas, and that I have given you reason to fear me in particular. But it was not fair to compare me to Aizen. Have I done anything to deserve that?"

Renji gave a tiny shake of his head – Byakuya could be strict, but had never been as overtly cruel as his former captain. The older man seemed relieved by his answer. "Good. I was concerned you would think that I have. Listen to me, Renji. I give you my word that I am not going to harm you. I am not going to do anything cruel or disrespectful to you. I do not intend to continue this pattern of abuse that you have come to expect from Alphas. What they've done, how they've treated you, was very, very wrong, and I am not going to treat you like that."

Renji was reassured, though he was still nervous being alone with such a powerful Alpha. He saw the silvery amethyst eyes lower to his shoulder and arm, where he could feel his cuts burning.

Byakuya asked softly. "Do these all hurt you, Renji?"

He nodded, and the ravenette tilted his head. "It would be easier for me to treat these if you were not wearing your shihakusho."

Renji couldn't reply as he watched the pale hand on his shoulder move to the edge of his shihakusho. He didn't resist as the fabric was gently guided off of his shoulders, barely aware of how carefully his captain was watching him.