Title: Ban Kai
Rating: MPAA: PG-13, Fiction Rating: T
Pairing/Character/s: Renji + Byakuya
Disclaimer: The author holds no license of nor makes claims to any of the characters, concepts, or story the above originated from in any way. The characters are used without permission of the original creator for the sake of entertainment only. No profit is gained from the writing found hereafter, nor any personal credit taken for the character designs, personalities or concepts stemming from the original story used. All situations below, unless otherwise stated, have no bearing on the creator's original work, and are solely the creation of the author based on personal interpretation of the above mentioned works or are parodies exempted from copyright laws. It is the responsibility of the reader to observe all warnings before proceeding to the fiction below, as it may contain any number of situations, themes, ideas, views, or lifestyles not suitable for those under the age of 18 or which may be contrary or offensive to the beliefs of some. In the event that the following is the author's original work, or contains an original character, the author holds the copy write and should be contacted before either is used or distributed in any way. All questions and comments concerning the written work or otherwise can be made directly to the author.
Warning/s: Spoilers for the Bleach manga from chapter 140 on, the Bleach anime episode 51 and up.
Word Count: 5,725
Summary: Sequal to the drabble "Elusive", in which Renji runs for his life, Byakuya is surprized and we all learn a thing or two about stir fry and long hair.
Author's Note: This was seriously fun to write XD

Ban Kai
"Happiness depends upon ourselves."
-Aristotle

The relationship between the captain of the sixth division and his lieutenant had changed. It wasn't a huge change, nor was it outspoken, but it was still there. However, in the hectic post-battle reconstruction that gripped the Court of Pure Souls the change hardly seemed anything worth mentioning. Everyone was banding together on some level, whether that be because they honestly wanted to help, or because their captain had threatened bloody murder if they didn't, it was still there and so were they, day after day rebuilding what had taken only a few chaotic days to destroy. Not to mention that in order to notice what had changed, one had to have noticed what was there before.

In short, little facets of each man seemed to have altered in each other's presence.

The court's newest vice-captain, Abarai Renji, didn't quite act like the newest addition anymore. He was dashing around from one place to another, but far from chaotically. Contrary to previous uncertain errands of only a few short weeks ago, he could tell you exactly where he was going and why if asked. If you could catch up to him, of course. The only people who noticed exactly how quickly Renji was accomplishing all his tasks, though, were the friends that watched him collapse on a well placed floor cushion at their end of the day get-togethers. There was always a half-hearted joke about how his captain had finally whipped him, to which Renji usually replied with a fiercely thrown pillow and any number of rude comments. Nevertheless, there was no denying that Abarai Renji was finally applying his dogged determination to his duties as vice-captain. As for the why, well, that was anyone's guess.

The captain of the sixth division, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice or care about this change in attitude. Except that the other captains had noticed a few peculiar things about the work assignments. Every day, Kuchiki would somehow manage to acquire all of the most spread out errands, no matter how inane or small they were. And everyday, Renji would be dashing from one end of the Court of Pure Souls to the other as fast as he could run. Most didn't think much of it and went about their own work. And while it certainly couldn't be said that Zaraki Kenpachi was either caring or particularly interested in things other than battle, he could tell a training regimen for what it was, and so had taken to occasionally chasing down his former squad member with a rather malicious grin. Perhaps he was as sadistic as people said… it certainly was fun to see Renji's expression when he noticed the eleventh division captain chasing him down with a downright evil gleam in his eye.

However, the strangest thing by far, in the mind of one Ukitake Jyuushirou, was that he was now being contested for the most days off by the last captain he would expect to take any sort of vacation. The man hadn't even taken more than the weekend off when his wife died and he hadn't even been a captain then! Although, Ukitake suspected that had more to do with burying oneself in work than anything else. Still, it was strange; strange enough that he had started setting aside a few extra moments here and there observing his fellow captain. He wasn't immediately sure what he was looking for: perhaps some symptoms of illness (not that Kuchiki would ever let that show) or even a sign of mourning. Given what had happened, it wasn't at all far fetched to think that the noble had finally let himself mourn the death of his wife. But neither of these possibilities appeared to be the answer as the man seemed neither hurt in anyway nor emotionally disturbed.

That wasn't quite right: there was a definite change, it just wasn't… bad. To put it simply, Ukitake now found himself baffled by the enigma that was Kuchiki Byakuya. He had even taken the initiative to have lunch with Rukia a few times a week, gently inquiring about her health and the general stability of the Kuchiki household. Never been better, apparently. However, Ukitake Jyuushirou was not a nosy man. If they had all managed to find some manner of peace, so be it: he, at least, would not question it. Besides, working with a sixth squad captain who didn't bring a cloud of tension with him everywhere he went and didn't glare quite so often was much preferable to the alternative.

-----

"- THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Renji screeched behind him at maniacally grinning eleventh squad captain.

Yachiru waved at him happily. "Ken-chan wants to play and Renji-kun looked like he was having fun!" she chirped.

"I'M NOT HAVING FUN! I'M RUNNING ERRANDS! GET AWAY!" Renji sped up.

Zaraki grinned, "You'll have to run faster than that."

"Renji doesn't want to get caught," Yachiru cheerily informed him.

Getting caught by the bloodthirsty captain was right up there on the list of things Abarai Renji most definitely did not want to happen. "STOP CHASING ME!" he wailed, forcing already tired muscles to go just a little bit faster.

"Not a chance," Zaraki smiled the scariest, most disturbing smile Renji had ever seen. For a moment, he thought he'd caught sight of fangs. Renji swallowed, turned forward again and desperately tried to master shunpo in five seconds.

"My, my, is that Abarai-kun?" Kyouraku inquired, lifting his hat a bit so he could watch the mad dash across the rooftops.

Ukitake glanced up, "He's gotten faster. Out on another errand?" He glanced over at the other captain walking alongside them.

"Division Four required extra supplies to be brought in from Rukongai in order to replenish their reserves," Kuchiki blandly informed his companions.

Kyouraku nudged his hat back down. "Che, what'd Abarai-kun do to get that job?"

An imperial black eyebrow rose minutely. "He asked for it," Byakuya answered simply, and then added, "Renji already completed all of his work this morning, it would be wasteful not to assign him the jobs that need to be finished."

"Reasonable as always." Ukitake smiled gently. "Would you like to join us for lunch again tomorrow, Kuchiki-san?" he offered, delicately mixing propriety and familiarity in his wording to keep the other captain at ease.

"I must decline," Byakuya answered smoothly, "as I will be taking my day off elsewhere."

"Another one?" Ukitake queried softly and glanced at his companion.

"That's quite a few lately, isn't it?" Kyouraku remarked casually. Kuchiki frowned minutely, but said nothing.

More out of worry than any kind of curiosity, Ukitake finally asked, "… Is everything all right?"

"I appreciate your concern, Ukitake-taichou, but your worry is unfounded." It's none of your business, so don't ask.

"Ah…" Ukitake managed, knowing he'd crossed a line, but seeing no way to back up.

"Nah, he's probably just using it to do extra work while we're not looking," Kyouraku interrupted in his usual, slow manner. "How else could he stay on top of all that paperwork? I'm sure Nanao-chan would love to know the secret."

Ukitake gave Kyouraku a brief, thankful smile. It certainly hadn't been his intention to ruffle any feathers. "She'd only want to know because you leave her so much work," he teased lightly.

Kyouraku just shrugged, glancing askance at the third party present. Kuchiki's visage hadn't changed since the beginning of the conversation. He sighed and continued talking since his companion refused.

-----

Renji was grinning like a maniac and he new it. He was exhausted; his muscles were sore and would certainly be staying that way for a few days, his spirit energy felt abysmally low and he was sliced open in more places than he dared to count, but he just couldn't stop grinning. Adrenaline was still rushing through his veins, keeping him standing but doing little else. Dust was still settling around him and he couldn't help inhaling it in gasps as he wheezed and coughed it back out, trying to catch his breath. All and all, he was in pretty bad shape, and he knew it.

But he'd be damned if he let that ruin the thrill of seeing the look on his captain's face when he'd landed the strike.

Never mind that he had five or six swords sticking out of him when he actually managed it. Never mind that his hair was sticking to him because of blood and not just sweat. Never mind that he couldn't hold his sword anymore, and Hihiou Zabimaru was slowly dissipating around him. Because for one moment Kuchiki Byakuya had been completely shocked, had been forced to react instinctively to an attack he had made. And for that, he could only grin as he slipped to the ground under his captain's stare.

"Gotcha, taichou…"

-----

Sometime later a rather tired Kuchiki Byakuya appeared outside the Fourth Division's headquarters carrying a rather bloody Abarai Renji. Needless to say, it was quite a sight, and certainly not one anyone in the Fourth Division was expecting to see after things had finally settled down again. Despite this fact, the Sixth Squad's captain strode in without so much as a word and deposited his lieutenant directly, yet carefully on to the nearest bed.

"Abarai-kun! … K-Kuchiki-taichou?" Hanatarou stuttered, hardly believing his eyes. For a moment, he was torn between moving immediately to help the obviously torn up form of the Sixth Division's vice-captain and trying to form words for the blood drenched captain standing calmly in front of him.

"Hanatarou, what are you just standing there for?"

The voice of his own vice-captain snapped back into action and he sprang over to Renji's bedside, already rolling up his sleeves to get to work with a hasty, "H-hai, Kotetsu-san!"

Isane turned her attention to the noble and had to wonder, at least briefly, how someone could look so calm being as drenched in blood as he was. …Or how he even got there for that matter. "Please sit down, so we can tend to your wounds as well."

"Most of the blood is his," he replied curtly. "See to Abarai first."

Not to be daunted, Isane smiled gently and replied, "Hanatarou is capable of healing Abarai-kun on his own, Kuchiki-taichou. Side wounds can be worse than they seem, too, so it would be best if you let us see to you as well." She hoped the short speech was polite enough: dealing with Kuchiki Byakuya when he was half comatose was one thing, trying to treat him while fully conscience was entirely different.

Before she could get an answer, however, there was a short tug on her sleeve that made her turn around… and look right back at Hanatarou. "Anou… Kotetsu-fukutaichou… Can I uh… speak with you?" he asked quietly, glancing once or twice at the captain of the Sixth Division uncertainly.

Well, Kuchiki didn't seem to be going anywhere at the moment… Isane sighed and nodded, following her squad mate a short distance away. "What is it, Hanatarou? You should be helping Abarai-kun."

Hanatarou was wringing his hands, "I stabilized him before I got your attention, but I need to… I think I recognize his wounds."

"… Recognize them?" Isane frowned. While is was normal for members of the Fourth Squad to become familiar with certain wound patterns, the way Hanatarou had pulled her aside made her think it was something more than that.

"That is… I think… It looks like… He looks the same as when I healed him after he fought Kuchiki-taichou to free Rukia-san." Hanatarou finally babbled out.

Eyebrows rose. "You think Kuchiki-taichou did this to him?" Hanatarou shook his head, and then amended himself by nodding. "Well which is it? Yes or no?"

"I think he did but… but you can tell, fukutaichou… those weren't normal fighting wounds and Abarai-kun told me… he said that when he fought Kuchiki-taichou seriously they both fought with their ban kai."

Isane let that process for a minute. When had Abarai Renji achieved ban kai? was the first thing that crossed her mind. This was followed quickly by, why would Kuchiki Byakuya attack Renji with his ban kai… and then bring him in to be healed? And lastly, perhaps most disturbing, was the fact that the special war time ordinance for the release of zanpakutou within the Court of Pure Souls had been lifted: making it once more a crime to do so barring extenuating circumstances. "… I'll get Unohana-taichou. Attend to Abarai-kun."

Hanatarou nodded and with one last fretful glance at the captain of the Sixth Division, slid back into place next to Renji's bed, focusing on the surfeit of open wounds that needed to be seen to. With so much damage, he was almost glad the vice-captain had passed out. At the same time, though, it was worrisome because it was most likely due to blood loss and that was a bit harder to fix that just sewing him up.

Byakuya arched an eyebrow at the rest of the shinigami in what served as the emergency room who had collectively stood there since he walked in. A few jumped when they realized some attention was finally put on them and urged their comrades to find work somewhere else and quickly. Satisfied, the noble turned back to watching Hanatarou heal his vice-captain.

It was stupid, really, that he had allowed it to happen in the first place. He'd thought – that is, he had hoped – that the first battle would be enough to convince Renji to slow down. Looking back on it, the idea had been doomed from the beginning. The very thought of Abarai Renji deciding to slow down because of a hurdle was quite simply unfounded. But he'd known that since their first spar. No, he wasn't upset for letting the spars continue on afterwards. It was safest, really, to know exactly how his subordinate was training his ban kai. What really dug under his skin and made itself comfortable was the simple fact that for the slightest moment, he'd lost control. Byakuya almost frowned but caught himself beforehand. Because Renji had surprised him. Because, despite all his ability, the damned man had managed to get past his defense and he'd reacted instinctively.

The reminder of what had happened twanged his side again as if to get his attention. On some level, Byakuya knew that he should have let his wounds be seen to as well, but seeing Renji collapse in a pile of flesh and blood… of feeling his spirit pulse drop tremulously low… It made him remember another time and place when he had turned and walked away. He hadn't seen Renji's recovery then, hadn't paused to see if he would live. There was no guilt for his actions, but now that he could look back on them clearly there was pain and a somewhat begrudging respect for his vice-captain.

"Kuchiki-taichou?" A soft voice inquired.

He pulled his gaze away from Renji and discovered the warming presence of the Fourth Division captain standing quite close to him, her second in command right behind her. "Unohana-taichou," he greeted, inclining his head a bit.

She smiled gently and tilted her head a bit towards the inner door, "Would you join me, please?" Byakuya did frown then, hearing the extra meaning beneath her words and for the first time began to wonder exactly had transpired between the two healers just moments ago. "It will be just a few minutes, and then you can return here if you would like," Unohana added graciously.

The woman really was hard to argue with. And so, Byakuya acquiesced and followed her quietly through the door that lead to the inner corridors of the Fourth Division headquarters. "Your wounds are aggravated, how far did you carry him?"

Byakuya briefly considered not giving an actual answer, before making the connection. "From west Rukongai," he replied, watching her reaction.

She smiled briefly and led them into a side room, closing the door behind them. "That is quite a relief to hear. Could you remove your robe, please?"

He nodded shortly and went about undoing his scarf first, which he set on the bed next to them, and then continued on with his outer robes. "What did she tell you?"

"You released your ban kai and Abarai-san was the target," Unohana replied, easily taking each layer of clothing and folding it crisply. "Judging from his condition, I am willing to believe that. Ah… looks like he hit you pretty well too."

Byakuya glanced down at his left side, for the first time actually looking at the wound that had caused everything. It was actually a fairly large gash seated just below his ribs still very much open and bleeding. Additionally, there was a nasty slice down his forearm that had caused blood to trickle down to his hand. Why did his left side always seem to take the brunt of the damage? He made a mental note to improve the left side of his defense.

Unohana tsked softly and took a clean, damp clothe to gently clean the wounds. "You should be more careful next time."

Byakuya glanced down at the woman calmly administering the treatment his wounds required and then returned his gaze to the wall as she worked. For some reason, the fact that she knew there would be a next time bothered him and he couldn't place the why. Of course, he hadn't doubted there would be. Now that Renji had actually managed to land a good blow, he'd be twice as determined as before.

"I'll give you some ointment to help close the injuries before it gets this bad again," she continued in the same soft tone she always used even while concentrating her spirit power to heal the gashes. "Please remember you are still recovering, though, Kuchiki-sama. Your body may be mended, but it is still possible to cause further damage. Your lieutenant should be told the same."

"I will mention it," he replied quietly.

They fell into a companionable silence as Unohana continued to work her magic on each injury she came across. "There," she announced a few minutes later, as she straightened from her work. "So long as you take the rest of the day easy you should be fine for work tomorrow." He nodded in reply and reached for his clothing again.

Isane greeted them both halfway down the hallway, passing a small container to Kuchiki while glancing at her captain for some kind of confirmation. Unohana smiled pleasantly at her and whatever was between them seemed settled. Byakuya didn't doubt that it had to do with him but didn't particularly care, either. And so, he moved ahead of them both, re-entering the front room.

"Oi! Kuchiki-taichou!"

Well, at least he had regained consciousness. "Yes, Renji?"

His vice-captain had propped himself up against the headboard at some point and was wearing the same silly grin he'd had just before he passed out. "Heard Unohana-taichou had to take you out back: didn't know I hit that hard."

For the first time in fifty years, Kuchiki Byakuya rediscovered what it felt like to fight down a smirk. "You don't, Renji," he answered instead while walking over to the end of his bed. Renji ran a hand through his hair a bit self-consciously but still chuckled at the jibe, already knowing the truth in it. "I think we've inconvenienced the Fourth Division for long enough today." Get up, we're leaving.

Renji's whole expression lit up and he literally jumped out of bed, which was probably not a good idea as he was immediately overcome by a light-headed feeling and fell back on the bed with a thump. "Abarai-kun!" Hanatarou squawked, first trying to scramble out of the way, and then dashing over to make sure the vice-captain was stable.

"I'm fine I'm fine!" Renji insisted, fighting off the anxious healer.

"You shouldn't be running around like that! You lost a lot of spirit energy!" The smaller shinigami scolded.

"Yeah, yeah, so I got up too fast. I'll be fine, hey- lay off!" The last came out as a roar when Renji finally managed to shove Hanatarou away a safe distance. He shot his captain a furtive look.

The revered noble just met his gaze and very calmly said, "We will be taking the rest of the day off, Abarai-fukutaichou." Renji deflated somewhat at this, having expected to get right back to practice. Still, Byakuya had that look in his eye that very clearly stated he wouldn't be argued with. It was either that or he was amused, and since Renji had never seen his captain amused, he went for the more likely explanation. "Get your clothes on; I set your zanpakutou on the table."

"Uh yeah… 'bout that…" Renji rubbed the back of his neck a bit, not quite meeting his captain's gaze. "You kinda shredded my robes." He gestured to the pile of blood and cloth on the ground next to his bed.

Perfect. Kuchiki Byakuya found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't very well blame his lieutenant for something that had been a result of his own instinctual reaction. He felt the intense urge to sigh, but refrained from doing so. Really, what was he going to do with this man? "Then just get your sword."

Renji slipped off his bed slowly this time, and grabbed Zabimaru from the table. Laying the sword across his shoulders, he glanced back at his captain. After receiving a stoic nod, he smiled a little hesitantly and waved back at the remaining members of the Fourth Division. "Thank you, Hanatarou! Seems like you're always getting me out of tight spots," he yelled with a grin.

Hanatarou smiled brightly at him and waved back, "You're welcome, Abarai-kun! Have a good day!"

As they left the building, silence descended on the duo once more. Renji sensed tension creep up around them suffocatingly fast and wondered what he'd done to put his captain into such a bad mood. He could have sworn the man was in a better mood just a few moments ago. Tension outside of battle was not something Renji was fond of, especially not concerning his captain. He stretched slightly, his muscles still a bit tight. Hey, it was better than fidgeting.

"We need to wash up and eat something," Byakuya instructed suddenly. Renji nearly jumped at the sudden noise. "You need to replenish the energy you spent."

Renji gave a nervous laugh, "Are ya' kidding? I've survived worse." Whoa, wrong thing to say, Renji deduced immediately from the frosty look his captain gave him. His laugh trailed off weakly. "Eh heh… um, yeah… You know, my place is pretty close to here… want to stop by for lunch?" He glanced at the sky, checking the time as an excuse to look away. "Well, I guess it's more like early dinner, or-"

"You cook?" Byakuya inquired and while his expression didn't really change, Renji could have sworn he heard a distinct tone of disbelief.

"Che, 'course I can cook!" He defended immediately, looking back at his captain.

"All your meals are provided for here," the noble pointed out.

"Yeah, well, wasn't always like that. A guy has to learn how to fend for himself, ya' know," Renji muttered defensively. "And anyway, if you don't want to-"

"What will you make?"

"Eh?" Renji blinked.

"What do you plan on cooking?" Byakuya repeated.

"Oh, I uh…" Did that mean he had agreed? "I dunno… I think I have enough to make stir fry for two people?"

"Ah."

"… So you're coming, then?" Renji ventured, glancing back at his captain. Byakuya arched an eyebrow at him as if to say, "That wasn't already obvious?" He sighed and made a small waving gesture with his left hand. "All right, you could just say 'yes', you know."

-----

To Byakuya's surprise, the flat was actually… clean. Well, it wasn't exactly spotless, but everything looked well kept and there wasn't anything on the floor. He wasn't quite sure what he had expected to see, but it was still a pleasant surprise. Renji walked in after him, closing the door and muttering something as he pushed his hair back over his shoulder again. "What was that?"

His lieutenant looked back at him abruptly, as if not having expected him to hear anything at all. "…'s nothing, taichou. I just need to find a hair tie. I think that was my last one, though…" He sighed a bit and set his sword down against the traditional style dinning table in the middle of the room.

"You seem to have a habit of losing them," Byakuya remarked.

Renji gave him a peculiar face and then replied, "With all due respect, Taichou, you seem to have a habit of slicing them off." Oh. The Kuchiki heir wasn't quite sure how to reply to that. Thankfully, his vice-captain had already moved on and into the kitchen, saving him the need to respond. "Ah, looks like we're havin' beef," he called out after a moment, and then reappeared at the entranceway to the small room. "If you want, you can use the shower…" He offered, walking out and over to a short hallway. "I know you said you wanted to wash up, and it'll take me a bit to make th' stir fry…" he added as an afterthought, glancing back.

Cleaning up was very appealing at the moment, since he was still relatively covered head to toe in blood. Unohana had been quite selective in her cleaning. At the same time, cleaning up and then dressing back in said dirty, stained clothing was rather unappealing. As if reading his mind, Renji suddenly added, "I probably have something you can change into… I mean, if you want."

Finding no more reason to turn down the offer of soothing, warm water, Byakuya nodded and followed his subordinate down the hall. Renji slid open a door on the left to reveal a small, but functional bathing area. It was built traditionally, with two separate rooms: one for undressing and another for actually bathing. The bathing area had a bathtub in it, which Byakuya hadn't expected from the description he'd been given, but noticed that the tub had been fitted with a shower head as well. And, once again, everything looked well kept and clean. Byakuya glanced back at his vice-captain as the man said something about being right back and jogged across the hall. He looked around again. It was strange to think of Renji cleaning anything, but the domestic scene was equally… fitting.

"Ah, here, taichou," Renji spoke up, walking back in with what looked like a folded kimono about the length of their normal robes. Byakuya noted with some relief that was plain white: not the usual patterns the red head wore off duty.

"Thank you, Renji," the noble answered politely and took the cloth.

"Ah… yeah, no problem," Renji grinned again and stepped out. "Towels're on the right," he added before leaving completely and sliding the door shut.

Renji was more than happy to get back to the kitchen and out of the host role for a bit. How on earth people managed to be so polite and accommodating and, and… nnrg! He ran a hand through his hair. Why the hell was he entertaining Kuchiki Byakuya of all people, anyway? Because you invited him. Renji told that particularly informative part of his mind exactly where it could stick its comments, thankyouverymuch.

He pulled out the bags of vegetable and meat, distracting himself with getting everything set up. Since he'd had wounds pretty much everywhere, most of him was already clean from Hanatarou's excellent healing. The kid really had talent. Be that as it may, he still took a moment to wash up at the kitchen sink before settling into making the food. He set some water to boil, and with his old set up he knew it would be a while before that happened. Some of his hair fell in front of his eyes as he watched the pot. He pushed it back. It fell forward again. Renji swore creatively at it and marched off to his room again. It was already going to be hell getting it clean tonight, he didn't need it getting burnt, boiled, or anything else his cooking could possibly due to it.

Unfortunately, he noted after going through every drawer he owned, he'd been right about his supply of hair ties. Renji sighed and tried finding a spare piece of cloth or string or something. He really needed to talk to his captain about that, or at least figure out how he managed to fight with his hair down and not have it flying everywhere by the end. Eventually, he found a piece of string hiding under a shirt he'd mended the other night and looked at it dubiously. It was something, yes, but there was no way in hell it'd hold his hair up the way he normally had it. Great. Renji set the string on his bureau and quickly pulled his hair back into a French braid, somehow tying the string at the end well enough to hold it. Well, it was better anyway.

When he returned to the kitchen, the water was happily boiling away. He smirked at his timing and set about getting the rice poured in, the vegetables washed and chopped, the skillet cleaned and the meat sliced up. It was a familiar and soothing pattern. Soon, all the nervous tension of earlier slipped away and his sore muscles loosened up a bit. The rice was taken off the stove and poured generously on two plates, the pot ending up in the sink, soon to be followed by a soy sauce covered skillet and mixing spoon. It took him an extra moment to find a spare set of chopsticks, but he eventually did and even managed to dredge up the two pieces of ceramic whatnot to place the chopsticks on when not eating. It seemed like something the Kuchiki heir would expect.

Renji had long since admitted to himself that he wasn't very good at 'entertaining' guests. Having a few friends over for a drink or something, sure, but playing host and trying to actually entertain someone was over his head, to say the least. Not one to be daunted, however, he arranged the dishes on his small table as precisely as he could manage, having only vaguely glimpsed what a properly set dinner table looked like. The drinks, he noticed, would be another thing entirely. Out of just about everything, and what he did have was just enough for one person. Sake would have to do, he surmised. Then, with a sigh, he put the bottle he'd grabbed away and took out the unopened one. It was higher quality and now that he thought about it, Renji very much doubted his captain would appreciate the crap he normally drank.

Of course, that launched him into a deep and arduous search of his cupboards for sake-appropriate cups. He grumbled under his breath the whole time. This was the last time he played host. It was too much damn work. Abarai Renji was not a man who knew all the ins and outs of propriety. That was damn sure. Just as he re-entered the main room that was currently the functioning as the dining area, he noticed his captain already seating himself, setting a pile of neatly folded clothing next to him. At least the kimono seemed to fit, and the man seemed to be in a better mood now that he was clean.

"Enjoy the shower?" Renji asked as he set the bottle of sake on the table and placed the two newly found cups down on either side of it. "Hope you like sake," he added, "I don't really have anything else."

"Sake will do," Byakuya answered evenly, pouring himself some. "And the shower was fine."

Well don't just jump all over me with thanks, now… Renji valiantly pushed on, keeping a scowl from his face as he sat down casually and picked up his chopsticks. "Dig in, taichou; I'm not the only one who needs to eat." He couldn't resist the small jab, he just couldn't. Not with his captain sitting there in his kimono looking as regal and just… perfect as usual as if he hadn't just been involved in a bloody battle only an hour or so before.

True to his nature, though, Byakuya merely took a sip of the sake in reply, watching Renji over the top of the bowl like cup. "You found a hair tie," he commented finally, and gracefully set his cup on the table once more.

Renji was already a good quarter into his plate. He swallowed. "Not really, I just found some thread." He poked at a piece of meat. "I guess I'll have to find some more later."

Byakuya nodded once and picked up his own pair of chopsticks in a two-handed maneuver Renji had never seen before in his life. He concluded that it must've been a noble thing, and decided to ask Rukia about it at some point, and then went back to eating. His captain didn't really seem like making small talk, which was fine with him. He certainly didn't want to spend his dinner searching for topics of conversation that he really couldn't care less about. Unfortunately, though, this made him miss the slight widening of Byakuya's eyes when he finally took a bite of the food.

"Renji."

"Uh, yeah?" Said red-head looked up from his food curiously.

"Who taught you how to make this?" Byakuya asked in a painfully polite manner.

"I, uh… just kinda learned." Renji frowned lightly, not quite able to discern the look on the nobleman's face. "Why? I shouldn't taste that bad…"

"This tastes excellent, Renji."

For a moment, Renji wasn't sure he'd heard right. Kuchiki Byakuya… liked his cooking? He didn't know what was stranger, the compliment or the fact that his captain had looked just a little surprised when he'd given it. Well… Well I'll be damned. Without really thinking about it, he grinned. The same open, absolutely pleased grin he'd had earlier that day. "Glad you like it, Taichou."