Yay! APs are over! I recommend taking AP Psych to anyone who has the option. I absolutely loved it and it really helped me with this story. (Stockholm Syndrome).

Anyway, I did not quite make it clear what exactly Renji saw the previous night. Sorry; it was a lot more obvious in the original version (there was a whole scene with dialogue and all). So I wrote this. Also, I'm looking for some filler before I get to the chapter I initially wrote to be Chapter 17 before deciding it was "too soon." Well, enjoy, and sorry to disappoint, in advance.

Sixteen Hours Earlier

Renji withdrew his sword as the Hollow disintegrated into nothingness, breathing a sigh of annoyance to the still darkness. Well now it was still, now that he'd gotten rid of the rather lackluster evil spirit that had been lurking around the edge of the woods. There had only been one, on its own, barely as tall as he was although it was twice his girth. Zaraki Taichou always sent him on the easy jobs when he was acting up: it was his idea of a nonviolent punishment, and probably the only one he could think of.

Now that the work was done, Renji sheathed Zabimaru and headed back to Squad Eleven. It was times like this that he was glad not to be a Vice-Captain: thinking of how his friends had so much tedious work while he had a whole free night ahead of him and didn't have to get up early. Other times, though, he had to admit his jealousy. Once or twice he found himself thinking about what qualities made him better fit to be Vice-Captain than any of them, but always shook himself out of it. He should be happy for them, they were his friends, and he had never really wanted to be a Vice-Captain anyway. There was too much cooperation needed and there were too many politics involved for it to fit his liking. And besides, there was only one person he was trying to outdo, and that was Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Ouch!"

A harsh pain stuck him suddenly as he walked headlong into another figure in the dark. The second figure had lost balance during the collision and was currently on the ground, brushing itself off and cursing softly.

"Here," Renji offered, stretching his arm down to help.

The figure paused before taking it. "Abarai?" asked a familiar voice quizzically.

Renji blinked. "Who are you?"

The second figure grabbed Renji's hand and got to his feet. Now that he was closer, Renji could see the distinct spiked hair outlining the head of Shuuhei Hisagi. Upon a closer look, Renji noticed that he seemed disturbed and discouraged.

"Hisagi! What the hell are you doing out here at this time of night?" Renji asked.

"I could ask you the same question," Hisagi answered suspiciously.

"Hollow duty," Renji shrugged, nodding his head towards the spot where he had killed the creature. "Your turn."

Hisagi sighed, nodding. "It was Kira. I wanted to question him, you know, but I ended up training with him for hours . . . don't ask," he added, as Renji made a monosyllabic attempt to interrupt. "But long story short, I didn't get anything out of him. I told him he can tell us when he's ready . . . God knows when that will be."

"Knowing him, it won't be for a long while," Renji agreed. "That kid's kinda secretive, isn't he?"

"'Kid'?" Hisagi smiled slyly. "Isn't he older than you?"

"Not in mentality," Renji answered. "I'll see if I can talk to him. Where is he?"

"Standing around in the woods, where I left him," Hisagi said, pointing towards the east end of the forest. "Tell me if you get anything." He clapped Renji on the shoulder and yawned. "Good luck. I'm exhausted."

"Thanks, Hisagi," Renji said and waited until Hisagi was melded into the landscape before turning towards where Kira was supposedly still standing. He had been acting strangely all week, stranger than usual, and had been especially defensive when interrogated. Much like himself, Kira had a knack for getting into trouble, but unlike himself, Kira could not always get control of the situation he was in. The sooner they found out the problem, the better.

Renji headed to the east edge and followed the trees along a path to where Kira was supposed to be. And, in fact, Renji could see a silhouette standing melancholy, arm outstretched towards a tree. Renji smiled and quickened his pace, running steadily towards the dark figure, hoping to catch him off-guard.

A second silhouette appeared almost suddenly, a white robe draped around its shoulders that stood out, reflecting what little amount of light hit it: a Captain. Renji stopped and watched it for a moment as it approached who he assumed to be Kira. Maybe it wasn't Kira after all.

Nonetheless, he inched closer, curious on who, if it wasn't his friend, was out so late. The second figure approached the first slowly, nearly seductively, and the two figures shared a brief conversation before the second stepped forward and gently touched the first figure's cheek. Now this was getting interesting. Renji stepped into the forest to camouflage himself behind the trees in order to get close enough to see the faces.

The blonde hair combed in front of an eye; no, this was definitely Kira. He seemed distraught, as usual, and it looked as though the presence of the second figure wasn't helping him any. So then . . . who was the second person? His captain? Renji strained his eyes and saw the silver hair and creepy smile. Yes, that was him, no doubt. He shuddered involuntarily then, upon knowing who the figures now were, reviewed their positions concernedly. Was it normal for a captain to touch his subordinate like that?

Renji saw Gin's lips move, but couldn't hear him over the pounding of his own heart. It was better, he thought, if he would just leave now, knowing he was a dead man if Gin spotted him, but he could not bring himself to turn away. This late-night meeting was very curious and Renji wondered, in part, if eavesdropping would do him better than interrogation. But so far he could hear no words, only watching them interact strangely, watching and waiting.

He watched as Gin's face drew nearer to his assistant's, as their lips met, watched as Gin pulled his arms around Kira's neck and combed his fingers through his hair, still kissing him fiercely, watched as Kira grabbed his sleeve, not as though this was something he wanted, but as if this was something he could not avoid.

Renji covered his mouth to keep from shouting as well as to keep from vomiting, complexion gone pale. It was more than he had been expecting. Nothing could have prepared him for that, nothing. This explained it all: Kira's silence and absolute refusal to speak, his strange but tense actions and mood swings . . . suddenly it all made sense, and made Renji sick to his stomach.

Gin withdrew gently after how long, Renji didn't know, and held Kira's arms firmly as he pushed him against the nearest tree. Renji pressed his other hand over the first to make absolutely sure he would keep quiet and took a step backwards, nearly tripping over a root. Gin pulled Kira's shirt down his shoulders, exposing them to the night air. Not a moment later, Renji heard Kira's trembling voice speak in a desperate panic. "Taichou!" he cried softly, and Gin let go of his arms, probably remembering they were in a public environment, taking his hand and leading him away from the forest, towards what Renji assumed was the Squad Three building.

Renji looked out after them as they went, letting go of his sudden idea to knock Gin out and tell Kira to run for it. He sat down in an attempt to settle his stomach. This was worse than any of them were expecting. They had been thinking it was something they could really help him work out, something that at least one out of the three of them would know something about, but this . . . was a horrible secret, and Renji didn't blame him in the slightest for not wanting his friends to know. But if only they had known sooner, they could have done something.

Renji stood up. That was it. He would have to do something. As much as he hated the system, he would have to pray that it worked now as he reported to Yamamoto Taichou a sexual assault claim against Gin Ichimaru. But first . . . he was going to confront Kira.

Current Timeline

Kira had been in the Third Squad building since midday and had been reading quietly on the couch, trying to forget the conversation with Renji in the depths of this book. It was difficult, though; he kept automatically comparing the characters to the people in his own life. The tough cop-in-training who broke all the rules: that was Renji. The teenage apprentice to the chief was Hisagi. The daring secretary who snuck into the action: Hinamori. The cunning detective who swept the heroine off her feet: that was Gin, of course. That makes me the heroine, Kira thought in distaste, turning another page.

Halfway through the third chapter, he heard the door open and saw Gin walk by out of the corner of his eye.

"Hi, Taichou," Kira muttered, and Gin did the same, stopping to kiss his subordinate on the forehead. Immediately, a disapproving voice echoed in his head. "Whether or not you think you're choosing this, he's taking advantage of you." Kira shook it out of his mind and put aside Age of Innocence – a romance novel wasn't serving him as a distraction, anyway – and leaned his head back in the couch cushions to receive a full open-mouthed kiss.

See, Renji, this is my choice, he couldn't help but think as Gin's lips encased his own.

Renji and Kira had spent at least an hour coming up with a good story and a fair explanation on what to tell Hinamori and Hisagi. Renji at first suggested that he could tell them that he couldn't get any real answers and that Kira could, once again, approach them when ready; but Kira immediately argued that it ran the risk of someone else having the same experience as Renji, plus he didn't want them to know. They discussed possible ideas from manic depression to drugs, but settled on simple insomnia triggered by stress. Renji also insisted on adding that Gin put a lot of pressure on him as an assistant, because apparently Hisagi suspected something afoul domestically ever since Kira had blatantly refused to return to Squad Three.

"Sumthin' the matter?"

Kira had let his wandering thoughts render him momentarily catatonic, and he blinked, realizing that he had lain stiff for the last few minutes. "No," Kira answered, "just thinking."

Kira briefly entertained the thought of actually telling Gin that Renji found out about them, because his Captain had strange ways of finding these things out anyway. But what would his reaction be? Angry, he had to imagine. He needn't start a feud between his Captain and his friend, especially since there was already a one-sided one. Renji did not like Gin at all and now he actually had a reason to despise him, despite Kira's insistence that this was consensual. At first, Kira had thought that telling Renji the entire story of how this had happened might help them both to understand it, but it would probably vex Renji even more and reinforce his theory that this was not a healthy relationship.

A theory, that's all it was.