Chapter 17
There is so much panic. Ichigo is yelling up and down the streets. Captain are coming out, surrounding the sides of the street, making sure there wasn't too much of crowd. At the very end of the line was Unohana Retsu, a serious look on her face as she gestured them into the barracks and into a locked private room with no windows.
"Only for protection," she reassured Renji as he glowered at the surroundings.
"Protection? From what?" Unohana gave him a sad smile.
"Allow me to examine him." Renji glowered once more but opened his arms to the fourth division healer. The scene he witnessed tore at his heart as Byakuya whimpered, struggling, but the final part was what hurt the most. He went limp, completely limp, racked with shivers and silent pants. Unohana did not even flinch but looked with a small crease in her eyebrow that Renji's hair was still very well trapped within a tight, pale fist.
"Renji."
"I know." Gently, Renji let his hand warm the other and began to pry the fingers open slowly. That got a response. A wave of raging reiatsu blasted across the two captains who were barely able to put up a shield in time.
"I'm guess that means letting the hair go is out of the question, ne Taicho." Renji chuckled as he felt the former captain relax again when his fingers moved from his hand.
"Then I will have to ask you to please look the other way during the examination." Renji saw her eyes narrow and her lips curl up into a deadly half smile and all he could do was nod otherwise, he was sure he'd be dead.
They laid him down on the white bed in the middle and Unohana gave Renji one last warning glace before turning to face her work. Renji sat with his back to the table, kept their because of his hair, and closed his eyes. He could hear the robe falling off, and the silent sobs of Byakuya. He could feel Unohana's reiatsu climb and fall and twist as the emotions that ran through her continued to clash. He was really that bad then. It felt like hours, sitting there, listening to the silence, to the quiet gasps, feeling the fluctuating reiatsu that he began to feel sleepy. It was when the warmth and the soft green glow of healing energy began, that Renji nodded off completely.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
It was him again. Red hair, brown eyes, soft smile, everything was there. The hand was coming for him again.
"Byakuya," the figure smiled. He blinked. Should he take the hand? What would happen is he took the hand.
"Byakuya," it was such a nice voice, so peaceful, gruff, warm, and loving.
"Come with me?" the figure pleaded. He could hear himself mouthing.
"Who are you?" The figure blinked before shrinking away.
"WAIT!!" He cried out, falling down into the blackness. "Who are you?!"
"Byakuya," The figure was back but this time, his eyes were dull and clouded and his hair was matted with blood. The lifeless figure stared at him, causing him to flinch and back up.
"WHY DID YOU BETRAY ME?" Hand closed around his throat as he watched the figure explode into a pool of blood. All he could do then, was scream.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Renji shot up. On the bed his former captain was screaming and grappling at something that wasn't there. Unfortunately for him that meant his hair was being pulled along with it because it was still in one of the captain's fists.
"Byakuya!!" He stood up, laying his hands on the older man's chest and giving him a small shake. That was the wrong thing to do. A foot to the gut confirmed that fact. As if that wasn't enough, a white light shot past and nearly fried him if he had not been able to duck and press himself to the floor.
"Hadou no Yon: Byakurai!"(Hadou Technique number 4: White Lightening)
Renji cursed. "He still hasn't lost his touch even when he's asleep."
Renji stood back up and apologized for what he was about to. He tackled him, pinning both of Byakuya's trashing wrists to the bed, and held the legs down by interlocking them with his own.
"No, no, no," Byakuya breathed through shuddering lips, causing Renji to grit his teeth as he felt each one hit him in the gut harder than a Arrancar ever could.
"Let me go."
"I can't Taicho. You nearly shot me." Renji desperately hoped that he would awake anytime, anytime at all. Please wake up. Please wake up.
As if he had been heard, bleary grey eyes opened and stared into his as tears started to roll. God, let him he beheaded right now. He could not stand to see his captain cry. Not again.
"Hey, stop crying 'kay. You're back. You're safe. I have you now. You're with me."
Trembling lips murmured something as the grey eyes began to close.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Renji remained in his position until the grey eyes closed fully and the figure went slack beneath him. Silence descended on the pair before the red head gingerly lowered his forehead to meet the other's.
"You have no reason to apologize." He got off and sat back next to the bed, placing his head next to the fist that still held his hair.
"Just sleep." Please, please just let him sleep through the rest of the night.