Now who's the Animal?

Guilt

Byakuya slowly opened his eyes to a blank, white ceiling. Slowly sitting up, he realized he was in a plain bed in a small, equally plain room. Squad four then. It was only moments later that Unohana herself walked in, her typical, serene smile firmly in place.
"Ah, you're awake, captain Kuchiki. Would you like something to drink? Water? Tea?" She asked.
"No, thank you. Why am I here?" Byakuya asked. Unohana frowned.
"Lieutenant Abarai brought you here, not long after I received a rather disturbing report regarding the condition of your mission. Do you remember?" She said just as calm. Suddenly the noble felt as though rocks had dropped to the pit of his stomach. Despite his sudden unease, he kept his face indifferent and posture straight, looking down at his hands.
"I...It's a bit hazy, but yes..." He said softly.
"It wasn't your fault, Byakuya. It was the poison from the hollow. You needn't worry, this event will not be released to the public. No one will have to know."
"And Abarai...? Is he...?" Byakuya couldn't even bring himself to finish the question. Damn it! Why couldn't he have been more careful!?
"Your lieutenant has minor injuries, cuts, scrapes, most likely from fighting. The only two injuries worth noting are a nasty bite wound to the shoulder and serious bruising around his neck." The noble flinched at this.
"Is he damaged internally...?" He said, just above a whisper.
"No, though it's a miracle he's not. The other victims weren't quite so... Roughed up. We're not sure if this is due to the fact that you received more of the poison, or if it's simply due to... Sexual preferences..." Unohana said. Byakuya wanted to flinch again, but restrained himself. He always new deep down that when it came to sex, he wasn't... Normal. However, he kept that part of him locked up deep inside him, so much so, that he didn't even know much about it himself, besides the fact that it was wrong and worth keeping bottled up.
"...Byakuya." Unohana said, when she received no answer. The noble looked up, into her eyes for the first time since he awoke. Deep shame and regret were resonating from his irises, a look she'd never seen on the stoic captain.
"He's been bandaged up and sent back to the sixth division to await your return. You're free to leave as well." She said simply, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
Byakuya grasped the sheets tightly once she was gone. Old, familiar feelings from after his fight with Renji resurfaced. The feeling of knowing that because of him, nothing would ever quite be the same.

Meanwhile, Renji sat at his desk, quickly and messily working on both his and his captains paperwork. He was completely on edge. Any moment, Byakuya could walk through the door, and the red head wasn't quite sure he was ready to confront him yet.
What would captain do to him? During the fight, Renji was supposed to be his back up. He was supposed to keep anything terrible from happening to his captain, and if anything went wrong, he was to make sure to get the noble to Squad four quickly and safely without delay. Instead, he'd screwed up and destroyed his superior's honor in the process. Everyone knew how much Byakuya's pride and honor meant to him as the head of the most powerful family in the soul society.
At the thought, Renji had to put his brush down, taking deep breaths. He rubbed at his neck absently which was bandaged, mostly to keep people from noticing the dark set of hand prints wrapped around it. This wasn't something that would get him in jail, but it could easily get him in trouble. He's failed his captain one too many times and would probably be demoted. Surely, the noble would have him transferred as well.
As the thought entered the tattooed mans mind, he stood abruptly. No. No, he couldn't... Renji loved the sixth division! Everyone in it was like a family to him. Where else would he go?! Perhaps The noble would send him back to the eleventh...? The red head's stomach twisted at the thought of going back to the division filled with loud, rowdy men who wanted nothing more than to fight. Visions of his old captain and his little lieutenant haunted his mind. No, no, he couldn't go back there! He prayed that Kuchiki Taicho would have mercy and send him somewhere, anywhere else.
Or perhaps his captain would simply kill him on the spot to take revenge? Yes, Renji decided. It was also quite likely he'd be facing down Senbonsakura again. except this time, he wouldn't make it out alive.
Again, Renji's stomach twisted into knots. He wasn't ready to die yet! He needed to write a will! Tell Rukia he'd always loved her like a sister. He wanted to tell all of his squad mates whom he helped train how proud of them he was. Tell all his friends how wonderful and supportive they all were. Would Byakuya allow him to at least write a note...?
As Renji was still mentally planning out his last words, the door suddenly swung open, making him jump and shriek, quite manly like. In his panic, he hadn't noticed the approaching soul energy of his captain. Byakuya stopped in the doorway, eyeing his lieutenants defensive stance and clear panic with mild surprise. That surprise quickly twisted into a look the tattooed man had never seen on his captain before. It calmed him down as curiosity over took him and his rapidly beating heart slowed down.
He didn't get the chance to study it for long before his captain turned away.
"...Abarai." He said curtly in acknowledgment. Renji braced himself for the worst.
"Um... Hello... Taicho..." He said cautiously. He watched as the noble began to move towards him. 'Oh god here it is,' he thought. He was about to be killed. Transferred. Slapped. Yelled at. Demoted. All five. Closing his eyes tightly, the red head tensed and braced himself just as his captain....
Walked right past him.
Slowly, Renji opened one eye, then another. He heard his captains door slam shut behind him and silence filled the air again. Out of all the things the lieutenant thought his superior would do to him, blatantly ignoring him was never on the list.
Somehow, that didn't really make him feel any better.

Weeks passed and both Renji and Byakuya skirted around each other, not exchanging anything more personal than tense hello's in the morning and good bye's upon leaving. The entire squad was on edge, feeling the thick tension in the air. Even after their fight, while Byakuya was healing from his Gin inflicted wound, they'd somewhat relieved the tension. This, was by far much worse than that. Now, they had no outside force to blame other than the hollow, but even that didn't seem like a very good excuse. So, the sixth division waited, hoping that their captain and lieutenant would figure it out sooner rather than later.
Both of them were waiting for the other to make the first move. Byakuya entered his office everyday holding his breath, waiting for the inevitable transfer request paperwork sitting on his desk, filled out in Renji's messy handwriting and needing only his signature. Renji Came in everyday expecting to find the paperwork telling him he was being forcibly transferred. (Or a face full on razor sharp Sakura petals. He still hadn't quite put it past his captain to kill him yet.)
The pattern was broken by not Renji, not Byakuya, but Rukia storming into the sixth one day as Renji was staying late and finishing paper work. His head snapped up as the door slammed open, revealing a very pissed off little soul reaper.
"Rukia, what-"
"What the hell is your problem!?" She yelled angrily, cutting the red head off.
"What? what do you mean!?" He retorted, confused. He really wasn't in the mood to be yelled at randomly about nothing. He got enough of that from His captain when he was in a bad mood. (Though Byakuya had been exceptionally quiet lately, without so much as a stern reprimanding whenever His lieutenant was late.)
"I mean, you and my brother! Ever since you had those bandages on your neck, which, by the way, you still haven't given me a straight explanation for, both of you are acting weird! All your friends keep asking me what's wrong, because apparently you hardly ever go out with them anymore, and when you do, they say you're "too quiet." Nii-sama's always been quiet, but... But not this much..." Rukia's shoulders slumped as the fire left her eyes, leaving plain worry.
"After Aizen's betrayal, I felt like he was finally starting to warm up to me... I'd tell him about my day, and, every now and then, he'd tell me a bit about his... But now... He won't look at me again, and every time I mention you he flinches and runs away to his private quarters..." She murmured. Renji let out a huge sigh, leaning back in his chair and rubbing at his eyes.
"Shit, Rukia, I'm sorry... I know you're just worried, but..." The tattooed man sighed again, this Time in frustration.
"I just can't tell you, okay? Seriously, there are way too many reasons, I just can't. It's for the best. Me and Kuchiki Taicho... Somethin' real bad happened. I don't think it'll ever be the same. I'm just waitin' for him to kick me back to the eleventh, or some other division, possibly murder me in my sleep, I don't know, but until then, there's nothin we can do. What's done is done, and there's no going back. I screwed up somethin' awful and now you're brother's payin' the price. Have you asked him about it?" Renji said.
"I... No..." Rukia said.
"Good. Don't. He's tryin' to get past it, and he don't need anyone botherin' him about it. It's not somethin' that's easy to forget, no matter how hard ya try. Just... Be there for him, alright? You're a good sister, it ain't your fault. We both love you, you know that?" Renji said sincerely. Rukia scowled.
"Yeah, I know, Renji. You two aren't my parents, you know that, right?" She said, crossing her arms in irritation. Renji laughed softly.
"Yeah, I know, sorry." He said. Rukia nodded, satisfied. She turned to leave, but stopped, turning back.
"Oh, and Renji?" She said.
"Yeah?" The red head called, turning back to his paperwork.
"Whatever it is that happened... I don't think either of you know what the other is going through... Maybe you should figure that out before making up assumptions."
With that, she left, leaving Renji to ponder her words.