Hey all!

I'm back, mostly because you guys are so sweet and encourage me to continue writing :) Equality should have originally been another Byakuya/Renji one-shot but it kinda keeps growing and growing, so I would eventually have to divide it into chapters anyway :)

Rated M for the later chapters, so you may look forward a little Ukitake/Kyouraku moments, warning for probable OOCsness... and I hope you're going to enjoy this because I'm writing fics instead of studying hard for my exams :p

Don't forget to review, your voices mean very much to me and it makes me happy to see so many people adding my Sakura and Pineapple to Favourites! :) Hope this one will be equally popular :)

Disclaimer: Also, I don't own Bleach characters (although I would very much like to *peeks over her shoulder at Aizen wallscroll*), I'm only borrowing them for my personal hentai fantasies :)

Chapter 1 – Secrets in the Night

He did it. He actually did it. Renji could scarcely believe his senses. There was no way he would feel suited or even prepared for something like this after being the 6th Division vice-captain for such a short period of time, yet somehow...

With mixed feelings, thoughts rushing through his mind like thousands of little tornados, Renji's thumbs caressed the silken fabric clutched to his chest. His eyes lingered on the three horizontal lines neatly drawn with careful brush-strokes within equally well-made rhombus - haori of the 3rd Division captain. His haori. Yamamoto-soutaichou had to be pretty desperate to make someone like him a captain. Renji's cheeks darkened as he remembered the embarassment of his qualification exams this morning. He could't have made more of a fool of himself. What luck that Kuchiki Byakuya wasn't part of the committee - being the one who recommended Renji for captaincy in the first place, the 6th Division captain was forbidden to attend.

The red-head's thoughts wandered to his former Captain. The recommendation came about as expected as a lightning striking from a clear, blue sky. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Had Byakuya somehow not been satisfied with having Renji for a vice-captain anymore? Had he done something to offend the noble? Although if that was the case, he would hardly get promoted. Even so, becoming a captain now felt kind of like punishment instead of a reward.

Renji let out a sigh and stopped in his tracks to listen in for a bit. There were footsteps closing in from behind and he let out a quiet curse. Ikkaku, Yumichika, Hisagi, Kira and Matsumoto somehow got into their heads the idea of throwing a party to celebrate Renji's promotion. However the red-head wasn't really in the mood to indulge himself in their drunken chitter-chatter, so the crescent moon surrounded by festoonery of stars above him now found the brand new 3rd Division Captain sneaking through the streets of Seireitei, trying desperately to leash his reiatsu as much as possible to avoid detection. He only wanted to be left alone right now; to have some time for himself. To think. And also, Renji admitted reluctantly, he felt a bit awkward about direct confrontation with his new vice-captain, Kira Izuru. They've been friends since their academy days and they still tended to frequently go drinking together with the others and now, circumstances as they were, it seemed strange to think of the blond as his subordinate. Renji couldn't help but to inwardly compete against Ichimaru Gin, who -despite everything that had happened– still held a special place in Kira's heart. Yes, he only kept postponing the inevitable, however, until tomorrow, there may be enough time to gather his wits and face the prospect of his new position.

The footsteps grew louder and he could hear humming of voices, making out the sound of his own name now and then. Renji launched into shunpo without further hesitation, landing neatly on a soft, cold grass behind a wall on the other side of the street. He flattened himself against the stone and fell silent, listening intently as the search party came so close he could feel their individual pulses of reiatsu spreading around like a net with the intention to find the traces of his own. Fortunately, years spent watching Kuchiki Byakuya's almost every move and the short while of being his vice-captain taught Abarai Renji to control the flow of his spiritual energy with ease and skill nearing mastery. And he couldn't have been more grateful for that as he heard dissapointed curses before the the steps trailed off and there was peace and quiet again.

He slid along the wall into a sitting position, heaving a deep sigh of relief. His eyes closed for a moment, before he decided to find out where the hell did he end up. With no small surprise he recognized this place as the 6th Division's training grounds, though this particular area was no longer used for training recruites, who had been far too few as of late. With a small smile on his face, Renji jumped to his feet and as he was about to flash-step away a movement at the very corner of his vision made him freeze on the spot. His eyes darted to a shadowy silhouette of the training hall. There it was again - only barely visible flick of something white disappearing inside the building. Ignoring voices in his head telling him that he's the 3rd Division captain now and what's happening within the 6th Division grounds is no longer any of his concern, curiosity got the best of the crimson-haired Shinigami and he followed.

It was pitch black inside as he slipped through a partially-opened door and it took some time for his sight to adjust. Outlines of walls and few pieces of furniture, probably dumped here because there was nowhere else to put them, came out from the darkness when Renji carefully swept his surrounding to catch again a glimpse of what he thought could only be an intruder. He was lucky - in the right-hand corner of his vision there was a brief movement in the shadows. His brows furrowed, mind set on confronting whomever it was sneaking around like a thief at this hour. With only a split second hesitation, he though he himself was one to talk and slowly crept in the direction of a dim light suddenly illuminating an outline of a pile of old, wooden crates. Pausing for a moment, Renji decided to stealthily aproach from the other side and as he did so, the sight that had arisen before of him made him freeze once more.

Seemingly petite, slender figure dressed in a shihakusho crouched in a corner, aparently unaware of someone else's presence. Small but brighly glowing ball of energy hovered a few inches above opened palm with long, graceful fingers and the red-head found himself terribly familiar with the regal, composed features of that pale face. He knew those obsidian eyes, reflecting bright blue light and he also recognized the unmistakable design of the silver embroidery, embed neatly in long, raven hair. Now he knew the thing that had led him here was, in fact, a lap of a silvery-white scarf weaved of windflower light silk and worth about ten or more mansions in the Noble's Quarter.

Unable to comprehend the scene, Renji simply gawked for what felt like an eternity, paralyzed by the sight of Kuchiki Byakuya -head of one of the four major noble houses of Soul Society and captain of the 6th Division of the Gotei 13- sitting on his heels on a filthy floor of an abandoned training hall. With no haori, only the scarf around the noble's neck falling over his back, kenseikan glimmering in the cold, blue light coming from the little sphere of energy in his small, slender hand, Renji felt like he must be imagining things. More astonishing, however –if it was even possible- was the fact that those wintry, black eyes, usualy dispassionate and distant were now soft and warm and full of affection. Thin lips -rarely ever devoid of their austerity- curled in a half-smile and cheeks tinted with the same shade of pink as the thousands cherry blossoms of Senbonzakura's blades. And as Renji watched, wide-eyed his gaze followed Byakuya's free hand dressed in white tekkou, reaching into a small box stuffed with what was unmistakably the 6th Division captain's haori. And there, curled in the middle of the black number six lay a tricolor –black, ginger and white- cat with five kittens, all legs and whiskers, fighting, kicking and stumbling over each other to get to the tastiest of their mother's swollen, milk-filled nipples, making soft yowls and purrs in the process.

The moment Byakuya's fingers touched the cat's soft fur, the only acurate word coming to Renji's mind to describe the uncharacteristic and alien expression on the noble's face was melting. And as he was trying to comprehend the fact of Kuchiki Byakuya actually being able to conjure an emotional response of such magnitude a memory flashed throught the new 3rd Division captain's mind. Two days ago, Rikichi - an unseated officer of the 6th Division and Renji's hard-core admirer - came to him, eyes red and puffy, tears pouring down his cheeks, pleading with the red-head to find his lost pet cat that hadn't come home for quite some time.

Now Renji knew why that was and as he slowly retreated to leave before Byakuya could sense him, he promised himself to find Rikichi first thing in the morning and maybe –just maybe- bring up the topic of the lost animal to the 6th Division captain himself, if only to see what would happen.

Tomorrow suddenly seemed like a very interesting day.

As for update, I have absolutely no idea when there will be enough time to finish the second chapter but I will do my best not to leave you guys hanging for long! I promise! :)