Bleach: Kuchiki Byakuya and Abarai Renji

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

The Kuchiki Byakuya and Abarai Renji Ship Manifesto

Title: Red as the Rose, White as the Lily
Author: selenityshiroi
Pairing: Kuchiki Byakuya/Abarai Renji
Fandom: Bleach (Manga)
Spoilers: Everything through the Soul Society Arc and a few moments from the Hueco Mundo arc. Minimum details given outside of the pairing, though.
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite, not me.
Warnings: Pretty men? Together?


The series:

Bleach is a series about a boy, named Kurosaki Ichigo, having to borrow the powers of a shinigami ('soul reaper'), named Kuchiki Rukia, to save his family from a Hollow (a monster who is a devolved human soul that tries to eat other souls to ease it's emptiness). Rukia's transfer of her powers breaks the rules of Soul Society (the realm of shinigami and human souls who have passed on) and she is eventually captured and returned to Soul Society for Execution. Ichigo rushes to save her and, eventually, a plot against Soul Society is revealed that, with it's discovery, allows Rukia to live and for Ichigo to become an ally to the Gotei 13 (the thirteen squads of shinigami that make up the shinigami's military style structure). The characters we are concerned with are members of the Gotei 13 and are involved in the plot from the retrieval of Rukia from the human world.

The Characters:

Kuchiki Byakuya:


Kuchiki Byakuya is the Captain (Taichou) of Division 6. He is the Head of an old, traditional noble family of great wealth and status in Soul Society. He is also Kuchiki Rukia's elder brother, having adopted her decades before the main storyline due to her resemblance to his late wife (later revealed to be Rukia's elder sister). Byakuya is aloof and unemotional and appears to be a cold and ruthless man, effortlessly dispatching Ichigo to retrieve Rukia and send her to an execution he made no effort to stop. He fights against both Renji and Ichigo when they both make efforts to save her, but when it is revealed that her execution is a sham and not because of the laws of Soul Society, he risks himself to save her from death at the hands of one of the plotters of said execution. Heavily injured, he explains about Rukia's sister and his promises to his wife and his parent's grave-one to protect Rukia and one to always follow the rules of Soul Society. He reveals his difficulty in keeping the promise to his parents and thanks Ichigo for saving her. Later, more of his true feelings for his adopted sister are revealed when he refers to her as his 'pride' when saving her from a strong enemy. His cold, ruthless act is a front for a warmer, kinder person.

In fact, Kubo himself refers to Byakuya as a warm hearted man in the Bleach Official Bootleg book that he created. Various omakes also reveals other facets to his personality-a dorky sense of humour when he jokes about cutting his hair with his zanpakuto, an unusual acceptance of an exuberant child shinigami who invades his home on a regular basis to play and generally create havoc, a ridiculously bad artistic talent that he seems to be proud of...all things that doesn't match the professional mask we, as the readers, are more familiar with.

Fighting wise, he is considered one of the more powerful shinigami in the series and carries a zanpakuto (sword) named Senbonzakura which, with the shikai release command 'chire' ('scatter'), splits into tiny blades resembling cherry blossom petals. His zanpakuto's bankai (an 'ultimate form' for the sword) is Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and it involves several blades rising from the ground before splitting into millions of the tiny blades familiar to his shikai. He also has more advanced forms for his bankai, thanks to his years of training. He is able to move all the blades at will, providing both an offence and defence. Byakuya is also well versed in kidou (magical arts) and is one of few shinigami shown to effectively use them in battle.

Abarai Renji:


Abarai Renji is the Vice Captain/Lieutenant (Fukutaichou) of Division 6, under Kuchiki Byakuya's command. He grew up in the rough, tough and lawless 78th District in Rukongai (the areas surrounding the Seireitei (the city of the shinigami) where normal human souls reside). He grew up with Kuchiki Rukia in a close knit group of children, all struggling to survive without any adults to help or protect them. This is the reason for both Renji and Rukia's tough, 'takes no crap' personalities. When all of their friends succumbed to the harsh conditions and died, they decided to join the Shinigami Academy and train to become shinigami. It was during the time at the Academy that Kuchiki Byakuya showed up and offered to adopt Rukia. Renji, wishing the best for her, encouraged her to accept and his (faked) carefree reaction to her being taken from his circle of friendship caused a divide between them that only started to heal in the main storyline. Renji, wanting to prove himself worthy to be near someone adopted into such a prominent family, trained hard so he could get to a level where he could, once again, stand beside her.

Renji is rough edged and coarse as well as being passionate, hard working and dedicated. He is hot headed but shows respect for those above him and the rules that he, as a Vice Captain, helps to maintain. He helps in the capture of Rukia to Soul Society but believes that she is in no danger of execution. It is only when he realises that she genuinely IS going to be killed that he revolts against Soul Society to try and save his childhood friend. He fights against Byakuya and the plotters of the entire scheme but fails both times. However, he continues to try as long as he is able to.

His promotion to Vice Captain happens shortly before the main storyline starts and before taking the position he was in the 5th Division and then the 11th Division. The 11th is known for it's uncouth, violent members and Renji's Rukongai upbringing ensured that he fitted in well with the members and he maintains a friendship with many of them. However, he is also well liked by the 6th Division members, being a friendlier and more approachable commander than Byakuya. He runs and plays in a 5-a-side football (soccer) team in the Division and inspires the strong loyalty of at least one division member.

Power wise, Renji has many strengths but also several weaknesses. He is obviously powerful enough to progress through the shinigami ranks but his strength is mostly physical and dependent on his zanpakuto (Zabimaru which releases into a segmented, toothed sword connected by wires which allow him to whip the blade and cause massive damage to his opponent with the command 'hoero' ('howl')). During the Shinigami Academy he was in the top class, but this was due to his exceptional swordsmanship whilst he struggled with other things, like kidou. He managed, as part of the storyline, to obtain his bankai form (Hihiou Zabimaru) in order to face Byakuya in his attempt to save Rukia. Despite the power needed to obtain such a form, he was defeated due to his lack of control and experience. He has also shown an arrogance in battle which Ichigo and Byakuya both used against him.

Note: Kubo seems fond of using Renji to show how powerful enemies are. He is often defeated in the storyline just to prove that the enemies they are facing are strong enough to beat a Vice Captain with a bankai. It means that we rarely get to see Renji win battles in the manga!

Their Story And my interpretations:

As you can probably tell from the character descriptions above, Byakuya and Renji are a mess of contradictions. Byakuya is cold and emotionless whilst Renji is open and passionate. Byakuya is noble and dignified whilst Renji is a rough, slum kid. Even their tastes in food are complete opposites (as revealed in the Bleach Official Bootleg book, again).

However, they are a team and they apparently work well together, judging from comments about them being a 'Harmonious Division' from the Bootleg book.

We first meet Byakuya and Renji when they appear in the human world to capture Rukia. Renji is very outgoing and brash whilst Byakuya is silent and aloof. Renji is the one who announces their intentions, attacks Ichigo and makes the first move in completing their mission. Byakuya, however, does not really involve himself at all.

Until Ichigo almost succeeds in severely injuring Renji.

Only then does Byakuya get involved in the fight, but Byakuya's skill means that it take little effort for him to defeat Ichigo. Renji himself comments on Byakuya's skill. After almost killing Ichigo, Byakuya leaves him dying (but alive, at Rukia's request) and the three shinigami return to Soul Society.

There are many things about this scene that highlights the relationship between Renji and Byakuya. First off is Byakuya's willingness to let Renji take charge of the capture. Byakuya sat back, trusting Renji to take care of the mission. He comments when Ichigo manages a small strike, chiding him for having his guard down and warning him about Ichigo injuring a powerful hollow known as a Grande Menos. But he is also very watchful from this point when it is apparent that Renji's arrogance is starting to blind him to Ichigo's capabilities. When Byakuya is forced to intervene, Renji reflects on Byakuya. It is shown that Renji has a deep respect for Byakuya and his abilities, calling him peerless and commenting on his familiarity with Byakuya's power. Byakuya doesn't insult Renji for his inability to take care of Ichigo. In fact, Byakuya shrugs it off stating that he'll get rusty if he doesn't get involved in the battle. Renji, thinks 'Not this man' in response to Byakuya's modest words, showing more of his respect for his captain.

It should be noted that the story is in Ichigo's POV and Renji and Byakuya were opposing him, at this point in the story. Therefore, they are portrayed as antagonists and this skews the way Kubo writes them in this scene. Kubo is secretive and closed about their intentions and motives here.

The next time Renji and Byakuya interact is actually in battle. Against each other.

Renji decides that he wants to save Rukia, so he challenges Byakuya in order to reach her, after obtaining his bankai in order to do so.

However, Renji's motives for fighting Byakuya are mixed, and his desire to defeat him stems from deeper issues than those at hand.

During an earlier fight with Ichigo, Renji despaired at always being a stray dog 'barking at the moon' without the guts to jump at it. He then begs Ichigo to save Rukia, stating that he has never been strong enough to beat Kuchiki-taichou and that he's trained every day since Rukia left in order to do so.

Byakuya is the moon. Renji's determination and strength are all to reach Byakuya. Everything he has done since Rukia was adopted was to reach Byakuya's level. Renji sees Byakuya as the person who took Rukia away from him and one would assume, at this point, that he either wants to fight Byakuya to prove that he can take her back or to prove that he can stand on the same level as them. But later scenes show that there is more to it than that.

When Renji thinks back on the moment he found out about Rukia's adoption, when Byakuya came to the Academy to speak with her, you see that even then he was awed by Byakuya. He was stunned and shocked to stillness at Byakuya's Reiatsu and it's obvious that that moment has stuck with him ever since.

Byakuya watches Renji progress towards the tower, before confronting him at the base.

The battle between Renji and Byakuya was really played up by Kubo. It opened Volume 17, which was named for it, the volume poem was about the pair and it then lasted for five chapters without interruption. It was also highlighted in the Bleach Souls Official Character Book and had seven pages describing the fight and the characters.

I will reference the character book, as well (in bold), as some of the interpretations I made of the fight were confirmed by it.

The opening page of chapter 140 (the first chapter of the fight) is interesting. The text is:

“I was afraid...Pretending to chase...Pretending to sharpen my fangs...But in truth, I was afraid......To even step on your shadow.”

These words, set to images of Byakuya's back, appear to be Renji questioning his desire to defeat Byakuya. The words 'pretending' imply to me that he is not as determined as he has made out to those he has stated his goal to. Is it because he fears defeat at Byakuya's hands or is it because he fears coming close to and spoiling someone he respects and admires?

Renji attacks members of the 6th Division, who stand in his way, before reaching the base of the tower Rukia is imprisoned in. It is there that he is stopped by the overwhelming reiatsu from Byakuya, standing high above him on a suitably dramatic pillar! Renji is tense and fearful whilst Byakuya stares down at him with an expression that seems resigned and regretful. When Renji declares his intention to save Rukia and asks Byakuya to let him pass, Byakuya denies him and moves to perform his signature 'senka' move (the high speed move he used to almost fatally wound Ichigo with, earlier in the manga). Renji, however, has studied Byakuya for years, and evades the move, to Byakuya's surprise.

The character book has this side text for the scene where Byakuya stops Renji:

'Byakuya is the illustrious moon that Renji adored and wished to surpass...'

This is the confirmation that Renji is not only trying to reach Byakuya's level just to renew his connection to Rukia. Renji wants to reach Byakuya for the sake of reaching Byakuya, too.

Byakuya taunts Renji about being able to surpass him and goes to release Senbonzakura. Renji halts the process by instantly releasing Zabimaru without calling his name. Byakuya is stunned as Renji tells him that Byakuya can't kill him-not because he's become a Vice Captain but because he's always dreamed of surpassing Byakuya since that time at the Shinigami Academy.

Byakuya calmly watches as Renji releases him bankai, casually commenting that he didn't realise Renji had obtained it. Renji, rather unfairly, replies that Byakuya doesn't notice things beneath him. This is unfair because Renji obtained bankai only hours beforehand!

Renji states, again, that he's going to save Rukia. Which Byakuya, again, states as impossible. That Renji will not even force him to one knee.

Now, when Ichigo kept insisting he would save Rukia, Byakuya got angry. However, Byakuya is not angry at Renji's persistence. His face is still serene and his expression still resigned.

Renji attacks Byakuya, but he evades easily. He comments on Hihou Zabimaru being worthy of being called bankai before scattering Senbonzakura's blades to separate the segments of Hihou Zabimaru.

In another comparison to Ichigo, Byakuya calls Renji's blade worthy whereas he calls Ichigo's bankai a disgrace. A compliment from Byakuya is a treasured thing as Byakuya is the sort of person who would only say something if he meant it. He is impressed with Renji and his bankai, although he makes clear that Renji will not defeat him.

Renji does manage to knock Byakuya down to one knee, but even this does not cause Byakuya to get angry at Renji. Byakuya uses kidou to disrupt Renji's bankai before restraining him with a binding spell. He then releases his own bankai which almost instantly defeats Renji. The thousands upon thousands of tiny blades destroy Renji's bankai and force him to fall.

Byakuya recites the parable of the Monkey and the Moon: where the monkey, reaching for the reflection of the moon in a pond, fell and drowned. It symbolises struggling to unreachable goals. He states that Renji's fangs will never reach him.

Kubo describes Byakuya as the moon in both Renji and Byakuya's POV's. The parable ties a lot of symbolism surrounding the fight together.

Byakuya then compliments Renji again, by saying he should be proud that he has been able to survive Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, and warns him not to move and hasten his death.

The character book has a page on Byakuya's thoughts throughout the fight, and the first one is of this moment.

The side text is: “Byakuya slices Renji's body with his Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. He tries to stop Renji from rising...it's as if he's worried about him.'

Since Byakuya was still being portrayed as an antagonist at this point, it's unusual for him to be painted with any visible compassion at this point. But the Character Book makes Byakuya's concern for Renji clear.

However, Renji is stubborn and struggles up to attack again, quickly countered by Byakuya's blades of his bankai. Byakuya again compliments Renji on being able to endure his bankai, but threatens to not hold back if Renji continues to struggle.

Renji is severely injured at this point-even his bankai has dissolved due to being close to death-and is likely to kill himself if he pushes himself too hard. Leading on from the insight of the character book, Byakuya is actually trying to prevent Renji from doing himself more harm, here.

Byakuya asks again if he still insists on saving Rukia. Renji almost gives in, despairing at not being able to reach Byakuya, but he resolves himself again, saying that he swore to himself to save her.

Renji gathers the energy to shatter Byakuya's bankai blades trapping him and stabs his sealed sword towards Byakuya's chest.

The sword reaches Byakuya, but only after the blade, worn down as much as Renji, breaks and only a little part above the hilt remains. Byakuya is uninjured and Renji falls, splattering blood everywhere-including onto Byakuya's cheek and onto his scarf.

The character book has this side text for a panel of Byakuya watching Renji fall: “Renji's fang finally reaches Byakuya. Byakuya shows his feelings for the first time as he watches Renji fall. It's as if his eyes reflect the trembling of his heart.”

Byakuya did not want to kill Renji. He didn't want to injure him. Fighting Renji has conflicted him.

Byakuya then takes his scarf (the Ginpaku Kazano Hana Usuginu) and throws it over the fallen Renji as a sign of respect.

The character book calls it '...a valuable offering in recognition of Renji's strength.'

It should be noted that the scarf is worth as much as ten mansions. It is not something that is given away lightly.

Byakuya congratulates Renji on his fangs reaching him before walking away.

Byakuya is willing to admit that Renji has reached him. But there was no reason for Byakuya to let the blade hit him. The sword broke and Renji was using the last of his strength. It would have been simple for Byakuya to move away.

Byakuya LET Renji reach him.

Also, throughout the entire fight, Byakuya never got angry or frustrated at Renji, even when Renji continues to insist he would save Rukia. Even when Renji became arrogant and claimed that Byakuya could no longer defeat him.

Byakuya, despite being stoic, got angry at Ichigo both times he fought him (even at the beginning of the second fight, before he lost control of his emotions, his eyebrows were furrowed in anger and frustration). His insistence on saving Rukia was one of the triggers. And yet, Renji in the same situation gets the same regretful look almost throughout. Byakuya shows resignation, regret, surprise and stunned and impressed expressions during the fight. But not a single negative expression towards Renji.

Before I read the Character Book, I had always seen this fight as significant towards Byakuya's feelings for Renji.

Because there is no reason why Byakuya should have let Renji live.

Renji defied orders, escaped from prison and attacked innocent members of the 6th Division (something that Byakuya would have seen, with how long he was tracking Renji). He then attacked his own Captain. I'm quite certain that Byakuya would have been well within his rights to have killed Renji there and then. The only reason I can think for Byakuya to NOT have killed Renji is because Byakuya respects him and likes him and doesn't want him dead.

The Character Book pretty much confirmed this for me.

A note of interest from the Ichigo and Byakuya fight, before we get to the next Renji and Byakuya scene is that Byakuya tells Ichigo that he defeated 'Captain Class' shinigami. The images are of Renji and Kenpachi.

Byakuya considers Renji 'Captain Class' which is a HUGE sign of respect towards him.

The next interaction between Renji and Byakuya is the last real scene for them. It also the one that changed most of the initial perceptions of the previous scenes.

With the plot ironed out and the action over, Byakuya and Renji are both firmly in the protagonist camp, having both saved Rukia. However, Byakuya is severely injured by his rescue of Rukia and is laying in a hospital bed.

In a very short scene, we see Renji sat in Byakuya's hospital room, apparently watching over him. Byakuya queries with Renji 'You must be wondering why I'm still alive' to which Renji responds with 'Not at all. If you were dead......who would I compete with.'

This scene is which changes our perspective of Renji's actions towards Byakuya. It would be easy without the hindsight provided by this scene (or the Character Book) to think that Renji only wants to defeat Byakuya for Rukia. But his focus on Byakuya is, as I've mentioned already, because of BYAKUYA, too. And there is no reason for Renji to hang around in his Captain's hospital room, unless he's concerned for him.

Renji then starts to say something to Byakuya, before Ichigo interrupts by popping his head through the (third storey) window. (I really want to note here that Byakuya's 'WTF?' face in this scene is one of my favourite panels in the entire manga!)

Renji gets VERY angry at Ichigo's interruption and growls at him 'Shut up!! What do you want? I was about to say something heartfelt!'

We have yet to find out what Renji was going to say to Byakuya, and I doubt if we ever will. But the very fact that it was 'heartfelt' is interesting. It shows that Renji doesn't hate Byakuya. That he doesn't hold anything against him. It shows that he wants to discuss things with Byakuya to restore things between them. It's another sign of Byakuya being more important to Renji than as someone to defeat.

Also, the interruption was just like someone interrupting a love confession!

After Ichigo leaves, the atmosphere in the room seems relaxed. Relaxed enough for Renji to notice, and comment on, Byakuya looking troubled over Ichigo-even if it was over something as petty as Ichigo calling Byakuya by his given name!

The small conversation between them on that final page seems almost casual. Even though Renji never got to say something 'heartfelt', it seems as though Renji and Byakuya are able to work together once more-despite their battle.

There is, unfortunately, very little else in the manga to comment on. Bleach has over 80 named characters who all share a bit of the plot. It is very difficult for any of the characters, except Ichigo, Rukia and the other members of Ichigo's group of friends, to get any significant chapter time. Plus, the attention has been focused away from the shinigami since the Soul Society Arc ended except for battles against the new enemy.

However, a small item of note is that when Renji and Rukia broke Soul Society orders to help Ichigo rescue Orihime from the new enemy, Byakuya covertly assisted them. Including giving them both cloaks to protect them from the harsh environment they were entering.

It is a very small thing, but Byakuya is only really obligated to protect his little sister when she goes traipsing off into danger. I don't think his Lieutenant should get quite the same treatment!


Although there aren't a huge amount of scenes dedicated to Renji and Byakuya, the ones that they have together are always powerful.

And also deeper than most people realise, if they don't look under the surface. The perspectives gained by the final scene in the hospital and the Character Book really change the way things are read in their first two scenes.

Although none of them prove a romantic interest between them, they certainly highlight the respect and regard they have for each other.

Who else is important:

Two other people are important to this pairing.

Hisana and Rukia.

Hisana is Byakuya's late wife. He loved her dearly, but was married to her only for five years before she passed away. However, he loved her enough to defy his family to both marry her and adopt Rukia as to her wishes. It is implied in the manga that Hisana may not have been quite as in love with Byakuya. She apologises to him for not being able to return his love. However, she could just be apologising for not being able to live longer for him, in a subtle way. I suspect it could be a little nuance of the Japanese language.

However, Hisana died fifty years before the main storyline takes place. Although there is no doubt that she still exists strongly in Byakuya's heart, she should not stop him from moving on or starting a new relationship.

Rukia is a bit more complicated. I firmly believe that she is nothing other than Byakuya's dear sister, although there is a fandom for them romantically. However, her relationship with Renji is more open to debate.

I am, personally, torn as to which interpretation I believe to be true.

Either Renji is romantically interested in Rukia or she is family to him. Both work equally well for the story.

But, which ever one is correct, they both add an interesting dynamic to the Byakuya/Renji relationship.

If Renji sees Rukia romantically, then he has not acted on it. He has shown an inferiority complex in regards to her new status often in the manga. It's one of the reasons he's chasing Byakuya, after all. If this is because he feels he is not good enough for her romantically, then you would think that he would pursue her after the execution attempt on her.

But he hasn't. Also, Rukia's relationship to Ichigo in the manga is consistently shown as the strongest tie she has. Renji does not appear to be trying to overshadow that.

If he does see her romantically, then Renji has one of the best portrayals of unrequited or unselfish love in the entire manga.

He works hard for her, treats her well (now that Kubo is no longer portraying him as an antagonist), supports her and is generally there for her as a friend. Without asking for anything more. His friendship with her is wonderful to see.

But, he hasn't pursued her. And there is no evidence that he will. So there is no reason why he should be bound to her exclusively by what we have seen in the manga.

As for their familial association, this is the relationship that would be most interesting for the Byakuya/Renji ship.

Because, if Renji sees Rukia as his family, when he encouraged her to be adopted into the Kuchiki clan, he pretty much handed his little sister to Byakuya.

Byakuya who has the resources to be a far better older brother to Rukia than Renji ever could. Except emotionally. Which probably hurt Renji a lot to realise later.

It would also explain the inferiority he feels towards Byakuya.

If this is the true interpretation of their relationship (and, I must admit, I prefer this one to the romantic one because unfulfilled love upsets me a little!) then it also does not negatively affect the Byakuya/Renji relationship. In fact, it adds to it as it gives them a little more common ground to be working from-their mutual affection for Rukia as their 'little sister'.

Why I ship them:

My shipping of Renji and Byakuya is a little unusual under my own terms. I'm a crazy OTPer. When I decide on a pairing, I very rarely let go and fawn over little romantic gestures etc. I'm also a bit of a canon whore, so most of my OTPs are canon or heavily implied.

But with Renji and Byakuya, I would be quite happy if the only interaction they get is standing a metre apart from each other.

Seriously. There is a scene in the second movie where they are doing just that and I squealed like a schoolgirl.

There is something about Renji and Byakuya interacting that I loved from the start. Even though my first read through of Bleach was HIGHLY focused on Rukia and Ichigo, I still thought that the Byakuya/Renji fight was one of the most powerful sections of the manga. I still smiled at the scene in the hospital.

When talking early on about Bleach ships, I mentioned that I didn't think I could ship Renji with anyone...except maybe Byakuya.

It had been intended as a light-hearted comment, but then I thought deeper into it and realised that it was my true thoughts. Although I liked both characters individually, there was something about their scenes together that really grabbed my interest.

Their dynamics, their chemistry and the power struggle between them are fascinating to read. It's one of my favourite things to see in fandom for them.

In fact, I wrote a short meta on their power struggle for the BA FC, which I'll share now:

Renji has worked his way through the shinigami ranks with the goal of surpassing Byakuya, whilst knowing that it's a virtually impossible dream. And yet, now that he's so close to reaching him I suspect that he's developed too much respect for Byakuya and likes him enough to want to stay beneath him (at least for a while!).

And Byakuya, for all his pride and cool attitude, seems to like and respect Renji in return. There is no reason why Byakuya had to let Renji live after their battle in Seireitei. Renji had broken out of prison, attacked innocent members of Division 6 and attacked his commanding officer. I'm sure Byakuya would have been well within his right to have killed Renji. But he didn't.

Byakuya is very much in control between them. His entire demeanour is of someone who is used to giving orders and having people follow him (even when he was a child, he was very demanding-albeit a bit more intense about it!). Renji is a rebel at heart, so he isn't exactly elegant whilst following Byakuya, but he does so all the same.

Renji and Byakuya are the sort of pairing who I want to see on a slow burn. I want to see them be friends and working together as partners. I want to see their mutual respect for each other. Just having that would make me happy.

But I'm also happy that the relationship between them is complicated enough for people to see and imagine how things can develop between them.

Why others do and should ship them:

Hair Porn.

I truly believe this is why a good percentage of the fandom exists!

But on a more serious note, the most common things I see written about Renji and Byakuya from non-shippers is 'I love them together, just not romantically' and 'I totally friendship them'.

Renji and Byakuya seem to be a natural pairing that most of the Bleach fandom enjoys. But us shippers take it that one step further.

The chemistry and dynamics that I love are loved by a wide range of other shippers, too.

Some people like them for the yaoi, some people for the pretty and some people for the interesting character development.

But they are always interesting together, no matter the reason.

Fandom:

So, what's in it for the fans of Renji and Byakuya?

bya_ren-The Livejournal Community
The Bleach Asylums FC

Well, I'm afraid I'm probably not the greatest person to rec fanfics. I follow lots of fandoms and therefore have to be overly picky in what I chose to read. I have to work for a living, after all. So I don't read AUs and I like the fics I read to be able to slot nicely into canon. I also prefer introspective character pieces, which influence my choices.

So I will first direct people's attention to THIS rec post.

But my personal choices are:

Red and Black Conflict by feathers_of_ice Rated NC-17

This one takes the chemistry I would expect there to be between them after the Hospital Scene and expands on it. It's full of the power struggle between them and delves into both of their characters extremely well. The sex scenes are well written and the story works them into the overall narrative very well.

A Bene Placito by imadra_blue Rated NC-17

Now, this isn't the sort of fic I would normally read. It contains bondage, which I would normally shy away from. But, again, the power struggle and the character introspectives are so brilliantly written that I was fascinated by this fic. The sex is an important part of the story and, therefore, the parts I would normally read from between my fingers are easy to enjoy.

Captain, my Captain, Beautiful Friendship, Against Protocol and Stunted Forward Motion by peroxidepest17 (also available on LJ)

These are the first Renji/Byakuya fics I read. And they continue to be favourites! The first two are friendship or pre-slash for the third and I am just as fascinated by the building relationship between them than I am of the more involved fics! The forth fic is a lovely concept of Renji and Byakuya sharing a common loneliness and how they bond over it. The author thinks it's cheesy, but it was a concept I could really buy into for these two.

The Walk of Champions by Laily

This is non slash, but I love it. It shows everything I love about Renji and Byakuya and their relationship. This story proves that Renji and Byakuya don't need to be romantically attached to still be one of the most interesting pairings in the series.

Plus, non slash-or even non smut!-is really rare for this pairing and something to be treasured!

Three Things that Could Happen to Renji by imadra_blue

...That Could Happen When he Meets Byakuya Again. Non slash, but cute and amusing ficlets for the two that never fail to make me smile!

The Morning After by bababanaba

This one is so amusing! You can guess the context from the title, but it's a great fic! Renji all flustered and uncouth and Byakuya all calm and dignified...another one that never fails to make me smile!

EDIT 04/10/09: Fire, Water, Burn part 1 and part 2 by spikykun

NC-17. This fic has amazing characterisation. It really feels like Byakuya and Renji. The porn is really hot, but it's the way Byakuya and Renji are portrayed that has me reccing this.

EDIT 24/01/10: 5 Times Renji Tried to Confess and... by hu3long2

PG for the line at the end! This fic focuses on some of the ship-teasing moments we've had in the anime and twists in into a '5 Times...' fic. It was wonderfully introspective!

EDIT 22/02/10: Between the Earth and the Sky by kira_douji

OMG, why did I forget this one previously! I've had this fav'ed for a while and I obviously missed this one whilst reccing. This is EXCATLY the sort of fic I like. A slow moving progression that slots in between canon. The relationship builds through small, meaningful moments and it's a great read.

As for Fanarts, well, there are plenty out there! Like I've said-HAIR PORN!

There are a list of Japanese Fanart sites in the rec page, but I'll also link to my dA favourites collection for the pairing.

dA Fanarts

I'm afraid that I don't go looking for Fanvids or Fanmixes, so I can't really recommend those. But I'm sure that both can be found at bya_ren.

Resources:

First of all, I've used the Viz manga throughout the manga analysis. I've also used their release of the Bleach Offical Character Book SOULs.

I've also referred to the Bleach Official Bootleg book that Viz has not released (yet...please!)

Translations, however, are available HERE thanks to kay_willow

The two images are from the Ju-Ni scans of the All Colour but the Black Artbook available at their WEBSITE

Comments

Agreed!

[arakida-ayano.livejournal.com]

Wow. I totally agree with your fangirlism. I squee too when they just stand next to each other, when they are just friends. Just the smallest gesture means the world- maybe it's the joy of seeing a character like Byakuya opening up!

Good description of their interactions in the manga- it's good to be up on the canon. I recently bought the Bleach Souls Character Book, after this I will certainly get around to reading it.

Re: Agreed!

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

I know! There's something about them that just makes me fangirl at the slightest hint of them even being in the same room!

The Bleach SOULs Character Book almost made me fall off my chair when I got to the Byakuya/Renji fight. SO MANY SHIPPY IMAGE TAGS! I think it was truely my inspiration!

[saluli.livejournal.com]

You put in words all the thoughts I ever had about them. Now, it is really clear as water why ByaRen is amazing.

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

Clear as water as pure as the freshly fallen snow!

[zeffy-amethyst.livejournal.com]

Hiiiiiii. I've been waiting for this manifesto to appear here.

I honestly don't know when I began shipping them but it was probably their fight. It was epic and beautiful and...yeah, I'm just fangirling now. Thanks for the recs~

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

I was shipping them before I realised! It was like 'Oh, I ship Renji and Byakuya...wait...I do? Since when? Why? How? Ooo...pretty...'

[hu3long2.livejournal.com]

Hair porn, hair porn, hair porn... pretty, pretty, pretty... natural yaoi partnership natural yaoi partnership natural yaoi partnership... they just look so good together, it's impossible to resist... I mean, is there any other captain-vicecaptain combination as attractive? *Looks at the 1st Division... erh...*

Thanks for putting this together! It was a fun read.

btw, links don't work?! (I've read everything on there already, but...)

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

Sorry, links fixed! I knew instantly the problem (the word processor I used to write it has wierd quotation marks!)

They are oh so very pretty together! That would be enough to ship them, almost, even without all of their chemistry!

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

Great essay. Some of your links don't work, however.

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

Sorry, fixed the links! I glad you like the essay!

[mistyeyedreamer.livejournal.com]

Awesome essay. I've always enjoyed Renji/Byakuya dynamics, whether they're being shipped together or not.

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

This is one of the most common things I hear about them! Even the people I know who don't ship them love their dynamics! It's one of the reasons why they make such a great pairing!

[mistyeyedreamer.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I don't know if I ship them together romanticaly or not (I try to stay away from Bleach shipping in general. Some series I get totally involved in rabid shipping, but I try to stay out of Bleach shipping), but they're definately awesome together. They really balance each other out.

[silverhood.livejournal.com]

Hair porn! Absolutely lol. Thanks for sharing this! :D

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

It's a perfectly valid reason!

Thanks for reading!

[mitsu-syusuke.livejournal.com]

yay! a manifesto!
well, i'm quite busy catching up with my f-list! but i really glad i found this! just drop a comment now and will come back later to read this properly! ^^

ivy

[mitsu-syusuke.livejournal.com]

yes yes i agree with you! especially with the hair porn..XD
RenBya is always my OTP in Bleach.. i can never pair them up with any other man/woman..
thanks for sharing this! ^^

ivy

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

I can't pair them up with anyone else, either. No one else has the same impact on them.

And Byakuya/Renji hair porn is totally worth trawling through dA for!

[ravens-rising.livejournal.com]

I squeed when I saw there was a ByaRen ship manifesto! You did a wonderful job! :D

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[ravens-rising.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome! Bleach is my favorite fandom and ByaRen one of my favorite pairings. And I love reading manifestos (I've been thinking about writing one of my own, actually). Yours was very detailed. :D

[myredpineapple.livejournal.com]

I LOVE the fact that you squeal like over the littlest things over them. I do too. When I read it I feel exactly the same way. They both gorgeous but what attracted me most what the complexity of their relationship/dynamic.I also love how "street" Renji can be but around Byakuya he's totally "polite". I do ship Renji-kun with others but my number one OTP will forever be Byakuya x Renji. Byakuya on the other hand I don't like shipping him with anyone but Renji-kun. Too me he belongs to and is Renji-kun's property. Hehehe. There's just nothing that makes me happier than to go to FFN, ByaRen comma and see fics to read or any scenes containing Byakuya and Renji.

I think I even almost wish for this to be cannon more so than Renji x Rukia (my het or other OTP) if I was give a choice if Kubo made it come true. (but it's highly unlikely to come true, Kubo please they're made for each other Byakuya needs some serious lovin' so does Renji..COME ON) I really enjoyed reading you manifesto. Took the words outta my mouth it seems like. I'm too lazy to write it all down though. After reading yours I see no point in writing one I should just send a link to your if I'm ask why I ship them. XD.

Nice addition of fic recs though I practically read probably 99% percent of what I can scour online here and outside LJ. But good for people new to this pairing.

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I highly believe that squealing over them being in the same room is completely necessary!

If Renji and Byakuya don't end up with anyone else, I'm totally calling them Kubo's secret canon!

I know the fics I've recced have probably been read by every fan of the pairing but I think they're the staple of the pairing. And I don't read a huge amount of fic due to time restrictions!

[shipm-mod.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful manifesto! Detailed, clear and concise, and a joy to read. Thank you so much for posting.

-A

[selenityshiroi.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_pratz_/]

Forgive the intrusion, but I really believe all Byaren/Renbya fics written by hu3long2 deserves a hat off.

[kazura-uyurin.livejournal.com]

I own SOULS but it's in original Japanese... probably the reason why I never realized what all the awesome side-texts were saying... But I'm so glad to know them now! :D

I can't remember what got me into this pairing... probably had something to do with the porn, but eventually, the canon aspects of it just sealed my love for them! ^.^ Thank you for writing this essay~!

[ms-legerdemain.livejournal.com]

I...think I may love you. :p This is awesome, you've done a fantastic job! I squeed a lot while reading it. ♥