Work Text:
Renji Abarai was a man with ambition; he was a man with a mission. It was a hard one, one that bordered on impossibility, admittedly, but he wasn’t called the most stubborn man in the whole of Seireitei, possibly of the whole word, for nothing. He had endurance.
And endurance was absolutely essential in this case.
The task was one many before him had taken upon themselves, challenging themselves to the extreme, but all having had to admit defeat in the end. Yes, it was not for the light-hearted, this life’s ambition of his. It was a task that would take an Abarai Renji to accomplish it, he confirmed as he stared into cold, unexpressive eyes.
He felt pearls of sweat form on his upper lip, his brow twitching softly, as they were each gauging the other’s strength. Renji was pretty sure he was holding his breath, the almost palpable tension getting to him more than he liked to admit.
Then, slowly, so very slowly, those eyes broke.
Renji felt all air being pressed out of his lungs at the sight of Kuchiki Byakuya laughing.