i swore to my soul!

Without a doubt, the most often thought of aspect of Byakuya and Renji's relationship is their rivalry - one sided rivalry, I should say. Immediately, I must point out Byakuya's general apathy towards Renji when we first see them interact. Even Renji states that he "doesn't give a damn" about his subordinates, and Renji's recent promotion and stray dog personality only seems to accentuate Byakuya's dismissal of the redhead. He does not see Renji on his level, has no intention of doing so, and overall, does not seem to acknowledge his existance.

Despite this, Renji respects Byakuya. Above the urge to surpass him, above the lingering animosity he feels towards the noble, above the anger that he would let something happen to Rukia... he respects the man he now calls 'taichou.' He even states in plain words that he "looks up" to Byakuya and would not be satisfied if he had died in some way or fashion. I believe Renji wants to be the only one who truly matches Kuchiki Byakuya, and will go down trying to do so.

Byakuya's neutrality and dismissiveness to Renji countered by his vice captain's eagerness to surpass the man creates an interesting conflict. Try as Renji might to rile Byakuya and sharpen his teeth, it does no good and proves nothing until his battle with him. This brings up what exactly the "point" is to Renji's competitive streak. It isn't merely a competition; it is a drive built upon the urge to prove to both himself - and to Rukia - that he is just as good, if not better, than a noble, despite his background. Renji is struggling against the age-old battle of class and aristocracy rather than just Byakuya's name - as much as Byakuya represents the powerful rich, Renji represents the struggling poor that can rise, but never rise high enough.

The climax of this rivalry - their battle - makes me come to several conclusions. First of all, Byakuya's telling of the Buddhist parable Enkou Sokugetsu clearly notes that he believes Renji's fighting is fruitless and driving towards impossible means, as the point of the parable itself is to not drive oneself recklessly into impossible actions. Despite his opinions of Renji's actions, Renji's final drive toward the nobleman does make Byakuya acknowledge him for the first time. If Renji's sword had not broken, it would have, indeed, pierced Byakuya's flesh. This action, I believe, brings about the first glimmer of respect that the noble has towards his vice captain.

Second of all, this battle is terribly heartbreaking if one looks at it from Renji's perspective. Despite the fact his fangs did reach the proverbial moon, it still was not enough. In the end, he still failed - just as he 'failed' to keep Rukia by his side in the academy, just as he failed to save her both by defeating Ichigo and defeating Byakuya. While this would normally crush the spirit of many, it only seems to push Renji further into the mindset of... well, what, exactly? It is clear that he still respects Byakuya and still wants to be upon the same level of him, but the animosity seems to vanish. Whether it is Byakuya's acknowledgement of him for the first time, or the realization of what drove Byakuya's behavior is something left to speculation, but the urge to surpass seems to have vanished. The urge to match and be seen as an equal remains, which brings them closer to being comrades, rather than foes.

For further analyzation, continue to my thoughts on how they could shape themselves as comrades rather than enemies.