Affection
Title: Affection
Disclaimer: Bleach doesn't belong to me... I just borrow the characters for my muse to play with.
Rating: NC-17
Warning/Info: Smut, humour
Pairing: ByaRen
A/N: This is set in the same verse as Gaze but isn't the immediate sequel to it. I've had plans for the sequel but they kinda keep getting stuck after that particular scene. You could take this as the sequel to the yet uncomplete fic unless my muse happens to want to add more stuff between that and this. This was brought on by the springkink prompt for 2nd Feb - Byakuya/Renji: claiming - Byakuya shows Renji that he's 'taken'.
It was rare for him to actually participate in training. After all, he had skilled and responsible officers, and there was that matter of paperwork - paperwork he found few to be sufficiently capable of handling in a manner that pleased him.
He knew it was impossible for everyone to meet the same exacting standards he set for himself, yet there were still minimum standards he expected of every member of his Division. That was one particular reason why he conducted and supervised training very occasionally. It was to ensure that his expectations were being met.
There was of course another reason, possibly only known to one other person.
“Taicho.” Nodding to his Lieutenant, the owner of the friendly voice that addressed him, Byakuya watched with his usual cool glance as the fresh recruits behind the redhead bowed.
“Continue.” Replying in his calm baritone, he then observed the group break up into pairs to spar. While the new Shinigami had already been trained in the Academy, they still had a lot to go before they were experienced in the chaos that was actual combat. As he walked around, correcting basic stances and pointing out areas of improvement, he kept a close eye on his officers.
Aside from Renji, there were three other seated members of his Division present. He was more than aware of his Lieutenant’s abilities, yet it bothered him slightly that whenever he spotted the redhead, he was chatting away with one of the newer officers. The pair had not seemed to miss any errors in the sparring pairs they passed, but Byakuya could not but feel conscious of the female Shinigami giggling at Renji’s comments.
Fully aware of his Lieutenant’s personality, the black haired Captain put the thought aside, turning his full concentration back to the recruits before him. It only seemed normal to the trainees that Kuchiki Taicho sounded cold whenever he spoke.
At the end of the allotted time, he watched, standing behind his Lieutenant, as he called for the recruits to gather. As was typical, the rank-and-file members of his Division were often allowed to witness a spar between selected officers in the hope that they would pick up pointers from those who were more experienced or would be otherwise inspired to work at improving their skills.
From what he remembered, it was supposed to be that female Shinigami, Suzushi Makiko, who was due to spar with his Lieutenant. As a recently promoted officer, he had wanted to take the opportunity to evaluate her skills after her promotion. However, as if he had an alternate plan in his mind, he cut into the redhead’s announcement cleanly.
Picking up from what Renji had said about the spar, grey eyes glimmered briefly as he continued. “I will be sparing with Abarai-fukutaicho.” Meeting surprised brown eyes, Byakuya nodded at the redhead, noting with mild pleasure as the familiar grin reappeared on his Lieutenant’s face.
It was a spar meant to demonstrate swordsmanship and that simply meant that shikai was not invoked. As Renji unsheathed his blade, rushing at him in his usual manner, Byakuya coolly dodged the first blow and withdrew his blade briefly to block the second, before slotting it back into its sheath.
Wearing his usual disinterested look, it was only on the redhead’s fifth blow that he unsheathed Senbonzakura fully. Zanpakuto in hand, they traded blow for blow; white, black, red and silver whirled in a fury of colours as they sparred.
It did not surprise Byakuya that Renji had improved yet again and he was content to end it in a stalemate as they wrapped up the demonstration, amidst applause from their audience.
Hardly breaking a sweat, scarf blowing in the cool breeze that had started during their spar, Byakuya watched as his Lieutenant spoke several words, before dismissing the group. Satisfied, he turned and headed back to his office. His last glance of the redhead remained in his mind for the rest of the day - there was something about having a group of women around Renji that seemed to trouble him.
~~~
Later that night, after his bath, he was surprised when he entered what he had already come to think of as their room. After all, it had been several months since he had moved into the Kuchiki manor. Even though there was nothing much about their relationship that could be considered official - he knew very well how the nobility clung onto tradition - he was already thankful that Byakuya had accepted him, bending what he assumed were countless rules in the process.
Byakuya was brushing his hair when he entered the room.
Without the kenseikan, the lustrous black strands seemed longer than usual. Twined amongst black silk were long alabaster fingers and an ivory brush, and as slate grey eyes rose to meet his brown ones, Renji noted yet another gaze he had never seen before.
Already seated gracefully on the futon that had been laid out, instead of practicing his calligraphy or reading some report, Renji felt blood pooling at his groin as he took in his lover in his entirety. With the pale blue yukata wrapped loosely around his slender shoulders, exposing a pale collarbone, there was only one word he could use to describe the Captain - tempting.
Sitting down on the futon, the redhead pressed his lips to his lover’s in a greeting. Seemingly pliant, Byakuya allowed his tongue entrance without any protest, before leaning into the kiss as their tongues danced a dance of desire in the warmth they shared.
As they broke from their kiss, he felt cool arms surrounding him. “Renji,” Byakuya’s voice sounded lower and huskier, “I want you.” In that moment, he finally figured out what that gaze meant - it had not been that obvious earlier; it was desire.
It was rare that Byakuya wanted him, rare enough that he knew his look of surprise would not escape his lover’s notice.
“Renji.” Softly but firmly, the redhead heard his name being called, Byakuya’s breath caressing his ear, and shook himself out of his stupor. Leaning into the embrace, he licked at the noble’s exposed collarbone as he felt slender but strong arms lower him onto the soft sheets.
Feeling the tie on his yukata being undone, he hissed, feeling cool fingers tracing the dark lines on his skin, before realising that the tender sensation he felt was Byakuya nipping at his shoulder.
The noble’s administrations moved downwards gradually. Burying his hands in soft black silk, he felt the noble tease at one nipple, bringing it to hardness, before moving onto the other. All the while, Byakuya’s hands were busy, stroking the tattoos that led all the way down to his arousal.
It throbbed with desire as the black haired Shinigami ran his tongue over it, before taking it into his mouth in a swift motion. Every swirl of tongue, each gentle lick got to him as the pleasure built up before it vanished in an instant. The moan suddenly turned into a question. “Bya-kuya?”
“Renji.” It was a murmur this time, yet was unmistakeably a command.
Grabbing the pillows hastily, he placed them in their appropriate places. Before lying down on the futon, he turned and spotted the Captain neatly folding the yukata he had shed, taking in the lithe and muscular body. Flushing as their gazes met - he knew from slightly pleasure-hazed grey eyes that Byakuya had been observing him as well - he turned and laid face down on the futon, shoulders and knees supported by the pillows, with his arousal just gazing the soft sheets.
He felt his hair being brushed to one side before warm lips attacked his neck, alternating between sharp nips and tender kisses. For one moment, Renji felt the slightly cooler body pressed firmly against his, before the slender fingers began their administrations once more.
One hand found its way to his chest, tweaking and caressing each nipple, while the other wrapped itself around his aching arousal. Stroking it languidly, it settled into a rhythm that had him panting in moments as it moved up and down.
“Bya-ku-ya.” It was all he could muster, as the syllables left his mouth in ragged gasps. The only response he got was a warm, moist feeling at his ear and for a moment, the hand at his chest stopped.
The next moment, he hissed, almost climaxing on the spot as a long, slender finger slid into him at the same time as the hand tugged on his arousal. It was exquisite torture. The redhead wondered briefly if he had done something that would have gotten his lover in such a mood, before pleasure overwhelmed his thoughts as another finger slid in smoothly and deeply, connecting with his pleasure centre.
In and out, up and down, the movements alternated as the noble licked at his shoulder. He was close, so close, yet the gentle motions did nothing to bring him closer to the edge. It was as though Byakuya had expected him to take the initiative, yet when he tried to move, the fingers slipped away, alleviating the sensations temporarily.
“Plea-se, Bya-kuya.”
It seemed that all he had to do was ask, for in the next instant, the fingers were replaced by something much firmer and harder and he felt smooth cool limbs wrapping around him, his lover’s breath tickling his ear.
Slowly, he felt the pace pick up. With Byakuya’s hand and body moving as one, Renji felt his mind being assaulted by pleasure as the sensations coursed through his body. Soon, it was more than he could bear and with a cry, he came, fast and hard. Almost simultaneously, he felt the noble bite down on his shoulder, a signal that he had climaxed as well.
They remained in that position for several moments before Renji felt his lover slide out and turned over to embrace him. As the noble made himself comfortable in the crook of his arm, Renji grinned and ran his hand through the smooth black strands. Pushing the pillows out of the way, he drifted off to sleep, accompanied by the soft thump of heartbeats.
~~~
Rangiku grinned as she left the office early and headed for the appointed bar. Hitsugaya-taicho always allowed her to go for her regular meet ups with some of the other Lieutenants with nary a word of protest.
It was a relatively short walk and surprisingly, she was the latest this time. Waving at her fellows, the person who caught her eye immediately was Renji. In addition to his usual uniform and shades, he had a dark blue scarf wrapped around his neck.
“Oi Renji, what’s up with the scarf? Learning from your Captain again?” The blonde teased, as she took her seat.
“Nope. I’m… er… just not feeling too well.” Despite that, the slight blush and the hand that had gone immediately to the scarf had piqued her interest and the busty Lieutenant decided to turn her thoughts back to the matter a little later. She was hungry and alcohol did wonders at loosening people up.
As she gossiped with Yumichika and flirted with Shuuhei for the fun of it throughout dinner, Rangiku had also kept an eye on the redhead. The moment the vain Fifth Seat had shifted the conversation to the most recent scandals, the blonde had taken the chance to clarify her doubts.
“Renji, are you seeing someone? You’ve been looking radiant the past few times we’ve met up, and you know, that probably means that you’re in love.”
“… Not really.”
The blonde had however caught the pause before his reply and had decided in her usual manner to try something else. Reaching out quickly, she tugged on one end of the scarf before exclaimed loudly enough to get the attention of not only the Shinigami at her table, but those at the surrounding tables. “So what’s this then?”
A little too late to stop her, Renji blushed a brilliant red when Rangiku began counting off the number of hickeys on his neck, despite his attempts to rewrap the scarf.
“…twenty-five, twenty-six. So who’s the lucky girl?” The blonde demanded teasingly with the support of the rest of the table.
“There’s no lucky girl.” The blushing redhead replied, without thinking through his words, as he lifted his cup for another mouthful of sake.
“Oh! It’s a guy then. Who’s the lucky guy then?”
“Matsumoto! There’s no one. Stop asking.”
With that, Renji refused to divulge any further information. No matter how hard the blonde tried or how drunk the redhead became, she managed to glean no further information from him.
Nevertheless, once Rangiku got her hands on any new gossip, it spread like wildfire through Seireitei and by the next morning, almost every Shinigami knew that the Sixth’s Lieutenant was attached, or at the very least, taken.
It was a rather sulky Renji who stepped into the office the next morning. Being bugged by the rumours the blonde had been spreading while still suffering from the effects of the hung over had not helped, especially when other officers in his Division were particularly interested and persistent in confirming the rumours.
“So, Abarai-fukutaicho, who are you dating? It must be some handsome guy too! Tell me please? I swear not to tell anyone else.”
The girl in front of him was one of the officers he was closer to, yet did not seem to understand the simple phrase, “There is no one.” While Byakuya had not explicitly told him that he could not mention their relationship in public, Renji knew that there would be a lot of trouble if the Kuchiki clan elders came to know of the matter. He had vowed never to let slip the secret and that was a vow he had no intention of breaking.
Growling as the girl persisted with her question, he was on the verge of losing his temper when the door suddenly slid open to reveal his Captain.
“Fifth Seat Minagi, personal matters should not be discussed at work. Please inform the rest of the Division that any other person who bothers Abarai-fukutaicho over such trivial matters will face a punishment from me.”
“Yes, Taicho. Sorry, Taicho.” With that, the officer disappeared immediately.
“Thank you, Taicho.” Renji replied, heaving a sigh of relief.
“In that case, I expect this to be completed by the end of the day. I believe you know how to handle any unnecessary disturbances.”
The redhead nodded as his Captain placed a folder on his desk. Blinking as he met his Captain’s gaze, he wondered if he had seen wrongly as the door to his office slid shut. For a moment, he was sure that his Captain’s grey eyes had sparkled with amusement. Rubbing his eyes as he stared at the door, Renji opened the folder and began reading through the report.
Back in his office, Byakuya wore a faint smile on his face as he started on his next report. His plan had worked; whether Renji knew it or otherwise, he had already staked his claim on the redhead.
Disclaimer: Bleach doesn't belong to me... I just borrow the characters for my muse to play with.
Rating: NC-17
Warning/Info: Smut, humour
Pairing: ByaRen
A/N: This is set in the same verse as Gaze but isn't the immediate sequel to it. I've had plans for the sequel but they kinda keep getting stuck after that particular scene. You could take this as the sequel to the yet uncomplete fic unless my muse happens to want to add more stuff between that and this. This was brought on by the springkink prompt for 2nd Feb - Byakuya/Renji: claiming - Byakuya shows Renji that he's 'taken'.
It was rare for him to actually participate in training. After all, he had skilled and responsible officers, and there was that matter of paperwork - paperwork he found few to be sufficiently capable of handling in a manner that pleased him.
He knew it was impossible for everyone to meet the same exacting standards he set for himself, yet there were still minimum standards he expected of every member of his Division. That was one particular reason why he conducted and supervised training very occasionally. It was to ensure that his expectations were being met.
There was of course another reason, possibly only known to one other person.
“Taicho.” Nodding to his Lieutenant, the owner of the friendly voice that addressed him, Byakuya watched with his usual cool glance as the fresh recruits behind the redhead bowed.
“Continue.” Replying in his calm baritone, he then observed the group break up into pairs to spar. While the new Shinigami had already been trained in the Academy, they still had a lot to go before they were experienced in the chaos that was actual combat. As he walked around, correcting basic stances and pointing out areas of improvement, he kept a close eye on his officers.
Aside from Renji, there were three other seated members of his Division present. He was more than aware of his Lieutenant’s abilities, yet it bothered him slightly that whenever he spotted the redhead, he was chatting away with one of the newer officers. The pair had not seemed to miss any errors in the sparring pairs they passed, but Byakuya could not but feel conscious of the female Shinigami giggling at Renji’s comments.
Fully aware of his Lieutenant’s personality, the black haired Captain put the thought aside, turning his full concentration back to the recruits before him. It only seemed normal to the trainees that Kuchiki Taicho sounded cold whenever he spoke.
At the end of the allotted time, he watched, standing behind his Lieutenant, as he called for the recruits to gather. As was typical, the rank-and-file members of his Division were often allowed to witness a spar between selected officers in the hope that they would pick up pointers from those who were more experienced or would be otherwise inspired to work at improving their skills.
From what he remembered, it was supposed to be that female Shinigami, Suzushi Makiko, who was due to spar with his Lieutenant. As a recently promoted officer, he had wanted to take the opportunity to evaluate her skills after her promotion. However, as if he had an alternate plan in his mind, he cut into the redhead’s announcement cleanly.
Picking up from what Renji had said about the spar, grey eyes glimmered briefly as he continued. “I will be sparing with Abarai-fukutaicho.” Meeting surprised brown eyes, Byakuya nodded at the redhead, noting with mild pleasure as the familiar grin reappeared on his Lieutenant’s face.
It was a spar meant to demonstrate swordsmanship and that simply meant that shikai was not invoked. As Renji unsheathed his blade, rushing at him in his usual manner, Byakuya coolly dodged the first blow and withdrew his blade briefly to block the second, before slotting it back into its sheath.
Wearing his usual disinterested look, it was only on the redhead’s fifth blow that he unsheathed Senbonzakura fully. Zanpakuto in hand, they traded blow for blow; white, black, red and silver whirled in a fury of colours as they sparred.
It did not surprise Byakuya that Renji had improved yet again and he was content to end it in a stalemate as they wrapped up the demonstration, amidst applause from their audience.
Hardly breaking a sweat, scarf blowing in the cool breeze that had started during their spar, Byakuya watched as his Lieutenant spoke several words, before dismissing the group. Satisfied, he turned and headed back to his office. His last glance of the redhead remained in his mind for the rest of the day - there was something about having a group of women around Renji that seemed to trouble him.
~~~
Later that night, after his bath, he was surprised when he entered what he had already come to think of as their room. After all, it had been several months since he had moved into the Kuchiki manor. Even though there was nothing much about their relationship that could be considered official - he knew very well how the nobility clung onto tradition - he was already thankful that Byakuya had accepted him, bending what he assumed were countless rules in the process.
Byakuya was brushing his hair when he entered the room.
Without the kenseikan, the lustrous black strands seemed longer than usual. Twined amongst black silk were long alabaster fingers and an ivory brush, and as slate grey eyes rose to meet his brown ones, Renji noted yet another gaze he had never seen before.
Already seated gracefully on the futon that had been laid out, instead of practicing his calligraphy or reading some report, Renji felt blood pooling at his groin as he took in his lover in his entirety. With the pale blue yukata wrapped loosely around his slender shoulders, exposing a pale collarbone, there was only one word he could use to describe the Captain - tempting.
Sitting down on the futon, the redhead pressed his lips to his lover’s in a greeting. Seemingly pliant, Byakuya allowed his tongue entrance without any protest, before leaning into the kiss as their tongues danced a dance of desire in the warmth they shared.
As they broke from their kiss, he felt cool arms surrounding him. “Renji,” Byakuya’s voice sounded lower and huskier, “I want you.” In that moment, he finally figured out what that gaze meant - it had not been that obvious earlier; it was desire.
It was rare that Byakuya wanted him, rare enough that he knew his look of surprise would not escape his lover’s notice.
“Renji.” Softly but firmly, the redhead heard his name being called, Byakuya’s breath caressing his ear, and shook himself out of his stupor. Leaning into the embrace, he licked at the noble’s exposed collarbone as he felt slender but strong arms lower him onto the soft sheets.
Feeling the tie on his yukata being undone, he hissed, feeling cool fingers tracing the dark lines on his skin, before realising that the tender sensation he felt was Byakuya nipping at his shoulder.
The noble’s administrations moved downwards gradually. Burying his hands in soft black silk, he felt the noble tease at one nipple, bringing it to hardness, before moving onto the other. All the while, Byakuya’s hands were busy, stroking the tattoos that led all the way down to his arousal.
It throbbed with desire as the black haired Shinigami ran his tongue over it, before taking it into his mouth in a swift motion. Every swirl of tongue, each gentle lick got to him as the pleasure built up before it vanished in an instant. The moan suddenly turned into a question. “Bya-kuya?”
“Renji.” It was a murmur this time, yet was unmistakeably a command.
Grabbing the pillows hastily, he placed them in their appropriate places. Before lying down on the futon, he turned and spotted the Captain neatly folding the yukata he had shed, taking in the lithe and muscular body. Flushing as their gazes met - he knew from slightly pleasure-hazed grey eyes that Byakuya had been observing him as well - he turned and laid face down on the futon, shoulders and knees supported by the pillows, with his arousal just gazing the soft sheets.
He felt his hair being brushed to one side before warm lips attacked his neck, alternating between sharp nips and tender kisses. For one moment, Renji felt the slightly cooler body pressed firmly against his, before the slender fingers began their administrations once more.
One hand found its way to his chest, tweaking and caressing each nipple, while the other wrapped itself around his aching arousal. Stroking it languidly, it settled into a rhythm that had him panting in moments as it moved up and down.
“Bya-ku-ya.” It was all he could muster, as the syllables left his mouth in ragged gasps. The only response he got was a warm, moist feeling at his ear and for a moment, the hand at his chest stopped.
The next moment, he hissed, almost climaxing on the spot as a long, slender finger slid into him at the same time as the hand tugged on his arousal. It was exquisite torture. The redhead wondered briefly if he had done something that would have gotten his lover in such a mood, before pleasure overwhelmed his thoughts as another finger slid in smoothly and deeply, connecting with his pleasure centre.
In and out, up and down, the movements alternated as the noble licked at his shoulder. He was close, so close, yet the gentle motions did nothing to bring him closer to the edge. It was as though Byakuya had expected him to take the initiative, yet when he tried to move, the fingers slipped away, alleviating the sensations temporarily.
“Plea-se, Bya-kuya.”
It seemed that all he had to do was ask, for in the next instant, the fingers were replaced by something much firmer and harder and he felt smooth cool limbs wrapping around him, his lover’s breath tickling his ear.
Slowly, he felt the pace pick up. With Byakuya’s hand and body moving as one, Renji felt his mind being assaulted by pleasure as the sensations coursed through his body. Soon, it was more than he could bear and with a cry, he came, fast and hard. Almost simultaneously, he felt the noble bite down on his shoulder, a signal that he had climaxed as well.
They remained in that position for several moments before Renji felt his lover slide out and turned over to embrace him. As the noble made himself comfortable in the crook of his arm, Renji grinned and ran his hand through the smooth black strands. Pushing the pillows out of the way, he drifted off to sleep, accompanied by the soft thump of heartbeats.
~~~
Rangiku grinned as she left the office early and headed for the appointed bar. Hitsugaya-taicho always allowed her to go for her regular meet ups with some of the other Lieutenants with nary a word of protest.
It was a relatively short walk and surprisingly, she was the latest this time. Waving at her fellows, the person who caught her eye immediately was Renji. In addition to his usual uniform and shades, he had a dark blue scarf wrapped around his neck.
“Oi Renji, what’s up with the scarf? Learning from your Captain again?” The blonde teased, as she took her seat.
“Nope. I’m… er… just not feeling too well.” Despite that, the slight blush and the hand that had gone immediately to the scarf had piqued her interest and the busty Lieutenant decided to turn her thoughts back to the matter a little later. She was hungry and alcohol did wonders at loosening people up.
As she gossiped with Yumichika and flirted with Shuuhei for the fun of it throughout dinner, Rangiku had also kept an eye on the redhead. The moment the vain Fifth Seat had shifted the conversation to the most recent scandals, the blonde had taken the chance to clarify her doubts.
“Renji, are you seeing someone? You’ve been looking radiant the past few times we’ve met up, and you know, that probably means that you’re in love.”
“… Not really.”
The blonde had however caught the pause before his reply and had decided in her usual manner to try something else. Reaching out quickly, she tugged on one end of the scarf before exclaimed loudly enough to get the attention of not only the Shinigami at her table, but those at the surrounding tables. “So what’s this then?”
A little too late to stop her, Renji blushed a brilliant red when Rangiku began counting off the number of hickeys on his neck, despite his attempts to rewrap the scarf.
“…twenty-five, twenty-six. So who’s the lucky girl?” The blonde demanded teasingly with the support of the rest of the table.
“There’s no lucky girl.” The blushing redhead replied, without thinking through his words, as he lifted his cup for another mouthful of sake.
“Oh! It’s a guy then. Who’s the lucky guy then?”
“Matsumoto! There’s no one. Stop asking.”
With that, Renji refused to divulge any further information. No matter how hard the blonde tried or how drunk the redhead became, she managed to glean no further information from him.
Nevertheless, once Rangiku got her hands on any new gossip, it spread like wildfire through Seireitei and by the next morning, almost every Shinigami knew that the Sixth’s Lieutenant was attached, or at the very least, taken.
It was a rather sulky Renji who stepped into the office the next morning. Being bugged by the rumours the blonde had been spreading while still suffering from the effects of the hung over had not helped, especially when other officers in his Division were particularly interested and persistent in confirming the rumours.
“So, Abarai-fukutaicho, who are you dating? It must be some handsome guy too! Tell me please? I swear not to tell anyone else.”
The girl in front of him was one of the officers he was closer to, yet did not seem to understand the simple phrase, “There is no one.” While Byakuya had not explicitly told him that he could not mention their relationship in public, Renji knew that there would be a lot of trouble if the Kuchiki clan elders came to know of the matter. He had vowed never to let slip the secret and that was a vow he had no intention of breaking.
Growling as the girl persisted with her question, he was on the verge of losing his temper when the door suddenly slid open to reveal his Captain.
“Fifth Seat Minagi, personal matters should not be discussed at work. Please inform the rest of the Division that any other person who bothers Abarai-fukutaicho over such trivial matters will face a punishment from me.”
“Yes, Taicho. Sorry, Taicho.” With that, the officer disappeared immediately.
“Thank you, Taicho.” Renji replied, heaving a sigh of relief.
“In that case, I expect this to be completed by the end of the day. I believe you know how to handle any unnecessary disturbances.”
The redhead nodded as his Captain placed a folder on his desk. Blinking as he met his Captain’s gaze, he wondered if he had seen wrongly as the door to his office slid shut. For a moment, he was sure that his Captain’s grey eyes had sparkled with amusement. Rubbing his eyes as he stared at the door, Renji opened the folder and began reading through the report.
Back in his office, Byakuya wore a faint smile on his face as he started on his next report. His plan had worked; whether Renji knew it or otherwise, he had already staked his claim on the redhead.