Just a quick little overlay vignette that jumped into my mind while watching Bleach 182, the moment between Byuakuya and Renji when Byuakuya kind of "implies" a veiled order to Renji. It was awesome. :)
There are perks to having a loose cannon for a lieutenant.
For example, when your little sister, who happens to be best friends with said lieutenant, breaks several laws all at once and you are expected to help hunt her down. And when your honor and the honor of your entire clan will be broken if you aid these lawless invaders. Again.
"You are in charge of the search party," he told his lieutenant.
Renji bit back whatever he obviously wanted to say, and Byakuya couldn't blame him.
As the captain of a squad, he couldn't just ignore the search. He'd received a direct order, and even if he hadn't, his position as the head of the Kuchiki clan required him to do his duty to Serietei even though his own personal convictions were…well, conflicted. AGAIN.
"Something wrong?" he asked in response to the tension he felt coming off Renji.
"Captain, what are you going to do?"
"About what?" he asked, knowing full well what was eating at his lieutenant.
He couldn't help Rukia, but he also couldn't not help her. He had a duty to send his squad in search of them, and if he found them, he'd have to follow the letter of the law, which would almost definitely have terrible results for everyone involved. Including Rukia, and by extension, the entire Kuchiki family because of this mess his adopted sister was stirring up with another noble house.
"About Ichigo and Rukia! There's gotta be some sort of explanation for this! They'd never do something like this without a good reason!"
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. That's the predicament Byakuya had found himself in because of the cursedly honorable crimes Ichigo and Rukia were committing.
He had learned from his past mistakes and chosen to trust Ichigo and his own sister this time, but that only made his position harder because nothing was clear yet. There was no proof of anything except for the crimes themselves.
"I have no compassion for those who threaten the peace of Soul Society." As criminals, regardless of the reasons, they needed to be caught. And he had a responsibility to uphold his image as the stern law-abiding head of his clan.
"But—"
Byakuya's hands were tied. But Renji…Renji didn't have the headache of a noble bloodline.
"I will repeat myself. I am leaving the search party to you," he said, slightly more slowly than before. He couldn't give an outright order, but he could release his lieutenant to be the good man he'd already proven himself to be. He could aim the loose cannon in a general "do right by your own conscience" direction.
The street thug Byakuya had come to respect and appreciate as his lieutenant had already proven that he'd do anything to protect Rukia, and he had a strong loyalty to the Substitute Shinigami as well. It pained the 6th Squad Captain to admit that Ichigo deserved that loyalty, but he couldn't afford to ignore it any more than he could afford to recognize it right now.
Save Rukia. Help Ichigo. Do what I can't.
Renji took a minute to catch the implication in the captain's order. "You're leaving it completely to me?" When Byakuya simply turned around again without answering, he felt Renji's bristling anger change to eager resolve. "Understood, sir! I, Abarai Renji, will take the 6th Squad and begin the search!"
Yes, there are definitely perks.
Reviews are greatly appreciated!
P.S. -Just for the record, don't go read my other Bleach stories for a few days (until I remove this note). They're really old and I need to do some (cough*extreme) revisions but don't have time right now.
And I haven't forgotten my other fics, just in case anyone is wondering. Life got busy.