Instead of reentering the Seireitei as all Soul Reapers are supposed to, Renji decided to take a long walk back and went through the sixth Rukongai district for a leisurely walk. The Rukongai are different sections of the Soul Society, or heaven as humans call it, where passed souls live out eternity, unless recycled. As always, the weather was pleasant and there were barely any clouds in the sky. The temperature was warm enough that you didn't have to wear a jacket, but it wasn't so hot that you were sweating from just standing still. As Renji walked, he looked up and thought about what, if anything, Commander Yamamoto had in store for the child that saved him from being eaten by a Hollow. All of the passed on souls were living peacefully and a few acknowledged Renji and bowed in thanks for protecting their souls. The first ten Rukongai districts directly circled the Seireitei, so after walking through the sixth Rukongai, he reached the great wall barrier of Seireitei. There are guardians at each entrance to the Seireitei: North, South, East, and West. Renji ended up at the North entrance and met up with a giant of a guardian.
The guardian bellowed, "Who would like entrance into Seireitei?"
"I'm down here, Samui, now let me in before I have to break you," said Renji.
"I'm sorry, sir. I'll open the gate for you. But, why are you coming from the Rukongai? Weren't you on a mission in the world of the living?"
"I was, but I decided to take the long way. I needed to clear my head."
"Very good, sir. Here it goes," he said as he lifted the gate with relative ease.
"Thank you, Chill," he said as he entered the Seireitei.
Renji ran towards the base of the Sixth Squad, where he was a vice-captain, so he could tell his captain Byakuya Kuchiki about what happened in the real world. Once he arrived, he got on his knees and bowed before his captain. "Sir, I'm back from the real world and I have some news that may benefit all of the Court Guard Protection Squads," he said while bowing.
"Speak, Renji, and be at ease. I would love for you to regale me of your battles," Byakuya said calmly while completing some paper work.
"Well, sir, I was only in one battle. And I wasn't even part for most if it…" Renji said hesitantly.
"Why is that, Renji?" Byakuya kept his calm.
"Well, there was a human child that saw me unconscious on the battle field and he kind of came to my rescue. He completely annihilated the Hollow I faced, but I don't think he has any recollection of it. He turned from innocent child to battle hardened warrior instantaneously."
"You failed, Renji. The Hollow may be destroyed, but you failed. You are supposed to be my vice-captain and have strength beyond any of my seated officers." Though Byakuya said it with a calm tone and a straight face away from Renji, it made those words sting that much more to Renji's ego.
"In my defense, sir, I was only at a fifth of my full potential and this Hollow was probably twice as strong as I was."
"No excuse, Renji. You will now go a month without a mission, but you will train here in the Seireitei with the limiter on so you can become that much stronger." Byakuya got up from his table of paper work and faced Renji at the door of his office. "Rise, Renji. Though you failed, you will learn from this failure and not wallow in it."
Renji then rose to his feet and shook the hand of his captain, thanked him for his words of wisdom and scorn, and asked, "This child I told you about has great potential. When he was in that…mode, he felt maybe twice as strong as Commander Yamamoto. Should I tell the commander so maybe he could train with him and join our ranks?"
"How old is this boy?" Byakuya inquired.
"He's about five years old, if I can gauge human ages correctly."
"Hm. Yes, tell Commander Yamamoto. This child should prove to be an asset to all Soul Reapers."
"Yes, sir." Renji bowed and ran off to Yamamoto's building to bring the news of a new recruit, albeit human.
Upon arriving, Renji was greeted by Rukia Kuchiki, sister to his captain and an unseated officer of the 13th Court Guard Protection Squad. "Rukia? What're you doing here?" Renji said in disbelief.
"There was an unseated officer's meeting with Commander Yamamoto. He just let us know that if anyone wants to vie for a seated position that we can and we have to take it up with our Captains and himself before any trials can begin. Why are you here?"
"Well, I just returned from the world of the living and I have some news I need to pass on to the Commander. I found this human kid that saved my life and I believe him to be stronger that Commander Yamamoto himself. I don't know how the Commander will deal with this child, but I hope he joins our ranks. His power should not go untapped," Renji said with a grin.
"Wow, Renji. You have all the luck. You may be credited with finding the next Commander if Yamamoto decides to step down and this kid is what you say he is. Good luck. I'm going back to my Squad's headquarters to talk to Ukitake."
"Thanks, Rukia. See you later." Renji walked off towards Yamamoto's meeting room where he was walking away towards his office. "Commander! I have some news from the real world that I believe you should hear," Renji exclaimed.
"You come to your Commander's quarters without any announcement and you don't even bow before him? Who taught you your manners, Renji Abarai?" Yamamoto turned around and gave Renji a piercing look almost as if he looked through Renji's soul. Renji then dropped to his knees and bowed before Yamamoto and apologized.
"Many apologies, Commander Yamamoto! It will not happen again!"
"I sure hope it doesn't. Now, rise Renji. I can sense you've been scolded already today. What's on your mind?" Yamamoto walked to his office and sat down at his desk and Renji followed and sat in a chair facing Yamamoto's desk.
"Well, there was this human I met today while I was facing a Hollow I was sent to purify. He's about five years old and lives in New York City in the United States. His power must be at least twice than yours, sir."
"What're you saying, Renji? That he should be trained as a Soul Reaper to benefit us all," Yamamoto inquired. "Yes, sir. But his strength is too great for me comprehend so I don't believe I am qualified to train him. If it's possible, could you train him?"
"How old is this boy?" "I would say five years old. You'd think that someone with his power would've been traced by now by one of us, but I don't believe he's used his spirit energy until today, sir. The Technology and Dispatch center should have my last entrance coordinates. His energy was all over that apartment complex, but I could feel it trace to him. You should be able to find him, sir."
"It should be about five in the afternoon in New York City right now, so I'll go at one in the morning and bring him with me. If you're right about him Renji, I'll see that you will become captain of Squad Six after Byakuya Kuchiki."
"Thank you, sir." At that, Renji walked out and headed back to the head quarters of Squad Six. This child may be the one to replace me, Yamamoto thought.
Kenkou was brought into his apartment in his mother's arms. She laid him down on the couch so he could rest. She poured a cool glass of water in one of his old sippy cups so he couldn't spill it on himself while he laid face up on the couch. "What happened, Mommy? Why is Keni on the couch," a boy crawled out from his bedroom and asked his mother.
"Something strange happened outside, Jiriki, and now your brother is tired. I'll put the both of you to a nap real soon; now go back to your room." Jiriki nodded in reply and sauntered back to his room. Kenkou reached for the cup and began to drink from it. "So, what happened, Ken," the mother inquired.
"I have no idea, Mommy. I just saw this man with red hair being hurt by this monster, then I just remember waking up in his arms, then you came and got me."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Mommy, I'm sure. I can't explain it, but I don't think it was me that did all those horrible things."
"No one's blaming you for the front of that building to be missing. Now, you're gonna take a nap and you'll be fine for dinner, ok?"
"Yes, mommy." Kenkou drifted to his bed and laid his head on his pillow and closed his eyes. Almost as soon as he laid his head down on his pillow, he went to sleep and began to dream…
Two figures stood in the middle of a grassy plain talking. "Should we tell him about us yet," the one man in a white gi asked.
"No, not yet. He hasn't truly awakened yet. Give him time," the man in the black gi said.
"But I can sense that he'll need us very soon!"
"Leave him, weakling. He needs to learn his own strength before he can reach for ours."
"Fine, have it your way…" Kenkou's eyes began to open and saw the two figures in the meadow, but HHthey closed almost immediately and he heard, "Awaken."
Kenkou's eyes opened and it was night. His brother was sleeping and a strange, old man wearing the same kimono as the warrior from earlier that day, but he had a white overcoat and a wood cane that looked strangely like Master Roshi's from Dragonball Z on TV. "Awaken, child. I must speak with you," he bellowed loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood, but Kenkou was the only one who woke up.
"What is it? Who are you?" he whispered.
"Come here, son. You're coming with me to the Soul Society." Being that the old man was stern, yet gentle, Kenkou got to his feet and moseyed on towards him, but he was halted. "Wait, young one." The old man then took his cane off the ground, pointed the leanest part towards Kenkou, and shoved that end through Kenkou's head and his spirit, which was a copy of his body plus a chain connected to his chest. That thrust separated Kenkou's soul from his body.
"What was that for," Kenkou screamed in a whisper. His breath got heavy and he dropped to the ground from the loss of air. "What's…all….this…" he panted.
"You'll get over it." At that, the old man took his cane and slammed it down on the chain that connected to Kenkou's body, breaking a link into tiny pieces. Kenkou's jaw dropped in disbelief and he grabbed his chest in pain. "AAAHHHH!" he screamed in agony.
"Let's go," said the old man as he picked up Kenkou, jumped out the window, and walked in mid-air towards the same Japanese sliding doors that Renji walked through after Kenkou's battle with the Hollow.
Samui is Japanese for cold, so 'Chill' is the guardian's nickname.