Hello everyone! So, in between exams and dance recitals and everything else that's oh-so-wonderful about the end of the school year, I finally know how this story is going to end! :D As sad as it is, I really wasn't sure before -.-. But hey, I do now, so it's all good! Anways, I hope that you'll all be okay with this chapter, since...well, you'll see why.

Anyways, please read (and try to enjoy) chapter 7!

(and Bleach still doesn't belong to me!)


Chapter 7:

Walking towards the Communal Dining Quarters Renji bit back a yawn, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Thanks to damn Ikkaku and Yachiru he'd barely slept all night, as his most-likely-cracked ribs had kept him wide-awake and in pain. The 11th Division's Fukutaichou may be small, but she hit pretty freaking hard!

Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, Renji knew it would probably be a good idea to go to the 4th and get himself checked out, but he knew that was a stupid idea. If living in Rukongai for most of his life and spending time in the 11th had taught him anything, it was that if you could still walk, you were fine. Besides, he'd managed to drag himself this far, so why make a fuss about it now?

"Renji!" narrowing his eyes, the redheaded shinigami turned his head slowly. Speak of the devil. Ikkaku grinned as he ran up to his friend, clapping him heartily on the back.

"Congrads!" he exclaimed, either not noticing or not caring about the chocking noise Renji made as Ikkaku's over-enthusiastic slap-on-the-back juddered his already screaming ribs.

"What the hell for?" Renji managed to wheeze out, hand twitching as he fought the urge to grab his ribs and scream like a little girl. Goddamn ribs! Ikkaku, still not noticing his obvious discomfort, only grinned.

"On becoming a captain, of course! Why else would I be congratulating you, moron?" Renji narrowed his eyes, clenching his teeth.

"What was that, baldy!" he yelled back, clenching his fists. How dare this idiot call him a moron? And over Renji not knowing about being a captain-

Wait. What?

Renji froze, blinking dumbly. Captain? What the heck was Ikkaku talking about? Looking up, he watched as Ikkaku rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed, scowling in disbelief. How the fuck did Renji not know about his own promotion to captain?

"Well I can't exactly know if no one decides to fill me in!" Renji retorted, giving in and massaging his ribs. Was Ikkaku being serious, or just joking with him? He'd better be serious, Renji thought darkly. Ranks were not something he joked about. Shaking his head, Ikkaku closed his eyes.

"Whatever. I only just figured out from Zaraki-Taichou, cuz I was walking by when he was talking to himself about taking you out drinking as a celebration," the bald shinigami shrugged, putting his hand comfortably on the hilt of his sword and turning away.

"Apparently a bunch of the captains got together and decided that you might as well fill one of the open captain spots, since you have your Bankai and all," Ikkaku threw over his shoulder, before heading off towards the Dining Hall. Hopefully, there were still some tater tots left...

Renji could only stare after Ikkaku in shock. Him? A captain? But he was already Kuchiki-Taichou's lieutenant! He couldn't just abandon his post! Unless, Kuchiki-Taichou had been one of the captains to recommend him...? With a sigh, Renji turned around, ignoring his aching ribs and heading off towards the Kuchiki Household.

Breakfast could wait.


Rukia woke up disoriented. The unfamiliar feel of whatever she was sleeping on, paired with the warmth of whatever she was curled up against and the unfamiliar-yet-familiar smells wreathed around her were enough to make the small shinigami wonder if she'd been kidnapped during the night. Opening her eyes, Rukia noted with dismay that all she could see was the white fabric that had been draped over her.

Sitting up, she pulled the makeshift blanket off of her head, blinking in surprise as she came face-to-face with the pink cherry trees of the Kuchiki Gardens, bathed in the subtle glow of pre-sunrise. What was she doing here? Looking down, Rukia's eyes widened as she spotted the black insignia of the 6th Division printed onto what she realized was a captain's haori.

As she stared at the haori, the memories of the night before came creeping back slowly into her brain, filling up the blank spaces of how she'd gotten from Byakuya's room to the mouth of the gardens. Pulling the haori off of her, Rukia felt something warm on her back. Eyes widening, Rukia remembered in a flash the last bit of the night before.

Had she really been lying on Byakuya? Turning, Rukia felt herself pale slightly. Yeah, apparently she had been, as she was still leaning against him. Quickly scrambling away, Rukia waited anxiously for any sign of her Nii-Sama stirring. To Rukia's amazement, however, he'd stayed asleep.

Frowning slightly, Rukia stood up. Normally, Byakuya was the lightest of sleepers. Could the fact that he was sick be affecting his ability to wake up at the slightest disturbance? With a sigh, Rukia leaned back slightly, cracking her back and stretching her arms over her head.

It had been three days now since her Nii-Sama had gotten sick, and yet he still wasn't over it. Shaking her head, she remembered how, when living in Rukongai, illness rarely lasted over two days. Then again, living on the streets was bound to give you a stronger immune system than someone who had grown up used to the coddled lifestyle of a Seireitei noble.

"Nii-Sama, wake up. The servants will be coming out soon," she whispered, hoping Byakuya would wake up from just that. Unfortunately, he stayed fast asleep, not even moving at the sound of her voice. Sucking on her lip, Rukia called out again, slightly louder. She didn't want to be too loud, or else she'd alert any servants nearby. Still, Byakuya stayed asleep.

Losing her patience and her nerve, Rukia tiptoed over to Byakuya, before reaching out and shaking his shoulder lightly. Unless they wanted any of the servants to report them to the Kuchiki Elders, he needed to wake up now. Thankfully, her shaking seemed to do the trick, as Byakuya's eyes cracked open, looking thoroughly confused.

"Rukia?" he whispered, voice hoarse. Nodding, Rukia put a finger to her lips, motioning to the nearby servant's quarters, the sounds of people waking up just beginning to float towards them. Nodding, Byakuya blinked himself awake and stood up next to Rukia, who handed him his haori quickly. She didn't want to carry it back, and she was sure her Nii-Sama wanted it back anyways.

Together, the two Kuchikis raced down the hallways, trying to be as quiet as possible and listening intently for anyone who might be turning the corner ahead of them. Turning the last corner, Rukia beamed. Byakuya's room was right up ahead! Turning to him, the petite shinigami saw her own relief reflected in his eyes. They were both glad they hadn't been caught.

"Can you believe that we have to get up this early?" Freezing in her tracks, Rukia let out a small 'eep!' at the voice coming up behind them. Turning in unison, Rukia and Byakuya watched in horror as the shadows of two servants coming up to the corner they'd just turned grew larger and larger.

"What do we do?" Rukia hissed, body coiled tightly. She couldn't move!

"This," was the calm response, and Rukia let out a small gasp as Byakuya grasped her hand firmly. She didn't even have time to think before she felt the familiar lurch of shunpo as her Nii-Sama got them both down the hallway and into the room seconds before the two servants turned the corner, complaining about early-morning duties.

Letting go quickly, Rukia raced to her chair, sitting down and closing her eyes. Next to her, she could hear Byakuya arranging himself similarly in bed. Moments later, the door creaked open, and Rukia head the quiet murmurs of approval from the servants, before the door closed once more.

For what was probably only a few minutes but what felt like days Rukia sat there, forcing her breathing to even out. She'd fallen asleep on her Nii-Sama outside, and they'd both just escaped the early-morning servants. And from the way her heard was pounding heavily and she could barely stay still, Rukia knew she'd enjoyed every bit of it.

"That was a very close call, Rukia," hearing the whisper, Rukia opened her eyes, turning her head to look at her Nii-Sama. Byakuya was sitting up in bed, chest heaving and eyes widened slightly. Nodding, Rukia felt her mouth stretch into a wide grin. It looked like Byakuya had – impossibly – found that exhilarating too.

"Definitively," she agreed breathlessly, sitting up and shaking her head. Was this the moment, she wondered, where they suddenly became brother and sister? It certainly felt like it, with them both sitting there, enjoying the fact that they'd bested the house staff together. All of a sudden, Rukia felt like crying in relief. Apparently it took a good run-for-your-life situation to bring her together with people.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, however, the door slammed back open. Jumping slightly, Rukia's head snapped around, eyes wide. The servants were done their rounds – who could be there? Seeing the bright red ponytail, she relaxed. It was just Renji... but why was he here?

"Kuchiki-Taichou, please forgive my invasion of your personal space, but I need to talk to you – it's urgent!" he exclaimed, clutching his chest and gasping for air. Jumping up, Rukia rushed over to him.

"Renji, what happened to you? You look like you just sprinted across Soul Society!" she gasped, helping her winded friend to sit down on her chair. Byakuya only watched the two calmly, his earlier excitement completely vanished, replaced with his usual calm apathy.

"What is it that you wish to speak to me about?" he asked, folding his hands over his lap neatly. After the surge of energy he'd used earlier, Rukia noticed that he looked tired – worryingly tired, after having just woken up. Renji seemed to think so too, as he looked down, rubbing the back of his neck.

"W-well Taichou, I was on my way to eat breakfast this morning, and I was later than usual after my fight with Madarame Ikkaku and Yachiru-Fukutaichou yesterday, and I ran into Ikkaku again, and he started talking to me-" Rukia sighed, poking Renji sharply in the shoulder.

"Get to the point," she snapped, still watching her Nii-Sama.

"Right. Sorry," Renji apologized, too occupied with whatever was on his mind to hit back. That in itself made Rukia a little worried. Renji never let her get away with insulting him – what could be so distracting that he completely ignored her?

"Just continue," Byakuya sighed cooly, leaning heavily on the pillows of his bed.

"Anyways, he told me that, well, that he'd heard I'd been promoted to captain, and I want to know if he's bull-shitting me or not!" Renji finally burst out, closing his eyes as if he expected Byakuya to hit him. Rukia let out a tiny gasp, hand coming up to cover her mouth. Renji? A captain?

What the hell?

"Ikkaku is telling the truth. I, along with five other captains met and decided that, as you can use your Bankai proficiently, you should fill one of the empty captain spots that was left when Aizen defected from Soul Society. The meeting for you to join the 3rd Division will be tomorrow," Byakuya said, sounding as if he were talking about the weather.

"A-alright," Renji replied, sounding too shocked to argue. Rukia, meanwhile, couldn't help but feel... unimportant. Renji was becoming a captain, Ichigo was easily at captain level, and there she was a lowly unseated member of the 13th Division.

She'd always secretly wondered how come she'd never been brought up the ranks; after all, she had her Shikai mastered, and if she had the right training, Rukia knew Bankai was a strong possibility. So why was it that she was always so far behind her friends, so unable to catch up? It made her feel so useless, all the time...

Blinking back to reality, Rukia managed to give Renji a smile. Just because she wasn't progressing didn't mean she wouldn't celebrate the fact that her oldest friend was.

"Congratulations, Renji! Hopefully they can find a haori with a hood to cover up those awful tattoos! I fear for your new Division," she laughed, punching him playfully in the shoulder. Looking relieved that she approved – but still completely dumbfounded at the very thought of being a captain – Renji grinned back.

"Hey, you know these tattoos are sick! Besides, I don't seem to recall hearing you made captain," he threw back, putting a hand on her head. Pushing it off, Rukia couldn't help but glare slightly.

"No, I'm still just an unseated member of the 13th Division," she retorted, trying not to let the growl into her voice. Renji looked down at her, eyes widening in surprise.

"Well, you do know why, right Rukia?" he asked, frowning. Did she really not know that Byakuya had purposefully held her back? He thought that everyone did! Apparently not, from the glare he felt his captain – well, ex-captain now – throwing him, and the confused look he got from Rukia.

"Are you telling me there's a reason why I've been held back?" she asked, suddenly calm. There was a reason... and since there was nothing she could think of that she herself had done to be held back, someone else must have done it!

"Renji. Leave now," the impossibly cold voice cut through her dark thoughts like lightning, and Rukia looked over at Byakuya, shocked at how dark his eyes were. He looked, well, furious. Why would he suddenly be so mad at Renji while he was telling her who-

The realization hit Rukia like the smell of one of Orihime's dishes. It had been Byakuya who had held her back. Byakuya who had kept her from advancing. Byakuya who kept her worthless. Feeling numb Rukia stood up, turned to Byakuya, and put on the coldest face she could manage.

"All this time, I thought that you and I were beginning to grow together as siblings. But I know that a real Nii-Sama would never hold back his own sister on purpose, keeping her weak and useless to her friends. I don't care what Hisana thought or wanted – you are not my Nii-Sama, and never will be," she said, her voice sounding oddly robotic. Ignoring the loud spluttering sounds as Renji tried to call her name Rukia turned, and promptly sprinted out the door.

She didn't look back.


So, that's the end of chapter 7...yeah :P. Don't worry everyone, it will get better, at some point! Anyways, this story is nearing its end, and probably only has two or three chapters left, excluding a possible epiolgue :P. And just as a note, the way that Renji became a captain is that 6 of the captains (Kenpachi, Byakuya, Histugaya, Kira, Hisagi (both acting as captains, as theirs defected) Unohana and Ukitake) recomended him, and Kyoraku, Mayuri and Soifon all approved. Just thought I'd clear that up ;)

Anways, bye for now, I'll try to get some more writing done by the end of the week!

StarsAndSparks44