I abandon no story! I'm back and ready to complete this! Here we go everyone!:D
6th Division:
Taicho: Kuchiki Byakuya
Fukutaicho: Abarai Renji
'Taicho.'
I slipped my pen back into its holder, taking my time to shuffle my paper in a neat pile before setting it aside. I finally lifted my gaze to my fukutaicho.
Are my hands folded properly on the table?
I lifted my hands to place them on top of each other.
'What is it, Abarai-fukutaicho?' I replied stiffly. Without missing a beat, he lowered himself on his knees to bow before my desk.
'Please, taicho,' he murmured. 'Spar with me.'
I arched a brow.
Really? Now of all times?
Actually, I had been dying to leave this stuffy room. My body was so sore from sitting all day I think I might have aged a couple hundred years in the past half hour. So more than anything, I wanted to leap out of my chair and drag Renji out for a good, lengthy sparring match.
Abarai-fukutaicho. You are to call him Abarai-fukutaicho. A Kuchiki does not get too friendly with a subordinate.
I sighed.
'Very well,' I exclaimed, gracefully departing from my seat. 'I will fight you.'
Are my robes scrunched up in the back?
I quickly straightened it out while my fukutaicho bounced energetically to his feet. I could almost sense a skip in his steps as he followed behind me to my private sparring field. Really, Renji could be quite childish at times.
Abarai-fukutaicho.
'We must make this quick,' I remarked, gliding to one side of the training ground. 'I have important meetings to attend to.'
I didn't actually. I just wanted to hurry home and have those delicious manju's that were made this morning. I could smell them all the way to my room.
A Kuchiki does not indulge in petty sweets. You will dine on good meats and vegetables and down it all with the good tea exported just last night. Never forget that you are-
'-a Kuchiki,' I murmured bitterly.
'Taicho?' Renji said in confusion. Ah, he heard me. He quickly lowered his gaze when I stared straight at him. He cannot stand my stare. It unnerved him. And vexed me.
'Are you going to stand there all day looking like a bumbling idiot, Abarai-fukutaicho?' I said coldly. I drew out Senbonzakura. 'I do not stand dilly-dallying.'
'Yes, taicho!' the redhead stuttered, finally pulling out his Zabimaru as he faced me. And then he attacked.
Although I was sparring, and I had to keep my mind focused on the battle at hand, I could not help but let my mind wander. But that was only because Renji had become so predictable I could fight him in my sleep. And that angered me.
If I could predict my fukutaicho's moves, then that meant he wasn't strong enough. I was a taicho. A Kuchiki but I was made a taicho for my abilities. And my Division reflected the kind of person I was. If my fukutaicho was weak, then what did that say about me? If Renji could be defeated so easily, then how can he ever hope to protect his pride and Division?
Abarai-fukutaicho.
That was not to say that he was an unskilled warrior. He was a fighter. He grew up on the streets of Rukongai, fighting and striving in order to survive. He was a ruffian, a street rat. And yet it was a street rat that applied for the Shinigami Academy Entrance Exam; a street rat that was accepted in the advanced classes; a street rat that rose in ranks to finally become a fukutaicho of the Gotei 13. So really, who was to say that Renji wasn't admirable?
Abarai-fukutaicho.
The wink of steel almost blinded me as Abarai-fukutaicho lunged from the side. I deflected it easily.
But all the admiration in the world cannot make someone the best warrior. Abarai-fukutaicho needed to realize that. I think he had but his progress had been slow. Every day, he would ask me to spar with him. And every day, I would knock him down and claim victory. He had no hopes of winning at this rate but he refused to give up. He kept coming back and now, it was starting to irk me. Renji was nothing but a wild, stubborn street rat who stained the honor of the Sixth Division.
Abarai-fukutaicho.
Why? Why did he irk me? His eyes as they watched my every move gleamed with a sense of thrill and excitement. He moved like he was born to do this, to fight and parry and slash. I could feel the energy bouncing off of him. It wasn't just reiatsu, although that was very impressive for a fukutaicho. It was his enthusiasm. He wanted to do this. He wanted to fight. He wanted to serve the Gotei.
So do you. It is your duty as a Kuchiki.
My duty as a Kuchiki. I wanted to laugh. I was a Kuchiki by birth and by birth alone. I had to do all the things a Kuchiki had done for generations. I had to dress like one, talk like one, eat like one, think like one. I was not Byakuya. I was a Kuchiki.
And Abarai Renji was just…Renji.
I blinked. My heart leaped into my throat as I jerked away. The blade that had been aiming for my throat sliced by. I touched my neck. I felt an indent, not too deep but it was there.
'Taicho!' Abarai-fukutaicho cried out in alarm, lowering his sword. 'I didn't mean to! It was just-!'
He yelped in surprised as I lashed out. He stared at me in bewilderment as I loomed over him.
'Never lower your guard,' I murmured, adding more pressure to our locked blades. 'No matter what, keep coming at me. If you stop one more time I promise I will not hesitate in cutting you down.'
His eyes widened. Then, he nodded in understanding before throwing me off. I landed gracefully a few feet away, quickly regaining my balance.
That's right, Abarai-fukutaicho. Get better, get faster, get stronger. You have the power to do anything you want because there's nothing standing in your way for you to be who you are. I want you to keeping fighting; keep fighting and keep coming at me. Because one day, you will be able to defeat me. You can. You will. I know it. And I'll be waiting, Renji.
Abarai-
No. Renji. Because that's who he is. And he honored the Sixth Division by being so.
