I don't own Bleach, just love the boys!!! R & R Please :)
The three of them stood in the back room of Urahara's shop. Rukia's gigai laid in the storeroom, its arms wrapped around a stuffed Chappy doll.
"You aren't gonna come out of that thing?" Rukia asked Renji as she pulled the glove over hand.
Renji shook his head. "Not until I know its ok."
Ichigo smirked, "You worry too much."
Renji shot him a look of steel and stood straight. Everyone could feel the nervous energy tensing about the room, and his was the biggest contributor.
"You ready?"
Ichigo looked at Rukia and nodded. Quickly, she pushed his soul his from his body, the now uninhabited flesh and bones falling to the floor slowly.
Ichigo opened his eyes, only then realizing he'd been holding them shut. His body lay at his feet, Renji at his side. "I'm ok," he sighed with relief.
There was a shift in the energy surrounding them, all three of them feeling the release of the circumstantial pressure.
"Alright, your turn," Rukia said, turning to Renji. She stopped, staring at the charm that rested on his chest. "What is that?"
Ichigo turned to look at Renji. Renji bowed his head and struggled to see. "What the fuck?" he muttered as he saw the charm.
The circles in the charm had all turned a different color, each color fading into the next. It glowed with an intense light as the circles' colors danced into one another, flickering like a teasing flame.
"Where did you get that thing?" Rukia stared wide-eyed, entranced by the mystic lights radiating from the center of Renji's chest.
Renji sputtered, and then shouted for the owner of the shop, the walls rattling at the sound of his voice.
"Ah, it works!" Urahara stepped into the room quickly, his sandals clunking against the wood floor as he made his way to Renji.
"What is it?" Rukia's eyes reluctantly pulled from the amulet to the former captain.
"An amplifier," Urahara said simply. "That one is a receiver." He pointed his fan at Ichigo's matching charm.
"A receiver?" Renji was stumped. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, it's always with the questions with you," Urahara sighed. "I made these two charms to protect Ichigo while he's in spirit form. Whenever Ichigo's energy is being pulled away from him, your charm will amplify your energy, intensifying the grounding force it produces."
"But you said his was a receiver. Wouldn't that make him more susceptible to the pull from the spirit drain?" Rukia questioned.
"The charms respond only to one another," Urahara said proudly.
Ichigo's eyebrow went up, a sudden realization dawning on him. "Does that mean that the pull is active now?"
Renji's head jerked to Urahara. "Yea –"
The shop owner held up his hand. "They are probably responding because your souls are currently on two planes. Once Renji removes his gigai, it should stop reacting. The important thing is that they work. At least for now."
"What do you mean, for now?" Renji spit the words.
"There's no guarantee that they'll remain functionally stable, so I would recommend getting there and getting this settled as soon as possible," the captain in Urahara shown through as he spoke, his eyes commanding the three to heed his words.
Urahara turned to the door. "I wish you the best," he said quietly before exiting and pulling the door closed.
Urahara's theory had been correct; the charms had stopped responding as soon as Renji kicked off his gigai, but Ichigo was still restless. Zangetsu had not appeared when he transformed into spirit form. He wondered if the old man had suffered from the spirit drain the same way Shirosaki had
His Shinigami uniform felt odd to him after all these years, yet somehow comforting. He twisted his fingers in the black fabric as he watched Renji open the portal to Soul Society.
The doors open slowly, the blinding light coming through in a flash. Three hell butterflies fluttered aimlessly in the void of white as they stepped past the door.
As they made their way through the gate, Ichigo damned himself for not kissing Renji before they left. As if reading his mind, Renji reached over and gave Ichigo's hand a quick squeeze before they stepped through the next set of doors onto the stone ground.
There was a squad from the 4th division waiting for them at the gate, led by vice captain Kotetsu Isane. She bowed slightly as they arrived and smiled.
"Everything went ok?" Her question was to Renji.
He nodded.
"Well, then, I guess we're not needed," she smiled again and bowed before ordering the squad to depart.
"Isane," Renji called. She turned, her dark eyebrows raised. "Is there anything new to report?"
She shook her head, the few long strands of hair swaying about her face. "I'm sorry, I don't know. Perhaps Kuchiki-taichou would?"
"Thanks."
"Aww, man. I gotta deal with him now??" Ichigo complained as soon as Isane was out of hearing range.
Rukia punched him in the arm. "Shut it. Let's go."
When they arrived at Kuchiki Byakuya's office, Rukia knocked and announced them.
"Enter."
The captain of the 6th Division of the Gotei 13 sat behind his desk, a stack of papers neatly placed on either side of him. He had his hands in front of him, placed left over right.
"I see there was no need for concern," he said, his gaze drifting to Ichigo immediately, distaste causing the ends of his lips to curl downward.
"Taichou," Renji said, bowing his head quickly. "Kisuke Urahara aided us in the process."
"How so?" His gaze was on Renji now, his eyes fixed on the circular amulet. "Does it have something to do with that odd thing around your neck?"
Renji stuttered for a second, his hand rising to touch the charm. "Yes, captain. It's," How the hell do I say this… to Kuchiki? He swallowed thickly.
"They're soul mates," Rukia shot quickly, beating Renji to the punch.
Byakuya's face went pale, his eyes wide with surprise. "What did you say?"
Before either of the men could try to open their mouths, Rukia was off and running again, causing the two to look at each other in shared disdain.
"They found out when they ran the initial tests on Ichigo's reiatsu. There was a reaction between the extracted spirit particles and Renji's presence."
"What kind of reaction?" Byakuya examined the two men standing on either side of Rukia before settling his eyes back on her.
"The vials that contained the spirit particles exploded."
Ichigo saw the captain's lip twitch several times as he blinked and he had to force back a snicker. So much for all that self control. He dared a glance at Renji to see that he was looking straight, but his lips were pursed together slightly in a grin.
"And they've been sleeping together since Renji went back to the real world," Rukia continued.
All three of the men shared the same face as they stared at her. Jaws fallen, eyes wide, all color now absent from their skin. None of them noticed the others' expression as they all gaped at Kuchiki Rukia and wondered if she'd lost her mind.
She continued undaunted, "Their souls are connected through a powerful bond. Renji's spirit force is the only thing that has prevented Ichigo's reiatsu from being completely drawn away. Those charms intensify the grounding effect that Renji's energy has on Ichigo's and will react if and when the channel to Ichigo is opened again."
Byakuya blinked several times, regaining his composure. "I see," he said simply, realigning the already straight pages on his desk.
"Um- taichou," Renji began, struggling for words to counter the embarrassment Rukia had just shoved down all of their throats.
"It's all right," Byakuya said calmly. "Given the situation, it was appropriate information."
Ichigo snorted and mumbled something under his breath as Byakuya took a deep breath and placed the now very straight pages on top of the pile to his left.
"There is a search team out by the woods of Sokyoku Hill as we speak. They shall be returning soon. There will be restraint in this situation. That means no squads are to be taken into those woods unless I give the authorization. Until this squad returns, I suggest you read the reports that have been filed on the matter." He turned his gaze to Ichigo. "And try to stay out of trouble."
"Renji!" Matsumoto Rangiku waved as she sprinted to him and Ichigo.
"Ey, Rangiku," Renji nodded his greeting as she approached.
"Ichigo!" Rangiku flashed her blinding teeth as she grinned. She held many incriminating memories about the orange-haired boy who'd discovered the joys of sake at her behest.
"Rangiku, aren't you ever gonna cover those things up?" Ichigo laughed as he pointed a wiggly finger at her barely covered breasts.
"Why? They're my best asset," she said diligently, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Besides, just because you never seemed to like them doesn't mean that others don't." She winked.
Ichigo rolled his eyes as they continued their journey to Renji's office.
"Anything happen since I left?"
Rangiku shook her head. "Nope, just the regular. Hitsugaya-taichou is always on me to do my paperwork." She sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "It's so boring."
Renji scoffed. "You're such a slack-ass."
She stopped, folding her arms across her chest. "Oh, this from the same guy who fell asleep during training?!" she huffed playfully. Her eyes fell from Renji's face, trailing down his neck to the charm that hung loosely between the fabric of his uniform. "Oh! That's so pretty!" She leaned in to get a closer look.
Renji's hand shot up to the charm and the blood rushed to his face. He wasn't ashamed, but he was still a bit unsure of how his comrades would feel about his relationship with Ichigo.
Rangiku flicked away Renji's hand and held the charm gingerly in her fingers, turning it over to examine it closely. "It's beautiful," she said, admiringly.
"We got them from Urahara," Renji said, testing the waters.
"We?" Rangiku cocked a brow as she straightened.
"He's got one, too."Renji nodded at Ichigo, who was pulling the matching charm out of his uniform.
"Well, then," she said with a wicked smile, her blue eyes twinkling as she looked at them both. "Does this mean…?"
Ichigo nodded.
She turned to Renji and folded her arms. "You've got good taste."
Ichigo's face flushed. He jumped slightly as he felt Rangiku slide between him and Renji, an arm over each of their shoulders.
"I knew it would happen sooner or later," she said simply as they started to walk again.
"You did?" Renji's brow furrowed.
"The way you two go at it?" She scoffed. "So obvious."
"You're a twisted woman," Ichigo said as she shuffled them toward the office.
"That's why you love me. Definitely isn't because of my boobs," she quipped, smiling as the two of them straightened slightly at the joke. "Come to think of it, that may have been my first clue…."
A pair of keen eyes watched as the trio made their way down the dark corridor heading to the red haired vice captain's office. He cursed himself.
How could I be so careless? Of all of the people, how did it come to be him? A shudder went through his body. It's no matter. I've come too far to stop now.
Looking down at the remote device hidden in his palm, he smiled weakly. He had cut the connection just short of their passage to Soul Society. He wondered why he'd done so, but knew it was a simple matter of curiosity. He wanted to see the face of the person who was making his mission possible.
For you, Kuzo, I shall gain the power of a god. I will cure you, my love, no matter what the consequences. He pushed a small button on the device and watched, his legs growing weak as he saw no sign of incoming data on the small screen.
No! He pushed the button again and closed the connection. I have to increase the strength… Maybe his coming here is affecting the machine… The thoughts raced through his mind as he turned and walked away quickly before being seen.
Neither Ichigo nor Renji noticed the glow of the amulet beneath Renji's uniform before it slowly faded away.
