Slightly OOC Hitsugaya and Unohana in this chapter, but I tried not to make them too OOC.
If I make any Mary-sue/Gary-sue characters would somebody please, please, please tell me? Because I really don't want that added to my conscience.
Anyways, I definitely do not own Bleach. It is not mine. I just like to play with the characters in my spare time.
Unohana was the first captain that Renji found after leaving TG2. She looked slightly surprised to see him, and also a little pleased. Renji handed her the note, and she took it, read it, and then nodded.
"Your captain is a very organized man," she murmured, addressing Renji. Renji nodded. He didn't need to be told that.
"Um, Captain Unohana?" he asked, wondering whether or not hanging around was actually a good idea. Sometimes Unohana scared him more than Captain Kuchiki, although this didn't seem to be one of those times. There was something about the way she smiled…
"Yes Abarai-kun?" she asked pleasantly. And that tone of voice! That scared him too, although he wasn't quite certain why. It was calm and gentle, not frightening, and yet…
"I'm worried," he shifted a bit, already regretting his decision. Having Captain Unohana direct her full attention onto him was a very uncomfortable feeling indeed. "About Captain Kuchiki. He's acting…" Renji thought of his captain's swiftly changing mood. "Odd." That was an understatement, but Unohana seemed to understand him. That was one good thing about Unohana. She always understood you.
"Odd. As in his personality." Renji nodded. "It's just stress, and shock," Unohana told him, her voice kind, and it was a genuine kindness. She wasn't as scary when she wasn't angry, Renji noticed. "It makes it harder for him to hide behind his mask. He'll be back to normal soon enough."
"I'm not sure if I really want him to be back to normal," Renji confessed quietly.
"Maybe," Unohana gave him a hard look, "you should tell him that." Swiftly she changed topics, leaving Renji breathless. "What about the casualties." When Renji gave her the list of casualties she stared at him. "How in the world did you manage that?" she actually sounded shocked.
"It was mostly the captain actually," Renji said, blushing. "Maybe you should ask him. My head's still spinning."
"I'm sure that you contributed more than you think," she told him. Renji blushed a little deeper, but just shrugged.
"See ya Captain Unohana," he told her. She smiled serenely at him.
"Yes. Good bye Abarai-kun." He started to walk away, before she halted him with a call. "Don't bother trying to hunt down Captain Yamamoto or Vice Captain Sasakibe. I'll take care of their squad."
"Thank you." Renji told her, before taking off again, tracking down the other captain's reiatsus.
Byakuya had woken all of his division up, and was now beginning to seriously regret it. They could be whiny this early in the morning. He also regretted sending Renji out to find all of the captains, but he didn't have any hell butterflies, and this was the best he could do. Pinching the bridge of his nose to try to ward off a coming migraine, he addressed his division, his voice slightly harsher than normal. Was it just him or was the early dawn light brighter than usual? Maybe it was just him. After all, nobody else looked as though they felt like their skulls were being hammered open.
As he got them moving, Byakuya took a moment to ignore their faults, and admire the strengths of the sixth squad. After all, he was reasonably certain that they could be a whole lot harder to handle. They even listened to him when he spoke, something that Byakuya Kuchiki hadn't been used to until he had actually reached Captain's status.
Urging them forwards under the unusually harsh dawn light, Byakuya felt a rush of pride for the men and women under his command. It was because of them that the Sixth Division was considered a role model squad. They made all the difference.
By the time that night fell again, all of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had been gathered in the same place. Tents had been set up, first aid centers quickly constructed, casualties and missing listed, and kitchens built. The Seireitei was organized again, although the members were still in shock. Renji found himself on kitchen duty with Shuhei, Izuru, Momo, Rangiku, and several other people that he didn't know. Him and Rangiku had been forbidden from touching the food, and were stuck washing dishes, and under very strict supervision, sometimes allowed to chop vegetables.
"We're lucky all this had been put into storage," Rangiku commented, waving her hands at the food in the kitchen.
"Yeah. We'd be in a whole bunch more trouble if it hadn't been," Shuhei agreed.
"We're already in trouble," Izuru muttered. He still acted depressed, and it was nearly impossible to get him to cheer up.
"Well, yes," Renji conceded, frowning at his friend, "but it could be a whole bunch worse."
"I suppose," Izuru agreed sceptically.
"Chop those, would you Renji?" Shuhei asked, pointing at a stack of onions.
"Sure," Renji agreed, gratefully handing the rag that he had been using to scrub out a pot to Rangiku and picking up a knife instead. He felt far more comfortable with blades than dishcloths.
"I wonder how Head Captain Yamamoto's doing," Momo murmured. "Last I heard, he might be dying."
"He's not going to die," Rangiku assured her.
"Yeah," Shuhei agreed. "The old man's too tough to die."
"But even so, all of the Captains are worried." Momo added. "They were arguing about a possible successor before." She glanced over at Renji. "Captain Kuchiki didn't seem too happy."
"Captain Kuchiki's never happy," Rangiku said.
"I dunno," Renji said sceptically. "I saw him smile. Three times in the past twenty-four hours."
"What? He actually… That's…" All four of them were staring at him.
"You're kidding, right?" Shuhei asked faintly. Renji shook his head.
"Nope."
"Wow…" Izuru breathed.
"That right there signals the apocalypse," Rangiku muttered, shaking her head. Renji shrugged.
"Wasn't Captain Hitsugaya pretty pissed too?" He asked as a way of changing the subject. Momo nodded.
"I wonder what happened?" she said quietly.
"Huh…" Rangiku shrugged. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough." And with that all five of them returned to silence, each wrapped up in their own individual thoughts.
Both Byakuya and Toshiro were beyond pissed. Most of the other captain's had taken an involuntary step away from the two when Yamamoto had weakly told them who he wanted to be Head Captain if he died. His choice? Byakuya, and if he fell, Hitsugaya. After some yelling (mostly Toshiro) and a few icy protestations (mainly Byakuya) the two were gloomily surveying the ruined remains of the Seireitei.
"Why me?" Toshiro muttered, angrily kicking at the ground. "I don't want to be Head Captain!"
"And you think I want it any more than you do?" Byakuya asked, barely keeping himself from following Toshiro's example and venting some of his annoyance on the ground.
"It probably won't happen anyways," Toshiro said, trying to reassure both himself and the man standing next to him. "After all, the Head Captain is a tough old man." Byakuya nodded slowly. "And," Toshiro continued, "he can be really stubborn when he wants to."
"He can," Byakuya agreed. And just like that, Byakuya had found an ally in the chaos that had become of his life.
... Well, hope you like. Reviews are welcome and very much appreciated.
-Stormy
I haven't lost my mind yet... I just temporarily misplaced it.
