A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews everyone! Okay, I apologize in advance for any OOCness... but I did my best. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and thanks to those who've stuck with me this far! I have made a decision not to continue this story into the actual Bleach storyline, but... maybe there will be a sequel. :3

Eternal. FLITTER: Thanks for the support! Now the AU is seriously being planned... lots more characters will be appearing in it so look forward to it.

kinomikat: What a nice thing to say! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far!

NoeBody: Ha I had fun with that cliffy... hehehe.

iWolf: Omg... I hate people who just do stories in chat and they think it's okay. Grammar and spelling are my pet peeves when I read a story... I wouldn't ever speak in chat unless it was a character-speak thing.

I don't own Bleach... if I did I wouldn't have to go to school... .

Chapter Nine: Fledgling

Renji watched Kara take off; through the branches of the trees, he saw the released state of her sword and grinned to himself. That stupid girl had really done it…

His body felt as though it was made out of cement. Zabimaru almost seemed to be clucking its tongue at him, saying something about what a crappy defense he had put up and that he needed to train more. The burn on his side throbbed, giving him a severe headache. Closing his eyes, he willed the headache to go away. It didn't work, but it gave him something to focus on…

"RENJI!!!"

This is my victory, Shinigami!

He opened his eyes just in time to see the Cero streaking towards him. "Aw, shit…"

There was an explosion which blew away all the surrounding vegetation, accompanied by a blinding flash.

A moment later, Renji found himself extremely confused. The blast should've blown him away… at the very least given him another bruise. But the only thing that had changed from his previous condition was that his ears were ringing. He opened his eyes… and for a second he wondered if he had really gone insane.

The world had been reduced to layers of crimson feathers.

The feathers cracked open to reveal an exhausted Kara. "You okay?"

Renji's eyes widened. Her arm was bleeding more heavily than ever, and there was a trickle of blood streaming out the side of her mouth.

And her long, orange hair was gone, burned away to right below her earlobes. Renji clenched his teeth and forced himself to sit up, even though it made his side scream. "Are you fucking insane?!" he roared, grabbing the front of her ragged robe. "What the-"

Kara's wings dropped limply to the ground. The feathers, bloodied by the impact before, now carried streaks of dirt. "That's good…"

Renji blinked. "What is?!"

"You're okay." Renji froze in shock when he saw a tear run down her cheek. Kara smiled. "I'm really...glad..."

"H-Hey! Why the hell are you crying?!" Flustered, Renji hastily let go of her robe and grabbed her uninjured shoulder. It was then he noticed for the first time that one of her legs was sticking out at the wrong angle.

Kara followed his gaze and winced. "Ouch… I hit the ground wrong…" Shadows of the pain to come made it to her brain, but Kara could see darkness really starting to eat away at the edges of her vision. Damn it…

Little one…

Renji looked up towards the source of the voice. Kikou, not much larger than a songbird, landed delicately on the ground next to them.

Kara blinked, dazed. "You…"

Using your wings as a shield… how rash. Next time you wish to block an attack, nullify the opposing power with a blow of the same force. Kikou's head turned, a single golden eye fixated on Renji. You, boy. Do you have the strength to move?

"I was tired of just lyin' down anyways," Renji grumbled, not appreciating Kikou's tone. Somehow, he got to his feet. "Stupid bird…"

"Renji…"

He looked down and reflexively stepped back. Kara was glaring at him, he could almost feel the venom shooting out of her eyes. "What do you think you're doing, Renji?"

A vein threatened to pop in Renji's forehead. "What's your problem?"

"If you're going to fight, you'd better take me too!"

"You're joking."

"I'm completely serious about this."

Kikou sweatdropped as the pair grew dangerously close to a bickering match. It looked up. I think… it would be a very good idea for us to move.

Kara and Renji both looked skywards, and Renji had barely enough time to scoop her up and shunpo when the enemy phoenix swooped down, talons tearing the ground right where they had been a moment before.

"Cheeky bastard," Renji muttered darkly, skidding to a halt. He felt a slight tug on his robe and looked down. Kara was breathing hard, her good hand gripping on his robe. He clenched his teeth tightly; it would be bad to keep moving her around because of that leg…

KIKOU!! The phoenix seemed to have lost it completely, flailing its wings and neck madly. KIKOU!! One particularly violent movement sent the scythe flying in their direction; it landed not even a meter from where they stood, the base embedded in the ground.

The little bird made no response. It simply landed on Kara's shoulder, using Renji's hand as a foothold. Little one, are you still with us?

"I'm not going anywhere," Kara said, making an attempt to grin, but a pain spasm wiped it off her face.

Kikou looked at Renji. Abarai Renji, was it? Help her to stand.

Renji's face darkened. "You… you aren't planning on making her fight anymore, are you?! She can't even stand on her own!"

Thus, I am asking for your assistance.

"Don't you give a shit about if she dies or not?! She's your fucking host or something, right?!"

"Renji…" He looked down in his arms again; Kara's face was white with pain but her eyes locked with his. "I'm not here to be protected by you."

To worry about a warrior's life on the battlefield is only an insult to that warrior. Kikou bowed its head. Know this, Abarai. Having taken the form of a zanpakuto, my life is now tied with Hotarubi Kara's. Defeat here will result in the deaths of us all.

Renji still hesitated for another moment before Kara thumped his chest lightly. "Just bring me over to the scythe… please."

"It's helluva scary, hearing that word from you," Renji grumbled. Grudgingly, he did as he was asked.

Kara took her hand off of his chest and gripped the handle of the scythe, though she lacked the strength to actually lift it. "Alright… now what, Kikou?"

Kikou alighted on the top of the scythe. Lend me all the power you can muster, little one. I have said before, we will decide this with a single blow.

KIKOU! The other phoenix shrieked at the sight of the little bird melting into rings of swirling fire that surrounded the scythe. It lunged, hate burning in its eyes. YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME AGAIN, SHINIGAMI!!!

"Bankai! Hihou Zabimaru!" Zabimaru roared as it charged forwards to meet the oncoming phoenix.

Kara looked up. "Renji?!"

"Shut up… concentrate on saving both our skins here…" Renji grunted. The burn on his side opened and began to bleed.

Kara knew she had less than a minute before she fainted from blood loss herself. All or nothing, she thought grimly.

As Renji fended off blow after blow from the phoenix, delivering a lot of his own damage to it as well, Kara closed her eyes.

Concentrate on what it is you wish to protect. The voice echoed in her mind.

And as Kara thought of what she wanted to protect, she felt a white fire building in her veins… but this time, it wasn't painful and intrusive. This was the flowing of her own power; this was what she fed into the scythe. The flames intensified and began to compact, swirling into a compressed ball at the scythe's very tip.

What I want to protect…

When she opened her eyes, Renji was startled to see her eyes had turned a bright gold, the same color as Kikou's eyes.

Using the energy of the white flames, Kara forced her arm to raise itself up… and swung the scythe, just once.

The ball of flames exploded as they traveled through the air, morphing into an enormous bird, bigger even than the enemy phoenix.

For a heart-stopping moment in time, the phoenixes locked eyes with one another. In that instant, there was a mutual understanding of their shared pain they had both suffered over the vast, innumerable centuries. Kikou's final blow could have almost been a tender embrace; later, Renji would wonder whether the string of white drops in the air were real, and if they were, why they had reminded him so much... of tears...

Kara didn't remember the dying shriek of the other phoenix, weakened by Zabimaru's blows and engulfed in a raging inferno of orange and gold flames. She couldn't recall her russet wings melting away in a strong wind, nor the scythe turning back into a blade in her hand.

All she heard was a faint voice calling her name, before she was enveloped by blissful blackness.

After Kara's wings had disappeared, Renji realized she wasn't responding, even when he yelled at her. Sealing his bankai, he gently put her down against a tree.

Well done, Abarai.

He whirled. Kikou still stood there, delicately preening its feathers. Renji blinked. "Wait a second…"

Kikou chuckled, but there was something incredibly weary about its posture. Do not worry, I will also disappear in a moment. But only to rest… I thought it would be good to tell you that now I have been released, I may appear at will. However, I can only appear in this form.

"Oh… great."

Be sure to tell this to her when she wakes up: When she recovers, I will be her personal trainer. It sat down and ruffled its wings. This little fledgling still has quite a ways to go in terms of controlling my powers. She used too much energy in that last blow; just a little more and she would have died. I would like to prevent that when I can.

Renji sweatdropped as the little bird slowly faded from sight. Annoyed, he put one hand on his side to lessen the bleeding, then ran off to hunt down Captain Unohana.


"So you are victorious, Renji?"

"Yes, Captain Kuchiki. But Kara, she's badly injured, I had to leave her back there…"

"Abarai, take me to where she is. I'll perform some first aid; Captain Unohana is busy right now."

"There is no need for you to go, Captain Hitsuguya. I will go in Captain Unohana's stead."

"Vice Captain Isane…"

"Lead the way, Abarai-san."



"Mind if I sit with you?"

Renji looked up from the hospital bench in surprise, blinking at the glow of the morning sun. "Oh, Kira…?"

The Vice Captain of the Third Division nodded politely. "Good evening, Abarai."

After Renji had moved over to make room on the bench for Kira, there was a short pause.

"Have you gotten your wounds attended to?" Kira asked.

"Yeah…" There was a clean bandange on his burn, though there was hardly any need for it; the Forth Division had done their job well.

Kira looked up at the door at the end of the hall. The sign above the door read 'Intensive Care Unit'. The light behind the glowing sign, usually green, was red. "She's been in there for almost 13 hours… have you had any news?"

"No."

The tone of Renji's voice caused Kira to actually look at Renji. The other man seemed tired, and there was pain in the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. He must have been here for this entire time… Kira suddenly stood with a warm smile. "I'll come back and wait with you; let me just go grab a couple drinks. You don't look like you've had a bite to eat for a while either."

Renji grinned back, but only halfheartedly. "Thanks Izuru…"

"Is she going to be okay?"

"At this point I'm not sure… we'll do everything we can for her."

Not exactly the most helpful words in the world. Renji folded his hands and rested his chin on them, staring at the wall.

There had been an enormous panic in Rukongai at the appearance of so many Hollows and fire sweeping through the sky, but the people for the most part had been satisfied by the sight of the Captains appearing to save them. For those who hadn't, heralds had been sent out to explain clearly what had happened.

The captains and vice captains themselves had sustained very little injury; the Hollows themselves had been low level, but the sheer number of them was all they had been able to keep up with. Apparantly at the same moment their leader died, they had broken ranks and had alternately cut one another up or were sliced by the captains who suddenly found the sea of Hollows much easier to penetrate; from that point the cleanup had taken less than twenty minutes. Every single Hollow had either been killed or fled back to Hueco Mundo.

Renji stayed completely still, waiting in the agonizing silence. For the last thirteen hours, ever since they had taken her in, he had refused to leave. The Forth Squad had treated his injuries here, in this very hallway, and then they had left. The only thing which had changed in the room since then was the position of the sun.

Suddenly the light on the sign turned green, and the doors opened. Renji hastily stood up, stiff joints creaking from being in one position for too long.

Captain Unohana stepped out, hands folded in front of her. Her face registered surprise when she saw Renji standing there.

A weary sigh made Renji fear the worst, but then the captain smiled warmly. "Don't worry. She's going to be fine," Unohana said quietly. "Normally I would say that a patient like her would not be awake for a few days, however…"

"Renji?!" Kara was wheeled out on a rolling bed. Renji stared. Other than being covered head to toe with bandages and not having the strength to sit up, she seemed okay. Her eyes were wide with surprise before she looked away from him, something similar to shame etched across her features. "You've been out there this whole time?"

He smirked and tweaked her nose. "Well don't you look all beat up, lyin' there like a mummy."

A stress mark appeared on Kara's head and she threw her pillow at his face. The shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep were suddenly much less important. "What kind of greeting is that? What happened to 'Oh Kara, I'm so glad to see you're okay!', and all the sentimental stuff, you big gorilla?"

Renji instinctively retaliated, taking the pillow in both hands and smothering her with it. "Call me a gorilla again and see what happens to you!"

He regretted this particular action as Kara bit his hand. Hard. He yelled and clutched his hand, which now sported a splendid bite mark.

Captain Unohana tsked as the pair glared at each other and the air crackled with electricity. "Hotarubi-san, you've just undergone major surgery to your leg and have had multiple healings. It wouldn't be good to overexcite yourself so soon…" She clapped her hands, and an attendant appeared to push Kara's bed away.

"Who's getting overexcited?" Kara grumbled. She turned her head to glare at Renji. "If you've got that much time to kill, do me a favor and go stick your head in a bucket of water, ya moron!"

Renji didn't reply, he just watched as she pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue at him before her bed disappeared around a corner. A vein throbbed in his forehead. "That person…"

Captain Unohana clucked. "My, my. Young children these days… shamelessly flirting in front of their elders!" She held a hand to her cheek. "What is this world coming to?"

Without giving a suddenly frozen, beet-faced Renji to respond, she strolled away, humming to herself.

Kira stepped out from behind the corner and handed him a bento with a straight face. "Here you go," he said emotionlessly. "Why don't we go eat outside? The others will want to hear about Hotarubi's recovery."

"Yeah… thanks Kira…"