Ch. 10-(Ha. Haha. Muahahahahahahahaha!)

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Ayaki threw Renji's limp form into a ditch not far from where they'd been hiding. He took one last look at the motionless form before he retreated. After he was a good distance away, Renji peeked out from his closed eyes. He sat up carefully, his broken arm twinging with pain. 'That was close. But he fell for it. That's all that matters. HA! And the fool even cut the ropes on me.' He concealed his reiatsu and climbed up with his good arm. Once Renji had made sure there was no one around, he took the time to tear up his shihakusho to make a splint. 'Never been good at this healing shit anyways.'

He snuck back to where he had sensed Ayaki go and watched as he and his companion left toward the city.

!#$%^&*

Byakuya sat leaned against the wall of the cell, his face feeling cracked from the dried tears. The room was far too dark now to see anything but he didn't care. All he could think of was Renji and the sound of bone snapping at that monster's hands. It felt like an eternity had passed but he knew that it couldn't have been more than half an hour. He closed his eyes and pictured the redhead in his mind. His smiling face and his voice…

"Byakuya!"

'Now I must be insane.'

"Oi! Taicho!"

'He'll never call me that again… Kami, I miss him. I can't do this anymore. I wish I were dea-'

"STOP IGNORING ME YOU BASTARD!"

This made the noble open his eyes and he could hardly believe them. Renji knelt on the other side of the bars, a lantern in his hand. "Finally. I was worried that you were delusional."

"I must be fated to suffer. What cruelty fate shows. Giving me this image and sound. It must be a trick."

"Oh, shut up!"

'Wait. Why would an illusion be so… Rude? This has to be a trick.' "H-how?"

"Remember when I told you I was pregnant that time in the office?"

"Renji? I remember but how-"

"You taught me. Listen, observe, use an enemies weakness against them. That little guy mentioned that the big one's sword could poison but it didn't. I saw the strained relationship between them. I knew the big guy wasn't smart. It was only too easy to fake dying, I thought you would have realised. Instead you left me on the floor and started screaming."

"I wasn't screaming!" Renji raised an eyebrow at Byakuya and the noble sighed. "Just, shut up. I can't take the lies. I heard him kill you. I heard the snap of your-"

"Arm."

"What?"

"Listen, when the big guy supposedly poisoned me, I took the chance that it would be him to "finish me off" so when he pulled me out of the reiatsu sealing cell we were in, I used my own reiatsu and snapped my arm. The rest just fell into place. I played dead for a few minutes and he believed me."

"Why?"

Renji took on a serious face. "Because. If we went before Midori with our powers sealed away, you know he'd kill you without a second thought. I couldn't live with my self if he did that."

Byakuya jumped up and shouted, "OH! And what about me, huh? How could you? I thought you were dead! Do you know how that made me feel? No, you don't. Abarai, release me from these bonds, so I can make sure you don't come back!"

"For my own safety, I think you're better off tied up." He entered the cage, lifted the noble and threw him over his good shoulder.

Byakuya was silent for a time as he laid acrosss the redhead. "I hate you," he mumbled softly.

"I know."

"When this is done, I'll kill you."

"I know."

"I'm glad you're safe…"

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"YOU WHAT?"

Chikao and Ayaki shrank back as Midori stood before them fuming. "Uh, we killed Abarai. Just like you told us."

"FOOLS! I told you I wanted him alive! Byakuya was the one you were to kill!"

"W-well," Chikao stuttered. "We still can."

Midori calmly looked at him. "How?"

"We have him locked up, sir. His powers are sealed too."

'Perhaps I have lost Renji, but I can rid myself of Byakuya as well. This may not all have been for waste.' "Take me to him. I'll dispose of him. Maybe this time it will be done right." The two nodded and turned back towards where they left Byakuya. Within an hour, they had reached the building. "Are you sure he can't escape?"

"Yessir. He'd need to be released from outside his cage to be freed."

"Good. That means I have time. You, oaf. Take me to where you put Renji."

Ayaki took the trail and led Midori and Chikao to the dump site. "Over there sir."

They all peered through the darkness at the pit's bottom. Ayaki was more than confused as to it's emptiness. "I put him there."

Something stirred inside Midori, an ominous feeling. "Oaf, did you check his vitals?"

"His whats?"

Midori sprinted for the building and tore through it until he reached the empty cell. Black rage encircled him to the point that the place shook. He flashed outside, leaving the two brothers behind. While they were still inside, he turned and released a kido that exploded out ward, destroying the building and those inside.

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Clothes ruffled, faces dirtied, and bandages bloody, Renji and Byakuya sat down once again in the Kuchiki Council Chamber. The sun had just peeked out when they entered the city and Byakuya knew it would be moments before the council entered the halls.

He wasn't disappointed at their reactions. They all gawked at him and Renji as they took their seats. "B-Byakuya-sama. What a surprise!"

"Really? Are you surprised that I'm alive? After all, it was you who released Midori in hopes that he would take Renji from me. Isn't that right, head councilor?" Many shocked faces turned towards the other man, one of them being Renji's.

"Hey, Bya," he whispered. "What make you say that?"

"I wondered as to why he would call me all the way here after Midori escaped. His message was a waste of time. He wanted to make sure that Midori had sufficient time to escape."

"P-Preposterous. I would never do that to you, Byakuya –sama."

"Prove me wrong." He stared down the other man until he was squirming in his seat. "I'm sure a simple test from Captain Kurotsuchi could clear up your lies." The man shook violently as his head dropped to the table. "Arrest him." The guards at the door did as ordered and once the room had fallen silent, Byakuya spoke up again. "For those of you who had nothing to do with this, you have my thanks. Our main concern now is Midori. I'd like you all to be on guard. If you see him, to not confront him. I will be putting together a special force for that."

!#$%^&*

Kiske tip-toed around the peopple sleeping on his floor. He stepped out of his shop and stretched, enjoying the fresh air. Just then, a hell butterfly floated down to land on his finger.

(Ok, so last chapter was kinda mean which is why this one was released so quickly. To those who think I would honestly get mad enough to kill Renji over a flash drive, It's as Kiske said: "You honestly have no sense of humor.)