Sunlight flickered on her face as she slowly opened her eyes. She forgot for a moment where she was until remembering falling asleep beside Renji, but his warmth was now gone and replaced with that of his soft blanket. She looked up as he walked into the room. The top half of his uniform was down at his waist, bandages wrapped around his chest. Yachiru blushed and directed her attention to Ichigo, who was sleeping in a chair across the room. Renji's voice was stronger than it had been the previous day. "Did you sleep well Yachiru?" She nodded and sat up. He seemed to be walking better, though occasionally he still carried a slight limp. "The others are alright, too. Byakuya is questioning all of them trying to get as much information as possible out of them. It seems like Aizen was copying the memories of everyone he held captive. I'm not really sure what he wants them for, but I'm afraid we'll all find out soon. Regardless, it seems like he only wanted the people that had some kind of information about the hollows or their home. I guess he saw you all as a threat. Makes sense that he took Uryuu then." Yachiru nodded in understanding. "Is Orihime ok?" "She's managing." Yachiru looked down. She remembered a time when she would have been devastated if something happened to Toushiro. Though now, it didn't seem to faze her as much.
Ichigo moved slightly in his sleep and fell out of the chair, waking up quickly and rubbing the back of his head. "Good morning, Icchi." Ichigo waved toward Yachiru and grabbed the blanket, covering himself and falling asleep again. His snores clearly disturbed Renji. He slid his robes over his shoulders so he was fully covered again. "Come on, Yachiru. Let's get out of here before Byakuya decides to make you his next test subject."
Yachiru stood up and followed Renji out of the room. The two walked until they reached the cliff where Yachiru had been taken from this world the first time. Yachiru sat on a rock opposite the one where Renji took a seat. "Ren-kun, why did you save me?" "I told you. The others were too worried about breaking a nail to come get you." "But you didn't have to give me the stone…" "I wanted to. You deserved to live." Yachiru blushed. She stared at the valley beneath the cliff where the massive river ran through. It reminded her of the river in Las Noches. She wondered where the tinier streams were that connected to it.
Renji stood up, his face panicked. "Yachiru!" Yachiru turned around and looked back. A dark cloud rested over their home. "This must be Aizen…We have to go back to help the others!" Renji began running toward it, but his limp took over. Yachiru approached him. "Ren-kun, get on my back." Renji gave her a strange look before obeying her. She lifted him and sprinted off toward the darkness, surprising Renji with her strength and speed.