So this was finished quicker than I expected. Lucky you! It's a page or so shorter than most chapters, but hopefully you'll forgive that.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach...but I wish I did.
And I would say that I'm sorry to you
I'm sorry to you, and I don't want to call you
But then I want to call you cause I don't want to crush you
-Deep Inside Of You, Third-Eye Blind
---
Suiren returned from the ninth division to a lonely, empty apartment.
Remnants of her night with Renji were scattered about, in the kitchen, on the table… she eyed the plate of higashi, and the rumpled tablecloth that had been disturbed when Renji had pulled her to him. She stared at the spot they'd been sitting with a look of pure, wanton regret.
She'd wanted that kiss…
The look that had been on Renji's face was almost burned into her mind, the slow curve of his lips, the heat in his eyes… she sighed and leaned against the wall, sliding the door shut behind her. Her dark brown bangs fell down over her left eye; they had slipped out from the pin she'd placed them in as she flash-stepped back from the ninth. Slipping out of her zori, Suiren knelt down and began to clear the table.
She set the un-eaten plate of higashi on her counter, placing a wire-mesh cover over the confections. Suiren dumped what was left in the sake cups down her sink, placing the bottle on the counter near the higashi. She rolled up the sleeves of her kimono and tied the same apron Renji had worn earlier around her waist. Slowly, she began to wash the dishes and pots that she and Renji had used. If she tried hard enough, she could feel traces of his reiatsu on the apron.
Suiren stopped trying to reach for the small amount of spirit power after a moment and shook her head. She was torn between cursing Shuuhei for interrupting what would have surely been a breathtaking kiss, and feeling bad for him and his apparent inability to run the ninth division without her.
The office had truly been a disaster when she'd walked in, overcome by piles of unfinished paperwork and old trays of mess hall food. Shuuhei muttered a few excuses under his breath about the mess, but Suiren only shook her head and went about finding the letter heads Shuuhei needed. It was obvious he was distressed. She knew deadlines made him anxious.
The part of her that resented Shuuhei was not so understanding.
That part of her reasoned that of course Shuuhei would ruin her night. It only figured, after all she'd been through with him, after she'd finally started to move on, he would trounce back in and interrupt the headway she was making. Suiren wasn't usually a vindictive person, but in this case…it was almost as if she couldn't help it.
To put it lightly, Shuuhei had broken her heart.
There wasn't much else she could say about it.
She had forced herself to be normal in his company, until the forced emotions became normal and her she slowly felt her love of him melt away. Some of it was still there, as she was sure it always would be, it had toned itself down, becoming more a companionable love than a passionate love.
Every now and then Shuuhei would do or say something to her that would throw her heart back into a frenzy, but she was getting better at resisting such things. After all, he had been the one to end things, it certainly made no sense that he would want to rekindle them. Despite that fact, though, Suiren was almost positive Shuuhei still felt something for her, which made it all the more difficult.
She wasn't willing to get hurt, not again. And so, she'd kept a distance between herself and Shuuhei; not a tall wall of separation, but a fine line of what was all right and what wasn't. Shuuhei seemed to know his boundaries, and he never needed reminding that they were over, or that he had no right to say something because he was the one who'd left her.
They functioned as normally as the could, day to day, ignoring the awkward pauses that would sometimes envelope them, or the memories of shared moments that would surround them. But they managed. Suiren had been able to keep a firm hold on her emotions, as well as her heart.
And then she'd slept with Renji.
Of all the things she'd never thought she'd do in her life as a soul, sleeping with Abarai Renji in a drunken stupor had to be pretty high up on the list.
Renji was a like whirlwind Suiren found herself suddenly caught up in. She hadn't been able to twist free of him after waking up in his bed, and Suiren wondered if they'd somehow twisted their fates together that night at his promotional party. She was willing to bet they had, either that, or they both had strange sorts of luck.
Suiren had been so nervous that morning, walking from his bedroom to his living room. She'd no idea what to say or do, how to handle the situation.
But he was kind to her, embarrassed as well, and he tried his best to not make things awkward. Granted, he'd started bowing and stuttering whenever they'd meet after that, but Suiren didn't blame him; her pulse would freeze in her veins at even the mention of him. And then she'd been promoted as his fukutaicho, and he'd taken the initiative and come to speak to her, wanting to make things as right and normal as possible.
Really, she thought as she scrubbed a pan, it was more than she'd give most men credit for.
Renji was something new, something fun in her life. Even the week she'd spent in his company made her forget her rocky past with romance. He was, cliché as it sounded, a breath of fresh air.
She didn't want to see her next chance at happiness disappear—for that was how she was starting to see her flame-haired taicho— especially not because of her past relationship with Shuuhei.
She began drying the dishes, cheating a bit by using kido and heating them, returning them to their proper places once they were devoid of any water droplets. As she folded the silken table runner, something else came to her:
She looked like a complete ass for dropping everything for Shuuhei when he'd shown up. And telling him he hadn't been interrupting anything…he had interrupted everything!
She groaned, resisting the urge to put her head down onto the table. Her taicho was bound to be miffed at her—hell, she'd be miffed at herself—for so suddenly and unconventionally ending their dinner-date. It may not have been common knowledge that she and Shuuhei had been together, but Renji was a smart man, he would be able to put two and two together if he tried.
It did not bode well for a future relationship when you allowed yourself to be caught up by your former paramour while trying to have a romantic moment with the current object of your affections.
She sat up a little straighter, determined to set things right before they could delve into awkwardness once more. Carefully, she searched for Renji's reiatsu across the courtyard.
Her face fell when she found no trace what-so-ever of her captains spiritual power. She wondered if he was masking his reiatsu, keeping himself from her. She felt as if she might deserve it. She removed the apron from her waist, folded it neatly and set it on top of her clean counter. She scanned the dark windows of Renji's apartments, hoping for some sign of him, but sighed once more as she continued to come up with nothing.
She was torn between crying in frustration and hitting something.
Soyokaze seemed to call soothingly to her from her bedroom, and she straightened immediately. Her father had always told her the strongest form of adrenaline was emotion, and the best way to get rid of such adrenaline was through battle.
She didn't have anything to battle at the moment, other than her own feelings, and so she decided on the next best thing. She went to her room and quickly stripped off her kimono, tossing it into an ungraceful heap on the floor, and donned a pair of the Coverts Op pants and long sleeve shirt. She pulled her hair back, securing it in a high ponytail on the top of her head, her bangs hanging over her left eye in jagged pieces.
Suiren grabbed her humming zanpakuto and then flash stepped out of her house and out of the fifth division. She knew if she suddenly unleashed a wave of angry reiatsu within her division that her squad would get alarmed, and so she made her way to a glade of sakura trees on her family estate.
She didn't spend much time at her childhood home, she had no need to. Suiren had happily passed the duties of estate master onto Byakuya when he father had been killed, ending the male ruling line of Tsukinai's. Her cousin promised her she could reclaim the title that went with her lands whenever she had the desire to, but in all honesty, Suiren had no desire to. It help too many memories for her, and the empty house would only remind her of the wonderful times she'd had there as a child. Byakuya told her she'd change her mind once she had a family of her own, but Suiren didn't see that happening either.
She took a deep breath as she stood in the center of the glade, her gray eyes taking in the soft petals of the trees. It wasn't strictly cherry blossom season, but she'd long been aware that he father had had kido cast on the trees at their estate to make them bloom constantly. It was one of the things she loved about growing up, being constantly surrounded by beautiful, falling flowers.
She had trained here, with her father, when she was growing up, and now it offered her a calm reprieve, almost an escape from the turmoil in her outside world… turmoil she'd created for herself.
She was rigid at first, but she closed her eyes and dropped into a ready position. Inaudibly, she whispered her release, taking comfort of the feel of Soyokaze in her arms.
Slowly, she began the pattern dances her father had taught her, letting herself fall completely into the rhythm. Her eyes remained closed as she increased her speed, as she began to make turns and steps in the grass.
She opened them only when her weapon seemed to be a blur around her, and even then they were still clouded with emotions she was determined not to show.
---
Renji took his time walking back from the ninth. Shuuhei had given him a lot to think about. He'd gathered and assumed that something had happened between his fukutaicho and Shuuhei, but what he'd learned hadn't been what he'd expected. They'd been together fifteen years—and while that wasn't long for a shinigami couple, it wasn't necessarily an amount of time you could just dismiss—and they'd known each other even before that.
What did he have?
One month and a drunken one-night stand?
He was starting to feel very inadequate. He kicked a stone with his foot as he continued to walk, ignoring the throb in his toe when he kicked it the wrong way.
Shuuhei had also said he'd hurt her.
Renji wasn't given details, nor had he asked for them, but from the way Shuuhei had spoken about it, it was apparent that he'd hurt her badly. No stranger to heartache, Renji felt for Suiren. He'd been there before, though maybe not in the same manner as Suiren, but he knew the general feeling. It wasn't pleasant.
He knew how hard it was to act as if nothing was wrong, like everything was just as it had been… he nearly shuddered when he thought about how hard it must have been for Suiren to continue to function so near to Shuuhei after he'd ended their relationship.
Slowly, it dawned at Renji: could she have helped Shuuhei so quickly tonight because she still had feelings for him?
It wasn't improbable, he reasoned, and an unwarranted wave of jealousy washed over him. Suiren and Shuuhei ended their relationship not that long ago, and sometimes it took years for the heart to fully detach from another…sometimes, it never happened, Renji thought, his former taicho's face coming to mind.
But then again… she'd been so willing in his arms, almost desperate for him. She'd flirted with him, intentionally, and he could feel that she wanted him…but did she want him just as a distraction?
Renji shot that down immediately, before anything resembling a blind rage could overtake him. While he'd only known Suiren a month, he knew she was not that kind of person.
As he crossed into the fifth division, another thought occurred to him and he wondered why it hadn't been the first thing he thought of.
She was still healing, still getting used to her life without Shuuhei...
Renji winced slightly as he continued to walk, here she was, trying to heal her heart and he was trying his best to push his way inside of it.
He began to feel disgusted with himself.
It was then, at that very moment, Renji promised himself, and Suiren, that he would not rush this, whatever it was or whatever it could be.
It wouldn't be easy—least of all for him, he could still feel her in his arms—but he thought it would be best. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Suiren away, or push her into something she wasn't yet ready for. He could wait.
He would wait.
He took a deep breath, calming himself as he hopped the porch steps of his apartments, walking in through the front door instead of the back. He didn't want to chance seeing Suiren right away—he didn't know what he'd say to her, or even if she'd want to see him. He had stormed off when Shuuhei'd arrived, despite her protests…
When he thought about it, Suiren hadn't said she'd help Shuuhei until he had left. Maybe she hadn't been planning on going with him to the ninth division.
Suddenly, Renji felt like a complete ass.
Wait, he thought grudgingly: the word was 'tool'.
He'd overreacted in the worst way possible, looking like the jealous boyfriend. While he certainly wished he was the boyfriend, he did not want to be the jealous type. It didn't become him.
As he slid the door shut behind him, Renji sighed.
What had started out as a wonderful night had gotten awfully complicated.
---
Suiren woke the next morning just before dawn, as per usual, and groaned as she rolled over on her futon. She hadn't changed when she'd returned home in the wee-hours of the morning, and was still dressed in her skin-tight pants and long sleeved shirt. Her hair had been matted with sweat and was still almost sticky. She knew she probably looked awful, but it was nothing compared to how she felt.
She sat up stretching her neck, and noticed that a fierce rain was pounding the walls of her apartment. She half-smiled. The weather was in tune with her. It figured.
She watched the rain for a few minutes before she heaved herself up from her futon. Slipping into the simple, Chinese-style shoes she'd also worn the night before, Suiren grabbed Soyokaze and headed out of her bed room. She knew the squad would be in the indoor dojo today, dry and out of the rain. She thought that was probably for the best; the last thing she needed was to lose control of her spirit power and cause gale force winds or something in the courtyard.
Without realizing she was falling into habit, she stepped onto her porch and then stopped. It took her a moment to realize she was waiting for Renji, as had been their custom since day one.
She waited a full ten minutes before she finally gave in and searched for his reiatsu. She found it, but it was no-where near the vicinity of his apartments.
He was already at the dojo.
Suiren looked to the sky, desperately burying her urge to cry. She slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then squared her shoulders and left, flash stepping through the dreary rain.
She would get through this.
---
The next few weeks passed in both normal and awkward phases.
Renji was perfectly good at acting as if nothing at all had happened between him and Suiren in the presence of others, but he found it increasingly difficult to do so in private. The hours they spent at their desks as was slowly wearing him down.
Silence often filled the office, replacing the comfortable chatter that had previously occupied it. Renji tried to talk and joke with Suiren as he had before, but she often replied with half smiles and one-word answers. She was exceedingly talented at pretending everything was normal, but every now and then he would catch a look of distant longing in her eyes.
He wondered sometimes who the looks of longing were for: him, or Shuuhei.
The voice in the back of his mind told him, profusely, it was him. Whenever she looked at him, her eyes would cloud over and she would lose some of her natural spunk, as if she were trying to hide or subdue her herself.
Renji hated it.
But he also told himself it was necessary. He had to take things slow.
He never avoided her outright, but he didn't go out of his way to walk or spend time alone with her, either. He would take it in phases, little by little, until they could finally return to the wonderfully compromising position Shuuhei had interrupted them in.
Suiren, on the other hand, was positive he was angry at her.
That was all she could come up with. He acted normal towards her, but there was always something in his eyes that she couldn't place. Once and a while she would find him staring at her, and he'd either offer a small smile and a shake of his head when she'd ask him if something was wrong, or quickly turn his eyes away, pretending he hadn't been looking at her at all.
And she didn't blame him, not really.
She'd be mad at herself.
She was mad at herself.
Suiren couldn't decide what she wanted to do: Did she apologize? Pretend like none of it ever happened? Throw Renji up against a wall?
She leaned towards the third option, confident in her ability to surprise him enough to get the upper hand, but she knew that probably wasn't the best idea…tempting though it was.
It was a bright, sunny morning when Suiren finally decided what she would do. She didn't think she could take any more of Renji's complete and utter kindness, pretending like she'd never bailed on him. She was going to apologize.
Much to her dismay, it was taking longer than she'd thought for her to work up the courage and to find the words than she would have liked. She struggled with the phrasing, the words, the easiest way to bring the subject up—neither of them had even mentioned it since it'd happened…she was getting closer and closer to just jumping up from her desk and screaming her apology.
She could picture the baffled look on Renji's face, the wide-eyed stare he would give her.
She smiled slightly and let out a soft, quiet chuckle as she scratched her initials onto the paper in front of her, setting it on top of a towering pile of finished reports. She had filled the silence of the office the with sound of her pen on paper, plowing through paper work as if her life depended on it.
"What's so funny?"
She blinked, and looked up. Renji was watching her, slightly perplexed.
"Iie, nothing, Taicho," she said quickly.
Renji's lips pursed slightly. She'd been calling him 'taicho' more and more. He couldn't put a finger on why, but he didn't like it.
An strange silence began to fill the room, hanging between them. Renji had long been wondering if he should tell Suiren that they needed to slow things down, that he wasn't pushing her away, but he didn't know how to do so without sound like, well, a tool.
Suiren watched him from her desk, twirling her pen between her fingers, biting lightly on her bottom lip. It was a sign she was nervous, but she didn't think Renji had noted that particular trait yet. That, and he wasn't looking at her.
That's it, she thought, and put her pen down onto her desk. She was going to do it. She couldn't take it anymore, the strange dancing around the subject and the complete dismissal of the entire night.
"Taicho," she said, trying to make her voice confident. She prayed it did not waver.
Renji blinked, drawn from his thoughts, and looked at her. "Aa?" he said, his tone bordering on 'unsure'.
Suiren took a deep breath. "Renji," she said, and he perked up slightly. "I wanted to tell you—"
But what Suiren wanted to tell him—and it sounded like it was going to be promising—Renji never heard. A hell butterfly had flown in through the office window and fluttered in front of Suiren's face.
She blinked and stopped speaking immediately. She stared at the small creature and sighed softly, holding out a finger.
Renji had a desperate urge to crush the butterfly's wings and hear Suiren out, but he figure there would be some repercussions for that. He sat rigid at his desk as Suiren listened to the message.
"You've been summoned," she said after the butterfly had departed from her finger. She turned her gray eyes to him. "A captains meeting."
Renji swore. He'd completely forgotten about the meeting. Its date had been set and announced last week. He glanced at his calendar It figured that the meeting would be just when Suiren was going to speak to him. She'd called him by his name, for the first time in weeks, and he had to leave.
It just figured.
"Now?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too disappointed. Maybe they'd moved the time back?
"Aa, now," she replied, smiling slightly. She was just as disappointed as he was. Right when she was about to tell him 'sorry', duty called him away. She was starting to feel as if she should have just jumped onto her desk and yelled her apology at him.
Renji stood, grabbing his haori from the back of his chair (he didn't usually wear it in the office) and shrugged it on over his kimono. He straightened it in the mirror that hung on the wall, still slightly self-conscious about the garment and the power it held. Suiren watched him, and she couldn't help smiling.
She was continuously reminded of the reasons she liked him as he checked over his appearance nervously. It only made her more determined to apologize to him.
She quickly hid her smile as he turned and looked at her. "We'll…finish this conversation when I get back?" he asked, rather than ordered.
Another reason Suiren liked him.
She smiled softly at him. "We will."
He smiled at her, not brilliantly, but happily. Suiren felt herself melt into the floor.
"Good."
---
Renji rounded the corner of the fifth division, only to be called to a halt by someone shouting his name. Renji stopped dead and turned around, slightly wary.
Hisagi Shuuhei was jogging up towards him. He too had a captains haori on. Like Tousen, Shuuhei wore his haori with long sleeves over his sleeveless kimono. It flapped out behind him as he caught up with Renji.
"Yo," he greeted Renji.
"Hey," Renji returned. "Nice haori."
Shuuhei grinned. "You too. I hate these meetings," he announced as they started walking.
Renji raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been to an official captains meeting yet, but he was under the impression they were similar to fukutaicho meetings.
Shuuhei glanced at Renji and smirked. "You'll see what I mean. Kenpachi is always tryin' to start fights, which I guess is nothin' new," he said, and it wasn't, "And Kurotsuchi is always tryin' to push crazy ideas for experimentation…I swear, that Quincy friend of Kurosaki's better have his guard up at all times. Kurotsuchi seems fascinated by him, and the things he comes up with to try and capture the kid…" Shuuhei shook his head.
Renji shuddered. Kurotsuchi was a frightening man. But he also knew Ishida Uryuu, and he was anything but lax in his awareness of the world around him. Renji held faith that Ishida would be just fine, even if Kurotsuchi decided to come after him one day. He was, to say the least, an excellent shot.
"They're always pointless," Shuuhei finished. "Pretty much, we sit around and listen to Yamamoto soutaicho and say 'Yes, Sir'."
"I think I can handle that," Renji said, grinning.
"Good," Shuuhei said, smiling as well. He cleared his throat slightly: "How's Suiren?"
Renji winced inwardly.
At first he had been hoping to avoid Shuuhei altogether, if possible, but as the two had been friends long before Suiren had entered the picture, Renji would've felt like a complete tool (he was proud he'd remembered the term properly this time) if he'd outright ignored him. So, in exchange, he'd been hoping to not discuss his fukutaicho with his former senpai…so much for that.
"She's…alright," Renji said, trying not to sound ridiculous.
He had, and Shuuhei raised an eyebrow.
"You haven't talked about any of it with her?"
Renji gave him a look that said 'Are you crazy?'. "You mean, did I tell her you told me your history? Of course not." He didn't think that would be wise. He had the strong impression that Suiren would tell him when she was ready…if she ever was, he thought grudgingly.
"That's not what I meant," Shuuhei replied, rolling his eyes as they continued to walk towards the first division. "I meant about anything—mostly, the two of you and that delightful position I found you in."
Renji growled. Shuuhei smirked.
"Oi, calm down, Beast-Boy," Shuuhei said, waving a hand at him.
"No," Renji said, ignoring the 'Beast-Boy' remark. "I haven't talked to her about it."
Shuuhei raised his eyebrow again. "Really?" Renji shook his head. "Why the hell not? You can't just let her think you're mad at her or something. You haven't been ignoring her, have you?"
Renji grumbled that he hadn't been, then turned to Shuuhei, brows drawn. "Why do you care, anyways?"
It was odd that Shuuhei was so interested in his and Suiren's possible relationship.
Shuuhei offered him a lopsided, sad smile. "I told you, I want her to be happy."
Renji was torn between being flattered and annoyed. It wasn't as if he didn't want Suiren to be happy, too.
Renji glanced at Shuuhei, then took a deep breath. He hadn't voiced his plan aloud to a single soul yet, but he figured Shuuhei was as good as anyone:
"I think I'm going to take it slow. I don't want to rush things, or scare her away."
The words sounded lame in his own ears, but he waited, pointedly not looking in Shuuhei's direction as they began climbing the steps to the center of Seireitei.
Shuuhei looked at Renji—really looked at him.
It was obvious he was nervous, and unsure. His lips were tight, his face set, and his eyebrows were drawn. He'd thought about this, it was obvious, and slowly, Shuuhei smiled.
"I think that's a good idea," he said, a little more quietly than usual. It wasn't easy, trying to help the woman you still loved find happiness with another, but Shuuhei was determined to do it.
Renji's eyes shot to him. "Really?"
Shuuhei grinned slightly. He'd never seen the tall redhead so unsure before. "Really," he nodded. "Have you told her that?"
"No…" Renji admitted, grudgingly.
Shuuhei rolled his eyes again. "Why the hell not? I'll bet she thinks you're pissed at her. You can't just decide to take things slow and not inform the second party, boke."
Renji admitted he'd thought about that. "How do I tell her that, though?" he asked. It felt strange asking for relationship advice, especially from Shuuhei, given his past relationship with Suiren, but Renji had spoken before he'd thought about that.
Shuuhei glanced at him, smiling slightly. "Easy—you just say 'I think we need to take it slow'."
Renji punched Shuuhei, none to gently, in his side. Shuuhei let out a surprised yelp and quickly wrapped his arms around his stomach to prevent further injury.
"'The hell was that for?" he demanded, glaring at Renji as they continued to climb the steps.
"Being a jack-ass," Renji replied.
"Oh fine, I'll stop trying to help you," Shuuhei grumbled. His features softened after a moment. "Just make sure you tell her, Renji," he added, reneging on his vow not to help.
Renji sighed. "Aa…"
---
Shuuhei had been right. The meeting was boring. On the one hand, Renji appreciated the current monotony of Seireitei now that Aizen was dead and gone. It was awfully nice not having to fear daily for your life and the lives of those you cared about. But on the other…it meant that meetings were spent discussing the most boring things.
Renji sat slouched in his chair, listening as Soi Fon gave her report. He tried his very best not to smirk every time she mentioned Youruichi's name—which was often. So far he'd heard a rather dull report from Unohana taicho about the current status of the continuing improvements in healing methods employed by the fourth division, the call for a tournament to the death by Kenpachi (this was denied by Yamamoto soon after it was mentioned), and a strange plan put forth by Kurotsuchi to capture Ishida for extended experimentation involving a store that textiles, a power outage, needles, and Nemu.
It made Renji shudder, and vaguely wonder if he should warn Ishida to be on his guard more than usual.
"On to the last order of business," Yamamoto's gravelly rang out through the long meeting hall. "There have been reports of Hollow with unusually high reiatsu terrorizing souls in the real world. We have determined the Hollow are still being affected by the lasting touch of the Hogyokou. I would like to send a captain and at least one other to investigate the situation."
Renji straightened at the idea. He wouldn't mind fighting some exceptionally powerful Hollow…he hadn't done any such thing since the final battle with Aizen. As it was his first meeting though, he didn't want to jump up like an idiot and volunteer; he didn't yet know how things worked and thought it would be best to sit this one out until he'd figured out how the meetings worked.
"I nominate Abarai taicho and Tsukinai fukutaicho."
Renji blinked.
Hisagi Shuuhei was looking at him from his spot across the polished floor, feigning innocence. He flashed a smirk at Renji and then continued. Renji slowly narrowed his eyes.
What the hell did Shuuhei think he was doing?
So I'm sure you can figure out what's coming up soon, but if you can't...well, I'm certainly not going to tell you.
Thanks to everyone too took the poll on my profile (yes, all 8 of you )! I like knowing what people want to see. Which is exactly why there is another poll up now. It will be up for a while...but please vote!
Also: I read the chapter 307 today and they had another character popularity contest. My response to it was: WTF?! How is Hinamori in the Top 10?! WHY ISN'T MY RENJI THERE?! I was glad to see Rukia at #2 though, she tops Ichigo, lol. And Grimm at #4. I loves him...BUT HINAMORI?! AND KIRA WAS #9!
THEY HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE STORYLINE FOR EVER. HOW THE FRICK DID THEY PULL THAT OFF?!
I don't know. But it makes me sad. And so, to make up for the tragic lack of Renji in the poll, I have included a gorgeous picture of him by panada-baka of deviant art. I want him to look like this all the time. You'll have to take the space between the . and com out
http://pandabaka.deviantart. com/art/bleach-renji-and-zabimaru-33384823
As always, PLEASE REVIEW! I'd really like to know what people think about the developing plot-line...
--Luin