Interlude 21 / Mini-Chapter
Kuchiki Renji rummaged through an old box, hmming to himself.
"Why do we have some of Ryohime's old baby clothes in our mansion?" he muttered, then couldn't help but smile at a pile of pictures. Childish scribbles from Ryohime's visits to the mansion. Back when she had been a cute little girl, as opposed to... old enough to be like her dad.
He wondered how his little niece-wannabe was doing. Hopefully the Fourteenth Division was staying far from Seireitei...
"Ah hah!"
The box had been hiding, very skillfully indeed, near the back of the room. His handwriting couldn't be found on many of the boxes, hardly any actually, but this one (declaring the contents "old socks") was one of those few.
He ripped open the box in anticipation. It did not, of course, contain old socks, but instead certain parts of his life that hadn't been welcomed with the rest of him into the Kuchiki Clan. He dug through the junk, finally bringing the prize, triumphantly, into the sunlight.
It was like seeing an old, forgotten friend again. Renji sighed fondly, rubbing it free of dust with his sleeve.
Then, in a reckless movement, he pulled the visor over his head.
For several long moments, it felt like a solid decade had fallen from his shoulders. He had stopped wearing his visors years... ages ago. For Rukia. Or, really, for Byakuya, in exchange for a peaceful marriage with Rukia. Along with a dozen other promises his brother-in-law had extracted from him in order to "uphold the honor of the Kuchikis."
He hadn't really missed them that much, until now. And now, he thought with a crooked smile, Byakuya would have to deal with it. This was bigger then a matter of fashion, this was the survival of Seireitei. In that, at least, he and Byakuya were still on the same side.
For now. If Renji's plan failed, that would change in a heartbeat.
There were dozens of old models in that box, many damaged in one way or another. The one Renji had been looking for was one of the last he had ever owned, and one of his favourites. The most up-to-date visual technology of its time, and incredibly cool as a bonus.
Caro captured his prey by locking eyes with them. The Twelfth Division had implied that it was a visual hypnotism. The captains should be able to fight blind, and many wouldn't even be truly hindered, but Renji would prefer to fight this Arrancar warlord with both eyes open. If anything could interfere with a visual hypnosis, it'd be this.
Renji's gaze hardened behind the sleek black visor.
Rukia...
She and Ichigo, both pawns now in Caro's game. Renji wasn't sure if killing Caro would undo the hypnotism, but it hardly mattered. He and Byakuya would take the fight back to Caro in their own way, and either he would release the Shinigami he had brainwashed... or the full fury of Senbonzakura and Zabimaru would come down on him without mercy.
And if they did accidentally kill him... and if his hold on his victims didn't cease... Renji could be patient. The Twelfth and Fourth Divisions had to be working on the problem already. Eventually, they would figure out how to bring their friends and family back.
Renji rose and left the room, his haori billowing out behind him. Byakuya would have already left, and there was only one more thing to take care of.
He stopped in the master bedroom, leaned over his son's crib.
"I'm going to bring Mommy back, Koichi," he said, faking a smile. Koichi gurgled at him. "Daddy and Grumpy will be back soon, okay? In the meantime, be a good boy and try to sleep." He let Koichi chew on his finger for a moment, then pulled away. His hands flashed, and bakudos began to form around the crib. "Just close your eyes, and keep them closed until we all come back home."