Chapter 3: Catalyst
The next few days were spent training the new recruits of the Sixth and First Division. The first morning of the training was hectic, the First Division recruits arrived at the Sixth's compound early in the morning, just as the sun breached the horizon. Renji had to usher them to the barracks' training field since they were looking so lost, huddled together like lambs in foreign pastures.
The next hour after that was spent gathering all the new recruits together and briefing them for their training menu for the next three days. Since getting the order from the Captain-Commander of this joint-training, Byakuya had appointed Renji to assemble the training regime for the new recruits, since Renji was more familiar with training them after all the years he spent managing the Sixth's recruits by himself—a task Byakuya had given him as one of his lieutenant duties.
The joint-training would look like this; the first and second day would be spent training on terrain outside of Seireitei of Lieutenant Abarai's choice. It consists of endurance training, hand-to-hand combat, kido training which will be supervised by Captain Kuchiki, and zanpakuto mastery. The night of the second day would have the recruits train their flash steps as they return to the barracks to see if they learned proper handling of their reiatsu. The last day would be spent by the recruits to learn the basic administrative process and duties of being a shinigami, something that they all groaned at when Renji told them.
Thinking over the training schedule, Renji was a bit miffed that they had to jam-pack all of these within three days, barely enough, as he was used to training his recruits for at least a week before he was satisfied with their progress. Then again, the number of recruits in this training was much lower since it was from the mid-year recruitment—53 in total, with 22 of them from the First Division—and it was the Captain-Commander's orders. Renji wouldn't even dare to blink indignantly at his direction.
They were now on their way to the training ground that Renji had appointed. Renji had specifically asked Lieutenant Sasakibe of the First Division two days ago to remind their recruits to bring the necessities for the training camp, while he had worked the Sixth Division cooks to provide basic foodstuff for the two days they were away from the barracks. Hunting would be an option if only the site he chose was not barren of all food sources. It had good reishi level though, perfect for prolonged training sessions and lessen fatigue. And hunting would take away the time the recruits should have spent training as much as they could within the joint-training, Renji reasoned.
"Renji-san, are we going to set up camp near Inuzuri?"
"What are you talking about, Rikichi?" Renji asked, raising his brows at his appointed aide for the next few days. Rikichi, while not a seated officer, was one of the most dedicated shinigami in his division. Renji took it upon himself to be his unofficial mentor since the first time he saw the lost looking new recruit wandering the vast halls of Sixth Division, not knowing what to do since all supervising officers were busy. Turned out he had been a great admirer of Renji, signing-up and joining the Sixth Division to follow his footsteps. While not as gifted as most, Rikichi's dedication to his training showed great potential for his future. He might be promoted to a seated rank in the next few years.
"Well, we're exiting through the Southern Gate, so I just assume... I'm sorry!" Rikichi shook his head frantically, not wanting to upset his lieutenant.
"Hey, it's fine," Renji chuckled at his frazzled aide, messing the tufts of raven hair.
Now that he thought about it, indeed, the location of the training site he chose was through the Southern Gate of Seireitei, near Inuzuri, his childhood district. It was a surprising coincidence.
Not to mention Southern Gate, Renji thought, remembering last night's incident. He and his captain never got to talk about it, their trip back to the barracks was silent as his captain was far ahead of him. After they arrived, he couldn't think of anything than to push his face into his pillow and sleep. Just this morning, his captain left without a word other than telling him he was summoned by the Captain-Commander.
"It's... it's a cliffside I saw when I was scouting Rukongai on a mission some time ago," Renji finally explained to his expectant looking aide, " the area is big enough for our training sessions and to set up camps."
"The captain won't be joining us?" Rikichi asked with a small voice, Renji thought there was a hint of hopefulness in his tone. He couldn't blame the guy though, Rikichi was afraid of Captain Kuchiki, as far as Renji knew.
"He was called in by the Captain-Commander this morning, something about finalizing a proposal," Renji said, then with a more apologetic tone, "He'll catch up later."
Renji didn't see the disappointed frown on Rikichi's face as he went ahead.
There was something familiar about this place.
Renji blew a strand of hair from his face, his hands moving behind his head to secure his loose ponytail as he peered past the cliffside he was standing on; it was particularly windy up there.
He just gave the recruits a small lunch break after they finished the first half of their training schedule for the day. The sun was way up on the sky, its blazing heat scorched the barren land Renji's group was currently on. They were high on a cliff further away from Seireitei, the capital city gleaming in the distance with the Sokyoku Hill as its centerpiece and the harsh white walls of the Senzaikyu in the background. It was truly a hot, cloudless day. But the view was breathtaking.
"Abarai," Renji could sense his captain's presence behind him before the raven could announce it. He didn't know why he didn't turn to face his captain, though. He couldn't help but keep gazing past the cliff, past the whole horizon, as if looking for something that no one can see.
"Captain, they've finished doing some drills, and I made them do hand-to-hand," the redhead said distractedly, still not turning, "I just gave them their lunch break."
"That is acceptable," Renji heard his captain said somewhere beside him.
Byakuya observed his lieutenant, wondering what was going through the redhead's mind, that he would look so wistful and distracted, even with his presence—which would usually snap the redhead into attention immediately. He was captivated by the locks of red hair that flowed, reminded of last night's incident, how the strands moved in the shadow, the moonlight reflecting on the surface.
Now, with the glaring light of the sun and the wind caressing its fine locks, the hair looked like fire, licking in every which way the wind moved. And the red ponytail was not as stiff and spiky as it used to, instead falling like a waterfall and carried by the wind with how smooth and fine they were—did he change his hair products? Byakuya idly noticed the lack of dark ink covering the redhead's face—which he did comment on but never truly observed—making him looked almost boyish without those sharp, harsh lines. How his eyes sloped down in a soft curve as he gazed into the horizon, and his lashes long and red and fluttering.
Byakuya didn't realize his mesmerized ogling until the object of his attention called him.
"Got an appetite for a late lunch, Captain?" Renji finally turned and smiled widely at him.
His breath hitched, Byakuya schooled his expression into its usual blankness. He couldn't believe that he stared rudely at his lieutenant's unassuming figure as if a Neanderthal awed by fire.
Renji ushered him to a nearby tented area that the Sixth Division's staff had placed. There were a few long buffet-style tables with food made for the recruits to dig into during their lunch break, but there was one secluded spot away from the rest of the tented area that was reserved for Renji and his things—as he requested. On the tables were boxes of ingredients and portable cooking equipment and tools. One of the small tables holds a high stack of lacquered wooden boxes.
Byakuya found he was becoming quite hungry as he looked at the foodstuff laid out. He only had an unsatisfactory breakfast at the Sixth barracks before he had to go to the First Division to hear the Captain-Commander's decision on his proposed policies. At least the proposal was approved—no more unruly and unprotected sexual affairs in his division without proper consequences.
Renji moved to get a few foldable seats for him and his captain when he noticed a certain shinigami loitering nearby.
"Ah, Rikichi, just in time! I bet the barracks food is not enough for ya, I brought extra..." Renji rambled on as he pushed his aide to a seat and gave him a wooden box filled with food.
Byakuya's eyes narrowed into slits as he watched his lieutenant served the unseated staff a helping of Renji's homemade lunch before the redhead got to serve him.
His eyes widen in shock.
Did he just...?
"Sorry, Captain, here you go," Renji finally got by to give Byakuya his share of the lunchbox. Byakuya silently accepted the offered food with a nod of assent.
Away with you, vile thoughts, Byakuya reasoned with himself, digging into his food a little bit too quickly.
Renji was going around guiding the new recruits with their fairly new zanpakuto, teaching them how to maximize each unique property of their zanpakuto and how to control their reiatsu to make the zanpakuto release smoother and less likely to cause damage to the wielder. Most of the recruits still had no idea what their shikai was, and Renji focused his attentions on them so they could at least feel their zanpakuto spirits at the end of the training.
It was the last thing on the schedule for the day, dusk arrived a few hours ago, lanterns and torches were lit to light up the training grounds and camp area. The recruits were already given time to build their tents for the night, as well as dinner, some were bunking in threes or more to save space since most of the area by the cliffside was perused for training. An empty slot was set aside on the edge of the camping grounds for the two high ranking officers.
Byakuya watched as his lieutenant was showing a few of the promising new recruits how to release their shikai form properly. His role for the day to simply observe and take notice on notable individuals for future prospects—so far only a few were slightly above average.
He had a kido demonstration right after his lunch, as per Renji's request—it was a part of the training schedule since he was the only one available with high-level mastery of kido techniques—but that was it. While he was an excellent shinigami and captain, he had little patience to teach and guide inexperienced recruits, as he was more used to lead capable, experienced officers. He had an eye for details though, and so that was his job—to correct mistakes the recruits made that Renji didn't see, and objectively note improvements on individuals wherever Renji was not.
His observation was halted as Renji's little aide caught his attention.
"E-excuse me, Captain," Rikichi stuttered, trying to get past his terrifying captain to his tent to get burn ointment for one of the recruits—some minor accident with a fire-type zanpakuto.
Byakuya stood his ground, obstructing Rikichi from his path. He loomed over the young man, his eyes sharp and calculating.
"What is your relationship with the lieutenant?" Byakuya demanded more than questioned the younger raven to answer.
"What?" Rikichi's eyes widen. Did he hear that correctly?
"I do not like to repeat myself," Byakuya almost bristled, even the way this aide talks irked Byakuya—in a similar way Kurosaki Ichigo does, he added mentally.
"I-I, I mean," Rikichi stuttered, breathing sharply then trying to compose himself," Renji-san is like an older brother to me, or-or, or a mentor," he continued, jumping back and flinching as his captain closed the distance again, "he, he was the one helped me get around when I first join the Sixth, " he continued, explaining himself frantically. Somehow in this very unusual scenario, he needed to assure his captain of his relationship with his mentor, and he didn't know why.
"I respect him, Sir!" he finally exclaimed, his eyes scrunched shut and his arms halfway up to protect his face, as if his captain was about to pummel him to the ground. He couldn't believe his luck!
Byakuya looked at the smaller raven coldly, contemplation in his eyes.
At last, the captain hummed disinterestedly, making Rikichi jumped in shock and scrambled away, his tails between his legs. Byakuya exhaled in satisfaction. At least he is cowardly enough to not initiate anything, he thought, turning his attention back to his lieutenant on the training ground.
Byakuya almost slapped himself at his thoughts. Maybe he was exhausted. he resisted the urge to massage his brows.
He was snapped out of his self-inflicted dilemma when he heard his lieutenant dismiss the recruits for the day.
"All right, good job on your first day, trainees! Line up tomorrow at six-hundred-hours. You are dismissed," Renji called, his recruit neatly lined up in front of him.
"Yes, Lieutenant Abarai!" they all shouted enthusiastically even in exhaustion and dispersed, chattering among themselves. Some were limping back to their tents, holding their sore backs and stretching their stiff muscles from overwork, while others lingered by the food tents, refilling their stomachs.
Renji grinned proudly, they were making good progress if he said so himself. And they were quickly warming up to him, which he was glad. He cringed when he remembered how his captain was quickly becoming a terrifying entity the moment he stepped into the grounds though, they'll get used to him, I hope; for their own sake.
Renji sighed loudly and turned to go to his camping area when he spotted his captain going in his direction.
"Captain!" Renji called, jogging lightly. He abruptly stopped when he realized something.
Did Captain Kuchiki bring a tent? Did he own one? Renji cursed himself, forgetting to tell his captain to bring a tent. His captain must have assumed they were provided by the barracks—given his lack of baggage other than his belongings when he arrived at the camp, he never went to any training camps with Renji and the recruits before, after all.
"You can bunk with me, Captain," Renji offered sheepishly.
"...what?" Byakuya narrowed his eyes, not understanding his lieutenant's intention.
"Don't worry about it, I got this really cool tent that I got from Akon-san—he's the guy from the Twelfth," Renji rambled on, walking to his camping spot and pulling out a small metal cube from his bag of clothes, "it's all packed into this tiny thing and when I press the button," he pressed a yellow button on the cube and seemingly out of it, white fabrics shot out and transformed into a spacious tent.
Byakuya was almost impressed, if only he didn't hear about some suspicious Akon person—from the equally suspicious Twelfth Division—giving things to his lieutenant. It seemed like the redhead attracted more attention that Byakuya presumed.
"See, Captain? It's big enough for five people to sleep comfortably!" Renji said excitedly, that was the first time he used the device since he got Akon to demonstrate—he was glad that the man didn't charge Renji a single kan.
'It was a prototype', Akon had said, 'you can be the first to try it out for real,' and thrust the device to Renji's hands after the redhead complimented his invention earnestly.
Snapping out of his vile thoughts again for the third time that day, Byakuya finally understood what Renji was going on about in the first place. Byakuya didn't have his own tent, so his lieutenant was offering him to share his.
"I suppose I would have to," Byakuya agreed, going inside the tent after his lieutenant. Inside was as big as it looked from the outside, indeed, five people would fit, maybe not comfortably, as Renji had claimed. Renji put down an oil lamp and his belongings somewhere on opposite corners of the tent and pulled out some clothes from his bag.
Byakuya stopped in his tracks and his eyes went impossibly wide as he saw his lieutenant stripping in front of him. Surely this was inappropriate, he thought distractedly. But Byakuya couldn't help but stare. The sun-kissed skin revealed inch by inch, black fabric dragged languorously across taut skin covered with exotic tattoos. The fabric fell down, down the impossibly long legs and pooled on top of elegant ankles. So those inks traveled further down. He watched the redhead untying his hair, as distractingly red locks cascaded down the smooth, bare backside of his lieutenant, dark ink followed where his eyes traveled only to be covered by the long vermillion curtain, glimpses of their sharp edges showed behind the wispy tendrils, sloping down towards...
Renji paused and turned his head to the glazed-eyes raven, "you're not going to change, Captain?" he raised his brows, just now noticing that his captain was standing stock still nearby the entrance of the tent.
Byakuya inhaled sharply and closed his eyes, he heard himself spouting a pathetic excuse while he steadied his breathing. Of course, the redhead was changing out of his uniform, not anything else, he scolded himself sharply. But the fact that the redhead had no qualms of showing his body to anyone didn't sit well with Byakuya, he found. You're going to be the death of me, Abarai.
Renji slipped into his white yukata—Byakuya greedily ogled as the white material slid leisurely to cover the redhead's lean form—and got ready to rest, it had been a tiring day.
"I'm turning in first, then. Can you blow the lamp when you're done?" Renji called to his captain, not bothering with the formality anymore as he slipped into the futon on his side of the tent and proceeded to snooze—not noticing the eyes that longingly gazed at his slumbering form.
He found himself standing at the cliffside, as he was just this afternoon. The moon was hidden by the clouds, casting dark shadows across the horizon.
"You were born of this cliff," a familiar baritone voice said. Renji sharply turned to see a figure clad in shadows.
"Who...?" Renji trailed off. He drew his brows together in puzzlement as he tried to reach for the figure. A pale hand grasped his wrist gently; it was warm, and it was caressing his skin tenderly as a lover would. Renji shuddered at the thought.
"That is why you were drawn to it."
"What do you mean?" he questioned, increasingly anxious as he tried to draw his arm back to himself, "I was born in Inuzuri," Renji claimed, panicking when the hand didn't budge. He is strong.
"Abarai Renji," another hand shot up to calm Renji's struggling form, squeezing his shoulder in comfort and slid to rest on his back. Renji stilled.
The obstructing cloud lazily dragged away from the moon, gentle yet cold light dispersing and reflected by the barren land on which they were standing—revealing the dark figure standing before him.
"It's you... isn't it?" Renji implored, finally looking at the person in front of him. Red orbs stared back at his brown eyes.
"Bya...kuya?" he tested hesitantly, recalling the name he used when he was in a similar state of mind just the night before. It reeled Renji that the man in front of him shared his captan's name.
"You've grown," the man voiced tenderly, a hint of awe and pride in his tone. His fingers ghosted over Renji's face, knuckles grazing his cheeks softly.
"Who are you?" the redhead asked, voice barely above whispering as he couldn't dare to raise it higher. Not with the man, who he noted was formidable, so close to him that they were sharing the very air they were breathing.
The man's eyes drew blank. The sweet, loving warmth gone, and he drew his hands away from Renji.
"Soon," he uttered harshly, the word trembled with his ragged breathing, his eyes turning dark.
Renji, realizing that the man was about to disappear before he even got his answers, reached out for the figure who was quickly moving away and fading into the shadows, following him.
"Wait! Why do you look like... like—"
"—Abarai!" a strong arm encircled his waist and pulled him back as he nearly felt zero gravity. Renji snapped his eyes open and stared back at the long way down to the ground right under the cliff he was standing on.
He almost yelled in surprise and scrambled back away from the edge of the cliff, his back colliding with his captain's chest in his stumble. They would have fallen if Byakuya didn't have a steady hold of the frantic redhead.
"Be careful," Byakuya exhaled, his breath stuttering as he kept his hold tight on his lieutenant's body. He almost fell, he almost—
"Th-thank you, Captain," Renji managed to puff out, still gaping in shock at what nearly happened to him. His heart was beating rapidly like a war drum and his frame shaking from the adrenaline coursing rapidly through his body.
After a moment of calming himself down, Renji realized his captain was holding him rather tightly. He gently eased himself off and thanked heavens that his captain took the hint and swiftly withdrew his arms from his lieutenant.
"I really owe you now, don't I," Renji chuckled breathlessly to his captain in an attempt to lighten the mood. It was the second time that his captain had to retrieve him from his 'sleepwalking episode', and this time he had to actually save Renji from falling to his demise—literally.
Instead of answering, Byakuya looked at him dead in the eyes and asked, "how many times has this happened?"
Renji grew quiet. He sighed and played with his loose hair, slightly annoyed that he didn't have his hairband on to keep his hair from his face in the windy weather. The moon was still high up on the sky, its borrowed light shining through the sparse clouds.
"This is the first time it happened outside of Seireitei," he muttered, somehow unable to look at his captain in the eye. This felt just like his dream—he didn't want to see the red eyes staring back at him.
Renji finally revealed to Byakuya of all the sleepwalking episodes he had, how it was already the third time it happened, and how the previous two occasions brought him to the Southern Gate of Seireitei. He even told him about the man in his dreams, and what he said to Renji.
Byakuya remained silent the whole time, features of deep thoughts, his eyebrows drawn together as he tried to make sense of what was happening to his lieutenant. And to him, he thought distractedly as he recalled how his body shot up from his sleeping position in the shared tent and urged him to go out to the cliffside, only to find his lieutenant walking towards the edge. He thanked his mastery of flash steps, for without it...
"And all the other times it happened before, it urged you to go to this location. However, the barrier surrounding Seireitei might prevent you from leaving without the Gatekeeper noticing," Byakuya thoughtfully surmised, "because of that, you may have subconsciously chosen this place for the training."
If what Renji told him about the mysterious figure—who happened to share his name—was to be believed, someone was drawing the redhead into their playing field, for a game none of them knew of yet. Given all the incidents that happened in Soul Society before, mind control was not out of the box. Preemptive measures needed to be taken, Byakuya had to make preparations if what he feared was true. He would not let anyone take control of any of his subordinates, let alone his lieutenant.
"The reishi here is denser than other areas, that's why I chose it," Renji insisted, not wanting to believe that he was drawn to this place for any other reason than his own choice, "and it's close."
"Is that how it truly is, Abarai?" Byakuya queried softly, his gaze somewhat softening in understanding to what the redhead was fearing.
The look prompted Renji to hesitate. He simply didn't want to acknowledge it. He didn't, but his captain's eyes demanded his complete honesty.
"I... I don't know," he bit his lip, teeth gnawing the skin in restrained frustration.
"Why now, of all times? He said 'because I was born of this cliff', but I never felt anything before," he proceeded to ramble, his tone increasingly hysterical as he paced back and forth.
"Gosh, Hisagi-san was right, after all. This is so cliché," Renji groaned, rubbing his face harshly. Byakuya looked at him in question, he told the Ninth Lieutenant before him?
Renji continued, throwing his arms in exasperation, "and you know what's funny, Captain? He looks just like y—"
"Abarai," Byakuya stopped him. His voice tight, barely a whisper, tinged with shock and awe.
Renji turned to look at his captain in confusion. He was about to ask what was wrong when his captain uttered his next words.
"You are... glowing," Byakuya breathed.
- to be continued -
Additional Notes:
Kido: a shinigami combat method based on advanced spells using reiryoku. Divided into three general forms; binding kido (bakudo), offensive kido (hado), and healing kido (kaido).
Zanpakuto: a shinigami's main weapon of choice, taking form of a Japanese sword in its most basic form. Once a shinigami learn their zanpakuto's name, they are able to communicate with the spirit of the zanpakuto, a sentient entity unique and reflective of each shinigami's power and soul.
Shikai: the initial release of zanpakuto. Shinigami have to learn their zanpakuto spirit's name before being able to do this release. With shikai, a zanpakuto will usually change its shape and combat properties according to the unique abilities the zanpakuto has. To use shikai, a shinigami has to chant the release incantation and calling the zanpakuto name (e.g.: Howl, Zabimaru).
Reishi: spiritual particle; main component of souls and spiritual matter in the spiritual realms, much like atoms that compose the physical world. Reishi also exists in the human world, although invisible to beings without spiritual awareness or certain levels of reiryoku. It can be manipulated to allow individuals certain capabilities, such as standing on air or using flash steps. I briefly use the concept of Quincy's capabilities (which I extend to spiritual beings like shinigami) on absorbing and manipulating reishi as source of power in this chapter.
Sokyoku Hill: a landmark in Seireitei; large, rocky hill with cliffs on all sides located in the middle of Seireitei. Sokyoku, a form of shinigami execution to those who commit severe crime, is located in this hill, hence the name.
Senzaikyu: lit. Palace of Penitence; a prison located in the middle of Seireitei, adjacent and directly linked to Sokyoku Hill.
Kan: the currency used in Soul Society, similar in value to Japanese Yen (JPY).
And then the device Akon gave Renji. Yep, it was a random thing, but I think it's well within the technological advancements of the Twelfth Division, seeing that they made synthetic souls (the mod souls like Kon) and all that. Not an important thing, just a plot device :)