A few days later
Rukia, Rangiku, and Toshiro stood before the group of trainees and watched as they went over the same drill. Again.
For the past few days, they had tried many new ideas that they hoped would help the young shinigami begin improving. So far, nothing seemed to make much of a difference.
There was no denying that the Tenth's recruits were some of the most talented students during their time at the Academy. However, that was then. Now, these recruits were shinigami in the Gotei 13. The standards were much higher and the environment was all the more competitive. But for whatever reason, Captain Hitusugaya's recruits were struggling to reach the next level, the level acceptable for a shinigami in the Gotei 13. The level that they need to be at in order to protect themselves and others from any enemy.
Rukia groaned and hung her head in defeat. The trainees could barely run through the simple drill without messing up.
"If it's alright with you, Captain Hitsugaya, I'm going to let my trainees go home for the day. They've been here long enough, and it's getting hotter by the minute. A few of them are even on patrol tonight."
"Yes, that's fine, Kuchiki. I think I'll dismiss the rest as well. There's not much else we can do today that we haven't already tried."
She offered him a sad smile. She turned to look at the Tenth's trainees. They were sweaty, exhausted, and defeated. "I think that's a good idea, Sir. We can always try again tomorrow."
Rukia grabbed a few water bottles and made her way to the group of trainees from her division.
Toshiro took a moment to look at Rukia. He watched as she handed out the water bottles and smiled at the tired trainees. He was certain that she was thanking them for coming and praising them for their efforts. That was definitely something she'd do, he marveled.
The image of Rukia sitting on the bench, her hair and clothes soaked, her eyes lifeless, flashed into his mind.
Toshiro was glad Rukia was back to her usual self now. He used the term 'usual' loosely. He hadn't actually known Rukia that well until recently. He knew her because, sadly, she was another one of Aizen's pawns during his betrayal. After that, their paths rarely ever crossed. And up until a few weeks ago, he had only ever heard her name come up every now and then. Then out of nowhere, she became a part of his everyday life. It was strange that, after years and years of being strangers, she was now someone Toshiro trusted enough to help him and his lieutenant train their recruits.
The same image of Rukia from a few nights ago flashed into his mind once again.
Despite that they were no longer strangers, he still didn't know much about Rukia. He could only guess what could have left her in such a state on that night. Which was why Toshiro had not dared to ask Matsumoto what happened after he left that night. He knew he couldn't do that. He had no right to pry into Rukia's private life.
Even so, his curiosity wouldn't leave him alone.
Rangiku playfully elbowed his side. "Captain, you're definitely staring this time," she mocked. "Now, I thought I was just imagining it, but you-"
"Matsumoto!" he growled. "Instead of starting rumors, you should be focusing on your subordinates!"
She made a funny face at him. Her captain was no fun to mess with.
Rukia walked back to find Rangiku making faces at her captains while he simply glared back. She smiled. Those two had quite the partnership.
"What's so funny, Rukia-chan?" Rangiku asked.
"It's no-"
"U-Um, excuse me," came a quiet voice.
The three turned around to see one of the trainees standing before them.
Toshiro's eye began to twitch. Was the young man completely oblivious to manners? "What is it?"
"S-Sir, some of us were wondering when the rest of us would get to go home."
More twitching. "And why's that?" he said in a low growl.
The young man took a step back. His captain was definitely not in a good mood. "It's just… You know."
"No, I can't say that I do know. Enlighten me."
The poor young man gulped. "T-The guys from the 13th were dismissed and-"
"Yes, the trainees from the 13th Division were dismissed! Since you really seem to want to know, they were dismissed because, unlike you, their attendance wasn't mandatory. They were given the option to come here on their own time for extra training. They took advantage of this opportunity knowing that they didn't need it. They simply wanted it. You all, though" - Captain Hitsugaya turned to address all of the trainees - "have to be here because your performances have been sub par. And that's putting it nicely. Lieutenant Matsumoto and I have been very patient and we have given you countless opportunities to improve so that your skills could reach mediocre status. Yet, none of you have so much as begun to improve.
"And instead of giving up on you, we continued to come up with other ways to help you. We even asked Officer Kuchiki to come here because her trainee's performances have been outstanding. We hoped that she could teach you something that obviously Lieutenant Matsumoto and I weren't able to. But now I see that it wasn't my fault. It wasn't Lieutenant Matsumoto's fault either.
"You wanted to know when you would be dismissed, huh? It's that attitude," he growled, "that's stopping you from reaching your potential. Instead of accepting your shortcomings and working to fix them, you'd rather give up and go home? Fine! Go home, then! And with your extra time, contemplate your futures here at the Tenth Division. There's no room here for laziness!"
With that, the very angry Captain Hitsugaya turned his back and began to walk back to his office.
Toshiro sighed as he felt another headache beginning. "Those trainees!" he hissed.
Rangiku shook her head and sighed. "There he goes losing his temper again."
Rukia turned to look at her. "Again?"
Rukia had heard the rumors. Everyone knew that the Captain of the Tenth Division was as cold as the ice he wielded. She had never worked with him close enough to verify the rumors for herself. That is, until now…
Rangiku sheepishly grinned. "Yeah, he has quite the habit of losing his temper. But it's only 'cuz he cares so much. I mean, don't get me wrong; I could go without being yelled at so much. But he doesn't do it to be mean. He does it because he knows what we're capable of, and he gets irritated when we don't live up to our potential. Captain knows that our trainees are capable of so much, and that they just need his help to unlock their skills and talents. But he tries and tries to no avail. I know the trainees are upset for being yelled at like that, but what do they expect? Captain has given what he can and more for their sake. It's no wonder he'd be upset after all they could think about was going home."
Rukia turned to look at the young captain as he walked away. She frowned in worry. "That's so sad," she said, mostly to herself.
Rangiku nodded. "I hate that everyone thinks he's heartless. It's just the opposite. He has the biggest heart and cares so much. Almost too much. I think he just doesn't know how to handle caring so much."
Rukia's eyebrows furrowed. So the rumors were wrong…
She turned to look at Captain Hitsugaya again. She could tell he was still fuming from the way he walked. However, he still carried himself in a way that demanded respect.
Who would have thought that someone so esteemed and so...scary was actually such a softy?
"Rukia-chan? Rukia-chan?" Rangiku said in an attempt to get her attention. When her friend didn't turn around, she got curious. Rangiku turned to look at what had her friend so captivated. Her mouth dropped to the floor. "Rukia-chan!" she squealed.
Finally, her friend snapped back into reality.
"Are you staring at Captain?" Rangiku was over the moon.
Rukia gawked at her friend. She frantically looked around to see if anyone had heard Rangiku.
A gasp. "Oh my God! You were!"
"No! I-I wasn't! I was just-"
But it was too late. Rukia groaned. Rangiku was now babbling on and on and there would be no stopping her.
Now is probably a good time to head back to the barracks, Rukia thought to herself. If only she had headed back sooner...
Knock, knock, knock.
Rukia looked up from her desk. She wondered who it could be visiting her. "Come in."
She couldn't help but smile when she saw her obnoxious childhood friend walk in. He was grinning ear to ear, a box in his hands.
"Renji, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"What? I thought you'd be happy to see me," he joked.
"I am, but shouldn't you be at work?"
He rubbed the back of his head. "About that…"
Renji and Byakuya were finishing up after a long day of work. Right when Renji had gotten up to head out, Byakuya stopped him.
"Renji."
He looked over at his captain. "What's up? Did I forget something?"
"No." A pause. "I need to ask something of you."
He raised a brow. "What is it?"
"Have you been visiting Rukia?"
Renji gulped. He knew for a fact that, not too long ago, Byakuya hated the thought of someone like Renji even speaking to the noble's sister. And even after Renji became his lieutenant, Byakuya's opinion on him hadn't changed much. It wasn't until after the Aizen incident, after Renji had almost lost his own life protecting Rukia and her honor, that Byakuya seemed to soften up to the idea of Renji and Rukia being friends.
Was Byakuya having doubts about Renji's friendship with Rukia again?
"Yes, Sir, I have."
"When was the last time you went to see her?"
"A couple of days ago. Why, Captain? What's this about?"
"I think you should go see her more often," he stated, his expression as passive as ever.
Renji blinked, and then blinked again. Had he heard him correctly? "You want me to visit Rukia more?"
The passive man nodded. "That is what I said, is it not?"
"Yeah… But, what's this about? Is Rukia ok?"
"Rukia has been out of the hospital for a few weeks now. She's recently been promoted as well. It would be nice if she had your company more often as she's trying to adjust." A pause. "And I need to ask a favor."
The lieutenant unconsciously stood straighter. "Anything, Captain."
"Keep an eye on her. Her recovery after Aizen's betrayal has been hindered endlessly. I need your help to finally let her mind recuperate from what she was forced to go through. However, Rukia never lets anybody know when something is wrong, so helping her becomes all the more difficult. You've known her for almost your entire life, so you of all people will be able to notice when she's acting strange. When you do notice a change in her behavior, please notify me."
Renji nodded. "Of course, Sir."
And if Renji had not already been surprised with his captain, he definitely was when Byakuya spoke again.
"Thank you, Renji."
"Your brother thought it would be a good idea to stop by."
Renji thought leaving it at that was for the best. If he knew anything about Rukia, it was that she hated when people worried about her. Especially if that somebody was her older brother.
"Nii-sama did?"
Before she could ask more questions, Renji decided to change the subject. He whistled. "This is quite the office, Fourth Seat," he teased. Rukia hated that kind of attention.
She blushed. "Yes, it is very nice. I still don't know what to do with all of this space though."
Her friend set the box he had been holding onto her desk. "Maybe these can help with that."
Rukia's face lit up. With a smile, Renji pushed the box over to her and watched as she practically ripped it open. He shook his head. He loved that after years of growing up together, and after years of being apart, some things never changed.
Rukia eagerly pulled out a couple of small plants and some small trinkets for her desk. And of course, a present for Rukia wouldn't be complete without something Chappy related. This time, he had gotten her a Chappy brush and ink set. Those would come in handy. Rukia paused when she saw the next gift. She carefully pulled a picture frame out of the box. The picture, clearly much older and worn compared to the elegant frame, was of Renji and Rukia. They were slightly younger and wore the blue and red uniforms of the Academy.
"You...You kept this? After all these years?" she asked in disbelief.
A nod. "I know you said to throw away everything you left behind when you moved into the Kuchiki Manor. But I couldn't bring myself to throw this out." He chuckled sheepishly. Renji had kept that photo mostly for his sake. He kept it as a reminder for why he had to work his ass off day after day after day.
Rukia moved aside some of the things cluttering her desk. She placed it near the center, right where she'd always be able to see it. "Stupid Renji," she whispered affectionately.
"There's one more thing," he said.
Rukia looked back into the box and pulled out a tiny bronze plaque. She ran her thumb across it. The number 78 was inscribed on it. She was speechless.
Renji took his sheathed zanpakuto and showed her the end of the hilt. There, he had an identical rectangular plate hanging from it. "I got us matching ones. So no one, not even us, can forget where we started from. I-I know it's kinda cheesy, but-"
"You idiot!" She walked over to where he was standing and she hugged him. "It's perfect. Thank you."
Renji wrapped his arms around his small friend. "You have a funny way of showing it."
When they pulled apart, Renji immediately tried acting like his usual cool, macho self. "So, do you have any plans?" he asked in a slightly deeper voice. "Or are you helping out Rangiku and Captain Hitsugaya again today?"
"I actually just got back from the Tenth Division."
"How did it go? Are the trainees improving?"
The poor girl rubbed her temples. "My trainees have certainly been benefiting from the extra practice. But I don't think 'improving' is the word I'd use to describe Rangiku's trainees."
"Aw, come on. They've barely graduated. How bad could they be?"
Rukia shived. Those had been her exact words. "They really are that bad."
But she wouldn't lie. Spending time over at the Tenth Division had turned into her favorite part of the day. Not only did she get to work alongside one of her closest friends, but she also got to help her out.
And what was more surprising than the lack of talent from the Tenth's trainees, was just how friendly the captain was. Or better put, how friendly he was towards her. It was a dramatic contrast to his short temper with his lieutenant and his trainees. She would have never guessed that she would have gotten along so well with Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. The rumors weren't completely true; there was a soft side to him under all that ice.
And she hadn't realized how much they had in common. She supposed that had to do with the way he carried himself. Rukia had forgotten that they were even close in age.
She laughed. He reminded her more of a senile old man than a peer.
"What's that laugh about?" Renji asked.
"Nothing," she said with a smile.
Knock, knock.
The two turned to the door to see Rangiku walking in with a box overflowing with things.
"Oh, Renji!" Rangiku exclaimed. "Are you here to help redecorate Rukia's office?"
"Sure, why not? Whatcha got there?" he asked.
Rangiku set down the box. "Just some things to help make this place look less boring. And" - she dug through the box and pulled out a big bottle - "some sake for fun!"
"Alright!" Renji cheered.
"Rangiku!" Rukia groaned.
