Outside the cave the snow flurried, pretty to look at as it floated through the air, dangerous to be stuck in. The flakes obscuring the vision, the temperatures making it far too cold for a normal soul to be stuck in. It was ethereal to watch, like a million white cherry blossoms caught in the wind, flitting and fluttering about, falling and blanketing the ground in a layer of white. Down below, the cherry blossoms would be in bloom, but up high, in the mountains, where the harsh temperatures gave the illusion that it was still winter, there was no sign of the pink petals that symbolised the coming of spring.
Rukia watched from her side of the cave, knees tucked up against her chest, enthralled by each individual snowflake as they danced around each other. From the inside of the cave, it looked so serene, calming and magical, but she knew if she stepped out in it, the snow wouldn't be so forgiving. It would rage and obscure, chill and hinder. A testament to her own emotions perhaps. Calm on the outside, but on the inside cold and harsh, angry from what had occurred and the events that had brought them here.
She tore her gaze away from the cave opening and looked over at her partner. They'd been told to work together, but they'd done nothing but bicker. Perhaps she wasn't cut out to be a lieutenant after all, or perhaps it was proof that they couldn't have a relationship and work together. She worried for their squads, left at the base camp they had set up, no doubt wondering where they were, she worried for themselves, if the snow would stop dancing long enough for them both to get through, and lastly, she worried for their future. Would things ever be the same between them?
The decree that the Sixth and Thirteenth divisions would work together to investigate high hollow readings on the top of a mountain on the outskirts of the eighth district, had come rather quickly. Designated as the perfect way to allow the newly appointed lieutenant of Thirteen a chance to spread her wings and take command of a situation, the two lieutenants had assembled a squad of six from both divisions and set off a mere four hours after the task had been assigned to them.
That had been their first disagreement: Renji, full of gusto and seniority had picked his members for the squad within thirty minutes and waited for Rukia to assemble hers. Rukia, however, preferred a slower more methodic approach to planning what they had to do. Renji had started to get impatient.
"What's all this for?" He had asked, coming into the office she shared with Captain Ukitake and looking at the various equipment she had scattered around her and was trying to fit into a bag.
"Supplies," she'd answered, rather testily, already feeling the pressure of the mission and making her captain, squad and brother proud.
"Supplies? Ru, we don't need supplies. It's a simple mission, in and out, dispatch the hollows and be home for dinner."
Rukia sighed and readjusted the band holding her lieutenant's badge. "What if something happens? It's April, it's still snowing up in the mountains, what if we get caught in it..."
Renji crouched down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a soft smile, the one that gave her butterflies in her stomach. "Trust me, I've done a million of these things. In and out, home in time for dinner. My treat."
Rukia looked up at him and matched his gaze. Violet eyes searching his brown before she nodded. She did trust him, they hadn't made it this far without some semblance of trust. A trust that had been tasted over the years but had only grown stronger in the past year. "Can I at least take the blankets, first aid kit and emergency rations?"
Renji chuckled and stood back up. "As long as it doesn't hamper your speed."
Despite the heavy snowfall and the climb made treacherous by the avalanche, the overall hike up the mountain towards the coordinates given to them by the twelfth division had gone simply enough. The team, buoyed by the prospect of being outside the Seireitei and working with another division, had been in high spirits. Renji had led the ascent, Rukia bringing up the behind, making sure there were no stragglers and that they were all staying together.
"Why don't you walk with me Ru?" Renji called back at her after an hour into their climb. "Must be lonely back there?"
Rukia had shaken her head. "We don't want anything catching us unawares, best to spread ourselves out, and ensure we're staying together."
Someone had sniggered at that, which had only made Rukia more paranoid that she wasn't performing properly.
They'd reached the coordinates, a low shelf on the mountain, the remains of a camping trip gone array evident from the footprints and left behind backpacks. They ducked down behind some bushes to discuss strategies.
"You know if you'd walked upfront with me, we could have all this planned beforehand," it was meant as a tease, a jibe between friends, but Rukia took it as an insult and ground her teeth together to prevent her from saying something she may later regret. Instead, she turned to the matter at hand and pointed to the map on the ground between them.
"I think our best bet is to sneak around up the mountain here and shunpo down. We'd have the higher ground and the element of surprise," Rukia had thought it to be a pretty good plan, it kept everyone safe and there was no shame in attacking a hollow from behind.
Renji had other ideas, "Nah, it's easy, we'll rush in headfirst and just dispatch them, and done! They're just your basic hollows and we have defeated ones much stronger."
Rukia sighed. "Yes, but this is a bunch of hollows and even the most confident can still fail..." it wasn't that his plan wouldn't work, it was the feeling he was undermining her, they were of equal rank and he was calling her out in front of her squad. It struck a nerve and she curled her hand in the snow feeling the coldness on her hands.
"Rukia, 'I've done this a million times."
She snapped, his cocky attitude, his constant need to not even consider what she was trying to say had been the last straw. "And I haven't! I get it," her voice was raised now. "I get you're trying to be the superior one here, the more experienced, but how am I going to ever prove myself if you keep trying to hold my hand. I can do this on my own!"
"Er Lieutenant?" a voice that wasn't Renji's cut through her tirade.
"What?" She turns to look at who has spoken, her face thunderous, but the officer just pointed behind them, the rest of the squad, poised with their Zanpakuto drawn. She'd been so worked up with Renji and finally speaking what was on her mind that she didn't notice that her voice had carried, alerting the hollows to their arrival. Neither had it seemed, had Renji.
"New plan?" Renji asked, jumping back and drawing Zabimaru at the same time.
"New plan," And for once, they actually agreed on something, she drew Sode no Shirayuki and nodded to the squad before they leapt in to fight.
"One more!" Renji yelled, sending Hihiō Zabimaru after the final hollow. It had broken away from the group, lumbering further up the mountain and away from the onslaught of it's brethren. Renji had gone bankai pretty early on into the battle and Rukia, had she been in a better mood or it had been at a better time, would have teased him for it. If it had been an easy job then he wouldn't have needed to go bankai. Rukia jumped after him, the icy remains of the hollow she'd been fighting shattering into a million pieces.
"Rukia wait!" Renji yelled after her, calling back Hihiō Zabimaru when the hollow got too far away, but Rukia ignored him. Their mission was to destroy all the hollows, leaving one was unacceptable and she wasn't going to be blamed for this, she needed to prove that she could do this. She chased after it, the wind whistling in her ears as she used the spiritual air around her to quicken her movements.
The hollow was climbing further up the mountain and still Rukia followed, Sode no Shirayuki sheathed to give her both hands free in order to make the climb. She had no idea if Renji was following her, or if the rest of the squads were safe, in her mind she had one goal, one task to complete and that was dispatching the final hollow. She'd deal with everything else later.
The storm, it seemed, had been bubbling like her anger, soft flakes at first, light and deceptive, before without warning, it exploded into the blizzard it was now. Visibility reduced to a mere metre in front of her, the cold she could handle, what she struggled with was the relentless barrage of snow hitting her, like a block, similar to the wall she felt she kept hitting in her career. With every step forward she ended up taking five back; the snow, the wind, her brother, Renji, Ichigo all preventing her from moving forward. It was frustrating and she buckled down and tried to move forward, head lowered as the snowflakes whipped up around her. It felt like her own power, her own soul was against her. She faulted in her step, the hollow no longer visible and slinking soundlessly further up the mountain. Rukia growled in annoyance, this couldn't be happening and she wanted nothing more than to turn around and give Renji a piece of her mind.
She turned, one foot lifting off the ground to be placed behind her, the wind, a tricky sort, dying down only to blow again at the exact moment Rukia was at her unsteadiness, her foot struggled to find ground, her other foot wobbled, but she remained upright, her foot finally finding something solid to land on. Everything happened within seconds, but to Rukia, locked in the anger of her mind, it took a decade, so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't test the sturdiness of the ground she'd placed her foot on and lifted her other foot to complete her turn. The rock beneath her foot shifted, her ankle twisting awkwardly, her balance failing and tilting her perilously towards the edge of a hidden dip. She tumbled, rolling without grace down the side of the mountain. All thoughts of anger pushed from her mind as she rolled, not knowing how far down the drop was or when she was going to stop.
"Gotcha," two arms caught her, scooping her up off the ground and cradling her protectively. The arms, whereas not as warm as they usually were, were a welcome sight. The voice, deep and familiar and Rukia couldn't help but sigh in relief, despite her anger at the man holding her. Memories of a time not too long ago of being rescued and carried like this flooded her mind, another memory, this one closer than before of being carried for a different reason reminded her of the comfort she felt when in his embrace.
"What are you doing Rukia?" he hissed as he battled against the snow, his teeth chattering as he walked. His tone brought Rukia out of her reverie.
"Fixing your mess," she hissed back, any relief she had felt about being rescued replaced with her earlier anger as she remembered why she needed rescued in the first place.
Renji grunted, huddled down, head low, and arms protecting her from the storm. "I've left everyone back at the battle site. They're safe, they have your guys' emergency packs, the storm hasn't reached them yet and they're staying together."
Rukia hummed, anger abated a little as she felt guilty for leaving her squad.
"I studied the map, there should be a cave just a head, we can bunker down there until the storm ends, I even brought your bag with me," Rukia didn't say anything, if she could she would have crossed her arms and stormed on a head, but as she was, in Renji's arms, she could only glare.
It was a good thing Renji had thought to bring Rukia's bag with him, for it had come in very handy. Renji lay shivering on one side of the cave, a blanket around him and the fire lit by kidō doing little to keep him warm. The first aid kit opened and scoured for its supplies to help bind the sprained ankle Rukia got from her tumble down the side of the cliff. The rations consumed within the first two hours of them being holed up to escape the harsh extremes.
If it weren't for her ankle Rukia could have probably made it back to the base camp. She liked to think she did pretty well in the cold. She could have gathered a quick team and returned for Renji, but alas, only the most masterful could perform Kaidō on themselves, and with Renji's track record with Kidō she didn't trust him to help patch her up, she'd end up with no leg instead of a healed ankle, so they had been left with no choice but to wait in the cave and sit out the storm.
Just like the storm outside, calm and serene at first glance, wild and deadly on the inside, Rukia was still seething with anger about the events that had happened. She'd tried to stay strong, the weight of the mission resting on her shoulders, the illusion and mentality that she needed to prove to her squad and to Renji that she did deserve to be Lieutenant.
She knew what they said behind her back, that it was nepotism she was allowed to go from being an unseated to lieutenant. That she wasn't ready and was only in her position due to her connections with the Substitute Soul Reaper and her brother. There was a sense of injustice in her, a need and stubbornness to prove them all wrong, she believed that in order to stand proud and show them she was here on her own merit, then the mission needed to have been a it wasn't a success, she was failing miserably and she didn't know what she could do to fix the mess they were in.
If anything they should wait for morning, and hope by that time the snow would have dissipated, or a search party formed and sent out. However, and she was sure Renji would agree with her, a search party would be the last thing they would want. What better way to prove she wasn't capable than to have been rescued from her first mission. A failed mission, at that, as there was still one hollow at large, roaming around the mountains.
"Ru?" Renji's voice was low, teeth chattering against the cold. Rukia ignored him and his stupid pretty little face, this was all his fault after all. If they'd just gone along with her plan the final hollow wouldn't have escaped, they wouldn't have split up and they wouldn't be caught in this snow storm. "I know you're angry at me right now but we need to talk..." If Rukia was thinking rationally about this, she'd have realised how much it must have taken Renji to walk over to her, if she'd looked at him she'd see the colour drained from his face the blanket bundled around him as he struggled against the chill of the cave. But she didn't see any of that, her eyes staring straight ahead at the snow storm, her mind focused on the past and the problem and not instead looking to the future and a solution.
He sat down next to her, placing the blanket over her shoulders as well as his.
"Fool," she muttered but left the blanket there. "I don't get cold."
"I know," Renji said, softly. "But I wanted to do something to apologise, and this seemed like the most logical thing to do." He shrugged, Rukia didn't see it but she felt the blanket shift as he did. "It got you talking to me didn't it."
Rukia sighs. "What do you want, Renji?"
"I want to apologise, for being a jerk and for thinking you needed babying on your first mission. For being over confident to the point where it nearly got us killed... have I missed anything?"
She looked at him, red-hair lit by the fire behind them, making it look like his hair was the fire. "Just the fact that you're a grade-a fool."
Renji grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, listen Ru, I really am sorry, but what you said back there about you needing to prove that you can do this by yourself? I know what they say about you, and I wanted to help, I thought if we did this the easiest way possible and when we got back to the Seireitei I would say it was all your idea and give you the praise you so deserve. You've worked hard for this position and I couldn't bear to see anyone think you weren't deserving of it..."
Rukia softened, the storm inside her dying down to a mere flurry as his words melted her heart. "Renji I..."
Renji shook his head. "Let me finish please, this is the longest I've spoken without stumbling or flubbing a word, I'm on a roll."
Rukia giggled and nodded for him to continue.
"You were right, the best probably way for us to have defeated the hollows would have been to do it your way, but I was afraid it would fail and I didn't want you to fail. I didn't want you going through all this effort including the emergency supplies, which are saving my life by the way and I thank you for it, too ultimately fail. Basically I should have just trusted you, and I'm sorry I didn't."
Anger well and truly dispersed, she turned to him. Now Renji had taken that first step to mending their broken bonds, it had cleared her head enough to know that whilst he had been in the wrong, so too had she. It took two to tango after all and Renji wasn't the only one to blame. "No, I'm sorry, I was so worked up on proving myself and showing everyone that I could do this on my own that I'd forgotten that the most important part about leading is to listen. I should have listened to you, we should have communicated better."
Renji smiled. "So friends again?" he holds out his hand, fist closed apart from the littlest finger, ready for an old handshake from eons ago.
"Friends again," Rukia agreed and linked her littlest finger with his.
They sat like that for a while, both locked in the same memory, when times were easier and trust wasn't so hard to come by. "Is it me or did it get warmer in here?" Renji asked, finally dropping his hand, and the blanket around his shoulders.
"It's not changed outside," Rukia commented, peering out at the storm again.
"Maybe because I braved the storm in here, my body has adjusted."
"Are you implying that I made it cold in here?"
"I mean... It could happen right? Rangiku says she always knows when Captain Hitsugaya is in a foul mood because the office is colder, and apparently Lieutenant Sasakibe says his office is boiling when Yamamoto is in a bad mood. So yes, I am implying that you made it colder."
Rukia pulled her knees up to her chest. It was a valid point, and ever since leaving Ichigo in the world of the living she had been privately training for bankai, so it was very likely that she was at least a little bit stronger. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine, now I know, if I'm gonna make you angry I'll just wear extra layers."
"You could just not make me angry."
Renji laughed. "Ru, you and I both know that's gonna be impossible to do."
Rukia joined in with the laughing, bumping his shoulder lightly. It was nice to be friends again, their relationship, whilst rocky at best was still growing and she didn't want a silly fight or power struggle to come between them, if they figured things out now between them, then later in the future things would be easier to fix should it happen again. Although she really hoped it wouldn't happen again. She really didn't like fighting with him.
They sat in silence for a bit, a comfortable silence between two souls who were used to the silence and didn't feel the need to fill it with mindless chatter. It was a silence that told them they were comfortable with each other's presence, a silence that was soon broken with the cry of a hollow.
"Think it's him?" Renji asked, and Rukia knew who "he" was, this was the one hollow they had failed to slay.
She nods. "Probably. Sounds like it's coming from the opposite direction to the camp though so the squad should be safe." Renji nodded thoughtfully and Rukia, finally tearing her eyes away from the front of the cave finally looked around and took stock of where they were.
As caves went it was fairly mundane, but Rukia didn't exactly make it a habit to camp out in caves very often or at all to be honest. Even when she and Renji were younger, in the Rukon, Inzurui didn't have many mountains or caves to hang out with, although it probably would have been much more exciting to have lived in a cave instead of living in the basement of someone's house.
At first glance the cave was just a hollowed out section of the mountain, but after squinting through the dark and feeling a faint chill from behind her, it gave the impression that there was more beyond where they had set up camp.
"Hey Renji," she asked, turning back to him. "You got that map? The one that had this cave on it?"
Renji shook his head. "Nah I left it with the squad just in case they needed to go back down the mountain and come back with help to rescue us."
Rukia hummed and unsteadily got to her feet. Renji, watching her carefully stood up as well, not jumping in to help her straight away but hovering nearby in case she asked for him. Rukia was thankful that he was finally giving her some space, the little gesture of respecting her boundaries a big step forward in her eyes. She hobbled over to the back of the cave, finding that it wasn't a back at all, but a sharp turn into a tunnel that led deeper into the mountain. The chill was stronger now, the whistle of a wind as it flowed through.
She turned back to him, hand on the wall to steady herself. "Where do you think this leads?"
Renji shrugged and moved closer peering down the tunnel. "Other side of the mountain probably why?
"Well if we can come out near where the hollow is, we can use the snow as a cover and consider this a mission completed, in and out, home in time for dinner as you put it. Or at this rate it'll be breakfast."
"But your ankle..." he trailed off, but Rukia smiled at him.
"You can carry me," Rukia knew her limits and wasn't against asking for help when she needed it, even if it was hard to do so. Teamwork, after all, was the foundation for a good leader. "Trust me, I have a good feeling about this." She couldn't explain how she knew, only that she did.
Renji looked at her, brown eyes searching, his brow furrowed in a frown as he calculated all their options, finally he nodded. "Okay Ru I trust you"," he grinned and walked around the cave picking up any trace that they had been there. Wrappers from rations, the blanket and first aid kid all packed inside the bag and given to Rukia to hold. The fire, the last thing to go, was doused with snow before Renji returned back for Rukia, turning and kneeling slightly, allowing her to climb on his back.
"Ready?"
He couldn't see her but Rukia grinned and patted his head softly. "Yeah, ready."
Renji was right, the cave did come out the other side of the mountain and Rukia breathed a sigh of relief when they saw moonlight filtering through the opening leading to the outside. They'd walked an hour, an hour and a half at tops, neither speaking, just focused on making it through the tunnel and on the mission at hand. There was too much a stake to back down now, both dedicated to completing their mission and just making it home. It was a lot calmer on this side of the mountain, the snow dancing in the moonlight, floating around and sticking to their hair and clothes. Rukia blinked a few snowflakes off her lashes and Renji shook his head, the snow flying off his hair and joining in with the dance of its brethren. They paused at the top of a gentle slope, lights in the distance indicating there was a village at the bottom of the mountain. Rukia was uncertain if they were still in the 8th District or if they had crossed into the 9th. Something moved out the corner of her eye and she followed the movement.
"Renji..."
"Yeah," his voice was low, face turned to where Rukia was watching. "I see him."
The hollow was further up and currently stalking down the mountain. The lights and spiritual pressure of the village like a homing beacon, summoning him to his dinner.
Renji surveyed the land and pointed down the slope. Rukia followed his finger, a small path just visible under a layer of snow. "I'm thinking if we curve down the left side of the mountain there's a path, we can get down to solid ground quicker than he can and cut him off before he reaches the village..." he paused and lowered his arm. "Unless you... er... had a better idea?"
Rukia didn't and she told him as much. "I trust your judgement."
"Look at us, working together as a team and listening to each other," Rukia can't see his face but she can tell he's grinning and she tapped him on the head.
"Careful, we haven't actually defeated it yet."
They made quick work of the path: the moderate hill and the break in the storm making it easy for them and soon they're standing at the foot of the mountain. The hollow, oblivious to them, still making its way down the mountain.
"Can you let me down please?" Rukia asked, indicating her intent with a tap on the head and Renji complied, helping her over to a nearby tree to lean on. She put her foot down, gingerly testing her weight on it and wincing slightly, before shaking her head and lifting it back off the ground. "I can support you with a couple of Kidō, but I won't be able to dance. Think you can take him?"
Renji puffed out his chest, but then deflated pretty quickly causing Rukia to laugh, she'd love to know what was going on inside that pretty little head of his. "Yeah, won't be the same without you though, but if you can hold him, I'll slash him."
"Sounds like we have a pretty solid plan there," she said with a grin and Renji nods, offering his hand for a high-five which she returned with a laugh. "Am I still getting treated to dinner after this?"
"Thought it was going to be breakfast at this point in time."
"Can't it be both? We'll treat the squad to breakfast and then we'll have dinner for just the two of us."
"So am I completely forgiven then?"
Rukia smirked at him and hummed slightly. "This whole thing," she struggled to find the word she wanted and instead used hand gestures to emphasis them. "Is something we are certainly going to have to discuss, at a later date and not when we're getting ready to dispatch hollows. I value you as a friend and I love you as my boyfriend but we can't have what happened before happen again."
Renji nodded enthusiastically. "I totally agree, and I am..."
"Honestly Renji," Rukia held up a hand to stop him. "If you apologise one more time I will miss aim my Kidō and singe your hair."
Renji chuckled, partly because he knew she was completely capable of doing just that.
The hollow howled again, and the couple looked towards the sound. They were still completely hidden from it, the spiritual pressure emanating from the village causing the hollow to have a tunnel-like vision and focus solely on it and nothing else in its vicinity.
"Ready?" Renji whispered, drawing Zabimaru and placing his hand on the flat of the blade, ready to jump into Shikai.
Rukia only nods, her lips moving in a soundless chant, the power of a Bakudō crackling the air around them.
The hollow had barely found flat ground before Rukia's hands glowed yellow, a rope-like light curling around them, before she pushed her hands out in front of her, the yellow rope shooting towards the hollow and coiling around it. It howled and a bell tolled from the village, the howl alerting the townsfolk to the presence of the hollow.
"Now Renji!" Rukia yelled and Renji leaped forward with a whoop.
"Roar, Zabimaru!" Extending his blade and slashing down on the struggling hollow. The mask cracking and the hollow shattering, its energy being picked up by the wind.
Rukia clicked her tongue. "Was Shikai really necessary?" she teased, pushing herself up off the tree and hobbling over to him.
Renji at least had the audacity to blush and rubbed the back of his neck. "It looked stronger than it was."
"And then there was the bankai back in the original fight," she'd reached him now, and patted his chest, leaning against him to alleviate the pressure of her broken ankle. "You're as bad as Ichigo."
"Hey!" Renji pouted, arms automatically wrapping around her to support her. "Am not."
Rukia looked up at him with a chuckle. "Fool," she muttered leaning into his embrace and he chuckled as well, any and all animosity between them blown away like the snowflakes in the air current.
"I really am sorry," he mutters leaning down to place a kiss on her head. "I know you had your reservations about us working together when we're still figuring out the next stage in our relationship, but despite the rocky start, I think we ended pretty well."
Rukia hummed at the kiss, her arms sliding around to his back and she looked up at him. "We still have a way to go, and from now on just to stop this from happening again, just admit that I am right as soon as I say something. It's the easiest way for you to survive this."
Renji chuckled. "Is that so?" he asked, a tattooed eyebrow raised as he leant down to capture her lips in a chaste kiss. Rukia giggled and he pulled back with a smile. "If you think that will work then I'm willing to give it a try," he said before leaning down one more time for another kiss.
A/N: Written for the Seireitei Discord Server's August Challenge, and for the server's RenRuki week.
Prompt: Escape Through the Snow (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)
Also, just in case you didn't get the final bit of symbolism in the title... a summit is another word for a discussion, which they had in an icy cave at the top of a mountain...
I'd love to know what you think thanks so much for reading!