Chapter Five-Newbies

"I just can't do it anymore!"

Ren was having serious thoughts about turning around and walking back to the Fifth Division. Judging by Yoruichi's yell of frustration, she was obviously having an issue, and that was something that Ren wanted no part of. But, of course, being the loyal and dutiful lieutenant that she was, Ren decided to toughen up and see just what the problem was. She could only hope that she wouldn't regret it later.

"Yoruichi, are you alright?" Ren asked as she poked her head around the door. Yoruichi was at her desk, with her head flat against the top of it.

"No, no I'm not, Ren," Yoruichi whined. Ren took a deep breath to prepare herself.

"What's the problem?" she asked, bracing herself.

"They just aren't responding!" Yoruichi told her, finally raising her head off of her desk.

"You're going to have to elaborate, Captain," Ren told her.

"The newbies! They aren't responding to my training!" Yoruichi explained.

"Oh…That's it?" The question caused Yoruichi to look at Ren incredulously.

"Yeah…Why?"

"I thought it was serious, that's all."

"This is serious, Ren! What kind of Captain am I if I can't even train my own squad members!?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Yoruichi. They probably just need some time to get used to your training methods."

"They've had time, Ren! It's not going to be fine! They'll never get it!"

Ren took yet another deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had no idea what was wrong with the new recruits, but she knew that there was no way in hell that she was going to listen to this all day.

"Sure they will. You know, why don't you just let me have a try with them?" Ren felt like she was selling her soul as she made that offer.

"Would you really do that, Ren?" Yoruichi's eyes looked so hopeful and innocent, and Ren just couldn't find in it herself to deny her, even though she knew that that innocent and hopeful look was complete and utter bullshit.

"Yeah, yeah, why not?"

"Great! They should all be making their way to the training field right now! Let's go!"

"What have I gotten myself into?" Ren muttered.


"Goodness, Yoruichi, you've already scared the piss out of them," Ren commented. She was standing in front of the line of new recruits, and they were all practically shaking in their boots and looking at Ren as if she were about to murder them all in cold blood.

"So?" Yoruichi replied.

"So? Don't you think you might have gone a little too far, been a tad bit too forceful?" Ren asked her.

"No, not at all," Yoruichi commented, glaring over at the recruits and startling them.

"Of course you would think that," Ren muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose yet again. She was doing that a lot today, and she figured she probably wouldn't be stopping any time soon.

"Yoruichi, why don't you go over there and give us some space," Ren suggested, pointing off into the distance.

"All the way over there? And do what?" Yoruichi practically whined.

"And watch! What else?"

"But I-"

"No buts! Go!"

"Fine." With a final huff, Yoruichi finally Shunpo'd away from them, giving Ren the chance that she wanted to talk to the recruits.

"So, what is it exactly that you are not getting?" she asked them, looking over to the spot where Yoruichi had gone, where she was now crossing her arms and quite literally sulking. Ren could only shake her head.

"C-Combat Shunpo," one of the men answered.

"Elaborate for me, please," Ren continued.

"You don't know? Didn't you go through this training, too?" one of the other women asked, and she was somewhere on the verge between confusion and incredulous anger.

"Nope," Ren answered.

"Then how the hell are you our lieutenant?!"

"Because I am just that damn good, sweetheart. And did I tell you to yell?"

"N-No, sir."

"Alright then. Now, would someone please elaborate this training exercise to me?" Ren repeated.

"Lieutenant Hi-err, Ren, um, this is the exercise where Captain Shihōin Shunpo's at us and has us try to dodge or deflect her attacks," a young girl finally answered.

"And I assume by all of your bruises that this has not gone well," Ren commented. "So, you all know how to Shunpo, right?"

"Yes, sir!" they all answered in unison.

"Again with the sir?" Ren wondered.

"Okay, then I guess we'll try something a little different," Ren started. That comment in and of itself was enough to make all of the recruits' eyes shoot open and for their shaking to start again.

"Don't look so scared, jeez. We're just going to flip roles," Ren assured them.

"Flip roles?" one of them asked.

"Yes, flip roles. Just for a little bit, though. I'm going to be you guys, and you guys will be Yoruichi," Ren explained.

"You mean, we'll attack you?"

"Precisely. That way, you'll be able to see how I do it and maybe you'll be able to mimic me when we switch roles again," Ren answered, cracking her neck to start getting ready for the exercise.

"But, Lieutenant, we-"

"Don't worry about it. I can handle it. Yoruichi didn't go all the way to District 80 to get me for nothing. Now, shall we begin?"

The recruits just looked at each other for a moment, as if they were daring one another to go first. Finally, the woman with an attitude decided she would be the one. At first, she Shunpo'd around Ren, zigzagging around her and trying to confuse her, when she finally came in for a kick. Everyone thought that she had Ren, especially since Ren hadn't even moved her eyes to follow her the whole time that she Shunpo'd, but as soon as she was about to make contact, Ren brought up her forearm to deflect the kick.

"How? You aren't even looking at me!" the woman asked, astonished.

"I have many other senses besides my sight, recruit, and so do you," Ren told her, wrapping her arm around the recruit's leg and throwing her back to the others.

The rest of the recruits looked at each other and nodded in unison, all of them silently agreeing on a new strategy to use in this exercise. They had all decided to charge Ren at once, some trying to kick her, others trying to punch her, and one even trying to grab her and trap her so she couldn't dodge their attacks. But, moving as if she were as light as the wind itself, Ren showed them just why she was their lieutenant.

One of the recruits tried to kick Ren in the head, and she easily ducked under his leg and then quickly shoved her palm into his knee to throw him off balance. When one of the other men tried to grab her, she quickly span behind him, making him take a punch to the face that had been meant for her, and as soon as she was behind the man, one of the women tried to kick her again, and this time, Ren Shunpo'd out of the way, making the man that had tried to grab her take yet another hit that was meant for her.

"Is that it?" Ren challenged. The recruits did not falter, and as soon as the words left her mouth, they were all charging her again, and this time, they all tried to hit her at once. With a slight smirk, Ren crouched down to the ground, right at the perfect level to dodge the lowest hitter. And of course, the recruits all hit each other, although one was able to Shunpo out of the way. It was actually the young girl that had told Ren what the exercise was in the first place.

"You! Very good; you catch on quickly. And for the rest of you, I like your spirit, but you need to be on your toes a little more, alright? Now, I'm going to take Yoruichi's role, too, so I won't just be dodging and deflecting: I'll also be targeting a few of you. Try not to fall behind, alright?" Ren warned them. For some reason, Ren's method seemed to motivate the recruits, and instead of fearing being hit by her or by each other, they were determined to learn the method behind her movements.


Shinji was on his way to Second Division; he was taking some paperwork over there to give to Ren, a duty which he had relieved Aizen of very quickly, for obvious reasons. As he was making the journey to Yoruichi's office, he happened to notice some commotion by the training fields, but he wasn't going to stop, that is, until he saw a flash of orange go by, and then he suddenly became interested. When he got closer to the fields, he noticed Yoruichi not too far away, and with her were Jūshirō and Shunsui.

"Ah, Shinji! I was wondering when you'd show up!" Shunsui called.

"What's going on over there?" Shinji asked when he reached them.

"Ren-chan decided to take a stab at training Yoruichi's new recruits," Jūshirō told him.

"Because someone was apparently having issues!~" Shunsui sang, and Yoruichi visibly shrank in the spot where she was sitting.

"Well, if ya' wouldn't try to basically kill 'em, Yoruichi, ya' might not have that problem," Shinji told her.

"Ya' might have the problem of my foot up yer ass if ya' don't shut up," Yoruichi warned him.

"Pfft, let's not pretend like you aren't just trying to get Ren to do this for you from now on, Yoruichi," Shinji commented.

"Now why would I do that, Captain Hirako?" Yoruichi asked, rolling her eyes at him. Shunsui and Jūshirō both snickered at that.

"'Cuz yer lazy," Shinji stated, in a very 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone.

"Shinji," Yoruichi began.

"Yes?" he replied.

"My foot is coming real close, real close, to your ass, and I'm sure that Ren will back me up on this," Yoruichi warned him.

"She would not!" Shinji shouted, skeptically.

"She would, too. She knows how much of a pain you can be," Yoruichi told him.

"You are an evil woman," Shinji muttered.

"It's part of my charm!" Yoruichi happily conceded.

At that time, Shinji was finally able to pinpoint Ren in the crowd of Shunpo'ing recruits. Her face was calm and her expression was unconcerned, but there was no telling how long they had been out there training in the heat, so she was sweating just a little bit, in a way that Shinji found to be quite attractive. Her lips were barely parted so she could draw in just a little bit of extra air. He may have been imagining it, but he could have sworn that there was a slight flush across her cheeks, and her chest was just barely starting to heave and Shinji couldn't help but stare and get caught in its up and down rhythm. And just as he was about to try to stop ogling her, a small bead of sweat rolled its way down her neck, over her collarbone, and straight into her glorious cleavage. There was no way that Shinji could have stopped the small trickle of blood that came out of his nose.

"Yoruichi, I'm going straight to hell when I die," Shinji commented.

"Me, too," she agreed. Shinji quickly swung his head over to look at her, and she obviously staring at the same thing he was. Blood started gushing out of his nose, and he held his hand to nose to try to stop some of it.

"Hehe, good one, Yoruichi," Shunsui commented. Shinji looked over at him, and his nose was bleeding, too, though not nearly as bad as Shinji's. Jūshirō was just shaking his head at all of them.


"How…How do you do it?"

All of the recruits were tired and breathless, and Ren wasn't too far from it herself. Normally, she wouldn't be bothered by the strenuous activity, but it was just so damn hot that day. She was also feeling very antsy because she could practically feel eyes on her, but she wasn't sure where they were from.

"Several ways, actually," Ren breathed.

"Elaborate, please," one of the men laughed.

"Ha-ha. I might just do that," Ren began. "Sight is great and all, but as the human beings that we are, we depend on it way too much. Sometimes, when your eyes just can't keep up, you have to use your other senses. Let me elaborate on this, as well. Whenever one of you tried to kick me in the head, I could hear and feel the wind change by my ear, so I knew to dodge an attack to my head. Whenever you tried to grab me or punch or kick the rest of my body, I let my spiritual pressure and each of yours do the work. So, whenever you were aiming for my body or my head even, I focused enough so I could feel our spiritual pressures begin to collide right before they actually did. That's the key to Shunpo Combat: focus. You have to be attentive enough to pay attention to all of your senses, especially your sense of feeling with your spiritual pressure, all while trying to be fast enough to hit your opponent before they can feel you. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the recruits shouted.

"Alright, then you are dismissed, or whatever she says when you're done," Ren told them. Without another word, the recruits Shunpo'd away, and Ren was finally able to rejoin her dearest Captain Shihōin, who seemed to have drawn some companions to herself.

"Captains," Ren greeted.

"Hey, Ren," Shinji replied. Ren couldn't help but snort when she saw the tissues stuffed in his nose. She almost couldn't keep her laughter in when she saw that Shunsui had some, too.

"Yoruichi causing you trouble?" Ren joked.

"I would never! By the way, Ren, you seem to be a natural at this," Yoruichi commented.

"No, Yoruichi. The answer is no," Ren told her.

"But I didn't even say anything!" Yoruichi whined.

"No, but I know you, and the answer is no; I will not take over training for you from now on. I may do a few sessions here and there, but I will not do all of them," Ren replied. Shunsui and Jūshirō both laughed at the disgruntled look on Yoruichi's face.

"You're mean," Yoruichi muttered.

"And you're any better?" Shinji countered, causing Yoruichi to huff.

"Now, now, Shinji, be nice. Is that paperwork you have there, by the way?" Ren asked him.

"Why yes, it is. Paperwork for Second Division, in fact," Shinji told her.

"I see. Well, I'm sure Yoruichi would love to take that off of your hands, wouldn't you, Captain?" Ren replied. "Seeing as I did just train your recruits for you."

"Fine," Yoruichi huffed. Ren quickly took the paperwork from Shinji and shoved it into Yoruichi's hands.

"Well, it looks like I can clock out early then, huh?" Ren commented.

"Yeah, yeah, just go," Yoruichi grumbled, defeated at her own game.

"Great! See you later!" Ren called. Shinji didn't even have time to think before Ren grabbed him by the haori and Shunpo'd away from everyone else, dragging him along with her.

"Young love, eh?" Shunsui commented.

"Yeah, yeah, and it's a pain in my ass," Yoruichi added.


"You know, I might actually have work to do," Shinji stated.

"Pfft, like you'd actually do it instead of spending time with me," Ren commented.

"Hey, now, don't get a chip on your shoulder, Ren."

"I'm not: I just know you, that's all." After Shunpo'ing a good distance away, Ren finally stopped and let Shinji go. Now, as the sun was about to set, they were walking through the rest of the Divisions to get to their usual spot at the lake before the sun set.

"I would hope you know me by now. It's been what, half a century now?" Shinji commented.

"Something like that. Oh, look! It's Kisuke! Hi, Kisuke!" Ren called, startling the pale blond and stopping him in his tracks.

"R-Ren-chan? I didn't think I'd see you out here," Kisuke commented.

"What am I, invisible?" Shinji jeered.

"Oh, hello, Captain Hirako," Kisuke added.

"So, have you finally settled in to being captain, Kisuke?" Ren asked him.

"For the most part. It doesn't seem like I've been doing it for five years now," Kisuke admitted.

"No, it doesn't," Ren agreed.

"Well, time flies when you're having fun, right Ren?" Shinji commented, putting his hands on both of Ren's shoulders.

"So, have you two heard about the disappearances in Rukongai?" Kisuke asked.

"No, we haven't," Ren told him. "Are they centered anywhere?"

"Yes, mainly in the outer districts, but there hasn't been enough of them to really draw any attention. I only heard about them by chance. But, I guess we'll see how it goes. They may be nothing serious at all," Kisuke told her.

"Yeah, let's hope so," Ren agreed. "Well, we'll catch you later, Kisuke! Best of luck with Lieutenant Sarugaki!"

"Poor guy," Shinji commented.

"Why's that?" Ren asked him.

"Could you imagine working with Hiyori all day?"

"Shinji! Be nice! You know you love her!"

"No, just, no Ren. Why'd ya even go there?"

"Because I can. And it is so funny to see that look of disgust on your face."

"Oh, how kind of you, Ren."

"I'm the best and you know it."

They made it to the lake just in time, right before the sun set. They sat down in their usual spot, and Ren leaned over so she could gently prop herself on Shinji's shoulder. Moments later, the sun started to set, and neither of them said a word as they enjoyed the beautiful sight together. Shinji reached down and softly took Ren's hand, holding it in his own carefully, as if he thought it were fragile, although he knew that that was nearly opposite the truth.

"We haven't been able to do this in a while," Ren commented, turning Shinji's hand over in her own.

"We haven't. Remember what happened last time?" Shinji teased.

"How could I forget? I'm sure it will be engraved in my mind for the rest of eternity."

"It will be in mine. One of the best days of my life right there."

"Better be." As soon as Ren made that comment, she knew, in the bottom of her heart, that her zanpakutō were about to say some smartass remarks.

"I think I'm going to puke," Hito choked.

"I second that," Kiri agreed.

"Oh, then we can do it together! It'll be so romantic!" they both chimed.

"I hate you both right now," Ren thought.

"We're the ones that have to unwillingly watch this cheesy shit, Ren," Hito told her.

"If you don't want our opinions, then tone it down a notch," Kiri added.

"Oh, I'll tone it down," Ren grumbled in her thoughts.

"Zanpakutōs being assholes again?" Shinji asked.

"Oh, how could you tell?" Ren asked sarcastically.

"By that pissed off, disgruntled look on your face," Shinji told her. "Should we give them what they want?"

"Definitely," Ren agreed. Ren tilted her head up and Shinji rubbed his free hand against the side of her face, right before he leaned down and locked his lips with hers. For her zanpakutōs' sakes, they made it a slow kiss, taking their time and drawing it out as long as possible.

"I hate you both right now," Hito grumbled.

"I might actually throw up now," Kiri agreed.

"Oh yeah, I definitely won this round," Ren thought. Her zanpakutō were great and all, but they were also bloodthirsty assholes, and even though they did like Shinji at points, they positively abhorred his romance with Ren.

"Better?" Shinji breathed as they pulled apart.

"Just a little," Ren told him, giving him one more small peck on the lips.

"Well, I aim to please," Shinji told, with one of his best shit-eating grins.

"That you do, Captain Hirako, that you do."

Author's Note: Nikieboy, DeadlyVampire-DayDream Corp, Delsins, Die-Hard-Twi-Hard-13, Oswin Reid, jktaengoo, AgnetCoCo, d0nutl0ve, Emotionless Girl32, Bloody Rice Ball, xxRyuu-himexx, and 1827alouette6927, thank you all for all of the love, and to everyone else, thank you as well for reading my story.