Renji was using shunpo to get back to Seireitei quickly, with Miyako's right arm slung over his shoulder. She was bleeding everywhere, and blood was still pouring from her shoulder wound. Her face had gone pale and her breath was shorter.
"Our pulses of reiatsu should've at least warned the others that there's definitely something out here," Renji told Miyako. "Since yours had diminished suddenly, I'm sure the hospital will be ready for you once we arrive."
Miyako nodded but didn't say anything.
After a long pause, Renji asked, "Why didn't you tell me that it was your brother?"
Miyako looked away. "I didn't think it would matter."
"Of course it matters! You could have told me a long time ago! These past two weeks you knew it was your brother's reiatsu back there! That could've saved us a heap of trouble trying to figure out where the turncoat was."
"I didn't know it was him for sure."
Renji sighed. "Don't feed me that crap, Miyako."
"He's my brother, Renji. He's my responsibility. You shouldn't have come."
"What are you talking about? You were pegged to a tree, for God's sake."
"I could have found a way out of it. You shouldn't have stopped him."
"You're talking bullshit," he snapped. "He was about to kill you."
"If that was my fate, you shouldn't have interfered."
Renji sighed. "Look, 11th squad credo or no, it's ignorant of you to accept death before you die."
Miyako looked at him.
"What's worse, you shouldn't let your own brother kill you just to prove a point. You should fight him no matter what, because you're right and he's wrong. Don't just sit there, idle, and hope that he might spare you because you're related."
Miyako swallowed and hung her head.
"He's not your brother anymore, Miyako."
Miyako's head shot up angrily. "That's easy for you to say, Renji," she snapped. "I know that not so long ago you fought against your own Captain to try to save the one you loved, and she wasn't even related to you!"
Renji clenched his teeth but didn't reply.
"I have to at least believe that Maki still has some honor left in him," she continued. "I'll drive that honor out of him if it means that I have to die fighting him. I need to remind him who he is…I need to save him." She sighed and hung her head again. "He's my brother, Renji," she said softly. "You wouldn't understand."
"I wouldn't, eh?" Renji sneered. "When Rukia was put up on the chopping block like a slab of meat, Captain Kuchiki, her own brother, wouldn't raise a finger in opposition. He did nothing. He would've rather followed the rules and let her die, even when it was obvious that her sentence was insane to begin with."
Miyako glanced at him. He was incredibly angry. His eyes were narrowed and his lip was curled, but he avoided her gaze and stared straight ahead as he ran.
"Yeah, it's true," Renji growled in anger. "I loved Rukia, as if she were my own sister. She's my family. She's the only family I ever had in my entire life. And that bastard Kuchiki took her in as his sister, when in the end he wouldn't even step up to protect her. You wanna know why I stopped your brother, Miyako? Because family should never intend to hurt each other. I wanted to stop Captain Kuchiki from hurting Rukia. And it's why I stopped Maki from hurting you."
Miyako watched Renji and slowly realized that there was more to him than met the eye. He was more than an obnoxious asshole that charged into battle relentlessly. He was more than an annoying loudmouth that always tried to get the last bragging word in. He was the way that he was simply because he had always acted as if he had nothing to lose. As if growing up in the slums of Rukongai wasn't enough, Rukia had gained a real brother once they both entered Seireitei together. Renji really didn't have anything to lose after that. In his eyes, Byakuya Kuchiki had taken the only thing that was precious in his life – Rukia. As a result, he had trained and competed to exceed the Captain's level, maybe to once more prove to Rukia that he could be the same, if not better, as her brother.
"Renji…"
Renji glanced at her and his hard expression softened a little.
Miyako had lost a lot of blood. Even though she tried to hold herself up, her head started to droop and her legs were dragging. As she struggled to hang on, she gripped the back of his shinigami robe. Renji stopped running and gingerly picked her up. Her arm was still around his neck, and her head was tucked slightly under his jaw.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Damn, talk about déjà vu," he groaned.
"What?"
"You better fuckin' thank me," Renji grinned at her. "You're bleedin' all over me."
Miyako chuckled. Renji felt her breath on his chest and her eyelashes fluttered softly against his neck. He gulped.
"Then I owe you one," she closed her eyes and smiled. "A one-on-one match."
"Like hell," Renji retorted. "I'd kick your ass in a second."
He glanced back down at her, but her eyes were closed. Shit, he thought. Almost there. She's strong…she's from the 11th squad. She'll make it.