A tiny pulse of spirit power made Miyako twitch. It was enough to pull her out of a deep sleep, but she was still too groggy to fully wake up. It was only a small twinge in the atmosphere, nothing more, and could have been anything. There was one time, she remembered, when Captain Zaraki had a nightmare. Everyone in Seireitei knew about it, because his spirit power was nearly suffocating. Only Lieutenant Kusajishi had managed to snap him out of it, and she had forced everyone else to leave the Captain alone. Nobody spoke of it, but nobody ever forgot, either. After awhile, residents began to get used to it. Captain Kuchiki had bouts of bad dreams as well, after his wife died. Seireitei could literally feel his pain. It took a great deal of control in order to maintain a tolerable reiastu level, even while asleep, and the Captains usually managed to do it flawlessly.
Miyako was nearly asleep again when she heard the softest rustle of movement. She blinked and noticed a blurry, white figure move towards the door.
"Where are you going, Quincy?"
Ishida froze and glared at her. He didn't answer.
"You felt it too, didn't you?" she asked him.
Ishida narrowed his eyes. "It's none of your concern."
Miyako half-smiled, half-scoffed, and blinked the grogginess away. She narrowed her eyes and focused on him.
"I don't really care what you're doing, or where you're going. But if you think you can take this Kariya on by yourself, think again."
Ishida looked away. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. This is something that I have to do."
Miyako examined him and sighed. She knew exactly how he felt. Who was she to tell him what not to do?
"Fine, then. Good luck, Quincy. I hope you live long enough so I'll get to fight you sometime."
Ishida looked at her, confused, but then straightened and gave her a curt nod before slipping out of the doorway.
Miyako was about to fall back asleep, unconcerned for the Quincy. She had warned him. She did her part. If he wanted to die because of his mistake, fine by her. She sighed and closed her eyes. It was barely dawn. They must've only slept for five hours. She was nearly asleep again, wondering when the hell some sort of action was going to take place, when her eyes snapped open and she realized that her head was leaning against something hard. Not the wall. Not a table. A shoulder.
She stiffened to attention and jerked her head up, turning it to find Renji leaning against the wall next to her, softly snoring. He was even under the same blanket as her.
Out of a mix of sheer surprise, panic, and disgust, she instinctively shoved him aside and hissed, "Baka!!!"
Renji snorted and coughed. "The fuck? What? Eh? Whaddya want?"
"What the hell are you doing?!?"
"Sleeping! The fuck're you doing?"
"How'd you get all the way across the room?"
Renji sneered tiredly. "Gimme a fuckin' break, would ya?"
Miyako kicked off the blanket and shoved it towards him. Renji grabbed it and flung it over his head, groaning and slumping over to the floor.
"Just what were you trying to pull?"
"Stop talking," Renji snapped in a muffled tone. "It's too early for this shit."
Miyako let out a quiet growl and stood up. She was about to prance out of the room when Renji's strong hand shot up from under the blanket and gripped her wrist.
"You're not going anywhere," he lifted his head up and curled his lip at her.
"Renji…"
"Sit down," he ordered. His tone sounded angry, and she decided not to argue. Miyako rolled her eyes and obeyed, crossing her legs in front of her and crossing her arms. She felt foolish, as if she was a child being punished.
"This is ridiculous," she huffed. "What the hell is your problem?"
Renji let out an exasperated growl and threw the blanket off him. "You must really take me for a fuckin' idiot. Do you really think I'd let you waltz out of here in the middle of the night?"
Miyako rolled her eyes and looked away.
"I slept next to you so I would know whether or not you'd fly the coop." Renji eyed her. "And you would have."
Miyako narrowed her eyes at him.
"For two, you're still injured. What good would that do you? What good would that do any of us? C'mon, Miyako. You know it's a waste of energy."
"That's Captain Kuchiki talking," Miyako glared at him. "Captain Zaraki wouldn't give a shit, as long as we put forth all the effort we could."
"Putting forth all your effort when most of your body is spent is like putting forth less than half," Renji retorted angrily. "You know Captain Zaraki wouldn't forgive that, either."
Miyako sighed and slumped against the wall. Renji was right. Shit. She knew that she had to heal more before fighting again. She also knew that if Kariya was the only one left, then the subordinates would not have to take part in the final battle. It was up to one of the Captains to find him and defeat him. None of that was what bothered her, however. Renji probably knew all this just as she had, yet he insisted on keeping watch over her. She was no fool. She wasn't about to sprint out of the office, looking for another fight. She could meet up with her squad later, and she knew that Ikkaku was keeping things in line. No…Renji didn't want to let her out of his sight because of some other reason. But why? Was he going to arrest her?
Miyako swallowed and avoided his gaze. It was possible. He was keeping an eye on her so he could arrest her. She had embarrassed him that night on the rooftop. Even worse, she ran away like a coward. Her cheeks suddenly felt hot. So what was he waiting for? Everyone else was still asleep. Was he waiting for the opportune moment? Was he waiting until she was fully healed first? Did he want to do it discreetly, so that nobody else would notice? Perhaps he wanted to wait until this whole ordeal with the Bount was finally over. Whatever the case, Miyako felt too ashamed to bring it up. Renji hadn't mentioned it at all, either. She sighed and put a hand to her forehead.
I'm thinking about this shit way too much. Just accept your punishment, for fuck's sake.
Renji raised an eyebrow at her. "What's the matter?"
"Renji," Ichigo's muffled tone growled from under another blanket, "Shut the fuck up! Shit! No matter what time of day it is, you always manage to run your big mouth!"
Renji twitched. "Just who d'ya think you're talkin' to?" he thundered back. "You yammer on and on all the time, and you're telling me to shut the fuck up?"
"YES! Shut! The! Fuck! Up!" Ichigo barked.
"Please, you two, stop being so loud," Orihime's voice whispered. Compared to Renji and Ichigo's arguing, Orihime's voice was like a feather caught in an incredibly loud and destructive storm.
"I ain't gonna take any shit from you today, asshole," Renji snarled at Ichigo, ignoring Orihime. "While you're on my turf, you had better listen to what I have to say!"
"Your turf?" Ichigo scoffed. "Like I'm gonna listen to you anywhere! And this ain't your turf, this is Toshiro's office!"
"I meant Soul Society, bastard!" Renji glared at him. "It's not like I go bounding off to the human world and bug you first chance I get!"
Ichigo's face twisted into a smirk. "Oh yeah? You couldn't fuckin' wait to follow me there once you heard Rukia was assigned back to Karakura Town!"
"Um, excuse me," Orihime's voice was almost a whimper.
Miyako rolled her eyes at the two and leaned back against the wall, running her hands through her hair.
"Where's Uryuu?" Orihime asked. Nobody seemed to be listening. Renji and Ichigo were still yelling at each other.
"…Death God, my ass," Renji was continuing. "You're a substitute, which means that you have no authority here…"
"You shouldn't go on and on about your own authority," Ichigo grinned at him. "Since I ain't a real Death God, you can't expect me to listen to your stupid ass, can you?"
Renji twitched. "That doesn't mean you can't go runnin' around Seireitei just doing whatever you want!"
"Hey, you two," Orihime tried to cut in.
"Ichigo!" Chad growled.
Because of Chad's usually quiet demeanor, his deep, reverberating voice caught everyone off guard. Renji and Ichigo halted the argument and stared at him.
"What?"
"Ishida is gone."
Everyone's gaze turned to Ishida's cot. It was empty. Renji's head snapped back towards Miyako.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Miyako shrugged. "The Quincy isn't my concern. I hope you didn't expect me to babysit him."
"How long ago did he leave?" Ichigo immediately stood up and slung his large soul slayer over his shoulder.
"Not ten minutes ago. You could still catch him," Miyako replied nonchalantly.
Without another word, Ichigo sprinted out of the office, leaving Orihime and Chad's objections behind. They both stood up, hurrying to put their shoes on and preparing to follow him.
"You shouldn't go after him," Renji said.
Chad looked up. "We can't just leave him. Even if we can't fight, we still want to be close. We won't stand by and do nothing at all. He might need us."
Orihime nodded in agreement. "I might need to heal Ishida...or Ichigo," she added shyly.
Miyako rolled her eyes.
Renji shrugged. "Fine. I don't see why I should stop you, but leave Kariya to one of the Captains."
Chad and Orihime nodded. Chad ran out of the room, followed by the three Bount sensors, and Orhime stopped at the door.
"Um, thank you, Renji," she bowed slightly towards him, "and it was nice to meet you, Miss Miyako. I hope I fully healed your wounds."
Before Miyako could snap back about not calling her Miss Miyako, Orihime was already out of the room and sprinting after Chad. Renji and Miyako were the only ones left. Lieutenant Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya were nowhere to be found.
Renji sighed. "Well, let's go."
Miyako lifted an eyebrow. "Where?"
"Fuck if I know. Let's try sixth squad first. If Captain Kuchiki is anywhere to be found, we might be able to find out what the hell is going on."
Abandoning all attempts to try to find her squad, Miyako merely nodded and got up to follow him. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Renji wasn't about to let her leave. She felt sure of the fact that he was definitely going to discipline her soon.
As they left the 10th squad barracks, they ran into Lieutenant Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya, who were headed towards the office.
"Lieutenant Abarai. Where's Ichigo Kurosaki?" the Captain demanded. "Is he still in the office?"
"No, sir," Renji replied. "He left to find one of his friends, the Quincy. It appears that he got up and left while all of us were asleep."
Captain Hitsugaya swore under his breath. "And the other humans?"
"Following Ichigo."
The Captain sighed in annoyance. "Very well. I'm assuming you're headed towards your squad?"
Renji nodded.
"C'mon, Matsumoto," Captain Hitsugaya groaned. "Let's track them down."
"Yes, sir."
As they parted ways, Matsumoto said her cheerful goodbyes and Miyako shunpoed behind Renji, keeping in close step, as they headed towards the 6th squad barracks.
"Why can't I go find my squad?" Miyako asked Renji sharply.
"You're still injured," Renji replied in a flat tone.
"So?"
"11th squad is the last fuckin' place you need to be while you're still patching up," Renji growled behind his shoulder. "You'll get into another scrap and next thing you know your left arm'll get torn off."
Miyako narrowed her eyes. "If you're going to arrest me, why don't you just fucking do it already?"
Renji glanced over his shoulder. "What?"
Miyako looked ahead, grabbed Renji's elbow, and they both stopped short.
"Rukia!"
Rukia was walking outside the 6th squad gate, looking dazed and lost, but her expression showed rough concern.
"Rukia!" Renji exclaimed. "What are you doing out here?"
"I heard that there was a commotion going on," Rukia replied, "and I can't find my brother. Ichigo is fighting Kariya, isn't he, Renji?"
Renji scowled. "You shouldn't be out of bed, Rukia. You still need to heal."
Miyako rolled her eyes. "Story of our fuckin' lives, Renji. Stop trying to act like our mother."
Renji swirled around and glared at Miyako. "Shut up!"
"Renji." Rukia's voice made Renji turn back around, concerned.
"Yeah?"
"What are you guys doing here?"
"We're looking for Captain Kuchiki," Renji replied. "I want to know what to make of this whole clusterfuck, and I figured he'd give us some answers. Apparently not."
"Renji," Rukia's voice grew stern. "I need you to do something for me."
Renji and Miyako stared at her. Renji looked skeptical.
"What?"
"Please promise me to do this."
Renji sighed. "What?"
"I want you to take me to Soukyoku."
Miyako and Renji stared at her in surprise. Everyone knew that Soukyoku was the steep mountainside in the middle of Seireitei that once housed Rukia's execution spot. People had fought and nearly died up there. It was where Aizen had extracted the Hougyoku from Rukia's very soul. Miyako knew that Renji was seriously injured by Aizen on Soukyoku, and Captain Kuchiki was mortally wounded by Ichigo. A lot of unhappy, unnecessary things happened up there. Although Miyako had never been to Soukyoku herself, she never wished to visit it.
"Absolutely not," Renji's tone was firm and cold.
"Please, Renji? I never ask you for any favors," Rukia looked pleading.
Renji glanced at her and sighed. "No, Rukia. If I took you up there without Captain Kuchiki's permission, it'd be my ass. He'd demote me. Shit, if I was lucky, that'd be the least he would do."
Rukia was about to argue back when a sudden pulse of spirit force made Miyako suck in a breath and stare at Soukyoku in the distance. Renji and Rukia felt it as well and followed Miyako's gaze. Miyako took a step forward, horrified.
"Impossible…!" she choked out. "It can't be!"
Renji's eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth. He glanced at Miyako, then back at Rukia. She gave him a concerned look.
"Ichigo isn't the only one on that mountaintop, Renji," she said softly.
Miyako turned around and looked at Renji. She looked confused, but her expression was also pleading. She suddenly needed to go up to Soukyoku as well.
Renji lowered his head and sighed. "Fuck."