Chapter Ten! Yay!

Anyways, thankee to reviewers! I really appreciate it.

Do I own Bleach? No. Do I wish I did? Yes.

Renji found his captain sitting quietly far away from the noise of their makeshift encampment. The smaller man was rubbing his left wrist almost absent-mindedly, as though he didn't quite realize that he was doing it. He glanced over as Renji made his way carefully over the rubble to sit beside him. To Renji's discomfort, Byakuya's gray eyes were emotionless again- he'd managed to get a firm grip on his mask. Renji felt his heart sink. There was no use talking to him about anything now. He wouldn't be able to tell if anything he said made any difference.

"Nice out, isn't it?" Renji said, futilely trying to start a conversation. He'd felt much more comfortable with Byakuya when he had some idea of what was going on behind that intense gaze. Byakuya nodded once to answer his question, but didn't add anything, leaving Renji adrift. He was still rubbing his wrist, and Renji wondered whether he was hurt. Surely if he were he would have taken care of it by now. Maybe it was just an old habit. After all, Byakuya was human, and Renji knew how hard it was to get rid of old habits. But he had to wonder where exactly he had gotten the habit from.

Byakuya stared out into the distance, barely noticing Renji's presence. He felt numb, and slightly distanced from himself, which was normal, although he didn't like it. His entire soul seemed to ache, and for a moment he considered collapsing into tears. But then he remembered who he was, and what he stood for, and continued to stare silently out at the stars, emptiness filling him.

He was cold, but that was nothing new. He was always cold, both in spirit and in body. Just get used to it, he told himself. This is what you are. Nothing's going to change it. It's been over a hundred years now; get over the stupid dreams of being yourself. You can't ever be yourself. So quit dreaming about it. That tiny bit of him sounded just like his parents, lecturing him again, for acting in a way not befitting the status of a Kuchiki. I don't care anymore, he felt like screaming at them. I really couldn't care less! But they were long dead and buried now, and he had made them a promise, and Byakuya Kuchiki always kept his promises. Always. Even if keeping them left his soul broken into a thousand irreparable pieces.

"Captain?" Renji asked, and Byakuya came back to his surroundings. "Are you alright?" Byakuya stood up briskly, and turned away so as not to show Renji another piece of his soul breaking off as he spoke.

"Of course." He walked away over the uneven ground, still absentmindedly rubbing his left wrist. He could feel Renji's disbelieving gaze on his back, and yearned to turn back to face him, to burst into tears, to speak to him as an equal, to do anything except walk away. But he had to. Because Kuchikis always walked away.

Renji watched Byakuya walk away, and knew, although Byakuya had turned away and hadn't let him see, that he was breaking into little pieces with every step that he took. He considered going after him for a moment, but something about the way that Byakuya was walking warned him against it. The other man didn't seem to want company at the moment, and even if he had, he would say that he didn't. As much as Renji cared for his captain, he would much rather stay in one piece.

He continued to stare out at the stars until he felt a small body cuddle up against his side. He glanced down at Kaili, who stared back up at him with wide emerald eyes.

"Captain Kuchiki isn't happy," she told him. Renji shook his head.

"No, he's not," he agreed.

"Maybe you should talk to him," Kaili suggested.

"I tried," Renji sighed.

"Maybe you should give him a hug," Kaili added. Renji stared down at her.

"He'd kill me!" he protested. "Captain Kuchiki isn't a very huggy person."

"He wouldn't kill you," Kaili wrapped her arms around Renji's neck. "He likes you," she told him. "He really does like you."

"Huh," Renji muttered, disbelieving, although why should he be? Kaili had been right about everything else so far.

"He needs a hug," Kaili repeated. "Really, really badly." She gazed up at him, her thin face intense. "And so do you."

"Maybe I'll give him a hug later," he said to placate the little girl.

"You should," she told him. "It'll solve a lot. Hugs solve almost everything." Renji smiled at the small child's insistence. It would be wonderful if hugs really could solve all the world's problems, but it wasn't true. He'd let her believe it for a while longer anyways. After all, she was only little. She'd learn soon enough. Apparently appeased by Renji's smile, Kaili climbed into his lap, and nestled her face into his shoulder. "Will you tell me a story?" she asked quietly.

"What type of story?" Renji asked.

"A funny story."

"Alright. Did you hear about what Yumichika did to the Eleventh Division barracks?"

"Uh, uh. Tell me!"

Renji grinned, and began to speak.

Head Captain Yamamoto was listening to Isane list off the casualties, nodding off slightly, but determined to stay alert through all of it. This was helped out when he was told how many injured and dead the Sixth Division had suffered. It was significantly less than the average of the rest of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads- by about thirty.

"What did Captain Kuchiki do that nobody else did?" he demanded.

"I don't know sir," Isane replied quietly. "You'll have to ask Captain Kuchiki." She sighed. "And he's rather antisocial at the moment, so I don't think that's the best idea." Yamamoto waved her explanation away, determined to stay focused on something despite the muddled feeling pain and medication was giving his mind.

"He's always antisocial. Send him in."

"More antisocial than usual I meant," Isane murmured. "He doesn't look so great either."

"Is he awake and alert?" Yamamoto asked.

"Yes sir."

"Then send him in."

Isane sighed. "Yes sir," and left the tent in search of Captain Kuchiki. She found him staring moodily out at the tents, rubbing his left wrist. She took notice of this before she noticed the murderous 'leave me alone' look in his eyes. "Is your arm alright Captain Kuchiki?" she asked. Byakuya looked up at her.

"Yes." His voice was cold, but Isane had dealt with him before. The best solution was to treat him like normal, but be ready to run at any moment.

"Head Captain Yamamoto wishes to speak to you," she informed him shyly. Normal for Isane was as quiet as possible. Byakuya nodded, and strode over to the tent. Isane followed him back, and watched him disappear inside, her head tilted to the side. The Captain was still rubbing his left wrist as though it pained him.

"Is something the matter Isane?" Unohana asked gently from behind her. Isane turned.

"Maybe," she said softly. "Captain Kuchiki keeps rubbing his wrist, but he says that he isn't injured."

"Old habits die hard," Unohana replied. "I hope that's all it is. I'll ask him about it later. He'll talk to me if I approach him right." She sighed. "He's so difficult to handle."

"I hope he's alright," Isane murmured. "I like Captain Kuchiki. He's kind, in an odd way. And he's a very good patient, once you've figured out what's wrong with him. He doesn't bother anybody."

"Yes. He's a good man." Unohana stared over at the folds of the tent. "Come Isane. We have things to do."

"Yes Captain." Isane followed Unohana back to the other tents, and to the other patients who needed their help.

Reviews are appreciated =) I hope I stayed IC for the other characters, but I'm not sure... Comments?

-Stormy