A/N: So it's been awhile…huge project for work and massive block. Took forever to figure out where I wanted to go with this chapter and felt a lot of pressure after being so happy with the previous chapter. Plot filler (snore) and my best intentions to a. write more about Nanao and b. stick to Renji were mostly a bust. Thanks for reading though, next chapter should be updated alot faster.
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is Bleach nor do I profit from my admiration
Chapter 8 Adjusting Alliances
Ukitake breathed deeply, trying to find solace in the peaceful garden and ponds surrounding his division. Ever since Yamamoto died four weeks ago, Ukitake had taken to getting up to watch the sunrise every morning, trying to remember all the lessons he'd been given over the centuries. Without his sensei he felt like a fallen blossom trapped in the middle of a glassy pond with no way to the shore, lost and thoroughly inadequate to step into his shoes.
The day Yamamoto and Unohana senpai died Jushiro tried to step back from the role he seemed thrust into, as if denying his promotion would deny the very loss of the Soutaichou. It wasn't until he saw the expectant looks from his fellow officers that he realized he would be neglecting his duty and dishonoring Yamamoto if he refused to stand up and lead. That everyone accepted his authority so easily was both surprising and humbling. He had been stunned when the critically wounded Sasakibe called him "Soutaichou" in front of everyone in the meeting hall. The stalwart fukutaichou's address served to anchor everyone's focus amidst the complete chaos and heartache of that day.
Still uncomfortable with his new title and new division, Jushiro had stayed in his own quarters, overseeing the repair of the fourth division, burials and plans for the future. About a week after they had buried their friends and colleagues, Shunsui stopped by looking unusually serious. Jushiro happily let his old friend in, welcoming the brief levity the big man would surely bring to the monumental task of recovering from the recent losses. However, Shunsui had come to stand in front of him, his normally mischievous eyes uncharacteristically serious.
"I know it makes you uncomfortable, but I believe you need to officially accept your proper title and position." Shunsui stated solemnly, without a trace of humor.
Jushiro had wanted to protest but he realized his old friend was right. He couldn't lead from the thirteenth division or as Ukitake-taichou anymore. After nodding slowly, Jushiro wished for the umpteenth time that he had more guidance in leading and protecting all of Soul Society from his predecessor. He was merely the son of a fisher with a frail constitution that people seemed to be able to talk to.
That next next day, Nanao and a coerced Shunsui helped him move into his new division while he calmly consoled his distraught third seats when they realized they would not be coming with him. He and Shunsui had agreed that Sasakibe would remain in his position as his loyal support would go far in easing Ukitake's transition.
Hearing his new fukutaichou's polite cough from behind, Ukitake was pulled from his inner reflections on the past few days and realized that it was time for the meeting. Walking to the grand hall, Ukitake wondered if he had the strength to overcome any opposition to his plan and prayed that Urahara's assurance of support would prove true. SoiFon and Hitsugaya were already waiting inside along with all of the remaining lieutenants and the third seats of his old division. Shunsui and Nanao were just arriving with Nanao looking apologetic and Shunsui looking amused. Clearing his throat, Ukitake motioned for Sasakibe to move down the side of the hall to the front doors.
"It's been one month since the attack here in Seireitei and we have gathered together to exchange information and to plan our next move. I believe in order to move forward, we must reconcile the past. Therefore, this meeting has been opened to lieutenants, exiles, and…ryoka." Ukitake gently smiled as he heard the officers mutter in surprise. Sasakibe opened the door and the ex shinigami filed in, looking defensive and angry. Behind them came Ishida, Sado, and a scowling Ichigo.
A hatless Urahara walked confidently to his old place in the captain's line at the twelfth division spot and turned to watch the others expectantly. He and Ukitake had discussed this show of support and whether the other vizards would follow Urahara's lead now that Central 46 and Yamamoto were gone.
Feeling the tension rising by the second, Ukitake saw Kira flinch as suddenly Kensei grabbed Mashiro by the arm and dragged her toward his old spot. Ignoring her overly dramatic protests, Kensei stopped in front of Hisagi, pushing the slighter shinigami back with a smirk before letting go of Mashiro's arm and turning around. With an indignant sigh, she moved to stand next to Hisagi while making a face at Kensei's back. Several seconds passed as no one else moved. Ukitake had planned to start the meeting off by inviting the vizards to resume their old positions after explaining to the current officers the circumstances of their hollowification. However, Urahara had insisted they allow each vizard to choose whether they would resume their old positions on their own. It had been no small feat that Urahara had successfully brought all of the vizards back to begin with...believing that they would unify and choose their old positions after their own betrayal by Soul Society seemed to be beyond hope.
Hiyori suddenly made eye contact with Urahara and everyone saw her small shoulders slump. As she moved towards her old captain, Shinji grabbed her roughly by the arm, shock written across his face. Without turning to look at him, Hiyori shook her head slowly before she continued walking.
"Sorry Shinji."
Hiyori's defection seemed to break the others as they all moved to their former positions. The only exception was Shinji who stared down the two rows of officers at Ukitake, folding his arms defiantly across his chest.
"I'm here because I can't defeat Aizen on my own. Nothing more, Ukitake."
"Hirako-taichou…" Shinji flinched. "Your reasons are your own and I don't necessarily expect you to resume your old position. However, I don't expect you to influence anyone else either." Ukitake's voice was laced with an edge of steel, jarringly out of place from the unfailingly polite captain.
Shrugging, Shinji fell back to stand next to Tessai and Yoruichi at the end of the rows, deliberately avoiding eye contact with any of the former vizards. Ukitake stepped forward to address the entire audience, walking down the double line slowly until he was next to Ichigo at the heavy front doors.
"Everyone here has been personally affected by this war now, be it betrayal or the loss of someone important. The vizards were all lieutenants or captains before Aizen turned them to what they are now over one hundred years ago. With the help of Ichimaru and Tosen, Aizen set up Urahara and Tessai to be blamed and Central 46 condemned them to banishment, imprisonment and the vizards to execution in an effort to sweep the incident under the rug and off the books. No investigation into what really happened was ever made. Yamamoto was complicit in this injustice and as neither he nor Central 46 are here, I offer all exiled from that incident full reinstatement to their previous positions if they so choose. Current officers in those positions shall be transferred or made co-lieutenant." It hurt to recognize Yamamoto's involvement in condemning the vizards but Ukitake firmly believed that everyone present deserved the truth.
"I understand that this proposition will take time to get used to and that loyalty must be won through battle and service rather than by my order. However, as we prepare to attack Aizen I would remind everyone present that we are here for one purpose only and if you ever begin to doubt yourself or those standing around you today, do not forget our common enemy. As Aizen has already proven, we cannot separately defeat him. We are preparing for the final battle to end this war and if you cannot work together I suggest you not get in our way."
Shunsui was openly grinning at him under his hat, and Ukitake almost wished they could recess and have a bowl of sake his friend inevitably had hidden in his sleeves. Urahara also caught his eye and nodded cheekily. He had been right. Everyone had fallen into line with the exception of Shinji who they planned to use specifically in destroying the Hogyoku. Feeling more confident than he had at the beginning of the meeting now that they had successfully integrated the Vizards, Ukitake pushed through the second point of the meeting.
"There will be five teams, each with a specific purpose and comprised of people best suited to accomplish that objective. Team one will be Shihouin-sama, SoiFon taichou, and Ishida-san. Speed, stealth and intelligence are needed to defeat Ichimaru. Team two will be Muguruma and Hitsugaya taichou, Abarai, Hisagi, Yadomaru, Sarugaki and Kusajishi fukutaichou and Yasutora –san. Personal motivation, strong bonds, and brute strength are needed to rescue the captured. Team three is Tessai-san, Ushoda-san, Otoribashi-taichou, Kira and Ise fukutaichou, acting lieutenant Iemura and fifth seat Hanataro. Given your excellence in kido, you will be providing support and healing to the other teams. Team four is Aikawa-taichou, Sasakibe, Kuna and Iba fukutaichou, and third seats Kotetsu and Kotsubaki. You will be in charge of intangibles such as Adjuchas and Menos. Finally, Urahara and Kyouraku taichou, Shinji and myself shall protect Ichigo and go after Aizen and the Hogyoku. Any questions?"
Hiyori tentatively raised her hand and looked over at the eleventh division fukutaichou. "Are you sure…she should come?" Everyone looked at Yachiru who was dressed in her shihakushou and zanpakuto but whose vacant gaze clearly indicated that she hadn't comprehended anything during the meeting.
"Yes, Sarugaki-fukutaichou. She needs to see Zaraki taichou, and I believe he needs to see her. You are charged with looking out for her during your mission." Ukitake patiently raised his hand when Hiyori opened her mouth to protest. "If Zaraki-taichou is dead, she would follow shortly. If Aizen succeeds, there won't be anything left to protect and as such, we are not leaving anything behind to rebuild. Therefore, Kusajishi fukutaichou belongs on the front lines, as befitting her position. "
"Sounds like a suicide mission. How do we prepare and what's the timeline." Lisa asked bluntly, correctly reading between the lines.
Urahara actually stepped out of place to address the officers. "Each team will train together for the next two months to become familiar with each other's fighting style and reiatsu. The three teams we believe have the greatest chance of encountering Aizen have people who have yet to be exposed to his shikai and therefore can help their team see through his illusions. However, despite his claim of total hypnosis, there is the chance of detecting slight differences in reiatsu…much as Unohana taichou was able to detect that Aizen's reiatsu was off when she examined his supposedly dead body."
"In the past, captains and lieutenants did not guard their abilities like they do now. Everyone knew of each other's powers and the thirteen divisions were more cohesive because of it. Use the next two months to not only increase your own individual skills but to share and learn the skills of those you will fight alongside. We cannot allow Aizen the advantage of using our own ignorance against us."
Ukitake waited for more questions and sighed when everyone remained silent. All in all, the meeting had gone better than he could have hoped for. He prayed that they had enough time to train but not enough time for Aizen to perfect the Hogyoku. As it was, they were already at 8 months since the defection and Urahara had predicted that Aizen would need one year to prepare. Suddenly tired and knowing he would have to brief the heads of each team as to their specific training objectives, Ukitake coughed lightly before clearing his throat.
"Teams 2, 3, and 4 will train in the World of the Living and teams 1 and 5 will train in Soul Society. We will meet in Urahara's underground facility at completion. Take two days to get your affairs in order before reporting for training. I won't instill false hope and say that we will all survive this winter war, but for the spring of every generation after us, we cannot afford to lose. Dismissed."
*****
Nanao was the first to leave the hall with the other lieutenants as the captains continued with the rest of their meeting. Waiting impatiently outside, she felt the familiar pangs of loneliness as she found herself standing alone. The other lieutenants of the Shinigami women's association were in Hueco Mundo and Yachiru was ghosting Hiyori. Nanao pretended to consult her ledger as the testosterone trio walked by, with Abarai and Hisagi teasing a slightly blushing Kira. After they passed, Nanao vaguely wondered if she should be more social but quickly pushed the thought aside as she remembered how much of her time was taken up by keeping the division running smoothly and her captain in line. Nervously, Nanao waited for the one person she, like so many others, had never thought she'd see again.
At first glance, Lisa hadn't changed much. Her skin was still silky smooth, her manner abrupt, and though her hair was styled differently, it still contained the blue black shine she remembered so well. What was harder to see was the narrowing, hardening of Lisa's eyes, the constant grim line her lips pressed, and the complete lack of interest in anything going on around her.
Suddenly Nanao felt the restrained burst of energy preceding her former fukutaichou as Lisa came striding through the doors, followed by a complaining Hiyori carrying a listless Yachiru on her back.
"Yadomaru fukutaichou!" Nanao called out, a little anxious and hopeful at the same time. There hadn't been an opportunity to speak at the last battle with Ukitake and Kyouraku so gravely injured and the chaos that surrounded their retreat to Seireitei.
"Just Lisa."
Nanao nervously adjusted her glasses, taken aback by the low growl Lisa emitted and the subsequent glare from Hiyori. The smaller shinigami stomped off as Lisa waved her on, turning to look pointedly at Nanao. Stiffening her shoulders, Nanao stood up straight and looked up into the older woman's eyes.
"Welcome back. I'm glad you're here."
Lisa only studied her through narrowed eyes as Nanao's heart sank. Up close, she realized she didn't recognize anything about her former mentor, and it was painfully clear that Lisa was not about to make things any easier.
"Don't be. You could be transferred."
Nanao's eyes widened as she hadn't expected either of them would have a problem as co-lieutenants.
"But Lisa, we-"
"Nevermind. I'll transfer. I want a fresh start."
Again, Nanao was thrown by the harsh abruptness of Lisa's manner. She had foolishly thought they were equals now and would both share the burden of keeping up their captain's appearance of responsibility. Nanao quickly pretended to adjust her glasses as she struggled to find her normally resilient composure. After a moment, Lisa's eyes softened slightly and she relaxed her stance.
"Nanao-chan…so much has changed." Lisa's voice was so soft, Nanao unconsciously took a step forward.
"There isn't room for me in the eighth anymore. He needs you more than he ever needed me. You haven't let him down yet. You haven't broken his heart." Gently Lisa reached out and lifted the younger woman's chin until she was looking up again into her eyes. "I'm not the same person you once knew. Please help Taichou understand."
Lisa sighed and turned away, leaving Nanao to sort through her sharp sense of loss and surprising sense of relief. Shunsui had never forgiven himself for losing Lisa and Nanao always felt she was destined to fill Lisa's absence and live up to her example. Perhaps now Shunsui's guilt would ease and Nanao would no longer feel she was trying to impress a ghost.
*****
After she left Nanao, Lisa walked up to the three men she secretly wanted to screw senseless, wondering what her chances were. Casually she sidled up to the only one she had slept with so far, flicking his ear as she leveled her intense gaze at the attractive blonde. Feeling Hisagi tense next to her, she grinned inwardly at how easily she could rile the restrained fukutaichou.
"I dare say you are the prettiest of the three." She murmured huskily as her eyes raked over the slender blonde.
Renji rolled his eyes in irritation. What was it about this chick that made him want to punch something? He felt slightly sorry for his friend whose pale complexion had turned a deep shade of red. Almost instinctively, he moved between the aggressive woman and his former classmate, noting that Hisagi senpai did the same.
"Knock it off Lisa. Kira fukutaichou isn't up for your games." Hisagi stated bluntly, crossing his arms and glaring at her.
"Shove it Hisagi. I'm just being friendly…we haven't been formally introduced." She flashed a predatory smile at Kira whose blush had been replaced with mild irritation at his two friends. Shoving them aside, he couldn't quite keep the inflection from his voice that came with being born to nobility, regardless of how minor.
"Kira Izuru. It's a pleasure to meet you." The blonde shinigami bowed politely, curious as to why Hisagi seemed so familiar and Renji seemed so irritated with the direct woman.
"The pleasure is mine, Kira-kun. I can see we'll have to meet sometime without your loyal guard dogs. See you around boys." Lisa smiled and appraised Kira again before she walked away, her skirt just happening to catch the wind and lifting enough to reveal the apple bottom curves of her smooth ass.
"How do you stand it?" Renji muttered as he felt the tension in his jaw loosen and his fists relax.
"Abarai-kun?" Kira asked tentatively.
"Drop it." Hisagi hissed as the three walked away from the first division.
Shrugging, Renji dropped the touchy subject, anticipating the next two months of opportunity to tease his senpai. Deciding to let Hisagi off the hook, he turned the conversation easily.
"I can't believe we're finally moving. And I can't believe we're stuck with her and the two chibis. And how the hell are we supposed to get familiar with each other?" Renji groused as he felt his excitement slowly diminish. The last four weeks since their failed mission to the real world had gone by in a blur. When their team had burst back into Soul Society, reeling from the betrayal, the kidnapping of their own and Hitsugaya's momentary melt-down, they were greeted with fire, destruction and death. Within minutes, frail Ukitake-taichou was standing in front of them, detailing Aizen's attack and the loss of Soul Society's two greatest assets.
"At least you're rescuing people. I'm relegated back to 4th. I thought maybe I could get a fresh start with Ukitake Soutaichou." Kira said morsely.
"Kira, you saved Matsumoto single handedly in the last big fight. Your skills are best used in healing right now." Hisagi quietly soothed.
"And you kicked ass defending the pillar. I wish I coulda seen it." Renji pointed out as he threw a thick arm around his friend's slumping shoulder and kicked at Hisagi's heel.
The three walked together in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts on the upcoming mission and thankful for the down time. It was odd and painful not to have Momo there, particularly for Renji who secretly credited her for keeping him sane through the Academy years. She always managed to keep him and Kira from drifting too far apart and had been the only one to understand his need to get away to the Eleventh. Suddenly, Renji threw himself in front of Hisagi and Kira as he sensed the enormous spiritual power pressing down on them a split second before they did. As quickly as it had come, the spiritual pressure dropped off and Kensei appeared in front of them with a huge smirk on his face.
"You two got any business to wrap up?" Kensei asked in a gruff voice. Renji just now noticed that he hadn't shed his gigai yet. Come to think of it, he had never seen any of the vizards in their soul forms…how much better would they be fighting without the limitations of Urahara's gigais? Glancing at Hisagi, he figured he'd ask him the next time they had a minute alone.
Folding his arms across his chest, Kensei stared Hisagi down before he evaluated the other two lieutenants. The slender blonde one looked uncomfortable and there was a tension to his reiatsu that set Kensei slightly on edge. He recognized the red head by sight from around Karakura Town but hadn't paid much attention to him back then. Vaguely he remembered Hisagi mentioning both guys but clearly it hadn't been important enough to register in his memory. Impatient with the three men's silence Kensei's voice came out angrier than he intended.
"No? Good. We'll leave now for training. Say good bye Blondie and beat it. Abarai, go get the big kid, everyone else is already waitin'. Move." Kensei abruptly turned and strode off, ignoring the scowling Hitsugaya who was now approaching.
"Hold up Abarai." Hitsugaya looked ticked off and barely gave the retreating captain and Hisagi a glance as they passed. Kira shrugged at Renji and walked off, his irritation at the departing vizard tightly masked. Renji turned and waited for the shorter shinigami to catch up, wondering if his previous order was about to be overruled in what he hoped would not become a power struggle.
Hitsugaya didn't stop when he reached Renji but walked past him, obviously expecting him to follow. They walked without speaking back towards the first division, the silence uneasy and tense.
"Ah, Hitsugaya taichou…did you want to talk about somethin'?" Renji asked cautiously. Patience had never been a strong suit and the intense captain was a man of few words to begin with. When Hitsugaya didn't answer for a few minutes, Renji briefly thought about flash stepping ahead to get Sado before he sensed a slight shift in the snowy captain's reiatsu that felt vaguely like fear.
"Abarai…you are close with Hinamori fukutaichou, no?"
Surprised, Renji shook his head slightly to clear his muddled thoughts. "Sure, we were in the Academy together with Kira. Momo kinda drifted away after, but she was always around for the big moments in our lives. If it weren't for Aiz…him we'd prolly be a lot closer." Renji silently cursed himself for his verbal blunder, hoping Hitsugaya would choose to ignore it rather than freeze his balls. Too late, Renji realized the captain had stopped abruptly and he crashed hard into the back of Hitsugaya, nearly knocking himself over in the process. Damn, the kid is tough.
"Abarai, I don't believe we will be rescuing Momo." Hitsugaya's head was bowed and his hands were tightly clenched into fists at his side. Unsure of what he should say, Renji merely shrugged, trying to decide if he should keep his mouth shut or babble inanely as most people would expect him to do. After a few moments he realized that Hitsugaya was waiting for an answer of some sort, and Renji wasn't sure what he expected to hear. It wasn't as if they were close. At his best, Hitsugaya seemed to merely tolerate Renji and he tried hard to stay out of the wintry captain's way.
Sighing, Renji decided to take the straight forward approach and just say what he thought. Subtlety and tack had never come easily for him.
"She wants to be with him. Always has."
"Always will? Is that what you're thinking but afraid to tell me?" Hitsugaya snarled as he turned to glare at the tall lieutenant, cerulean eyes shooting angry sparks at crimson ones. Renji felt the gentlest brush of cold frost surround him as he refused to back down from Hitsugaya's challenge.
"Momo has been influenced by Aizen since before we graduated. Years of subtle manipulation is hard to break, we were all fooled multiple times." Renji steeled himself to keep going, knowing he'd probably be incased in ice within seconds. "Rangiku was her friend, and she took her back to Hueco Mundo and Ichimaru because Aizen snapped his fingers. Look, I know what you're feeling, Rukia took Orihime and I don't understand why except I hope to fucking hell there's a good reason for it. If not…if I can't save her, I have to train myself to let her go. This war is bigger than any of us."
As soon as the words were out, Renji felt his mind revolt violently. Knowing what he had to do and what he either wanted or most likely would choose to do were completely different things, and he was lecturing fucking Hitsugaya on what their duty was. Renji wanted to laugh at the goddamn irony of it all. As if sensing Renji's inner turmoil, Hitsugaya's eyes hardened and his mouth turned up in a slight smirk.
"Do you really believe what you just said Abarai? I never thought you were one to adhere to duty blindly…particularly after you nearly destroyed peace and order with Kurosaki." Hitsugaya gave a humorless laugh as he turned and continued towards first division, abruptly indicating he was ending their conversation.
Renji was pissed though he knew Hitsugaya was right. Giving up on Rukia was out of the question, but the rational part of his mind reminded him that Rukia may long be an enemy before she could be rescued. Watching Hitsugaya's angry form in front of him reminded Renji that Hitsugaya was feeling something most captains rarely ever felt…helplessness. Over the past few months, Renji had worked alongside Hitsugaya in the real world and had come to respect the stoic, frosty kid. In addition he knew that Momo and a grandmother were the only family the kid had and no matter how much you accomplish, relationships were never easy to give up. The mature part of Renji that rarely revealed itself reminded him that Hitsugaya was still young and the prospect of saying goodbye to Momo in Hueco Mundo would be ten times harder than when Rukia had thanked him and walked out of his life and into nobility all those long years ago.
Relaxing his stance somewhat, Renji followed Hitsugaya for a few more minutes before he finally reached out to grab the captain's shoulder.
"You're right. I would never give up on Rukia, not if I can gasp for breath and my hand can still grip Zabimaru. I would die a thousand times over if it meant that she could live free. But I also realize that in doing so, I may sacrifice others I care for…Shuuhei, Ran, hell, even Ichigo. Does her life count more to me than the others? Hell yeah it does. But their sacrifice isn't something that's mine to give. If I have to give her up for the better of others, I can do it. But I'll die trying to find a way to save her. That's all we're entitled to Toshiro. We can't give up lives that aren't ours for the people we love. If we do, we're no better than Aizen, killing indiscriminately to further our own wants. And Rukia, Momo, and Rangiku would all understand and feel the same way."
The angry defensiveness in Hitsugaya's eyes gradually faded until he slowly nodded at Renji.
"It's Hitsugaya-taichou. And thank you, for reminding me." Hitsugaya shrugged out from under Renji's grip and stepped back a few feet. "Get Sado and get back to the gate. I'll see you at Urahara's." A second later he was gone, leaving Renji alone outside the first division gates.
Sighing, Renji rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands as he tried to clear his mind. He would not give up on Rukia, on Momo, Ran, Taichou, Zaraki, Ikkaku, Yumi or Orihime. It went against every fiber of his being to give up and accept defeat before he had even begun to fight. Seeing Hitsugaya look so resigned had angered him more deeply than he thought possible. Clenching his jaw, Renji vowed to push himself harder than he ever had before. If they didn't all come home, then neither would he.
*****
"The fuck you always gotta make me look like an idiot Urahara." Renji stared down at his gigai in disbelief. The damn shopkeeper's sense of humor was beyond irritating now. In the beginning, Urahara had always given Renji's gigai garish, outdated clothing that was in style 40 years ago halfway around the world. Now, Urahara had switched it up to snug fitting dark clothes in lieu of tie dye and bell bottoms. His dark jeans were beyond tight, his tread-less black leather shoes had already caused him to fall twice, he felt like a grape in his tight purple button down shirt complete with a fitted black vest , and to top it off, no headband or hair ties were within sight to bind his hair. Renji gingerly sat down in Urahara's sitting room half expecting the tight jeans to rip and waited for the others to emerge from getting into their gigais. The worst part was Urahara wasn't even here to complain to, having remained in Soul Society to train with Ukitake and the others.
"Hello Mr. Freeloader-san. Boss says I am to braid your hair." Ururu emerged from the kitchen to stand behind Renji, her small hands skillfully brushing out his long crimson locks.
"Eh, just put it in a ponytail, braiding makes my head hurt." Renji grumbled as he made no move to stop Ururu's ministrations. Sometime during his frequent stays at Urahara's Shoten, Ururu had started brushing out his hair when he would sit down to eat and endure the odd family's teasing. Ururu never asked him if she could and he never told her to stop. It amused them both that Jinta would usually get irritated enough to stomp out of the room whenever Ururu approached with a brush in hand.
Hisagi stepped out of the room next, clad in tight black wind pants, dark gray v-neck tee with a zip up black track jacket and a slouchy hat covering his spiky hair. Renji smiled at his friend, smirking slightly as Hisagi rolled his eyes. "You had your chance Abarai."
"Psh, you had yours senpai." Abarai scoffed, pouring some tea for the dark haired shinigami. Hisagi sat down next to him, his knee casually pressing against Renji's thigh. Leaning back, Renji let Ururu finish fixing his hair as he reached around and pulled on her pigtail, making the normally stoic girl blush before she disappeared into the kitchen.
"Isn't she a little young for you to break her heart?" Hisagi smirked, as he reached to pull on Renji's hair out of old habit.
"You're sick. She's a sweet kid and she saved my ass once against an arrancar." Renji retorted as he smacked away Hisagi's hand. In response, Hisagi shoved Renji's shoulder who in turn elbowed his gut until they were scuffling amongst the mats.
"Dammit, go find a bedroom!" Hiyori bellowed as she stomped out in her gigai. Renji and Hisagi grinned at each other before righting themselves and sitting up again. "If you weren't so small and weak we'd let you join in the fun." Renji laughed, easily dodging a kick aimed at his head.
Kensei and the others filed out of the various rooms they used to get into their gigais and settled around the table. Kensei and Hiyori looked as they always did, the only exception being that Kensei seemed to be growing his hair out again. Lisa had discarded her uniform to wear black yoga pants and a cutaway green tube top that ended in a point just below her waistband. Yachiru was wearing white gaucho pants with a pink tank top and black wrap around sweater. Hitsugaya wore dark gray cargo pants and a black rugby shirt with a faded nondescript design. All in all, everyone looked pretty good.
"Alright, we're going to the warehouse to train. I want to start by pairing up against people we're unfamiliar with and then rotating after one week. So, first up will be Lisa and Hitsugaya. Train, spar, eat, heal, and anything else you do while you're fucking awake, you do together. The point of this is to get so goddamn sick of each other you know the other person inside and out. We don't have a lot of time to train, therefore we gotta use every minute we can. We got eight weeks people, and I'd rather reserve the last couple for some group stuff. Any problems?" Kensei stared each person down until they either averted their eyes or nodded in confirmation. When he got to Hitsugaya, he expected a fight from his fellow captain. Instead, the snowy haired kid merely shrugged.
"Abarai and Kensei, Hiyori and Hisagi. Use everything you have, be it bankai, hollow mask, or kido. Learn each other's strategy and technique…if we actually confront Aizen, the only way to be able to see through his illusions is to know each other better than he knows us. The last two weeks is where we'll pool everything we've learned and put together an attack plan based on what we know." Hitsugaya glanced back at Kensei as everyone remained silent.
"And Yachiru?" Hiyori asked sullenly, clearly unhappy with the assignments. Everyone glanced at the tiny fukutaichou and wondered again why they were stuck with her.
"I guess we'll just see how it goes, see if she responds to any training or interaction. Tessai will be here shortly to enact the barrier for us and we can ask him to make sure she can't wander out of it. Sado should be showing up within a day or so and we will figure out a way to include them both at that point." Kensei sighed as he unconsciously flexed his arms and tightened the fingerless leather gloves on his hands. Without looking back at the rest of the team he stood up and walked out of the shoten, barely acknowledging Ururu and Jinta as they slid open the door for him. Quietly everyone followed him out with Renji bringing up the rear.
"Don't be a pest kid. Tessai should be here soon to train in the basement…and if you beat up on Ururu I'll come back and smack you around some." Renji grinned ferally at the smaller red headed boy as he passed through the door.
"Whatever, Freeloader. You still owe us big time and I'll make sure you pay up!" Jinta growled without any real malice. As Renji passed, the boy reached out and hugged him tightly around the waist before pulling back with a scowl. "Good luck." JInta muttered quietly as he swiped at his nose with the back of his hand and aimed a swift kick at Renji's shin before running back into the store.
"Damn brat." Renji grinned as he turned to follow the others to the warehouse. He caught Hiyori watching him and she turned in a huff when she saw him looking at her. Sighing Renji walked in silence, bringing up the rear of the group and enjoying the brief solitude in the cold night.
A/N: So yeah...that was kind of all out there. Next chapter will be alot more focused.
Preview: Hueco Mundo – Byakuya cracks, Momo reminisces with Rukia, Gin and Rangiku. Last set up before final battle.