Author's Note- Hello, Dear Readers! I'm sorry that it has taken so long to update. Senior year = chaos ha-ha. I hope you all are still hanging with me. Onward!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Only my characters.

Chapter 5

Renji, Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Toshiro stood in Ichigo's classroom, staring after Rukia and Ichigo. Renji's eyebrow twitched as he held Ichigo's limp body and listened to the teen's classmates whisper about the group of soul reapers.

"Look at the tattoos on the redhead. He must be a delinquent," one of them whispered. His eyebrow twitched more and he growled under his breath.

"Don't mind them, Renji. It's just mindless human chatter," Ikkaku said to him.

"Check out the bald guy. Is that a wooden sword?" another kid asked. Ikkaku growled and started to draw his wooden sword out of his belt.

"Who said that?" he yelled. The teens gasped. Renji threw Ichigo's body over his shoulder and put a hand on Ikkaku's shoulder.

"Don't mind them, Ikkaku. It's just mindless human chatter," Renji mocked. Ikkaku put the sword back and followed the others out the door.

Satomi sat in her office, glaring at a bouquet of expensive roses that sat on her desk. She had read the card and that's what made her angry. It said: I am quite sorry for what I have done. –Byakuya Kuchiki. There was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, her eyes never leaving the flowers. The door slid open and Momo stepped into the office. She smiled when she saw the roses.

"They're so pretty! Did Renji send them?" she asked. Momo was the only person that Satomi had told about her and Renji.

"Renji's been gone since last night," Satomi answered as she handed Momo the card. The raven-haired girl read it and her smile faded.

"Oh." She then looked at Satomi apologetically. "If I would've know, I never would've pushed you to go after him. I'm really sorry." Satomi smiled and waved it off.

"I'm okay. Renji and I are together and I know he won't hurt me. At least that's what I believe," she laughed. Momo was the only person Satomi had told because she knew Momo wouldn't question her too much.

"So what are you going to do with the roses?" Momo asked. Satomi picked them up and walked over to the trash can.

"I'm going to do this," she answered as she dropped the flowers into the trash can. Both women giggled.

Renji and the others were all crowded together on Ichigo's bed, discussing the Arrrancar. He knew that he should be paying better attention but he couldn't get Satomi off his mind. He really hoped that his captain had heeded his warning. But knowing Byakuya, he wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Hey! Earth to Renji!" Ichigo yelled. The teen waved his hand in front of his friend's face.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. My mind was somewhere else," the redhead apologized.

"Yeah, we could tell," Rukia laughed. "What's on your mind?" The entire group stared at him and he blushed. He wanted to tell them. Hell, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but he knew he couldn't.

"It's nothing," he said, waving off their concern. Rukia and Ichigo shared a concerned look. They had never seen Renji so preoccupied. On missions, he was always ready to go. Always ready to fight.

"Well, I think everyone should find a place to stay for the night. I'm staying here," Rukia said. Ichigo frowned but said nothing. Renji turned to him.

"You said Kisuke Urahara trained you, right?" he asked. Ichigo nodded.

"Why?" Renji was already halfway out the window.

"Thanks. See ya," he said and then jumped out into the street.

Renji had been sitting outside Urahara Shoten for hours and he could feel the four pairs of eyes watching him.

"He's been out there a long time," Jinta noted.

"What do you think he wants?" Ururu asked.

"I have no idea," Kisuke answered.

"Not very often that we're visited by a lieutenant of the 13 Court Guard Squads. Kisuke, what did you do?" Tessai said.

"Why do you assume I did something? That hurts my feelings, Tessai." At that moment Renji's soul pager rang. All eyes were back on him

"Hello?" the redhead answered.

"Hey, Renji!" He smiled as Satomi's cheerful voice came through the soul pager.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked. She hesitated for a moment.

"I'm good."

"You sure?" She hesitated again.

"I got roses from Captain Kuchiki today," she told him.

"Really?" She could hear the angry edge in his voice.

"Yeah. But I threw them away. I can't believe him." Renji was once again aware of being watched. "Hold on a second, Satomi." He held the soul pager to his chest and looked towards the shop. "Do you mind if I have some privacy?" he called out. There was a soft click as the shop door closed. "Okay, I'm back."

"I don't want to seem clingy, but after that today, I just really wanted to talk to you," she said shyly. He chuckled.

"I was actually thinking about you, too. I was worrying about if the captain would leave you alone. Clearly, I was right to worry," he replied.

"How's the mission going?" she asked.

"Nothing's really happened. It's pretty boring actually." They talked for a while before Satomi had to go. After he hung up, he walked up to the shop's door. It slid open to reveal Urahara and the others.

"Hello! What can we do for you?" Urahara asked with a smile.

"Train me," was Renji's only reply.

Weeks stretched on and Satomi though she was going to lose her mind. Every day there was a new gift from Captain Kuchiki. Flower, jewelry, candy, anything he could think of!

She decided one day that she had to get away. She hoped her captain could help and headed to see him.

"Come on in," he said. She entered and smiled as she bowed.

"Good afternoon, Sir," she greeted. Shunsui smiled back.

"What do you need, Satomi?" She sighed and explained what had been going on. He frowned slightly. "Do you need me to speak with him again?" Shunsui asked. She shook her head.

"Actually, I was hoping you had a mission for me, Captain." He thought about it.

"The only mission that would get you out of the Soul Society right now is the Advance Team with Captain Hitsugaya. But it seems like nothing has been happening. So I'm not sure how much good that will do…"

"Whatever you feel is right, Sir," she replied. He thought for a little longer.

"Well, if he's not leaving you alone, I suppose you do need to get away for a while. I can send, you, too." Satomi beamed at her captain.

"Thank you!" She hugged her captain and he chuckled.

"Be careful while you're gone."

"I will! Bye!" she called over her shoulder as she jogged out of the office. Shunsui chuckled again at his adorable 3rd seat.

Satomi stepped through the senkaimon and into the World of the Living. She quickly stepped into the gigai that Akon from the R & D Department had given her. She looked down at herself and the human clothes she wore. Short jean shorts, a tight, blue tank top, and shoes that the humans called flip-flops. She ran her fingers through her high ponytail as she stared at the sign on the shop that read Urahara Shoten.

"Well, this is where I'm supposed to be," she said aloud to herself. She cracked open the show door and looked inside. "Hello?" she called. A man with cornrows and glasses came out of a back room.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"Is Urahara-san here?"

"He is busy at the moment. If I may ask, who are you?" She bowed.

"My apologies. I'm Satomi Hamasaki, 3rd Seat of Squad 8. I'm here to join the Advance Team. My captain said it would be wise to speak with Urahara-san as soon as I arrived," she explained. The man bowed.

"I am Tessai. I'll take you to the boss."

"Thank you so much!"

Renji shrugged off the top half of his shihaksho, letting it hang around his waist. He was wiping sweat out of his eyes when he felt a familiar and unexpected riatsu enter Urahara's underground training room. He looked around, trying to find its source.

"What is it, Renji?" Urahara asked. Renji finally saw her as she and Tessai walked toward them.

"Satomi?" Renji questioned as he sheathed Zabimaru. She waved and beamed at him.

"Hi, Renji!" she exclaimed. He jogged up to her and stared down at her, surprised.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Her smile faded a bit.

"I'll explain later," she replied. He pulled her into a hug and she blushed. "Renji, you're all sweaty," she laughed. He pulled away and smiled at her.

"Sorry. Hey, Urahara, can we be finished for today?" Urahara watched as Renji slid an arm around Satomi's waist. He chuckled mischievously.

"That's fine with me," he replied. Satomi's eyes widened.

"So you're Urahara-san?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yes, indeed.

"My captain said that I needed to speak with you as soon as I arrived. May I stay here for the duration of the mission?"

"I'm not sure if I have another free room…"

"She can share with me," Renji offered. Satomi's cheeks burned as she looked up at the redheaded man.

"Are you sure?" she asked him. Renji winked at her.

"I don't see why that wouldn't work," Urahara said.

"Great!" Renji replied with a wolfish grin. For some reason, Satomi felt like she had just gotten herself into a bunch of trouble.

That night, after Urahara and the others caught Satomi up on the mission, she and Renji were getting ready for bed when he reminded her about explaining why she was there.

"You still haven't told me why you suddenly showed up," Renji said as he rolled out his futon.

"Oh, yeah," she replied, rolling out her futon next to Renji's. "Well, mostly this is so I can get away from the Seireitei." He frowned as he climbed into his futon.

"Why would you need to get away?" Satomi sighed.

"Captain Kuchiki keeps sending me gifts. It was beginning to make me crazy so I asked Captain Kyoraku if he had any missions. This is the only one where I could actually be away," she explained. Renji reached over and pulled her futon closer. She rolled over on her side to face him.

"I'm gonna get some sleep. Why do we even have to go to school?" she said.

"It's so we're able to blend in more," he replied. He wasn't looking forward to being with all the human kids either.

"Oh, well. Goodnight, Renji." He leaned over and they shared a chaste kiss.

"Goodnight, Satomi."

The door to Renji and Satomi's room flew open and a familiar orange-haired teen stood in the doorway.

"What the hell?" he yelled. Satomi and Renji were instantly awake. Satomi noticed that Renji had wormed his way into her futon at some point during the night. Renji laughed.

"I got cold in the middle of the night so I moved over to Satomi's futon," Renji explained. It was an obvious lie but Ichigo left it alone.

"Whatever. Just get ready or we're going to be late," Ichigo replied, rolling his eyes.

Satomi stood at the front of Ichigo's class with the teacher.

"Class, today we have another new student." She turned to Satomi. "Go ahead and introduce yourself." Satomi smiled brightly at the class and bowed.

"Hi! I'm Satomi Hamasaki. Pleased to meet you," she greeted. The room erupted with whispers and Renji listened carefully.

"Yes! Another cute girl," one guy whispered to his friend.

"She isn't wearing make-up. She's so pretty!" some girl whispered to another. There was a group of guys in the corner talking about her, too.

"She's super cute. I wonder where she's from."

"Do you think she has a boyfriend from her old school?"

"I'm gonna ask her out after class." Renji glared at them.

"Dude, Abarai's glaring at us!"

"Who cares?"

"We should just shut up. He really freaks me out!" The guys quieted down.

"Satomi, you can have the seat between Renji and Keigo," the teacher told her. She bowed.

"Thank you, Sensei." She smiled at Renji as she took her seat. Keigo leaned over and smiled.

"Hi there, cutie. Name's Keigo Asano. How about we go-"

"Don't even," Renji said, cutting Keigo off. He reached over and draped his arm over the back of Satomi's chair.

"Whatever, man." Keigo turned back to the front as the lesson began.

"Hey, Satomi, could I talk to you for a minute?" one of the guys from class asked. Renji and the others stopped and waited.

"Sure. You guys go on ahead," she said. Renji looked like he didn't want to go, but he followed the others anyway. The guy looked at her shyly.

"Would you like to go to a movie on Saturday?" he asked. Her bright smile turned into a sympathetic one.

"I'm sorry. I already have a boyfriend and we're pretty serious about each other," she answered. The guy looked down.

"I see. Sorry to bother you." He hurried off and Satomi sighed before heading up to the roof.

"So what did that guy want?" Rangiku asked.

"He just wanted to know if I wanted to see a movie on Saturday," Satomi replied as she frowned at the juice box in her hands.

"What did you tell him?" Orihime asked.

"I told him no and that I have a boyfriend who I'm very serious about," she answered, still struggling to open her juice. Orihime and Rangiku gasped and the others just stared at her. She blushed as she realized what she'd said. Rangiku was instantly in front of her.

"Who is he? Is he human or is he a soul reaper?" she questioned as Renji took the juice box from Satomi.

"Um, actually…"

"Tell us! Tell us!" Rangiku begged. Renji sighed and pulled Satomi to him, kissing her and then letting her go. Her blush deepened as Rangiku squealed.

"I knew it," Ichigo and Rukia said simultaneously. Renji stabbed the straw into the opening of the juice and passed it to Satomi.

"Since when?" Rangiku asked excitedly.

"Since the night you guys came here," Satomi answered, drinking her juice.

The end-of-lunch bell rang and everyone stood up to go inside. Renji look Satomi's hand and held her back as everyone else disappeared into the building.

"What made you say that?" Renji asked.

"What do you mean?" Satomi asked in return.

"Why did you tell them about us?" he replied. She blushed.

"Well, I do. And I realized it was stupid to try and hide it. Besides, if Ichigo and the others know, then my big, scary-looking, brute of a boyfriend can scare away all the human boys," she answered with a laughed. Renji gave her a wolfish grin and backed her up against the door to the stairwell.

"So I'm a brute?" he asked, his grin widening. Satomi swallowed hard as she stared at him. "If that's the case, I'll show you just how much of a brute I am." His head swooped down and he caught her lips in a searing, passionate kiss. He instantly took her breath away and made her knew weak. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her body to his. Satomi pulled away to breathe.

"We should…get to class…" she told him breathily. Renji's lips found their way to her neck and caressed the skin.

"Why? We don't have to be there," he said, his hot breath making her shiver pleasurably. He nipped lightly at her pulse point.

"We're supposed to be blending in. Skipping class isn't going to make us blend in," she replied reasonably. He rested his forehead on her shoulder and sighed.

"Fine."

Renji and Satomi returned to class, Renji's arm around her waist.

"Where have you two been?" the teacher asked, hands on her hips.

"Satomi wasn't feeling well so I stayed with her until she felt well enough to come back to class," Renji answered. The teacher did seem convinced, but she let them off anyway.

"Take your seats." They did as she said. When Satomi sat down, the girl next behind her tapped on her shoulder and pointed to the boy behind her.

"Is Abarai your boyfriend?" the guy asked. It was the guy who had asked her out before lunch. Satomi smiled and nodded. "Oh." She looked over at Renji and he smiled.

Everyone had gone back to Urahara's after school. They all sat around the table to talk.

"It's been really quiet for days," Rangiku pointed out.

"Yeah. Seems kind of suspicious," Uryu added.

"Rangiku, you are stating something that everyone knows. Perhaps you have some information that we don't know," Hitsugaya said with a frown.

"Well, it's not like it's my fault," she replied. Renji leaned down to Satomi's ear.

"Do you want to get out of here before this turns into an argument?" he asked. She nodded and they went to their room to change.

Renji and Satomi had decided to go on a walk around Karakura. They walked close together, their arms sometimes brushing against each other. There seemed to be a permanent blush on Satomi's cheeks.

"Satomi, are you nervous?" Renji asked. She stared at the ground.

"Kind of," she answered shyly. He stopped and turned to her.

"You don't need to be nervous with me." He put his hands on either side of her face and tilted her head up to look at him. "I want to be with you so there's no way that I'm going to do something that could make me lose you," he explained. "I'm not like him," he added in a low voice. Satomi reached up and took his hand.

"I know," she said with a smile. They continued on their walk until they felt a strong, strange riatsu. Renji pulled out his soul pager and called Rukia, explaining what was happening. After he hung up, the two of them headed back to Urahara's. Before they arrived, Ichigo, Orihime, and Rukia were running towards them, Ichigo and Rukia already in their soul forms. Renji and Satomi ate some soul candy and, once in soul form, Renji turned to their gigai.

"Go back to Urahara's and rejoin the others," he said. They nodded and ran off.

"Do you know where they are?" Ichigo asked. At that moment a strange man in a white outfit appeared.

"Who the hell are you?" Renji asked, his hand on Zabimaru's hilt.

"Di Roy Rinker! Now I'm gonna kill all of you, but the orange-haired kid. He wants to take care of you himself," Di Roy said.

"Think again," Rukia replied. "Some no mai, Tsukishiro!" A pillar of ice enveloped Di Roy. It started to crack slowly and then suddenly shattered, Di Roy's body shattering with it.

"There are still others," Satomi said. It wasn't long before two more people, dressed like Di Roy, showed up. They were significantly stronger than Di Roy though. A handsome man with blue hair, a jawbone on his right cheek, and a hollow hole in his abdomen stood next to a beautiful woman with long, violet hair, bone from her temple to below her jaw, covering her entire right cheek, and a hole in the same place as the man's.

"Finally found you!" the man yelled. "I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the Sexta Espada."

"I am Kurono, the Undecimo Espada," the woman added. Grimmjow glared at her but continued speaking.

"Which one of you is the strongest?" he asked. Rukia raised her sword.

"Ichigo! Get back!" she yelled. Grimmjow and Kurono moved at the same time, pulling their arms back and impaling Rukia through her abdomen.

"You're not the strongest," they said together. They pulled back and turned to Kurono angrily.

"Rukia!" Satomi and the others yelled. Rukia started to fall and Renji ran to catch her as Ichigo pointed Zangetsu at the Arrancar. The woman was staring at her hand as Rukia's blood slid down her fingers. Her red eyes started to glow demonically. Grimmjow was yelling at her and suddenly the glow went away. Satomi turned away and joined Renji where he was kneeling next to Rukia. He was shaking with rage and she took his hand, squeezing it.

"I'll kill them," he growled.

"She'll be okay."

"What if she isn't?"

"Renji, Orihime's doing what she can. There are others like the one Rukia got rid of. We have to fight." He sighed and nodded.

"Let's take these bastards out, Satomi," he answered. She smiled up at him lovingly and he kissed her on the forehead. It was then that they noticed that they were being watched.

"You go ahead, Renji. I'll take care of her," Satomi said as she stared up at Kurono. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a worried look.

"Are you sure?" Renji asked. She nodded, her hand on the hilt of her sword. He left, heading after one of the others.

"You're going to be sorry," Kurono sneered.

"I think I can hold my own just fine," Satomi answered.

"Oh? What makes you think that?" Satomi stood proudly.

"I'm Satomi Hamasaki, 3rd Seat of Squad 8 of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." Kurono laughed cruelly.

"Not even a lieutenant rank? You must be joking. I don't know much about soul reapers but I do know that there's no way that you'll defeat me." Satomi drew her sword. "You would need a bankai to even have a chance of scratching me."

"Crash upon the shore, Tadahiro!" Satomi yelled. She watched happily as her blade became wavy and the blue, watery riatsu surrounded the blade. "We will take you down and Aizen will not complete his plan!"

"So you say, little soul reaper, but you haven't fought any of us," Kurono smirked. Satomi narrowed her eyes and charged at the female Espada. She knew she shouldn't let the taunting get to her, but it did. Kurono stopped the blade with the palm of her hand. "Told you." She shoved Satomi back and manifested her sword. Satomi watched as the wickedly curved blade appeared. She gripped her sword tighter, preparing for the Espada's attack. When it came, the two women clashed again and again. Satomi soon realized that she was losing ground and fast. Her eyes widened when she saw Kurono's eyes glowing bright red once again. She felt all the cuts on her body as they began to ache, but she still wouldn't stop until Kurono was defeated.

"I will beat you!" Satomi yelled defiantly. Kurono's eyes started to glow more as she looked at her sword and that worried Satomi. Kurono let out a horrible, insane laughed that chilled Satomi to her bones.

"Think again! Die, soul reaper!" Kurono roared. Satomi braced herself for the blow but then suddenly Kurono stopped when a familiar riatsu appeared. Both women turned and Satomi gasped. It was one of the former captains.

"Captain Tosen…" Satomi whispered. Kurono rolled her eyes and sonidoed to Grimmjow. Suddenly, her body felt like lead and her head started to hurt. She moved to a nearby building and propped herself against it. She was breathing heavily and she looked down at her body. Her shihaksho was in tatters and it almost seemed like her blood was seeping from her pores. It wasn't long before she realized that all the Arrancars' riatsus were gone. She used what little strength she had left to search out Renji's riatsu. When she felt it moving towards her, she smiled to herself and closed her eyes.