Meg: Okay I feel good after this chapter lol. But there's still so much to tell!
Shi: Let me study dammit!
Kyu: Meg... the rage meter's spiking! *Shi growling in the background*
Meg: Shiz! Okay guys I don't own Bleach, only this plot! Gotta run!
"Rukia…" Renji choked, forcing his tears not to fall.
"Renji! I thought you loved him!" Rukia growled. "How can you make him feel like that? The amount of pain he feels brought me to my knees!"
Renji stiffened. 'I… He's feeling so much pain because of me… Enough it's spilling over into his reiatsu… Enough that other people get affected by it…' Renji felt something tear inside his chest. He hung his head, tears silently streaming down his eyes.
"I don't know… I don't Rukia… I… I can't take it back though… What I had to say got said… He's better off without me!" Renji shook harder with each word until he shuddered to a stop, breathing hard.
"Renji…" Rukia's voice was soft. "I can tell you don't want to do this, but I swear to god if you don't stop I will rip you to shreds and feed you to Mayuri-taicho's bankai."
Renji looked up into soft yet angry violet eyes, paling at the thought. "I'll stop…"
Rukia nodded and walked out without a backward glance. Renji sat back against the wall. He groaned softly. 'Zabimaru… What do I do?' Renji thought to himself as he tipped his head backwards.
: Ya should get over what that stupid captain told you and follow your heart.: Zabimaru growled. : I know you better than you know you.:
'That made no sense…' Renji thought, biting his lip. 'The second part I mean.'
: I spend a bit more time in yer head than you do, kid.: Zabimaru stated exasperatedly. : I can feel your reiatsu whenever you're near Zangetsu's kid. You want him, you need him. Not just physically, mentally and emotionally too. He was your grounding point, your reference point. He was what held you down, and you let that captain bully you into leaving it all behind.:
"I… see…" Renji whispered. "Thank you Zabimaru."
'Oh… If only he could see me now,' Renji thought softly, to himself this time. 'Maybe it's not too late to turn this around…'
XXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Ichigo stood, simply staring at the head captain. Snapping out of his shocked daze, he whispered. "You want me to what?"
"I want you to lead division 3, I know you can function well leading a group of people and that you can handle yourself quite well as a Shinigami. Kuchiki Rukia has informed me of your impressive increase in your Kido skill and Reiatsu control, so I have no reason to hold you back." The head captain took a breath then continued. "Your judgment, however odd it may be, has yet to cause serious harm in the long run. The only thing I will require is that you actually take lessons in the law of Soul Society while performing your duties, you will be provided tutelage under Kuchiki Byakuya."
"I… I don't know what to say." Ichigo stuttered a moment. He knew there was only 1 reason he was getting this position. 6 captains had recommended him and 3 more had agreed upon the descision. He knew one person who wasn't approving when he heard Mayuri-taicho whisper under his breath, "Dammit, I wanted to experiment on him until he turned to spirit particles from the strain…"
"You simply say I accept, or I do not accept." Yamamoto stated. "It's a simple statement, I would think."
"I-I accept." Ichigo said, staring dumbly at the head captain.
"That settles this matter. This concludes the meeting for the day." The captains left slowly, some of them congratulating Ichigo, others just nodding their ascent. Izuru Kira came up to him, smiling.
"Thank you, for accepting this job. I welcome you to the squad and I am happy to serve as your lieutenant." He handed Ichigo the folded white haori slowly, smiling, with what seemed like a relieved look on his face. Ichigo unfolded the haori slowly, staring at the symbol for the third division. He blinked, and slowly his dazed mind started to work again, as he ran his finger through the strokes of the kanji. He slid the haori over his uniform and walked out of the 1st division barracks, Kira following a step behind him.
"So are you going to go meet your new division?" Kira smiled, and Ichigo nodded slowly, deciding meeting them fast would be the best option.
"Yea, Kira, would you mind going ahead and calling the division to the training grounds? I'd like to have a few minutes to think about what I'm going to say." Ichigo put on a smile for the man's sake, and Kira nodded, running off to follow the request. Ichigo let out the breath he'd been holding in.
"Congratulations Ichigo." Ichigo stiffened as the person he least wanted to see right now intruded on his thoughts. "I'm glad they chose to make you captain."
"Thank you, Abarai-taicho. Well, if you'd excuse me I'm about to meet my new division…" As Ichigo started to move off, Renji darted out and grabbed his arm.
"Wait, Ichigo please." He felt Ichigo stiffen and felt his reiatsu reverberate with barely controlled fear as he turned to look at him. "Ichigo… I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for the way I've been acting… The way I acted then...The way I hurt you... You didn't deserve that."
Renji stopped speaking when he saw Ichigo's face. Ichigo knew his eyes betrayed the uncaring set of his mouth. He knew his eyes spoke of betrayal running too deep to fathom, of the pain he'd suffered in Renji's wake, of the attempts he tried to ease the gaping hole in his heart Renji left him with when he decided to end what they had. Ichigo knew Renji saw all of this, in that one instant before he jerked away and took off running. Panting, Ichigo slipped into the 3rd Division's Captains Office. He straightened his uniform and ran his fingers through his already tousled orange hair. Kira looked up, slightly startled, but when he noticed it was Ichigo he stiffened into salute.
"Kira, You've known me for 14 years, you don't have to salute me just because I'm your captain now. It's only a rank, I'm the same person I've been this whole time." Ichigo sighed.
"Hai, Taicho." Kira said stiffly, then noticing Ichigo's exasperated expression he grinned. "Alright, Taicho, the division's ready for you. Most of them remember you from the Winter War, but some of the others are new, did you know that they teach a class on you at the Academy now?"
"Really? I didn't do much…" Ichigo blinked, slightly surprised. Kira snorted.
"Coming from the man who broke into Seireitei and destroyed the Sokyoku, single handedly defeated Jin Kariya,-"
"I did that because I had to." Ichigo interrupted.
"And continued on to defeat mutltiple Arrancar and Espada, followed by ending the Winter War." He continued unpertby the interruption. Ichigo growled. "Anyway, the troops are ready for you to talk to them.
"Alright then." Ichigo followed Kira out the doors to the side of the office, which opened to a path that led to the barracks. Ichigo took a deep breath to compose himself one last time and stepped into the small pavilion that housed his division. With his face schooled into the look of calm indifference with a slight stern scowl he had learned to adopt while working with new interns at his dad's clinic, he faced his division. He knew he had to look intimidating as a breeze blew into the silent and still pavilion, causing is uniform and haori to swirl lightly around him.
"I believe most of you know who I am, and I know I've had the pleasure to fight with some of you during the winter war. But for those who don't, I am Kurosaki Ichigo, ex-substitute Shinigami, now full time shinigami as well as the new captain of this division." Ichigo took a deep, indiscrete breath.
"I recognize many faces here right now, and I hope we can all work together soon. I know the morale of this division has been less than satisfactory in the last 9 years, but with new leadership and the familiarity of our Kira-fukutaicho, I think we can find a way to find pride in our division yet again. I am not Ichimaru Gin, and I do not want to be feared by you. I am simply the commander of this force and I don't you to respect me until I've earned it, but I expect you to heed me, because I have experience, far more than I should. But that doesn't stop the fact I have it. Does anyone have any concerns to be voiced?" Ichigo stopped and glanced around the yard, waiting for the things he knew were going to be voiced. But he was surprised when his speech was met with cheers and a clap on the back from Kira.
Ichigo smiled. "I'll be glad to work with you men and women, and I hope you feel the same." With that he turned and strode back to his office, Kira trailing close behind him. 'If he could see me now…' Ichigo thought grimly behind his mask. 'Maybe he wouldn't have treated me like that.'
A/N: Okay that was good lol I'm not dissappointed at all with that!
By the way, read and review, it inspires me to write more lol.
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