Chapter 8: Stars Aligning

Renji Abarai bit back a sigh as he exchanged a worried glance with Rukia. He waited until Captain Ukitake was out of sight around the corner until he let it out with a shake of his head.

"Man, and I thought you were looking tired these past couple weeks." He said giving his friend a small frown.

It was true too. Rukia had been running around doing double duties since Kaien was given his temporary post in the real world. The entirety of the 13th squad was exhausted, but the captain looked twice as bad as the rest of them. Considering he never really looked totally healthy on a good day, that was really saying something. It was obvious he was trying to hold himself together a little tighter than when Kaien was around to help run things.

Vice-Captain Shiba pretty much ran the squad and it was nice that everyone was doing their best to pitch in and keep up with the extra jobs, but they were still in some strange disarray. Who knew that Kaien had that much of an influence over them all? Sure, vice-captains were important in a squad, very important, but Renji didn't realize just how much so until Kaien left and he saw a working machine that didn't quite work anymore.

And I'm going to have to take on that responsibility soon.

Glancing sideways at his friend, Renji bit his bottom lip. He hadn't told Rukia yet— that he had just been promoted to vice-captain and was going to be transferring to the 6th squad. Byakuya Kuchiki's squad. Her brother's squad.

He was surprised when they told him. Really really surprised. Sure, he admitted he had some skill. He could hold his own in a fight against some really tough opponents and he had a fairly decent spiritual pressure that he could control fairly well. He knew his Zanpakutō well and Ikkakau was a really good teacher and had taught him a lot, a lot more than he would have learned if he'd stayed in the 5th squad with Captain Aizen. Even then, that was mostly because he sucked at Kido (and he was being kind to himself putting it that way) and that's what they were good at over there.

He wasn't like Kira who totally deserved to be the vice-captain for the 3rd squad. He was amazing at Kido. He could use almost all of the spells and heal and he rarely had to chant them (even though he did anyway because he was kind of an overachiever) and on top of it all that he wasn't half bad at anything else either. He was a good fighter and was well organized and knew how to stay cool in tough situations and juggled all his responsibility with ease.

I am so screwed.

Why did they pick him? Why? There were so many other, better candidates. But him? Renji could kick someone's ass, but that was about all he was good at. It made no sense! Granted, not much made sense these days. He was going to be a vice captain, Kaien had been sent to the human world on patrol duty… what was next? Actually, Renji hoped he wouldn't know the answer to that. Sure, things were never dull in Soul Society, but they were also, mostly, predictable once you learned to read the people and the wind.

"What's that stupid face for?"

Renji started and looked over at Rukia who was staring up at him with a raised eyebrow. How long had she been doing that? Not that it really mattered; she was good at reading people in about half a second flat. It didn't matter what the person's face said, she could tell what was really going on and it was never very far from the truth when she pointed it out.

Which, both fortunately and unfortunately, she didn't do a whole lot.

Renji straightened and tugged on his sleeves. "I don't have a stupid face."

"I beg to differ." She smiled subtly, but quickly dropped it. "Really, though. You're quiet today."

Crap, crap, crap. Can't tell her yet because if I tell her than she might be angry and really not anyone is supposed to know yet and… I have no idea how to handle this. Which didn't bode well for him being the second in command on one of the most regimented squads in Soul Society. Screwed. I. Am. Screwed.

But he couldn't look away from Rukia because she knew how to hold a gaze and he could tell she was judging him or reading his thoughts because she might as well be psychic. Why didn't she get picked as a vice captain? That would have made so much more sense.

Renji shrugged. "I can have my quiet moments."

Rukia snorted. "Sure, and Captain Hitsugaya has purple hair."

That'd be amusing. Shaking his head Renji sighed. "There's just a lot going on, that's all. Besides, you've got enough on your plate to add picking my brain apart to your duties. You can come bug me after Vice-Captain Shiba gets back and your life isn't a laundry list of insanity."

And that wasn't the response he was expecting. Rukia's eyes fell to the floor and she turned away, her fists clenching at her sides. She was either upset or angry or both and Renji hadn't seen this coming at all. Maybe if it was two months ago this wouldn't have caught him off guard. She had seen things that night in the woods that Renji couldn't even imagine and from the little he was able to get her to tell him she had every right to be upset about it.

Technically? Kaien had died. And technically? It had been Captain Ukitake's fault for not intervening. And even more technically speaking? Rukia had seen a side of Vice-Captain Shiba Renji found hard to believe existed. Suicidal? Hopeless? That wasn't the Kaien he saw leading the 13th squad. That wasn't the guy Renji heard Rukia blab about for hours. She was scared, he saw it. She didn't know what to think about it all and Renji knew without a doubt that he'd be the same if it was him out there in those woods.

"Rukia?"

"He's been gone almost a whole month, Renji. A whole month and we've heard barely anything from him." Rukia turned back to look at him her mouth twisted in a worried pout. "I don't know what to think about it all. On one hand maybe he's busy? I don't really know how assignments there work since I've never been on one, but on the other hand? What if…what if he really is…?"

That lost? Renji finished the sentence in his own thoughts. The guy did lose his wife and he did go on some crazy bender and tried to get himself killed, but…

"No," Renji said with finality. "Vice-Captain Shiba might be having a hard time right now, but no one blames him for it. I might not know him too well, but I know he loved Miyako and I know things got crazy after everything happened, but I think…" Word this carefully… "…I think you taught him something when you went after him."

And now Rukia looked really confused. He could do this, even though he sucked at pep talks and making people feel better (because he was anything but subtle) he could totally do this. Because it was true, Rukia was the one that saved Kaien. He just had to put it in other terms besides the too-literal 'you pulled his eaten soul out of a hollow and brought him back to life'.

"Look," Might as well be frank about it, "I don't really know what happened out there besides what you told me so I can only really guess at the details, but you said you didn't recognize him. Said you didn't understand why Captain Ukitake stood there and did nothing. Didn't know why things happened the way they did.

"I get that. I really do, I don't understand a lot of what happens around here," Like me becoming a vice captain "But maybe that's what happens when you're defending honor. Maybe Kaien wasn't defending his own; he could have been defending Miyako's and I bet when you're fighting for someone else's honor, someone you hold that precious? I bet you disregard your own.

"So you saw Kaien as a different person that night. So he wasn't the same person after that night and still isn't today, but he wasn't the only one that changed. You said you don't really know what you did out there, how you saved him right? I bet Captain Ukitake didn't recognize you either. But I think he understood why, that you also found your honor or heart or whatever that made you change and fight the way you did."

"What does this have to do with me teaching Kaien something?" Rukia frowned. She almost looked mad at him.

I don't even friggin' know. Renji ran a hand through his hair. He really, really sucked at this. He knew what he wanted to say, but he had no idea who to explain it in any semblance of 'this makes sense'.

"That…maybe for as scared as you were and as confused as you are about all that shit? That maybe he saw that someone was just as willing to fight for him as he was to fight for Miyako and that maybe there was more to fighting and honor and being a Shinigami than he realizes or that any of us realize right now. Maybe he just needs time?"

Because if I need time to figure out my life, then you need even more time and Kaien needs even more than both of us combined.

Renji sighed. "Sorry I—"

"That…makes sense."

What?

Rukia looked up at him, face still solemn but eyes a little more thoughtful. "I guess I hadn't thought about it that way. I bet that's why Captain Ukitake sent him there in the first place."

How did that work? Renji stared at Rukia, goggle-eyed. Guess that's why she's my best friend. Because no matter how incoherent he was she always seemed to know what he was talking about and she always seemed to get it. Get him.

"Thanks, Renji." Rukia smiled a little.

"No problem?" Renji snapped his fingers. "Hey! Why don't you go ask Captain Ukitake about it? He'd never turn you away, you know that. Maybe he'd even let you go down there to talk to Kaien. You can't be the only one that's worried about him, right? And I can't think of anyone better that he wouldn't mind talking to if he needs it."

"You think so?" Rukia asked skeptically. "I really don't think that would be… conventional."

Oh if only you knew.

"Eh," Renji shrugged. "What is these days?"

"Heading out?" Kisuke looked up from the book he wasn't actually reading and smiled at the short, curly haired Shinigami who was securing her sandals by his front door.

Senza Rikki gave a small nod and tapped a sandal toe to the floor two times with one foot and then the other. Satisfied that her shoes weren't going to be coming off during her outing she opened the door and turned to stare at the street. "Yes, I have to return to work. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be finished."

Kisuke had to bite back a bitter laugh (really it was harder to do than it should have been), but the truth of the matter was when was their work ever done? He tossed his book unceremoniously aside and stood up. Letting out a dramatic sigh he took off his hat and ran a hand through his flattened hair. "But if you leave, that means I have to get back to work too."

"Aw, poor Urahara…" The girl deadpanned. She glanced over her shoulder a small twinkle in her eye before she turned back to the open door and took a step out in the sunlight which brightened up the streaks of gold in her auburn hair. Her voice dropped to a bare whisper as she raised her face to take in the warmth of the late morning. "Thanks for putting up with me this past week."

Kisuke couldn't help but physically flinch. Don't say that.

"There was no 'putting up with' done." He followed her outside deliberately a couple steps slower until she stopped in the middle of his small sandy lot. She needed her space after what had happened. "I am sorry that things turned out the way they did. I wish I could have helped out more."

"Yeah. Me too." Turning the young Shinigami locked watery eyes with him. "But this is what we chose to do and I've got to live with that choice and all the choices that I've made since becoming a Shinigami."

And there wasn't any more stark a truth than that. It was the hardest lesson every person, Shinigami or not, had to come to terms with. Himself included.

This time Kisuke couldn't hold in the hollow laugh. "You really are honest to a fault."

Blunt, honest, and never afraid to point out how things really were. It was a quality he never acquired which was why whenever things went terribly wrong, he always laughed and joked about it, but even he couldn't joke about this. He had no right to. Someone died (it seemed a lot of people were dying recently) and this time he could have done something to prevent it. And he really doesn't know what he could have done, but maybe if he had thought a little harder…but he hadn't and now someone else was paying the price for it.

That's the way it always seemed to end for Kisuke. He's made a mountain of mistakes in his time, as most people do, but for some reason his mistakes made the people around him suffer more than himself and he wasn't sure if that was Fate's disturbing way of getting him to learn a lesson or not. Either way, it wasn't supposed to work like that. His mistakes were supposed to punish him, not them.

That wasn't to say he hadn't paid; he ended up in the human world for a reason and it wasn't because he got three gold stars for being a good leader and teacher and friend. The worst part about it? Even after all the time he'd taken to contemplate and think them over, he still wasn't sure why he made some of the decisions he did. Actually, a lot of them he still didn't regret and he didn't know if that was because he was justified or because his need to learn play with things he shouldn't play with is so great that he just didn't care that he got in trouble in the first place.

And even worse on top of that? He couldn't trust himself not to do it again. At least down here I thought I couldn't do as much damage as up there. And now that was about as untrue as everything else in his life.

Senza bowed before straightening up. "Make sure Mira gets her proper good-bye back home."

"Of course." That was the least he could do. "If you need anything you know where I am."

"Hopefully there will be a next time."

"Don't—" Kisuke cut himself off as the air rippled and there was the breeze of a new presence in the air.

The girl gave him a short bow and silently disappeared with a small puff of dust that blew across his sandy lot before settling down again. Footsteps echoed behind him and Kisuke replaced his hat as he turned around with a wry smirk. "I was wondering when you would be stopping by, Vice-Captain Shiba."

Honestly, nearly three weeks down here and not even a hello.

"Who was that?" And Kaien was obviously not in the mood for small talk.

"No one of any importance."

Kaien raised a skeptical eyebrow to the sky, but didn't press the matter (thank goodness, that would have been a messy set of lies to come up with on the spot). "I was hoping you had a couple of minutes to spare."

"For a customer, always."

"I'm not here to buy."

"Er, you sure? I just got a new shipment in yesterday…"

"Not today."

"Tea then?"

"That would be nice."

Ichigo shifted in his seat uncomfortably and in return it gave a displeased groan that he was sure the entire class heard. No one turned to look at him, though, so he settled further back and turned to stare out the window on his left. School desks really weren't built for someone his height and that made him wonder on more than one occasion what Chad must feel like a few hours into the day.

Luckily the day was almost over which meant he could try to go find Kaien and apologize. He had taken off so abruptly after Ichigo inquired about what death meant for Shinigami that Ichigo's only conclusion was that he somehow seriously offended him and that left a bad taste in his mouth. Unfortunately, the Shinigami was hard to find when he was actually looking for him. It was pretty obvious that Kaien was upset; maybe the previous watcher in Karakura was a friend or maybe it was just that rare for a Shinigami to die. How many could there possibly be?

There are death gods in our world.

And that was something Ichigo was still having trouble swallowing even though it had been a full two weeks since that Hollow had tried to kill him. Thinking about it made his head swim. Sure, he was used to the odd and yes, he believed in things other people usually brushed off as myth and lore, but monsters with masks that ate spirits and human-like death gods? Those were the things of fairy tales. Things that weren't supposed to be real, things that weren't supposed to interrupt his day and make him question a hell of a lot more about life (and death, especially about death) than he already did.

If things weren't already crazy enough for a teenaged, orange haired boy with a bad reputation that he didn't even deserve (well okay he kind of deserved, but that was only because he was given it first and then owned it), adding monster dodging to a daily routine might just push him for the edge. Guess that's what Kaien's job is for. To keep people like him from finding out. Sure, keeping people alive and safe was one thing, but even knowing about death gods and Hollows would cause…well, chaos. Ignorance really can be bliss. Who would have thought that could be true?

Ichigo's eyes followed the second hand ticker on the clock and was out the door before the bell had stopped ringing. He ignored some of the strange looks he got as he hurried down the hall, but had to stop when a high pitched voice called out his name.

"Kurosaki!" Orihime Inoue's voice could carry across an entire stadium and she wouldn't even have to yell. She waved before bouncing up to him, a whirl of bright hair and her usual skip step and held out a hand. "Your phone fell out of your pocket back in the classroom."

Distracted much? "Thanks. I already broke two this year, dad would kill me if I lost this one."

Orihime was an interesting person, to say the least. Despite all the preconceptions that people tended to have of her she was pretty smart and Ichigo never doubted that anything she did or said wasn't with every good intension in the world. She cared a lot (maybe a little too much) about the people around her. And yes, she ate weird, weird things and yes, she could be a complete bubblehead, but in the end she was a good person, despite the fact that she'd been through as much as the next person (if not more) and came out of it smiling.

Orihime giggled as she dropped the phone into Ichigo's hand. "How did you break two phones when we're only three months into the year?"

"Fighting, how else?" Tatski Arisawa spoke up from behind Inoue, her bag slung over her shoulder. (For being one of the tallest girls in their grade she was freakishly sneaky). "Think you'd learn to at least empty your pockets before you start kicking people and getting kicked back."

Ichigo shrugged. "It's not like I planned on getting into fights. They just…happen."

"Uh huh," Tatski didn't look convinced but waved a hand in the air. "So where are you heading off to so fast anyway? You usually never have anywhere to be after school."

"Way to make me sound lame. I do things after school," Ichigo said with a huff. Today I just happen to be going on a death god search. He just wasn't going to mention that. "And I do things other than fight." He added quickly at Tatski's raised eyebrows.

"Sure, whatever you say."

Inoue laughed again. "You're so mean to each other."

Both true and untrue. Ichigo's known Tatski for a long time, longer than anyone else in their school. Maybe they weren't outwardly the closest friends, but she knew things about him that others didn't and had seen parts of him that no one even knew he could own up to. From the good to the bad to the weak and he knew that she'd take those things to her grave. They might not share lunch together, or walk home after school, or catch movies on the weekend, but they'd defend each other if the need arose and Ichigo had no doubts about that, and that was probably more important in any friendship than how many afternoons you went to eat ramen together.

"She can take it." Ichigo said with a smirk, which was the truest thing he'd said the entire conversation. He pocketed his phone and turned, putting a hand in the air. "I've really gotta get going. See you two tomorrow and thanks for returning my phone."

"Bye!" Inoue squeaked over Tatski's "See ya." And Ichigo stepped outside into the warm afternoon sun to begin his search for an invisible Shinigami among lots and lots of people in his town that wasn't very small.

Frankly, a needle in a hay stack would have been easier.

He had a couple of options; he could wander around and just hope to run into Kaien which was about as likely as… well it wouldn't happen. Or he could go find another monster or spirit that hadn't moved on yet and see what happened. The former would just end him up in trouble again and the latter might also for that matter. So it was either hopeless wandering or possible life threatening putzing. No thanks.

Stopping on a street corner, Ichigo turned to look down the road in both directions. Which way to go? North went back towards his house and south went towards…

The park. Kaien had mentioned Ichigo not usually going to the park in the morning which meant that the Shinigami must spend a good deal of time there. That or Kaien was secretly watching him, which would be creepy but understandable. He was pretty surprised that someone could see him in the first place. So they had both had a life changing moment back on the river bank and Ichigo hadn't really thought about that.

Sure, maybe the idea of a death god was insane and crazy and mind boggling to Ichigo, but the idea that a human could see a death god that was used to being invisible to the world was probably just as shocking.

Making a mental note to apologize about that as well, Ichigo headed towards the park hoping that this time luck was on his side. No running into a gang from another school that wanted to fight him, no running into a clingy ghost that just wanted to talk when they realized he could interact with them, no getting eaten by ugly bird-like masked Hollows. Just a needed meeting with Kaien so he could finally clear his head and conscious and smooth out the underlying panic that's been sitting in his stomach for the past week.

Because if he couldn't get a bigger picture soon he might just freak out and he couldn't freak out because that wasn't the right thing to do, the brave thing to do.

Ichigo knew what he needed to do. He needed to get answers to his questions and he needed to use that knowledge. Use it to protect those that couldn't protect themselves because that's what he promised he would do all those years ago and that was a promise he hadn't been able to live up to just yet. Maybe this would turn the tides. Maybe this would take him one step closer to being useful to the people he cared about.

What are you hiding from me, old man?

Kaien wasn't even paying attention to where he was going, he didn't really care right now. His talk with Kisuke had been both beneficial and a complete waste of time. Mostly the latter. Granted, when he had decided to go to the little shop he didn't really know what to expect. He knew who Kisuke was and what his general purpose in the human world was, they made sure of that before he left on his assignment, but other than that he was about as clueless as the next person. He knew Kisuke wasn't in Soul Society for one reason or another, what that reason was he didn't even want to venture a guess. It wasn't his business and he was happy to keep it that way.

But what the hell does he do all day?

He decided to sit the man down and ask him about Karakura Town with the ultimate goal of wheedling Ichigo into the conversation because Kisuke had been in Karakura a long time. A very long time so if anyone else had run into the boy who could see Shinigami and hollow it would have been Kisuke. But all the blond did was hint that he knew something, but that he didn't know anything. It was infuriating.

Kisuke knew. Kaien knew that Kisuke knew. He had been in Karakura for barely a month and he managed to run into Ichigo and now that he was quite aware of his presence he could sense him if their paths crossed even remotely close to each other. Kisuke would have to be either blind or dumb and the older man was definitely neither. Just infuriating.

So he knows something that I don't or knows something that he doesn't want me to figure out. I guess that's why the Captain Commander told me to keep an eye on him while I was here.

Which sounded weird at first. Not anymore.

So they sat down to tea, a very nice tea that Kaien didn't even realize he missed until he realized he hadn't had it since he left, and talked about the abnormal amount of hollow that showed up in town. Or the unusual spiritual pressure that seemed to come from the very earth itself. When Kaien had mentioned people, though, Kisuke feigned idiocy.

But he had hesitated. Which in turn made Kaien suspicious. Unfortunately any further prying only got him one response which was roughly a variation of "I don't get out much."

He's hiding something. Now just to figure out exactly what. That was not going to be easy and at the end of the day it wasn't really important to Kaien's mission, but at the same time he had a sneaking suspicion it was important to him and the town. Maybe indirectly so, but still important.

Huh?

Kaien stopped mid-step foot still in the air as a familiar echo bounced off the walls around him. A high pitched screech tip at the end of the roar told him that the hollow was pretty far away, but it was mad. Very, very mad. Kaien pushed Kisuke out of his mind and took off, the buildings and trees around him barely a blur as he sped towards a foul pressure that made his stomach want to turn over on itself. This hollow was either going to be very powerful or very emotional. Or both.

It would be both, Kaien grumbled silently as he skidded to a halt midair over the street intersection where a snake-like hollow stood over a girl who was face down on the pavement next to a bag of groceries that had scattered all over the crosswalk. What is it doing?

Nothing. The hollow wasn't doing anything. It was just sitting there, watching, arms out like it wanted to reach for the woman. It let out a long hissing sigh as the girl pushed herself up onto her knees and pushed her hair out of her face, wincing as she looked at a couple of scrapes across her arms.

Kaien shifted his stance getting ready to strike. This was going to be his best opportunity while the hollow was occupied. It seemed so entranced with the girl who, Kaien noted, had very little spiritual pressure. Why would it go after her then? Why wasn't it going after her now? What the hell is wrong with this town, its people, and its hollow?

Slowly drawing Nejibana out of her sheath as quietly as he could Kaien took a small breath and let it out before lining up his shot with the back of the hollow's head. His back foot pushed off on the air and he dove down and lighting speed before-

"Inoue?!"

Ichigo?

"I don't see a problem with that." Captain Ukitake said with a small smile as Rukia's face lit up in a way he hadn't seen in months. "We haven't heard from Kaien in a while and the reports we have received back have been a bare minimum of details. I am worried he might still be angry with me."

Which was part of the truth. The other part was that he was worried Kaien just wasn't healing in the way that the Captain was hoping when he sent him on the mission. The old Kaien would have sent him two longwinded reports, one for everyone to read, and a second filled with snaps and jokes and sarcasm just for him to read. Instead he got one, dry report that he'd expect from…well just about anyone.

Kaien was never like anyone else.

Rukia bowed. "Thank you, sir. I promise I won't be gone more than a day and it's my day off so I won't be missing any of my assignments. I just—" She stopped and blushed a little.

Ukitake leaned forward in his seat onto his desk. "I understand. We're all worried. I'll make the arrangements and call you when things are set up."

Rukia nodded and shut the door to the office a little harder than she usually did and walked away with a tiny bounce in her step. Ukitake had been wanting to check on Kaien for a good week now, but he couldn't find the time to organize it on his own. Rukia volunteering couldn't have been better timing.

Standing up, the Captain hovered over his desk for a minute. He was tired. So tired and so was the rest of his squad, but that didn't stop them and it wasn't going to stop him either. He just had to trust that Kaien was doing what he needed to do to in the human world for both himself and his assignment and that he'd be back soon.

At least he only had a couple of things left to do for the morning. Square Rukia away and then answer a letter he had received on his desk sometime over night before lunch with his wonderfully flighty best friend. Ukitake eyed the envelope, picked it up, and read over the neat scrawl on the back. It was actually empty, the letter itself was written on the envelope. Short, simple, and to the point.

Captain, I haven't heard from my brother in over a month. We need to talk. –Kūkaku Shiba

I'm sorry for the wait guys -_- talk about writer's block and not enough hours in the day. Anyway, Thanks for reading, as always! Special thanks to those of you who reviewed. Feel free to comment and leave feedback.

A quick note before I go: I've been getting a TON of PMs from people (mostly from fellow Bleach fandom writers) asking me to read and review their stories because I've left a few reviews on other stories with constructive criticism. I AM TOTALLY COOL WITH THIS.

I will read just about anything and be happy to give a writer who really wants to improve an in depth review. I just ask, that if you ask, to understand that I will be honest and frank. No one is going to get anywhere with "That was good" or "Yay!" or "Keep writing!" So if you're writing and are looking for constructive reviews feel free to message me =) and in turn I am open to the same on my story.

Happy summer everyone! Till next time.