This was a chapter that I had a bit of fun with. I incorporated some history into it, used some description that I've been needing to practice. Overall, a great way to practice some more.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters. I only have the OCs I've created.

Renji scowled at the destroyed land he'd found himself in. He was in the outermost limits of the Rukon District, where the attack on Hisagi, Kagami, and their teammates had taken place. Much of the ground was broken, as though split by an earthquake, and the small shrine in which the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi had been held was reduced to mere rubble. The polished marble of the shrine was piled in mounds around the still-standing altar.

"Damn," Renji murmured as he glanced around at the blood-stained grass and dirt. It was like the sands of frikkin Iwo Jima. That was a bad day. Renji could still remember the rush of souls that came in from that battle alone, let alone the whole war. It was a day that was burned into his memories. Renji's eyes raked over the battlefield as he walked towards the altar. His hakama caught on a jagged rock and he kicked it away, revealing a limp hand. It was pale, as though all the blood had been drained out of it. Minor cuts and bruises adorned the hand, but it appeared as though rigor mortis had worn away. It was sickening. "Oh, hell…"

Renji knelt beside the exposed appendage and carefully removed the rubble from around the body. He saw the face of a young man, eyes wide in either fear or shock; Renji couldn't be sure which. He figured it had been the last emotion the man experienced before death. If it was anything like Kagami described, Renji pitied the poor kid. The young man's clothes were in tatters and it appeared as though a hole had been ripped clear through his stomach. Renji wondered if this was a Hollow's doing, or the result of that strange wave of Spiritual Pressure Kagami had mentioned. Of course, that was only an option if Kagami wasn't completely insane. Blood stained what remained of the dead man's clothes, painting the typically white under-clothes red and stiffening the black shihakusho. Renji had wondered how this poor kid had been overlooked before, when the other bodies were taken from the scene of the attack. How much else did they miss in a cursory examination, if they'd left a man behind?

The body of the deceased Soul Reaper began glowing with a pale blue aura as it began disintegrating. Being a soul, he would become part of the atmosphere of the Soul Society, or be reincarnated. Either one, Renji figured, was better than being caught beneath a pile of rocks. The red-haired lieutenant stood and continued to approach the altar. The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi had rested upon this altar only days before, guarded by two of the finest Soul Reapers Renji knew. Now, one of them was dead and the other was likely mentally unstable.

Renji kneeled at the altar, searching for any signs that may have led him to who the attacker was, or how they'd managed such an attack so quickly. There was nothing but rubble from the shrine surrounding the pedestal. With a frown, Renji stood and dusted off his hakama before broadening his search. He began circling the shrine, examining the ground and what little trees remained. The only difference he could find as he walked was that there was less blood painting the ground the farther he got from the shrine. Not a shred of evidence was to be found, which angered Renji. How the hell was he supposed to get the damned sword back and make this bastard pay if he had nothing to go on?

All he had was his sensing of the odd traces of Spiritual Pressure, unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It didn't seem to belong to any being he'd come into contact with before; not Soul Reaper, human, Hollow or Arrancar. Hell, not even like Ichigo's weird Spiritual Pressure. What'd they call it? Vizard? Something like that. It didn't matter because none of them felt remotely like what Renji was feeling now.

"Find anything?" a woman's voice asked, causing Renji to jump and whirl around to see the owner.

He'd been careless, he mentally cursed himself. How could he have let her sneak up on him like that? He'd been too deep in thought to notice what was around him. It didn't help that the woman had concealed most of her Spiritual Pressure. No, Renji realized a second later, she didn't conceal it. It was so hard to detect because it was weak.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Renji demanded. He pulled his hand away from the hilt of Zabimaru, realizing he'd reached for it reflexively.

"Calm down, Renji. It's not like I'm going to attack you. I just asked a simple question. Did you find anything?" The face of the woman before him was smug, hiding any effects her injuries may have been having on her. Renji stared into Kagami's eyes as she smirked at him. She was waiting for an answer, he knew.

"Nothing to lead me to who did this."

"I didn't think you would." She pushed herself off the slab of upraised earth she'd been leaning on.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital, Kagami?" Renji asked irritably.

"I got let out on good behavior." He knew she was lying. There was no way in hell Captain Unohana would have allowed Kagami to leave so soon. He wondered how she'd managed to sneak out, though that was a question for another time.

"You're in no condition to be out here."

Kagami scoffed. "Look who's talking. I heard about how you fought Captain Kuchiki even after being injured by that ryoka kid. Do you have any idea how pissed I was when I heard that? You could've been killed! You're in no position to be lecturing me."

"That was different," Renji insisted.

"How so? You wanted to save Rukia, and you've resented Captain Kuchiki ever since he took her away, back when we were in the academy. Now, I want to avenge Shuhei and kill the man who took him away."

Renji stared at Kagami in shock. She'd always had a kind of fierce determination about her, but this was different, stronger. Her eyes were sharper and narrowed, glistening ever-so-lightly from what Renji could guess were the beginnings of tears she'd refuse to shed. He knew it would be difficult to dissuade her.

"Kagami, don't be stupid. You'll only get yourself killed if you try that. You're in no condition to fight," he began.

Kagami scowled and he could see a faint, darkened line on her face. It was only clearly visible when the light hit it just right. It was a scar she'd received over forty years ago, when the advanced placement class went to the Living World for field training. She'd earned that scar protecting Hisagi, even knowing she would've likely died in the process. If Renji, Kira and Hinamori hadn't stopped the other attacks, he knew Kagami would've most certainly died that night. She'd been willing to do so for Hisagi, before she'd made any connection with him. Now, she'd lost him as her lieutenant; Renji could only imagine what she was willing to do.

"I can fight, Renji," Kagami answered firmly, her voice low and her eyes burning. "And I'm going to make sure he pays for what he's done."

"And just what makes you so sure I'm going to let you go after your attacker like you plan to?"

"If you don't let me go with you, then I'll hunt him down on my own. I can sneak out of the Fourth Division again. But, you need me to go with you."

"Why's that?" Renji asked, humoring her. Kagami smirked.

"I didn't tell you everything about the attack, Renji. If you want to go any further with your investigation, you need me to go with you."

"I can get by without the information you have."

"Then where will you go next?" Kagami asked smugly. Renji had forgotten how manipulative she could be back in the academy. She'd only improved as the years went on, he realized with a scowl. What was he to do now? Suddenly, a thought struck him and he found a way that might get him the information he needed without putting Kagami in danger.

"They'll probably send a search party for you. Besides, you'll need medical treatment. I might be out here for weeks on end."

"I don't care if they send a search party. I'll stay out of their reach. As for the medical treatment, I can manage. I was able to bring a few supplies," Kagami answered, shrugging her right shoulder to reveal the black bag she had strapped to her person. Renji hadn't even noticed it before.

"Kagami-"

"Nothing you say is going to stop me, Renji," she interrupted. With a sigh and a scowl, Renji resigned to let Kagami have her way, for now. As soon as he had the information he needed, he decided, she would be sent back to the Seireitei. She'd be pissed, but he knew she'd thank him for it later.

Please R&R.