Author's Note:

This is a direct sequel to Between Tides (which you should be able to find on my profile). While, strictly speaking, this story is canon compliant, you probably need to read that one first. But if you don't want to, I support you! I honestly would be really excited for someone to go into this cold- the first few paragraphs contain most of the exposition you need (and a huge spoiler for Between Tides)- so good luck, fearless reader! Let me know how it goes. For the rest of you, you may wish to go back and reread the Between Tides 2nd Epilogue, which sort of doubles as a prologue for this piece.

This story is completed, I will be posting one part per week. There are 13 chapters and an epilogue.

Many, many thanks, as always, to my faithful beta reader, Luna12, who puts up with so, so much from me.

Rated T for horrible language, fighting of all varieties, and other assorted dirtbaggery.

The opening theme for this story (and the origin of the title) is Madeline and Nine, by Mike Doughty.

Chapter 1

An alarm was going off.

It was not the usual alarm, and it was not the usual time, and Kuchiki Rukia was slightly hungover, and she was not here for any of this.

One arm shot out from under the covers and groped around for a moment until it located her angrily buzzing phone.

Sighing, she turned off the alarm and rolled over.

Something was missing.

Rukia patted the bed next to her, expecting to find a large, sleepy lump, or at the very least, the warm spot where a large, sleepy lump had recently rolled out of bed to go start rice.

Instead, to her surprise, her hand made contact with a small, sleepy lump, soft and silky. Rukia grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and hauled it up to face level, cracking one grumpy eye open.

It was a rabbit, white and fluffy, with pale blue eyes, like ice. The rabbit looked about as confused as Rukia. "What the hell are you doing here?" Rukia grumbled. The bunny snuffled her nose charmingly and promptly disappeared.

Rukia sat up, resting one arm across her knees, and scratching at her tangled hair. That was strange. Sode no Shirayuki could hardly be bothered to take corporeal form in her inner world half the time, let alone manifesting in the real world.

But everything was strange right now. Rukia had just returned from what was, she had been told, a field mission for Squad 2. She couldn't be certain, because at the end of it, they had seen fit to wipe her memory of the entire business. For all she knew, she'd been in the Maggot's Nest the whole time.

It was a funny thing, memory loss, especially over such a long period of time. It seemed like literally two days ago that Ichigo had lost his powers, she and Renji had gotten reamed out by the Captain-General for desertion, and she had taken some sort of Squad 2 aptitude test. She could remember these things happening very clearly, but the emotions that had accompanied them were long past. When she thought of Ichigo, she kept expecting raw grief, but instead found only fond nostalgia and acceptance. She had the vaguest recollection that he had sent her a New Year's card.

There were other strange aspects, as well. Her body felt wrong. She kept tripping and misjudging distances. The manor felt entirely too big. She had taken three wrong turns trying to find her room the night before (the fact that she had been coming home from a very boozy welcome-back party had not exactly helped). And most confounding at all was the itchy, nagging absence of her mission partner, the sensation that Renji was just past her peripheral vision, and she would see him if she could just turn around fast enough.

Ah, well, she'd only been home for two days. Surely things would sort themselves out in short order. At the very least, she had plans to meet up with Renji for lunch.

"I am home," she said out loud to herself, trying to remember what she had been looking for just a moment ago. Had it been a real thing or just another phantom memory? "This is normal. I'm going to put on my shihakushou and eat breakfast and go over to the Thirteenth Division." She felt a grin growing on her face when she remembered something that was both real and not normal. "Where I am going to start training for my lieutenant's exam."

Renji rolled out of bed, yawning.

He stumbled out through his living room and into the kitchen.

Scratching his stomach, he tried to remember where he kept his rice cooker. Or for that matter, the rice. Nothing seemed familiar.

Then he remembered that he didn't actually use his kitchen, aside from occasionally storing beer in his fridge.

"Why am I even in here?" he wondered.

"This is my new schedule?" Rukia asked, squinting at the paper Sentarou had handed her. "Where are all my chores?"

"Reassigned," he shrugged. "The other unseated officers have been covering them for the last few months anyway." He regarded her seriously. "It's not like we missed you for your ability to scrub floors, you know."

"You big jerk," Kiyone chided. "We missed her because she's our friend, of course." She leaned forward conspiratorially, "We did have to go out to Rukongai to fight some mid-level Hollows, and you would have been a big help, not gonna lie."

"Anyway, you better get ready," Sentarou warned her. "Did you see the first thing on your schedule?"

Rukia squinted. "You're kidding."

"He's really excited about it."

As if on cue, Captain Ukitake burst into the room, his hair pulled back into a ponytail, his zanpakutou strapped to his side. "Good morning, all my favorite officers!"

"Good morning, sir!" Sentarou and Kiyone chorused.

"Good morning, sir!" Rukia added, a beat behind.

"Are you ready to spar?" Ukitake asked cheerfully.

"Ah-ha," Rukia replied. "Ah-ha-ha-ha."

Byakuya felt it as soon as he set foot on the grounds of the Sixth Division.

He could also hear it.

For the last three months, he had entered his division in the early mornings, shortly before the start of work hours, to be greeted by silence and serenity. He had grown used to enjoying this peaceful time as the world slowly woke up around him, building gradually into the daytime bustle of activity.

Abarai had been back for a day. A single day. It wasn't even seven in the morning, and half the squad was up and gathered at the training grounds, shouting. It appeared Byakuya wasn't the only one who had missed him.

Among active duty shinigami, aside from Byakuya himself, Third Seat Ohno Isao was the most skilled practitioner of the Kuchiki family sword form. He had mastered the skills, the strategy, the philosophy of it. He was the oldest son and heir to the largest of the Kuchiki branch families. He was probably the most viable candidate for the next captain of Squad 6, a fact that disgusted Byakuya to his core. The man was soulless, dull, more interested in the glory and benefits of rank than the responsibilities and obligations. If Ohno ever achieved bankai, Byakuya would eat his scarf.

Kuchiki Choei, Fourth Seat, was Ohno's spiritual opposite. While he came from the core family, if not the main line, he had four older brothers ahead of him. Kuchiki was a fierce and creative fighter, and for some reason he had seen incredible improvement over the last nine months. He had the massive spiritual energy one would expect from a Kuchiki. He was competent enough at the family sword form, but as his shikai took the improbable shape of a warhammer, he mostly didn't bother with it. However, when it came to family obligations, this Kuchiki was the despair of the elders. He would rather sneak off to drink with his friends, he showed up to formal events inappropriately dressed, and conversation with him always drifted toward such plebeian concerns as sporting competitions or new trends being picked up from the World of the Living.

And right now, both of them were being absolutely taken apart by the uncouth pile of tattoos Byakuya called an adjutant, while the squad hooted and jeered at all three of them.

Byakuya was probably the only one who was able to follow Abarai's hands as he flawlessly disarmed Ohno with a classical move developed by a long-ago Shihouin family head as a direct counter for the Kuchiki form, back when the families still squabbled violently. Byakuya knew how to avoid the maneuver, of course, but the only person who had ever used it on him in practice was his own grandfather. Without looking, Abarai spun into a roundhouse kick, catching Kuchiki, behind him, in the stomach. That massive whip-sword of his followed, catching Ohno across the chest on its way around. Kuchiki hit the dirt rather ungracefully, but managed to avoid its wicked serrations.

Well. This all seemed very interesting.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

The spectators scattered as well, as Byakuya stepped through them onto the training field, wreathed by the glittering blades of his shikai. Ohno scrambled for his sword. Kuchiki looked up from his prone position, eyes wide. Abarai grinned wolfishly, and attacked.

It had been some time since Byakuya had been able to square off against his lieutenant, and the younger man had not been resting on his laurels. Renji was faster now, both in shunpo, and his reflexes generally, as he avoided Senbonzakura's shimmering waves. His swordwork, while still very strong, seemed a bit off-rhythm from his usual high standard. He was more fluid in his movements, though, more graceful. Byakuya wondered if he had been practicing his hakuda. Abarai's reiatsu was also stronger, much stronger than it had been, as Byakuya would expect of someone in that first year of exponential improvement after achieving bankai. But here was something interesting- Renji's reiatsu had always been disorderly, nearly chaotic, which Byakuya had assumed was related to the nature of his zanpakutou. It was less so now, he was making much more efficient use of it. For some strange reason, Byakuya suspected his sister's hand in this.

"Have you forgotten the bite of my blade, Lieutenant?" Byakuya asked laconically, blocking Abarai's sword with the back of his reiatsu-armored forearm.

"Not for a second," Abarai replied, aiming a kick at his captain's stomach.

Byakuya had honestly forgotten how much fun it was to fight Abarai. The man had never held back, even once in his entire life. Never saw a stupid chance he didn't try to take. At first, Byakuya had found this utterly inane, until, after a few rematches, he realized that Abarai filed away every single success and failure in that thick skull of his, and was perpetually refining his strategies. It was never a single skirmish with Abarai, it was some obscure long game with a win condition only Renji knew.

It wasn't long before Byakuya had him on the ground, bleeding from a big cut just above one absurd eyebrow, and another on his left arm, but Abarai was still smiling. Byakuya himself had a small cut on his neck, and what he suspected would bloom into a deeply painful bruise on his ribs. Abarai was strong enough now that when one of those stupid risks paid off, it hurt. Byakuya was going to have to start being more cautious.

"Go get cleaned up," the captain sniffed. "Don't you have paperwork to do?"

"Yes, sir!" Abarai replied cheerfully. "Thanks for the scrap, sir!"

The scrap? The scrap?

Byakuya looked over at his troops, hanging on the fence around the training field, enraptured.

"Good fight, sirs!" someone yelled.

"Well done, Captain!"

"Way to give him the business, sir!"

The business?

A small figure vaulted the fence and gave him a perfunctory bow before scampering up to Renji. "Hey! Hey, Renji!"

"'Sup, buddy?"

"I've been learning kaidou! Can I try to fix your head?"

"Aw, cool! That's great, Rikichi. Yeah, give it a go!"

Byakuya shook his head, and realized that Ohno and Kuchiki were bowing to him.

"Excellent fight, sir," Ohno complimented. "You made short work of him."

Young Kuchiki appeared to find something about this very humorous.

"I hope you were paying attention," Byakuya remarked. "Since you seemed to be having some trouble with him, yourselves."

"Perhaps, sir," Ohno wheedled, "As we fight in the same style, you might be able to offer some suggestions."

"Improve," Byakuya suggested, and headed off to the office.

"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" Rukia called out, launching an avalanche of snow at her captain, and immediately hurling herself to one side. "Juhaku! " she immediately followed up, as a blast of cold air came flying back at her. Her strange clumsiness seemed to have dissipated somewhat once she had enough adrenaline going, but she still didn't feel herself this morning.

"Ha! Nice try!" Ukitake laughed, nimbly leaping away from the ground freezing beneath his feet.

Rukia was running out of options. She was throwing everything she had at him, and he was cheerfully dodging half her attacks and throwing the other ones back at her.

Arggh, screw it!

She flash-stepped directly at him, swinging her sword up toward his midsection.

He blocked it easily.

She kicked him in the shin.

"Ow-ha ha ha-ow ow!" He gently bopped her on the head with the flat of his other sword. "You're dead, by the way."

"You could have taken me out at any time," Rukia admitted. "I was running out of steam, so I figured I would try to get at least one good hit in."

"Interesting strategy," Ukitake replied. "Phew! Let's go sit for a minute." They found a sunny spot on the grassy hill overlooking the practice field. "Of course I could have taken you out at any time. I wouldn't be a very good captain if I couldn't, right?"

"O-of course not, sir! I didn't mean-"

"Ahh, that was fun!" Ukitake cut off her apologies. "Did you have fun?"

Rukia blinked, and then smiled. "I did. Actually."

Ukitake flashed her one of his kind, fatherly smiles. "Your powers have come an incredible way in the last year, Rukia. That happens to people sometimes. It can be a little overwhelming."

Rukia frowned. She wasn't sure she liked where this was going.

"Your brother mentioned that he was concerned you were being rushed along. My sense is that you're ready, that you're perfectly capable of handling this, but I thought maybe I should check in."

"My brother said that?" Rukia echoed.

"Oh, he just mentioned it," Ukitake hemmed and hawed. "You know what a worrywart he is."

Rukia raised one eyebrow with extreme skepticism. "My brother?" she repeated.

"So, how do you feel?" Ukitake plowed resolutely onward.

"Well," Rukia said slowly. "I've been helping Kiyone with her paperwork for a long time, so I have the general gist of that. I'm not always sure what's due when, I probably should have been paying more attention, but she can probably help remind me at least at the beginning." Rukia scratched her head. "I know all the drills we do. I have a few ideas for some new ones, actually. It seems like there's a lot more inter-vice-captain stuff than there used to be, but that's new for everyone, so…"

"Kuchiki," her captain cut her off. "I meant, specifically, did you have any concerns about backing me up? Fighting high level enemies? The dangerous part."

Rukia's brow furrowed. "Oh. No. Gosh, no. I mean, I've been through some pretty rough stuff, even without a rank. A lot of it sucked." She glanced at her captain out of the corner of her eye. "Some of it was really awesome, though. Do you want to hear about the time I took out an ancient Hueco Mundo guardian spirit? I mean, you can't kill those guys permanently, but I had him down for the count."

Ukitake grinned. "Tell me all about it."

Renji's phone buzzed, and he glanced at the time as he flipped it open. Oh, crud, how was it noon already? He checked the text, hoping that maybe Rukia was running late. Nope, she was waiting for him outside. He frowned at the form he was working on. He really wanted to finish it up before he left.

"Is Rukia here?"

Renji peered over the piles of paper on his desk to see his captain, head cocked to the side curiously, probably having picked up on her spiritual pressure. Renji wasn't positive, but it seemed like Rukia was substantially "noisier" than she used to be. "Uh, yeah. She's, um, waiting for me outside. So we can go to lunch."

"Why wouldn't she come in?" Byakuya asked, clearly offended.

"Oh," Renji hedged. "I think she was just tryin' to be respectful of my time."

"Tell her to come in," Byakuya replied icily.

Welp. There went lunch.

"Need a minute. You should come in," he tapped out, and started rushing through to the end of his form, on the off chance that this actually ended well.

"Kuchiki Rukia of the 13th to see Lieutenant Abarai," Rukia's voice came through the shoji.

"Come," Captain Kuchiki called.

Rukia came in, and looked surprised to find Byakuya in residence.

"Ah, good morning, Brother, it's nice to see you," she offered with a friendly smile.

"I'm just finishing up," Renji said, scratching his name at the bottom of the form, and wishing, not for the first time, that it didn't have quite so many elaborate characters.

"It is lovely to see you, Sister," Byakuya announced fondly, and Renji looked up, surprised. Sure enough, his captain's face was soft and seemed full of genuine affection. "How was your return to duty?"

"Exciting, actually," Rukia said, a bit nervously. "Captain Ukitake wanted to spar."

"Ha!" Renji barked. "My captain wanted to spar this morning, too."

Byakuya glared at him crossly and Renji tried to duck behind his heaps of paperwork.

But then Rukia looked over as well, and as their eyes met, the tension melted out of her expression. "Is that what happened to your face?" she teased.

"I let Rikichi practice his healing on me," Renji admitted, wiping the ink off of his brush. "I'm sure it will be fine in a day or two."

"You should be more gentle on Renji, Brother," Rukia turned back to her sibling. "His face looks terrible enough as-is."

Byakuya's eyes were darting between them and Renji wondered if he would be getting a lecture on propriety later that afternoon, or if he was going to get it right then and there.

"Lieutenant Abarai is very busy today," Byakuya pointed out.

"He's got to eat," Rukia rejoined. "We're just going down to the mess, it won't take any longer than if he just went himself."

Byakuya looked horrified. "The mess? Rukia, you can't possibly lower yourself to eating at the Sixth Division mess. It's dreadful."

"Well, we usually eat over at the 13th, but like you said, Renji is very busy today." Rukia crossed her arms. "You know, Brother, the mess is very convenient and a lot of officers depend on it. If yours is dreadful, maybe you should try to improve it."

Renji jumped to his feet. "All done, let's go."

"Ah, Lieutenant, I almost forgot."

Crap. Nothing good had ever followed the words "Ah, Lieutenant, I almost forgot."

"The charge codes update at the start of the new year."

"Yeah, it's just the last two digits, I got it."

"Yes, but these forms are from last year." Byakuya held out a stack of papers that comprised nearly everything Renji had finished the day before. "You put this year's code on them in error. I am sure it was accidental. They will need to be re-done. I have annotated any additional issues that I identified."

"Thanks...for catching that. Sir." Renji's eye twitched as he accepted the pile.

"Can't you just cross it out and write the correct code in above?" Rukia suggested.

"Of course not!" Byakuya proclaimed as Renji shook his head frantically. Rukia shrugged. She knew by now it was rarely useful to argue with either one of them. On the rare occasion they agreed on something, it was certainly a lost cause.

Renji dumped the pile of papers on his chair, then grabbed Rukia by the elbow and hauled her towards the door before his captain could think up any more ways to ruin his day. "I'll be back super-quick. Can I bring you back anything? Sir?"

Byakuya just glared at him.

Renji breathed out visibly as they stepped out into the chilly February sunshine. It was the first step he'd taken out of the office since sitting down at his desk that morning. He looked down at his favorite person in the world, and to his mild surprise, his heart did not give its usual lovelorn hitch. Instead, it flooded with affection for her, warm and pleasant. Instead of tensing, as he often did, he felt his whole body relax, just to be in her presence. "Hey," he managed softly.

Rukia looked up at him. Rukia, whose face was usually so guarded, hidden behind a mask of sarcasm or teasing or noble indifference, looked at him with soft eyes and a smile on her lips. "Hey, yourself."

Obviously, it was too good to last.

"Hey! Hey, Lieutenant Abarai!"

Renji blinked and looked up at the young officer dashing up to them. "Ah, hello, Shirogane, what's up?"

Ninth Seat Shirogane Mihane bowed politely to him, and to Rukia as well. "Hello, Lady Rukia. Welcome back, Lieutenant! I was just wondering if you were going to start doing Saturday one-on-ones again, and if I could get on the schedule?"

"Oh," Renji said, dazed. "Uh, I hadn't really gotten that far…"

"I figured out my zanpakutou's second attack," the young woman announced, wrinkling her nose excitedly, before her face turned hesitant. "But I can't figure out how to aim it."

"That's great, Shirogane!" Renji exclaimed, genuinely excited. Shirogane was one of his hardest workers and he was pleased she had been able to make some progress in his absence. "Look, I think I may be working overtime the next coupla Saturdays myself, but I'll make some time for you, okay?"

"Thanks so much, Lieutenant!" Shirogane bobbed her head. "By the way, Dad will be glad to hear you're back, he's been asking after you."

"I'll be sure to drop by the shop soon," Renji promised.

She bowed again, and scampered off.

"Her dad, uh, runs the sunglasses store," Renji explained as they started toward the mess hall.

"And was the vice-captain here before you?" Rukia reminded him, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Oh, I guess you probably know 'em," Renji realized lamely.

"They're fairly distant cousins, but we see them a lot because Brother is very fond of Lieutenant Shirogane."

Renji sighed. "You got any idea how the old guy managed that?"

Rukia chuckled, and hit him playfully with the back of her hand.

"Ah, Lady Rukia!"

Rukia managed to catch herself from making a horrified face just in time, before she was accosted by Fifth Seat Kuchiki Takehiko. "Ahhh, hello, Cousin!"

"What a pleasant surprise to see you here at the Sixth!"

"Oh, I'm just here to visit your lieutenant," Rukia said, glancing at said lieutenant, who was currently trying to murder Kuchiki with his eyes.

Takehiko very briefly made a face of disbelief that anyone might voluntarily want to see his vice-captain, but he recovered very quickly. "My mother was most delighted to hear that you had returned from your adventures, and she is very eager for you to come over and take tea-"

"Ohhhhhh," Rukia hedged. "I don't actually have my social calendar on me."

"Surely you won't be busy on Sunday afternoon?"

"I'll let you know!" Rukia excused, continuing to walk forward doggedly.

Takehiko started to follow.

"Oi, Takehiko, I hope you kept up with those hohou drills I suggested while I was gone, eh?" Renji interrupted rather bluntly.

"Oh, errr…" Takehiko mumbled.

"Whatcha doin' this afternoon, I got-"

"You know, I just remembered, a, um, a thing I have to do, excuse me, Lady Rukia, Vice-Captain Abarai."

"His hohou looks just fine to me," Rukia sniffed as the Fifth Seat made a rapid exit.

"His mom's the awful busybody, right?" Renji asked under his breath.

Rukia looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Good memory."

"I keep a chart," he replied.

"Lieutenant Abarai!"

"Lady Rukia!"

Renji grabbed Rukia's arm and pulled her into the alley between the East Training Dojo and the Fourth Barracks. "Let's take a shortcut."

It was sukiyaki day at the Squad Six mess.

Renji had found them a spot at a table strategically positioned behind the condiment station, and so far, they'd managed to avoid the over-eager officers looking for Renji and the sycophantic family members trying to get a bit of Rukia's attention.

"The food is so good here," Rukia groaned.

"I know, especially after Eleven, which is horrific. I gained seven pounds after I transferred."

"Oh noooo, your eight-pack," Rukia deadpanned.

"I managed to convert it to muscle mass, so you shut up," Renji grumbled, ignoring her quirked eyebrow and teasing grin. "Tell me about your fight with Captain Ukitake. Boy, I'd like to fight Captain Ukitake."

"I'd pay money to see that," Rukia agreed, dumping far too much hot sauce into her bowl. "Since most of your attacks are physical, as long as you avoided using Hikotsu Taihou, he couldn't redirect them."

"I would forget and use Hikotsu Taihou on him," Renji admitted. "And then he would trash me with it and I would remember the next time. But I want to hear about how your fight went."

Rukia snorted a breath out her nose. "He trounced me. To be honest, I felt really clumsy this morning. It's like… like I'm in the wrong body or something. You feeling anything like that?"

"Woke up with charley horses in both legs," Renji nodded sympathetically, picking up a mushroom with his chopsticks. "I got to warm up on my 3rd and 4th seats before I got into it with your brother, but I wasn't myself either, this morning. Your brother probably thinks I've been slacking the last three months."

Rukia frowned, having just remembered something. "And Sode no Shirayuki was in my room this morning."

That got Renji's attention. "In person?"

"In...rabbit."

"She ever done that before?"

"Nope."

Renji's eyes were wide. "That's a big deal, Rukia."

"I know," she replied, a tad defensively. "I mean, maybe. Who knows what it means."

"You gone back into your inner world and asked her?"

Rukia pursed her lips. "No, but that's a good idea."

Renji nodded. "Could probably stand a chat with Zabimaru myself. I wonder if they remember anything from our big adventure."

"Sode no Shirayuki wouldn't tell me if she did. She hates being helpful."

Renji chuckled. "At least you don't get attacked every time you go into your inner world. It's like being back in Squad Eleven, I swear."

Rukia almost knocked over her tea. "That reminds me! I didn't get a chance to tell you last night. Madarame and I set a date."

"I forbid you from marrying Ikkaku," Renji proclaimed. "Yumichika will gut you like a fish, that guy does not play." He frowned thoughtfully. "Also, Ikkaku is terrible. I mean, he's hot, but he's a disaster."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say any of those words," Rukia shuddered, "and clarify that we have set a date for our fight."

"Ohhhh," Renji replied, leaning back in his chair. "Oh, dang. You're actually going to do it, aren't you?"

"Of course I am, did you doubt me?"

"I dunno, you've both been talkin' about it for so long, it's sort of taken on mythical proportions. So when's the big day? Do I get a plus-one? It's Hanatarou, I'm bringin' Hanatarou."

"A week Saturday, and who says you're even invited?"

"I'm hurt, Rukia. This momentous occasion wouldn't even be taking place if I hadn't spent 33 years boring him to death with stories about you."

"All your stories about me are great, I would fight him over that alone. Fine, you can come. You can bring Hanatarou if he wants to come, but you gotta promise to protect him from wet willies or whatever else those jerks in Squad 11 like to do to weenies from Squad 4."

"I swear on my honor as a jock that no harm shall befall him. So, what are you doing for prep?"

"You're such a drag, Abarai. Don't you ever just roll up to a fight and see how it goes?"

"I lose enough as it is." He scratched his head. "Hey, isn't there a Brawl this weekend?"

"First of all, how would I know? And second, yes there is, that's the only reason we're doing it next Saturday."

"You wanna go? It would be a good chance to see Ikkaku in action."

"I didn't realize spectators were allowed."

"I can get you in. I have my ways."

"I don't need your help," Rukia sniffed.

Renji was quite sensitive to Rukia's moods when it came to accepting help from others. "Of course not. Don't think of it as helping, think of it as...abetting."

Rukia contemplated this. It wasn't that she didn't want his help. He was a great helper and she loved doing things with him. But, she didn't want it to look like she depended on him for everything. She wanted everyone to know that Kuchiki Rukia fought her own fights. That being said, winning said fights counted for something, as well. "Okay. But if anyone asks, you're just there for giggles."

"That's the only reason I do anything," Renji replied lightly.

"Hey! Lieutenant Abarai!"

"Oh, crap, we've been spotted!" Renji shoved a bunch of noodles in his mouth, trying to finish his lunch before he got interrupted again.

"Oh, is the lieutenant here? Lieutenant Abarai!"

Renji fumbled around in his kosode, and pulled out not one, but two pairs of sunglasses. He shoved one pair onto his face, and thrust the other ones at Rukia.

"That isn't going to work," Rukia informed him. "Everyone knows what you look like in sunglasses. Also, why are you carrying two pairs?"

"For emergencies," he mumbled around his noodles.

"Ah, is that Lady Rukia?"

"Oh, Lady Rukia!"

Rukia put on the sunglasses.

"How was the mess?" Byakuya asked when Renji returned, sans Rukia, exactly thirty minutes later.

"Dreadful," Renji replied.

When Rukia returned to the Thirteenth, they had a visitor.

Ise Nanao, vice-captain of the Eighth, was sitting in the captains' office with Kiyone, chatting away.

"Greetings, Vice-Captain," Rukia said quickly, bowing. She glanced surreptitiously at Kiyone, hoping for an explanation.

"It's Wednesday," Kiyone explained, making a drinking signal with her hand.

Rukia blinked at her, not understanding.

"Our Captains have a standing sake date on Wednesday afternoons," Lieutenant Ise added dryly.

"Nanao comes and helps us out with the paperwork," Kiyone added. "Sometimes it gets a little disorganized over here."

"Sometimes I just come over to be social," Ise added. "And today, I came over because I hear you're going to be taking the Lieutenant's Exam."

Rukia smiled nervously. "That's the plan."

"Have you filled out an Intention to Test, yet?" Ise asked.

"Er, not yet," Rukia excused. A what?

"Don't be worried about it, I brought you all the paperwork you need."

"Oh! Um, thanks."

"You can fill it out right now, if you want, and I can help if you have any questions." Nanao cocked her head to the side. "Lieutenant Sasakibe is technically in charge of the exam, but I handle the administration- processing all the paperwork, grading the written portions, etcetera. Do you know much about the exam? How it works and such? I hear you got sort of bullied into taking it."

Rukia opened her mouth and then closed it again. "I want to take it," she said, finally. "And I know how it works."

Rukia had no idea how it worked.

Nanao smiled. Her smile was very neat and professional. "I'm not surprised. You're friends with Lieutenant Abarai, after all."

Kiyone wagged her eyebrows.

"What does he have to do with anything?" Rukia demanded. She glared at Kiyone. "And you don't have to do that every time someone says his name."

"He's cute," Kiyone mouthed back.

Nanao looked surprised. "Oh, he just seemed very… organized when he took his exam last year. Did he tell you he got a perfect score on nearly every section?"

Rukia just about choked. "He what, now?"

"I think he was nervous about the kidou demonstration portion, and overprepared for the rest," Nanao said thoughtfully. "Which is a little silly, you can be excused from up to three sections of the exam, depending on your circumstances. I, myself, don't have a zanpakutou, but here I am."

"You don't?" Rukia asked, perplexed.

"Technically speaking, he did pass the kidou section, just barely. And he aced the written kidou theory section, which is unusual, most people do much better on the practical part. And Kiyone's right, he's very cute."

Rukia was shaking her head. That jerk. "Well," she said, "I guess I have no choice but to get a perfect score on everything."

The day was wearing late, and Byakuya wondered if a cup of tea would be needed to take him through the rest of the afternoon. He glanced up at the man working opposite him. Abarai was hunched over his work, several pens sticking out of his ponytail and a large smear of ink across one cheek. The younger man groped around for his own mug, which had the tags of at least nine tea bags hanging out of it. He tried to take a sip and stared at it as though it had betrayed him. Abarai sighed, then shoved his chair backwards. "Time for another cup. Get you one, sir?"

No, no, Byakuya could make it through a workday on his own energy. "I am satisfied as I am, thank you, Lieutenant."

Abarai nodded curtly, and started banging his way around the tea station.

Byakuya pulled the next sheet of paper from the stack of this afternoon's mail. He started to read it, then did a double take at the name of the sender.

"Lieutenant," Byakuya said, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "Did you circulate a memo this afternoon?"

Renji seemed to be contemplating how he was going to fit yet another tea bag into his mug. "Uh, yeah. Thought I would give it a try." Renji suddenly realized that it was his captain talking to him. "Sir." He straightened up. "Uh, I hope I didn't- I did it in anger, sir. I apologize."

A memo from Abarai! Circulated in anger! Byakuya was fully awake now. "No need to be hasty, Lieutenant, let's see what we have here."

Attention, Officers of the Sixth Division, it started. A classic entry point, one he used habitually himself. Kuchiki Rukia is an officer in good standing of the Gotei 13, the sister of your captain, and a close personal friend of mine. He could hear every word in his adjutant's gruff voice, every harsh, grating r, every dropped syllable. If you see her about the grounds, know that she is here on business, or to visit myself or her brother. It is not an opportunity for you to bother her. Good Heavens, Rukia had been back a single day, and the men were already giving her grief?

"I like this part very well, Lieutenant Abarai," he said, reading the next passage aloud, "At the Sixth Division, we value cordiality and respect, and this goes far beyond addressing our visitors by their appropriate title."

Renji looked miserable.

Byakuya turned back to the memo. Kuchiki Rukia is stronger than any member of this division, excepting your captain. Fortunately for you, she is too polite to break your face. I, however, am not. Abarai Renji, Assistant Captain.

"I agree with your entire sentiment, Abarai," Byakuya commented mildly, putting the memo down on his desk. "Although, I myself, would never have come up with such an eloquent turn of phrase as 'break your face.' If you had discussed it with me ahead of time, I would have been happy to reinforce the message by adding my own name."

Renji clenched his jaw. "If you want to circulate your own memo, sir, that would be great. But you've told 'em before to leave her alone, and they just do it when you're not around. I wanted it to come from me, too." He paused. "I'm always around. They may have forgotten that."

"Hmm," Byakuya replied, noncommittally, reaching for the next piece of paper in his inbox.

Abarai watched him nervously for a few moments more, probably waiting for an admonition. Byakuya had no intention of giving him one. What better way to express one's justified displeasure than through the distribution of an acidly worded missive? Finally, Abarai picked up the sugar canister and began wrestling the lid off.

Byakuya's eyes skimmed the next piece of mail three times before he realized he had no idea what it was. Something was sticking at him.

Abarai was not necessarily a braggart, but neither was he a humble man. Although he was still far below Byakuya's own level, it was a simple fact that he was among the strongest officers in the Gotei 13, and he did not take pains to deny this.

"Lieutenant Abarai?"

Renji looked up from pouring his third heaping spoonful of sugar into his cup. Byakuya desperately hoped the interruption wouldn't cause the man to lose count.

"Was it hyperbole, or do you truly consider my sister to be stronger than yourself?"

Renji's forehead wrinkled as dumped the sugar into his tea, as though he were trying to retrieve some long-past memory. "If she isn't now, it's only a matter of time," he finally declared.

"Hmm," Byakuya replied. "Hmmm."

Rukia closed her eyes and let her shoulders relax as she materialized into her inner world. Cold air poured over her luxuriously. She wondered what form Sode no Shirayuki would take this time. A deer? A field mouse? Rukia reached out with her spiritual senses, trying to see if she could locate her zanpakutou spirit. With a jolt, she opened her eyes.

Rukia's inner world mainly consisted of a pond locked in eternal winter. It was surrounded by forest, but the forest was just a boundary condition, you could walk into it for hours only to turn around and be right back where you started. The pond itself was cold, unspeakably cold, but never fully frozen. It was nominally fed by one waterfall, and flowed out through a second, except that they were both perpetually frozen, the scene anchored in a single, timeless moment.

But not today.

The outflow was still mostly solid ice, but steady streams of water poured down along the banks. The top was shiny with liquid. The upper fall appeared as normal. The pond was quiescent as always and at its proper water level.

Strangest of all, Sode no Shirayuki stood near the lip of the lower cascade. Instead of her usual elaborate furisode, she was wearing a springtime yukata, tied up as though she were doing chores. Her hair was pinned up, but incompetently, the work of a woman whose maid has gone on strike. Water coursed over her bare feet. She looked horrified.

"Rukia!" she said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Usually, Rukia's zanpakutou spirit was aloof and mysterious, unflappable and utterly in control of this place. Rukia had to suppress the initial urge to laugh at her like this, flustered and in disarray, except that it was absolutely not funny to find one's inner world falling apart.

"I...live here," Rukia replied. "Is everything okay?"

Sode no Shirayuki blew a piece of hair out of her face. "I am performing maintenance. I told you that you should not have stayed in the Living World for so long, it has had… ill effects." She wrung her hands. "I shall fix everything, though, there is no need to worry."

"I wasn't worried," Rukia reassured her, walking around the edge of the lake toward the waterfall. Something clicked in her brain. "We were in the World of the Living?"

Of course they were. It made sense. They'd been in gigais, obviously, that would explain the bodily disorientation, although it had been much worse than after her last extended trip to the Living World. Some kind of special gigai, perhaps, suited to their mission, harder to disengage from. She and Renji were somewhat experts on the Living World at this point, that would be a good use of their skills. "We weren't in Karakura, were we?"

Sode no Shirayuki cocked her head. "You don't remember?"

Rukia frowned. "They wiped our memories. The last thing I remember was taking some sort of Squad 2 aptitude test."

A strange look came over Sode no Shirayuki's face, a brief involuntary sadness. She quickly composed herself. "It is honestly for the best, my dear. I shall have us back to normal in no time."

Rukia leaned down to let the running water flow over her fingers. It was bone-chilling, far colder than the freezing point of normal water. At least things weren't warming up, the way they had after she had given her powers to Ichigo. "You were in my room this morning."

Sode no Shirayuki shrugged with one shoulder, a strangely human gesture. "Perhaps some of your memory loss has affected me as well."

Rukia glanced over the drop-off. As usual, whatever lay below was hidden by thick fog. "I was just wondering… if maybe… that wasn't the first time you'd come out of my inner world. If maybe we'd started working on bankai."

Sode no Shirayuki's nose twitched. "We are always working on bankai."

Rukia blinked. "We are?"

"It is not yet time. You will know when it is time."

Rukia stood up again. "Will it be… soonish?"

"Sooner than it once was." Sode no Shirayuki narrowed her eyes. "Do not rush things, Rukia. The circumstances of you achieving bankai are not joyful. You will have it when you need it."

Rukia made a face. Sode no Shirayuki was so full of herself sometimes. "Can you actually see the future? You always act like you can."

The ice spirit took a deep breath through her nose. "We can see paths. Probabilities. Possibilities. Sometimes, events are very clear. Inevitable. Other times, there are many branches. The battle against Aizen could have gone many ways, and for a long time, it was difficult to see past it."

Rukia leaned forward slightly. "Am I going to pass my exam?"

"That is of no matter to me."

Rukia frowned. "If something bad were going to happen to me, would you do anything about it?"

Sode no Shirayuki dipped her hand into the flowing water, and it hardened into a ridge of ice. "What makes you think I have not already?"

Renji materialized into his inner world, and was immediately slammed with 400 pounds of enthusiastic nue.

He really should have expected this.

He tried to plant his feet and get some kind of leverage on the monster, but he couldn't find any purchase as they went tumbling through the foliage. Finally, they skidded to a halt, Renji on his back, Zabimaru looming over him. The baboon head lowered gently, clonking into his own forehead. Then the beast sat back on its haunches, the snake tail waving back and forth excitedly.

Renji shoved his bandana back into its usual position and sat up. He was no stranger to getting attacked immediately upon entering his inner world, but this exuberant greeting was new. "What the hell was that?"

"It is good to be home!" Zabimaru announced. "We can feel you again! Where is Rukia?"

Renji paused in the middle of brushing himself off. "You remember? You still have your memories from the last three months? And what is that supposed to mean, 'where is Rukia?'"

"Of course, we remember everything!" the snake head announced. "It was dark and muffled there! We hated it! But then we became cold and strong and five instead of three, like we used to be."

At this point, the baboon head interrupted. "That's not true at all. We became one like we used to be. We are always one, although sometimes we are a different one. And then we were small and we ate things in the woods, small things with feathers and fur, that squeaked and bled delightfully!"

Renji ran his fingers through his ponytail, checking for small, many-legged creatures. He should have known Zabimaru wouldn't actually be any help.

"And then we defeated a great enemy, all together, it was magnificent," the baboon finished.

"Us, not you," the snake head clarified to Renji.

"He was there," the baboon offered generously. "And Rukia, we could not have done it without Rukia."

Renji sighed and rolled his eyes. "Do you remember what we were fighting?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"It was a very strong Nothing."

Renji contemplated this briefly. Then, he spun, grabbed Zabimaru around the midsection, and hurled them into the lagoon.

In an uncharacteristic display of wimpishness, the beast came scrabbling desperately out of the water, whimpering, the snaketail held awkwardly high. They crouched on the shore, shivering and regarding Renji with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, like you ain't thrown me in there hundreds of times," Renji snorted.

"Cold!" the snaketail hissed back at him.

Curiously, Renji knelt next to the water and dipped his hand in.

It was freezing.

Renji frowned. It was usually tepid, if not downright bath-waterish. He looked up at the waterfall that supplied it. It was raging and roaring as normal, he wasn't sure if he would be able to tell if it were stronger than usual. Winter was ending now, out in Soul Society, rivers would be swelling with snow melt. Maybe his subconscious was just feeling seasonal.

"Been awhile since I tried to climb that thing," he noted. "Might be time for another go."

Zabimaru shuddered.

"What do you think of the mentaiko, Sister?" Byakuya asked mildly. His entire mouth was on fire.

"It's delightful, Brother," Rukia returned, her face a portrait of calm.

"The marinade features a new cultivar of ogon pepper. I first had it at the White Lotus last month, and had our chef procure some, as I expected you would enjoy them." He took another bite of pollack roe. His tongue protested vehemently.

"These little fellows?" Rukia asked, holding up a little yellow pepper the size of a bird's eye chili with her chopsticks.

"Do not eat them directly," Byakuya warned. He refused to look at his water glass. "They will injure you. They are only to flavor the sauce."

"Hmm," Rukia replied, considering hers.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. She was bluffing. It was a good bluff, though. It was Byakuya's suspicion that Rukia actually had a maximum higher tolerance for spice than himself, but he was more skilled at maintaining a stolid demeanor for extended periods of time. Drawing this out was to his advantage. Upping the ante was to hers.

Rukia bit into the pepper.

Byakuya almost grabbed his glass of water by proxy.

Rukia's face flushed scarlet. Her nose wrinkled and her eyes watered. She frantically grabbed for her napkin and turned her back to spit out the offending capiscum. She then chugged her entire glass of water, and stuffed a huge mouthful of rice in her mouth. Cheeks full, she offered him a slightly embarrassed smile. "You win," she mumbled.

Byakuya very slowly and triumphantly took a long, slow sip of water, not letting an atom of the immense relief he felt show on his face.

He loved this game. Rukia was only the second person who had ever beaten him at it. Although he bested her more often than not, it was always hard-fought. To be fair, she was also only the second person who had ever played it knowingly- usually his opponents were unwitting guests he did not care for. He remembered a particularly amusing occasion when he and Rukia had entertained the odious Noragashi family, stone-facedly consuming atomically spiced udon while their guests twitched and teared up.

He had missed her like hell.

Byakuya set down his water glass. "Are you all right?"

Rukia chewed and swallowed. "Mm, yes. Apologies for my poor table manners, Brother."

"It is no matter. It is only us."

A strange, happy look came over Rukia's face, and Byakuya's heart squeezed. He quickly changed the subject. "You had a productive afternoon, I trust? After recovering from the horrors of my company's dining accommodations?"

Rukia looked confused for a moment. "Lunch was fine. Nice, even. I spent most of the afternoon getting my paperwork filled out for taking the lieutenant's exam." She took another bite of her dinner. Byakuya was awed by her ability to jump right back into the breach. "Do you remember taking yours?"

"Hmm?" he realized he hadn't really been paying attention.

"The lieutenant's exam. Do you remember preparing for it? It was probably a long time ago, eh?"

Was… was she calling him old? "I didn't," he replied off-handedly.

"You didn't…?" she asked, confused.

"Prepare. I am perpetually training to improve myself, and when I had reached the level appropriate for an adjutant, I took the exam and passed easily." He considered the matter. "I was quite young. Twenty, perhaps?"

Rukia choked a little. "Twenty?"

Twenty, thirty, something like that. "I did not take a vice-captaincy at that time," he clarified. "It's a dreadful position, full of drudgery. The only captain I had any interest in seconding was my grandfather." He paused for a moment. Or my father, he did not add. "And so I remained at the Thirteenth until the position became open."

"Do you know how you did?" Rukia asked idly, poking her rice.

"I passed," he replied.

"But how did you score?"

"The scores do not matter, only the pass or fail." This was true, of course, if you had a position lined up, a convenient grandfather holding a space for you. He supposed high numbers did have a certain use when trying to convince a captain who'd never heard of you to take a chance on some undistinguished sixth seat from the worst division in the Gotei.

"I want to get a really high score."

"Rukia."

Rukia looked up, and there was something about her hopeful, optimistic face that made his gut clench.

"I realize that we have already discussed your career aspirations extensively, and I apologize for retreading old ground. You probably find my repeated harping to be dreadfully tedious. But I feel I need to bring it up again."

Rukia's brows furrowed. "Are you referring to when you asked me if I still wished to be a Soul Reaper? A week after you adopted me?"

"Yes, of course."

"Uh, it's okay. That was over forty years ago. It might be time for a revisit."

"You have had a very trying year. Being thrown into circumstances far beyond what you signed up for."

Rukia tipped her head to one side, an absent-minded smile creeping onto her face. "Maybe."

"Rukia, what do you do when you aren't working?"

Rukia opened her mouth and then closed it again. Dicking around with your lieutenant didn't seem like a very good answer. Shooting back "What do you do when you're not working?" seemed even worse. "Training," she said slowly. "Reading. Trying to improve myself."

He looked at her very seriously.

"I've made a lot of new friends in the last few months," Rukia blurted out.

"Yes, I have noticed that you have begun socializing with the lieutenant class, particularly the common ones. Rukia, you have all of the choices possible, and you choose to spend all your time working and associating with career soldiers."

"Aren't… you a career soldier?" Rukia asked, genuinely confused at this point.

"It is one of my duties to represent the dedication of our family's martial strength to the defense of the Seireitei, and to lead the Sixth. I will not deny that, for the most part, I have enjoyed this opportunity and that I derive a great deal of satisfaction from it. But great spiritual power and fighting prowess are my birthright. Few of the lieutenants could ever hope to reach my level, even with centuries of training."

Rukia set her mouth. "I suppose that goes for myself, as well."

Byakuya gave her a gentle look. "If you enjoy being a soul reaper, Sister, you may continue on in your current position. But vice-captaincy is suitable only as an apprenticeship for captaincy, or for those who seek higher social standing, which, obviously, you do not need."

Rukia pressed her lips together. She had about a thousand comebacks to that, none of them the least bit helpful. "Well, the Captain-General ordered me to take the exam," she finally blurted out.

"Taking the examination merely qualifies you for the position. You are not actually obligated to take on such a position."

"I think Captain Ukitake really wants me to be his vice-captain," Rukia replied assertively, taking another bite of rice. Their talk that morning had surprised her, to be honest. The few times over the years she had approached him about testing for a seat, he had put her off. He always seemed to be worried about her constitution or some nonsense like that. Perhaps her adventures with Ichigo, et al, had convinced him that she was made of sterner stuff after all. Still, she had never heard of anyone going from unranked straight to vice-captain. Well, Captain Zaraki had gone directly from unranked to captain, she supposed. The comparison was not especially reassuring.

"The duties of an assistant captain are dreadfully tedious," Byakuya pointed out. "You would be responsible for the day-to-day supervision of your officers, their training and well-being, materiel, payroll-"

"Renji really likes it," Rukia pointed out. "He says it's very satisfying, helping people achieve their potential. He also says that working with an experienced and knowledgeable captain is a great opportunity to strengthen yourself."

Byakuya didn't seem to register the thinly veiled compliment. "My vice-captain is a fool, as you well know, with a great many proletarian opinions."

Rukia cocked her head to one side. "Are you trying to tell me not to take the test?"

"As you said, you have your orders. I merely wish to make sure you know that you have options."

An idea was percolating in Rukia's brain, green and poisonous. "Do you think… that I wouldn't make a good vice-captain?"

Byakuya's mouth hung open for a moment, before snapping shut. He appeared to be wrestling with something.

Rukia leaned forward slightly, waiting.

Byakuya's eyes slid to her face, and something in his brain snapped into position. "If I thought you would shame our family name by failing the examination or doing a poor job in the post, obviously, I would outright forbid it." He poked at his food in a very un-Byakuya sort of way. "I merely think it may not be the best use of your skills and talents. There are many things you could do with your life, you know, Rukia. If you wish to pursue some avocation, say, or if there were some philanthropic cause you wished to champion, or… we have never discussed if you had any interest in marriage."

"I like being a shinigami," Rukia blurted out. They had successfully avoided discussing the topic of matrimony (with respect to either one of them) for over four decades, and she had no interest in breaking that streak. "You know what I would like to do, Brother?"

"What?" he asked, his voice strangely small.

"If we could start up my lessons on the Kuchiki sword form again."

"It will not help you with the lieutenant's examination," he warned.

"That's okay. I just like spending time with you." His face looked like she had just pinned him with a Rikujoukourou . Rukia offered him a hopeful smile. "I know you're busy," she said softly. "I'm not the only one who works too much."

Byakuya swallowed and recomposed his face. "You wish to spend time with me?"

Rukia nodded. "Yes. It doesn't have to be swords."

Byakuya nodded curtly. "I have many hobbies and leisure activities. Please reserve some time on Saturday morning. As it happens, I have a project I could use some assistance with." He paused. "Or at the very least, I would enjoy the company. And of course we shall start up sword lessons again, you have surely forgotten all of your fundamentals by now."

Rukia smiled. "I think you'll be surprised."

~end part 1