Chapter 5

Renji Abari, for the first time in recent memory, found himself truly at a loss on what he should be doing. Things had very quickly gone out of hand in ways that he had never anticipated. First, Rukia going missing on her first solo mission to the World of the Living. Then the request, from Central 46 itself, that he and the Captain go to retrieve her. He hadn't been comfortable with that, the idea that Rukia was a criminal. He still did it anyway, because if anyone should bring her in, it should be them. Running into the Quincy had been annoying, but not difficult to deal with. But then...but then.

Damnit, how the hell did that brat take all of her powers? It doesn't make any damn sense!

Dealing with the Substitute should have been a piece of cake, even with his limiter on. It had been, no matter his oversized hammer of a Zanpakutō. It was only when that blade turned out to be Rukia's, that the orange-haired idiot managed to fight back. Renji believed he could beat the kid, without a limiter on. But the fact of the matter was, he still reeled over the fact he could use Rukia's blade in the first place. That was...

"Gah!" Renji threw his hands into the air, forcibly shaking his head to clear the errant thoughts. He wasn't a thinker, he was a fighter. "You know what, screw this. I'm going to get some answers the old-fashioned way. I don't think the Captain will say no. He hates the kid too."

Decision made, Renji ceased his pacing and retrieved Zabimaru from where his blade had lain against the wall. The moment his hand lay upon the red hilt, the Shinigami felt a wave of approval rush through him. It was enough to bring a fierce smirk to his tattooed face.

Damn right, Zabimaru. We're going to teach the brat a lesson and beat some answers out of him.

He wasn't quite at the point where he could hear his Zanpakutō's response, but he didn't need to. Renji felt Zabimaru practically shake in anticipation and that told him all he needed to know. There was a reason he had started out in Squad 11. And it wasn't because of how he looked.

With Zabimaru in hand, the blade fully in-sync with his plan, Renji stepped free from his office. The odd Shinigami or two moving to their own duties stared at him, confusion on their faces. Renji just rolled his eyes and walked right past them, ignoring how they glanced at the tight grip he had on his blade. His reputation had never faded. The hot-headed kid from Rukon who transferred from Zaraki's squad. He never really cared about what people thought, never had, so that wasn't a problem. Besides...right now, all his attention was on Rukia anyway. Who cared what the other members of the Squad thought. They could go fuck themselves.

Only two people held any interest to Renji right now, and he suspected that both of them would be together.

I'm going to get some answers out of you, Substitute. I don't care what I have to do.

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It wasn't as if it took much time for Renji to reach his destination, in the grand scheme of things. As Rukia was being held in the Squad 6 barracks, so too was the Substitute. They were just being held on opposing sides of the building, to prevent any potential escapes. Renji didn't think Rukia would even bother trying...but he didn't put it past the brat. So the orange-haired idiot was being held right beside the Captain's office, where he couldn't possibly escape even if he wanted. The highest-security part of their barracks.

Where the redhead saw Captain Kuchiki standing, outside the brat's room, looking at him.

"Renji. I see I was not mistaken in sensing your approach." Captain Kuchiki's smooth voice was quick to speak, a single eyebrow rising on his slim face. The noble had his hand on his own Zanpakutō, though it was hardly a ready position. "What business do you have with the boy? He is none of your concern, as I have been keeping him under constant observation."

Sucking in a breath, Renji shook his head. "I'm not here to watch him, Captain. I want to spar with him."

"Hm." Eyebrow climbing yet higher, the Captain stared at Renji. His slate-grey eyes appraising the man before him. "You are aware the boy is our prisoner? To allow you a challenge would be allowing him to have Rukia's blade back, as I could not risk him acquiring yet a further blade. To do so would be giving the boy the opportunity to attempt an escape, if not an attempt to take Rukia with him." Continuing the staredown, Captain Kuchiki's voice smoothed even further, growing deeper with each word. "You are asking me permission to fight a prisoner, for the sake of what? Your pride? Your honor? To avenge Rukia?"

He saw right through me. Heh. I'm not even surprised.

Renji's only response, at first, was to hold Zabimaru up. He didn't look directly at his Captain, but rather, at his blade. Zabimaru thrummed in his head with the desire to match against Sode no Shirayuki. To figure out, the only way he knew how, an answer to the question. The question of how and why Rukia's blade, her very soul, would go to that boy. Renji believed that the Substitute had forced Sode no Shirayuki into it. He couldn't, wouldn't, comprehend a world where Rukia's Zanpakutō would betray her like that. If Zabimaru had done something like that...

Well. He'd probably lose himself in the rage and loss. In the fact he would never, ever, reach where his goal sat above him. In front of him, at this very moment.

"I want to know why Rukia's Zanpakutō left her." Renji finally replied, his own voice low with simmering anger. He knew better than to try and hide anything from this man. "I want to fight that idiot again, and figure out how he uses Rukia's power. I'm from the Eleventh, Captain. The best way to know someone is to cross blades with them...sir!"

Captain Kuchiki continued to stare. His expression completely unreadable as ever. Renji felt a line of sweat trickle down his neck, as every bit of his resolve was being tested. Damnit! Captain Kuchiki didn't even need to draw his blade or move, and he could still do something like this. Even after all his training and time around the man, Renji was still the same boy who first saw him at the Academy. It pissed him off something fierce, too.

He wanted to beat this man, not cower before him.

"I will allow this." The Captain finally spoke up, his voice toneless and clear. He spun on his heel, scarf and Haori fluttering with the motion. "Come, Renji. We will retrieve Rukia's blade and bring it to the boy."

"Y-yes sir!" Renji, despite himself, cursed that stutter. I didn't expect him to actually agree to this! What's gotten into the Captain? First he doesn't kill the boy, then he lets me spar with the kid? What are you planning, Captain?

Renji had no way of knowing, of course, what Byakuya Kuchiki was thinking. He had no way of knowing that the Captain was equally as curious as to the details of how Ichigo Kurosaki had gained Rukia's blade.

After all...there had been not a single sign of Kurosaki forcing Sode no Shirayuki to serve him. No Zanpakutō could be forced into revealing a name, nor into allowing a Shikai. For the Substitute to use Rukia's blade in such a way, there was only one answer. That was never in question. The true questions, then, were the how and the why. How the blade had come into his possession, why it had allowed him to use her Shikai, and how they could fix it. For, in the end, only one thing was truly clear.

Sode no Shirayuki had chosen the Kurosaki boy as her master.

...why do I feel like someone is pounding on my head?

Ichigo Kurosaki let out a low groan, as he opened his eyes. He rubbed at his face, slowly sitting up and looking for the source of the noise he had heard. All he saw, blurry with sleep, was a flash of red. And something...flying...

bonk

Slowly toppling back over onto his bed, Ichigo fell as if he were a dummy with its strings cut. In the time it took for him to register that the flash of red had been Sode no Shirayuki's hilt, he was already jumping back up, face red with anger and the mark of the impact. "Alright, who the hell-" Voice trailing off, Ichigo looked down at the sword in his hand. At the familiar and welcome weight of Sode no Shirayuki. "Wait a second. Why do I...?"

A sharp laugh drew his attention away from the comforting presence of his Zanpakutō. "You're a slow one, ain'tcha? Didn't see me until I threw the sword at you. How the hell you weren't killed by a Hollow is beyond me."

Eyes narrowing in anger once more, Ichigo saw another flash of red. Renji Abari, staring at him with a smug smirk on his lips. He held his own Zanpakutō in a loose grip by his side, and behind him, stood Byakuya Kuchiki. The two people who had dragged him into Soul Society in the first place, and the two people who were most responsible for his current situation. Ichigo may have cooled down a little since he had ended up here, but that didn't mean he wasn't still annoyed by those two.

"They are Rukia's closest companions, Ichigo..." Sode no Shirayuki whispered in his head. Her voice, cool and soft, serving to quench the fire behind his eyes. "I admit to being angry with them, however, they must have had a reason. Renji, at the least, I am certain would have never agreed to this without a reason. I can see that now."

Though, despite her words, Ichigo could still feel her lingering annoyance at how he had insulted her in the World of the Living. "Yeah yeah...why'd they give you back to me, though? I can just run away now."

"Would you dare leave without Rukia?" The Zanpakutō gently chided him, and Ichigo found himself unable to deny that point.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Ichigo returned his attention to the pair before him. "So, any particular reason you gave me back my sword? I thought I was the prisoner here."

"Your sword?" Renji was instantly on guard, his smirk vanishing. His Zanpakutō, Zabimaru, practically shook in his grip. "That's Rukia's sword, you bastard! What gives you the right to call it your sword? You stole it from her, you didn't do a damn thing to earn that blade!"

Kuchiki was curiously quiet, merely raising an eyebrow at the words he heard from the others in the room.

As for Ichigo? He snorted. "First off, Shirayuki is a she, not an 'it'." A thrum of warm approval rang in his mind, prompting the smallest of smiles to cross his face. "Second, she was the one to talk to me. I didn't steal anything. If you want to be angry at anyone, be angry at the Hollow that got us into this situation. I mean, if it hadn't decided to come after my family, I'd never have even met Rukia!"

Ichigo got the strangest feeling that Kuchiki approved of his words, at least some of them. The Captain had relaxed his posture, if only a little, and it showed. If only in contrast to Renji, who was rapidly turning the same shade as his hair. Someone was very clearly not happy.

"You expect me to believe that Rukia's Zanpakutō, her own soul, chose you over going back to her? What the hell kind of fool do you take me for, huh?" Renji stalked forward, his free hand lashing out to drag Ichigo up by the hem of his white robe. He brought his face down, uncomfortably close, his eyes narrowed into flints. "Why the hell would Rukia's Zanpakutō choose some random brat over her own partner?"

Turning his head away in annoyance, Ichigo shrugged. "She told me why, but I'm not telling you that. I'm not going to betray my partner like that. If you want to know, why don't you ask her yourself? Or maybe ask Rukia?"

Sorry, Rukia, but he's seriously starting to piss me off. I'm not going to just tell him what Shirayuki told me. I won't do that to her.

"...Ichigo, I..." Sode no Shirayuki sucked in a steadying breath, and Ichigo got the impression of a watery smile on her face. "Thank you. Thank you for trusting me, and not telling my secrets. You don't understand how much that means to me."

"No problem, Shirayuki. You're my partner now, and I'll protect you. With my life, if I have to."

Outside that inner conversation, Renji was practically spitting fire. Ichigo figured he was pushing the man's buttons, but he wasn't in the mood to really care right now. Maybe in better circumstances, since Renji didn't seem to be that bad of a guy. More like someone who was...angry on Rukia's behalf. Well, Shirayuki had said they were best friends. It was only that feeling, really, that kept Ichigo from refusing to talk to him at all.

It wasn't enough to get rid of the desire to kick his ass, though.

"How do you expect me to ask a Zanpakutō a question like that without..."

Before Renji could build up any more steam, Kuchiki coughed lightly. Renji instantly dropped Ichigo and backed away, his face twisting into a scowl that wouldn't have looked out of place on the teenager he had just been gripping. As for Kuchiki, he walked fully into the room himself, his regal bearing not once shifting. Slate-grey eyes glanced over at Ichigo, before returning to Renji.

"Renji." Kuchiki spoke just one word, and instantly, the redhead was at full attention. "I understand your frustration, and feel much the same myself. However, I will remind you that the boy is under the protection of the Kuchiki Clan. I will allow your spar, I will not allow you to deliberately harm him in his cell. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Captain." Renji ground out, looking away with the scowl refusing to leave his face.

For his part, Ichigo just blinked, and looked down at where Sode no Shirayuki rested in his hand. "Wait a second. A spar? Is that why you gave me Shirayuki back?" Turning his gaze back up to the Captain, the teenager scowled himself. "I didn't think you'd give her back for the hell of it, but why would pineapple hair over there want to spar with me? Didn't I already kick his ass?"

Renji grit his teeth loudly enough for it to be heard across the room, while Kuchiki merely raised an eyebrow. "I will ignore your inappropriate language for the moment, boy. To answer your question, Renji desires to spar with you to learn more of how you came to have my sister's blade." Eyes shifting, if only for a moment, to the blade in Ichigo's hand...Kuchiki continued. "I find myself curious for the same, as you already know. You have made it abundantly clear you have no intention of sharing the truth with us, as such, I am allowing my Lieutenant his wish. However."

Kuchiki held up his hand, the barest hint of energy glowing around it. "You will not find such a duel easy. Our powers were limited to a bare twenty-percent of their true potential, last you fought us. No matter what power you displayed in the World of the Living, you will not find a battle here to be the same."

"...eighty percent of his power was sealed?" Ichigo wished he could go back into his Inner World, because he wanted to talk to Sode no Shirayuki face-to-face now. "You've gotta be kidding me! I barely stood a chance before you told me your name!"

"I'm afraid he is telling the truth, Ichigo." Sode no Shirayuki at least sounded remorseful, if determined. Cold steel was in her voice. "However, I did not know the true extent that their powers were sealed. Rukia was not of a rank where that was necessary for her." She paused, if only for a second, before continuing with more determination. "You, however, are far more powerful than she ever was. I am proud to be your Zanpakutō. We will not lose."

Ichigo wasn't certain if Sode no Shirayuki was always like that, or if he was rubbing off on her. He decided that he didn't care. The teenager just let a confident smirk cross his lips, as he got to his feet. "So what? If he was weaker in the World of the Living, that just means I need to work harder to kick his ass this time." Ignoring the sputtered protests from Renji, Ichigo looked Kuchiki straight in the eye.

He still didn't like the man, not one bit, with his claims that he would execute his sister. But he at least respected that the man was sticking his own neck out for him. Somehow, he got the feeling that Kuchiki wasn't any happier about the situation than he was. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill Ichigo and be done with it. If he were so ready to kill Rukia...why would he leave the person who got her in this situation alive? No. Ichigo wasn't as stupid as people thought he was, and there was something going on here he wasn't seeing.

"Tell you what. If Renji can beat me, and if Shirayuki is okay with it, I'll do my best to explain why she came to me. Other than that, I don't know a damn thing about how I was able to use her Shikai."

Kuchiki stared at Ichigo silently, before inclining his head a bare centimeter or two. It was enough. "Very well. Come, I will bring you to the training ground."

Spinning on his heel, the Captain marched out of the room. He was followed by a visually fuming Lieutenant, and a thoughtful 'prisoner'. Ichigo wasn't entirely sure if he could beat Renji, and if this was going to be the start of training or something like that. But he did know one thing...

"I'm going to get Rukia out of here. I want you to be able to tell her, yourself, how you feel. I promise you Shirayuki. Even if I have to use this chance to get stronger, I'll get her out. I owe her and I'll be damned if I let a friend die like that."

"...thank you, Ichigo."

AN: Fickle muse is fickle. At this point, I've given up guessing on when it will let me write something.

That being said, hopefully this is a good chapter. I debated having the actual spar in here, but decided against it, for now. That'll be the next one...which hopefully shouldn't take near as much time to write .